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Luke Dormehl - page 282

Apple Watch users plagued by heart rate monitor failures after updating

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If you look closely you can actually pinpoint the exact moment the Apple Watch heart rate monitor stops working.
If you look closely you can actually pinpoint the exact moment the Apple Watch heart rate monitor stops working.
Photo: The Simpsons, 20th Century Fox

Apple issued its first Apple Watch software update this week, adding new emojis, fixes for Siri and more. Unfortunately, hidden among the positives is one fairly big negative: Multiple users are complaining that the 1.0.1 update stops the device’s much-touted heart rate monitor from running as it should.

Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 6s a month early

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Apple is hoping for big things from its next-gen iPhone.
The iPhone 6s could be coming sooner than expected.
Photo: Cult of Mac

We may only have to wait until August to get our first official glimpse of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, according to a new research note by well-connected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Don’t get too excited though — even though Kuo thinks the iPhone will be unveiled a month earlier than usual, he says it will be released in its usual September slot.

The respected KGI Securities analyst also sheds light on who is set to build the new iPhones, a few of the devices’ key features, and some details about the forthcoming 12.9-inch iPad. Check them out below.

Shock horror! iPhone 7 concept takes a page out of Samsung’s playbook

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Who needs a bezel?
Who needs a bezel?
Photo: Hasan Kaymak

If the multiple worlds theory of quantum mechanics is correct, there is a universe out there somewhere in which Apple slavishly copies every move Samsung makes in the handset department.

A new iPhone 7 concept by designer Hasan Kaymak shows us what that parallel world would look like by demonstrating an iPhone with an edge-to-edge display much like the one Samsung uses for its current Galaxy S6 Edge.

As pointless gimmicks go, it’s actually a pretty neat one.

Apple website confirms iCloud services experiencing problems

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Hacker who tried to extort Apple for $100k is spared prison
It's a cloudy day for many Apple services.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

If you’re having problems with Apple’s iCloud services, don’t worry — you’re not alone!

On its status page, Apple is currently showing yellow alerts for Back to My Mac, Find My iPhone, iCloud Account & Sign-In, iCloud Backup, Drive, Keychain, Mail, iMovie Theater, iWork, and Photos — meaning that services are either running slowly or are down. While not all users are experiences these problems, Apple acknowledges that many are.

Updated trivia game QuizUp has all the answers for finding you a friend

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Where is QuizUp heading? a) Up b) Up c) Up
Where is QuizUp heading? a) Up. b) Up. c) Up.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

When Icelandic developer Thorsteinn Fridriksson unleashed QuizUp on the world in late 2013, the last thing he expected was that the trivia app’s questions would turn into the nerdy equivalent of Cupid’s arrows. However, a surprising number of people who fell in love with the app also fell in love with each other.

“Very soon after we launched, we started hearing about people connecting on the platform,” Fridriksson told Cult of Mac. “You’d be amazed at how many QuizUp couples there are — people who literally met each other because they shared interests in the game.”

Now QuizUp is poised to pivot, taking advantage of its innate ability to connect players — whether for love, friendship or just a killer trivia smackdown. Today’s update marks the biggest and riskiest change in QuizUp’s history, as the multiple-choice game relaunches with a new focus on social networking.

Crazily enough, it just might work.

Popcorn Time’s new web app is already dead

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So long, Popcorn Time on Your Browser.
So long, Popcorn Time on Your Browser.
Photo: Popcorn Time on Your Browser

Promising users access to as many free movies as they wanted via a torrent-streaming website, Popcorn Time’s newly-launched web app was as sweet as a bag of popcorn — and lasted about as long.

Launching just this week, Popcorn Time on Your Browser’s servers were apparently overwhelmed as the site went viral quicker than anyone had anticipated.

Yes, a site offering high quality streaming Hollywood movies for no money whatsoever proved popular — we’re shocked too!

Future phones could be unlocked by monitoring brain waves

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Never mind Touch ID, this could be the best way of unlocking future phones.
Never mind Touch ID, this could be the best way of unlocking future phones.

