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iPhone - page 128

iPhone 8 concept shows how fantastic Function Bar could be

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The Function Bar would be a game changer.
The Function Bar would be a game changer.
Photo: iDropNews/Benjamin Geskin

Getting rid of the home button could be one of the greatest things Apple could do for the iPhone 8.

Rumors have been swirling for months that Apple plans to embed Touch ID into the screen in order to ditch the home button. A fantastic new concept imagines how Apple could use that extra screen real estate to make navigating the iOS faster than ever.

These are the countries to avoid when buying an iPhone

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iPhone 7 back
Get yours before they're all gone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

You may be able to barter with merchants for good deals in Turkey’s famous markets. But if you’re looking for a deal on an iPhone 7, you will want to pick another country.

An iPhone 7 in Turkey costs more than any other country in the world and is about one and half times more expensive than here in the U.S., according to an annual report by Deutsche Bank comparing prices on common goods.

Imagination Technologies files formal dispute with Apple

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Apple isn't happy with Imagination Technologies.
Apple isn't happy with Imagination Technologies.
Photo: Apple

Imagination Technologies, the British company that has been designing Apple’s mobile GPUs for years, has started a “dispute resolution procedure” with the Cupertino company over a licensing standoff.

Imagination has already confirmed that Apple will be dropping its graphics chips within two years and adopting its own instead. But the company suspects Apple has stolen its intellectual property.

Twitter flips out over mysterious Tim Cook tweet

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Tim's got a lot to be happy about.
Tim's got a lot to be happy about.
Photo: Twitter

Apple CEO Tim Cook set Twitter ablaze with speculation today — and all it took was a simple smiley face emoji.

Cook sent out a tweet with just a smiley face emoji this morning. No other context was provided, and the tweet got deleted shortly later, leading Apple fans on Twitter to wonder what the most powerful man in tech was really trying to say.

These are the most popular theories:

The Apple Watch business is way bigger than you think

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apple watch bands
Apple Watch Series 3 needs to be special.
Photo: Apple

Apple Watch gets a lot of stick for being a “me-too” product, and people who don’t see the need for a smartwatch assume the business is a bust. There’s this crazy perception that Apple Watch is just not selling — but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Apple Watch, alongside other Apple wearables, is now raking in billions of dollars every year. The business is huge. So huge, in fact, that it would be a Fortune 500 company all by itself, outselling supposed smash hits like Microsoft’s Surface tablets and the Amazon Echo.

Here’s why Apple Watch isn’t the flop you think it is.

Liveblog: Just how good (or bad) was Apple’s Q2?

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apple earnings
Apple's money-making machine is on a new level.
Photo illustration: Steve Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is set to reveal its second quarterly earnings report of 2017 this afternoon. And according to analysts, the numbers won’t be nearly as impressive as last quarter’s record-shattering results.

Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri will run through all the numbers with investors today at 2 p.m. Pacific. As usual, Cult of Mac will be liveblogging the action with all the analysis and snark we can muster.

Come join the fun:

Apple beats expectations in Q2 2017 earnings report

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Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple just posted its earnings for Q2 2017 and while the numbers aren’t as monstrous as last quarter’s, there’s a lot to love in the new report.

With revenues hitting $52.9 billion, Apple returned to growth for the second straight quarter with $11 billion in profit. iPhone sales were down year-over-year, but Apple CEO Tim Cook says demand for the iPhone 7 Plus is still high.

Apple plans to help you count calories

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RFID apple watch
RFID tags could communicate nutritional information with your Apple device.
Photo: USPTO/Apple

Future iPhones or Apple Watches may be able to help users with calorie counting, alongside the step-tracking and other information they already help us keep tabs on.

That’s according to a newly-published Apple patent, which describes device-readable RFID tags the company has invented. These could be used to send nutritional information — such as caloric value, fat and sugar content, and more — from food packaging to your NFC-enabled Apple device.

Travel battery will keep your iPhone and Apple Watch juiced

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Ready to give charge on both devices.
Ready to give charge on both devices.
Photo: Elevation Lab

The iPhone helps with an endless number of tasks, but with a finite amount of battery life. So extra power is easy to find, whether it’s in an external battery or a battery integrated iPhone case.

But that battery is one more thing you have to charge. Strap on an Apple Watch and soon you are looking for a bigger bag that makes room for the charging needs of your various devices.

Portland-based Elevation Lab has a travel battery that takes virtually no room and can charge both your Apple Watch and iPhone a few times before it needs to recharge.

OSX.Bella trojan discovered installing backdoors into Macs

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15 inch MacBook Pro Silver
It might be time to update your passwords again.
Photo: Apple

Security researchers have discovered a nasty bit of Mac malware similar to OSX.Dok trojan, which can bypass Apple’s GateKeeper feature.

The new bug, dubbed OSX.Bella, behaves and distributes itself in a completely different manner than OSX.Dok. But once installed, it executes a script that’s just as damaging.

What to expect from Apple’s Q2 2017 earnings report

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Earnings call
Apple made a ton of money last quarter.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple is set to reveal its second quarterly earnings report of 2017 next Tuesday, and based on early estimates from analysts, Tim Cook might not have much to boast about.

