David Pierini - page 5

Underwater iPhone case goes deep for stellar pics

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AquaTech AxisGo waterproof case
Your iPhone photos will go below the surface.
Photo: AquaTech

Yes, the iPhone 11 Pro is waterproof-ish enough to survive a good soaking in a pool, lake or ocean. But why chance it when you don’t have to?

Should you fancy a photo swim, you will want to consider the AquaTech AxisGO underwater camera housing for the iPhone 11 lineup.

Smartphone film fest dangles $10,000 prize for your iPhone masterpiece

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publicity shot for Moment International Film Festival
You have a little over a month to make a three-minute classic.
Photo: Moment

Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh has sworn off big expensive motion picture cameras for the camera in his pocket. Your iPhone is no different from his, so get out there and make the movie that’s locked in your head. It could win you $10,000 in the Moment International Film Festival.

Darkroom iOS photo app switches to monthly subscription

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Darkroom photo editing app for iPhone and iPad
Darkroom wants to make a great photo editing app even better.
Screenshot: Darkroom/App Store

Every photographer has an editing workflow with a rhythm formed with a particular piece of software. Darkroom is among the preferred apps for the mobile shooter who does a lot of editing on their iPhone or iPad.

Darkroom’s developers (pun intended) announced Wednesday a business change to a subscription-based app for new users.

Galaxy S20 Ultra camera ups ante on iPhone with Space Zoom and 108-megapixel photos

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Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Lots of promised power in this camera bump.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung fired a powerful-sounding salvo in the battle for smartphone camera supremacy Tuesday when it introduced the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

The Ultra kicks off a new decade in smartphone camera technology with an impressive list of specs packed into its four-camera module. Some of the features include 8K video, a 108-megapixel sensor on its main wide-angle camera, and a 100X zoom feature called Space Zoom.

Egypt in 4K shows why you should have an iPhone 11 Pro

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travel video with iPhone 11 Pro
Book a flight and travel light. The iPhone 11 Pro might be all you need.
Screenshot: Travel Shortfilms/YouTube

Still not persuaded that an upgrade to the iPhone 11 Pro is worth the money?

If you are a photographer or wanna-be filmmaker that still needs convincing, travel vlogger Harshit Vora makes a breath-taking argument with a montage of 4K clips from an eight-day trip to Egypt.

Apple restores banned BlueMail app but devs say fight is not over

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Mac App Store
The email app BlueMail finds itself on the outside of the "closed garden."
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Banned email app BlueMail is back in the Mac App Store, just one week after its developers tried to publicly rally other small companies to speak out against Apple’s App Store practices.

Ben and Dan Volach’s eight-month appeal of Apple’s ban ended Tuesday when the App Store relisted BlueMail. But the brothers say they will continue to fight Apple in court on claims the tech giant stole patented features of the app before booting it from the App Store.

iPhone mount lets you use DSLR filters for cool effects

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Filter mount by Moondog Labs
The multi-camera filter mount will let the iPhone shooter use any 52 mm filter.
Photo: Moondog Labs

If the iPhone is the best camera because it’s always in your pocket, there are plenty of accessories that make your photos look even better once your phone is unholstered and on the hunt.

Moondog Labs has just such an add-on with a filter mount that goes right over the three-eyed iPhone 11 Pro.

Coronavirus could cut China’s smartphones sales in half this quarter

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iPhone sales are finally rebounding in China
iPhone sales were starting to pickup in China.
Photo: Tim Cook/Weibo

Smartphone sales in China could fall by as much as 50 percent in the first quarter thanks to a raging coronavirus that has shuttered retail outlets and silenced production facilities.

The coronavirus has struck at a time when Apple’s iPhone sales in China were rebounding in a country considered right now one of the world’s most competitive smartphone markets.

Coronavirus keeps China’s Apple Stores shuttered into next week

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Apple store in Shanghai
The Apple Store in Shanghai.
Photo: FullbridgeProgram/Flickr CC

Apple Stores across China will remain closed into next week amid the growing coronavirus crisis.

All 42 stores were closed this week because of the outbreak but were scheduled to open Feb. 10. In a memo to Apple Store employees this morning, Apple retail chief Deidre O’Brien indicated a reopening time is on hold until further notice.

Feds buy smartphone location data to track undocumented immigrants

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iOS 13 keeps your location private.
iOS 13 keeps your location private.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Location-tracking software purchased by advertisers to better understand customers is now a tool employed by the federal government to target undocumented immigrants.

Homeland security and immigration officials are pulling location data from common smartphone apps, from games to weather, where the user has granted permission to access their location.

iPhone-maker shuts down Shenzhen facilities amid coronavirus crisis

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Foxconn Wisconsin
Foxconn workers in Shenzhen will not report next week until further notice.
Photo: Foxconn

The Chinese company that assembles most of the world’s iPhones has ordered employees in one region of the country not to return to work next week to prevent further spread of the deadly coronavirus.

Foxconn sent text messages to Shenzhen-based employees that those sites will remain closed until further notice. While Foxconn’s main iPhone factory is in Zhengzhou, a portion is assembled in Shenzhen. Shenzhen is also the headquarters for Foxconn’s parent company, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.

Free Apple TV+ trial hasn’t enticed large number of subscribers: survey

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Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is spending big to attract paid subscribers.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ may be “off to a rousing start” in the eyes of CEO Tim Cook, but a new survey suggests those who have tried the streaming service don’t share his enthusiasm.

