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iPhone - page 57

iPhone’s voice-to-text transcription sucks compared to Pixel’s

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Pixel 3
Transcription is one area Google's Pixel is ahead of the iPhone.
Photo: Google

Apple continues to lag behind when it comes to machine learning — and voice-to-text transcription on the iPhone is just one more example of this.

In a new video posted online by journalist James Chan, the iPhone’s speech transcription skills are put up against Alphabet’s Pixel smartphone. Not only is Apple’s version significantly slower, but it’s a whole lot less accurate, to boot.

Insane iPhone sale offers refurbs for as little as $39.99 today only

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iPhone 6s
Quick! They won't last long.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Woot’s insane deals on iPhone refurbs keep on coming, and today’s might just be its best yet. With prices starting at a mere $39.99, there’s never been a better time to pick up a backup — or treat your kid to their first phone.

The only downside to this sale is that it’s good for one day only, and stock is selling quickly. Act fast or miss out!

This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.

No USB-C: Lightning connector will stay until iPhone goes all-in on wireless

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iPhone-Lightning
Lightning isn't going anywhere.
Photo: Tinhte

Apple ditched Lightning for USC-B on the iPad Pro in 2018, but you shouldn’t expect a similar move for this year’s iPhone 12 refresh, according to an Apple leaker.

A Monday tweet by Fudge, aka @choco_bit, suggests that the iPhone 12 will come with a Lightning port. The reliable tipster says Apple will continue to use the proprietary Lightning until the iPhone goes all-in on wireless charging.

Bargain iPhone refurbs are back! Get yours for under $130 today only

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Analyst complains iPhone’s average selling price is slipping
Stock is selling fast!
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

If you missed out on cheap iPhone refurbs the last time Woot had a huge blowout, it’s time to redeem yourself. A whole host of models — from iPhone 7 to iPhone 11 Pro — are now available, with prices starting at a mere $129.99.

This sale is good for today only, so act fast!

This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.

How to customize your CarPlay setup and ditch apps you don’t need

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BMW could ditch its pricey annual subscription cost for CarPlay
Don't settle for the default CarPlay layout.
Photo: Sony

CarPlay makes it safe to use some of your favorite iPhone apps on the road, and by default, anything with CarPlay support will automatically appear in your car. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Simplify your experience and make CarPlay even easier to use by customizing your layout and ditching apps you don’t need.

iPhones retain lead in US smartphone satisfaction rankings

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Apple_keynote-event_guests-iphone-11_091019
The iPhone continues to be a satisfying hit with U.S. consumers.

For the sixth straight year, iPhones rank as the smartphone with the highest customer satisfaction score among U.S. consumers, according to new data released Monday.

T-Mobile remains the undisputed network operator for the fourth straight year, according to the survey from the American Customer Satisfaction Index, an economic analytics group.

FBI cracks alleged al-Qaida shooter’s iPhone without Apple’s help

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FBI director says Feds still can't unlock iPhone in Pensacola shooting case
F.B.I. cracks iPhone, with little help from Apple.
Photo: Dave Newman/Flickr CC

U.S. authorities have reportedly broken through the encryption on one of the iPhones belonging to a mass shooter without the help of Apple who refused to create a backdoor saying it violated privacy rights.

CNN reported Monday that the FBI defeated the password on the iPhone belonging to Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a Saudi military trainee who went on a mass shooting at a Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida last December killing four and injuring eight.

The countries with the most cellphones per person are surprising

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Globe Unsplash 1
The world's a big place. With a lot of phones.
Photo: Kyle Glenn/Unsplash

Which country has the largest number of active mobile phones per person? You might be surprised.

According to employee advocate platform PostBeyond, China, the United Arab Emirates, the Seychelles, Montenegro, and Thailand have the greatest number of mobile phones per person. The United States, meanwhile, is all the way down the list at number 54. The numbers are based on World Bank data.

Oops! Xiaomi founder backtracks after being caught using an iPhone

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iPhone 11 Max Pro cameras
Needless to say, this is not a Xiaomi phone.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Xiaomi CEO and co-founder Lei Jun has been caught posting a message using his trusty iPhone rather than one of his company’s smartphones.

In a recent post on Weibo, which is China’s answer to Twitter, the Xiaomi exec recommended a series of books to his followers. But he also inadvertently advertised Apple — since the post reveals it was made with an iPhone.

