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News - page 362

Apple’s clean-energy projects will cut carbon emissions equal to 200,000 cars

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Green Bonds
The name's Bond. Green Bonds.
Photo: Apple

Apple funded 17 Green Bond projects last year, which will ultimately help avoid an average of 921,000 metric tons of carbon emissions being pumped into the environment each year. That’s the equivalent of removing nearly 200,000 cars from the road, Apple says.

In an update on its planned $4.7 billion Green Bond spend, Apple notes that its new projects will generate a massive 1.2 gigawatts of renewable energy globally.

Apple’s rumored March event reportedly will take place in April

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Apple April Event — Oops!
Time marches on. So do March events.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple’s next product launch will take place in April, not March, a soon-to-be-eyebrowless Jon Prosser claimed Wednesday. Prodigious leaker Prosser had been so sure of his predicted date of March 23 for Apple’s next event that he wagered the integrity of his own facial hair on it. Now he’s admitting defeat.

“The event is in April,” Prosser tweeted. In a follow-up, he suggested that Apple had not previous hosted an April event, so “I get it if you’re skeptical. But here we are.”

Apple removes 1 million-plus counterfeit product listings in 2020

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AirPods Pro with black background discounts
Counterfeit AirPods Pro seem particularly in-demand online.
Photo: Apple

Apple employs a “dedicated team of experts” who work with law enforcement, social media companies and e-commerce sites to remove counterfeit products from sale, the company says.

“The safety of our customers is our first priority, and the risks associated with counterfeit products can be very serious,” an Apple spokesperson told Bloomberg. “… In the last year we have sought the removal of over 1 million listings for counterfeit and fake Apple products from online marketplaces, including Facebook and Instagram.”

Proposed Utah bill could block porn on iPhones as default

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Pornhub image
Law could mean mandatory filters in Utah.
Photo: PornHub

Conservative lawmakers in Utah want to put a legally mandated default block on pornography on all phones and tablets sold in the state.

They have previously referred to porn as a “public health crisis.” However, the main focus of the would-be legislation would supposedly be to stop kids from accessing adult material online. Adults would be able to turn off the filter should they so wish.

Easily find COVID-19 vaccine locations with Apple Maps

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Apple Maps now shows COVID-19 vaccine locations.
A quick search in Apple Maps displays nearby COVID-19 vaccine sites on a map.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

An update to Apple Maps adds COVID-19 vaccination locations. Users can find nearby businesses and organizations providing the life-saving injections from the Search bar in Apple Maps by selecting COVID-19 Vaccines in the Find Nearby menu.

HomePod failure shows Apple should quit making pricey niche products

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homepod
Watch out, AirPods Max! You might be next.
Photo: Apple

After throwing in the towel on the original HomePod after just three years, Apple should stop releasing pricey, niche products.

They don’t sell well — at least not well enough to keep Apple interested, apparently — and it’s not fair to consumers who shell out big bucks, then get stuck with a product that vanishes after just one generation.

Yes, Apple says it will continue to support the full-size HomePod with software updates, even as it refocuses on the $99 HomePod mini. But the old-school HomePod is a dead-end product.

You can read the HomePod debacle as an admission of failure regarding Apple’s framing of the device as a smart speaker rather than high-end audio gear. But it’s more than that. It’s an illustration of Apple’s faltering strategy of creating premium products for niche corners of the market.

iPhone loyalty soars as Samsung’s takes a nosedive

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Apple vs Samsung
iPhone loyalty is strong. The same can‘t be said for users of Samsung handsets.
Graphic: Cult of Mac

Apple users are more likely than ever to buy a new iPhone, according to survey results released Tuesday. Nearly 92% of current iOS users intend to stick with the platform.

But the situation isn’t so rosy for archrival Samsung, as 26% of Galaxy smartphone users plan to switch to another platform. And most of these switchers have their eye on an iPhone.

Help bring this splendid Pocket Watch to new Apple Watch models

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Bucardo Pocket Watch for Apple Watch
Pledge your support today!
Photo: Bucardo

Bucardo’s brilliant Pocket Watch accessory for Apple Watch could be coming to the latest models — with your help. The company just kicked off a new Kickstarter campaign that will support the development and production of the Pocket Watch for Apple Watch Series 4 and later.

Pledge your support today to help get the project off the ground.

China bans encrypted messaging app Signal

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Signal app
Signal app offers strong encryption.
Photo: Signal

End-to-end-encrypted messaging app Signal is secure. So secure, in fact, that it’s the European Union’s encrypted messaging app of choice.

Unfortunately, it’s also secure enough that it’s gotten on the wrong side of the Chinese government. China has reportedly banned the app in mainland China as of March 16, TechCrunch reports. This is one day after its website was blocked in the country.

China works to circumvent iOS 14.5’s App Tracking Transparency

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Your iPhone will soon offer a bit more privacy.
Apple is making it tougher for apps to track users.
Graphic: Apple

China’s state-backed China Advertising Association is already looking for ways to get around Apple’s upcoming App Tracking Transparency feature, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.

