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News - page 1064

iPad Air 3 case on Alibaba hints at Smart Connector

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If this picture is accurate, the iPad Air 3 could come with a Smart Connector.
If this picture is accurate, the iPad Air 3 could come with a Smart Connector.
Photo: Shenzhen Hong Technology Co./Alibaba

It’s a product with some holes in it and it’s the holes that could be of interest to Apple fans excited about the upcoming iPad Air 3.

A photo allegedly showing an Air 3 case has cutouts for a Smart Connector and four speakers. The Japanese Apple blog Macotakara raised the possibility of a beefed up iPad after seeing a case available for pre-order on Alibaba.

Bill Gates says Beatles song perfectly explains relationship with Jobs

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Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, rivals and friends.
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, rivals and friends.
Photo: AllThingsD

Bill Gates has a song in his heart for the late Steve Jobs. Yes, they were fierce rivals as they pioneered products that revolutionized personal computing, but the competition mellowed into a good friendship.

So when Gates, in an interview on BBC show Desert Island Discs, was asked to choose eight songs and why they are meaningful to him, he had one picked out for Jobs — “Two of Us” by The Beatles.

Porsche CEO: ‘iPhone belongs in your pocket, not on the road’

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Your Porsche won't drive its self anytime soon.
Your Porsche won't drive its self anytime soon.
Photo: Axion23/Flickr

Don’t count on Porsche to enter the self-driving car craze anytime soon.

In an interview with a German newspaper, Porsche’s CEO Oliver Blume turned up his nose at the idea that one day humans will no longer be in command behind the wheel, saying the company does not plan to develop self-driving vehicles.

To make the point clear that Porsche will not team up with a tech company, the CEO then dropped a not so subtle dig at Apple’s electric car project.

Apple’s ‘Shot on iPhone’ billboards are back

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Everyday photographers are part of Apple's new ad campaign.
Everyday photographers are part of Apple's new ad campaign.
Photo: Kate Schermerhorn

Apple is bringing back its popular ‘Shot on iPhone’ advertising campaign that won several awards in 2015, only this year instead of using pictures of scenic landscapes and city life, the company is changing the focus by using only portrait photos.

Is Apple prepping a pro version of the iPhone 7 Plus? Catch the discussion on The CultCast

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Apple is reportedly testing dual-lens cameras from three different companies.
Apple is reportedly testing dual-lens cameras from three different companies.
Photo: Computerbild.de

This week on The CultCast: A souped-up iPad Air 3 coming in March; “iPhone 5se” would be a terrible name for a 4-inch iPhone; the iPhone 7 Plus PLUS is for those who demand only the best mobile camera; and why Apple is pumping the brakes on their electric car.

Our thanks for supporting this episode goes to FreshBooks, the easy-to-use invoicing software designed to help small business owners get organized, save time invoicing and get paid faster. Get started with a free trial at Freshbooks.com/cultcast.

How to turn your iPhone’s Health app into an essential fitness dashboard

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A dashboard for your body: all your key stats at a glance.
The Health app can become a dashboard for your body, offering all your key stats at a glance.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Despite its heart-shaped icon, Health is an unloved app. It tends to gets relegated to a junk folder, along with other un-deletable Apple cruft, like the Stocks app.

But when you get past its garish colors and clunky user interface, Apple’s Health app turns out to be genuinely useful — if you customize the dashboard to match your personal fitness goals.

Apple gear leaks, rumors, how-tos, reviews and more

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Rumors, leaks, gear, and so much more.
Rumors, leaks, gear, and so much more.
Cover Design: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac

There are so many new leaks and rumors about upcoming Apple gear, we’re awash in joyful speculation. There’s the new iPhone 7 just for photographers, new iPad Air 3 details, and some hidden iPad Pro firmware features, just for starters.

Add to that some fine new how-tos, some great app roundups and a look at Apple’s biggest financial quarter yet, and you’ve got a fantastic digital magazine ready for downloading right now.

Here are the top stories from this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine.

Apple is finally fixing Siri’s abortion ‘glitch’

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apple-maps-nearby-businesses
Maps hasn't been as helpful as it should be for some searches.
Photo: Apple

Apple is finally correcting an issue with Siri that it has known about since at least 2011.

