News - page 1336

The rumormill is reaching a fever pitch when it comes to Apple’s upcoming iPhone 6, and one of the hottest new reports concerns the handset’s alleged A8 chip.

While we’ve been seeing a new A-series processor each year, there’s still been no definite confirmation that Apple plans to include the A8 chip in its next generation devices, especially since developers have yet to push the A7 to its limits.

With that being said, the Chinese media is claiming that the A8 will not only happen, but that it will blow the current A7 out of the water: boasting frequencies of 2.0 GHz or more per core (compared to the 1.3Ghz A7 SoC found in the iPhone 5s and Retina iPad mini, or the 1.4 GHz found in the iPad Air).

When it was first released on iOS devices in 2011, Minecraft: Pocket Edition was just a shadow of what it was on the PC. Where as the PC version contained infinite worlds, Pocket Edition’s worlds were tiny and self-contained. There were no monsters, nor underground chasms. And so on.

For Minecraft fans hoping to play the game on the go, these omissions were disappointing. But over the years, slowly but surely, Pocket Edition has caught up with the features of its progenitor, and the 0.9.0 updated, released yesterday, makes Minecraft: Pocket Edition almost indistinguishable from having the PC version in your pocket.

The iPhone brings untold billions of dollars of industry into China thanks to the manufacturing jobs it creates, but that hasn’t stopped the Chinese Government — through their state-controlled media mouthpieces — from calling the device a “national security concern.”

Why? Because iOS can track your location, which according to a China Central Television report, could be used to betray Chinese state secrets to the rest of the world.

Will Apple have iWatches ready to hit the shelves when it announces the wearable at its rumored event in October? Probably not.

Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, who is undoubtedly the most accurate Apple analyst on the planet, is saying that Apple won’t begin mass production of the iWatch until November. He has also lowered his sales projections considerably because of “complications” Apple has to deal with concerning new materials like sapphire.

iTranslate has been one of the most popular language tools on iOS for a long time, and today it comes to the Mac.

With support for over 80 languages, voice output to help with pronunciation, and a clean menubar app design, this is an app definitely worth checking out.

With Uber or Lyft, you can summon a car to pick you up with a tap on your iPhone. TaskRabbit makes it that easy to find someone to do your grocery shopping or even stand in line all day for the new iPhone.

Until today, TaskRabbit has operated on an auction-like bidding system for handling tasks. Not only is TaskRabbit killing that model, but it’s releasing a redesigned app with automatic Client and Tasker pairing, one-click hiring, and its own messaging platform.

After today’s changes, TaskRabbit has become a blend of two things. It’s a more evolved, mobile-friendly version of the jobs section of Craigslist, and it’s applying the on-demand aspect of Uber to just about any kind of errand or odd-job you could hire someone to do.

The first vehicles to support Apple’s CarPlay infotainment system are just starting to roll off the assembly lines, but within five years CarPlay could be the most popular car platform in the world, with over 24 million cars sporting Cupertino’s dashboard system.

Despite being in its infancy, a host of auto manufacturers from Audio to Volvo are partnering with Apple on CarPLay, and ABI Research estimates that more vehicles will use CarPlay by 2019 than MirrorLink, the #1 open source solution that integrates popular smartphone apps with your vehicle’s dashboard.

Buying movies on iTunes just got a lot more like purchasing a Blu-ray from Best Buy, thanks to the addition of an all-new iTunes Extras features for HD movies. The new feature is part of the iTunes 11.3 update Apple released this morning, that brings new content to movies played on your Mac and Apple TV.

Here’s one to file in the “exciting, but most likely not happening” category.

A new Chinese media report suggests that one of the iPhone 6’s “secret weapons” could be the inclusion of advanced haptic feedback technology. Sources claim that the tactile feedback linear motor would be capable of producing different types of subtle vibration depending on the app being used, and could even emit different vibrations depending on the part of the touch screen that is being pressed at the time, or how hard it is being pressed.

The iPhone 6 is one of the most eagerly anticipated iPhone refreshes in years, but just how anticipated it is might surprise you.

Taiwan’s Business Weekly is reporting that Apple has orders at least 68 million units of its new iPhone. To put that in perspective, if true this is twice as large as the order Apple placed for the iPhone 5.

Shares in the Oregon-based Pixelworks, which designs and produces semiconductors for superior digital-video displays, have surged on the back of reports that the company could be working on Apple’s long-awaited TV set.

According to a research analyst for Seeking Alpha, Apple accounted for 14 percent of Pixelworks’ first-quarter revenue this year, and the company may be using its latest Iris graphics chips — which provide “two to four times the pixels and quality of current offerings while drawing less power” — in its next generation iPad and iPhone 6 devices.

That’s not the most exciting possibility according to Seeking Alpha, though, which states that Pixelworks has obtained mass-production qualifications for a system-on-chip designed for larger screen devices, being developed with an unnamed partner. Pixelworks CEO Bruce Walicek recently claimed that his company is working on a significantly large project to develop a high-tech display, which could turn out to be the Apple TV.

Remember back in the early 2000s when Apple opening a brick-and-mortar store in prime real estate locations seemed as crazy a gamble as Apple deciding to create its own mobile phone? Very few people would admit so now — particularly Apple’s rivals like Samsung and Microsoft which have followed the Apple Store example with their own surprisingly similar retail outfits.

