News - page 1274

We’d heard that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were receiving record preorders, but what exactly does this mean in terms of numbers?

According to a new press release from Apple, the total number of pre-orders for the iPhone 6 family of devices is in excess of a whopping 4 million units — twice the number of pre-orders of the iPhone 5.

“iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are better in every way, and we are thrilled customers love them as much as we do,” Tim Cook is quoted as saying. “Pre-orders for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus set a new record for Apple, and we can’t wait to get our best iPhones yet into the hands of customers starting this Friday.”

Apple is copying Samsung — and Samsung’s none too happy about it.

No, this isn’t some alternate universe timeline, but the narrative according to Samsung’s latest ad for the Galaxy Note 4.

TAG Heuer is not the only watchmaker taking notice of the Apple Watch.

Cindy Livingston, CEO of Guess Watches, has written an open letter to Tim Cook about the Apple Watch. And like TAG Heuer, it appears that Livingston is more interested in the excitement and creativity that Apple brings to the watch world than scared and defensive, saying that Guess is looking forward to the “new challenge to remain relevant” that the Apple Watch presents them.

Particularly on the back of the recent iCloud account hacking scandal, smartphone security is something a lot of people are paying more attention to.

With that in mind, a London-based designer recently launched an intriguing Kickstarter campaign, to create a clothing label aimed at raising awareness about high-tech security.

The clothes are all cleverly constructed around a removable waterproof stealth pocket, made from police-grade shielding fabrics, designed to securely block all Cell, WiFi, GPS and RFID signals to ~100 dB.

Now that Apple has entered the watch game, even the horological old guard is starting to take notice. Just a few days after Apple unveiled the Apple Watch, Swiss luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer has announced that it’s planning on making a smartwatch too … although they say they don’t just want to copy the Apple Watch.

Not even Apple’s new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus support super-sharp 4K video recording out of the box, but they do have the necessary hardware to support it. Vizzywig 4K, a new iOS app that was just approved by Apple, brings this functionality to the iPhone 5s — but it costs a whopping $999.99.

It’s rare that we get to see inside the mind of Apple CEO Tim Cook. It’s even rarer when what he says appears to be largely unscripted and candid.

The PBS show Charlie Rose aired part one of its interview with Cook over the weekend, and the hour-long talk is probably the most revealing conversation Cook has ever had with the press. Here’s what we learned from the interview:

Tools like hands-free kits and Siri might mean that you don’t have to have your face constantly buried in your iPhone, but for most people the reality is that using a smartphone suggests your focus is not entirely on the real world around you.

Tackling this problem head-on is a place called Foreigner Street in Chongqing city, China, which has installed a special walking lane for smartphone users — just as might be the case with a cycle lane elsewhere.

It’s been a huge week for Apple news, with the special event this past Tuesday along with a few stories you may have missed. Watch Cult of Mac’s news roundup to see the latest on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the Apple Watch, U2’s latest album and another new product market Apple might be entering.

Subscribe to Cult of Mac TV on YouTube to catch all our latest videos.

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Apple put mobile wallet payment platforms like Google Wallet, Square and PayPal on notice this week with the reveal of Pay, but before Cupertino decided to launch its answer to the wallet, sources tell TechCrunch the company was eyeing an acquisition of Square.

Square’s simplistic payments platform seems like it would have been the perfect fit for Apple and would have added “Next Steve Jobs Nominee” Jack Dorsey to its loaded executive ranks, but after Apple executives failed to put enough cash on the table, Square walked away from negotiations.

When Apple Pay was unveiled Tuesday, Eddy Cue was quick to mention that 83% of US card issuers are already on board. 220,000 stores will also support the mobile payment initiative at launch, including big chains like McDonalds, Walgreens, Staples, and of course, Disney.

But that doesn’t mean Apple Pay’s adoption will be smooth sailing going forward. There are still plenty of merchants that haven’t signed on, and some of the biggest names, including Walmart and Best Buy, don’t plan on supporting Apple Pay any time soon.

Apple fans will never revel in the glory of another Stevenote. But an essay that imagines how Steve Jobs would have introduced the Apple Watch just might be the next best thing.

Lesson No. 1: He wouldn’t have called it the “Apple Watch.”

Apple goes to some pretty crazy lengths to ensure secrecy for its various projects, and it expects a similar commitment from its partners.

