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Luke Dormehl - page 77

Police used Find My app to track thieves as they carried stolen iPad between vehicles

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apple logo
The incident took place in early February, although details are only being shared now.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s “Find My” app was used by police in Australia to track two men from the air in a dramatic police chase, following an iPad stolen during a home invasion.

The Sydney Morning Herald notes that 29-year-old Vaatoa Chang and 36-year-old Jonas Montealegre carried the iPad with them as they switched stolen cars. The pursuit, which took place February 4, lasted for two hours.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night gets a surprise release on mobile

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Castlevania- Symphony of the Night
Well, that's my Wednesday sorted!
Photo: Konami

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, probably the most beloved entry in the action-adventure gothic Castlevania franchise, got a surprise release on mobile Tuesday.

Originally released on PlayStation in 1997, Symphony of the Night changed the series’ direction. It did this by borrowing not from the existing Castlevania formula, but by augmenting it with RPG elements from games like Zelda II and Metroid. It’s pretty darn great.

Apple temporarily closing one store in Italy amidst coronavirus outbreak

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Apple Oriocenter 2
Apple Oriocenter won't be open this weekend.
Photo: Apple

As Italy fights to halt the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Apple is temporarily closing a single store location in Italy on orders of the Italian government.

The mall-based Apple Oriocenter store, located in the province of Bergamo, will be closed on March 7 and 8. This is the result of a decision by the President of the Council of Ministers that medium and large retail stores, as well as commercial outlets in shopping centers, must close this weekend.

Apple shows off the greatest Night mode pictures shot on iPhone

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iPhone Night Mode competition 6
Yu “Eric” Zhang used his Phone 11 Pro Max to snap a stunning night picture in Beijing.
Photo: Yu “Eric” Zhang

Apple has released a selection of its handpicked favorite Night mode pictures taken by iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max users from around the world.

The six winning images were selected by a panel of judges out of thousands of submissions worldwide. The winning photographers hail from China, India, Russia and Spain. You can check out the pick of the pics below:

Apple’s biggest manufacturer says production will return to normal by end of March

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Coronavirus-related shutdowns continue to disrupt Chinese factories.
Coronavirus has severely impacted Foxconn production.
Photo: Steve Jurvetson/Flickr CC

Apple manufacturer Foxconn hopes to resume regular production in China by the end of March.

Foxconn’s operations, which include iPhone production lines, have been severely impacted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. The world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer previously said it expects its full-year revenues to take a hit.

Apple’s shares just rose by more than market cap of Nike and Spotify combined

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money
Apple stock is up a few percentage points just doesn't have the same ring to it.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

It’s easy to forget just what a crazily big and successful company Apple actually is. Even a slight dip or swell in the company’s share price equates to tens of billions of dollars in real terms.

Case in point: As AAPL recovered slightly from the battering of coronavirus over the past two trading days, its market cap increased by $180 billion. As Above Avalon analyst Neil Cybart helpfully points out, that’s the equivalent of the entirety of Netflix. Or Nike and Spotify put together.

Following delay, Apple TV+ movie The Banker has its premiere

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The Banker is the first original movie from Apple TV+.
The original premiere was pushed back due to allegations of abuse.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ movie The Banker had its red carpet premiere Monday night at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.

The movie, which is based on a true story, stars Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson as Bernard Garrett and Joe Morris, two of the first African-American bankers in the United States.

Mario Kart Tour is finally getting multiplayer for everyone March 8

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Mario Kart Tour multiplayer mode
Get ready for some head-to-head battles with up to eight players.
Photo: Nintendo

Mario Kart Tour‘s multiplayer mode is finally rolling out to everyone — and you don’t need to pay up to play it.

The popular Nintendo kart-racing game debuted its first multiplayer beta test in late 2019. However, only players who subscribed to the game’s $4.99 a month Gold Pass could play it. A public beta process took place in January.

Forget anagrams, Sticky Terms is a word puzzle game with a twist

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Word puzzle game
You're not just rearranging the letters here.
Photo: Sticky Terms

Want a text-based puzzle game that will stretch your brain, help you relax and, heck, maybe even teach you some new words? Sticky Terms is the game you’ve been searching for.

Created by 28-year-old iOS game developer Philipp Stollenmayer, it’s a playable head-scratching lexicon of words covering a wide array of languages. The game presents each word as a puzzle, torn into between two and five pieces. It’s up to you, the player, to arrange them into a completed word. No timers, failures or high scores apply.