The problem has appeared when users ask the virtual assistant to show nearby facilities that offer abortion services. For years, the results have directed people toward adoption centers, which is kind of the opposite of what they were looking for.

Apple says it’s made improvements to the search algorithm since it first identified the problem, but some users are still getting the undesired suggestions.

Here’s what photos from a dual-camera iPhone 7 might look like

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This enlarged portrait shows a difference in quality from the iPhone 5s, left, and a dual-camera system created by LinX Imaging.
This enlarged portrait shows a difference in quality from the iPhone 5s, left, and a dual-camera system created by LinX Imaging.
Photo: LinX Imaging

If the pictures “Shot on the iPhone 6” were impressive, a dual-camera iPhone 7 could have the photography world again licking its chops.

Just how much further the technical quality could go with smartphone images is a future found in the work of an Israeli company called LinX Imaging, which happened to get purchased by Apple last year.

London asked Apple to sponsor Garden Bridge

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The Garden Bridge, brought to you by Apple?
The Garden Bridge, brought to you by Apple?
Photo: Garden Bridge Trust

London Mayor Boris Johnson asked Apple to help him build the city’s controversial Garden Bridge, according to a report that reveals the politician flew to Cupertino in February of 2013 to pitch the company on becoming the project’s corporate sponsor.

Apple executives met with the mayor to hear about the ambitious pedestrian bridge project that will stretch across the River Thames. Also present in the meeting was British architect Thomas Heatherwick who designed the Garden Bridge.

Why doesn’t the iPhone have wireless charging already?

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fnf
Get a move on, Apple!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is finally working to bring wireless charging to iPhone, according to a recent report, but we’ll have to wait until 2017 to get it. Why? Because Apple doesn’t think the wireless charging standards we already have are good enough.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2Instead, the company is said to be developing a long-range alternative that means you won’t need to place your iPhone down on a special charging pad. But is this really necessary? Will the technology be worth waiting for, or should Apple just deliver wireless charging already?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we fight to the death over this very topic. It promises to be… electrifying.

Apple has secret team of hundreds building VR headsets

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Apple's diving into virtual reality.
Apple's diving into virtual reality.
Photo: Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple isn’t sitting idly on the sidelines when it comes to Virtual Reality.

The company hasn’t shown much interest in entering the VR market to take on Facebook, Sony, Google, HTC, and Samsung, but according to a new report, Apple has secretly formed a huge team of experts that are exploring product ideas.

Panicking investors are missing a crucial Apple metric

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money
Cook says that Apple is no tax dodger.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple soothsayers have been predicting doom and gloom for the iPhone-maker ever since Tim Cook dropped the company’s Q1 2016 earnings. iPhone sales are projected to decline. The iPad is still struggling. And even the Mac is taking a drop.

This is the end for Apple according to some Wall Street crazies, but they’re missing a key metric in Apple’s earnings report that shows the company still has a lot of growing to do thanks to it’s huge install base.

Award-winning photographer uses iPhone 6s to shoot Indian wedding

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wedding-on-iphone_650x366_61454046494
One of the stunning photos taken.
Photo: Sephi Bergerson

Award-winning Israeli photographer Sephi Bergerson recently shot an Indian wedding in Udaipur using just his iPhone 6s Plus — and the results are spectacular!

In an accompanying video, Bergerson describes the way that using an iPhone has changed his photography. While he notes that it ultimately still comes down to the skill of the photographer (which is presumably why I’m yet to pick up any photography awards despite my many iPhone snaps), it’s fascinating to hear him discuss his craft.

Check out the video below.

Apple’s problems blamed on ‘hostile’ corporate culture

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Man_Says_iPhone_Caught_Fire_6_672772_ver1.0_640_360
Well, time to pack it in and find a new company to write about, I guess!
Photo: Fox5

Apple’s currently “stumbling” — and it’s the fault of a “negative,” “strict,” and overly “harsh” corporate environment, claims U.K. newspaper The Guardian.

“At Apple, you’re gonna be working 60-80 hours a week and some VP will come yell at you at any moment,” one coder is quoted as saying. “That’s a very hostile work environment.”

