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Lewis Wallace - page 23

Neil Young rips Apple Music over streaming audio quality

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Neil Young takes Apple Music to task for
Neil Young takes Apple Music to task for "low quality" audio tracks.
Photo: Takahiro Kyono/Flickr CC

Canadian rocker Neil Young, an outspoken promoter of high-definition audio, calls out Apple in his latest diatribe about declining standards in the streaming music biz.

While ripping Apple Music for distributing what he calls “low-quality audio,” he throws down the gauntlet and challenges Apple to make music great again.

Logitech Slim Combo gives iPad Pro a comfy keyboard [Review]

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The Logitech Slim Combo iPad Pro keyboard case puts a rugged cover on your precious tablet. But it's not for everyone.
The Slim Combo puts a rugged cover on your precious iPad Pro. But it's not for everyone.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

If you use the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, you know it’s got the power to replace a MacBook for some tasks (especially if you’re running iOS 11, which gives your iPad superpowers).

The Logitech Slim Combo case, with a clamshell design and a complete keyboard, makes your iPad Pro seem even more like a laptop than ever. It’s not all super-portable bliss, though. A couple of strange design choices make you painfully aware that the Slim Combo isn’t an Apple product.

This iPhone case doubles as a lint roller

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The Stitched iPhone case lint roller
The Stitched iPhone case helps you look your best in an unusual way.
Photo: Stitched Products

Here’s one for the crazy cat ladies: The Stitched iPhone case works like a lint roller to remove hair, dust and other undesirable detritus from your clothes.

We’ve seen a lot of iPhone cases over the years, but never one like this!

Luxurious leather makes this Apple Watch band feel buttery-smooth [Review]

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clessant
Clessant uses prized Barenia leather from the Haas Tannery in France.
Photo: Clessant

Best List: Clessant Black Barenia Apple Watch Band

When it comes to fashion, it’s hard to beat basic black. However, sometimes you want a little something extra — a design that adds subtle interest without going over the top. The Clessant Black Barenia Apple Watch band does the trick, thanks to fine off-white stitching that looks almost like racing stripes.

Let Apple take you on an iPhone X guided tour

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Guided tour of iPhone X on YouTube
Are you ready for a guided tour of iPhone X?
Photo: Apple

Upgrading to iPhone X means facing a learning curve. Since Apple’s futuristic phone forgoes the familiar home button, iPhone X owners must learn a bunch of gestures.

Apple wants to make the transition as smooth as possible, so the company just uploaded a video to ease the pain of any iPhone X owner shellshocked by all that bright, shiny newness.

Why Apple short-circuited the media machine for iPhone X reviews

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Apple's new strategy for iPhone X reviews blew up the system.
Apple's new strategy for iPhone X reviews blew up the system.
Photo: Gerd Altmann/Pixabay CC

Anybody who thinks Apple can’t innovate should look in awe at the fecal hurricane whipped up by the company’s unorthodox iPhone X marketing plan.

By giving popular YouTubers early access to the next-gen iPhone, and allowing them to “scoop” the old-school journalists traditionally granted such preferential treatment, Cupertino upended the typical review cycle.

Apple apparently bruised a few fragile egos in the process. Frankly, it’s hilarious watching the ensuing media meltdown.

Leather MacBook Pro sleeve wraps your laptop in luxury [Review]

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The Woolnut sleeve is pure leather luxury for your MacBook.
The Woolnut sleeve is pure leather luxury for MacBook Pro.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

You know that completely satisfied feeling you get when you first lay your hands on a truly luxurious product? Maybe you remember that special moment when you peeled off the plastic covering from a pristine Apple product. Or when you first slid behind the wheel of an outrageous European sports car (with the requisite leather interior).

Nobody necessarily needs that level of luxury. But sometimes you want to treat yourself (or a friend) to the very best. I totally got that lavish feeling when I first saw a Woolnut leather sleeve for MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.

E3’s leather Apple Watch bands are made the old-fashioned way

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E3 supply co.
E3 Supply Co. Apple Watch bands come in a variety of finishes and colors. Made by hand in America.variety of finishes and colors. Made by hand in America.
Photo: E3 Supply Co.

Whether they are rebuilding vintage motorcycles or crafting Apple Watch straps, the folks at E3 Supply Co. do everything by hand. It’s not that they can’t afford fancy robots to get the job done — the small team of three prefers to do things this way.

