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News - page 1104

iPhone case leads to panic at one of Europe’s busiest airports

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MAIN-iPhone-gun-case
An iPhone case similar to the above caused the problem.
Photo: Mirror

An iPhone brought one of Europe’s busiest airports to a panicked stand yesterday — resulting in considerable delays as one terminal gate was closed for “security reasons.”

Why? A passenger supposed to be travelling from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport thought it was a bright idea to do so with his iPhone in a custom case made to look like a gun.

This is why we can’t have nice things.

4 watchOS 2 improvements you didn’t know you wanted

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Apple Watch Update
The new custom faces aren't the only great part of watchOS 2.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple’s second major iteration of its wearable firmware, watchOS 2, is finally out today, and it has some extra fun features hiding along with all of the ones the company has been talking about since it first announced the update back in June.

Sure, native apps and custom watch faces are cool, but watchOS 2 also contains some smaller updates that you have to look for. Here are some of the hidden gems.

Is this Apple exec poking fun at Project Titan sleuths?

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Apple car concept art side doors
If Apple really is working on an electric car, DJ Novotney has one heck of a sense of humor.
Photo: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

An Apple exec reportedly working on the company’s secret car project might be playing mind games with the Apple Kremlinologists searching for clues.

Is it the tech world’s biggest insider joke, or a sly hint that Apple’s automotive ambitions are real?

FAQ: Everything you need to know about the XcodeGhost App Store hack

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Pirate Flag
Steve Jobs' old mantra about "It's better to be a pirate than join the navy" probably wasn't on Apple's application form.
Photo: George Hodan/Public Domain Pictures

If you’re as confused as we were when we first heard about the major App Store hack over the weekend, we’re here to help.

Here’s a compilation of everything we know about the XcodeGhost story, and we’ll be updating it as more develops.

Ex-baseball player makes pitch to turn iPhone into radar gun

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The Scoutee can attach to an iPhone and record pitch speeds and other data it sends to an app.
The Scoutee can attach to an iPhone and record pitch speeds and other data it sends to an app.
Photo: Scoutee

Miha Uhan’s dream of standing on a big league mound is dead. But he’s still got a big pitch that could impact the game of baseball.

The former Slovenia national team player now leads a team of developers who have created a small device that can turn an iPhone into a radar gun to clock the speed of a thrown baseball.

XcodeGhost hack: Delete these infected iOS apps immediately

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The App Store just experienced its worst security breach ever.
The App Store just experienced its worst security breach ever.
Photo: Apple

The App Store suffered its worst security breach in history over the weekend, when it was discovered that hundreds of Chinese apps have a malicious program dubbed ‘XcodeGhost’ embedded in their software.

The huge security lapse made its way into legitimate apps thanks to Chinese developers who used a counterfeit version of Apple’s Xcode software that was uploaded to file sharing service Baidu. By using XcodeGhost to compile their apps, developers accidentally allowed the malicious code to be distributed through the App Store.

Apple has pulled infected apps off the store to stop stop the spread, but users still need to delete XcodeGhost apps off their devices manually. Most of the apps infected are mostly used in China, however some big name apps like WeChat, Angry Birds 2, and Didi Chuxing (Uber’s biggest rival in China) were also hit.

Here’s a full list of infected apps:

Security firm puts $1 million bug bounty on iOS 9

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A new iOS 9 beta is here.
A new iOS 9 beta is here.
Photo: Apple

While millions of iPhone users have eagerly upgraded to iOS 9, a new race is on among researchers to find critical flaws in Apple’s software, and they’re throwing around more cash than ever to get hackers to find the holes.

A new security industry firm called Zerodium announced today that it will pay hackers $1 million for a single exploit that allows attackers to break into an iPhone or iPad running iOS 9. The company says its even willing to pay the bounty multiple times, as long as the exploits break through iOS 9’s security flaws a certain way.

Apple created a mysterious new emoji and no one knows why

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Everybody loves emoji. Even the weird ones.
Everybody loves emoji. Even the weird ones.
Photo: Technewz

A mysterious new emoji has been added by Apple to iOS 9.1 and OS X El Capitan, but unlike the other emoji supported by Apple, this weird new pictogram wasn’t created by the Unicode Authority, and no one knows why it exists.

