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Ed Hardy - page 242

iPhone 8 is officially the world’s hottest phone

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iphone 8
After being overshadowed by the iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus, the iPhone 8 is now outselling every other smartphone.
Photo: Apple

For the first time ever, the iPhone 8 is the world’s best-selling smartphone. It beat out the Samsung Galaxy S9 and the iPhone X to take that spot.

Apple has three of the top ten most popular devices, something no other company can boast.

Scientists answer the question, are iPhone apps spying on us?

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James Bond
James Bond is a spy, but what about your iPhone? People want to know.
Photo: Eon Pictures

Ever been discussing some product to your friends and then had an ad for it appear on your iPhone the next day? It’s happened enough that people want to know “Is my phone listening to me all the time?”

A group of computer scientists decided to test this phobia, which they dubbed panoptispy: the fear that everyone is being spied on.

New concept art shows 6.1-inch iPhone in all its glory

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2018 iPhone compared to 2017 iPhone X
The 6.1-inch model in Apple's 2018 iPhone lineup is noticeably larger than 2017's iPhone X.
Photo: Jonas Dähnert

There have now been enough rumors and apparent leaks that there’s little room for doubt that Apple plans an iPhone with an 6.1-inch screen for this fall. Artists have been busy turning the unconfirmed details into images.

The latest compares this upcoming model with the iPhone X. The two look similar, except for the larger display on the 2018 iPhone.

Samsung shows Apple what the 2018 iPad Pro should look like

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Apple should follow the lead of the Samsung Galaxy S4.
The 2018 iPad Pro models should follow Samsung's lead by significantly cutting the size of some screen bezels.
Photo: AndroidHeadlines

A leaked image of an upcoming Android tablet from Samsung should catch the attention of Apple. It leaves off its large top and bottom screen bezels, something many potential iPad Pro buyers have been hoping for.

To accomplish its design change, the rumored Galaxy Tab S4 includes no home button. That’s also likely to be on Apple’s agenda.

Google admits third-party developers can read your emails

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Google-Chrome
Real human developers can read your Gmail messages. But only if you let them.
Photo: Google

Privacy is a hot-button issue in 2018, and the latest target is Google after it was revealed that developers of third-party apps can read your Gmail messages. 

The thing is, you gave the application permission to do that. You just don’t remember. Or weren’t paying attention.

It really pays to be an iOS developer

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Swift Playgrounds
Swift Playgrounds is Apple's tool for learning to code iPhone and iPad software. It's the first step to earning one of the high iOS developer salaries.
Photo: Apple

Want to make mad bank? Learn to program iOS apps. The career website Dice compiled average iOS developer salaries, and the numbers are a touch breathtaking.

The results are broken out by geographical area, with cities that have the highest costs of living also offering the most generous salaries. But even the lowest paychecks are enough to get that Porsche you’ve been wanting. Or a home and family. Whichever.

Streaming TV is getting pricier by the minute

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Apple TV service facing competition
Unfortunately, Streaming TV cost has gone up for all of the biggest players in this market.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

People looking to trim their cable bill turn to a variety of services that offer a smaller selection of channels streamed live over the internet. These streaming TV services go for a substantially lower cost than a traditional cable package.

But many of these aren’t as cheap as they once were. DirectTV Now, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV and YouTube TV have all hiked prices recently.

Siri ‘heckled’ Britain’s unsuspecting defense secretary

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Siri chimed in when the UK's Defense Minister was speaking to Parliament.
Siri chimed in when the UK's Defense Minister was speaking to Parliament.
Screenshot: Independent

The U.K’s Gavin Williamson was giving a speech today when he was interrupted. That’s not unusual in the House of Commons, but in this case it was Siri rudely talking over the Defense Secretary.

Williamson was talking about Syria, and something he said was close enough to “Hey Siri” to activate his iPhone’s voice-control system. He and the MPs present got a laugh out of.

