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News - page 1086

You can now buy Apple TV at Best Buy and the Apple Store

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Apple TV
Ultra HD is finally coming to Apple TV.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

If you didn’t pre-order the new Apple TV earlier this week, there’s still a chance to get the new TV box before other Apple fans even receive their shipments.

Apple didn’t announce what day the Apple TV would be available at retail locations, but it appears that Apple Stores across the US have the new Apple TV in stock starting today.

Apple Watch steals the limelight from rival wearables

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Simple fitness trackers from Fitbit, Xiaomi and Garmin outsold Apple Watch during the third quarter.
Simple fitness trackers from Fitbit, Xiaomi and Garmin outsold Apple Watch during the third quarter.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

Smartwatches have been around for a few years and as a must-have device, they haven’t quite caught on. Analysts say there are two barriers, price and people not seeing the advantage of owning one.

But a new report shows Apple is making a dent in at least one of those barriers. A survey of 11,000 people by Kantar US Insights shows 92 percent recognize the Apple brand more than any other brand. Fitbit came in second with 47 percent with Google and Samsung scoring in the low 30s.

Candle Touch offers smart lighting for people afraid of light bulbs

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Candle-Touch-smart-candle
Why should lamps be the only smart-lighting game in town?
Photo: Candle Touch

One company has decided that electric lamps shouldn’t be having all the fun when it comes to lighting the app-controled home of the future, so it’s come up with one of the strangest (and most interesting) ideas we’ve heard in a while: smart candles.

Candle Touch will let you control the actual fire on a real, wax candle from an app on your iPhone or Android device. And the company assures us that it will all be safer than that sounds.

Bendgate is back: Watch the Nexus 6P fold insanely easily

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bendgate-is-back-watch-the-nexus-6p-fold-insanely-easily-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201510Screen-Shot-2015-10-30-at-144643-png
Here we go again. Photo: JerryRigEverything
Here we go again. Photo: JerryRigEverything

Bendgate is back, and this time, it’s an Android device that’s at the center of it.

Google’s brand new Nexus 6P, which is being dubbed the company’s best smartphone by critics and consumers, is nowhere near as durable as it is pretty. Check out the video below in which the device scratches, cracks, burns, and bends surprisingly easily.

The new Apple TV supports 3DTV content on compatible sets

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CSg1h_KW4AINa75
Pretty cool, huh?
Photo: Steve T-S/Twitter

The Apple TV is capable of supporting stereoscopic 3D apps on 3D-capable televisions, according to longtime Apple game developers Pangea Software.

So when can we expect the first wave of 3D Apple TV games? The answer to that question is “right now,” since Pangea has revealed that five of its titles already take advantage of the technology.

Video game legend is bringing slot machines to the Apple Watch

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Sometimes it's good to be reminded of just how far technology has come in our lifetimes.
Photo: Chicago Tribune

You can now play the slots from your Apple Watch, thanks to a recent new game entitled Double Luck Nudge, created by bona fide video game legend Larry DeMar.

DeMar was most famously responsible for co-creating the hit 1981 arcade coin-op Defender — a.k.a. the arcade machine on which the original Mac team racked up thousands of hours playing while putting together the original Macintosh.

Funny how life works, right?

El Capitan quietly added 10-bit color support for new 5K iMac

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iMac Retina 5K
The 5K iMac has gotten even better.
Photo: Apple

In addition to the plethora of new features Apple added for OS X El Capitan, it also quietly integrated 10 bit color support for the 4K & 5K iMac.

While this may not mean much for your average user, it’s absolutely massive news for photographers, video editors, or anyone else who relies on high-end color correction.

Angry Fandroids are losing it over Apple’s latest Android app

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Apple's latest app for Android is getting the response you'd expect.
Photo: Apple
Apple's latest app for Android is getting the response you'd expect. Photo: Apple
Apple’s latest app for Android is getting the response you’d expect. Photo: Apple

Apple’s latest app for Android is a bitter, ahem, Pill+ for Fandroids to swallow — with numerous one-star reviews already hitting the Google Play Store.

Arriving yesterday, the app lets users control and manage their newly-launched Beats Pill+ speaker, including allowing multiple users to take control of the music playing from a speaker, or configuring two speakers to achieve a higher volume level.

