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News - page 477

‘We had one objective: beat Apple,’ says Samsung exec in new book

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Samsung Rising tells how Apple pushed Samsung to be No. 1.
New book will reveal the war between Samsung and Apple.
Photo: Samsung Rising book

Samsung had trucks of apples delivered to its offices and placed in rooms where employees took coffee breaks. They were then encouraged to take a literal bite out of Apple (or, well, an apple) as the South Korean tech giant waged war with the Cupertino-based tech giant.

The anecdote comes from a forthcoming book, titled Samsung Rising. It promises to tell the story of how Samsung took on Apple and the battles that followed. “We had one objective: beat Apple,” says an unnamed Samsung executive in the book. “I’m not kidding you.”

COVID-19 coronavirus could delay launch of 5G iPhones

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Latest iPhone was 1 out of every 10 smartphones sold in US last quarter
Apple usually unveils its new iPhones in September.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus could hurt Apple’s plans to launch its first 5G iPhones in the second half of 2020, a new report claims.

According to a DigiTimes report Monday, Apple extended restrictions on employees traveling to parts of Asia until the end of April. The extension will delay tests for the next-generation iPhone that “could have a direct impact” on launch timing.

Blood oxygen-reading tech could be coming to Apple Watch

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Apple Watch Series 5 LTPO screen
Apple Watch could be about to get even more health features.
Photo: Apple

Apple may soon add to the health-tracking features in Apple Watch with the ability to detect users’ blood oxygen levels and notify users when these are at a dangerously low level.

9to5Mac discovered the potential feature in iOS 14 “code snippets” it discovered. It’s not clear exactly what the hardware and software requirements would be for the feature. That means it’s unknown if this would be a feature that could be retroactively added to existing Apple Watches or if it would be one limited to Apple’s next-gen Apple Watch.

I thought Apple Watch was pointless but now I love it

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Apple Watch Series 5 California Face
Apple Watch is much more useful that I had thought.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

I never had an interest in Apple Watch. I didn’t see the point of carrying around yet another computer when my iPhone goes with me everywhere. Then I got one, and now that I’ve used Apple’s wearable, I see all the ways it makes my life easier.

It’s made me an Apple Watch convert. Here’s why.

How to disinfect all your Apple gear [Cult of Mac Magazine 339]

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Keep it clean! How to disinfect your iPhone and other Apple gear amid COVID-19 outbreak.
Keep it clean!
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

With the COVID-19 virus spreading in the United States, it might be time to disinfect your iPhone and the rest of your Apple gear. In this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine, we’ll show you how to disinfect your Mac, iPhone, mouse, trackpad, keyboard and cases. (And, yes, you can wash your iPhone with soap and water.)

Get those how-tos, plus the rest of the week’s top Apple news and product reviews, in this week’s free issue. Download it now and read it on your iPad or iPhone. Or get the links below.

5 features Apple Watch should steal from Oppo Watch

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The Oppo Watch
Oppo Watch, shown here at its announcement today, has a higher screen-to-body ratio than Apple Watch.
Photo: Oppo

The newly-unveiled Oppo Watch borrows heavily from the Apple Watch. But this China-based company nevertheless built in some features that fans of Apple’s wearable can appreciate.

Austin cancels SXSW over coronavirus fears

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logo for SxSW
Sorry, but the show can't go on.
Image: SXSW

The organizers of South by Southwest, desperately hoping to hold the March event in the face of a coronavirus outbreak, said Friday that the city of Austin, Texas, canceled the conference.

Event planners scrapped the music, tech and film conference, set to begin March 13, after local health officials declared a health emergency.

Galaxy S20 Ultra beats iPhone 11 Pro Max in drop test … sort of

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Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is in worse shape an iPhone 11 Pro Max after multiple drop tests.
Drop the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra a few times and it’s junk. The iPhone 11 Pro Max survived much better.
Photo: PhoneBuff

Samsung’s new flagship phone came out slightly ahead in a smash-off between with Apple’s top-tier model. The Galaxy S20 Ultra survived the early rounds of drop tests better than the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

However, at the end of multiple drops, the iPhone was still almost completely functional while the Android was utterly destroyed.

