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News - page 1103

Apple Watch app warns when you’re nearing data limit

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The DataMan complication, as seen in the upper left of these Apple Watches, monitors your data usage.
The DataMan complication, as seen in the upper left of these Apple Watches, monitors your data usage.
Photo: DataMan

DataMan could be the name of a superhero, but it is instead an app that saves you from the dangers of going over your data limit. Now it has a sidekick for the Apple Watch that lets you be vigilant with a flick of the wrist.

The DataMan app for the watch lets you easily view your usage, but if you don’t need to know in detail, simply raise your wrist and an icon will appear in the upper left corner of your watch face that gives an idea. A green check means your safe, a blue exclamation point is for caution and a red X means you are in danger of going past your limit and paying nasty overage fees.

Lensbaby your way to dreamy iPhone photos

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One of the lenses in the Creative Mobile Kit by Lensbaby.
One of the lenses in the Creative Mobile Kit by Lensbaby.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

We love our iPhone cameras because it takes away the need for technical know-how and leaves us with nothing but fun for our photography. But sometimes fun needs to be turned up a notch.

Enter the Creative Mobile Kit from Lensbaby, a two-lens package that turns any scene into a dreamy state of smeary colors and blurred shapes that surround the focus of a subject. Just clip on the kit’s magnetic mount bracket, select a lens and go play.

Apple Car could save drivers 400 billion hours per year

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Apple car concept art shows what Cupertino might put on the road.
An Apple Car has the potential to save lives. In all sorts of ways.
Photo: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Morgan Stanley analysts Adam Jonas and Katy Huberty — who regularly follow Tesla and Apple — claim an autonomous Apple Car could save drivers a collective 400 billion hours of “non-productive” time each year.

“What is the value of 400 billion hours a year?” they write in a note to clients. “How much value could Apple create from this time or said another way how much are consumers willing to pay to recoup this time? It’s time to start thinking about… time.”

And we thought the Apple Watch was Apple’s attempt to focus on timekeeping!

Meet the messaging app that will save your ass

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meet-the-messaging-app-that-will-save-your-ass-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201508retxt-3-jpg
reTXT lets you edit messages or photos after you've already sent them.
Photo: reTXT
reTXT lets you edit messages or photos after you've already sent them.
reTXT lets you edit messages or photos after you’ve already sent them. Photo: reTXT

reTXT is a radical new messaging app that wants to fix everything wrong with online communication as it exists now. It landed back in April and includes a number of unique features — like being able to edit a message you already sent — all of which are currently patent pending. The app just updated today for iOS and Android with support for voice calling with end-to-end encryption as well.

Sticking out from the crowd of third-party messaging apps, I decided to take a closer look.

Awesome infographic connects the dots of Steve Jobs’ life

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How-Steve-Jobs-Started
Jobs' life gets graphical.
Photo: Visualistan

Steve Jobs’ life has been immortalized in the form of numerous biographies, three movies, multiple documentaries, several operas, and a handful of graphic novels — but now it’s been turned into an infographic, too.

Created by the folks at Visualistan, this neat creation takes you through Steve’s most significant moments in one easy-to-read pictogram, based on the same Walter Isaacson biography that forms the basis for the forthcoming Steve Jobs movie.

Check it out:

Apple takes steps to avoid a repeat of XcodeGhost debacle

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Double-check that you're using the right version of Xcode to build apps.
Apple will provide Chinese users with a local official version of Xcode to download.
Photo: Johan Larrson/Flickr

Apple is taking steps to avoid a repeat of this week’s serious XcodeGhost incident — in which hundreds of App Store apps were discovered to include malware in the form of a counterfeit version of Xcode, the platform used by developers to build their apps.

Tim Cook offers fan an internship after Apple Watch saved his life

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Apple's back on top again.
An internship worth celebrating!
Photo: Apple

The teen who had his life saved thanks to his Apple Watch heart monitor has received a brand new iPhone 6s and — more importantly — an internship with Apple next summer.

17-year-old football player Paul Houle says he was recovering from his recent medical emergency when he received a very special call from Cupertino.