Whether working from their shop in Brooklyn, New York, or from the mini leather workshop in the back of their customized 1977 Toyota Chinook, they do things the old-fashioned way. And now Cult of Mac is thrilled to offer E3 Supply’s handcrafted leather Apple Watch bands in our Watch Store.

Blast and Megablast bring Alexa to UE’s portable speakers

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With Alexa baked in, UE's new Blast speaker will be right at home in the kitchen.
With Alexa baked in, UE's new Blast speaker will be right at home in the kitchen.
Photo: Ultimate Ears

SAN FRANCISCO — Ultimate Ears’ punchy portable speakers just got smart. The new Blast and Megablast speakers bring built-in support for Alexa, Amazon’s voice-operated smart assistant.

Bringing the always-listening, voice-operated helper to a battery-powered speaker proved “nontrivial,” said Benjamin Falk, principal software product manager at UE, during a demo of the new speakers.

Google Pixel Buds bring wireless audio — and instant translation

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Google Pixel Buds
Pixel Buds bring Google's AI smarts to your ears.
Photo: Google

The most impressive feature of Google’s new Pixel Buds might not be their audio quality. As demonstrated during the Pixel 2 event today, they work as a real-time translation tool when combined with one of Google’s new phones.

“With Pixel Buds, I can use real-time Google Translate to have a natural conversation in 40 languages,” Google hardware product manager Juston Payne said during the event. “We’re letting you connect with the world around you in a more natural way, by rethinking how a headphone should work, connecting it to cloud-based machine learning and giving you access with the touch of a finger.”

Google’s new Home Max speaker might outsmart HomePod

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Google Home Max exploded
The new Home Max speaker combines high-end hardware with Google's smarts.
Image: Google

Google’s new Home Max smart speaker wants to hit Apple’s upcoming HomePod where it hurts: in the ears and in the brains.

Home Max promises high-end audio, thanks to “premium hardware” and Google’s perpetual strong suit — artificial intelligence.

Jaybird Run wireless earbuds give runners an AirPods alternative

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With its new Run headphones, Jaybird finally cuts the cord entirely.
With its new Run headphones, Jaybird finally cuts the cord entirely.
Photo: Jaybird

Sports-centric wireless headphone maker Jaybird is ready to make a run at AirPods.

The company just fired the starting gun for Jaybird Run, a set of totally wireless earbuds aimed at runners and other sports fanatics. They’re bigger than AirPods, and differ in significant ways. But for runners and other athletes, they could offer keen competition for Cupertino’s wireless earbuds.

iOS 11 GM leak reveals new details about next iPhones [Updated]

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Another apparent leak from Apple serves up more details about the upcoming products, including this swirly new iPhone wallpaper leaked
You'll soon be able to add wallpaper packs to your iPhone.
Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

This post has been updated to include the latest info from the massive iOS 11 golden master leak.

Apple looks leakier than the White House these days. The latest unauthorized dump of info about upcoming Apple products comes in the form of a leaked golden master version of iOS 11.

Obtained late Friday by tech publications, the prematurely released final version of Apple’s mobile operating system reveals details about everything from the upcoming iPhones’ model names to dazzling new iOS wallpapers and details about the next Apple Watch.

Spoiler alert: If you want any surprises at all during next Tuesday’s Apple event, stop reading now.

Apple Watch with LTE might not make phone calls on its own

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Apple Watch goal
Apple Watch Series 3 might add LTE (in addition to other cool features).
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The rumored Apple Watch with LTE may not work for phone calls, according to new research from a reliable Apple analyst. Instead, Apple will focus on improving the user experience with the untethered wearable.

That’s the main takeaway from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. However, his Wednesday research note offers other predictions about the upcoming hardware update.

New content blocker Unobstruct declares war on ‘dickbars’

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Unobstruct content blocker

Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

Sick of those annoying bars that follow you around certain websites, urging you to share a story on Facebook? A new iOS app called Unobstruct lets you banish those “dickbars” forever.

The creator of the $1 app says he hopes it sends a clear message to web designers: Nobody wants these weapons of messy distraction.

iPhone 8 might drop Touch ID for 3-D face scanner

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3-D sensors could let face-recognition replace Touch ID on the iPhone 8.
3-D sensors could let face-recognition replace Touch ID on the iPhone 8.
Photo: Carlos R/Pexels CC

The iPhone 8 might ditch Touch ID for 3-D facial scanning that could prove faster, easier and more secure than the fingerprint reader currently used for logins and payments.

