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Ed Hardy - page 134

Strong interest in AirTag shows Apple could have a winner

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Apple AirTag finally jumped from rumor to reality.
Lots of Apple users say they’re interested in getting an AirTag.
Photo: Apple

The Apple AirTag tracker will be a huge hit, if a new survey of iPhone and iPad users is correct. More than 60% of respondents said they planned to buy the accessory.

Most people in the survey said they were satisfied with AirTag’s $29.99 price. But they were mostly drawn to the item tracker because it’s tied into Apple’s global Find My network.

M1 iMac can’t match fastest Intel iMacs in early benchmarks

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24-inch iMac with M1 processor released in 2021
The M1 processor in the 24-inch iMac is faster than most Intel iMacs. But not all.
Photo: Apple

The first benchmark scores for the upcoming 24-inch M1 iMac are out, and the all-in-one desktop is just as fast as the laptops and desktop released in 2020 running this processor. And no faster.

That makes the new model 24% quicker than the 21-inch iMac it’s replacing. But it’s slower than the 27-inch iMac introduced in 2020 with a top-tier Intel processor.

Denzel Washington will murder his way through The Tragedy of Macbeth on Apple TV+

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‘The Tragedy Of Macbeth’ starring Denzel Washington will appear on Apple TV+ in Q4 2021.
Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand will star in the Scottish play on Apple TV+.
Photo: Wikipedia

Apple TV+ clearly hopes to win more awards by picking up the rights to The Tragedy Of Macbeth starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand. The film is set to premiere in theaters in the fourth quarter of 2021 before hitting Apple’s streaming service.

Add game to your iPhone with GameSir X2 side-by-side game controller

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GameSir X2 Bluetooth Mobile Gaming Controller works with iPhone and Android
The GameSir X2 Bluetooth Mobile Gaming Controller is compatible with Apple Arcade and cloud-gaming services.
Photo: GameSir

Clip the GameSir X2 Bluetooth Mobile Gaming Controller to an iPhone or Android to add physical controls to the handset. It uses a split design that puts the buttons and joysticks on either side of the screen.

GameSir also launched the F7 Claw Tablet Game Controller for larger devices.

You’ve got to see this iPhone notch ‘fix’ to believe it

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This iPhone M1 concept is by Antonio De Rosa from ADRStudio.
A new concept design thinks outside of the box on removing the iPhone notch.
Screenshot: ADRStudio/ConceptsiPhone

The screen notch isn’t anyone’s favorite iPhone feature, and an iPhone concept makes a radical suggestion for repositioning it: the artist suggests stretching the top of the handset to make room for the front-facing camera and other sensors.

Watch a pretend Apple advertisement from the concept artist demonstrating the innovative new device now:

Judge signals possible solution for Epic Games v. Apple court battle

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App Store faces barrage of antitrust charges
The judge may have dropped a hint about how she might end the court fight between Epic Games and Apple.
Photo: Sora Shimazaki/Pexels CC

If the judge in the Epic Games v. Apple lawsuit decides to rule against the iPhone-maker, she may have already signaled the significant App Store change she would order to satisfy the game developer’s complaints.

The judge asked a question that shows she’s considering allowing developers to point customers to their own websites to make in-app purchases. Currently, these purchases must go through Apple’s payment system.

Take push-button control of HomeKit accessories with Belkin remote [Review]

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Belkin Wemo Stage Scene Controller review
Press any of the three buttons on Belkin’s Wemo Stage Scene Controller to activate HomeKit accessories.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

You can activate up to six preprogrammed HomeKit scenes or accessories with the push of a button on Belkin’s Wemo Stage Scene Controller. The palm-size remote sits on a table or hangs on a wall, and lets you easily control HomeKit accessories all over your home. No wiring involved.

I’m fully committed to Apple’s home-automation system, and Belkin’s latest HomeKit gadget fit neatly into my setup. Here’s why.

