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Luke Dormehl - page 135

iPhone needs either a price cut or a big redesign, analyst argues

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iPhone XR
Which one would you prefer?
Photo: Apple

Earlier this year, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives proclaimed 2018 the year of the iPhone super cycle. Jump forward in time, and he’s lowered his price target on Apple, following the “horror show [of] the last month.”

He’s also convinced that something seriously needs to change with next year’s iPhone: either a big change in price or a major redesign. Is he right?

Data recovery firm helps anyone hack locked iPhones

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iPhone passcode limit can be bypassed with a keyboard
This tool was previously only available to law enforcement.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Even the FBI struggled a few years back when it tried to get Apple to unlock the iPhone belonging to the suspect in a shooting case. But data recovery firm DriveSavers claims that it has developed a “passcode lockout recovery” that enables even an ordinary member of the public to crack an iPhone.

While it doesn’t share details, it claims that service is “100 percent” successful. It’s not cheap, however. The service reportedly costs around $3,900.

Apple Pay goes live in Belgium and Kazakhstan

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Belgium will be the 30th market to get Apple Pay.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Pay has gone live in Belgium. It is supported by BNP Paribas, Belgium’s most popular major bank, and its brands Fintro and Hello Bank. Online services and apps such as Deliveroo, Taxi.eu and Booking.com also accept Apple Pay.

Apple’s contactless payment system has also apparently gone live in Kazakhstan. The two countries are the 30th and 31st to offer Apple Pay.

You can now use Siri to check up on your package deliveries

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Deliveries for iOS
Deliveries app just got even better.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Package-tracking app Deliveries has long been one of our favorite iOS apps, consolidating info on all our various package deliveries into one easy-to-use tool.

Thanks to a new update, it just got even better, too. Thanks to added support for iOS 12’s Siri Shortcuts, you can now check up on the latest status of in-transit deliveries using your voice. What could be easier?

IBM CEO agrees with Tim Cook on regulating tech giants

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IBM
Apple and IBM are on the same page.
Photo: Apple/IBM

The CEO of IBM — once Apple’s biggest rival — agrees with Tim Cook about regulating tech giants who gobble up massive amounts of user data for what amounts to surveillance on users.

Echoing Cooks’s words last month, IBM’s chief exec Ginni Rometty addressed top EU officials at an event in Brussels on Monday. Rometty said that the, “irresponsible handling of personal data by a few dominant consumer-facing platform companies” has caused a “trust crisis” in customers.

Apple stock falls after Trump threatens iPhone tariffs

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European Commission could get even tougher on tech in 2020
Apple has experienced a run of bad luck lately.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple stock slid 1.9 percent in pre-market trading today, after President Donald Trump laid out plans for new tariffs to be placed on the iPhone.

Overall, AAPL is trading down 20 percent this month. This latest blow comes after six weeks of declines for Apple, which became the first publicly traded U.S. company to pass a $1 trillion valuation earlier this year.

Lackluster iPhone demand hurts more suppliers

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The new iPhones X go on sale tomorrow. Are you ready?
More suppliers reportedly hurt by cut iPhone orders.
Photo: Apple

 More Apple suppliers are reportedly expecting to see their revenues decline as Apple reduces iPhone orders, amid “lackluster sales performance.” The companies named include Largan Precision, which makes iPhone camera lenses, and Career Technology, which supplies flexible printed circuit boards. However, with Apple securing a new agreement, iPhone 16 deals are expected to remain available in key markets, boosting consumer interest.

This follows on from a multitude of other similar recent reports, citing major Apple suppliers including Foxconn and TSMC.

Apple has an idea to make Animoji even more fun

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animoji
Sound effects could play a bigger role in Animoji.
Image: Apple

Apple is rightly proud of its Animoji and Memoji technology, which uses the front-facing camera on new iPhones to create cartoonish avatars of users — complete with facial expression matching.

But the tech could be about to get even more fun, as described in a recent patent application. Here’s how.

FAANG stocks show signs of recovery after disastrous six weeks

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Apple adds 5 new vice presidents to its executive lineup
Is this the beginning of the turnaround?
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

Tech stocks have bounced back slightly after their dismal showing over the past month-and-a-half. Four out of the five FAANG stocks — Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Facebook — rose more than 1 percent in early trading today.

That’s not to say that the worst is behind them just yet, but it does suggest a turnaround could be on the cards. And not a moment too soon!

Apple will help build retail apps for luxury goods company

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GUCCIYorkdale 2
Apple-made apps are coming to a luxury store near you.
Photo: Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine CC

Apple is reportedly teaming up with luxury good business Kering — the company which owns brands Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, and others — to create a set of custom apps for use in store.

Details on the new apps are scarce, but they will reportedly be used to help sales assistants to scan inventories. They will also provide more control over the company’s e-commerce activities.

No, Microsoft didn’t overtake Apple as most valuable tech giant

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money
But that does't mean it can't happen in the near future.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A number of news outlets reported over the weekend that Microsoft briefly overtook Apple as the most valuable U.S. company. This followed several weeks of precipitous declines for Apple, which has seen billions of dollars wiped off its market cap.

In fact, Apple continues to lead Microsoft with a valuation of $817.6 billion to Microsoft’s $791 billion. The incorrect reports were caused by confusion about Apple’s number of outstanding shares, used to calculate market cap. Microsoft is definitely getting closer, though!

Falling iPhone orders may cause TSMC problems in 2019

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Gather_Round_A12Bionic 2
TSMC manufactures Apple's next-gen A12 Bionic chip.
Photo: Apple

A cutback in chip orders for Apple’s new iPhones is cited as one reason supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will post disappointing earnings for the first quarter of 2019.

