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Ed Hardy - page 212

Satechi dual HomeKit plug makes your outlets smarter [Review]

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Satechi Dual Smart Outlet review
This smart plug could be the start of your home automation makeover.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Satechi’s dual-socket smart outlet lets you easily dip your toe into home automation. There’s nothing to install — you just plug it in — but the Dual Smart Outlet still allows you to control two different appliances from your iPhone, iPad, etc. It uses Apple’s HomeKit so it’s compatible with plenty of other accessories.

Find out how you can take a first step into controlling your home with Siri voice commands in our hands-on review.

iPhone’s notch and Face ID could disappear in 2021

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iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max
Dumping Face ID and a few other changes would allow Apple to make iPhones without a screen cutout.
Photo: Apple

Apple is reportedly giving up on facial recognition and instead going with a full-screen fingerprint scanner. This will allegedly allow the company to leave off the “notch” from every iPhone model released in 2021.

Thieves smash into Texas Apple store with a truck

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Apple Highland Village
Apple Highland Village before the smash-and-go robbery.
Photo: Apple

A gang of thieves used a stolen pickup truck to crash through the glass doors of an Apple Store in Houston last night.

What the bungling burglars hadn’t counted on was the deputy sheriff working as a night watchman in the Texas store.

Awesome new iPad lineup could already be in production

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iPad
Evidence that Apple is prepping new iPad tablets is popping up around the world.
Photo: Apple

The first details about multiple unannounced 2019 iPad models are leaking out. Several Apple tablets just appeared in a Eurasian intergovernmental agency’s database.

And production for at least one of these devices begins this month, according to a source in Asia.

Apple explores dual-screen MacBook with tactile keyboard

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Dual-screen MacBook patent
Apple wants to give MacBooks a second display with a tactile keyboard, ditching the built-in one.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple is considering a MacBook with two displays, with the second screen acting as a keyboard. By necessity, iPads already employ on-screen keyboards but these lack tactile feedback. Apple is looking for ways to make these virtual keys move when they’re typed on.

The company has been pursuing this project for years, as demonstrated by a patent it just received.

HBO Max taps Friends to take on Apple TV+

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HBO Max
Anyone who enjoys binging Friends episodes better learn this name.
Photo: Cult of Mac

The already crowded market for streaming video services is getting a little more so. WarnerMedia just unveiled HBO Max, which will include original programs as well as shows created for The WB like Batwoman. Most notably, this will be the only place to watch Friends re-runs.

It will face competition from Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix and many more.

Trump can’t block protesters from his Twitter, court says

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President Trump Twitter
Pres. Trump’s Twitter account can’t be just praise. He has to accept criticism too.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A federal appeals court ruled today that President Donald Trump can’t block dissenters from posting replies to his Twitter account.

This upholds an earlier ruling that Trump’s account is a public forum, and therefore preventing anyone from speaking is a violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution

Latest MacBooks still use Apple’s flawed butterfly keyboard

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MacBook Keyboard
The keyboard in the newest MacBooks have the same problem as earlier ones.
Photo: Apple

Update Nov. 13, 2019: The 16-inch MacBook Pro released today is the first in years without the Butterfly keyboard. And the head of Apple marketing talks about redesigning this notebook keyboard in an interview.

 

Original article:

The upgraded MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models released today are faster and better looking. However, they still include the keyboard that sent so many of their predecessors to the repair shop.

A rumored redesign apparently hasn’t happened yet.

Waterproof AirPods 3 could launch this year

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AirPods wall display is on show in New York.
AirPods are reportedly getting some design changes.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple updated the design of its AirPods in-ear headphones this spring but reportedly isn’t resting on its laurels. A redesigned third-generation version will be out later this year, according to a market-analysis firm.

As Jony Ive leaves, Apple employees keep calm and carry on

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apple park
A survey of Apple employees apparently found them ruffled but unpanicked after their company's head of product design announced he's leaving.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

If you’re looking for a clear voice on what Chief Design Officer Jony Ive leaving Apple means for the company, don’t look to current employees. Almost as many of them think the change will be good as think it will hurt the iPhone maker.

Still, a large majority are confident that Apple will remain a strong company without him.

Fresh public and developer iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 betas out today

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iPadOS gets a new home screen design.
Your iPad Pro could look like this if you’re running iPadOS 13.
Photo: Apple

There’s a cornucopia of Apple betas out today. For starters, the public can download their second pre-release versions of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13.

And, in a curious move, developers just got tweaked versions of the betas introduced last week.

New iPhone 11 processor should smoke Android’s best

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TSMC 7nm processor
Apple chips keep shrinking, which makes them more efficient.
Photo: TSMC

This fall’s iPhone models will supposedly include a processor able to outperform any Android handset. It apparently won’t be just a little bit better, either. The source for this unconfirmed report on the A13 chip says it will offer “a one-year advantage” in graphics performance. Multi-core performance supposedly will get a large boost, too.