But, of course, it’s made by Apple. So by the ancient laws of Android it must be punished!

Take your fitness in hand with smartwatch SHIFT band

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EdgeGear-Shift
The best band for running.
Photo: EdgeGear

With the watch now reinvented, a pair of avid runners believe it’s time to reinvent the watch band.

They have created a band that moves the face of a smartwatch to the spot on the hand just below where the thumb and forefinger meet. The result for runners, cyclists or anyone using the Apple Watch’s health tracking features is the face of the watch remains in the line of site.

Sore over Sorkin’s biopic? Steve Jobs tribute cartoon will make you smile

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Steven Jobs and the introduction of the iMac.
Steven Jobs and the introduction of the iMac.
Photo: QuartSoft

So maybe fans and friends of Steve Jobs think the Aaron Sorkin film was a bit of a hatchet job on the late mercurial genius who started Apple.

An IT company in the Ukraine called QuartSoft released an animated biography of Jobs this week as a way to thank him “for letting us enjoy the perfection of the products you created.”

34 apps to try out on your brand new Apple TV

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Apple TV 4 brings iOS apps to the big screen.
Apple TV 4 brings iOS apps to the big screen.
Photo: Apple

When Apple TV units finally ship tomorrow, they will bring iOS apps to the big screen for the first time.

Some of the best apps from your iPhone are making the jump, including Periscope, Zillow and Airbnb. And of course all the old Apple TV apps like Netflix, HBO Now, Hulu and Showtime will still be available.

Now that the new Apple TV’s arrival is imminent, developers are ready to flood the device with a tons of apps focusing on everything from cooking and exercising to gaming and news.

Here’s a list of new apps available on Apple TV:

Eddy Cue: Apple TV will make viewing a more interactive experience

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Could Apple TV make television more like Periscope?
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apps on Apple TV could allow for Periscope-style feedback to live broadcasts, says Apple Senior VP Eddy Cue in a new interview with CNNMoney‘s Brian Stelter.

That’s one of the most fascinating points raised in a short conversation about Apple’s streaming set-top box ambitions, which also touches on a number of other topics — including Apple’s plans to make original Netflix-style content for Apple TV.

You’ll soon be able to use Siri to search Music on Apple TV

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Siri can now surface Disney content on your Apple TV.
Siri will soon let you search Apple Music.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple TV’s Siri-enabled universal search feature is set to come to Apple Music early next year, Apple has confirmed.

The feature means that Apple TV users will be able to request to find songs, artists or albums in the way that they can currently find movies or TV shows.

Out of costume ideas for Halloween? Just ask Siri

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Siri
"Hey, Siri? Will people hate me if I go to the party as 'Sexy Immortan Joe'?"
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Siri has a few extremely scientific and mathematical costume suggestions for Saturday’s festivities, but good luck figuring out how to implement most of them.

You can get prompts from Apple’s digital assistant by asking, “What should I be for Halloween?” to your favorite iOS device. Siri’s ideas aren’t bad if you can find a way to make them work. Check out a few of them below, which we captured from an Apple Watch.

$1.7 billion of Apple’s revenue last quarter came from Apple Watch

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Apple Watch is a killer device, even without a
The Apple Watch isn't a bad little earner for Cupertino.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

When it comes to revealing Apple Watch sales figures, Apple has kept its lips more tightly sealed than a swimmer in a sewage tank.

One of the ways it’s done this is hiding the Apple Watch numbers under the “other products” category in its SEC filings — alongside the iPod, Apple TV, Beats Electronics, and assorted accessories.

That doesn’t mean we can’t gauge something from looking at Apple’s new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documents, though. And despite keeping hush-hush about it, it seems the Apple Watch isn’t doing too badly for Apple at all.

BBC iPlayer is coming to Apple TV ‘soon’

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Now you can rewind live TV streams in the BBC iPlayer
Apple TV owners in the U.K. will soon be able to enjoy BBC iPlayer.
Photo: BBC

The BBC has confirmed that its on-demand “catch-up” iPlayer service is coming to the new Apple TV for the first time.

