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iPhone - page 172

Rumors of iPhone crash in 2016 may be greatly exaggerated

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Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
Don't expect Apple's iPhone business to crash any time soon.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

This time of year yields more Apple doom predictions than New Year’s resolutions, so it’s no surprise that Apple analysts have been naming 2016 as the year iPhone sales finally fall off a cliff.

But according to Brean Capital, not only is Apple stock still worth buying, with a $170 price target, but investors should look through the “supply chain ‘noise'” and see the potential for iPhone sales to hit around 250 million units next year — or 7 percent to 10 percent growth from Apple’s already stellar 2016.

Apple is close to signing deal for OLED iPhone displays

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20151008_iphone-xt1_0014-780x520
OLED displays are on their way.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The arrival of OLED displays for future iPhones is looking more of a sure thing than ever, with a new report stating that Apple is on the verge of finalizing an agreement with Samsung Display and LG Display to build its future screens.

According to sources, Samsung will produce around 90,000 OLED substrates per month for Apple, while LG will produce 60,000.

Total number of smartphone displays that should generate? The report doesn’t make it explicitly clear, but it is likely to be in the region of 400 million displays per year.

AT&T will kill two-year contracts at the beginning of 2016

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Two-year contracts are about to be a thing of the past.
Two-year contracts are about to be a thing of the past.
Photo: Mike Mozart/Flickr

If you want to buy the iPhone 6s on a two-year contract with AT&T you better hurry.

Internal documents from AT&T leaked online this morning revealing the carrier plans to finally kill the two-year contracts it’s offered long before it become the first carrier to sell the iPhone.

iPhone shipments rocket 133% in the Middle East and Africa

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iPhone 6s
After China, the Middle East and Africa is one of Apple's big focuses.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple is focused on expanding into new markets, and after its success in China, it seems the next focus is on the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

According to analysts at Counterpoint Research, Apple saw its market share in the region climb 3.9 percent in the third quarter of 2015, compared to 2.2 percent during the same period one year earlier. Overall, iPhone shipments grew 133 percent on-year in 2015 to enter the top 5 smartphone brands in the area.

Apple could ink deal with Samsung and LG for future OLED iPhones

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apple-could-ink-deal-with-samsung-and-lg-for-future-oled-iphones-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201501LG-G-Flex-2-jpg

LG-G-Flex-2

We’ve heard for years that Apple could incorporate OLED displays into next-generation iPhones, but over the past few months, those rumors have ramped up, suggesting that the power-sipping display technology could land as early as the iPhone 7.

Now, a new report buttresses those rumors, saying Apple is close to finalizing a supply agreement with Samsung and LG to give future iPhones OLED displays.

How to keep iPhone from ruining your square lock-screen photos

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It's hip to be square.
It's hip to be square.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

If you’ve ever tried to set a square photo as your lock screen or homes screen wallpaper, you know that iOS will zoom into the photo, resizing it to fit the entire iPhone screen.

This is fine with some images, but square ones, like the ones you save on Instagram or take with your iPhone’s square photo feature, just zoom in too far, obscuring much of the photo.

Here’s a quick and easy work around that will let you see the whole square photo when you use it as wallpaper.

iPhone goes dumb in this neat Apple concept

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iDot would be the first distraction free iPhone.
iDot would be the first distraction free iPhone.
Photo: Martin Hajek/Curved

Apple fans obsess over which new features will get added to the iPhone every year, but if the latest concept from designer Martin Hajek ever becomes a reality, the new iPhone will be more notable for the hardware it’s missing.

The iDot concept packs no camera, no internet connection, zero apps and minimal distractions, so you can focus on what’s really important instead of having your soul slowly sucked away by your iPhone screen.

Why 2015 was Apple’s most important year since original iPhone’s unveiling

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Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
2015 was a crucial year for Apple, and it looks like it's paying off.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

‘Tis the season to be jolly — or, if you’re a tech writer hoping to score enough clicks to help pay off the post-Christmas credit card, ’tis the season to label this the worst year for Apple since records began.

From Gizmodo’s restrained “Everything Apple Introduced This Year Kinda Sucked,” to The Verge calling this the year Apple spent in beta, to Bloomberg banging the “lemon of the year” gong for the Apple Watch, pundits aren’t exactly being kind to Cupertino as 2015 draws to a close.

