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News - page 1048

Twitter doesn’t force ads upon ‘VIP’ users

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I'm not famous enough to lose promoted tweets.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Our Twitter timelines have become swamped with ads and sponsored tweets, but if you’re famous enough, you don’t have to see them.

To provide its “VIP” users with a greater experience, and to prevent them from wandering to rival services, Twitter has all but stopped injecting ads into their timelines.

Barclays confirms Apple Pay is coming by April

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Apple Pay is coming to the U.K. this fall.
Barclays was the last major U.K. holdout for Apple Pay.
Photo: Apple

Apple Pay has added the last of the U.K. holdout banks, with Barclays revealing that it will start offering Apple’s mobile payment service to customers in the United Kingdom, “within the next 60 to 75 days.”

Although there’s no definite day given, that would put the date somewhere between March 12 and 27, which is slightly later than the “very early 2016” launch the bank had mentioned last year.

Windows Phone boss is caught tweeting from an iPhone

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Yeah. Someone did this again.
Screenshot: Killian Bell, Esq.

If you had asked me in the 1990s, I’d never have thought I’d one day feel sorry for Microsoft, but right now it’s pretty hard.

Two days after Microsoft finally got NFL announcers to stop calling the Surface an iPad, just in time for Microsoft’s tablet to stop working during a game, Microsoft VP Joe Belfiore, a.k.a. the long-time face of Windows Phone, has been spotted tweeting on an iPhone.

D’oh!

Curved photo sensor could lead to tiny Apple Watch camera

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Apple is constantly pushing the boundaries with its cameras.
Photo: iFixit

Apple has invented a camera lens that would yield higher-resolution images and would be even tinier than the cameras used in today’s super-slim iPhones.

How tiny would it be? Imagine a total axial length of just 2 mm or even less, making this potentially perfect for the long-awaited FaceTime camera of the next-gen Apple Watch 2.

Apple’s not predicting a big sales bump for Apple Watch 2

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Apple Watch 2 may not be the big seller some are predicting.
Photo: Eric Heisuman

The Apple Watch 2 is expected to be a notable improvement on the original, but according to a new report Apple’s not expecting to see a big sales bump for the next-gen device.

In fact, Apple’s weaker-than-expected predicted numbers are a major reason why it opted to stick with Quanta Computer for production, rather than shifting manufacturing over to Foxconn, which builds the (much) higher volume iPhone.

Apple is now selling refurbished Apple TV 4 units online

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Apple's best Apple TV 4 price yet!
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple rarely reduces its prices, but if you’re looking to grab the company’s fourth-generation Apple TV for a bargain this is your lucky day — because Apple just added refurbished TV 4 models to its online store.

The basic 32GB set-top box will set you back $129, which represents a saving of $20 from the regular price of $149. The 64GB model, meanwhile, carries a price tag of $169, which equals $30 off the normal $199.

Apple could pay $532 million for infringing on iMessage patents

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Apple may have an unexpected payout on its hands.
Photo: Breaking Bad

Apple could owe up to $532 million for infringing on secure communication patents, used for both its FaceTime and its iMessage services — or at least it will if patent-holding entity VirnetX Holding Corporation has its way.

A lawyer for the firm told a court in (where else?) the Eastern District of Texas that, “Apple hasn’t played fair. They have taken Virnetx’s intellectual property without permission.”

Samsung is bringing all its best apps to iOS

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Samsung apps are coming to iOS.
Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns/Flickr CC
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Samsung and Apple have been bitter smartphone rivals for nearly a decade now, but it appears that Samsung may be ready to finally embrace iOS.

Some of Samsung’s best apps (if not all) are coming to iOS soon, according to a new report that claims the Galaxy-maker plans to pull a Microsoft and bring its apps to Apple’s platform as part of its effort to increase adoption of its connected devices.

Apple busts out new betas for OS X, tvOS and Apple Watch

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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 dished out a brand new batch of beta software updates today for developers, bringing new software to OS X, Apple TV and Apple Watch.

The new software updates come exactly two weeks after Apple served up the first beta versions of iOS 9.3, watchOS 2.2, tvOS 9.2, and OS X 10.11.4, all of which bring a host of new features to your favorite Apple products.

iOS 9.3 beta 2 brings new goodies

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iOS 9.3 beta 2, now available for download. Image: Oliver Haslam - Cult of Mac
iOS 9.3 beta 2, now available for download.
Image: Oliver Haslam/Cult of Mac

Apple just seeded the latest build of iOS 9.3 to developers, with beta 2 now available to download via an over-the-air update on devices with either a current iOS 9.3 beta build installed or Apple’s developer profile configured.

The download, the third beta release of iOS 9.3 following beta 1 and the subsequent beta 1.1, doesn’t yet appear to be available via Apple’s online developer portal.

‘Leaked’ schematic reveals changes coming to iPad Air 3

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iPad Air 3 will pick up some tricks from the iPad Pro.
iPad Air 3 will pick up some tricks from the iPad Pro.
Photo: Apple

The upcoming iPad Air 3 might look a lot like the new iPad Pro, only a bit smaller, according to a purported new leak.

The update to the Air line could be coming down the pipeline as soon as March, and it appears that the refreshed tablet could come with four-speaker audio.

