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Luke Dormehl - page 120

Don’t even think about repairing the AirPods 2

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AirPods 2
If your AirPods look like this, your music-listening days are over.
Photo: iFixit

Apple’s second-generation AirPods may be better than ever, but they’re certainly not any more repairable. A new teardown reveals that the next-gen wireless earphones aren’t “designed to be serviced” in any meaningful capacity.

The challenge of repairing them doesn’t necessarily guarantee a short lifespan. However, it does suggest that these probably won’t be hanging around long-term.

Mac users in China can no longer use Taiwan flag emoji

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Taiwan
Not China's favorite emoji symbol.
Photo: Maya-Anaïs Yataghène/Flickr CC

As countries, it’s fair to say that China and Taiwan aren’t exactly BFFs. For evidence of this, look no further than the recently released macOS 10.14.4. Eagle-eyed users in China have noticed that their Mac devices can no longer display the Taiwan flag emoji.

The flag ban can’t even be circumvented by changing the region in your Mac’s System Preferences.

AirPods absolutely dominate the wireless headphones market

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AirPods wall display is on show in New York.
They may be small, but AirPods are a big hit.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

AirPods aren’t just a massive hit for Apple, they’re a giant in the overall “wireless hearables” market. According to new research from Counterpoint, AirPods made up a massive 60 percent of the overall market in Q4 2018.

It would have been even bigger, too, if customers hadn’t been waiting on Apple’s updated AirPods 2 at the time!

Tim Cook is ready to testify in Qualcomm trial

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Tim Cook talks diversity, sustainability, and coming out as gay
We doubt that Tim Cook will look quite so happy on the day.
Safari: Apple

Tim Cook will offer testimony as part of Apple’s legal battle with Qualcomm. Cook will discuss Apple’s business practices, strategy, agreements with cellular network carriers, and more.

He’s not the only senior Apple executive ready to talk, either. Former hardware boss Bob Mansfield, current COO Jeff Williams, SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller and others will chime in as part of the case.

App Store revenue could more than double by 2023

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Apple pays $467k for doing business with blacklisted app developer
The App Store continues to go from strength to strength.
Photo: App Store

Apple may be launching a plethora of new Services, but its established App Store business also continues to boom.

According to new figures released by analytics platform Sensor Tower, the App Store will more than double its revenue by 2023. That would mean bringing in a global revenue of $96 billion, a 104 percent increase over last year’s $47 billion.

Washington Nationals fans can use Apple Pay to purchase snacks

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MLB
They can also order more substantial food from their seats.
Photo: Andrei Niemimäki/Flickr CC

For whatever reason, the worlds of pro baseball and Apple Pay seem to go hand in hand. First it was just using the iPhone’s NFC scanning tech for ticketing.

Now, fans attending Washington Nationals baseball games in the 2019 season can enjoy another perk. By using Apple Pay contactless payments, they can pay for food using a roving payments terminal operated by concessions hawkers. Along with paying for snacks, they can also use an app to place orders for more substantial hot food from their seats.

Activating your Apple Card will be insanely simple

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Apple Card activation 2
Apple Card is going to be a beautifully simple user experience.
Photo: 9to5Mac

One thing I’ve long loved about Apple products is how easy they are to setup. There’s no scouring incomprehensible user manuals. Simply turn a new device on and you’ll be using it within minutes.

That same philosophy sounds like it’ll be carried over to Apple Card, the company’s first (well, second) ever credit card.

Promo video showcases Apple Card’s gorgeous design

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Apple Card
The Apple Card is a thing of beauty.
Photo: Apple

Against all odds, Apple Card was the most exciting thing coming out of Monday’s keynote event. The credit card itself won’t be available until later in the year. However, in the meantime an Apple promo video lets us salivate at the prospect of the gorgeous titanium wallet pleaser.

Check out the newly uploaded video, originally shown off during Monday’s “Show Time” event, below.

How Steve Jobs gaslighted journalist about Apple’s TV ambitions

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Why Salesforce chief gave up AppStore.com for Apple
Did Jobs second guess himself on Apple's TV potential?
Photo: Ben Stanfield/Flickr CC

Apple has been working towards its TV ambitions for more than a decade now, ever since it launched the original Apple TV in 2007. However, a new anecdote from technology journalist Nick Bilton makes clear just how unsure the company has been in the past about its goals with television.