New home automation alliance should deliver more HomeKit-compatible devices

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Matter is a new interoperable homer automation standard back by Apple, Amazon, Google and m ore.
Matter is going to… matter to fans of home automation.
Photo: Connectivity Standards Alliance

Apple is a leading member of a new organization creating a standard for home automation devices. A primary goal is interoperability, allowing accessories to connect to HomeKit, Alexa, Google Home, etc.

Previously, it was up to the makers of smart home products to make devices that worked with more than one voice control system. Many chose to support just one.

2021 iPad Pro beats every Intel MacBook in early benchmark tests

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2021 iPad Pro with M1 processor
The M1 processor in the 2021 iPad Pro has the tablet running faster than any Intel-based MacBook ever.
Photo: Apple

The first iPad Pro with an M-series processor is apparently going to be as fast as many had hoped. Benchmark tests for the upcoming tablet show that it’s almost as speedy as the Macs released in late 2020. And faster than any Intel-based MacBook ever.

The 2021 model is more than 50% faster than the iPad Pro Apple introduced in 2020.

App Store blocks billions in attempted fraud

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App Store blocks billions in attempted fraud
Apple cracks down on App Store fraud wherever it can find it.
Graphic: Apple

The App Store protected customers from more than $1.5 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions in 2020, Apple said Tuesday. And the company’s App Review team rejected thousands of fraudulent applications.

The timing for this statement from the iPhone-maker isn’t accidental. In the ongoing Epic Games v. Apple lawsuit, the game developer argues that the App Store is a hinderance to innovation. Cupertino wants customers to hear its side of the story, too.

Brydge’s latest keyboard case for iPad Air and iPad Pro includes multi-touch trackpad

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The Brydge Air Max+ can be preordered now. Shipping starts in June.
The Brydge Air Max+ is both an iPad Air/Pro case and a clip-on keyboard and trackpad.

The new Brydge Air Max+ wraps the iPad Air 4 or 11-inch iPad Pro in a protective case, and adds a removable keyboard and trackpad.

It’s a larger version of a keyboard case Brydge recently introduced for the basic iPad. And there’s a similar model for the largest iPad Pro.

Epic Games makes solid arguments that Apple is a monopoly

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Monopoly board game
Maybe Apple really is a monopoly.
Photo: Kathy Marsh/Unsplash CC

At the core of Epic Games’ lawsuit against Apple is the assertion that the iPhone-maker has a monopoly. With testimony from an expert witness, the game developer has begun laying out its arguments to convince the judge why she should agree.

Essentially, it claims that switching from iPhone to another device is so difficult that Apple can treat its users as if they had no other options.

Apple TV+ gives chilling first look at Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon

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Apple gives chilling first look at Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’
Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio will star in Killers of the Flower Moon on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

It should be a happy scene — a man courting a woman. But the reality is much darker. The man and woman will marry, then he’ll kill many of her relatives to get control of the oil riches they inherited. All of this will play out in Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Killers of the Flower Moon.

The film will star Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro — and will appear on Apple TV+. An image of DiCaprio and Gladstone in character, released Monday, offers our first glimpse of the upcoming movie.

iPadOS 15 concepts showcase features fans crave

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iPadOS 15 concepts showcase features fans crave
iPad users would be pleased if all these proposed features make it into iPadOS 15.
Photo: The Hacker 34

A pair of concept artists want Apple to bring dramatic improvements in iPadOS 15. They separately created videos with specific suggestions on how iPad could become a more useful computer with the operating system update expected this autumn.

Both agree that the iPad should gain better support for external screens — though they came up with different ways to implement the feature.

iPhone 12 Pro Max battery solidly beats all other premium phones

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iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple’s premium iOS handset makes very efficient use of the power it stores in its battery.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 12 Pro Max whipped all other top-tier handsets in a rigorous battery test. Doxomark simulated using the handsets over several days, and also factored in how long they took to recharge. In the final score, Apple’s offering came out way ahead.

