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News - page 1106

First Siri Remote cover advocates safe gaming

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Survivor Play for Siri Remote Apple TV
Griffin Technology's Survivor Play hopes to help you get a grip on your Apple TV remote.
Photo: Griffin Technology

The sweatiness of your hands may no longer be a concern when you upgrade to a new Apple TV this fall. A newly announced cover for the Siri Remote claims it will provide grip and comfort while you play iOS games on the big screen.

The accessory is called Survivor Play for Siri Remote, and it comes courtesy of Griffin Technology, known for its rugged and durable phone and tablet cases.

Apple’s first Android app is a poison pill

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apple-makes-its-first-android-app-move-to-ios-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201509Move-to-iOS-jpg
Get a move on...to iOS! Photo: Apple
Get a move on…to iOS! Photo: Apple

In a bold new move, Apple has just placed its first Android app on the Google Play Store.

No, it’s not Apple Music for Android, but rather Move to iOS, a new app that lets Android switchers easily transfer all their data and information over to a brand new shiny iPhone.

Apple’s iOS 9 update woes break the Internet’s heart

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iOS 9 not working Twitter
We know you're upset, Sir, but please stop fueling our nightmares.
Photo: @YunnqPrince (via Twitter)

If you’re having trouble downloading iOS 9, you’re not alone.

Apple released the latest version of its mobile operating system today, but a lot of users are getting download errors when they try to snag the new firmware. With nowhere left to turn, they have taken to Twitter to vent their frustrations.

Here are some of the more interesting reactions we’ve seen from people who just can’t seem to get that download started.

17 secret iOS 9 tricks everyone should know

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iOS 9 has tons of little tweaks waiting for you.
iOS 9 has tons of little tweaks waiting for you.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Once you get your iPhone upgraded to iOS 9, you might be overwhelmed. While Apple’s new mobile OS doesn’t pack a lot of grand new visual features, the update does include tons of little tricks that make using your iPhone and iPad even more ridiculously easy to use.

Here are all the secret iOS 9 tricks every user should know:

Why Apple TV’s strict new gaming mandate is a good thing

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The best controller for Apple TV is the one you'll use.
The best controller for Apple TV is the one you'll use.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s flip-flop on game controllers for Apple TV might be bad news for developers, but it’s great news for gamers.

It’s a virtual guarantee that all games will work better out of the box when running on the refreshed Apple TV, which will have its own App Store for the first time.

iOS 9 is ready for download: Get your upgrade on

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Paid content is coming to the News app.
iOS 9 is here. What are you waiting for?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Months of beta testing and waiting have finally culminated with today’s highly anticipated release of iOS 9, which brings users a smarter Siri, better multitasking on iPad, speedy UI improvements and all-around better performance.

Apple just made iOS 9 available to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users. The new mobile OS, which promises to be significantly smaller than previous iOS upgrades, can be downloaded via an over-the-air update — but the smart move is probably to use iTunes. (After backing up all your data, naturally.)

No, iOS 9 probably isn’t too big for your iPhone

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Notes-app
Unlike iOS 8 last year, iOS 9 shouldn't be much of a hassle to install.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple made two important changes to the way you install iOS 9 that will help out your storage space and probably your anxiety. If you’re like a lot of other people, you were pretty frustrated last year trying to install iOS 8. Your 16GB iPhone already has to store all your apps and photos, and it just seems downright greedy of Apple to ask you to install a software update that would take up even more space. This year’s update should be much smoother sailing.

AirDrop vulnerability is the best reason yet to upgrade to iOS 9

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AirDrop has a serious problem.
AirDrop has a serious problem.
Photo: Apple

Hackers have just given iPhone and iPad users a big reason to upgrade to iOS 9 due out later today: it fixes a serious AirDrop security vulnerability.

Mark Dowd, an Australian security researcher with Azimuth Security, revealed this morning that iOS 8.4.1 contains a critic security flaw in AirDrop that could allow an attacker to install malware on any device within range. Worst of all, even if a victim tried to reject the incoming AirDrop file, the bug lets attackers tweak the iOS settings so the exploit will still work.

Check out the lethal bug in action:

Critical bug delays watchOS 2 release

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watchOS 2 is available to developers today.
Or the next day. Or the day after that.
Photo: Apple

If you’ve been anxiously waiting to upgrade your Apple Watch to watchOS 2 today — well, sadly, you’re out of luck.

Despite announcing last week that watchOS 2 and iOS 9 would be released today, Apple has just dropped the bombshell that Apple Watch users won’t be upgrading their operating systems quite yet, thanks to the discovery of a critical bug.

AT&T increases unlimited data cap to 22GB

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AT&T being generous? What?!
Photo: AT&T
AT&T being generous? What?!
AT&T being generous? What?!

AT&T is increasing its data cap to 22GB for customers who are still grandfathered into unlimited data plans. This is more than four times the 5GB cap previously offered to LTE subscribers, and more than seven times the 3GB cap offered to 3G subscribers.

Chinese sperm bank wants you to swap your swimmers for an iPhone 6s

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iphone-sperm_1024
A fair trade?
Photo: Cult of Mac

China seems to have a bit of a problem with certain members of the population trying to trade vital organs for Apple’s next-gen iPhone 6s.

Responding to this, a local sperm bank at Renji Hospital in Shanghai is offering donors the cash to buy Apple’s new handset in exchange for a sperm sample.

“No need to sell your kidneys – you can easily have a 6s,” the hospital writes in an online posting.

That’s advice worth living by!

