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News - page 438

Save up to 78% on great iPhone, Apple Watch accessories for Mother’s Day

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CoM-Mothers-Day
A huge selection of awesome gifts to choose from.
Photo: Cult of Mac

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, the Cult of Mac Store is making last-minute shopping a little easier with sweet discounts on terrific accessories for iPhone and Apple Watch.

You can save on cases, bands, charging stands, and more from brilliant brands like Twelve South, Mujjo, Elago, and more. The sale is good for a limited time only, so enjoy it while you can!

Apple’s close bond with consumers slips again

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Tim Cook and Apple might be moving into San Francisco.
While people still love Apple, the bond isn’t quite as strong as it used to be.
Photo: Apple

Consumers once shared an unusually strong bond with Apple. But that reportedly started to slip last year, a trend that continues in 2020. A report released Wednesday on the emotional bonds consumers form with brands puts the iPhone maker in third place overall.

Still, Apple came in at the top of the technology & telecommunications industry, beating Samsung and Google.

Inside Apple’s quest to perfect the mouse pointer for iPad

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iPad-Pro-pointer
It works like magic.
Photo: Apple

Apple spent time reinventing the mouse pointer to make it perfect for iPad, revealed Craig Federighi, the company’s senior vice president of software engineering, in a new interview.

Its brand-new system, which debuted in iPadOS 13.4 in March, is inspired by Apple TV and designed to feel familiar to those who have never used a mouse or trackpad with iPad before.

“We set out to design the cursor in a way that retains the touch-first experience without fundamentally changing the UI,” Federighi said.

TiVo Stream 4K challenges Apple TV 4K with long-awaited release, but no Apple TV app support

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Is the TiVo Stream 4K a worthy Apple TV opponent? Probably, but no Apple TV+ support hurts.
Photo: TiVo

After months of anticipation and weeks of social media teasing, the TiVo Stream 4K was released Wednesday, a streaming box that brings together on-demand and live streaming services into one device without having to switch from app to app to find and watch shows.

At an introductory price of $49.99 with no monthly subscription for TV scheduling data, the TiVo Stream 4K will take on the Apple TV 4K with a starting price of $179 and the top-selling Roku streaming device.

The disappointing news for Apple TV app users and Apple TV+ subscribers is that TiVo’s newest product currently will not support the app or integration of Apple’s programming as Apple does not have an Android app.

Twitter testing new threaded conversation layout on iOS and web

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A new Twitter threaded conversation layout might declutter the tweet machine.
A new threaded conversation layout might declutter Twitter.
Image: Twitter

Twitter announced Tuesday it has started testing a new way threaded conversation layout meant to make it easier for its users to see who is communicating to whom.

The new layout – being tested on Twitter’s iOS app and via the web – is meant to help users keep better track of long threads and people responding to sub-tweets coming off an original thread.

Apple broadens Apple Maps mobility trends to all 50 states, more regions

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The mobility data trends tool based on data from Apple Maps.
As more people commute, Apple Maps is adding more data to its Mobility Trends report to help with COVID-19 studies.
Photo: Apple

Apple has expanded the data available through its Mobility Trends Reports tool. A report indicates all 50 states are now covered along with about 580 new sub-regions.

The data is meant to help healthcare authorities analyze the spread of coronavirus and slow the spread of COVID-19. It was initially introduced to aggregate data from major cities and 63 countries or regions.

New 2020 Powerbeats Pro appear imminent as approvals pile up

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Powerbeats Pro navy
They could drop any day now.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s second-generation Powerbeats Pro for 2020 have been certified for a third time, this time in Korea, ahead of their release. The registration suggests an official launch could be imminent.

Filing illustrations indicate the new buds will be visually identical to existing Powerbeats Pro headphones, which first debuted last May.

Apple faces another lawsuit over iPhone XR’s ‘inferior’ Wi-Fi antennas

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The iPhone XR will feature Haptic Touch. But just what is that?
Some iPhone XR owners really aren't happy with their purchase.
Photo: Apple

Apple on Monday was hit with a second class-action lawsuit over iPhone XR’s “inferior” Wi-Fi antennas.

The company is accused of hiding the fact that its more affordable handset, released in 2018, shipped with a 2×2 MIMO antenna array, while the pricier iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max packed a 4×4 MIMO array.

HomeKit-powered lights give this setup a Star Trek vibe [Setups]

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A cozy but epic setup
A cozy but epic wfh setup
Photo: @mrisad

A set of origami-style lights illuminate the cozy setup of Instagram user @mrisad, an integration delivery manager. The Nanoleaf lights floating above his dual monitors evoke the control panels from some ’70s sci-fi show. And they’re integrated with HomeKit, Apple’s home-automation platform.