“I got a phone call from a California number, and [the person on the other end of the line] said ‘Hello, my name is Tim Cook, CEO of Apple,'” Houle says.

Apple rejects controversial Ferguson Firsthand app

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Ferguson Firsthand was intended as an
Ferguson Firsthand was intended as an "educational app."
Photo: Dan Archer

In the latest controversy over Apple’s stringent App Store guidelines, the company has rejected an “educational app” about the August 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

The reason? Apple objects to “the subject matter” of the game, which deals with the impact of the real-life shooting that sparked rioting and a continuing conversation about race and police brutality.

Photo app lets you send the party snaps when you’re sober

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Flashgap lets you take pictures at the party, but then makes you wait a day before you can share them.
Flashgap lets you take pictures at the party, but then makes you wait a day before you can share them.
Photo: Flashgap

There is a growing category of apps that fall under the heading, Apps to save us from ourselves. There are messaging apps that delay the sending of text messages and apps and hardware that measure the amount of alcohol on your breath.

Flashgap enters this category – probably in time for some – to stop embarrassing party photos from making the rounds before you’ve had a chance to sober up and consider who will get to see your fun and foolishness.

3D Touch turns iPhone 6s keyboard into a touchpad

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Selecting text on the iPhone 6s is ridiculously easy.
Selecting text on the iPhone 6s is ridiculously easy.
Photo: Matthew Panzarino/Twitter

Selecting text on the iPhone 6s will be a whole lot easier thanks to the introduction of 3D Touch, which can quickly change your iOS 9 keyboard into a trackpad.

iPhone 6s owners will be able to use two levels of touch to activate the trackpad, and then a deeper push to highlight text. The trick was first discovered by Apple analyst Ben Bajarin while reviewing the upcoming smartphone. TechCrunch’s Matthew Panzarino uploaded a video this afternoon showing off the new feature and it might be the best reason yet to upgrade to the new 3D Touch iPhones.

Check it out in action:

10 native apps that give Apple Watch some independence

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Native apps, like Dark Sky, take advantage of the new OS for Apple Watch.
Native apps, like Dark Sky, take advantage of the new OS for Apple Watch.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The future of computing may be sitting on your wrist, but it’s still tethered to something a little old-fashioned. But as of Monday, the Apple Watch’s new operating system allows it to cut a few of the cords that connect it to the iPhone.

Apple’s watchOS 2 debuted, giving the watch new superpowers but also allowing native apps to run independently of the iPhone.

Get lost in Lifeline 2’s fantasy world on Apple Watch

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Help Arika avoid mortal danger while she wisecracks at you.
Help Arika avoid mortal danger while she wisecracks at you.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Dave Justus is no stranger to writing video games, having written both Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us adventure game for Mac, PC and console, as well as the original Lifeline, a text-based story game that brought the epic struggles of an astronaut named Taylor to our wrists.

With the help of 3 Minute Games’ lead game designer Mars Jokela, Justus has created another massive adventure that still fits inside your Apple Watch. This time, however, you’ll have a conversation with Arika, a young woman with magical powers who needs your help to escape mortal danger.

Lifeline 2: Bloodline is a funny, moving, and above all human story that really plays to the strengths of the Apple Watch; it’s like having a text conversation (with a cheeky magician) from your wrist.

“We’ve built Lifeline 2 to be a bigger and richer experience,” says Jokela via email, “[but] the story is still focused on a likable, relatable character who desperately needs your help.”

Apple is aiming for 6 cores in A10 processor

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If you think the A9 processor is fast, wait 'til you see the A10.
If you think the A9 processor is fast, wait 'til you see the A10.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone 6s is the fastest smartphone on the planet, but according to a new rumor, Apple is planning to make a huge leap with its A10 processor in the iPhone 7 that will turn the device into an unbelievable speed machine.

It seems a bit early to start talking about the iPhone 7’s processor when the 6s hasn’t even gone on sale yet, however, the Apple rumor mill has spit out a rumor claiming Apple’s A10 processor will boast 6 cores.