Touch ID made unlocking your phone faster than previously, but you know what’s more secure than fingerprints as authentication? Brainwaves.

That’s according to Blair Armstrong of the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain, and Language in Spain, who feels that the most secure type of biometrics technology could one day involve measuring the brain response of individual tech users to various words or acronyms.

Popcorn Time’s new website makes piracy easier than ever

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Piracy hasn't been this easy since the days of Blackbeard.
Piracy hasn't been this easy since the days of Blackbeard.
Photo: Popcorn in Your Browser

In news that is likely to cause all manner of headaches around Hollywood, Popcorn Time — the streaming torrent service often described as “Netflix for pirates” — is now easier to access than ever, thanks to a new website.

But how long will it last?

Charge your iPhone 6 in style with Apple’s new Lightning Dock

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Apple's Lightning dock as released earlier this year.
Thunder and Lightning, very very frightening.
Photo: Apple

Here’s one for the “better late than never” category: Almost three years after releasing the Lightning connector for the iPhone 5, Apple has unveiled its brand new official Lightning connector dock for use with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, and fifth-generation iPod touch.

Silicon Valley takes hilarious shot at one of Apple’s worst products

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One piece of product placement Apple can't be too happy about.
One piece of product placement Apple can't be too happy about.
Photo: HBO

Mike Judge’s great HBO comedy Silicon Valley has featured some fantastic references to Apple in the past — including a tongue-in-cheek dismissal of Steve Jobs as someone who “didn’t even code” and two not-so-obvious Apple logos that pop up during the show’s opening.

The most recent episode, entitled “Homicide,” contained one more namecheck of everyone’s favorite Cupertino company, but it’s unlikely to be a reference that got Tim Cook guffawing in front of his TV at home — since it skewered one of the most notorious Apple products of all time.

Apple urges Obama to block government snooping

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for story on iPhone security
Apple has taken steps to avoid snooping.
File photo: Cult of Mac

Apple has put its name to a letter which will be sent today, appealing to the White House to protect individual privacy rights in the face of suggestions that law enforcement should be able to access encrypted smartphone data via a backdoor.

“Strong encryption is the cornerstone of the modern information economy’s security,” argues the letter, which is signed by more than 140 tech companies, technologists, and civil society groups.

New patent hints at hands-free gaming on Apple TV

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Forget joysticks, this could be the future of gaming.
Forget joysticks, this could be the future of gaming.
Photo: Apple/USPTO

There have been plenty of rumors about the refreshed Apple TV set to arrive at WWDC, but two of the biggest concern the fact that it will feature a revolutionary gesture-based user interface and a new focus on gaming.

Possibly tying into that is a newly-published patent from Apple, which describes a pattern projector which would use laser beams to map the 3D space between the device and a user — thereby allowing a person to carry out motions as a way of interacting with specific apps.

And, yes, that includes games.

Obama tweeting from an iPhone isn’t all that it seems

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Barry sending his first tweet from an iPhone.
Barry sending his first tweet from an iPhone.
Photo: White House

The Apple-watching world lost its shiz yesterday when Obama made his first tweet from his brand-new presidential Twitter account using an iPhone. But don’t get too excited, because the White House has revealed that the phone in question isn’t Obama’s regular handset after all.

Which prompts the question, “Who did it belong to?” Maybe Apple should commission JFK director Oliver Stone to shoot an advert/paranoid conspiracy thriller on the subject of the Obama iPhone.

Tim Cook takes a swipe at rival smartphones during commencement speech

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Tim Cook commencement
Tim Cook's commencement address demonstrated again how deeply he understands Apple culture.
Photo: George Washington University

Tim Cook welcomed students into the working world this weekend by giving the commencement address at George Washington University’s graduation ceremony.

Cook — who received an honorary doctorate as part of the ceremony — spoke about Apple’s status as a force for good in the world: something which has been a theme during his tenure as the company’s CEO. More importantly, he got in a great dig at the expense of Apple’s iPhone competitors.

Check out the video below.