Here’s what time iOS 9 will be released where you are

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iOS 9.3 beta 6 is here!
iOS 9.3 beta 6 is here!
Photo: Apple

Time’s a crazy thing: it’s different everywhere! So if you’re wondering when iOS 9 will drop tomorrow, well, it’ll probably be different from us depending on where you are.

Thankfully, just by consulting this chart, you can know exactly when you should start tapping the update button according to where you are in the world.

Behold! The iOS 9 Worldwide Release Time Chart!

You’ve never seen someone so happy with an Apple Watch box

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apple-watch-box
You never know when that new Apple device will change your life.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Talk about finding a unique way to recycle your Apple packaging!

A newly-expecting mother recently broke the news about her pregnancy to the father by hiding the positive pregnancy test in an Apple Watch — prompting a spontaneous heart-warming reaction.

Seriously, the guy couldn’t have been any more chuffed if he had just been handed a $17,000 Apple Watch Edition.

Either that or he’s wondering where the Apple Watch itself went.

Indian prime minister will meet with Tim Cook during U.S. visit

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Modi takes a selfie with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will also be touring the U.S. soon.
Photo: Gizbot

Indian Prime Minister and noted iPhone user Narendra Modi has requested to meet Tim Cook during his upcoming visit to the U.S. — reportedly to discuss the possibility of Apple investing in R&D and manufacturing in his country.

Modi arrives in New York on September 24 and 25, before heading to the West Coast on September 26 and 27.

Apple University professor could buy a lot of iPhones on $1.7 million salary

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Yep, Apple's pretty darn valuable.
Turns out there's money to be made at Apple.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Like everything else Apple does, its top-notch Apple University internal business training center doesn’t exactly scrimp when it comes to paying its employees.

According to a new report, Apple University faculty member James Phills — formerly a professor at Stanford University and Yale School of Management — makes upwards of $1.7 million per year teaching business skills to Apple employees.

Nice work if you can get it, right?

iOS 8’s final score: 87% of users upgraded

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A new iOS 8 update is here.
iOS 8 did as well as we predicted.
Photo: Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

iOS 8 is about to join the big tech scrapyard in the sky, but before it’s replaced by iOS 9, Apple has posted one last set of adoption figure — showing that a whopping 87 percent of eligible users upgraded to Apple’s last-generation mobile OS.

Logitech’s new universal remote commands your whole home

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Logitech's Harmony Elite remote controls almost anything you point it at.
Logitech's Harmony Elite remote controls almost anything you point it at.
Photo: Logitech

The last universal remote we bought cost $20 from Walgreens. It was a big, ugly hunk of plastic, but it controlled the TV and VCR just fine.

These days, things have gotten a little more complicated. Now we have an HDTV, three set-top boxes, two game consoles and Sonos, as well a Nest thermostat and a bunch of Bluetooth-connected lightbulbs.

Logitech’s new Harmony Elite is a universal remote that controls all these devices and more. It’s price is listed at an eye-popping $350, but this is much more than a TV remote. It’s a smarthome hub for just about every connected device in your house, designed to give HomeKit and Siri a run for their money.

Cook and Colbert discuss Jobs, charity, the iPhone 6s and an Apple Car

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Stephen Colbert, right, with iPhones 6s in hand, jokes with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Stephen Colbert, right, with iPhones 6s in hand, jokes with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Photo: CBS

Apple CEO Tim Cook has probably never had to fend off a fondue fork aimed at his neck on live television. But he did so with a laugh Monday night while a guest of the CBS Late Show with new host Stephen Colbert.

Colbert was marveling at a new rose gold iPhone 6s when he thought to ask Cook, “Did you change the charging cable on this because if you did I will stab you in the neck with a fondue fork right now.”

6 questions we hope Colbert asks Tim Cook tonight

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Stephen Colbert Tim Cook
Late Show host Stephen Colbert will have Tim Cook's ear tonight.
Photo: CBS

Stephen Colbert’s Late Show is hosting Apple head Tim Cook in tonight’s episode, and it’s a pretty big opportunity to have the ear of one of the most powerful business leaders in the country. We’re sure that Colbert already has a list of questions he and his staff have prepared for Cook, but here are some we hope to see when the show airs later.

They’re not all good questions, mind you, but we’d still love to see them.

iPad mini 2 still packs the most value into a tiny tablet

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Apple stops selling its last non-Retina iOS device.
Despite a slight speed bump, the iPad mini 4 just isn't worth the money.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The new iPad mini 4, just announced last week, is good but probably not as good as it should be. In recent benchmark tests, it performs only slightly better than the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus of 2014. It’s still nowhere near as fast as the current-generation iPad Air 2 and it’s only a tad faster than the iPad mini 2, which Apple is still selling for $269. Believe it or not, you’re still probably better off getting the two-year-old iPad mini instead.

iOS will finally let you delete stock apps (someday)

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Tim cook
Tim Cook wants everybody to be happy, and that means deleting some stock apps.
Photo: Apple

The days of having a junk drawer full of stock iOS apps might finally be coming to an end.

On the way to a surprise appearance at the Fifth Ave Apple Store, BuzzFeed spent 20 minutes with Tim Cook, who revealed some iOS apps will come with a delete option soon. The Apple CEO also talked about the future of computing, 3D Touch, “Hey Siri” privacy concerns and more. Here are the most interesting tidbits from Cook’s drive-by interview:

Facebook is finally making a dislike button

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The dislike button is coming.
The dislike button is coming.
Photo: Facebook

Get ready to give your friend’s barrage of baby pics a big thumbs down on Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg announced today in a townhall meeting that the social network is finally planning to bring a ‘dislike’ button Facebook.

Facebook users have been clamoring for a dislike or down vote button since the birth of the like button, and Zuckerberg says the company is nearly ready to give us one.