Apple plans to give emoji the middle finger when iOS 9.1 drops later this year, but it looks like the iPhone-maker has developed its own emoji called “eye in speech bubble,” and no one has any idea what it means.

Check it out:

Sketchy rumor claims iPhone 8 could rock curved OLED display

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iPhone-6-ecran-incurve
Future iPhones could rock curved displays. Maybe.

According to a rumor that’s sketchier than a rapid drawing done with an Apple Pencil, Apple is “serious” about equipping its 2018-era iPhones with OLED-based curved screens.

The South Korean news reports suggests that major Korean display-makers are currently showing off the cutting-edge displays to execs at Apple, and has found Apple to be enthusiastic about the prospect.

Brilliant lock screen shows how to recover your lost iPhone like a boss

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Enz6kvK
Who says a lock screen can't be laugh-out-loud funny?
Photo: Apple

Through the creation of its Find my iPhone feature, Apple has made it much easier to recover handsets when we misplace them.

However, one amusing iPhone owner decided to go one step further to ensure that he would be reunited with his iPhone should it stray from his hands during a night of drunken merriment — adding an hilarious iPhone lock screen message.

Samsung is ripping off Apple again — this time with phone leasing program

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samsung-is-ripping-off-apple-again-this-time-with-phone-leasing-program-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201509Samsung-Galaxy-S6-Edge-and-Note-5-jpg
Samsung is going back to the Cupertino well.
Photo: Samsung
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and Note 5
Samsung is going back to the Cupertino well. Photo: Samsung

Just days after being told to stop ripping off Apple’s designs, Samsung is reportedly getting ready to “borrow” another of Cupertino’s ideas — this time with a program for leasing its Galaxy handsets to U.S. customers, much like Apple announced two weeks back with its iPhone Upgrade Program.

Apple focuses on Apple Music playlists for its exclusive Emmys ad

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Apple Music's latest ad brings out the celebs.
Photo: Apple

Apple debuted a new star-studded ad for Apple Music during last night’s 2015 Emmy Awards, featuring singer Mary J. Blige, Scandal actress Kerry Washington, and Hustle & Flow actress Taraji P. Henson.

The ad focuses on the curated playlists of Apple Music, which is a feature Apple has been focusing on to differentiate itself from rival music services.

You can check it out below:

Apple cleans up the App Store after biggest security lapse in history

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Apple has lost its third appeal for ownership of the term App Store in Oz. Photo: Apple
Malicious code is causing Apple to remove hundreds of apps from the App Store.
Photo: Apple

Apple is removing hundreds of apps from the App Store after discovering that they contain a malicious program called XcodeGhost.

In the entire lifespan of the App Store, Apple has only previously found five malicious apps — making this easily the single biggest security lapse in App Store history.

The new and noteworthy of iOS 9 and our favorite tips and tricks on the CultCast

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Brace yourselves.  Picture-in-picture is coming... to your iPad.
Brace yourselves. Picture-in-picture is coming... to your iPad.
Photo: Apple

This week: we review the new and notable features of iOS 9, and some lesser-known features you should definitely be using. Plus: why you probably should’ve gotten the 128GB iPhone; a legit way to save 20% off your next Apple purchase; and what we love and don’t about iCloud storage.

And, we all love the sweeping musical scores that define our favorite movies and videos games, but have you ever wondered who creates them? Composer Gareth Coker, creator of the Ori and the Blind Forest score, joins us to talk about the process of creating a cinematic score from scratch, how music and technology are more intertwined than ever, and what it’s like to work as a modern day video game and movie composer.

Has Apple Watch helped you get in shape?

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Join the Cult of Mac club on Strava and share your fitness story
Join the Cult of Mac club on Strava and share your fitness story
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Apple Watch has been on our wrists for just five months and yet it is already having an amazing impact on many people’s lives.