Apple snaps up company with expertise in GPS and self-driving cars

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TomTom will continue to power Apple Maps.
New acquisition could be a major part of Apple's future roadmap. No pun intended.
Photo: Apple

Apple has confirmed its acquisition of Coherent Navigation, a GPS company with expertise in mapping and self-driving vehicles.

Founded in 2008, Coherent Navigation is one of the leading companies behind what is known as High Integrity GPS or — appropriately enough for Apple — iGPS. Unlike regular GPS, which is accurate only within meters, iGPS’ high level of accuracy means it can provide geographic positioning data within centimeters.

World’s biggest Apple Store will open in Dubai this summer

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A location fit for an Apple Store? We think so.
A location fit for an Apple Store? We think so.
Photo: Longhornsandcamels

If you live in Dubai and happen to be an Apple fan, you’re in luck — because the world’s largest brick-and-mortar Apple Store is set to open its doors close to you in just a few months.

Apple’s first ever store in the Middle East is set to be located at the Mall of the Emirates, where work is currently underway on the 50,000-square-foot retail outlet. Expect its grand unveiling in August this year.

Manufacturer denies Apple Watch production problems

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Quanta says Apple Watch supply is finally reaching demand.
Quanta says Apple Watch supply is finally reaching demand.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Quanta’s vice chairman has seemingly denied rumors that the Apple Watch has low yield rates, and that Apple was so upset about it that it’s considered outsourcing orders to other manufacturers.

In fact, according to him, Apple Watch production is no longer a problem “in both technology and quality,” despite a few hiccups early on in the production process.

Bentley celebrates excellence by shooting its latest ad with iPhone 6

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The iPhone was once again the star of this year's Bentley shoot.
The iPhone was once again the star of this year's Bentley shoot.
Photo: Bentley

Luxury carmakers Bentley have once again turned to the iPhone to shoot the company’s latest short film: A video showcasing four major designers on London’s Savile Row, each given a commission to create a bespoke “driving jacket” for the high-end auto company.

Check out the short film and a special behind-the-scenes video below:

Smile! iPhone 6s camera is set for a major upgrade

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iPhone-6-Plus-cam
The fabled 12MP camera could finally be here.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 6s is set to get a considerable camera boost, as per a Weibo posting from Kevin Wang, IHS Technology’s research director in China.

After years of using 8MP cameras in its iPhones, Wang claims the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are likely to boast 12MP cameras — theoretically greatly improving the current standard of iPhone photography, which is already pretty darn high.

But there’s a twist.

Apple’s collaborative search patent makes it easy to check in with friends

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Apple's patent will help you find a coffee shop convenient to all your friends.
Apple's patent will help you find a coffee shop convenient to all your friends.
Photo: Warner Bros. Television

You can add all the high-tech features you want, but ultimately one of the best ways to make people buy gadgets is to ensure that the devices are the same ones already used by their friends.

That’s the concept behind a newly-published patent application, titled, “Collaborative Location-Based Search Results.” It describes a way in which multiple iPhone users in different locations can search for shared information — say, finding a restaurant or movie theater that’s equally convenient for every member of a group of friends to reach.

UBS thinks iPhone sales will shatter expectations this quarter

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The iPhone 6 is big. And not just in terms of size, either.
The iPhone 6 is big. And not just in terms of size, either.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

According to a new research note issued by UBS’s Evidence Lab, the latest quarterly sales for the iPhone are set to be even more impressive than most people are anticipating.

And given that nobody is sleeping on the iPhone’s success as it is, that means some astonishingly big numbers.

Why the Chinese military is frightened of the Apple Watch

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Is Apple Watch demand waning?
The Apple Watch is on the Chinese military's watch list. Though not in a good way.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The Apple Watch is expected to do big things in China — with even the high-end Apple Watch Edition selling out within its first hour of preorders in the country — but one place the company’s debut wearable device won’t take off is the Chinese army.

That’s according to a recently released memo in which Chinese military leaders argue that wearable devices such as smartwatches and fitness trackers are sure to compromise soldiers’ security.