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News - page 1070

Samsung on the up again as iPhone’s share falls in key markets

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Apple and Samsung return to court
Apple and Samsung are battling it out again.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Is Samsung back? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Is Samsung back? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Samsung saw its market share grow last quarter for the first time in 2015, as Android continues to dominate the market worldwide. Google’s platform also saw growth throughout Europe’s “big five” markets, while Apple’s fell for the first time in over a year.

Apple reveals its ‘best of 2015’ picks for iTunes and App Store

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IMG_2959
What did Apple pick this year?
Photo: Apple

2015 is almost over, and Apple has released its list of its favorite apps, games, and pop culture artefacts which landed in the App Store and on iTunes over the past twelve months.

Alongside expected categories like best iPhone and iPad app, the list also includes newer categories including best apps for iPad Pro, watchOS and tvOS — and even a few (slightly suspect) picks for best movie, album and the like.

Apple now sells Lightning headphones that are super-expensive

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Screen Shot 2015-12-09 at 14.03.01
The Audeze EL-8 Titanium headphones are great quality. But they'll cost ya!
Photo: Apple

For a company which keeps its future plans on the down-low, Apple sure is serious about getting us to believe the rumors that it’s ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack for future generations of iPhone.

At least, that’s going by the fact that Apple has just started selling $800 Audeze EL-8 Titanium headphones — at both its online Apple Store and select brick-and-mortar retail outlets in the U.S. and Canada.

5 Apple accessories every bit as crappy as the iPhone battery case

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Smart case
Help! My iPhone 6s has eaten my iPhone 4.
Photo: Apple

The consensus view of Apple’s newly launched hunchback iPhone battery case is that it should ideally be hidden from human view, spending its life in isolation ringing bells in Notre Dame.

Immediately upon release, the Internet filled with loud, angry protesters saying this kind of thing would never have happened in Steve Jobs’ day (and accusing Jony Ive of snoozing on the job). While I’m definitely no fan of Apple’s $99 Smart Battery Case, this isn’t the first time the company has released a less-than-stellar piece of design work amidst its usually gorgeous offerings.

Check out the list below for five of the worst pieces of design to come out of Cupertino since … well, yesterday, actually.

Apple’s plan to deliver live TV service is ‘on hold’

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tvOS just got another new update.
Apple TV won't quite be living up to its true potential just yet.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple has reportedly suspended plans to add an Internet-based live television service for Apple TV, maintaining its focus on providing media from other companies.

A person familiar with negotiations claims that Apple’s plan to sell a $30-$40 monthly package of exclusive television stations has run into problems — based on the amount of money content creators are asking for for programming.

Steve Jobs team won’t let bad box office kill Oscar campaign

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Aaron Sorkin’s Steve Jobs movie is coming to Netflix
Universal is chasing an award for their efforts.
Photo: François Duhamel/©2015 Universal Studios

Steve Jobs may have flopped at the box office, but the team responsible for it are still confident that they can make up for the dismal lack of earnings with an Oscar.

According to a new report, Aaron Sorkin, Jeff Daniels (who plays John Sculley) and director Danny Boyle recently attended an “intimate brunch and Q&A” with a roomful of Academy voters at the St. Regis hotel.

Best Buy slashes $100 off Apple Watch prices

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Apple Watch
Best Buy is living up to its name.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Best Buy is trying its darnedest to live up to its name with a new $100 discount on every Apple Watch model it sells. The deep discount brings the entry-level cost of a 38mm Apple Watch Sport down to just $250.

Apple TV ad shows just how big the small screen has become

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The future of television is Apple TV.
The future of television is Apple TV.
Photo: Apple

Apple is pushing its new iteration of Apple TV hard, hoping to move it beyond a “hobby” into a must-have set top box for every living room and television set possible.

Apple’s new ad, “The Future of Television,” is a visual collage of just about everything you can do with the Apple TV, including watching television shows and movies, playing games, and listening to music.

Check it out.

Insane drone video shows one way to cook a turkey (maybe)

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Turkey drone video
"They're doing what, now?"
Photo: Dorinel Nedelcu/Pixabay

A new drone video is setting the Internet — and a turkey, and maybe even a forest — on fire.

It features an extreme version of cooking that might result in a perfectly roasted holiday bird. Or it might just be a charred mess. We’re guessing on the latter, but it’s somehow fascinating to behold.

Check out the latest weapon in the war on poultry below.

Grammar haters score a win in text-messaging study

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Text messages punctuation
You aren't helping, Lindsay.
Screenshot: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

I try to maintain grammatical integrity no matter what I’m typing. But a new study suggests that people may not appreciate that while text messaging, and it’s not just because they think I’m showing off how much gooder I can word.

The researchers concluded that texts that end in proper and correct periods come off as insincere.

$2,000 Phantom speakers will soon haunt Apple Store shelves

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From the Apple house to your own.
From the Apple house to your own.
Photo: Romain Salzman/Devialet

Devialet’s Phantom speaker is a ultra deluxe bit of audio gear, and Apple’s about to favor it with some serious retail real estate as the Cupertino-based company places the company from France’s product front and center in select Apple Stores.

If you head to one of them, you’ll see the Phantom starting Wednesday, December 9.

The wireless Phantom has a crazy 3000 watts of distortion-free sound, claims its maker, and starts at a cool $1,990, which makes it a perfect match for Apple’s retail stores, which aim to showcase high-quality items that are worth their high-end price.