Only 28% signed up for the $4.99 monthly subscription after their free trial expired, according to the website Flixed, which helps people cut the cable by offering insights on the growing number of streaming services. Flixed also found most respondents “liked Apple TV+ less” than Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.

Low-cost iPhone in trial production: reports

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apple logo
Apple is ramping up production on a budget iPhone.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple is already in trial production of a budget-friendly iPhone with mass production set to begin in a couple of weeks, according to supply-chain insiders.

Rumors of either an iPhone SE2 or iPhone 9 have been swirling for months with an unveiling likely in March.

Apple TV+ lands SNL’s Cecily Strong for musical comedy

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SNL's Cecily Strong comedy for Apple TV+
Giving Apple TV+ a Strong comedy lineup.
Screenshot: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon/YouTube

Saturday Night Live’s Cecily Strong is bringing her comedy chops to Apple TV+ for a musical series about a couple who discover a strange town while backpacking.

Apple is reportedly nearing a series order for the comedy, created by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, writers known for the Despicable Me franchise.

Apple closes 3 China stores over coronavirus worries

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apple store in shangahi
The Shanghai Apple Store.
Photo: Apple

Government-ordered quarantines in place to contain a deadly coronavirus outbreak in China have forced Apple to temporarily close three stores in the country.

Apple’s good news about a record-breaking quarter this week have been tempered as executives monitor conditions in a country critical to the mass production of its most popular devices, especially the iPhone.

iPhone 11 threatens to steal Samsung’s smartphone crown

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iPhone11
iPhone 11 has been good for business.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone may always be No. 1 in the minds and hearts of its users. Samsung, though, always had the shipment numbers to claim its smartphones made it the world’s best-selling brand.

Then the iPhone 11 lineup showed up. Now market research shows Apple has currently surpassed Samsung or, at the very least, is tied as the smartphone brand king.

That iPhone notch? It’s probably not going away anytime soon

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iPhone X notch
You're used to the notch. It's likely going to be around for a while.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s 2020 flagship iPhone is rumored to have a pristine screen free of that dreaded notch.

But a social media post from a Xiaomi vice president claims the “entire industry” is far from solving the light transmission problems caused by placing front-facing cameras behind the screen.

Tesla’s Cybertruck design looks better on an iPhone

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iphone that looks like Cybertruck
What are the chances Elon Musk will have one on order by the end of the day?
Photo: Caviar

Elon Musk’s Tesla Cybertruck was laughed at by critics for its angular, alien look. But the futuristic design may win more style points on an iPhone.

Russian luxury jeweler Caviar is showing off its latest mod job, a titanium iPhone 11 Pro inspired by Musk’s prototype of an electric truck unveiled in December.

Ming-Chi Kuo: Coronavirus could hurt Apple 2021 iPhone production

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iPhone sales
The impact of coronavirus in China could hurt Apple in 2021.
Illustration: Cult of Mac

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo warns that Apple could experience product shipment delays and other risks if the deadly coronavirus spreading in China is not significantly contained before March.

In a note to investors Wednesday obtained by Cult of Mac, the respected soothsayer also warned that the coronavirus has caused consumer confidence in a market Apple has been trying to grow, especially with smartphones.

Apple moves to blunt coronavirus’s impact on Chinese operations

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Terry Gou
But there's a definite chance of further delays.
Photo: Foxconn

Apple is bracing itself against a growing coronavirus outbreak, restricting business travel to China and closing one Apple Store as health officials try to contain the deadly virus.

Apple is also trying to gauge the potential disruption to production. Most of the world’s iPhones, as well as other devices, are assembled in China with components coming from a network of nearly 400 suppliers.

Dealer will part with prized Steve Jobs autograph for $77,000

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Plaque Steve Jobs
For 10-years of services.
Photo: RR Auction

How does an autograph collector part with a favorite item? Dan Caldwell of Billionaire Collectibles sets the price high enough so that letting go is not so painful.

He has what is likely the only Steve Jobs autograph currently for sale, a signed work-anniversary certificate for an Apple employee. The $77,000 asking price on eBay is how much someone “will have to pay to peel it out of my hands.”

Palm-size pillows will have you dreaming about that first Mac

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new Pocket Pillows from
Robert Hoyos has developed new software.
Photo: Throwboy

On this day in 1984, the first Macintosh computers started shipping. Who could have imagined that 36 years later to the day, this iconic machine would be commemorated with a tiny plush pillow that fits in your hand?

Only one person possesses this kind of vision – Roberto Hoyos. His Throwboy brand is launching a crowdfunding campaign today for two new plush Mac toys.

Advertisers panic as iPhone users turn off GPS tracking

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iOS 13.3 in beta
iOS 13 has made it easier for users to shut down location tracking.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Location data, for a long time a river of gold that enriched companies with digital ad revenues, is starting to dry up as more and more consumers deactivate location tracking on their smartphones.

The growing shortage of GPS data became pronounced shortly after the launch iOS 13, which features a pop-up option to cut off tracking if your iPhone detects an app gathering data on your whereabouts.

Apple Watch bands lets you sport your Super Bowl colors

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Affinity Bands for Super Bowl
For fans of the 49ers.
Photo: Affinity Bands

You don’t have to paint your face or project primal screams to show which team you hope hoists the Super Bowl trophy.

Affinity Bands offer a well-designed and understated way to show your colors with Apple Watch bands and AirPods holders with official logos for either the San Francisco 49ers or Kansas City Chiefs.