But, you know what? They’re dead wrong. This was the most important year for Apple since 2007, when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone.

Soulja Boy’s latest repetitive trap song is all about iPhone

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Trappin off my iPhone.
Trappin off my iPhone.
Photo: Soulja Boy

Rapper, producer and dance meme-maker Soulja Boy finally removed his regrettable Gucci forehead tattoo over Christmas weekend, and to celebrate he released a fresh new song that’s all about his love of Steve Jobs’ greatest gift to gangsters: the iPhone.

The new meme-worthy trap song blasts the same highly repetitive lyrics and catchy trap beats that turned Soulja Boy into a sensation in 2007 with his hit “Crank That.” Aptly titled “Trappin On My iPhone” (but not to be confused with Bigg Quan’s “Trappin Off My iPhone“), the ridiculous new song contains more than 40 iPhone references and talks about why true CEOs of the streets manage drug empires with the best smartphone, instead of a lame flip-phone burner.

Listen to the song below:

iPhone 6s Plus vs. Nexus 6P vs. Lumia 950 XL: Who wins the smartphone NASCAR?

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How long does it take an iPhone to lap a Nexus and a Lumia?

If all of the big boys’ flagship phones – the iPhone 6s Plus, the Google Nexus 6P and Microsoft’s Lumia 950 XL – raced in NASCAR, which would be the fastest phone around? This speed-test video puts that concept to the test, making all three phones “run laps” to see which is the fastest.

How to set up all your shiny new Apple gear

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No matter what Apple gear you got (or gave), we're here to help.
No matter what Apple gear you got (or gave), we're here to help.
Photo: Pixabay

This time of the year typically means gifts, both giving and receiving them. Surely some of you have gotten a brand new Macbook, iMac, iPhone or iPad (Pro, anyone?).

If so, you might be looking at a lovely morning playing with your shiny new toys. But where to start? What essential tweaks, software tricks and necessary little tips do you need to make sure they’re set up the right way?

Well, we’ve got your back, with roundups to help you easily set up your iPhone 6s or 6s Plus, iPad (Pro, Air 2 or mini), Apple Watch or new Apple TV the right way. Here’s the list of setup guides to get you up and running with your brand new Apple gear.

Police crack massive iPhone black market crime ring

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Apple
I'd be happy with just the one iPhone, to be honest.
Photo: Tigard PD

Police in Tigard, Oregon have cracked an organized retail crime ring which used stolen gift cards worth three-quarters of a million dollars to buy iPhones bound for the Hong Kong black market.

Tigard Detective T.J. Hahn told the local KOIN 6 News that organized retail theft has become a bigger crime than even drug sales.

“This kind of activity makes millions of millions of dollars, into the billions,” he said.

iOS tip: The weird way to find keywords in a webpage

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Find what you want in mobile Safari.
Find what you want in mobile Safari.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Sometimes I’m browsing a site like Cult of Mac on my iPhone and I’m looking for something specific, like a story about encryption, for example. Instead of swiping down the page and hoping I see the story I’m looking for, I want to just search for it.

When you’re on your Mac, it’s super easy to find something like this: simply hit Command-F, type in the text string you’re looking for, and Safari (or any other web browser on the Mac, really) will find them all in the web page you’re on, highlighting them for you.

But what about finding stuff when browsing the web on your iPhone? There’s no Command-key on the built-in keyboard, so how do you search your favorite web page to find keywords?

Turns out, there are two ways to do it, which is kind of odd.

China Mobile roadmap reveals iPhone 7c launch date

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A concept rendering of the iPhone 6c.
A concept rendering of the iPhone 6c.
Photo: Martin Hajek

The biggest wireless carrier in the world may have just revealed when the iPhone 6c 7c will finally launch.

Rumors of the iPhone 7c have been heating up the rumormill for months now, and with the device’s big unveiling supposedly just around the corner, it appears that China Mobile has accidentally confirmed to the world that the new low-cost iPhone will arrive by April 2016.

2015: The year photography moved (and moved us)

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More than a trillion photos were captured in 2015.
More than a trillion photos were captured in 2015.
Photo: HypeBeast

We were too busy taking our own pictures in 2015 to notice that something about photography had changed.