Why Apple needs to ramp up its app review team

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Trust in the App Store is critical to the success of the iPhone.
Confidence in the App Store is so critical to the success of the iPhone that Apple needs to stop handling app review with an inadequate staff.
Graphic: Apple

The process for checking applications submitted to the App Store became the major focus of the Epic Games v. Apple court battle Friday. An important detail that came to light is that Apple employs 500 human experts checking submissions.

Epic Games used Friday’s trial testimony to bring to light fraudulent or inappropriate apps that slipped past Apple’s review team and onto the App Store. Fortunately, the problem is fixable: Put more people on the job. Double or triple the number.

Apple finally makes crucial hire: communications chief

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is now in charge of Apple corporate communications
Stella Low has been picked to lead Apple’s public relations efforts .
Photo: Cisco

Stella Low is stepping into a position at Apple that’s been empty for years. She’s been named vice president of worldwide corporate communications. That puts her in charge of Apple’s public relations efforts.

She left Cisco to take the job with Apple.

Clever DIY project turns AirTag into slim wallet card

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This DIY AirTag wallet card project isn’t for the faint of heart
Apple AirTag can help users locate keys, luggage and — with a lot of modifications— their wallet.
Screenshot: Andrew Ngai

An intrepid do-it-yourselfer disassembled Apple’s new AirTag and rebuilt it into something slim enough to fit into a wallet.

Watch his video with step-by-step instructions for following in his footsteps — if you dare.

Kensington StudioDock is incompatible with 2021 iPad Pro 12.9

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The Kensington StudioDock was named a CES 2021 Innovation Awards Honoree.
Kensington StudioDock could be the iPad productivity tool you’re looking for.
Photo: Kensington

Add the Kensington StudioDock to the list of accessories thrown under the bus by the redesign of the 2021 iPad Pro. The 12.9-inch version of the upcoming tablet is just slightly thicker, but that’s enough to make the elaborate desktop stand incompatible.

This is sure to displease many of the people who bought the $399.99 accessory and were hoping to use it with future Apple tablets.

Apple rejects more than a third of App Store submissions

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App Store icon
Literally millions of iPhone and iPad applications are submitted to the App Store every year. Each has to be reviewed.
Photo: PhotoAtelier/Flickr

In testimony on Thursday in the Epic Games v. Apple trial, Trystan Kosmynka, the senior director for the App Store review process, confirmed that around 5 million appications are submitted to the software store per year. And roughly 35% are rejected.

Survivor’s new rugged 10.2-inch iPad cases combine kickstand with handstrap

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Survivor All-Terrain offers rugged protection for the iPad 8 and iPad 7.
The Survivor All-Terrain‘s four layers of shock-absorbing materials deliver military-grade drop protection to the iPad 8.
Photo: Survivor

A pair of new rugged cases for the basic 10.2-inch iPad promise military-grade drop protection, and each has a combination kickstand/handstrap to make using the device easier.

Survivor All-Terrain and Endurance are designed for hazardous conditions, like worksites and classrooms.

‘Shot on iPhone’ film reveals camera tricks for capturing the beauty of spring

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‘Full Bloom’ is a demonstration reel for what can be down with ann iPhone 12 camera
Full Bloom sets out to inspire budding photographers and videographers with what they can do with just an iPhone 12 camera.
Photo: Apple

Full Bloom, a new spring-themed video commissioned by Apple, includes some amazing photography done with an iPhone 12. It’s part of the long-running “Shot on iPhone” series that demonstrates the capabilities of the cameras built into Apple handsets. A highlight of the latest offering is stop-motion video done with flowers and fruit.

Don’t miss it:

Apple’s treatment of Netflix highlights arbitrary App Store rules

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Netflix Downloads for You puts suggested shows right onto your iPhone
Unlike Epic Games, Netflix wasn’t banned from the App Store when it did an end run around Apple’s in-app purchase system.
Photo: Netflix

The latest insider info brought to light by the Epic Games v. Apple trial is the lengths the Mac-maker went to convince Netflix to continue taking subscriptions in its iPhone/iPad app. But Netflix stopped anyway, and Apple took no action.

When Epic Games tried to do something similar, Apple banned all its software from the App Store.