Apple goes all in on classic Texas Hold’em app

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Apple Texas Hold’em
The updated version of Apple’s Texas Hold’em doesn’t need a clickwheel to play.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

If you loved playing Texas Hold’em on your iPod in 2006, we have great news for you. Apple has brought this classic game back with a significant redesign.

And, unlike the original version, it’s free.

Real-world 5G is 2.7x faster than 4G

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2020 could be Apple's greatest year so far
The US is well ahead of the rest of the world in 5G speeds.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple fans might be underwhelmed by 5G because they’ll have to wait another year for an iPhone with this replacement for LTE, but there’s a lot to look forward to. A new study of finds that users can expect the new technology to bring download speeds that are 2.7 times faster than 4G.

Minix’s amazing USB-C hub is also a 240GB hard drive [Review]

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Minix Neo Storage review
Minix Neo Storage is both a 4-port USB hub and an external SSD drive.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Minix Neo Storage is one of those inventions so clever they make you ask, “Why didn’t someone think of this before?” It combines into one small package two accessories many people carry around: an external hard drive with up to 240GB of capacity and a 4-port USB hub.

We tested it with both a MacBook Pro and an iPad Pro. We’re sharing our real-world experience.

Best summer tech: Turn up the heat with these great gadgets [Reviews]

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Summer tech
Summertime and the living is easy if your iPhone has the right gear.
Photo: Pexels

Summertime means everything from hitting the pool to heading out on vacation. And, of course, your tech is coming along for the ride.

We’ve compiled a collection of accessories you might find turn up the heat on summertime fun. There are smart glasses, travel chargers, wireless speakers and headphones, and more.

Jony Ive’s successor could someday replace Tim Cook at Apple’s helm

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Apple COO Jeff Williams
Williams is next in line for the CEO’s office.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s COO Jeff Williams won’t take on the departing Jony Ive’s title of Chief Design Officer but he’s nevertheless stepping into the role.

A new profile in The Wall Street Journal quotes sources who question whether Williams has the vision to take Ive’s place. Even so, some are looking at this executive to someday replace CEO Tim Cook.

PhotoGrip Qi is a camera grip and wireless charger in one [Review]

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Adonit PhotoGrip Qi
The Adonit PhotoGrip Qi is charging this iPhone XS Max while taking this picture.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Adonit actually found a way to make taking vacation pictures with your iPhone easier. The PhotoGrip Qi turns your phone into an old-school point-and-shoot. Plus it includes a tripod with a remote shutter button. On top of that, its flexible iPhone clamp wirelessly charges the handset.

I still remember the days before phone cameras. Come see how well Adonit did re-creating that experience.

It’s not just you, Apple online services hit with multiple problems [Updated]

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Out of Order
This sign should be posted on many of Apple’s iCloud services.
Photo: publicdomainpictures.net

Apple reports that every iCloud service is currently experiencing problems. This affects users of iCloud Drive, Keychain and many more.

However, this doesn’t seem to be cropping up for every user. And many of this company’s other online services are running fine.

Update (3:40pm): All today’s issues with Apple services have been cleared up.

Microsoft takes on macOS Catalina with Windows 1.0

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Microsoft Windows
Windows 1.0 is the operating system you haven’t been waiting for.
Photo: Microsoft

With great fanfare, Microsoft took to Twitter to announce Windows 1.0. Wait … what?

If this leaves you confused, you’re hardly alone. What this company’s plans are for an operating system that launched in 1985 is a complete mystery.

Using a mouse with your iPad just got way better [Opinion]

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iPad Pro with iPadOS 13 and mouse
iPadOS 13 Developer beta 3 brought real enhancements to mouse support.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple significantly improved mouse support in the latest iPadOS 13 beta for developers. Most notably, the cursor size and color became controllable. And scrolling is much smoother.

These and other changes are very good news to those who intend to regularly employ a mouse when using this tablet with a keyboard.

Tim Cook doesn’t censor Apple TV+ shows

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Apple TV+ could have 26 million paying subs by 2025; 2.6 million currently
Apple CEO Tim Cook isn’t telling the people creating Apple TV+ shows how to do their jobs.
Photo: Apple

Eddy Cue, Apple’s point man on music, video and other service offerings, denies reports that he and Tim Cook are forcing the producers of Apple TV+ shows make them all squeaky clean and family friendly.

Instead, he says the intent is to create a broad array of offerings for its upcoming streaming video service, including ones for “mature adults.”

myCharge battery sports built-in Lightning and USB-C cables [Review]

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myCharge HubMax Universal with iPhone and iPad Pro
iPhone, iPad Pro, and myCharge HubMax Universal: you’re ready to go.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Hands up if this ever happens to you: you remembered your iPhone or iPad and an external battery but forgot the charging cable. That frustration isn’t possible with the myCharge HubMax Universal as it has both a Lightning and a USB-C cable built in. Even better, this 10050 mAh battery has a pair of wall prongs so it can plug straight into a socket.

Go on the road with me as I put the HubMax Universal through its paces.