Apple wants to lessen its reliance on world’s biggest manufacturer

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Foxconn employees accused of $43 million iPhone scam
Tim Cook meeting a worker on the Foxconn production line.
Photo: Apple

For better or worse, Foxconn has long been the contract manufacturer most associated with Apple — but Apple is looking to reduce its reliance on the company, a report published Wednesday claims.

Nikkei Asian Review notes that Apple is pushing one of its Chinese AirPods assemblers to make a “major investment” in an iPhone and MacBook metal casing provider. This could help make it a viable alternative to Foxconn, the world’s biggest electronics contract manufacturer.

Apple humblebrags about iPhone’s camera quality as it becomes Hollywood’s savior

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“American Idol” is sacred with iPhone
It's like the ultimate "Shot on iPhone" ad.
Photo: Cult of Mac

As the entertainment industry grinds to a halt during COVID-19 lockdown, Apple’s getting a whole lot of free publicity for the power of its iPhone camera. More and more productions are filming on the iPhone, with the latest being American Idol.

And Apple took a moment Monday to humblebrag about it.

Ellen once called Steve Jobs to gripe about her iPhone

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Ellen_DeGeneres 1
Would you behave any different if you had Apple's CEO on speed dial?
Photo: Toglenn/Wikipedia CC

Lately, all kinds of stories have circulated online about TV host Ellen DeGeneres not exactly being the nicest person in Hollywood. But one mentioned in a recent New York Post article had an Apple tie-in.

According to the article, Ellen once phoned up none other than Steve Jobs himself to complain that the font size was too small on the iPhone after she lost her glasses and was unable to read the screen.

Pro tip: Adjust mouse and trackpad scroll speed in iPadOS

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iPad-scroll-speed-hero.gif
Make using a mouse with iPad even better.
GIF: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple’s default mouse and trackpad settings in iPadOS might work great with the company’s own accessories, but they can be less than ideal with third-party peripherals. Scroll speed, in particular, seems very temperamental.

Unfortunately, Apple decided it would be a good idea to hide away those scroll speed settings, so a lot of users have no idea they can be adjusted. Here’s where you can find them on iPad.

Smartphones are getting slaughtered, but iPhone fares better than most

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iPhone 11 Pro
Things were bad. For Apple, they could have been worse.
Photo: Daniel Romero/Unsplash

Smartphone shipments took a major tumble in the first quarter of 2020 as coronavirus wreaked havoc on the supply chain and demand. That’s the conclusion drawn by three of the top mobile-tracking research firms, Strategy Analytics, Canalys, and IDC.

While their numbers don’t all tally perfectly they tell the same overall picture. While Apple wasn’t immune to the decline, however, it fared better than some of its rivals.

Daily Show joke raises awareness of Face ID trick for iPhone owners wearing masks

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Trevor Noah iPhone 1
Noah says Apple's taking us back to a time before coronavirus.
Photo: Daily Show

On Trevor Noah’s Daily Social Distancing Show, the comedian addressed Apple’s decision to make it easier for users to skip Face ID for passcodes on their iPhone, due to the challenges of unlocking them while wearing a protective mask.

“This is the genius of Apple,” he said. “They’re trying to take us back in time. Because if we’re back in time, there’s no corona.” Check out the clip below.

Tim Cook personally tried (and failed) to teach Warren Buffett to use an iPhone

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Buffett
A financial wizard? Yep. A future Apple Store Genius? Nope.
Photo: CNBC

Warren Buffett may be one of the shrewdest financial minds of our time, but don’t expect him to be able to use an iPhone. Despite receiving a personal lesson from Apple CEO Tim Cook.

“I went out to California, and Tim Cook very patiently spent hours trying to move me up to the level of the average two-year-old,” Buffett told Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer. “And didn’t quite make it.”

iPhone 12 prices rumored to stay close to current models, even with OLED screen upgrades

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iPhone 12 with LiDAR scanner
Change out the display and add a LiDAR camera, and the expected iPhone 12 models are rumored to stay closely the same price as current models.
Photo: svetapple.sk

Pricing on Apple’s expected 5G-ready iPhones will remain mostly the same, even though they are predicted to include OLED screens, according to a new report.

Front Page Tech analyst Jon Prosser tweeted Thursday base pricing on what Cult of Mac has reported as four new iPhone 12 models coming later this year.