The organization’s approach reportedly involves something called a “CAID.” This can supposedly act as an alternative means of tracking users to the iPhone’s ad identifier, or IDFA. TikTok parent company ByteDance issued a guide for app developers that describes how marketers “can use CAID as a substitute if the user’s IDFA is unavailable.”

iPhone will soon ship with government-approved apps preinstalled in Russia

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App Store image
New rules will kick in next month.
Photo: James Yarema/Unsplash CC

Apple devices sold in Russia will come preinstalled with Russian-made software approved by the government starting next month, a report published Tuesday suggests.

This is in response to a law, coming into force April 1, designed to promote the domestic tech sector. It affects all smartphone manufacturers, not just Apple.

iOS might split security updates from feature upgrades

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iOS 14.5 beta 4 splits security updates from regular updates
It seems Apple plans to release stand-alone iOS/iPadOS security updates.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple is apparently preparing to release iPhone security updates separately from iOS updates with feature changes. The just-released fourth beta of iOS 14.5 gives users a new, separate toggle to choose whether to automatically install security updates.

However, at this point this feature doesn’t work quite as many might expect.

Go old-school with iPhone icons inspired by 1984 Macintosh

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The iPhone and Macintosh can be friends
Wax nostalgic for the 1984 Macintosh with a set of iOS icons and wallpapers inspired by Steve Jobs’ pet project.
Photo: Ben Vessey

Take your iPhone back to Apple’s roots with a set of replacement iOS icons inspired by early Macintosh computers. Keep the links to your 2021 applications on your iPhone, but sub in icons that have the look of the first Mac’s 72 dpi screen thanks to the iOS (Old School) collection from designer Ben Vessey.

30-inch Apple Cinema Display of yore still dazzles [Setups]

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Even at 10 or 15 years of age, a 30-inch Apple Cinema Display can still be insanely great.
Even at 10 or 15 years of age, a 30-inch Apple Cinema Display can still be insanely great.
Photo: brazzy2010@Reddit

Redditor brazzy2010 has a super-simple setup with a tremendous asset to go along with an M1-powered MacBook Air. It’s a 30-inch Apple Cinema Display from more than a decade ago. Its exact age is unknown, but it could be up to 16 years old.

Not only does the elderly display still work — with the right connectors, it still dazzles.

Apple TV+ scores 2 Oscar noms as streaming dominates

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Apple TV+ enters the world of auteur animation with new animated film Wolfwalkers.
Wolfwalkers was one of the Apple movies to get a nomination.
Image: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ has picked up its first ever Oscar nominations — although it still looks like a bit of an underachievement for the Cupertino tech company.

With Academy Award noms now announced, Apple has picked up two: Best Animated Feature Film for Wolfwalkers and Sound Design for Greyhound. The results will be announced April 25.

We don’t know anything about iOS 15 yet. And that’s great, because Apple spoilers suck.

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iPadOS 14 is good but iPadOS 15 just needs some new features to even better.
Things have been reassuringly quiet on the iOS 15 front.
Concept: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

We don’t know anything about iOS 15 yet. And I’m totally OK with that. By comparison, this time last year we already knew plenty about iOS 14. This year, Apple’s somehow managed to keep leaks to virtually zero — despite the fact that many Apple engineers are working from home right now.

Here’s why I’m not shedding any tears over the lack of leaks. And why, frankly, I’d be happy if that same secrecy extended to other Apple products, too.

Joyful AirPods Pro ad will make you want to ‘Jump’

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AirPods
Apple's new AirPods ad is full of pep.
Photo: Apple

Apple shows off the untethered joyfulness and Active Noise Cancellation/Transparency features of its AirPods Pro in a new ad, titled “Jump,” which Apple debuted over the weekend.

The ad depicts an AirPods Pro user breaking social distancing rules as he moves through a vibrant city, playing jump-rope and otherwise pulling off some impressive acrobatic moves. It’s a fun two-minute ad set to the 2020 song “Fallin’ Apart” by Young Franco.

Days of explosive growth for AirPods may already be over

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AirPods Pro with black background discounts
AirPods have been a massive winner for Apple since 2016.
Photo: Apple

The massive growth days of the AirPods may already be over, according to renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a new note to clients seen by Cult of Mac, Kuo said he anticipates a year-over-year decline in AirPods shipments in 2021. If true, this would be the first year in AirPods history that sales didn’t experience explosive growth.

Goodbye, iMac Pro … and good riddance! [Cult of Mac Magazine 392]

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Goodbye, iMac Pro ... and good riddance.
Farewell ... and don't let the door bang you on the bezel on your way out.
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

The iMac Pro was sleek and fast and capable and ultimately … uninspired.

That’s Cult of Mac writer Luke Dormehl’s take on Apple’s recently expired pro all-in-one. He serves up a compelling “Dear John” letter to a weird period in Mac history. And it doubles as a lovingly hopeful look at what the future holds.

If you want to peer even deeper into the Cupertino crystal ball, we’ve got a hot mess of new rumors and leaks this week as we speed toward a probable Apple event on March 23. Catch up with this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it to enjoy on iPhone or iPad, or get the stories below in your browser.

When the music stops: Apple discontinues full-size HomePod

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The HomePod -- a beautiful body with the brain of an idiot.
The originally HomePod is going away but the HomePod mini is going strong.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The $299 version of Apple’s HomePod smart speaker has been discontinued. The company is already selling out of its remaining supply.

But that doesn’t mean Apple is getting out of the smart speaker business — it’s pleased with the launch of the more affordable HomePod mini.