According to a new report, the company expects to report a 14-16 percent sequential decline in revenue for Q1 2019. It comes shortly after another major Apple supplier spoke out about a “very difficult” year ahead.

Not so big in Japan? iPhone XR gets a local price drop

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iPhone sales
The iPhone XR may not be quite the massive hit many expected.
Photo: Apple

As rumored, Apple has slashed the price of the iPhone XR in Japan in an attempt to get more units into customers’ hands.

The lower price tag is courtesy of NTT Docomo, the country’s main mobile carrier. As of today, customers signing up for a 24-month contract can save around $100 on the cost of the device over its lifespan. The total reduction is from 36,000 yen down to 24,000 yen — plus mandatory contract fees.

Apple recruits new creatives for its in-house ad efforts

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From The Rock to 'Your Verse': Apple's best ads of the 2010s
Apple wants to keep on churning out brilliant advertising.
Photo: Apple

Apple has reportedly “poached” two teams of creatives from the U.K. advertising agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO to join its own in-house efforts.

The pairings of Mike Crowe and Rob Messeter, and Caio Giannella and Diego de Oliveira are both relocating from London to Cupertino to work on the iPhone brand and overall Apple brand respectively.

Apple will defend App Store pricing in court next week

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Apple pays $467k for doing business with blacklisted app developer
This is the latest chapter in a long-running case involving Apple.
Photo: Apple

Apple rakes in billions of dollars from the App Store. However, its future ability to do so could be challenged if a federal court rules against the company.

On Monday, Apple will defend its app pricing structure in a federal appeals court. The case involves whether customers buy apps directly from Apple, or whether Apple is more like a middleman connecting app makers with users.

Google reached peak iPhone in 2012, but Apple won’t be losing sleep

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iPhone 5 1
Google results are revealing, but they don't tell everything.
Photo: Apple

Both global and U.S. search interest in the iPhone peaked in September 2012, around the time of the iPhone 5 launch, Google Trends reveals.

The stat is pointed out in a new Bloomberg report, titled, “iPhone Interest Drops Off.” But while we don’t doubt Google’s results, search terms and overall interest are not exactly the same thing.

CSR Racing 2 lets you restore and race top classic cars

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CSRRacing 3
This update is one for the car lovers.
Photo: NaturalMotion

CSR Racing 2, one of the best and most popular racing games on iOS, just received a great update. The new “Legends” refresh adds 15 new cars from the 1960s through the modern today, including the iconic McLaren F1.

Check out the trailer and new features list below.

Is this just fantasy? Queen’s Brian May hates Apple’s USB-C cables

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Queen
Brian May is speaking up for USB-C haters everywhere.
Photo: Raph_PH/Wikipedia CC

It may sound like a crazy Mad Lib, but it’s not: Queen guitarist Brian May really has taken to Instagram to pen a lengthy rant about Apple’s UBC-C connector.

May dramatically declares that “This is one of the reasons my love for Apple is turning to hatred.” And, from the look of the comments, it seems that quite a few people agree with him.

Apple makes retailers cough up for iPhone display models

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iPhone sales
Apple makes retailers jump through hoops to sell iPhones.
Photo: Apple

A group of Korean smartphone retailers are upset at Apple for forcing them to purchase in-store tester iPhones. This differs from the usual practice of manufacturers, who will provide free display smartphones and pick them up later.

Apple, it seems, thinks different.

iPhone X to live on as Apple restarts production

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The 2018 iPhone models aren't going to have an in-display Touch ID fingerprint scanner.
The iPhone X could be making a comeback.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The iPhone X had one of the shortest lifespans of any iPhone Apple has ever made, being cancelled when Apple introduced its next-gen handsets back in September. However, according to a new report, Apple is restarting production on last year’s iPhone model in certain markets.

And it may all have to do with a lack of demand for some of the newer iPhones.

Kids in the U.K. get field trips to… the Apple Store?

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Year of Engineering
It's for a good reason, though!
Image: Year of Engineering

Apple is offering students in the U.K. the chance to learn more about coding, engineering and design — courtesy of Field Trip events as part of the UK’s government’s “Year of Engineering.”

The events offer around 1,700 students, aged 5 to 18, the chance to go “behind the scenes” at Apple Stores around the country. Apple is running around 100 of these Field Trip events, during which students will shown how to create various digital projects. These relate to topics from coding to the solar system.

Apple could take on Fire TV Stick with its own streaming dongle

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Amazon Fire TV Stick
Amazon's Fire TV Stick offers streaming content at a low price.
Photo: Amazon

Apple has spent upwards of $1 billion creating original TV shows, but as of yet it hasn’t revealed exactly how it plans to get these in front of users. One idea? That it could release a streaming dongle, similar to Google’s Chromecast and Amazon’s Fire TV Stick.

This could be a lower cost entry point into the streaming TV market — since both Amazon and Google’s offerings cost under $50, compared to $180 for the Apple TV.

MacBook shipments took a battering in Q3

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Apple
Neither of these MacBook Pros apparently set the world on fire.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s MacBook lines performed surprisingly badly in the third quarter of 2018 — with double figure declines in growth worse than any of the other five leading notebook manufacturers.

While Dell managed 8 percent year-on-year growth, market leader HP saw its shipments decline 1.8 percent. That’s nothing compared to Apple’s decline, however, which saw the company plummet a whopping 24.3 percent. That’s not good!

You can now open Google Assistant with your voice on iPhone

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Google Assistant
Google Assistant landed on iPhone last year.
Photo: Google

There’s great news for fans of Google Assistant with an iPhone: for the first time, iOS users can now access the smart assistant using a verbal command.

The solution is a little bit convoluted, but it’s a world better than the previous way of opening it. Here’s what you can do.