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Luke Dormehl - page 51

Apple One is the Prime-style bundle that will lock us into Apple services

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Amazon Prime video
Can Apple follow the Amazon Prime formula?
Photo: Morning Brew/Unsplash CC

Apple One, which bundles several of the company’s vaunted services together, is a genius move. At best, it saves you money. At worst, it looks like it does.

I think it’s going to be a massive hit for Apple, and will provide a much-needed boost for struggling services like Apple News+ and Apple Arcade. However, it might cause some big headaches in Cupertino, too.

Apple: Epic wanted a fight to revive declining interest in Fortnite

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Epic Games mocked Apple with a ‘1984’ parody.
Fortnite maker Epic and Apple have been battling since August.
Screenshot: Epic Games

Apple likens Epic Games’ current predicament, shut out of the App Store, to the company having “started a fire, and poured gasoline on it,” and now requesting help from the court to put it out.

Apple’s lawyers are referencing Fortnite maker Epic’s recent claims that it is suffering major harm by being blocked from the App Store. Then Apple really puts the boot in.

Listen to Steve Jobs hype up the NeXT Computer in 1988

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One of the launch ads for the NeXT Computer.
One of the launch ads for the NeXT Computer.
Image: NeXT

Most Apple fans have heard Steve Jobs’ introduction of the original 1984 Macintosh. But far fewer are familiar with the initial public demonstrations of the NeXT Computer, the first of two NeXT machines Jobs launched during his years outside Apple.

However, 32 years down the line, an audio recording of one such speech, from the Boston Computer Society, has shown up online. Check it out.

Apple Watch is now eligible for 0% Apple Card financing

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Next Apple Watch Activity challenge will take place on Veterans Day
You can now pay for your Apple Watch in monthly installments
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

The same day that Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, the company expanded its 0% Apple Card financing service to cover its line of smartwatches.

Apple launched its 0% Apple Card financing option for iPhone back in December. This June, it expanded it to cover Mac, iPad, AirPods Pro, AirPods, and Apple Pencil — although Apple Watch was strangely MIA.

CBS All Access will get a new name: Paramount+

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Paramount+ logo
CBS All Access we hardly knew you!
Photo: Paramount+

Question: What’s the best way to lessen customer confusion in the convoluted world of streaming video-on-demand services? Answer: Add another title with a “+” at the end of it, of course.

That’s exactly what the service formerly known as CBS All Access said it will do Tuesday, as the service changes its name to Paramount+, joining the list of plus-named competitors like Apple TV+ and Disney+.

Doom and Doom II are now better than ever on iOS

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Doom cover
It still blows my mind you can play Doom on a phone.
Photo: Id Software

It still blows my mind that Doom and Doom II, games I remember being awestruck at the existence of on a home computer, can now fit onto a device the size of a deck of playing cards.

Now, thanks to an update by developer Bethesda, the iOS ports of these two classic titles are now better than ever. Here’s what they’ve added to this duo of gaming classics.

Apple leaker shows off AirTags renders, claims keychain sold separately

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Apple AirTags could debut Sept. 15.
Apple AirTags are super sleek. But don't expect them just yet.
Photo: Front Page Tech

One day ahead of Apple’s “Time Flies” media event, leaker Jon Prosser showed off what he claims are accurate renders of the long-awaited AirTags trackers.

Apple’s bottle-cap-size location trackers use ultra-wideband technology, and promise to help users find keys, wallets or whatever other item they pin them to. Check out Prosser’s AirTags video below.

Aramco oil giant overtakes Apple to become world’s most valuable public company

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International governments plan to rethink tax rules for the ‘digital age’
Apple has dropped a few hundred billion in value recently.
Photo: Pixabay/Pexels CC

Apple is no longer the world’s most valuable public company after it was overtaken by Saudi oil company Aramco. Apple’s share price has dropped 17% since it peaked in early September.

Having passed the $2 trillion market cap milestone last month, Apple has now dropped to $1.915 trillion. Apple and Aramco are the only two companies in the world to to have achieved valuations of $2 trillion.

Nvidia acquires Arm Holdings in massive $40 billion deal

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Apple chipmaker racing ahead with its next next-gen nanometer process
Apple has been licensing Arm technologies for years.
Screenshot: Apple

Nvidia announced Sunday that it is acquiring chip designer Arm from SoftBank in a deal valued at $40 billion.

Arm Holdings is the semiconductor conductor whose ARM architecture Apple has long licensed for its A-series chips for iPhone and iPad. It is also crucial to the upcoming Apple Silicon processors for Mac. Under the new ownership, Arm will continue its current “open-licensing model.”

‘Counterfeit AirPods’ seized by Customs were actually OnePlus Buds [Updated]

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OnePlus Buds image
Illegal knockoffs?
Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Update: In an intriguing twist, U.S. Customs is insisting that it meant to seize the OnePlus Buds. In a statement to The Verge it said that they appear to “violate Apple’s configuration trademark.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently sprung into action to intercept a collection of AirPods knockoffs arriving at JFK International Airport. Had the “merchandise [been] genuine,” the shipment would have been worth $398,000.

“The interception of these counterfeit earbuds is a direct reflection of the vigilance and commitment to mission success by our CBP Officers daily,” said Troy Miller, Director of CBP’s New York Field Operations.

The only problem? They weren’t counterfeit products at all — but rather the distinctly AirPods-looking OnePlus Buds.

