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Ed Hardy - page 258

Supreme Court to rule whether developers can sue Apple

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apps wwdc screenshot
Developers suing Apple over the 30 percent App Store commission have to take their argument to the SCOTUS.
Photo: Apple

Software developers filed a lawsuit years ago claiming Apple uses the App Store to enforce a monopoly on iOS software. Apple argues that developers don’t have the right to bring this lawsuit, only consumers do.

The legal maneuvering has dragged on, but U.S. Supreme Court just announced that it will take up the question during its next term, which starts in October.

5G standard completed, ready to provide ubiquitous gigabit internet

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iPhone 5G
A 5G iPhone isn't right around the corner, but it just moved a lot closer.
Graphic: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

4G LTE will soon be supplanted by something better, stronger, and faster. But before 5G can be rolled out, it had to pass an important hurdle: a final design needed to be agreed apron.

The 3GPP agreed on a standard this week, opening the way to significantly faster browsing and downloads.

What iPhone X without the ‘notch’ would look like

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Vivo NEX shows how the iPhone X could have looked
The Vivo NEX shows how the iPhone X without the notch could have looked.
Photo: Vivo

Even though the iPhone X has proved very popular, its screen cutout nevertheless has critics. A rival phone maker unveiled a device that shows why Apple went with the design it did.

The Vivo NEX has a nearly edge-to-edge screen, with no notch in sight. This was accomplished by putting the front-facing camera on pop-out tab. An easily broken tab.

Don’t take your iPhone, iPad, or MacBook to the World Cup

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soccer
While you're enjoying some football, criminals might be grabbing your credit card number thanks to some iPhone hacking.
Photo: Mxmystro/Flickr

The FIFA World Cup, soccer/football’s quadrennial championship, kicked off this week in Russia, and literally billions around the world are watching. If you’re planning to actually attend one of the matches, be sure to leave behind your personal electronics.

This is the recommendation of both British and American government security services. They warn that the odds of your devices being hacked in Russia are very high.

Samsung Galaxy X folding phone could cost twice as much as iPhone X

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Samsung's concept folding smartphone.
Samsung concept folding device shows what the Galaxy X could look like.
Photo: Samsung

Apple and Samsung are both supposedly working on foldable phones. The Korean company will get its out first though, but hold onto your wallet, it’s going to be shockingly expensive.

An analyst predicts that this device, allegedly called the Galaxy X, will cost about 2M Korean won, or $1815. That’s nearly double the iPhone X, which drew criticism for its $999 price tag.

Apple lures away senior self-driving car engineer from Google’s Waymo

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Project Titan
One of Alphabet-subsidiary Weymo's senior engineers now works on Apple autonomous cars like this one.
Photo: Idiggapple/Twitter

Jaime Waydo is leaving Google’s Waymo for Apple. This should help silence anyone who doubts that Apple is serious about its autonomous car efforts.

Waydo describes her old job at this Alphabet subsidiary as “Helping make self driving cars a reality!” Presumably, that’s what she’ll be doing in her new position too.

Rapha teams with Apple for exclusive line of bags and sleeves

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Apple Rapha Mini Messenger Bag
Apple's Rapha Mini Messenger Bag can attach to your bicycle, or be worn around the waist or over the shoulder.
Photo: Apple

There’s a new line of bags, totes, and sleeves on the Apple Store today. Rapha produced these just for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users.

Rapha is a sportswear brand focused on clothing and accessories related to road bicycle racing. Its new Apple offerings are aimed at commuters, though.

Turns out iOS 12 isn’t safe from ‘brute force’ iPhone unlockers

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iphone-unlock-640x426
Apple and a company that sells an iPhone unlocking tool are in a back-and-forth battle over your privacy.

Apple put a feature in the first iOS 12 beta designed specifically to thwart iPhone unlocking tools that use the Lightning port to get access to the device. But Grayshift, maker of a prominent unlocking tool, says it already has a workaround.

