David Pierini - page 19

Create funky photo art with this double-exposure iPhone app

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Fusion
Who could do this to a selfie.
Photo: Fuzion

Of the countless apps for creating stunning effects to your iPhone photos, the best ones have two things in common: ease of use and effects that are actually stunning.

Fuzion, an artsy double-exposure iOS app, aspires to be in that elite stable of must-have photo styling apps. Its developers should know relatively quickly if they have a hit on their hands when it launches Thursday.

HomePod in China turns Siri into a storyteller

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HomePod in China
Siri and HomePod will oblige children in China when they ask for a story.
Photo: Apple

HomePod has a feature that is only available in China and could prove popular with busy parents and the kid who just wants to hear a story.

Apple’s version of a smart speaker made its debut in China and Hong Kong on Jan. 18 with the ability to command “Siri, tell me a story.”

iPhone XS Max gets so-so score in selfies test

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iPhone XS selfies
Tim Cook gets ready to unleash the iPhone XS during the Gather Round keynote in 2018.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s iPhone XS Max has one of the best cameras in a smartphone – as long as you’re not pointing it at yourself.

The flagship handset tied the Samsung Galaxy X9 Plus for fourth place in a new set of test protocols from DxOMark Labs, which has tested and ranked digital cameras for 10 years.

Even billionaires don’t like buying extra Apple cables

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Anand Mahindra, USB-C, Apple, charging cables, Twitter, iPad Pro
The object of his ire, the iPad Pro's USB-C port.
Photo: Viktor Kádár

Billionaires are just like the rest of us: they put their pants on one leg at a time and rage when Apple changes charging ports on its devices.

Anand Mahindra, CEO of Mahindra Group, aired his beef on Twitter with having to carry different chargers for his iPhone and new iPad Pro.

Trailer offers thrilling glimpse of Soderbergh’s new iPhone flick

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Soderbergh iPhone film
Steven Soderbergh's latest iPhone film hits Netflix Feb. 8.
Screenshot: Netflix/You Tube

Netflix released a trailer this week for Steven Soderbergh’s latest iPhone masterpiece, High Flying Bird, with fast-moving scenes sure to excite broke and budding filmmakers.

This is the Oscar-winning director’s follow-up to his first iPhone feature film, Unsane, and delivers on his promise that all future films will be shot on iPhones.

Apple accused of violating EU data privacy laws in new complaint

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Apple data privacy
Apple’s Data and Privacy website launched last year
Photo: Apple

Apple is named in a complaint filed by a data privacy watchdog group for failing to comply with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.

Austrian-based noyb said 10 users tested Apple, along with Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube, by requesting private data that companies hold about users.

Apple vies for J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot shingle

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Bad Robot
J.J. Abrams has studio pitches on his mind.
Photo: Joi/Wikimedia Commons

Apple looks like the competitive underdog in a field of entertainment’s heavy-hitters vying to be the new home for J.J. Abrams and his company, Bad Robot.

Abrams, the director of the last two Star Wars films, is set to part with Paramount, creating a bidding war among studios, including major players Disney, Universal and Warner Bros.

Teen golf phenom lands in rough over Apple Watch ad

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golfer Lucy Li
Lucy Li's appearance in an Apple Watch ad may force her to turn pro.
Screen shot: Apple/YouTube

A teen-aged golf prodigy could lose her amateur status after she appeared in a 15-second video for the Apple Watch.

Lucy Li, 16, is ranked ninth among the world’s women’s amateurs. The United States Golf Association could revoke her status as early as next week – even though, according to her mother, she received no compensation for appearing in the ad.

Free Apple Watches may land on some senior citizens’ wrists

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Apple Watch Meidcare
That includes a life-saving ECG app.
Photo: Apple

Apple and a handful of private Medicare insurers are exploring a deal that could subsidize the cost of Apple Watches for people over 65 to use for health tracking.

Insurance companies offering the Apple Watch free or at a reduced cost as a carrot to get healthy is a growing trend as the watch continues to grab headlines for its health benefits.

The Podfather’s watch packs a hefty $49,000 price tag

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Tony Fadell watch
Maybe the price on that Apple Watch Series 4 isn't so steep.
Screenshot: Hodinkee

Tony Fadell invented the iPod and hundreds of millions of people bought one. But he can’t expect those kinds of sales with his latest creation – a watch costing $48,800.

The Ressence Type 2 has a relatively modest price tag in the luxury watch space. A brand like Patek Phillipe can fetch a couple hundred thousand dollars just for a used timepiece.

Lonely egg cracks Kylie Jenner’s record for most likes on Instagram

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Instagram egg
The world's most-liked egg.
Screenshot: world_record_egg/Instagram

A photo of an unremarkable egg has dethroned model and influencer Kylie Jenner for the most-liked post of all time on Instagram.

