Mobile menu toggle

Luke Dormehl - page 220

Apple partnering with Danish university to investigate sustainable energy

By

aarhus-university
Apple's new investment represents a rare partnership with a university.
Photo: University of Aarhus

Apple has entered into a partnership agreement with Denmark’s University of Aarhus to investigate bio-gas research and how sustainable energy can be obtained from agriculture.

The R&D partnership is part of “billion-kroner” (read: hundreds of millions of dollars) partnership, according to Denmark’s foreign minister, Kristin Jensen.

Three new iPads Pro are coming early next year

By

x
New iPads are on their way. Allegedly.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is set to debut a trifecta of new iPad Pro models in Q1 2017, according to a new report, citing “well-placed sources” of the Japanese Apple blog Mac Okatara.

If the report is to be believed, Apple will release a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a slightly larger version of its 9.7-inch iPad with 10.1-inch display, and a 7.9-inch iPad Pro upgrade of Apple’s iPad mini lineup.

iPhone 7 battery life can’t match rivals

By

iPhone
A familiar sight on your iPhone?
Photo: Apple

The iPhone 7 battery might be larger than its predecessor, but that’s still not enough for it to catch up with other leading flagship smartphones, as per a new consumer testing report.

According to the U.K.-based Which?, the iPhone 7 performs far behind the Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5 and HTC 10 when it comes to call and internet time.

Burly Men at Sea, Alto Dashboard, and other awesome new apps

By

If you're appy and you know it, check our list!
'Appy weekend all!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

From a great app to make your email experience more efficient to a uniquely superb narrative-driven game, we’ve sifted through the most exciting new apps to bring you the ones you’ll want to download this weekend.

Check out our picks below. Trust us, this is the way you want to spend Sunday!

How a boring 14-second video started Hissgate

By

iphone 7
This is what it feels like for a story to blow up.
Photo: Apple

Remember Hissgate, the short-lived (but, for a few days, massive) story about how some iPhone 7 Plus owners were experiencing strange hissing sounds when their handsets were performing processor-intensive tasks?

Well, the guy who first reported it has written a blog post about his experience after the video blew up on YouTube, racking up more than 1 million hits. And it actually makes pretty interesting reading.

iPhone 7 will arrive on Samsung’s home turf next month

By

iPhone 7
iPhone 7 is coming to South Korea on October 21.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

South Korea’s three mobile network providers will reportedly start selling the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus from October 21, according to reports coming out of the country.

The news comes at a bad time for South Korea’s Samsung, which is still reeling from a costly recall of its exploding Galaxy Note 7 handsets, which it reportedly rushed to market to beat Apple to the next great smartphone.

Enraged customer smashes iPhones in French Apple store

By

Screen Shot 2016-09-30 at 14.10.00
The man smashes around a dozen iPhones before he is stopped.
Photo: YouTube

A bizarre incident has taken place in a French Apple store, with an unidentified man entering the retail outlet and methodically smashing thousands of dollars’ worth of iPhones, using a steel ball used for the game boules.

Check out the video below.

Exclusive ‘enhanced edition’ of A Game of Thrones hits iBooks

By

Screen Shot 2016-09-29 at 14.44.46
Expanded editions should keep you busy until the sixth book arrives.
Photo: Apple

George R.R. Martin missed the projected deadline for the sixth novel in his Song of Ice and Fire series. However, have no fear: Game of Thrones addicts can enjoy all-new material — including a sneak preview of the forthcoming The Winds of Winter — courtesy of the iBooks Store.

Here’s how.

Apple will open its first R&D center in China later this year

By

beijing_zhongguancun-010
Apple's new R&D center will reportedly employ 500 people.
Photo: Meinhardt Group

Apple has reportedly set up its first R&D center in China, located in Beijing’s Zhongguancun Science Park, according to a statement issued by the Zhongguancun Park Management Committee.

The plan is for the center to hire a total of 500 employees, who will focus on a wide range of Apple products and devices including, “the development of computer software and hardware products, communication, audio and video devices, as well as advanced technologies for consumer electronics products and the information industry.”

Get ready to see ads in App Store search results

By

App-Store-Ads
Apple is embracing ads in the App Store.
Photo: Apple

Apple is set to start showing adverts in iOS App Store search results starting Wednesday, October 5.

The company previously carried out an apparently-succesful beta test involving ads, which appear at the top of search results when users type a keyword into the search box. According to Apple, more than 65 percent of app downloads come through search results.

Apple’s massive new U.K. campus is a pop culture landmark

By

Battersea
Apple's new London office will be based in this iconic location.
Photo: Alberto Pascual/Wikipedia CC

Apple’s circular “spaceship” campus in Cupertino isn’t the only fantastic new location where the company is setting up shop. The tech giant is opening an impressive new London headquarters at the iconic Battersea Power Station.

With its four gigantic chimneys, the complex should strike a chord with pop culture fans: The station is a true pop culture landmark most famously seen on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1977 album, Animals.

Apple may be secretly building iPhone 8 in Israel

By

iPhone 7 sales
We're already waiting on next year's iPhone refresh.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 7 is barely settling into our pockets, but already Apple is developing the hardware for next year’s tenth-birthday iPhone 8 — at least according to a somewhat dubious new report, citing a source in Apple’s Israel office.