This is good news for the many law enforcement agencies around the U.S.  who’ve invested in Grayshift’s GrayKey unlocker. It’s not so good for anyone who wants to be sure their iPhone can’t be hacked.

iWork for iOS gets audio recording, greater Apple Pencil support

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Smart Annotations in Numbers on iPad
Improvements to smart annotations in Pages are just one of myriad changes in iWork for iOS and Mac released today.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Updates to all the apps in the Apple iWork for iOS suite boast many additional features. Pages’ and Numbers’ ability to record, edit, and play audio is just the start. In both those, and Keynote too, an Apple Pencil can be used to select and scroll. And the are plenty more.

There are also enhancements in iWork for Mac.

Verizon’s new data plan even more unlimited than its other unlimited plans

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verizon-adds-20-fee-to-all-smartphone-upgrades-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads20160314777958118_8f2ab75b15_k-jpg
For about $100 a month, you can use more than 2GB of 4G LTE data each day without worrying about throttling.
Photo: Verizon

Verizon just created a new top tier to its unlimited data plans. It was designed for “super users who want the most,” according to the carrier.

The Above Unlimited plan offers 75GB of unthrottled 4G LTE data, and 20GB of unthrottled hotspot data, for $95 a month.

2018 iPhone really needs a feature you’ve never heard of

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6.5- and 6.1-inch 2018 iPhone models
The 2018 iPhone offerings supposedly will include these 6.5- and 6.1-inch models. Hopefully, a behind-the-screens feature will make them faster.
Photo: OnLeaks

The 2018 iPhone models are rumored to have larger screens, better processors, and other enhancements. But there’s one feature that, even though we’ve heard nothing about it, we should strongly hope is in Apple’s next smartphones: 4×4 MIMO.

This is a cellular wireless data technology that gives the Samsung Galaxy S9 a substantial speed advantage over the iPhone X.

Twitter redesign doubles down on news

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Twitter
Twitter is going to show you lots of news, all through the app. Hopefully that's what you want.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

A Twitter redesign will put breaking news and sports events at the top of your timeline. Expect updated iOS and Android apps to emphasize current happenings over casual chat.

Apparently being brushed under the rug are pictures of your cat. Twitter seems to want people to be consumers of Tweets, not creators.

Apple commits to blocking iPhone unlockers used by police

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GrayKey can bypass iPhone security
Apple has publicly committed to blocking iPhone unlocking tools, even though these are often used by law enforcement.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

It’s official: Apple will implement an iOS feature designed to block iPhone unlocking tools that use the Lightning port. The company spoke publicly today about its plans for the first time.

The move is controversial because law enforcement uses these unlocking tools to access iPhone units involved in criminal investigations.

Hilde Lysiak’s amazing real-life girl-detective story coming to Apple TV

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A show about girl reporter Hilde Lysiak is coming to Apple TV.
Girl reporter Hilde Lysiak solved a murder when she was 9 years old. What have you done today?
Photo: Scholastic

Ever since the days of Nancy Drew, girl detectives have been a staple of young adult fiction. But Hilde Lysiak is the real deal: at 9 years old, she solved a murder.

Apple purchased the TV rights to her story, and will turn it into a 10-episode series. The show, which is as-yet untitled, will be a mystery drama.

Neural networks make Google Translate app smarter, more accurate while offline

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Google Translate is now better, even offline
On-device learning should make the Google Translate app much better at its job.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Neural machine translation (NMT) has made the online version of Google Translate more accurate for years. Today, this AI feature was added to the iOS and Android apps so it can be used offline.

NTM allows the software to learn over time to create better, more natural translations. And this function is available while traveling without a local data plan.

Verizon, T-Mobile offer best 4G LTE speeds, but AT&T, Sprint not so much

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Best 4G
Wireless data performance is very important for your iPhone. Getting the best LTE speed is as important as having the fastest processor.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Verizon offers the fastest 4G LTE performance across the U.S., with Big Red coming in first in five of the six regions in a new nationwide study of wireless data speeds. 

T-Mobile is not too far behind. It actually boasts the best LTE speed in the Southeast region, and sits in second place in all the rest.

Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac previews improved inking features and more

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Focus Mode in Word from Office 2019 for Mac
Among the new features in Office 2019 for Mac is Focus Mode in Word.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft just introduced the commercial preview of Office 2019 for Mac, with the full release scheduled for the second half of this year. 