And you know what? It’s kind of addictive.

2 Apple suppliers allegedly used Uighur Muslim forced labor in China

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China’s population of 1.4 billion makes it a huge potential market for Apple.
Both companies have factories in China.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Two suppliers that make components for Apple in China employ forced labor, according to a report published Sunday. The Washington Post says BOE Technology Group, which supplies screens to Apple, and O-Film, which makes iPhone cameras, both use Uighur labor, either directly or through contractors. Apple lists both companies on its latest supplier list.

The report describes how the Chinese government detained more than 1 million ethnic Uighurs from China’s western Xinjiang region in reeducation camps. And it says evidence indicates that authorities “are moving Uighurs into government-directed labour around the country as part of the central government’s Xinjiang Aid initiative.”

Flagship iPhones get more expensive in Apple’s biggest untapped market

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Slickwrap iPhone 11Pro
Apple has ramped up prices of the iPhone in India. For some devices, at least.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Apple has raised the price of several iPhone models — including the top-tier iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max — yet again in India, risking denting sales in the country that were just starting to take off.

The price hike is just under 2%, making it smaller than the sizable iPhone price increase Apple introduced in India in 2018. It follows increased import duties announced during India’s Union Budget 2020.

iPhone camera module plant in South Korea closes due to coronavirus

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iPhone-11-Pro-cameras
LG Innotek makes camera modules for iPhones.
Photo: Apple

iPhone camera module supplier LG Innotek closed one of its South Korean factories over the weekend after a worker tested positive for coronavirus.

LG Innotek has long been part of Apple’s supply chain, supplying camera components for iPhones. This year, it is also expected to manufacture 3D Time of Flight (ToF) modules for Apple’s next generation iPads and iPhones.

10 things you (probably) don’t know about the iPad

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iPad trivia: 10 things you didn't know about iPad
You might think you know a lot about the iPad, but ...
Photo: Malvern Graphics/Cult of Mac

#10things bug While the iPad was arguably the purest distillation of Steve Jobs’ computing philosophy, even dyed-in-the-wool Apple fans don’t know everything about the revolutionary tablet.

Whether you’re an Apple newbie who’s just learning the differences between the iPad Air and the iPad Pro or a longtime fan who calls Cupertino products by their code names, there’s always a bit more to find out.

Here are 10 things you (probably) don’t know about the iPad.

Coronavirus fears erase 20% of Apple’s market cap

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Apple iMac showing the Apple logo.
Apple heavily relies on China where coronavirus has been most prevalent.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Coronavirus has hit Apple shares hard. Despite initially shrugging off the disruption of the outbreak, Apple is currently trading down more than 20% from its record record high.

That makes it one of the hardest hit stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial Average thanks to coronavirus.

Long-awaited Crossy Road follow-up comes to Apple Arcade

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Long-awaited Crossy Road sequel coming to Apple Arcade
It's like Frogger but set in a castle. And without the cars or frogs.
Photo: Hipster Whale

Crossy Road Castle, the long-awaited follow-up to Hipster Whale’s 2014 game Crossy Road, landed on Apple Arcade on Thursday.

The game takes the same updated Frogger concept that made the original such a hit, but swaps out the roads and cars for a procedurally generated endless castle tower the player must climb. Check out the trailer below:

MI5 boss thinks tech companies should provide ‘exceptional access’ to encrypted messages

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UAE iPhone hacks
Spymaster thinks intelligence agency should be able to read encrypted messages when it needs to.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The UK’s director general of intelligence agency MI5 thinks that tech companies should provide it with “exceptional access” to encrypted messages when required.

Sir Andrew Parker made his remarks for an ITV documentary broadcast on Thursday about the domestic intelligence agency. He said that it is “increasingly mystifying” why intelligence agencies are not able to easily read the secret messages being sent and received by terror suspects they are monitoring.

Claim deadline looms for iPhone owners with a faulty power button

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International governments plan to rethink tax rules for the ‘digital age’
Affected customers can claim their piece of the settlement.
Photo: Pixabay/Pexels CC

The deadline for California citizens who bought an iPhone 4, 4s or 5 with a defective sleep/wake power button to cash in is coming up.

A class action lawsuit against Apple was filed in 2013. It alleged that Apple knowingly sold iPhones with “defective” power buttons and then failed to properly remedy the issue. A settlement reached with Apple means that people who bought one of these devices can complete a form to receive “up to $24” for their troubles.