Despite being available on other platforms including Roku, Google Chromecast, Amazon’s Fire TV, Sky’s Now TV and various video game consoles, iPlayer has not previously been available through Apple TV — although it was possible to use the BBC’s free iPlayer app for the iPad or iPhone via Airplay.

Apple rejects offer to sell Adele’s latest CD in retail stores

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adele_25_500
Adele's management are looking for $30 million from Apple.
Photo: XL Recordings

It’s been years since Apple got rid of CD drives in Macs, but apparently Adele didn’t get the memo. That’s all we can conclude from a new report, claiming that the team behind the gazillion album-selling songstress tried — and failed — to persuade Apple to sell physical CD copies of her upcoming album, 25, in Apple Stores.

Because, you know, it’s not like the company has a new streaming music service it’s focused on selling people on or anything!

Nintendo unveils first, weird mobile game: Miitomo

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Nintendo's first mobile game has not a Mario in sight.

At an investor briefing in Tokyo this evening, console maker and developer Nintendo unveiled the first of its proposed five smartphone games it will make with mobile giant DeNA between now and March 2017. And it’s not the most exciting news for long-time fans of the Wii U company’s library.

The title, called Miitomo will be a free-to-play title that lets your cartoonish “Mii” avatar talk to your friends — often without your knowledge.

One ‘Account’ to rule them all: Nintendo updates membership club

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Nintendo Account doesn't have much of a ring to it, but this is big news.
Nintendo Account doesn't have much of a ring to it, but this is big news.
Photo: Takashi Mochizuki/Twitter

At a strategic briefing for investors today in Tokyo, Nintendo CEO Tatsumi Kimishima took to the podium to talk about the game-maker’s plans for the near future, including, we hope, information on the venerable company’s foray into mobile gaming on iPhones, iPads, and possibly Android devices.

The new service — blandly called “Nintendo Account” — will connect console, PC, and smart device users in a way that has never been seen before in Nintendo’s history.

Satechi’s USB-C hub has a place for your ‘old’ gadgets

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Media card slots and three A-type USB ports make Satechi's Type-C Hub Adapter a workhorse.
Media card slots and three A-type USB ports make Satechi's Type-C Hub Adapter a workhorse.
Photo: Satechi

Pulling the plug and getting the new MacBook with its single USB-C port doesn’t mean pulling the plugs on your peripherals. Plenty of companies, Apple included, offer adapters.

But one of the most versatile and elegant adapters arrived Wednesday from Satechi. Its hub adapter offers three A-type USB ports, an SD card slot and a micro SD card slot, allowing a user to seamlessly carry on.

Apple Music dives into VR with new U2 music video

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U2's VR music video feels like Bono is singing right at you.
U2's VR music video feels like Bono is singing right at you.
Photo: VRSE

Apple and U2 have gotten together again to promote their greatness, only instead of force feeding you an album you don’t want, this time the duo is diving into virtual reality for the band’s new video for “Song for Someone.”

YouTube Red goes live in the U.S.

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YouTube Red is rolling out now. Photo: YouTube
YouTube Red is rolling out now. Photo: YouTube

YouTube Red, the new subscription service that lets you enjoy the latest content from your favorite YouTube channels without ads, is now live in the United States.

Priced at $9.99 — and bundled with Google Play Music — Red also lets you play YouTube content in the background on your mobile devices, and download videos for offline viewing.

The sun sets on Sunrise as Microsoft combines app with Outlook

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Microsoft has a new outlook on its email and calendar app.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
outlook-mobile-app
Microsoft has a new outlook on its email and calendar app. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Microsoft is merging two of its most popular mobile apps into one: Outlook email and Sunrise calendar. Outlook has always been a favorite among email users while Sunrise rose to fame for being both free and feature-packed. Combined as one, Microsoft is hoping the move enables users to more seamlessly glide between emailing and calendar tasks.

The result isn’t really a huge departure from what Microsoft currently offers in Outlook, since Outlook already has your calendars built in. Instead, it’s more about refining navigation within the app while additionally bringing in some features from Sunrise.

The biggest change is that the sun is setting on Sunrise. After Microsoft bought the calendar app just this year, the company is already pulling the plug on it.