Oracle reportedly wins bid for TikTok’s U.S. operations

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U.S. investigations of TikTok gather steam.
Oracle will be TikTok's "trusted tech partner."
Photo: Kon Karampelas/Unsplash CC

Oracle looks set to acquire the United States operations of TikTok, according to people familiar with the matter, speaking with the Wall Street Journal.

According to the report, the deal will not be an outright sale. Instead, Oracle will be announced as TikTok’s “trusted tech partner” in the U.S. — hopefully doing enough to satisfy security concerns on the part of the White House. Financial terms have not been revealed.

As Tim Cook nears a decade at the helm, Apple focuses on who’ll take over

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Tim Cook WWDC
Who will be Apple's next CEO?
Photo: Apple

Much of Apple’s senior team, including 59-year-old CEO Tim Cook, are of a similar age. That means they’re probably not going to be in their roles for too many more years.

As Cook approaches a decade at the helm of Apple, a Friday report from Bloomberg claims that he and his team are “increasingly focused” on succession planning. That means cultivating its “next class of top managers” who could take the helm of the world’s most valuable company.

PS3 classic The Unfinished Swan game makes a splash on iOS

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Unfinished Swan
A storybook set in a monochrome world.
Photo: Giant Sparrow

A great game is worth waiting for! Eight years after it debuted on the PlayStation 3, Giant Sparrow’s critically acclaimed 2012 game, The Unfinished Swan, landed in the iOS App Store (without much in the way of warning) this week.

A first-person puzzle adventure game set in a largely monochromatic, storybook universe, this is a gaming experience you won’t soon forget. Check out the trailer below.

Fortnite-maker says ‘Sign in with Apple’ logins will continue to work

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Sign in with Apple
Epic Games says login feature won't disappear after all.
Photo: Apple

Fortnite developer Epic Games say Apple issued it an “indefinite extension” for use of the “Sign in with Apple” API.

Epic previously said Apple would stop it offering this feature, meaning that people who signed up using the Apple login service would have been unable to access their Epic Games accounts.

PSA: New episode of comedy series Ted Lasso arrives on Apple TV+

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Ted Lasso Episode seven
Here's what on Apple TV+ this week (and what's coming soon.)
Photo: Apple TV+

A new episode of Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso landed on the Apple streaming video service today. The preview for the episode, titled “Make Rebecca Great Again,” reads as follows:

“Rebecca celebrates her first anniversary as a divorcee as the team plays a match in Liverpool.”

Microsoft’s folding, dual-screen Surface Duo now available, priced $1,399 [Updated]

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Surface Neo foldable
Available for pre-order today.
Photo: Microsoft

Update: The Surface Duo is available to buy. Reviews haven’t been wholly positive, although most seem to agree there is plenty of promise for the future.

Microsoft’s folding, dual-screen Surface Duo is finally available for preorder. The Android device, which boasts two 5.6-inch displays, starts at $1,399. Orders will begin shipping on September 10.

Lawyer who helped prosecute Microsoft thinks government may struggle against Big Tech

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iPhone with gavel.
Apple is one of the companies targeted in antitrust investigation.
Photo: Tingey Injury Law Firm/Cult of Mac

The lawyer who helped spearhead the successful U.S. antitrust case against Microsoft thinks today’s government is ill-prepared to take on companies like Apple, Google and Facebook.

According to Gary Reback, the U.S. government does not have enough litigators to prosecute antitrust cases against these tech giants.

PUBG Mobile surpasses $3.5 billion in player spending, most of it on iOS

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PUBG Mobile
PUBG is having a great year.
Screenshot: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

While Epic, the makers of battle royale game Fortnite, wage war against Apple, rival title PUBG Mobile goes from strength to strength in terms of player spending.

According to app analytics platform Sensor Tower, PUBG has just passed a major milestone: surpassing $3.5 billion in lifetime spending. Of that, $500 million comes in the past 72 days alone while people were stuck home during coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Zuckerberg has big ‘questions’ about Apple’s tight control of App Store

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Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
Facebook CEO has issues with App Store.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg thinks Apple’s control of the App Store should be scrutinized. In an interview for Axios on HBO, the Facebook overlord said that Apple has “unilateral control of what gets on phones, in terms of apps.”

Zuck went on to say that this power meant that there are questions that should be asked about whether this is “enabling as robust of a competitive dynamic.”

Mario Kart Tour gets nostalgic in its latest update

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Mario Kart Tour
Graphics sure have come a long way!
Photo: Nintendo

Way back in the grungy dark days of 1992, when A Few Good Men was playing in theaters and Rage Against the Machine was busy blasting out of the boomboxes of flannel shirt-wearing youths, the original Super Mario Kart landed on SNES.

Jump forward to the present day and Mario Kart Tour, the iOS version of the popular Nintendo kart-racer, is paying nostalgic tribute to its glorious past with a new tour and characters. Check out the details below.

TikTok continues to rule the App Store despite tough times

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U.S. investigations of TikTok gather steam.
TikTok enjoyed a great month in August. From a downloads perspective, at least.
Photo: Kon Karampelas/Unsplash CC

Despite the challenges it continues to face, TikTok was the most downloaded non-gaming app worldwide on iOS and Google Play in August, a new report by app analytics platform Sensor Tower claims.

In total, TikTok was downloaded upward of 63.3 million times during the month. That is a slight increase of 1.6% from the same month last year. Indonesia and Brazil were the most popular growing markets for the app during the month.