Bilton recalls a meeting with Steve Jobs in 2010. During the encounter, Jobs backtracked on his previous claim that TV was going to be a core business for Apple. Things have certainly changed!

AT&T boss suggests Apple will share TV viewer data

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apple tv
How much data will TV channels receive from Apple?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

One of the big threads running through Apple’s Monday keynote was the company’s insistence on user privacy. Apple would not, it suggests, share data with companies for Apple Card or Apple News+.

The new Apple TV channels, however, could be a little different. At least, according to an interview with AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. Speaking at the Fintech Ideas Festival, Stephenson included Apple when talking about customer data analytics in HBO’s digital distribution deals. HBO is a division of AT&T’s WarnerMedia.

Apple Watch’s fashion ambitions have virtually vanished

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Apple
Remember the Apple Watch Edition?
Photo: Apple

Today, the Apple Watch is the world’s best-selling smartwatch by a wide margin. But Apple’s strategy for convincing users that it’s important has certainly changed.

A new article notes how Apple has dropped its original ambitions for the Apple Watch as being a fashion-oriented product. And we don’t blame Apple!

Song pays tribute to Wyatt Mitchell’s keynote boiler suit

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Jumpsuit 2
Remember this guy from Monday's event? How could you forget?
Screenshot: Apple

Monday’s “show time” event might not have been Apple’s greatest keynote in living memory, but it did give us one thing we can all agree on. That’s the undisputed awesomeness of Apple’s director of design for applications Wyatt Mitchell’s white boiler suit.

A sartorial choice that steals the show from names like Steven Spielberg and Oprah isn’t easy to do. And yet thats exactly what Mitchell’s wardrobe decision managed. And now a long-time Apple fan has immortalized it in the medium of song. Check it out.

Apple’s ‘show time’ keynote leaves Wall Street cold

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Apple TV+ could have 26 million paying subs by 2025; 2.6 million currently
Apple's TV+ service has promise. But is it enough to excite investors?
Photo: Apple

Apple stock closed down 1.03 percent yesterday as Wall Street continues to show relative indifference to Monday’s “show time” event.

While AAPL share prices hit $190.57, it finished out the day at $186.79. This came after a 2 percent dip the day before. It follows a media event that was big on talk, but relatively small on detail.

Apple’s VP of Services unlikely to ‘take on the plight of publishers’

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Keynote pic
Peter Stern at Monday's event.
Screenshot: Apple

Monday’s “show time” keynote introduced plenty of new faces to Apple fans when it came to presenters. One of them, Peter Stern, is the VP of Services in charge of the company’s Apple+ and Apple News+ services.

Having joined Apple in 2016, he’s a relatively new arrival. However, he’s someone we’re likely to see a lot more of — as a new profile makes clear.

Developers think Apple Arcade is disruptive — for better or worse

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Apple Arcade
Apple Arcade has plenty of promise -- but poses some big challenges, too.
Photo: Apple

Will Apple Arcade turn out to be the game changer that developers are hoping for? According to a new report… maybe.

Speaking to a slew of developers, a news report found that many are cautiously optimistic about what Apple Arcade could mean. In particular, it could help break the stronghold of freemium titles in the App Store. But there are still potential challenges.

40 million Android users have downloaded Apple Music

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Streaming services like Apple Music dominate the US music market
Apple Music is popular across the board.
Photo: Apple

You’d think that most of the subscribers to Apple Music would be firmly locked into the Apple ecosystem. That may be true, but new figures suggest that there are quite a few listeners on Android as well.

Figures shared by Sensor Tower‘s Store Intelligence platform suggest that 40 million Android users have installed the Apple Music app from Google Play. Not only that, but the analytics firm believes that the “current quarter will be the service’s best yet for new users on the platform.”

These are all the games coming to Apple Arcade

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Apple Arcade
Apple Arcade could redefine gaming on mobile.
Photo: Apple

Apple showed off a smattering of games for its upcoming Apple Arcade subscription service at yesterday’s event. But, presumably because reeling off a list of 100 titles would’ve slowed the event to a crawl, it didn’t reveal exactly which games would be available.