Bob Ross tribute shows the joy of painting on iPad Pro

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iPad Pro painting
Welcome to the world of happy little digital trees.
Photo: iPhonedo (via YouTube)

A tribute to late public-television legend Bob Ross shows you the joy of painting on the iPad Pro, and it’s not so much about happy little trees as it is really thinking about those bushes.

YouTube user iPhonedo, who may want to rethink his wig choices, gives a Rossian demonstration of basic techniques using the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to create beautiful landscapes. It’s about planning layers, thinking about light, and bushes. We can’t impress upon you enough how important bushes are. Bushes are so important that the video gets kinda weird.

Check it out below.

These hand-crafted T-shirts are for Apple geeks who like super-soft cotton

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Limited handmade A-Shirts from Peru.
Limited handmade A-Shirts from Peru.
Photo: A-Shirt

Cyril Pavillard has a resume that reads like most tech entrepreneurs. Start a company, enjoy success, sell for profit, repeat.

So what is he doing in the Apple T-shirt business? One, he wants to appeal to Apple fans all over the world with his line of A-Shirts bearing designs that pay homage to great Cupertino products and geniuses. Pavillard, himself, is completely gaga over Apple.

The second reason is more altruistic.

Apple TV’s first big update adds Siri search for Apple Music

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tvOS just got another new update.
tvOS just got another new update.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The latest iteration of Apple TV’s operating system, tvOS 9.1, is out of beta and ready for the big screen.

The new update includes support for searching Apple Music with your voice, via the fantastic Siri Remote, so you no longer have to type in long artist names with the weird keyboard line that Apple offers you.

El Capitan 10.11.2 update improves Mac stability and security

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A new beta is out for OS X El Capitan.
A new beta is out for OS X El Capitan.
Photo: Apple

Apple has dropped a big new update on Mac users today with the release of OS X El Capitan 10.11.2.

This is the second big update for El Capitan since the desktop operating system was made public two months ago. OS X 10.11.2 brings with it a number of stability and security improvements for Mac, including fixes for Wi-Fi, AirDrop, Bluetooth, Mail, and Live Photos.

Here’s a full list of the changes:

watchOS 2.1 is out with lots of language support and bug fixes

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As smartwatches grow in popularity, the Apple Watch will continue to be the hands-on - or wrist-on - favorite.
As smartwatches grow in popularity, the Apple Watch will continue to be the hands-on - or wrist-on - favorite.
Photo: Apple

Apple Watch owners received a new software update this morning in the form of watchOS 2.1.

The new update comes over a month after watchOS 2.0.1 was made available to the public and contains a number of bug fixes and performance improvements to go with expanded system language support.

Internet questions Jony Ive’s sanity with new iPhone battery case

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My hump, my hump, my hump, my lovely little lumps.
My hump, my hump, my hump, my lovely little lumps.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s new Smart Battery Case is the ugliest product to come out of Cupertino since apps with leather stiching. 

The new case came as a surprise this morning, offering iPhone 6s owners some extra juice and protection, but its weird hump has drawn the attention and ire of fans, leading many to wonder, ‘did Jony Ive really approve this thing?’

Not only is the case so ugly it looks like Quasimodo had sex with a camel. It’s not even that functional. It can’t recharge the iPhone 6s from 0 to 100 percent. The only LED indicator is on the inside of the case. And you can’t decide when to have the case charge your iPhone.

It’s so awful I’d almost swear Scott Forstall snuck into the design lab and is pranking us. It’s ironic Apple’s obsession with sacrificing battery life to make the iPhone thinner has put the company in a corner, causing it to innovate its way into making a big bulky battery case.

We’re not the only ones that hate the new case. Apple fans went crazy on Twitter in disbelief over the Smart Battery Case. Check out some of the best reactions:

iOS 9.2 is now available to the public

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iOS 9.3 beta 6 is here!
iOS 9.3 beta 6 is here!
Photo: Apple

Apple just released iOS 9.2 to the public today after months of beta testing by developers and public testers.

iOS 9.2 is the second major update since iOS 9 was released to in Septmeber and brings with it a host of new bug fixes, as well as significant tweaks to the Safari View Controller that allows Safari to run natively within third-party apps.

CleanMyDrive 2 offers new tools to keep your external drives in top shape

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Finding and deleting junk on your external drives is super easy with CleanMyDrive 2.
Finding and deleting junk on your external drives is super easy with CleanMyDrive 2.
Photo: MacPaw

Ever noticed how filled with digital flotsam and jetsam your Mac gets? It’s even worse with external hard drives, which tend to fill up with OS X service files (with glorious names like .DS_Store or .TemporaryItems), Windows service files from when you connect to other PCs, resource forks and un-emptied files in the Trash.

CleanMyDrive is a fantastic utility to remove this kind of from your external hard drives, and now developer MacPaw has refined it even more to bring you CleanMyDrive 2, with new tools to help you keep all your connected drives clean and safe.

Apple just released an iPhone battery case, and it’s butt-ugly

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Screen Shot 2015-12-08 at 10.21.39
Apple's new smart case will keep your iPhone running for up to 25 hours. But at what cost?
Photo: Apple

Apple today unveiled a surprise new $99 iPhone “Smart Battery Case,” available in white and charcoal gray — designed to not only protect your iPhone 6s or iPhone 6, but also to give it considerably longer battery life.

While Apple does not give specific battery capacity details, it notes that the battery case offers increased talk time up to 25 hours, Internet use up to 18 hours on LTE, and video playback up to 20 hours.

The downside? Well, it’s not exactly a “looker.”