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Luke Dormehl - page 198

Apple’s latest ads promise life is better with iPhone

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iphoneswitch
Apple wants more switchers to jump to iOS.
Photo: Apple

Apple celebrated Memorial Day by launching three new ads as part of its “Life is easier on iPhone” campaign.

The witty ads, which run 15-seconds each, focus on security, contacts, and performance on the iPhone versus generic other devices. Subtly harkening back to the classic “1984” Macintosh ad, Apple’s competition is shown to be dull and gray, while Apple is depicted as a colorful utopia where everything “just works.” Check them out below.

Magikarp Jump, 4K Video Downloader, and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy Memorial Day weekend!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The surprisingly addictive new Pokémon game, starring everyone’s favorite fish Pokémon Magikarp, is just one of the great titles we’ve picked out for this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup.

We’ve also got a tremendous free video downloading tool, a SEGA classic gone free, and a slate of productivity apps that now let you easily drag and drop content between them on your iPad.

Check out our picks below. There’s really no better way to spend the middle day of the Memorial Day weekend!

The New Yorker‘s stunning new cover was painted on an iPad

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Not bad for a picture painted with an iPad. Or with anything, actually.
Photo: New Yorker

Looking for more evidence that the iPad Pro can be used to create stunning artwork? The cover of the latest issue of The New Yorker might be just the proof you’re searching for.

Created by the magazine’s long-time art editor Jorge Colombo, it depicts kids playing basketball near to his home in Brooklyn. “This was a risky drawing to make,” he said. “I kept worrying that the ball would hit me or the iPad.” Not that he let that stop him from creating a stunning image!

iPhone 8 chip maker confirms fingerprint-scanning display

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Touch ID
Touch ID is making a move!
Photo: Apple

Whatever problems Apple may have been having embedding Touch ID into the iPhone 8’s display, it appears that it’s solved them!

According to a new report — citing Apple chip supplier TSMC — the next-gen iPhone will boast an optical fingerprint sensor to enable authentication directly by touching the screen.

Qualcomm asks a court to force iPhone makers to pay up

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What’s it like to have your startup bought by Apple? Stressful
Qualcomm says Apple is playing dirty.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Qualcomm has asked a court to force iPhone suppliers to keep paying it royalty payments while it is in the middle of its standoff with Apple.

The tech giant has updated one of its lawsuits to include what it claims is additional evidence about Apple instructing third-party suppliers not to pay money they owe to Qualcomm. Qualcomm suggests that this is an underhanded tactic on Apple’s part to force it to settle sooner.

Jony Ive becomes Chancellor at London’s Royal College of Art

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Jony Ive gets animated as he talks about Apple Watch. Photo: Vogue
"No running in study hall!"
Photo: Vogue

Jony Ive will take over from Sir James Dyson as the new Chancellor at London’s Royal College of Art, assuming the post in July 2017.

The five-year, unpaid position doesn’t take Ive away from Apple, although it will require him to take occasional meetings and help govern. And give him a few added trips to his home turf, too!

Jony Ive talks Silicon Valley’s culture in BBC interview

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Jony Ive
Jony Ive agrees that diversity is one of Apple's biggest strengths.
Photo: Vanity Fair/YouTube

Jony Ive was interviewed on the BBC’s Today program on BBC Radio 4 today, during which he talked about the importance of design, and Apple’s push to embrace diversity.

“At Apple, we’ve been very clear about how important it is that we have a diverse pool of talent that we can hire from,” Ive said. He also described the way that Silicon Valley’s cultural diversity, comprising people from all over the world, is what makes it special.

Apple is already testing micro LED displays for the future

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Apple's busy investigating future display technologies.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

2017’s iPhone 8 will be the first iPhone to boast an OLED display, but Apple’s not stopping it research into future display technologies.

According to a new report, Apple will be producing a small number of trial micro LED screens in the second half of 2017 at a factory in Taoyuan, Taiwan. While this isn’t the kind of production volume necessary for a product, it will give Apple the ability to evaluate whether or not these would be a good fit for future devices.

Six community colleges in the U.S. will be teaching Swift this fall

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Time for your Swift class!
Photo: Apple

Want to learn Swift in school? Apple wants you too as well, which is why its just launched a new app development curriculum for its mobile programming language aimed at high school and community college students.

The curriculum, which is available as a free download today from the iBooks Store, will be adopted by six community college systems serving nearly 500,000 students this fall. No doubt more will follow in the near future.

China is losing interest in the iPhone

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China iPhone sales
Tim Cook meets with Apple store employees in China.
Photo: Apple

Tim Cook hasn’t been shy about proclaiming China Apple’s future biggest market, but right now it’s causing the most problems.

According to analysts at Oppenheimer, Apple’s “Reality Distortion Field” is fading in China, as iPhone sales drop 20 percent. That’s at least twice as bad as any other market.

New video reveals redesigned iPhone 8 in all its glory

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iPhone8
Is this what the new iPhone will look like?
Photo: Benjamin Geskin

Designer and leaker Benjamin Geskin has posted a short video online, showcasing what he claims to be an identical dummy unit of the iPhone 8.

Backing up a lot of previous rumors about the next-gen handset, Geskin’s iPhone features a curved glass infinite display, lack of physical Home button, and vertical dual camera setup. Check it out below.

