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News - page 1004

Ex-NSA staffer reveals way to hack Mac’s camera and mic

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Mac App Store
You might want to put tape over your webcam.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Security researchers discovered a new way to hack the Mac’s built-in webcam this week, and the method is undetectable by users.

Apple built a green LED light into every Mac with firmware-level protection that turns on anytime the sensor is tripped by unauthorized access. The security feature has become increasingly difficult for hackers to beat, but former NSA staffer Patrick Wardle found a way to piggyback on outgoing feeds and record them.

Pent-up demand will make 2017 a banner year for iPhone

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iPHone 7 sales
The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus is still selling well, according to wireless carriers.
Photo: Ste Smith/CultofMac

The iPhone 7 won’t be enough to break Apple out of its sales slum.

In 2016, total mobile phone shipments are set to decline 1.6 percent. However, the latest forecast from Gartner reveals that 2017 could be a record-breaking year for Apple due to pent-up demand for a new form factor and better features.

Apple’s spaceship campus will hold even more employees than previously thought

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What the finished product will look like.
"What is this?! A campus for ants?"
Photo: Apple

The epic scale of Apple’s Campus 2 “spaceship” awed many people when it was first announced — with impressive stats like the fact that it is wider than the Empire State Building is tall, and that it will house 13,000 Apple employees — or the equivalent of 35 fully-stocked Boeing 747 jetliners’ worth of people.

But according to a new report, Apple’s new HQ will now house considerably more than that number of staffers, as Apple aims to bring as many teams under one roof in the name of collaboration.

AirPods point to Apple’s domination of ‘ambient paradigm’

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x
AirPods may miss Christmas while Apple works out audio problems.
Photo: Apple

The Apple Watch and new AirPods may seam like silly side projects to fans, but some analysts on Wall Street believe the company is using the two new products to lay the groundwork for the next era of personal technology.

While Silicon Valley is obssessed with virtual reality headsets, Apple is obsessed with making gadgetry less visible. UBS analysts Steven Milunovich and Benjamin Wilson told clients that while many firms see a lot of downside for Apple, the company’s “ambient paradigm” could be a huge money maker.

Week’s best Apple deals: More refurb and open-box MacBooks and iPads

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refurb and open-box apple deals
Embrace "new to me" and you'll save big with refurbished and open-box Apple gear.
Photos: Apple, Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Discounts on not-new laptops and tablets continue to shine this week, with Apple itself offering its legendary factory-refurbished MacBook Pros, and eBay offering an open-box 10-inch iPad Pro. You’ll find these deals and more in this week’s roundup of best Apple deals.

Replacement Galaxy Note 7 catches fire on a plane

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Galaxy Note 7 water wet
Galaxy Note 7 owners should keep a bucket of water nearby, just in case.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Southwest Airlines was forced to evacuate a flight from Louisville to Baltimore this morning before it hit the runway, thanks to a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone that caught fire.

Explosive Note 7 units have been reported around the globe thanks to faulty lithium-ion batteries. In this instance though, the Galaxy Note 7 in question was a replacement unit that the owner received after Samsung issued its global recall.

iPhone 7 smashes Pixel in early benchmark tests

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Google Pixel
It's in talks to buy HTC, maker of the Pixel lineup.
Photo: Google

Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL may pack the fastest smartphone camera, but when it comes to raw processing power the iPhone 7 leaves the new handsets in the dust.

Early benchmarks for the Pixel have already leaked for the device, which was unveiled Tuesday. And according to the tests, Google’s phone can’t even top the performance of the iPhone 6s and iPhone SE.

The future is AI, and Google just showed Apple how it’s done

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Under CEO Sundar Pichai, Google is betting big on AI.
Under CEO Sundar Pichai, Google is betting big on AI.
Photo: Google

After decades of showing us the best ways to interact with computers, Apple is lagging on the UI of the future — voice controls powered by smart, conversational AI.

Google, on the other hand, is placing artificial intelligence, in the form of Google Assistant, at the center of its new Pixel smartphones and Google Home smart speaker.

Cupertino’s mastery of the user interface is legendary: Macs, iPods and iPhones made the GUI, the mouse, the scroll wheel and multitouch mainstream. But Apple needs to get into the AI conversation if it’s serious about securing a place in our gabby future.

Beats by Dre’s marketing guru bails on Apple

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Be cool. Stay in school.
Beats CMO is leaving the company.
Photo: Beats by Dre.

Omar Johnson, the Beats by Dre chief marketing officer that helped transform the headphone company from a gimmick to one of the most iconic brands in pop culture, is leaving the company next month.

During his time at Beats, Johnson and his marketing team created unique ads by collaborating with the world’s top athletes in every major sport to tell their real stories. Johnson didn’t give a reason for his departure, but Apple has confirmed he’s stepping down on November 1st.

You can no longer buy 3rd-gen Apple TV on Apple’s online store

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Apple_TV
Alas, poor Apple TV! We knew thee well.
Photo: Apple

Apple has quietly discontinued selling the old third-gen Apple TV on its online store, although it has committed to fulfilling all existing orders for the device.