The egg popped up on Jan. 4 through an anonymous user who made it clear the egg was gunning for Jenner.

The creator of @world_record_egg egged on the community with this caption: “Let’s set a world record together and the most liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We got this.”

Powerful MacBook dock lets you escape ‘dongle hell’

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Linedock
LineDock has ports, power and plenty of storage.
Photo: Linedock

CES 2019 bugLinedock is a device designed to deliver power and salvation from what its creators refer to as “dongle hell.”

It’s a massive messiah at two pounds with nine ports, a 20,000mAH battery with 100 W pass-through charging and an onboard SSD with up to 1 TB of storage.

These iPhone cases don’t make you choose between style and protection

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Altigo
Three layers of protection in five colors.
Photo: Altigo

Start-up companies often introduce themselves to the market with a single product. Accessories brand Altigo launched in November with a colorful line of sleek headphones and iPhone cases.

Now two months later at its first CES, Altigo debuts more mobile lifestyle accessories to its growing product line.

Retro mic turns your iOS device into a portable studio

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Samson Satellite mic
The Samson Satellite USB/iOS Broadcast Microphone brings the studio into the field.
Photo: Samson Technologies

CES 2019 bugFor musicians, podcasters and streamers, “the studio” is an iOS device in a living room, coffee shop or some crazy live event.

Samson Technologies rolled out a new microphone at CES this week that promises to gather studio-quality audio no matter the location.

AR art kit and iPad will have you painting masterpieces

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Cupixel
Cupixel is like having an AR Bob Ross with your iPad.
Photo: Cupixel

CES 2019 bugOf all the things visitors expect to do at the Consumer Electronics Show, creating a stunning work of art isn’t on the list.

But that’s exactly what could happen if you stop by the Cupixel booth. The creators know the proof is in the painting.

With an iPad, an app and Cupixel’s art box, a fabulous painting is just at the tip of the brush of anyone willing to pick it up.

Colorful tray charges iPhone, Apple Watch and Air Pods in style

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Gaze Tray
It looks decorative, but it does the heavy lifting when it comes to charging all of your devices.
Photo: Gaze Lab

CES 2019 bugA tray is a stylish way to serve coffee or tea. Now there’s one able to charge your iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods at the same time.

Gaze Lab didn’t neglect style as it set out to create the Gaze Tray, a one-stop charging solution that looks good on any table or dresser. It also lends space to jewelry or the items you take out of your pockets at the end of a long day.

With offices in Seoul and San Francisco, Gaze Lab is showing off its catch-all charging tray at CES in Las Vegas this week as it raises productions funds on Indiegogo.

White House wonk says China ‘picked off’ Apple IP

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Foxconn employees accused of $43 million iPhone scam
Foxconn employees accused of $43 million iPhone scam
Photo: Apple

A White House official said today China is stealing Apple technology secrets but did not provide specific details.

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow made the comment during a wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg that included U.S. trade tensions with China.

Apple Watch saves the life of woman trapped in a submerged car

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life-saving Apple Watch
The ping my iPhone feature on watchOS
Photo: Cult of Mac

A 20-year-old Florida woman discovered the health benefits of owning an Apple Watch when it indirectly saved her life as her flipped car was filling with water.

Amanda Antonio told first responders in Hillsborough County, Fla., that she used her Apple Watch to locate her iPhone to call 9-1-1 after her car rolled in a ditch full of mud and water.

Austrian tech tax sets its sights on Apple

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tech tax
An Apple store in Austria.
Photo: Apple

The Austrian government will announce plans this month to impose a levy on giant tech companies that make huge online profits that largely go untaxed.

Austria joins France to be among the first countries to tax internet and technology companies that shuttle profits to avoid higher taxes in each company.

iPhone photos got better in 2018 thanks to these gadgets

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Year in Review Best iPhone Photography Accessories

Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac Year in Review 2018
Apple’s camera team set the bar higher still with three new iPhones in 2018. But even Apple’s best gets better if paired with good mobile photography accessories.

The brands devoted to smartphone shooters don’t exactly have an easy mission. They have to enhance the iPhone photo or video experience without compromising one of its greatest features – portability.

This dandy dongle isn’t real but maybe it should be

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USB-C dongle
Apple Dongle lets you connect with a good joke by Ryan Geraghty.
Photo: Ryan Geraghty

Dongles for this, dongles for that, USB-C dongles be damned. Product designer Ryan Geraghty feels your frustration and has created a concept designed to make Apple users laugh about their begrudged move to USB-C.

His idea of an Apple Dongle is “one elegant tapestry of connectivity” featuring 16 adapters into a single USB-C connector.