Jony Ive’s BFF has created a spectacular new timepiece

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It's all yours for $12,000.
Photo: Hodinkee

Jony Ive’s BFF Marc Newson may have played a role in the design of the Apple Watch, but he’s now turned his attentions to designing an entirely new timepiece. Although this isn’t one that you’ll be wearing on your wrist!

Instead, it’s a $12,000 limited edition hourglass, designed for the world’s leading online wristwatch magazine, Hodinkee. Check it out below.

National security requests for Apple user data doubled in last half of 2016

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Apple Security Jacket
Apple has shared the number of user data requests it received last year.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

National security requests for user data from Apple doubled in the second half of 2016, compared to the first six months, Apple’s newly-published biannual transparency report reveals.

Apple received somewhere between 5,750 and 5,999 orders during the July-December period of last year, compared to the 2,750 and 2,999 requests it was handed in the January-June period. This represents the highest total count in the 3.5 years since Apple first began releasing this information in a six-monthly report.

Samsung’s OLED display orders reportedly double for iPhone 9

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iphone 8 display
Early rumor claims iPhone 9 will come in two sizes, both with OLED displays.
Photo: Martin Hajek

The iPhone 8 isn’t even out yet, and already Samsung Display has reportedly signed a deal with Apple to supply OLED panels for the 2018-era iPhone 9.

While Samsung is producing 80 million OLED displays for the iPhone 8, that number will allegedly more than double for the iPhone 9, for which Samsung will manufacture 180 million OLED screens.

India offers Apple a compromise on iPhone manufacturing incentives

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Apple supplier is increasing its ability to build masses of iPhones in India
Apple is already manufacturing iPhones in India.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

To encourage manufacturing in India, Indian authorities have offered to let Apple import smartphone components for use in local manufacturing, tax free.

Apple previously asked for a 15-year tax holiday from paying tax on importing components it needed for Indian manufacturing. The request was denied by authorities, but it seems that a compromise may be reached, whereby Apple will gradually increase the local production of components in India.

CEO who once likened Apple to Hitler steps down

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Yep, they went there. Photo:
CEO Jia Yueting was forced to issue a groveling apology in the aftermath.
Photo: LeEco

The founder and CEO of Chinese tech company LeEco, which makes everything from smartphones to smart TVs, has stepped down from his position as chief executive.

Why would you know Jia Yueting? Because way back in 2015, he was the CEO forced to issue a groveling apology after LeEco issued an ad depicting Apple as Hitler — complete with a red armband showing the Apple logo instead of a swastika.

Nike’s new Apple Watch bands mean no more mismatched wrist and shoes

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See what we mean?
Photo: Nike

Ever been socially ostracized for wearing an Apple Watch band that doesn’t match the color of your sneakers, or is way too bright for the time of day you’re rocking it?

Such nightmarish scenarios are set to come to an end this June, courtesy of Apple and Nike’s latest collaboration. Announced today, Nike is releasing four new chic Nike Sports Bands for Apple Watch, coming in colors matching the Nike Air VaporMax Flyknit “Day to Night” collection.

iPhone 8 sized up by new chassis molds

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The iPhone 8 is the one in the middle with the vertical camera configuration.
Photo: Benjamin Geskin

New photos posted online apparently reveal molds of Apple’s upcoming 2017 iPhone refresh — including both the major iPhone 8 upgrade, and the smaller iPhone 7s and 7s Plus updates.

While it’s not confirmed that the molds are genuine, they do appear to back up a number of details about Apple’s next-gen (and not quite so next-gen) handsets. Check the other images out below.

Working Apple-1 disappoints at auction

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Apple-1
The Apple-1 went for a bargain $112,000.
Photo: Auction Team Breker

A rare functioning Apple-1 computer has sold for $112,000 at auction in Berlin — considerably less than the predicted $200,000-$334,000 auctioneers expected it to fetch.

Given that, in 2014, another Apple-1 computer sold at auction for an incredible $905,000, it’s proof positive that the spike in Apple-1 prices which followed Steve Jobs’ death is most likely over.

Old Man’s Journey, Google Assistant, and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A gorgeously illustrated, story-driven game with an utterly unique gameplay mechanic is just one of the titles we’ve picked out for this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup.

We’ve also got Google’s AI assistant, a classic Capcom game finally landed in the App Store after almost 30 years, and a third party keyboard that’s gotten even better. Check out our picks below.

Records confirm Apple is fighting the ‘right to repair’ bill

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Apple doesn't want users to perform repairs themselves.
Photo: Faris Algosaibi/Flickr CC

New York state records show that Apple has been lobbying hard against the Fair Repair Act, a bill that would force companies to sell replacement parts to customers.

Apple isn’t the only company opposed to the bill. According to New York State’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics, others include Verizon, Toyota, printer company Lexmark, heavy machinery marker Caterpillar, phone insurance company Asurion, medical device company Medtronic, and the Consumer Technology Association are also fighting against it.

More evidence hints at massive iPhone 8 price hike

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France fines Apple $27 million for intention iPhone 'throttling' controversy
Increased component costs will make Apple push up its prices.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Rumors that the iPhone 8 may come with a $1,000 price tag are seemingly backed-up by a new report claiming that components for the next-gen handset will be considerably higher than those for its predecessor.

According to China’s Economic Daily News, the 3D Touch module alone for the iPhone 8 will cost 150 percent more than the comparable module for the current LCD iPhone.