As products go, the third-gen Apple TV had a reasonable lifespan, having first been introduced in 2012. Its software was last updated with minor security fixes back in February.

3-in-1 lens brings sweet bokeh to mirrorless cameras

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Just a twist will bring dreamy effects to pictures made with a mirrorless camera.
Just a twist will bring dreamy effects to pictures made with a mirrorless camera.
Photo: Lensbaby

Thanks to a software feature on the iPhone 7 camera, Apple fans are getting familiar with a term once heard in a language only spoken by photographers – bokeh.

It’s a Japanese word that means blur and the bokeh in a photograph refers to the areas that are not in focus. Creamy and dream are the effects when perfectly executed, especially with portraits, where a tack-sharp face pops against a background swirled in colors, light and distorted shapes

Before there was even an iPhone, the art optics company Lensbaby was producing lenses that gave photographers an affordable option to bring maximum bokeh to their work. On Wednesday, Lensbaby introduced a 3-in-1 lens for mirrorless cameras.

Apple named world’s most valuable brand for fourth consecutive year

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Screen Shot 2016-10-05 at 14.32.04
Woo! Apple is number one!
Photo: Interbrand

Thanks to its first annual revenue decline since 2003, many people sure like to do the whole “sky is falling” routine when it comes to Apple.

Fortunately, it seems that brand consultancy Interbrand isn’t among them — since it just named Apple the world’s most valuable brand for an impressive fourth year in a row.

Everything that’s new in iOS 10.1 beta 2

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iOS 10 Messages
See all that iOS 10.1 beta 2 has to offer.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS 10 has only been available to the public for a few weeks, but developers are already receiving updates for iOS 10.1 beta 2. Along with bug fixes and a beta version of Portrait Mode for the iPhone 7 Plus, beta 2 offers a few new minor improvements and features.

Check them out in action in our video below.

U.K. prime minister takes possible shot at Apple for refusing to help fight terrorists

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Ukraine_Forum_on_Asset_Recovery_(14038928986)
Theresa May hasn't always been Apple's biggest fan.
Photo: Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Apple’s pro-encryption privacy standoff with the FBI may not have been in the news too much as of late, but Apple’s strong stance in favor of encryption continues to ruffle feathers among authorities.

Today. U.K. prime minister Theresa May gave a speech at the Tory party conference, in which she took what many are calling a veiled dig against Apple by referring to a “household name” that is refusing to work with officials to fight terrorism.

Apple supplier now employs 40,000 robots to do its bidding

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Irobot
It'll still be a while before Foxconn's factories are totally automated, however.
Photo: 20th Century Fox

Apple supplier Foxconn has installed a massive 40,000 robots for handling manufacturing jobs at a number of its factories in China, claims a new report.

The industrial robots — named “Foxbots” — are currently being rolled out at factories in Zhengzhou, Kunshan, Jiashanm and a “tablet plant” in Chengdu, where Apple is known to produce iPads. Foxconn’s future robot production is expected to hit around 10,000 units per year.

Google Pixel first impressions: Solid build, fugly back

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Google Pixel
It's in talks to buy HTC, maker of the Pixel lineup.
Photo: Google

Google’s new Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones are ready to do battle with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus and based on the first hands-on reviews, Apple could learn a few things from the new devices.

Apple’s shadow loomed large during today’s Google event. Exec from the search engine giant threw plenty of shade at the iPhone-maker for its lack of a headphone jack and storage limitations. Even though Google’s new devices look like total iPhone ripoffs the initial reaction has been mostly positive.

We’ll have to test Pixel in the wild before making our final judgement but here are some of the first reactions to the device from people that got to play with it:

Sleek power bank charges Apple Watch and iPhone simultaneously

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The ZENS Power Bank  for the Apple Watch and iPhone.
The ZENS Power Bank for the Apple Watch and iPhone.
Photo: ZENS

Our Apple devices are designed, in part, to make our lives easier. But the chargers they come with add a burden. Tangled cords and bulk become nuisance cargo in our bags and that’s if you don’t lose track of one of your chargers.

The Dutch company ZENS has prided itself for the last five years on cutting our cords and its latest wireless power bank offers an Apple MFi certified one-stop charging solution for the Apple Watch and the iPhone or iPad.

Get the Cult of Mac Fitness Handbook, an exclusive free ebook

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Check out our free ebook
Check out our free ebook
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

After undergoing successful chemotherapy treatment for cancer, Apple’s fitness gadgets helped me turn my life around and get fit in middle age. So I know from personal experience just how important they can be. That’s why I focus on fitness for Cult of Mac, and it’s why I’ve written The Cult of Mac Fitness Handbook: Get in Shape With iPhone and Apple Watch.

Today, I’m in the best shape of my life, and I rely on my iPhone and Apple Watch to help keep me that way.

They are powerful tools for getting fit and losing weight — if you know how to use them.