This was the year the photo moved. It shed its flat, two-dimensional constraints and showed a life once left to the imagination.

The movement could be slight, as in Apple’s Live Photos, a new feature on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus camera that records a snippet of video before and after the frozen moment to add an extra dimension.

Pro Tip: How to get iTunes to ignore iPhone while charging

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Disconnect  your iPhone while still connected via USB and charge without iTunes bugging you.
Disconnect your iPhone while still connected via USB and charge without iTunes bugging you.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Pro Tip Cult of Mac bugSometimes you just want to plug your iPhone into your Mac without having to deal with all that iTunes stuff, like synchronizing or backing up.

Or, maybe a friend of yours needs to sip off your Macbook’s power and you don’t want to have iTunes sync their iPhone.

Either way, you can eject the connected iPhone, thereby avoiding all the iTunes stuff but still letting the physically connected iPhone pull power from the USB port. Even better: when you’re done charging, just pull the USB cable out from your Macbook without any worry.

Here are three different ways to do just that.

Get a 16GB iPhone 6s for just $1 at Best Buy

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The iPhone isn't ditching LCD screens.
Just one dollar, people!
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Big savings on Apple products have meant that Best Buy is increasingly living up to its name, but today’s iPhone deal may be one of the best yet for the cash-starved.

The retailer is selling the 16GB iPhone 6s for $1, while also throwing in a $200 gift card if you trade in a working iPhone 5 as part of the deal.

Use your words to save your sister in Scribblenauts Unlimited

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This is what it sounds like when pigs fly.
Photo: Warner Bros./5th Cell

Scribblenauts Unlimited, the latest version of a fun game that’s been on one device or another since 2009, is headed to mobile.

Main character and magic notebook owner Maxwell’s got a sister, Lily, who he’s gotten cursed, thanks to his smart-ass ways. The pair go to see Edwin, one of the 40 other brothers and sisters of Maxwell and Lily (go figure), and find out that doing nice things for people is the only way to earn starite, the magical cure for Lily’s curse.

Clever selfie stick disguises itself as an iPhone case

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Finally, a selfie stick that's not completely obnoxious.
Finally, a selfie stick that's not completely obnoxious.
Photo: Stikbox

Selfie sticks receive a lot of hate for being annoying instruments of narcissism. They’re inconvinient to carry around and can make you look just plain silly.

A brilliant new selfie stick may have solved the device’s worst problems though with a cleverly designed iPhone case that hides a telescoping 28-inch long selfie stick in the back. It looks like something Data from The Goonies would invent. And for that reason alone, I love it.

Check it out:

BlackBerry CEO: Apple’s privacy stance is unethical

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Is Apple putting its own interests over the public good?
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Is Apple putting its own interests over the public good? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Is Apple putting its own interests over the public good? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

BlackBerry CEO John Chen has waded in on the the question of whether or not Apple is right to refuse to help the government access smartphone data for security purposes.

“For years, government officials have pleaded to the technology industry for help,” Chen wrote in a recent blogpost. “Yet [the requests] have been met with disdain.”

Chen’s position is simple: that, “We are indeed in a dark place when companies put their reputations above the greater good.”

‘Peak smartphone’ is why Tim Cook is so hot for switchers

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Apple CEO Tim Cook gladly welcomes Android users to make the switch.
Apple CEO Tim Cook gladly welcomes Android users to make the switch.
Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web (2014)

Apple convinced us we couldn’t live without a smartphone. Now many of us have a smartphone in hand and Apple may be facing the curse side of the blessing — finding new customers for the iPhone.

Credit Suisse recently issued a report to investors that further fuels speculation that iPhone sales will dip for the first time since Apple introduced it in 2007. The upshot: Smartphone ownership is approaching 100 percent. We’re nearing “peak smartphone.”

Gene Munster admits he got Apple all wrong (again)

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iPhone 6S
The iPhone Upgrade Program could be a monster hit for Apple.
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

Hit-and-miss Apple analyst Gene Munster has admitted he couldn’t have been more wrong about the likely customer uptake of Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program, the $32+ per month scheme designed to get new iPhones into the hands of people happy to pay a monthly fee to Apple.