In an attempt to stop others from copying the slick, high fashion minimalism of its Apple Stores, Apple has secured a court ruling allowing it to register the layout of its retail stores in the European Union as a trade mark — extending the intellectual property status that it already carries in the U.S.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has reportedly started shipping its first batch of iPhone and iPad microprocessors to Apple, according to sources familiar with the matter.

By making microprocessors for Apple, TSMC is taking over a role previously carried out by Samsung. Some skeptics had previously suggested that TSMC — which is the world’s biggest contract chipmaker in terms of revenue — wouldn’t be able to deliver the complex chips to Apple’s satisfaction.

SAN FRANCISCO — Myles Weissleder has witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to startup demos.

The former VP of public affairs at Meetup.com presides over SF New Tech, a showcase for disruptive hopefuls that he’s run for more than eight years. Over 750 companies including SkyBox, Twilio, Prezi, Flipboard and Twitter have come to his networking mixer to demo before a live audience in a trendy SOMA club.

In San Francisco’s competitive startup environment, you can demo your game-changing idea (or Pet Rock app) every night of the week, but SF New Tech is one of the longest-running and largest showcases. Wannapreneurs face a few hundred audience members — many of them from influential companies like Apple or venture capital firms like CMEA capital — where the mingling is fueled by drinks and tacos.

During a recent demo night, Cult of Mac sat down with the indefatigable Weissleder, who is as at home on the stage with a mic as he is hobnobbing at the bar, to get his top tips on how not to bomb when you take the stage with your great idea, hoping to find cash and connect with influencers.

Apple released its full 2014 Environmental Responsibility report this afternoon with new climate change data and information on the company’s promise to reduce its carbon footprint.

The new report highlights some of the good decisions Apple made to reduce its environmental impact in 2013, by doing things like converting Apple Stores to renewable energy, building solar farms for data centers, as well as its controversial shuttle bus program.

Using the same models it used to calculate its 2013 numbers, Apple decided to recalculate its 2012 emission data and found that its carbon footprint shrank year-over-year for the first time since it began tracking numbers in 2009, but that wasn’t the only good news.

Here’s a quick rundown of the both the good and the bad:

If you think that the conceit behind Ubisoft’s hacker-themed video game Watch Dogs isn’t real enough, be sure to take a look at this website.

Watch_Dogs We Are Data takes real world, publicly-accessible location-based data and parses it into a display ripped directly from the video game of the same name. You can visit Berlin, Paris, or London, and zoom on down into the various regions of each city to see where mobile phones are, read tweets originating from specific spots, and see icons that represent CCTV feeds, traffic lights, and more.

If this doesn’t freak you out even just a little, then more power to you.

Apple Maps crashed and burned coming off the runway in iOS 6, but new additions in iOS 8 beta 3 show Apple’s had a change of heart, and is even making it easier for Apple Maps users to jump to Google Maps and other services thanks to some new UI tweaks.

Starting in iOS 8, users will be able to run a search for locations in Apple Maps and use either Apple’s own driving and walking directions, or switch directly to another app already installed on your device via a simplified menu. 

Ron Johnson was Apple’s first head of retail, and he is widely credited with the early success of what is now the most profitable retail brand on Earth.

In a recent interview at Stanford University, his alma mater, Johnson reflected on his career in retail at brands like Target, Apple and J.C. Penney. He gave some insight into the decisions behind what makes the Apple Store “experience,” including why every store has always had free Wi-Fi.

Johnson also talked about the “intimate” relationship he had with Steve Jobs and shared a pretty surprising opinion about the late CEO.

A brilliant computer programmer living in a future dystopian totalitarian state must prove the Zero Theorem, in which 100 percent equals 0, or all is nothing. He’s got a touch of social anxiety (“We do not like to be touched!”), a seriously bald head, and a variety of future-weird outfits that he wears in each scene. Sound like fun?

If you’ve seen any of Terry Gilliam’s similar work, like 12 Monkeys or Brazil (or even if you just dig Apple’s similarly themed 1984-esque commercial by Ridley Scott) you’re going to want to check this one out. The gloriously wacky and edgy trailer is below.

The developer preview of OS X Yosemite is already seeing rapid adoption numbers, and it isn’t even officially available yet.

According to new research, Yosemite accounted for 0.2% of OS X ad impressions in North America between the dates of June 2nd and July 2nd. That’s nearly four times the number of Macs running the developer preview of OS X Mavericks this time last year.

Why the big spike in usage? The answer is actually simple.

Vimeo launched a redesigned version of its Apple TV channel today that gives the popular video service a streamlined new interface.

Heavy Vimeo users should find it easier to get to their own collections and likes, while more causal users will benefit from a monthly “Staff Favorites” collection and additional content curation.

“We took our old menu, cut it down to the essentials, and put it at the top of the screen for easy access,” said Vimeo’s Brad Dougherty. “Discover awesome videos, keep up with your feed, tackle your Watch Later queue, and quickly get to your own videos, likes, and collections.”

The devil is in the details: Tim Cook said that Apple’s commitment to accessibility is so complete that the Cupertino company never looks at the return on investment but considers it “just and right.”

That’s a pretty different picture than the one venerable news org Reuters painted by giving a quick chop to his comments in a piece about blind app users seeking more accessibility from Apple.