Thief gets pinched for stealing 38 phones at a music gig

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thief-is-pinched-for-stealing-38-phones-at-a-music-gig-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads2016013150-jpg
Work phone, home phone, err... what's next?
Photo: West Midlands Police
Work phone, home phone, err... what's next? Photo: West Midlands Police
Work phone, home phone, err… what’s next? Photo: West Midlands Police

As expensive miniature computers people carry around in their pockets, it’s no surprise that smartphones are regularly the targets of petty thieves.

But one particular thief outshone the rest when he recently (allegedly) managed to steal 38 different phones during a Libertines concert in the U.K., only to be arrested with them stuffed down his trousers.

A work phone and a personal phone I can understand, but explaining away the other 36 handsets was surely a bit of a challenge!

Forget charging mats! Apple is working on real wireless charging

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iPhone-wireless-charging-940x488
Current iPhones lack wireless charging. As Samsung was happy to point out.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung has mocked the iPhone for its lack of wireless charging before, but Apple is reportedly looking to change the game with “cutting-edge” technology that would move its devices beyond the charging mats used by current smartphones and into true wireless charging.

And the tech could arrive as soon as 2017, with the launch of the iPhone 7s.

Apple TV news app keeps you plugged in from the couch

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Get all your news, sans cable package, right on your Apple TV.
Get all your news, sans cable package, right on your Apple TV.
Photo: Watchup

Watchup wants to replace standard TV news with a personalized multi-channel news aggregator that runs right on your Apple TV.

The developer promises that you’ll get a customized, on-demand news app right on your big TV, letting you lean back and learn what’s happening in the world.

All that without a cable subscription; sounds pretty great to me.

Major U.S. banks aim at killing ATM cards

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Your iPhone may be holding even more cards in its Wallet this year.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

One day, your iPhone or Apple Watch could actually start dispensing money.

It’ll be your own money coming out of an ATM, but it’s still cool.

Officials at Bank of America and Wells Fargo have dropped hints that they have their eyes on incorporating Apple Pay into near-field-communication-equipped teller machines. Neither company is prepared to say when or how widely this will happen, but considering they’re two of the largest banks in the United States, this could be a big deal.

Get easy Valentine’s Day cash

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The Apple Watch turns a wearer's heartbeat into something very vivid and visual.
Valentine's Day is just around the corner....
Photo: Apple

It’s almost that time of the year again when you get really stressed out because you totally forgot that it’s Valentine’s Day. Your girlfriend/wife/boyfriend/husband/whatever is expecting something really great this year, and there’s just one problem: You don’t have any cash to buy something nice.

You look around and all you see are old iPhones and a first-generation iPad. Problem solved!

Sharing your Snapchat username just got snappier

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The previous record wasn't even half that amount.
The previous record wasn't even half that amount.
Photo: Snapchat

Tucked away in a recent Snapchat update for Android and iOS, users of the app will notice a new option that allows for the quick and easy sharing of a URL that links directly to their user profile. The link, which can then be copied or shared anywhere a link can be tapped or clicked, takes Snapchat users directly to the app on mobile, and then into the linking user’s profile.

Snapchat pushed updates to both of its primary applications, Android and iOS, a couple of days ago but made no mention of the new URLs.

Apple buys education software startup LearnSprout

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Cupertino buys the education tech company LearnSprout.
Cupertino buys the education tech company LearnSprout.
Photo: LearnSprout

Apple, which lost ground to the Google Chromebook last year in the K-12 market, has acquired the education software company LearnSprout, which develops programs for schools to track student performance.

The move could give Apple a stronger foothold in the education market because LearnSprout is in more than 2,500 schools in 42 states.

iPhone 5se may have been finished and ready to ship for months

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The successor to the iPhone 5c is nearly here.
The successor to the iPhone 5c is nearly here.
Photo: Apple

Apple may have been producing units of its upcoming 4-inch smartphone for nearly a year.

The rumored iPhone 5se may seem like a product that’s come out of nowhere, but a new report claims Apple finished development and production on it months ago. Cupertino’s just been waiting for the perfect time to reveal the smaller phone.