One day on, we’ve got a far more comprehensive look at some of the titles which will be available for the service. Here they are:

Apple’s titanium credit card is not contactless

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Apple Card
More importantly, who is Marisa Robertson, and what happened to Jonny Appleseed?
Photo: Apple

With Apple Pay, Apple has done as much as anyone to popularize contactless payments in the U.S. Despite this, it seems that the new physical titanium Apple Card won’t offer contactless payments when used in stores that don’t accept Apple Pay (or anywhere else for that matter).

At least, that’s according to a spokesperson from MasterCard.

These are the ‘low rates’ currently available for Apple Card

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Apple Card
Apple Card sounds awesome. But read the small print.
Photo: Apple

Against all odds, Apple’s introduction of its “Apple Card” credit card managed to outshine Hollywood’s finest stars at yesterday’s keynote event. Among the card’s nifty features, Apple promised an interest rate among the lowest in the industry.

But is it? Details on the new Apple Card website include the “lower interest rates” in their footnotes. And while they’re certainly not excessive, they’re also not quite as low as you might think.

What Apple News+ means for Wall Street Journal

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Some publishers report that Apple News+ isn't a 'huge boon' for business
Apple announced its News+ service yesterday.
Photo: Apple

The Wall Street Journal has shared some additional details of its deal with Apple, breaking down exactly what Apple News+ readers will receive.

The inclusion of the WSJ gives readers the ability to access all categories of news. The app will actively surface stories on national news, politics, sport, and more. However, the “entire slate of business and financial news” is also available, although this is less likely to be highlighted. There is a compromise, though.

The Morning Show will try to make us laugh at gender politics

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The Morning Show blitzes viewers with Apple product placement
Jennifer Anniston and Reese Witherspoon announce their show for Apple TV Plus.
Photo: Apple

Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell appeared on stage at today’s “Show Time” event to talk about The Morning Show, the comedy series starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell.

Sounding like a mixture of Anchorman and Aaron Sorkin’s Sports Night, the series follows behind-the-scenes shenanigans at a morning news show. It will particularly focus on “[pulling] back the curtain on the power dynamics” between men and women in the workplace. Coming in the #MeToo era, it certainly looks pretty good timing.

Apple Arcade brings exclusive new games to iOS and Mac

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Arcade 1
Apple Arcade could be a game changer. Literally.
Photo: Apple

Apple has unveiled Apple Arcade, a new subscription game which will allow iOS and Mac gamers to access a plethora of games in an “all-you-can-eat” subscription service.

“We want to make gaming even better,” said Tim Cook. Based on what Apple showed today, they may well have succeeded.

iPhone SE is back in stock — and it’s going cheap

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Apple could debut iPhone SE successor as soon as March
It's a bargain!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has seemingly given up on the iPhone SE form factor. However, it’s not given up selling them — as evidenced by the fact that Apple’s diminutive, 4-inch handset just turned up on Apple’s Online Store.

Apple is selling the handsets in silver, gold, silver, and space gray — with prices starting at a mere $249. That’s great news for anyone who doesn’t want to drop the money necessary to pick up an iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or XS Max.

New videos help users get to grips with Apple Watch

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Apple Watch 1
Apple is continuing with the wearables education.
Photo: Apple

Apple has shared five new Apple Watch tips on its YouTube channel, intended to show users how to get the most out of their Apple wearable.

The short, 30-second videos contain tips on changing watchbands, activating Siri, and using the Apple Watch as a fitness trackers. Check them out below.

Apple teases big stars ahead of today’s ‘show time’ event

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Chris Evans1
Nothing to see here: just a call from Chris Evans.
Photo: Apple

Apple is having some fun with frenzied fanboys and gals ahead of today’s “It’s show time” media event. Although the live broadcast won’t officially start until 10 a.m. Pacific, Apple “accidentally” showed a few images of the empty auditorium.

What makes that particularly exciting? Only the fact that the screen is showing images such as an incoming call from “Captain America” star Chris Evans.