The report claims that hardware for the next-gen iPhone is being developed at Apple’s offices in Herzliya, Israel, and is being referred to internally as the iPhone 8. If true, this would represent a change in Apple’s naming convention, which would suggest that next year’s iPhone will be the iPhone 7s.

Apple continues to boost iPhone 7 orders

By

iPhone-7
iPhone shipments are down, but not as much as you might think.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has reportedly upped its component orders for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, resulting in manufacturers receiving 20-30 percent higher orders than they were expecting.

Another new Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has caught fire

By

160927142551-samsung-note-7-fire-1-780x439
Forget jet black, the Galaxy Note 7 apparently comes in charred black.
Photo: Hui Renjie

Samsung no doubt hoped its Galaxy Note 7 nightmares would be over when it completed its costly recall and reissue of the next-gen smartphones, after the first batch of units were reported as bursting into flames — and even torching one family’s Jeep.

Unfortunately, it seems that problems linger, as one Chinese tech worker found out this week.

Xiaomi beats Apple to embedded ultrasonic fingerprint scanner

By

xiaomi-mi-5s-1340x754
The Mi 5s in all its iPhone 7-inspired glory.
Photo: Xiaomi

Known for ripping off Apple in the past, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has beaten Cupertino in bringing to market a futuristic ultrasonic fingerprint sensor reported to be the same one Apple plans to use for the iPhone 8.

In its new Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus handsets, Xiaomi debuts a new “ultrasonic fingerprint sensor,” which promises to be more accurate than current fingerprint sensors. Check out a video of it in action below.

Mary J. Blige interviews Hillary Clinton exclusively for Apple Music

By

Screen Shot 2016-09-27 at 8.19.53 AM
Tim Cook has been outspoken in his support of Hillary.
Photo: Apple

Shortly after last night’s presidential debate, Apple Music published a teaser for an Apple Music exclusive conversation between Hillary Clinton and Mary J. Blige.

The interview promises to get up close and personal with Clinton, and to address some hard-hitting subjects like police brutality. And it’s available exclusively to Apple Music subscribers.

Apple invents laser-mapping tech for controlling your Mac

By

An officer worker flips through screens on his computer with Reemo gesture technology. Photo; Reemo/YouTube
How gesture-tracking tech could work.
Photo: Reemo/YouTube

Future Apple devices could be controlled using gaze tracking or point gestures, claims a newly-published patent, describing Apple’s investigations into 3D depth-mapping technology.

The technology would build on the kind of 3D depth-mapping tech being used in the new dual lens iPhone 7, but would apply this to new ways for users to interface with their iMac or, possibly, Apple TV by using in-air gestures or eye-tracking to navigate on-screen menus and content.

iPhone maker says fears about falling sales may be inaccurate

By

iPhone 7
The chairman of Pegatron isn't worried about iPhone 7 sales.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple hasn’t announced how many iPhone 7 handsets it’s sold yet, but the head of iPhone manufacturer Pegatron is decrying reports of disappointing sales by saying that he is “cautiously optimistic” about how the next-gen smartphone is doing.

“Consumers do not care about what analysts say about the lack of innovative features,” Pegatron chairman Tung Tzu-hsien said — referring to the various reports suggesting that the iPhone 7 hasn’t got enough going in its favor to win over customers on the fence.

Apple Watch might diagnose diseases

By

Apple-Watch-Heart-Monitor-640x468
Could your Apple Watch be used to diagnose disease?
Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

The Apple Watch Series 2 may have been a big step forward for Apple’s wearable device, but the company has an even bigger shift planned: Cupertino wants to morph Apple Watch from a fitness tracking device to a full-fledged medical diagnostic tool.

Bold mural marks Apple’s first Mexican store

By

You shouldn't strugg
You shouldn't struggle to find a staff member to help you.
Photo: Apple

Apple said “Hola Mexico” with a big, bold mural as it opened its first retail store in the country over the weekend.

Many Apple fans queued overnight to be among the first into the new store, which is located in Mexico City’s upscale Vía Santa Fe mall.

Google Trips, Vulture Island and other awesome apps of the week

By

appsoftheweek_1024
'Appy weekend.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you’re looking to unwind this fine Sunday by sampling the latest App Store delectables for your iOS device, have no fear: Cult of Mac is here to help!

Whether you’re on the hunt for a great new story-driven Batman game or a new travel-planning app, we think you’ll approve of our picks.

Check them out below. You won’t be disappointed.

Parody video shows new use for Samsung’s Note 7 as mobile meat griller

By

galaxy note 7
Cooking meat? That's something the iPhone can't do.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Poor old Samsung: not only did was it forced into rushing out its Galaxy Note 7 by Apple’s iPhone release schedule, or to undergo the humiliation of doing a mass recall of one of its better-reviewed handsets, but now people are poking fun at it, too!

A new parody video from Taiwan shows how the once critically acclaimed Note 7 can be repurposed as a mobile device for cooking meat — provided you’ve got the necessary aluminum foil smartphone case, that is.

Check out the video below.