‘Coffee Lake’ chips could give 2018 MacBook Pro a jolt

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The 2018 MacBook Pro is expected to look much like its predecessor.
Despite faster connections, display support hasn’t improved.
Photo: Apple

Apple is apparently planning to upgrade the MacBook Pro line to the latest generation of Intel processors. Benchmarks for a macOS laptop running a “Coffee Lake” chip showed up on Geekbench.

The eight-generation Core i7-8559U CPU in this device has a base frequency of 2.7GHz, but a maximum turbo speed of 4.5GHz. It has 4 cores and 8 threads, and was built with a 14nm process.

HTC is falling to pieces thanks to Apple

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HTC Dream was the first Android phone.
HTC Dream was the first Android phone. But now its maker could be out of business in a year.
Photo: T-Mobile

HTC, once among Apple’s top rivals in the smartphone market, is laying off a quarter of its workforce. This is just the latest step in the slow collapse of the Taiwanese company.

This isn’t the result of some terrible misstep. There just doesn’t appear to be room in the current phone market for anyone but Apple, Samsung, and China-based phone-makers.

Comcast throttles Xfinity Mobile customers

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Xfinity Mobile is getting throttled.
Videos played over Xfinity Mobile will appear at a lower resolution, and tethering is getting slowed down.

Comcast put a limit on video resolution for its Xfinity Mobile subscribers. Going forward, the maximum will be 480p. 

In addition, subscribers to its unlimited data plan get throttled to 3G speeds when acting as a hotspot for another device.

iOS 11.4.1 and macOS 10.13.6 are nearly ready for release

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iOS 11
There are fresh beta versions of iOS and macOS. But they probably aren't the ones you're waiting for.
Photo: Apple

The wait is nearing the end for the next iPhone and Mac operating systems. However, these aren’t the big upgrades announced last month. Instead, iOS 11.4.1 and macOS 10.13.6 will fix bugs in the current versions.

Apple just released the fifth beta version of each of these. The full release can’t be far behind.

2018 iPhone getting a big RAM boost

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2018 iPhone rumors 3D mockups
Benchmark scores for a prototype 2018 iPhone X Plus reveal the amount of RAM and the processor speed, plus an early look at the performance.
Photo: Mac Otakara

Someone testing a 2018 iPhone prototype inadvertently uploaded benchmark results for this device. Among the other details revealed is an indication that this will be the first iPhone with 4GB of RAM.

Naturally, the Geekbench results also include the performance. However, with the model still months away, scores are a bit underwhelming.

Apple’s CarPlay is less distracting than your car’s built-in infotainment system

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BMW cancels its ridiculous CarPlay subscription fee
BMW cancels its ridiculous CarPlay subscription fee
Photo: Apple

Many new cars come with in-dash navigation and entertainment systems created by automobile makers. For safer, less-distracted driving, they should use Apple CarPlay instead.

That’s the result of a study done by AAA that compared CarPlay to Google’s Android Auto and the native infotainment systems found in five 2017/2018 vehicles.

Supreme Court deals a blow to Apple Pay

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Apple Pay
When you use Apple Pay, you save the merchant money, But that's not something retailers can tell American Express users.
Photo: Apple

The Supreme Court handed down a number of high-profile rulings this week. One that didn’t get much attention will have a negative effect on Apple Pay.

The SCOTUS decided that retail store owners who accept American Express can not suggest to customers who bring out this card that they use another method of payment. That includes Apple Pay, even though this iPhone payment system would save the merchant money.

Magical Hogwarts Mystery rakes in $40 million and counting

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Harry Potter
Technically, Hogwarts Mystery is free, but in-app purchases have generated millions for its developer.
Photo: Jam City, Inc.

An RPG set in the Harry Potter universe is a huge hit. Hogwarts Mystery only debuted two months ago and has already made its developers $40 million.

There are a couple of reasons for this success. The obvious one is it’s Harry Potter. Duh. But the other is that this game so frequently requests in-app purchases that it’s garnered heavy criticism.