You won’t be able to buy an iPhone 6s on launch day in these 5 states

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iphone-6s-3d-touch
Chipgate won't drain your battery, says Apple.
Photo: Apple

Despite being sold out online, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will be available for walk-in purchase on September 25th, except for customers in five unlucky states.

Apple revealed in a press press release that customers in Hong Kong, China, Japan and five U.S.states won’t be able to walk-in to a local Apple Store at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, September 25th to buy the best iPhone Apple’ ever created.

Here are the five states that won’t sell you an iPhone on launch day:

How to tell if you’re using a counterfeit version of Xcode

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Double-check that you're using the right version of Xcode to build apps.
Double-check that you're using the right version of Xcode to build apps.
Photo: Johan Larrson/Flickr

Developers who have downloaded Xcode from an non-Apple source now have a way to tell if the version their using is an official Apple version, or if it might be infected by XcodeGhost, which wreaked havoc on the App Store on Sunday.

Apple has outlined how to verify if you’re using a counterfeit version of Xcode in a new support document. Developers should always download Xcode directly from the Mac App Store or Developer Website, but if you haven’t, follow these steps to make sure your copy is legit:

GM exec calls Apple Car a ‘gigantic money pit’

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giphy
I like to think this is how Tim Cook starts his day.
Photo: Walt Disney Television Animation

Industry insiders are absolutely positive that Apple has no business entering the smartphone smartwatch car industry — with former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz telling CNBC that an Apple Car has the potential to be a, “gigantic money pit.”

Yep, we agree Lutz — an autonomous Apple Car has the potential to make loads of money for Apple.

Oh wait, you mean the bad kind of money pit?

Spectacular without surprises: What critics think of iPhone 6s

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how-iphone-6s-stacks-up-against-android-rivals-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201509Screen-Shot-2015-09-09-at-203842-png
Check out our iPhone 6s metareview.
Photo: Apple

It’s been two weeks since Apple announced its latest iPhones, and the first reviews are in — letting the rest of the world know what we can expect to find this Friday (or possibly before, if you’re an AT&T customer.)

So what do reviewers think? Mainly that 3D Touch is the way of the future, that Apple should concentrate on battery life, and that the iPhone 6s may just be Apple’s greatest handset yet… although the iPhone 7 will be better.

Yep, it’s a mixture of insane expectations coming into contact with an iPhone that was only ever going to be a marginal improvement on last year’s best-selling iPhone 6.

Check out the highlights below:

The only thing better than beautiful bikes? Innovative bike gear

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DeRosa carbon fiber road bike
Found on the floor at Interbike was this beautiful Italian goodness in the form of a blinged-out DeRosa.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

LAS VEGAS — If you need proof that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the bike industry, look no further than Interbike. The massive bike show here is an undeniable indication that innovators are still plugging away in their garages, trying to build the next big thing and prep it for Kickstarter.

Independent innovators are making cargo bikes one at a time, marketing lightweight welding masks to protect riders from the rain, and dreaming up helmet inserts for the world’s great sweaters. Cult of Mac takes one more lap around the convention center hall …

Apple Watch Rickroll shows Apple’s no stranger to LOLZ

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rickroll-2_1024
You wouldn't get this from any other company.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple has hidden a Rickroll in plain sight in its latest Apple Watch help page, with a FAQ on how to add friends on your Apple Watch spelling out a very familiar reference.

Sure, it’s all a bit 2008 by now, but there’s still something hilarious about Apple spelling out “NE VE RG ON NA GI VE YU UP” as the initials of your apparent Apple Watch friends.

Well played, Apple. Well played!

One lucky iPhone 6s customer has already received their order

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iPhone 6s
What's the betting Tim Cook's not too happy about this?
Photo: Adrienne/Moonshine Design

One incredibly lucky Apple fan, San Diego-based Twitter user @MoonshineDesign, has already received her brand new Rose Gold iPhone 6s — several days ahead of its Friday release date.

Adrienne went on to post a variety of photos of the device, along with videos shot with the camera and even a Geekbench test, confirming the 2GB of RAM for the device.