The heart of his rig is a beautiful pair of screens. The large main screen is a $1,000 curved, 38-inch screen from LG. The second screen is a 28-inch Asus gaming monitor. He hooked them both up to a Mac mini, and elegantly suspended them in midair by an inexpensive ($40) but fully articulated desktop stand.

To round out his setup, @mrisad has a Magic Keyboard and Trackpad from Apple, and a trio of chargers for his iPhone, iPad and AirPods. As for audio, he has a HomePod and a pair of Sennheiser noise-canceling headphones.

US mobile data still costs way more than it should

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Global average mobile data cost seems reasonable.
Americans pay mobile data costs well above the global average.
Photo: Polina/Pexels

Americans pay far more for 4G service than much of the world, according to a report released Tuesday by a price-comparison firm. The cost for 1 gigabyte of LTE data in the United States costs almost twice the global average. And U.S. 4G service costs more than similar offerings in a whopping 187 other countries.

Bendable MacBook could kill traditional hinges

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A bendable MacBook stared in an Apple patent filing.
Instead of standard hinges, consider a bendable MacBook.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

A proposed MacBook design change is radical while at the same time preserving the traditional clamshell design. Apple received a patent today for a notebook computer without standard hinges. Instead, it’s flexible enough to bend in the middle.

Free-to-play Forza Street finally races onto iPhone and iPad

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Forza-Street-iPad
Play today to earn a bonus Ford GT.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Microsoft’s insanely popular Forza racing series has finally landed on iPhone and iPad. The free-to-play Forza Street, which first debuted on Windows two years ago, is available to download now from the App Store.

The game promises gorgeous visuals, fast-paced racing action, and iconic cars any racing fan will be familiar with. There are also some sweet bonuses for those who play within the first 30 days of the game’s release.

Apple’s virtual Worldwide Developers Conference to begin June 22

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Following cancellation of its face-to-face conference, Apple is going online with WWDC, starting June 22.
Photo: Apple

Apple announced Tuesday it will host its 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference virtually, beginning June 22. It will be available to view using the Apple Developer app, streamed on the Apple Developer website and free for all registered developers.

Apple did not give any details of a keynote event to announce various products, but is expected to hold one on the conferences opening day.

France threatens Apple in standoff over COVID-19 contract-tracing privacy

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Any of the new iPhones can handle the worst rainstorm.
France plans to go it alone on COVID-19 contact tracing for mobile phones.
Photo: Apple

A French official accused Apple on Tuesday of hampering the effectiveness of the country’s COVID-19 contract-tracing platform by blocking access to data via Bluetooth.

France minister for digital technology Cedric O told BFM Business TV that Apple “could have helped us make the application work even better on the iPhone. They have not wished to do so.”

Apple questions U.S. government interference in Corellium copyright suit

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iOS Apps Main
A copyright case between Apple and Corellium is now of great interest to the DOJ. But why?
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Apple is disputing the interference of the U.S. Justice Department in a copyright suit against software maker Corellium as questions arise as to why the federal government is now involved in the case.

The Department of Justice has now intervened in the case asking Apple to delay its request for a deposition of Corellium cofounder Chris Wade, and inquiring to what evidence Apple is planning on presenting before its lawyers question Wade.

Failure to adopt Apple and Google’s contact-tracing tool could make travel difficult

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bluetooth-tracing
A short primer on contact-tracing.
Photo: Apple/Google

The UK’s National Health Service has launched its contact-tracing app — but experts quoted by the Daily Mail Tuesday claim that its non-privacy focused approach to tracking the spread of coronavirus could make it illegal.

They also claim its incompatibility with Apple and Google’s contact-tracing API may cause chaos for traveling Brits.

Microsoft Outlook for iOS makes it easier to ignore those company-wide email threads

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Outlook's new Ignore Conversation feature could come in handy.
Permanently banish those pesky email threads with everyone commenting.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft Outlook for iPad and iPhone now makes it easier to stop your inbox getting clogged up with massive multi-reply email threads copying in large numbers of people.

The “Ignore Conversation” feature is a handy new feature added for version 4.36.0 of the app. Here’s what you need to know.

Apple’s T2 security chip makes life tough for independent repair shops, electronics recyclers

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The Apple T2 chip could be the source of mysterious crashes afflicting two of Apple's newest computers.
Many repairers and recyclers aren't too fond of this chip.
Photo: IFIXIT

Apple’s built-in laptop security safeguards, introduced with the 2018 MacBook Pros, are hitting independent repair shops and electronics recyclers hard, a report by Motherboard claims.

The system combines software security locks, various diagnostic requirements and Apple’s T2 security chip. Together, they mean that Macs stop working if they’re operated on by someone not using Apple’s proprietary repair tools.