The new security system, if perfected in time for the upcoming iPhone 8, also could help Apple get around a possible bottleneck in the production process.

Cult of Mac Magazine: iPhone turns 10: Inside stories from a decade of Apple innovation

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Cult of Mac Magazine: iPhone Turns 10
Get behind-the-scenes stories from the quest to create a world-changing gadget.
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

It’s hard to put into words the iPhone’s massive impact on society over the past decade. But we tried! In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, we’ve rounded up our best coverage (including stories from our collaboration with Wired UK) of the iPhone’s 10th anniversary.

We’ve got insider stories about the development of breakthrough iPhone features, ultra-rare iPhone prototypes and much more for your reading pleasure. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

10.5-inch iPad Pro feels like the future [Review]

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The new 10.5-inch iPad Pro puts monstrous power at your fingertips.
Don't pay full price for a 10.5-inch iPad Pro.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

I could be the poster boy for Apple’s “iPad problem.”

That problem, in a nutshell, is this: Even long-in-the-tooth iPads several generations old continue to work just fine for many everyday tasks. That, in turn, slows the upgrade cycle. iPad sales drop, and pundits pile on to declare that Apple is doomed. Again.

I’m one of those cheapskates who couldn’t be bothered to shell out for a new iPad over the past few years but a freak accident — and the surprisingly convincing unveiling of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro at last week’s Worldwide Developers Conference — finally coaxed me out of iPad complacency.

I’m thrilled I finally wised up. The new 10.5-inch iPad Pro is a beast of a machine that’s so fast, smooth and responsive that it makes me feel like I’m in a sci-fi movie interacting with a killer device that hasn’t been invented yet. It feels like the future!

Upgrades turn Logitech Circle 2 into versatile security camera [Update: Now works with HomeKit]

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Logitech Circle 2 Wire Free
New features and accessories make the Circle 2 far more useful.
Photo: Logitech

Update: A software update in September 2017 made Logitech Circle 2 HomeKit compatible.

Major upgrades to Logitech’s Circle cam — including HomeKit compatibility coming “soon” through a software update — turn it from a cute desktop camera into a bona fide indoor-outdoor security device.

Circle 2 packs a 180 degree wide-angle lens and brings 1080p HD streaming, night vision and two-way talk and listen. The updates come in the form of new, better power options and a handful of accessories that make the Circle 2 more useful in more environments than its somewhat limited predecessor.

Hardware, software and surprises: Key takeaways from Apple’s WWDC 2017 keynote

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Tim Cook WWDC 2017
Tim Cook uncorked a load of surprises during the WWDC 2017 keynote.
Photo: Apple

If you felt worried about Apple’s supposed lack of innovation, today’s action-packed WWDC keynote should have allayed your fears. Apple execs sprinted through a 2.5-hour technology showcase filled with hardware updates, serious software upgrades and even a whole new product category.

The whirlwind presentation showed the end result of a busy company with almost unimaginable assets. Far more than a sleepy kickoff to an annual developers confab, today’s stunning presentation showed the magical output of an innovation machine firing on all cylinders.

Anyone who pegged Tim Cook as asleep at the wheel better think again. Here are the key takeaways from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2017 keynote.

HomePod smart speaker will totally rock (and control) your house

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Apple's new HomePod smart speaker is ready to rock your house.
HomePod will launch in December, but supplies will be constrained.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s upcoming HomePod smart speaker will “reinvent the way we enjoy music in the home,” says Apple exec Phil Schiller, who offered a sneak peek at the product today.

Calling it a “breakthrough home speaker,” he outlined how the 7-inch wireless speaker will work seamlessly with Apple Music — and totally rock the house, while also giving you a way to control your house.

Enter to win a Vader-worthy black AmpliFi HD Mesh Router [Giveaway]

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Winning a limited-edition black AmpliFi HD Mesh Router on Star Wars Day is easier than a trench run.
Winning a black AmpliFi HD Mesh Router on Star Wars Day is easier than a trench run.
Photo: Ubiquiti Networks

If the Death Star had Wi-Fi, it would run on something as powerful (and ominous-looking!) as this limited-edition black AmpliFi HD Mesh Router from Ubiquiti Networks.

Assuming you’re ready to surf like a stormtrooper, you’re in luck. Cult of Mac and Ubiquiti are giving away three of these amazing mesh routers in honor of Star Wars Day. How can you win? Glad you asked, buckethead!