Get $100 for using this iPhone-only bank account

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The Finn by Chase app helps track spending.
The Finn by Chase iOS app helps track spending. You can even rate your purchases.
Photo: JPMorgan CHase

JPMorgan Chase now offers an all-digital bank account. Finn by Chase is for people who prefer to do everything on a phone, as this checking and saving account is only accessible on an iPhone or iPad.

To grab people’s attention, the bank will give $100 to new customers who complete at least 10 qualifying transactions within 60 days of opening the account.

Massive explosions predicted during Fortnite event tomorrow

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Fortnite event happening Saturday
Fortnite could pop a big rocket on Saturday.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Something is going to happen in the Fortnite game tomorrow. What that will be is a bit of a mystery, but it’s causing a lot of buzz.

Whatever the deal is, it’s happening at 1:30 pm Eastern Time on Saturday. In-game TV screens are showing a countdown clock, and that’s when it hits the zero hour.

New Seattle Apple Store focuses on education rather than products

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Seattle Apple Store has a giant screen
A giant screen for Today at Apple classes is the focus of the Seattle Apple Store.
Photo: Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times

You can still buy MacBooks and iPads at new Apple Store in Seattle, but that’s not the main emphasis. Instead, this retail location is built around a giant screen that’s used for educational events.

Of course, these educational events are all product related, like how to take better pictures with an iPhone. Or run a small business with an iPad.

Apple Maps getting revamped to suck less

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Apple Maps
After going from terrible to mediocre, Apple Maps is set to become good.
Photo: Apple

Apple has begun gathering its own data about the U.S. road network, rather than buying this information from other companies. The goal is to significantly improve Apple Maps.

This app was a disaster when it launched 6 years ago, and although there have been significant improvements, it has been the butt of jokes ever since. Apple wants to change that.

Trump praises Apple at groundbreaking for Foxconn’s U.S. plant

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President Trump: Apple encryption could protect ‘criminal minds’
At a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wisconsin Foxconn plant, President Trump applauded Apple's contribution to the U.S.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

A groundbreaking ceremony today for a huge Foxconn plant was attended by President Trump. Foxconn is best known for assembling the iPhone, but this plant in the Midwest will produce LCD screens.

Although Apple isn’t directly involved with the production facility, the president still used his speech this morning to applaud the iPhone maker.

Why Apple should build a car

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Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Something like this concept Apple car would become a reality if a couple of analysts are correct.
Image: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

For the last few years, Apple has been investigating making autonomous cars, even though this is well outside its core competency of computers and their accessories.

The move leaves many observers scratching their heads, but a pair of analysts put together reasons why self-driving automobiles should be Apple’s next product category.

5 key areas Siri needs to improve in

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Siri Alexa in voice report
A survey found what people use their smartspeakers for, which should serve as a blueprint for Siri improvements.
Photo: Apple

Most people would agree that Siri is way behind its competitors. But Apple recently made moves that indicate it’s working to improve this voice assistant.

A British survey discovered what smartspeaker owners actually use them for. This could help Apple decide what new features to add to Siri, as well as the ones that need shoring up.

More powerful HomeKit Window AC units hit store shelves

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GE HomeKit window AC unit
This GE window AC unit is HomeKit compatible, making it far more intelligent than typical ones.
Photo: GE

The first window air conditioning unit with HomeKit launched this spring, and now GE has followed up with several more that can cool larger areas.

When people think of home automation, they generally think of whole-house systems. But that’s overkill in cooler climes. These single-room window AC units can be controlled by an iPhone app from anywhere.

Millions of Americans watching World Cup on their iPhone or iPad

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World Cup iPhone watching is a thing.
Extremely heavy downloads of apps like Fox Sports Go show that World Cup iPhone watching is a thing.
Photo: Fox

Living in America, it’s sometimes easy to forget the FIFA World Cup is going on now in Russia. Soccer isn’t one of the Big Four U.S. sports. Heck, most Americans don’t even call it by the right name.

But the fact that new downloads of the Fox Sports Go app grew 950 percent during the first week of the World Cup shows there are vast numbers of people living in this country watching the matches on their phones or tablets.