Veteran operations exec leaves Apple; another considers exit

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Apple Park
Two operations execs could be on their way out of Apple.
Photo: Matthew Roberts

One veteran executive is leaving Apple, while another exec is considering departing the company as well, a new report claims. Both worked in the operations and supply-chain management side.

Nick Forlenza, a vice president of manufacturing design, has retired from Apple. Meanwhile, Duco Pasmooij, a vice president of operations, is discussing an exit in the near future. The operations side of Apple is currently facing challenges related to the outbreak of coronavirus in China, where many of Apple’s supply-side contractors are located.

Sorry, Friends won’t be coming to Apple TV+ any time soon

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Friends
The One Where Apple Doesn't Pay Up.
Photo: Warner Bros.

Were you hoping for Friends on Apple TV+? According to Tim Cook, you’re out of luck.

During Wednesday’s shareholder meeting, an investor asked Cook why Apple hadn’t bought the streaming rights to the popular sitcom and its forthcoming special. Cook’s answer not only squashed hope of this happening in the immediate future, it also underlined his vision for Apple TV+.

If David Lynch made an iOS game it would look a lot like Path to Mnemosyne

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Path to Mnemosyne screenshot
A puzzle game full of dreamlike (and sometimes nightmare) imagery.
Photo: DevilishGames

Path to Mnemosyne, an esoteric puzzle game featuring gorgeous hand-drawn grayscale art, is coming to the App Store. And it’s a doozy.

Having previously made waves on Steam in late 2018, in addition to launches on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, the critically acclaimed game’s forthcoming arrival on iOS will open it up to a whole new audience. If David Lynch made an iOS game it would probably look a lot like this.

How Apple’s self-driving car fleet fared on California roads last year

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Here's how Apple Car might eliminate blind spots
Will an Apple Car ever be available to buy?
Photo: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Only 23 of Apple’s registered self-driving cars were active between December 2018 and November 2019, according to data provided to California’s Department of Motor Vehicles. In total, Apple’s fleet of modified Lexus RX450h SUVs travelled 7,544 miles during the period.

That’s down from the 79,745 miles its vehicles travelled in the previous year.

Upcoming Steve Jobs auction a treasure trove for Apple fans

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Steve
Want to own a piece of Steve Jobs memorabilia? Of course you do.
Photo: Stanford University

A treasure trove of Steve Jobs-related goods is going under the hammer in an upcoming March auction titled, well, the Steve Jobs auction.

Organized by RR Auctions, the lot consists of various Apple-related items. These include a PowerBook signed by Jobs, an original Apple-1 computer, and an incredibly rare Apple II document signed by Jobs, previously belonging to Apple’s first industrial designer Jerry Manock.

Apple made the No. 1 and No. 2 smartphones in the world last year

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iPhone XR portrait mode
iPhone XR was the year's most popular handset.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone XR was the world’s most popular smartphone last year, claims market research firm Omdia. The iPhone 11 followed in second place.

In its Smartphone Model Market Tracker report, released Tuesday, Omdia says Apple shipped 46.3 million iPhone XR handsets in 2019. That’s more than double the 23.1 million units it shipped in 2018 (although it was only released on October 26 that year.)

Apple supplier hires ‘SARS hero’ to help it battle back against coronavirus outbreak

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Foxconn employees accused of $43 million iPhone scam
Tim Cook meets with a Foxconn assembler during a previous trip to China.
Photo: Apple

Apple manufacturer Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, has hired a man dubbed the “SARS hero” by Chinese state media as part of its efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus.

83-year-old scientist Zhong Nanshan is credited with finding the right way to treat SARS, the severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by a novel coronavirus, which spread between late 2002 and mid-2003. Foxconn says that he will act as a consultant for its coronavirus prevention and rehabilitation efforts.

Subscription music services dominate, music downloads fall below $1 billion

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Music licensing company takes aim at Apple Music for illegal streaming
It's all about the music subscription services these days.
Photo: Stas Knop/Pexels CC

Music streaming subscription services grew 13% in the United States in 2019, while iTunes-style downloads continued to decline.

According to a new report by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), streaming accounted for 79% of the overall music industry in the U.S. Physical sales, such as CDs and vinyl accounted for 10%, while downloads experienced the biggest decline — making up just 8% of revenue.