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iPhone’s Touch IC Disease pandemic triggers lawsuit

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3D Touch app switching
An insidious defect is effecting iPhone 6 owners.
Photo: Ste Smitch

Touch IC Disease, a glitch with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus that results in gray, flickering bars at the top of the devices’ screens and a loss of touch sensitivity, has earned Apple its latest class-action lawsuit.

Caused by an apparent design flaw in the iPhone 6 series, Touch IC Disease is more prevalent among the larger iPhone 6 Plus devices. While the problem made headlines for the first time last week, a proposed class-action lawsuit filed Saturday claims Apple has long been aware of the defect, which can render devices useless.

Which new Apple product gets you most excited? [Poll]

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Apple gadgets
All of Apple's gadgets are about to get updated.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is set to deliver its biggest keynote of the year on September 7, when the company will unveil its most important new product of 2016: the iPhone 7.

Apple Watch 2, new MacBook Pros and updated iPads are likely on the horizon as well, so we wanted to know if this is the year you’re looking forward to something other than a new iPhone?

Tell us which Apple product you’re most excited about in our reader poll.

Decoding Apple’s blurry iPhone 7 invite

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What do you see in Apple's invite?
Photo: Apple

Apple is finally set to unveil something new on September 7. While the company hasn’t said what it will be, it’s pretty much certain a new iPhone or two will make an appearance at the invite-only San Francisco event.

The Apple rumor mill has been churning out juicy details about the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus for months and, if you stare at the blurry lights on Apple’s invite, you just might pick up a few more clues about what to expect during next month’s keynote.

Microsoft attacks MacBook in latest Surface Pro 4 ad

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Does Surface Pro 4 have more to offer than MacBook?
Does Surface Pro 4 have more to offer than MacBook?
Photo: Microsoft

The iPad Pro has taken a ton of fire recently from Microsoft, but the company’s latest ad shifts targets to attack the MacBook.

The company busts out the old-school disses in the ad, which calls the MacBook “square” during an annoying song that brags about the Surface Pro 4’s detachable keyboard, pen and touchscreen. And it runs Windows!

Listen to Microsoft’s horrible jingle:

Apple Music exclusives earn artists one-way trip to Spotify hell [Update: Spotify denies]

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apple music app
Spotify punishes artists for giving Apple Music exclusives.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Scoring an exclusive album deal with Apple Music can be highly lucrative for artists looking for independence, but it might come with some serious payback from Spotify, which is reportedly punishing musicians that sign such deals.

Musicians have been dragged into the fight between Apple and Spotify, according to new reports saying Apple’s rival is threatening to bury artists in its search results. Meanwhile, Spotify has denied the accusations, which come from anonymous sources cited by Bloomberg and The New York Times.

Intel wants to make iPhone processors by 2018

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Future iPhone processors may be made by Intel.
Future iPhone processors may be made by Intel.
Photo: Apple

The next iPhone you buy might have Intel inside, if the company is able to succeed in its new plans to overthrow Apple’s long-time partner, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

Intel, the world’s-largest chipmaker, is reportedly looking to make a big splash in mobile chips and has already started talking to Apple about taking over orders to make the ARM processors used in the iPad and iPhone.

Dual-lens camera issues may cause iPhone 7 Plus shortage

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Why you'll fall in love with Apple's new dual-lens camera.
The iPhone 7 Plus is going to be a hard to find.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Getting your hands on the iPhone 7 Plus and its amazing dual-lens camera right after launch might be a tough task, claims the latest rumor out of Asia.

Apple’s part suppliers are supposedly contending with a number of low-yield issues related to the waterproof speaker and the new dual-lens camera that still haven’t been fixed, both of which are expected to be the marquee features of this year’s update.

Microphone technology is Siri’s next big hurdle

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Sorry, Alexa: Siri still the most widespread AI assistant
Siri needs better microphones.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple, Amazon and Google are all in a battle to create the next great breakthrough with microphones in order to make their digital assistants more powerful.

While machine learning and artificial intelligence are getting all the hype lately, few industry analysts say microphone technology will play just as key a role in taking Siri and Alexa to a new level.

Apple wants an astronaut emoji (among other things)

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Get ready for even more emoji.
Get ready for even more emoji.
Photo: Apple

Astronauts and pilots are set to get their own emoji characters if Apple has its way.

The iPhone-maker recently submitted a request to the Unicode Emoji Subcommittee to add five more professions (artist, astronaut, firefighter, judge, and pilot) to the Emoji 4.0 update that is set to bring support for gendered emoji, a rainbow flag, and more.

Take a look at Apple’s proposed designs:

Why iPhone 6 Plus is susceptible to ‘Touch IC Disease’ (and how you might avoid it)

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iPhone
Both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus can get Touch IC Disease.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

iPhone 6 Plus units are much more likely than their smaller siblings to get “Touch IC Disease,” the flickering gray bars that are appearing on the screens of a growing number of aging devices, according to a smartphone repair expert who helped bring the problem to light.

Touch IC Disease, which affects the touchscreens of some older iPhones and renders them practically unusable, could potentially become a bigger problem for Apple than Bendgate, the “scandal” that followed the launch of the super-slim iPhone 6 line in 2014.

Apple Music is ruining Spotify’s negotiations with record labels

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Spotify
You won't have to listen to music you don't like.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Negotiations between music streaming service Spotify and all three major record labels have hit a snag lately and Apple Music is a big reason why.

Spotify’s licensing agreements with Sony, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group have reportedly been on a rolling month-by-month basis for much of 2016, yet the companies haven’t been able to hammer out long-term deals yet because Spotify isn’t willing to share as much revenue as Apple Music.

Everything we think we know about the iPhone 7

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blue iPhone 7 Plus
The iPhone 7 is getting some big upgrades.
Photo: PConline

The grand unveiling of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is still weeks away, but this year you don’t need to wait for Tim Cook to take the stage to find out all the new features.

Months of leaks have already given us a sneak peek at a lot of the big changes coming to the iPhone. And contrary to early reports that this year’s device will be boring, there’s actually a whole lot to get excited about.

Here’s what to expect from the iPhone 7, based on Cult of Mac’s analysis of everything we’ve seen from reliable leakers and the Apple rumor mill.

Barbra Streisand calls Tim Cook to fix her biggest gripe with Siri

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Barbra Streisand
Singer Barbra Streisand and husband James Brolin.
Photo: Wikicommons

Getting iPhone bugs fixed is apparently super-easy if you’re a world-famous diva.

Barbra Streisand says she recently had a huge bone to pick with Apple over the way Siri pronounces her last name. So the singer did what only Barbra Streisand could do: She dialed Tim Cook’s personal phone number.

How to customize and swap Apple Watch faces

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cult of mac
Switching to a new watch face is almost too easy.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is making it a lot easier and faster to switch up the look of your Apple Watch thanks to some new features in watchOS 3.

 Starting this fall, Apple is adding a bunch of new faces that can be customized like never before. All the faces can be added via the Watch app for iPhone, and there are so many great options you’ll be swapping all the time. If you’re an Ultra user, check out the best Apple Watch Ultra 2 faces to maximize your experience.

Here’s how to do it: