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Ed Hardy - page 234

Netflix finally makes downloads smarter for iOS users

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75% of Netflix users have no plans to jump ship to Apple TV+ (right away)
The Netflix app can now be sure you always have the next episode of your favorite show downloaded.
Photo: Stock Catalog/Flickr CC

A handy Netflix feature announced last summer has come to iOS at long last: the app can automatically download episodes of your favorite shows.

With Smart Downloads, watching a TV episode offline results in the next episode automatically being transferred as soon as a Wi-Fi connection is available.

Millenials pick YouTube over Apple as top brand

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YouTube in Safari on iMac Pro
Apple lost to YouTube in a brand-ranking survey among millenials, but slipped only to second place.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

YouTube is labeled the new “most intimate brand” according to a survey of millennials. Apple took the title last year, but now drops to second place.

Other brands that did well include Netflix and Disney,  Android-maker Google came in at ninth place. Samsung didn’t make the top ten.

Safari dumps failed ‘Do Not Track’ privacy setting

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Do Not Track is gone, replaced with Prevent Cross-Site Tracking.
Do Not Track is gone, replaced with Prevent Cross-Site Tracking.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Safari’s “Do Not Track” setting was supposed to protect us from advertisers following us from website to website but it never worked like it was supposed to and Apple has given up on it.

Instead, the web browser has what Apple calls Intelligent Tracking Prevention.

Watch for password phishing if your iPhone gets stolen

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GrayKey can bypass iPhone security
The thief who has your stolen iPhone will use surprisingly sophisticated means to trick your passwords out of you.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

If your iPhone is ever lost or stolen, be extra careful about scammers attempting trick your Apple ID password from you. iPhone thieves reportedly have an elaborate system set up to scam this information, as it’s needed to make a stolen device much more valuable.

Tim Cook hypes up new retail boss in email to employees

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Apple’s new Senior Vice President of Retail + People Deirdre O’Brien with Tim Cook.
Apple’s new Senior Vice President of Retail + People Deirdre O’Brien with Tim Cook and her predecessor, Angela Ahrendts.
Photo: Apple

Apple‘s CEO told his employees that the company’s new head of retail sales is “one of Apple’s most passionate and experienced advocates for our customers and employees.” Tim Cook also highlighted Deirdre O’Brien’s previous experience with Apple retail operations.

These comments came in an email sent this morning to retail emplyees.  The full text of this is now available.

Emojis coming to iOS will be more inclusive

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Here’s a handful of the emoji headed for your iPhone.
Here’s a handful of the emoji headed for your iPhone.
Photo: Unicode Consortium

If you’ve been frustrated because there’s not a sloth emoji, the Unicode Consortium has come to your rescue. It’s just announced lots of new emojis that will likely make their appearance in this fall’s iOS update.

These reflect the diversity in our society, including men and women in wheelchairs, people who are deaf, and people who are blind. 

Tesla hits the road with sleek iPhone cases

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Tesla just started offering these two iPhone cases.
Tesla just started offering these two iPhone cases.
Photo: Tesla

Proud Tesla owners can pick up an iPhone case designed by the company that made their car.

A pair of these can be purchased on the new Tesla store on Amazon. There are some other products as well, like car models.

Here’s how cool iOS 13’s dark mode could look

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There’s already a basic sort of dark mode in iOS, but there’s room for improvement.
There’s already a basic sort of dark mode in iOS, but there’s room for improvement.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A major new feature in iOS 13 is expected to be a system-wide dark mode, and a designer put together some concept renders of what this could offer.

This goes beyond just inverting pixel colors, which is already possible in iOS.

Android phones might finally catch up to Apple’s Face ID

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face id
The company that sells Apple a critical component for Face ID expects to have more customers this year.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone’s multi-year lead in facial recognition could finally be nearing its end, as one of the third-party suppliers for the hardware in Face ID says it expects to start selling its 3D sensors to more companies this year.

AirPlay 2 support could make your Roku way better

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AirPlay 2
Streaming TV from your iPhone could soon be as easy as getting an inexpensive Roku box.
Photo: Apple

iPhone, iPad and Mac should soon easily stream video to Roku boxes if an unconfirmed report is correct. Roku is reportedly talking with Apple about adding AirPlay 2 to its products. 

Apple has recently been working to significantly broaden the availability of its proprietary video and audio protocol.

AT&T’s bogus ‘5G E’ icon pops up on iPhones

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No matter what your AT&T iPhone says, everyone else says “5G E” is 4G.
No matter what your AT&T iPhone says, everyone else says “5G E” is 4G.
Photo: Cult of Mac/@Siddavarapu

iPhone is getting caught up in AT&T’s controversial rebranding of its LTE network as “5G Evolution.” Some developers who installed today’s iOS 12.2 update noticed that their iPhone claims to be connected to a “5G E” network.

All of AT&T’s competitors say that this network is 4G, but that hasn’t stopped the carrier.

LG’s gorgeous 4K monitor looks perfect for Macs

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The name of the LG 32UL750-W doesn’t roll off the tongue.
The name of the LG 32UL750-W doesn’t roll off the tongue, but it might be right for your Mac.
Photo: LG

A new 31.5-inch LG monitor costs a bit more than entry-level screens, but offers 4K resolution, wide viewing angles, and a very good contrast ratio.  There’s even a built-in USB hub.

Best of all, the LG 32UL750-W has a USB-C port so it can be easily connected to recent MacBooks, Mac desktops, and even the new iPad Pro.

HoloLens creator leaves Apple AR headset team

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With HoloLens, Microsoft enters the age of holographic computing. Photo: Microsoft
There’s been a slight setback at Apple’s secret team creating augmented reality smartglasses, like the ones being demonstrated here.
Photo: Microsoft

One of the designers of Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented reality (AR) smartglasses has left Apple.

Although exactly what Avi Bar-Zeev was working on is a secret, it was almost certainly a project to develop Apple’s own AR glasses.

Yet another big bank says Apple should buy Netflix

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Netflix would be a huge boon to the Apple TV streaming service, says an analyst.
Netflix would be a huge boon to the Apple TV streaming service, says an analyst.
Photo: Global X/Flickr CC

There’s an easy way for Apple to make its rumored streaming video service a hit: buy Netflix. That’s the suggestion of an analyst from J.P. Morgan, who admits it would be very expensive.

And the analyst has recommendations for two other big Apple acquisitions.

Apple staffing up its streaming video service

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Apple TV service facing competition
The rumored Apple TV streaming service for Mac, iPhone, etc. needs people to run it. People who Apple might be hiring already.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple is hiring in its media group devoted to audiovisual media. After digging through the company’s job openings in recent months, an analyst believes these new employees are for the anticipated Apple TV streaming service.

This company has been paying to have TV shows and movies produced for months, but has so far kept quiet about its plans. That’s expected to change soon.

This iPad Pro case is rugged without excess bulk [Review]

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The Urban Armor Gear Metropolis is both a protective case and an iPad Pro stand.
The Urban Armor Gear Metropolis is both a protective case and an iPad Pro stand.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The latest rugged folio case from Urban Armor Gear protects the 2018 iPad Pro models without adding too much bulk. The Metropolis also adds some industrial style, and it includes an Apple Pencil holder.

Don’t miss our review of this rugged folio that starts at $59.95.

Future MacBook keyboards could be dust-proof

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Apple is considering a MacBook with a glass keyboard, not a traditional one.
Apple is considering a MacBook with a glass keyboard, not a traditional one.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple developed a design for a MacBook keyboard that’s slim, lightweight, silent and can’t possibly have problems with grit in the keys. That’s because it consists of a sheet of glass with raised keys.

Obviously there are drawbacks, but this proposal shows the company’s efforts to innovate.

iPad Pro’s winning redesign takes sting out of iPhone slump

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2018 iPad Pro Smart Keyboard
The launch of the 2018 iPad Pro gave Apple a stellar holiday season in tablet sales.
Photo: Apple

iPad shipments grew by double digits last quarter, giving Apple its best holiday period for tablet sales since 2015.  Shipments of slates and 2-in-1s had dropped earlier in the year, but analysts correctly predicted this was the result of people holding off for the new iPad Pro.

Some of Apple’s rivals also saw gains at the end of 2018.

Apple might bring dark mode to iOS 13

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iOS 11 dark mode
iOS 12 has an inverted colors option, but it's not a true dark mode.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

One of the hottest features in macOS Mojave could make the jump to iOS soon: Dark mode is reportedly coming in the update expected this fall.

In addition, iPads running iOS 13 could get significant interface improvements, like better side-by-side multitasking.

Samsung holiday sales beat iPhone for first time in years

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Samsung Galaxy S9
It seems more people wanted to gift Galaxy phones than iPhones during the holidays.
Photo: Samsung

Apple’s last quarter was so bad the company broke its long-running streak of outselling Samsung during the holiday gift season.

Going back for several years, the maker of the Galaxy line of Android handsets always outsold Apple during the first three quarters, and in total sales for the whole year, but iPhone would came out on top in Q4. Not last quarter.

Apple apparently not ending iOS downgrades

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The official iOS 12 release date is next week, but you can download it now.
The newest beta of iTunes blocks people from downgrading their iPhone to an earlier iOS version, but it’s apparently a bug not a feature.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The most recent beta of iTunes reportedly won’t allow iPhone and iPad owners to reinstall an older iOS version. This is apparently the result of a bug rather than a change of policy by Apple.

It seems Apple will continue to allow users to downgrade to a previous version if a serious problem is found in a new one.

GoodReader 5 brings split-screen documents to iPad

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iPad users can view two documents side-by-side with GoodReader 5.
The iPad pre-dated the iPhone, at least inside Apple.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The latest version of GoodReader enables iPad users to view two documents side-by-side. It also offers a long list of  improvements to its built-in PDF viewer and methods for securing files.

This iOS app debuted back in 2009, not long after the original iPad, and has been called a Swiss army knife of file managers.

Apple won’t say how many iPhones it sold, but here’s a good guess

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Long-term iPhone XR demand could eventually lead to greater sales than the iPhone XS.
iPhone sales last quarter were down considerably year-over-year. But the company’s other products did quite well.
Photo: Apple

Not included in the Q4 financial results Apple just announced was the number of iPhone units sold. An analyst firm quickly filled in the gap, estimating that 65.9 million iOS handsets shipped in the last quarter of 2018, down significantly.

This is the first quarterly earnings announcement in which Apple didn’t reveal how many iPhone, Mac, and iPad units it had sold.

Budget 2019 iPad needs to include Apple Keyboard [Opinion]

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A budget iPad with Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil would be tough competition for a Chromebook.
A budget iPad with Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil would be tough competition for a Chromebook.
Photo: Apple

Details  on an upcoming pair of iPad models are already trickling out, and today came word that these tablets might support an Apple clip-on keyboard. At least one of these models is expected to target the classroom, making the release of a Smart Keyboard for it a very welcome addition.

This change might help Apple regain some of the ground it’s lost in education.

Beware: Shortcuts could steal your data

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Shortcuts app from iOS 12
Siri Shortcuts could be doing more than you think, like invading your privacy.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Malicious Siri Shortcuts are a real possibility warns one developer, so users need to start treating all of them as potential threats. He calls on Apple to fix their problems.

Shortcuts debuted last fall in iOS 12. They are small apps that can be used to automate iOS features. That apparently makes them well suited for creating malware.