Wall Street has been in love with Apple stock the last few months, sending it to all-time highs since the last earnings report came out. But with the holiday shopping season over and a lack of new products to boost sales, Apple’s numbers may look a bit flat.

These are the key areas to watch for:

Apple’s new Portrait Mode ad puts love in focus

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Portait Mode is for lovers.
Portait Mode is for lovers.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s new iPhone 7 Plus ad will make you fall in love with falling in love.

The new minute-long ad showcases Portrait mode on the iPhone 7 Plus but it’s really about a couple’s romantic stroll through the city while “Sing to Me” by Walter Martin and Karen O plays through the background.

Check it out:

Apple’s cash pile heads for $250 billion milestone

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Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple’s second quarterly earnings report of 2017 will likely reveal the company now has over a quarter of a trillion dollars of cash stashed in the bank.

The iPhone-maker has so much cash its reserves exceed the foreign-currency reserves of the U.K. and Canada combined. During the last quarter of 2017, Apple’s money-making machine was earning $3.6 million per hour.

Is Apple’s product lineup too confusing? [Friday Night Fights]

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streamlining Apple product lineup
Do you find it difficult to choose Apple products?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple currently offers more products than ever before. Whether you’re buying an iPhone, an iPad, a Mac, or even an Apple Watch, there are a bunch of options to consider before you hand over your cash in an Apple store.

Friday Night Fights bugHaving options is always a good thing, but has Apple’s product portfolio become too confusing for consumers? Does the company even have the resources to keep everything fresh and fully-supported, or is its larger lineup hurting its products?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over whether it’s time for Apple to streamline its product lineup.

Merriam-Webster calls Apple fans ‘sheeple’

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Sydney
Some Australian sheeple photographed in the wild.
Photo: Apple

It is officially proper English to call compliant people — including Apple fans — “sheeple.”

The wordsmiths at Merriam-Webster revealed “sheeple” as the newest entry in the dictionary this morning. And according to the definition, Apple fans are a prime example of sheeple in the real world.

Qualcomm: Apple is cutting off our iPhone royalties

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16538416979_13d6221fde_k
The Qualcomm/Apple standoff is getting nasty!
Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns/Flickr CC

The battle between Apple and Qualcomm is intensifying, with Qualcomm claiming that Apple is set to stop making licensing payments related to the iPhone.

The result of this is that Qualcomm will have to revise its earnings forecasts to give a smaller number, due to Apple cutting off one of its major sources of revenue until the dispute is resolved.

iPhone growth stalls as Chinese smartphones surge

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Product Red iPhone box
The RED iPhone 7 hasn't given sales a boost.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Growth in the smartphone industry isn’t dead yet, according to the latest report from the International Data Corporation which found smartphone shipments grew more than expected last quarter.

IDC predicted shipments would rise 3.6%, but the industry actually saw 4.3% growth in Q1 2017. Unfortunately for Apple, most of the increase in shipments were triggered by a couple of Chinese companies.

Apple Pay’s next step? Peer-to-peer payments

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple is again working to deliver its own Venmo competitor that will allow fans to transfer money to one another using their iPhones, according to a new report.

Multiple sources familiar with the company’s plans expect the service to be unveiled later this year.

iOS 11 will bring new focus on original videos from Apple Music

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Carpool Karaoke
Enjoy Carpool Karaoke without an Apple Music subscription.
Photo: Apple

iOS 11 will deliver a new Music app with a focus on original videos, according to Jimmy Iovine. The Apple Music chief says the service could add many as 10 original video series by the end of this year, including Carpool Karaoke and will.i.am’s Planet of the Apps, while Apple is also in talks to secure content from J.J. Abrams and R. Kelly.

Woolet is the smart wallet you’ll never lose [Review]

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Woolet wallet
Never worry about losing a wallet again.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

If you’ve ever lost a wallet, you’ll know it’s one of the most frustrating experiences. You have to cancel your cards, order a new driver’s license, and sometimes you’ll lose precious memories — like photos that can’t be replaced. But you’ll never have to go through that again with Woolet.

Woolet is a smart wallet that connects to your smartphone over Bluetooth. Every time you leave it behind, it sends an alert to your iPhone to remind you to go back and pick it up. It looks good and has plenty of space for cards and cash.

It’s also available in a travel size that’s big enough to carry your passport.

What’s on my iPhone 7: Videographer edition

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iPhone-8
iPhone SE 2 is expected to arrive in early 2020.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you’re new to iPhone, or you’ve recently upgraded to a new model, you might be wondering if you’re missing out on great apps. In this video, we’ll show you some of the terrific titles Cult of Mac video maker Ste Smith is using on his iPhone 7.

You’ll find apps for controlling your smart and home security devices, losing the weight you put on over Easter, keeping an eye on your data usage, and a lot more!

Apple may be planning just 2 new iPhones for 2017

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iPhone 8 concept
The OLED revolution has begun.
Photo: Concept

Apple will launch just two new iPhones this fall as opposed to three, according to a new report.

Fans were expecting updates to the existing 4.7- and 5.5-inch models, plus a larger “iPhone Edition” with a different design, an OLED display, and additional features. But one supply chain source says “it’s not true.”