We want to find out how Cult of Mac readers are using Cupertino’s fitness tech to get in shape, so we’re inviting everyone to share their inspiring stories. Plus, we’ve set up a new Cult of Mac club on Strava so you can connect with other readers who are into fitness.

Apple Watch heart monitor saves teen’s life

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Apple Watch alerts user of irregular heart rhythms in sleep
Keep an eye on this. It might keep you out of the grave.
Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

A teen sought medical attention after his Apple Watch heart monitor gave him persistently high readings, and that decision saved him from an untimely death.

Paul Houle, a 17-year-old football player, bought Apple’s wearable a few days before he started pre-season training at Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass. After two practices in one day, he noticed that his heart rate was sitting around 145 beats per minute, even hours after he’d stopped exercising.

He wouldn’t know until later, but he was experiencing a potentially life-threatening condition.

iPhone 6s camera hits the runway for NY Fashion Week

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Coach fashion show shot on iPhone 6s.
Coach fashion show shot on iPhone 6s.
Photo: Kevin Lu/Vogue

Apple is still preparing shipments for next week’s public launch of the iPhone 6s, but the folks at Vogue managed to get an early unit to test out the phone’s new picture taking skills at New York Fashion Week.

The new 12 MP camera sensor does not disappoint, according to Kevin Lu who became the first photographer to snap pictures with the new phone. 

Here’s what Lu had to say about the new camera after hitting the runways with it:

Cult of Mac Magazine: Why you need iOS 9 right now

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More iOS 9 news and reviews than you can handle!
More iOS 9 news and reviews than you can handle!
Cover: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac

We’re excited about all the cool new “whiz-bang” features in iOS 9 as well as the hundreds of tiny little improvements that will make your iPhone and iPad much better to use.

This week, we’re sharing that joy with you as we take a deep dive into iOS 9’s killer new features, how to upgrade the right way, an abundance of tiny tricks you need to know, and some of the best apps already rocking iOS 9.

Take a look at Cult of Mac Magazine to fill your head with all this great content.

Android vs. iOS: Do adoption figures mean anything?

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Is it fair to compare (adoption rates)?
Is it fair to compare (adoption rates)?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS 9 has been out for two days, and it’s already running on more than 20 percent of compatible devices, according to the latest data. In comparison, Google’s latest Android release, version 5.1 Lollipop, is running on just 5.1 percent of devices ten months after it made its public debut.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2These figures highlight the staggering difference between updates on Android and iOS. But is it fair to compare adoption figures between these two platforms, and do users really care?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over this very topic!

Developer pulls ad-blocker after topping App Store

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Marco Arment just wasn't at Peace with himself.
Photo: Sundaram Ramaswamy/Flickr CC

Developer Marco Arment pulled his iOS 9 content blocker from the App Store two days after launching it. He says it “just doesn’t feel good” to be profiting from his app Peace while taking money away from advertisers and publishers. He’s even offering refunds to anyone who already bought Peace expecting updates and support down the line, which they now won’t be getting.

Apple’s new Company Store will actually sell iPhones, iPads, and Macs

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Belgium's Apple Store is one of the first to bear Jony Ive's imprint.
Belgium's Apple Store is one of the first to bear Jony Ive's imprint.
Photo: Bruno Dalimonte/macplus.net

For the first time ever, Apple fans will soon be able to buy an Apple device directly from the company’s Cupertino headquarters.

Apple’s Company Store at 1 Infinite Loop is set to reopen this weekend, and along with selling special products like shirts, jackets, mugs, pens, the Company Store will now stock iPhones, iPads, and Macs for visitors to purchase.

Apple Pay is one step closer to arriving in China

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Photo: Adrian Korte CC
Tim Cook has said bringing Apple Pay to China is a top priority.
Photo: Photo: Adrian Korte CC

Apple Pay is a bit closer to making its debut in China — thanks to a new company, Apple Technology Service (Shanghai) Ltd., which Apple has set up to operate in the Shanghai free-trade zone with the express purpose of running its mobile payment service.

Apple has reportedly seeded the new company with registered capital of $13.4 million, and names Apple’s VP and corporate treasurer Gary Joseph Wipfler as its legal representative and chairman.