New features include a roaming pencil case and ribbon customizations in all these Office apps. There’s a focus mode coming in Word, while Excel is getting new charts and functions, including CONCAT, TEXTJOIN, IFS, and SWITCH.

MacBook Pro 2017 suffers from SSD/logic board problem

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MacBook Pro without a Touch Bar
If the SDD in a 2017 MacBook Pro fails, the logic board needs to be replaced, and vice versa.
Photo: Apple

The 13-inch Touch Bar-less MacBook Pro 2017 has a problem that requires the solid state drive and the logic board to be replaced if either one fails. 

This warning comes from Apple, who notified its stores and authorized repair providers of the issue.

iPhone X dethroned as world’s top-selling smartphone

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iPhone X laying down
The iPhone X isn't top dog any more. It remains Apple best seller though.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s flagship handset has passed its peak popularity. That’s not surprising, given that the iPhone X hit the market more than six months ago. Still, it once could boast of being the world’s best-selling smartphone.

The Galaxy S9+ took its place at the head of the pack. Samsung’s top-of-the-line model debuted early this spring.

Samsung wants retrial in patent infringement lawsuit with Apple

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apple-asks-supreme-court-to-reject-samsungs-unexceptional-appeal-2-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201602Galaxy-S6-edge-iPhone-6s-jpg
The Samsung patent infringement lawsuit isn't over, as the Android phone maker still tries to wiggle out of its punishment.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Last month, a jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $539M for infringing on its patents. Now, the Korean company wants that decision thrown out.

It again says it should pay a far, far smaller amount for stealing many of the design elements of the iPhone.

Small company claims Apple stole Shortcuts logo

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Apple Shortcuts vs. the Sift logo
Is the Apple Shortcuts logo a ripoff of this company's corporate one?
Graphic: Apple/Shift

Shortcuts is a cool feature in iOS 12 that carries out a collection on actions with a single Siri command. But a startup accuses Apple of stealing its logo.

The company’s name is Shift, and both it and the Apple Shortcuts app have logos that are stylized versions of the letter ‘s.’ Additionally, both use similar colors: blue and magenta.

Google again follows Apple’s lead, removes meat from salad emoji

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Salad emoji from various companies
At the urging of vegans, the egg is being removed from Google's salad emoji, pictured at right. Apple's, Samsung's, and other's versions are already meat-less.
Graphic: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Google has bowed to pressure from vegans and taken the egg out of Android’s salad emoji.

This isn’t something iPhone users need concern themselves with, as Apple’s version is already meatless.

Beautiful new renders show upcoming 6.5- and 6.1-inch iPhone models

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6.5- and 6.1-inch 2018 iPhone models
Complications could keep us waiting for Apple’s more affordable iPhone.
Photo: OnLeaks

Apple’s 2018 iPhone plans reportedly include three models launching this September. One will be an upgraded version of the iPhone X, but the other two are more interesting. They’re months away from being announced, but a new render shows what both might look like.

The 6.5-inch version on the left has been called the iPhone X Plus, as it’s larger than last year’s 5.8-inch one. In the artist’s concept image, it sits next to a 6.1-inch iPhone that, unfortunately, might not look like this.

iOS 12 definitely speeds up your iPhone

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iOS 12
So far, the iOS 12 performance increases seem to living up to Apple's promises.
Photo: Apple

WWDC 2018 bug Cult of MacApple took to the WWDC stage to promise that iOS 12 would offer better performance than the iPhone’s current operating system. And tests on the first beta seem to bear this out, even on older devices.

Side-by-side comparisons between iOS 12 beta 1 and version 11.4 show clear speed improvements. Benchmark scores show marginal increases.

Americans are insanely addicted to their phones

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iPhone Hold
Check Facebook in the bathroom? That doesn't make you weird, just an average American. But maybe we all have phone addiction.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

We really love our phones. Maybe too much. 10 percent of respondents to a recent survey have checked their phone during sex. Almost a quarter (22 percent) can’t make it through a shower without a look. But Apple is trying to help.

The survey also took a quick look at American’s attitudes toward 5G. Even though this ultra-fast cellular wireless network technology is going to start rolling out later this year, 44% of U.S. adults have never heard of it.