According to a New York Times article, prior to releasing Apple Pay, the key players (which included Apple and banks such as JP Morgan Chase) referred to each other by code-names after rumors of Apple’s interest in mobile payments surfaced in early 2013.

Tim Cook sat down with Charlie Rose for what looks like a pretty unscripted interview. A couple of clips have been made available ahead of the first part airing on television tonight, including Cook’s admission that Steve Jobs’ office at Apple remains untouched to this day.

When pressed about Apple’s plans for TV, Cook revealed that the Apple TV now has 20 million users. “It’s far exceeded the ‘hobby’ label we’ve placed on it,” said Cook. He also said he thinks watching TV is like “entering a time capsule” and that the whole experience is stuck in the 70s.

Another topic of conversation was Apple’s purchase of Beats. Cook shared a story about how he was skeptical about Beats Music until he used it one night. Based on the few minutes we’ve already seen from the interview, it looks like the full conversation will prove to be pretty interesting.

In an excerpt from an interview with Charlie Rose, Tim Cook revealed that Steve Jobs’s office “is still left as it was” on the fourth floor of Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino. “His name is still on the door,” said Cook.

That says a lot more than any homage Apple can pay to Jobs onstage or in interviews with its executives.

GIFs are one of the finest gifts God has given the internet. I can’t get enough of them. And once iOS 8 drops it’s going to be easier than ever to have non-stop reaction GIF conversations with friends.

PopKey is a third party keyboard that will replace those useless letters on your keyboard with your favorite GIFs.

You can search for GIFs by keyword and paste them into messages without ever having to leave your conversation. The app will come with access to thousands of GIFs, but you can also upload your own if you want. And now that iOS 8 automatically deletes old messages, you don’t have to worry about them hogging your storage.

Here’s a closer look at the keyboard in action:

One of the best underrated features of iOS 8 is the addition of Wi-Fi calling, and while carriers like T-Mobile and EE have been quick to jump on Apple’s new technology that makes transition calls from LTE to WiFi seamless, AT&T is dragging its heels and says it doesn’t plan to enable the feature until 2015.

AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega doesn’t see an urgent need to add WiFi calling, reports LightReading, after attending Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference where Ralph said AT&T will only add Wi-Fi calling 2015 as a compliment to VoLTE and 3G voice.

Whether you wanted it or not, U2’s new album is in the purchased section of your iTunes account.

Apple inked a $100 million deal with its favorite band to put Songs of Innocence in the hands of over 500 million iTunes users, and now the album has seen over two million downloads as a result—or about 0.4% of the iTunes Store’s user base.

3D printing is our current generation’s new home computing, says a new documentary airing on Netflix later this month. The film focuses on the first 3D printer company, Makerbot, and the several new entries into the field since.

What happens when you can suddenly print your own robotic hand? What about your own handgun? The world is suddenly both more dangerous and a better place to be.

Check out the trailer below for a sneak peak at the documentary, Print the Legend, scheduled to go live on Netflix September 26.

U2’s partnership with Apple created the biggest album release ever this week with over 500 million iTunes customers receiving Song of Innocence for free, with just one bromantic touching of fingers, but according to U2’s manager, Guy Oseary, the band has even more plans in development with Apple.

Giving away U2’s album for free also proved how worthless the album format is nowadays thanks to iTunes indomitable ability to sell single MP3 files faster than McDonald’s can spit out beef patties, but in an interview with Billboard, Oseary hinted that Apple and U2 are working on a new formats to consume music too.

iPhone 6 and 6 Plus preorders have already started selling out around the world and the shipping dates are slipping.

Spokes people for Apple say that they’re seeing an unprecedented demand for the new phones already, and carriers like AT&T are getting crushed by the unfathomable number of customers looking for an upgrade.

Excessive demand might mean that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus won’t make it into your hands until October in some cases — but users waiting for iPhone 6 accessories could be delayed even longer.

According to sources who spoke with Cult of Mac, many smaller, non-Apple companies are currently unable to get the necessary Lightning connectors and authentication chips needed to manufacture products because Apple has snapped up all the available inventory.

Many MFi part distributors won’t give any estimates on availability, which means both manufacturers and end users could be in for a wait before regular shipments of related iPhone and iPad accessories resume.