Sprint ad hits Verizon right in the balls

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Sprint isn't satisfied with Verizon's ballsy claims.
Photo: Sprint
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Sprint isn’t satisfied with Verizon’s ballsy claims. Photo: Sprint

The war between mobile carriers in the U.S. continues to heat up and with the latest battle, it’s personal. Sprint came out with a new ad that directly targets Verizon’s from just a few weeks ago. Using big, colorful balls to symbolize network quality and performance, Sprint claims Verizon’s ad is rubbish and outdated while the yellow network is the true champion.

Why Apple’s earnings call might be a shocker

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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 is set to reveal how much money it made over the 2015 holiday shopping season, and per usual, it’s expected to be a record-breaker.

Tim Cook and Luca Maestri will dive into all the details of Apple’s Q1 2016 earnings report tomorrow at 2 p.m. Pacific but there’s really only one number Wall Street really wants to know: total iPhones sales. Even though Apple may record its highest earnings ever, some analysts are predicting that iPhone sales may have declined for the first time, which could send Apple’s stock price sinking.

Here are six things to watch for during Apple’s Q1 2016 earnings call:

Old iPhones could erase gloom from earnings report

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Oh dear.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Analysts with sobering certainty say Apple is set to report its first ever decline in iPhone sales. Reports of cutbacks in production and shipments, and chatter about the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus not offering enough new features to inspire a rush to upgrade all point to one bummer of an earnings report.

But they might be overlooking one indicator – sales of older iPhones.

Apple puts the brakes on struggling electric car project

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Apple car concept art shows what Cupertino might put on the road.
Apple car concept art shows what Cupertino might put on the road.
Photo: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Jony Ive is apparently not pleased with progress on the secret Apple car project.

Apple has more than 1,000 employees working on its electric car, dubbed Project Titan, but the company reportedly has put a hiring freeze in place after a post-holiday progress review revealed the Apple car isn’t on the right track.

This one weird website will cause your smartphone to crash

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Smartphone owners are, presumably, furious.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Smartphone owners are, presumably, furious. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Smartphone owners are, presumably, furious. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Watch out for people sending you links to the website CrashSafari dot com, which is causing smartphones and PCs around the world to crash by overloading their browsers with a self-generating address bar text string that causes devices to stop responding.

Although the name refers to Apple’s default browser for Mac and iOS devices, the website also causes Android devices running Chrome to slow down and, in some cases, to actually heat up.

Keep iOS 9 Low Power Mode on indefinitely with this jailbreak tweak

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iOS 9's Low Power Mode significantly reduces iPhone battery drain.
Photo: George Tinari/Cult of Mac

Low Battery Mode might be my favorite thing about iOS 9. It radically improves battery life on an iPhone when your device dips down to 20%.

The only problem? Once your iPhone charges a sufficient amount, Low Battery Mode automatically switches off. Which is a shame, because if you kept Low Battery Mode on all the time, you could eke out hours more battery life from iOS.

Sadly, iOS 9 doesn’t let you keep Low Battery Mode on all the time. But if you’ve got a jailbroken device? That functionality is just an install away.

Microsoft Surface needs a timeout after another NFL letdown

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This was one time Apple's probably glad the Surface wasn't mistakenly called the iPad.
Photo: CBS

After making the mistake of repeatedly referring to the Microsoft Surface as an iPad, announcers finally got the right name for the NFL’s sponsor tablet… only for this to be the occasion on which the device stopped working on live TV.

The incident took place during Sunday’s AFC Championship game between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots, resulting in the kind of negative publicity Microsoft surely never dreamed its $400 million sponsorship would lead to.

Daimler’s CEO sounds scared of the Apple Car

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Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Image: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Although Steve Zadesky may be leaving Cupertino, Project Titan (the so-called Apple Car project) is apparently progressing at a fast enough rate that the German auto industry is starting to get scared.

Ask the CEO of Germany’s Daimler AG, owner of Mercedes-Benz, who says that after visiting Silicon Valley, he’s starting to get worried: companies like Apple are further along with their automobile plans than he thought.

Apple engineer says Safari t.co Twitter fix on the way

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T.co links work in every browser. except Safari.
T.co links work in every browser. except Safari.
Photo:

If you browse Twitter on Safari, there’s a longstanding obnoxious bug where Safari won’t full resolve shortened t.co links. That results in an error message: “Safari can’t open the page because the server where this page is located is not responding.”

Good news, though. Apple’s finally going to fix it.

Apple’s iPhone 5se allegedly pictured on camera next to the iPhone 5

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The iPhone 5 on the left, the iPhone 5se on the right.
The iPhone 5 on the left, the iPhone 5se on the right.
Photo: Onemorething.nl

Just a couple days ago, we heard some of the strongest evidence yet that Apple would soon release a new 4-inch iPhone, supposedly called the iPhone 5se. Now we’ve got a shot of what it allegedly looks like in direct comparison  to the iPhone 5. And surprise! The supposed iPhone 5se is plenty sexy.

New MacBooks expected to arrive by June

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New MacBooks are on the way.
Photo: Apple

Apple is set to release new MacBook models within the coming months, claims reliable KGI Securities Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Following on from recent news suggesting Macs are one of the only PC makers on an upwards trajectory, Kuo also says that Apple’s MacBooks have had “solid growth” among enterprise customers in recent months.