Yes, you can wash your iPhone with soap and water

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washing iPhone with soap and water
It's fine to wash newer iPhones with soap and water.
Photo: Leander Kahney / Cult of Mac

Thanks to abject terror of the COVID-19 virus, I’ve started washing my iPhone along with my hands with ordinary soap and water.

It may prove to be a big mistake, but so far it’s fine. My iPhone 11 Pro Max is highly water-resistant and seems quite happy being soaped down a couple of times a day.

Apple urges Cupertino employees to work from home due to coronavirus

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Apple may as well run Cupertino.
Apple is recommending to employees to work from home as concerns over the coronavirus grow.
Photo: Benjamin Feenstra

Apple has sent out a work-from-home recommendation to all of its Cupertino-based employees due to fears of the growing coronavirus outbreak in the United States.

It is unclear if the notice to employees at Apple Park and Infinite Loop was a suggestion and not a requirement and for how long the company is recommending its workers refrain from reporting to their offices.

The Banker‘s troubled road to theaters ends today

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The Banker is the first original movie from Apple TV+.
The Banker was originally scheduled to debut last year.
Photo: Apple

Apple-owned movie The Banker is due to land on Apple TV+ later this month. But if you want to catch it on the big screen, you can do so starting today.

The movie, which is based on a true story, stars Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson as Bernard Garrett and Joe Morris, two of the first African-American bankers in the United States. To combat systematic racism during the Jim Crow era, they hire a white man (Nicholas Hoult) as the face of their business while posing as a chauffeur and janitor.

Androids lose resale value twice as fast as iPhone

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iPhone resale value beats Android year after year.
After a few years, it’s hardly worth the hassle of reselling an Android.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

There’s an area where Android is much faster than any iPhone: losing value. A gadget trade-in service tracked the depreciation of Apple and Android handsets and found that after a year the iPhone had held on to far more of its resale value.

Apple cancels ‘Today at Apple’ sessions in Italy amid COVID-19 outbreak

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Apple Oriocenter 2
Apple Oriocenter is closed for now.
Photo: Apple

Apple on Friday cancelled its “Today at Apple” sessions across all stores in Italy amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

Apple Oriocenter, a store in Italy’s Bergamo Province, is also closed temporarily as Apple makes efforts to help contain the spread of the coronavirus. It is currently out of action until March 8.

Apple rejecting COVID-19 coronavirus apps that aren’t from official sources

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app-store
Apple has changed App Store rules to only accept coronavirus apps from official channels.
Photo: Apple

With plenty of scaremongering about the COVID-19 coronavirus, Apple is doing its part to stop the spread of misinformation related to the outbreak. According to a report published Thursday, Apple is cracking down on non-official apps relating to the novel coronavirus.

Those are apps not made by recognized institutions such as governments or hospitals. Independent apps providing functionality like tracking of the outbreak’s spread are being rejected by Apple, developers claim.

First episode of Amazing Stories debuts on Apple TV+

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Amazing Stories Apple TV+
Steven Spielberg anthology series has landed on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple

Episode one of Steven Spielberg’s anthology series Amazing Stories debuted on Apple TV+ Friday.

The first episode of the five-episode season is about a person who discovers a portal back to 1919 in the storm cellar of a house they are restoring. The show promises to “transport the audience to worlds of wonder through the lens of today’s most imaginative filmmakers, directors and writers.”

WWDC at risk as California authorities call for cancellation of events

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WWDC might go virtual this year.
WWDC 2020 is in jeopardy as Apple’s local health department asks large gatherings be cancelled.
Photo: Apple

The pressure on Apple to cancel its yearly developers conference and possibly a planned March product keynote has gotten a little tougher.

The Public Health Department of Santa Clara County, where Apple’s headquarters is located,  recommended Thursday the postponing or canceling of mass gatherings to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus. That calls into question whether Apple will hold its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, as it traditionally does.

Apple renews Truth Be Told for second season

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First 3 episodes of crime drama Truth Be Told debut on Apple TV+
Poppy Parnell is coming back for a new case.
Photo: Apple

Octavia Spencer’s critically-acclaimed series, Truth Be Told is coming back to Apple TV+ for a second season.

Apple revealed this afternoon that it renewed the crime drama thriller for a second season that will have Spencer reprise her role as Poppy Parnell who will investigate another mysterious murder case. The show was originally billed as a limited-series but Apple apparently thinks Poppy’s story isn’t finished yet.

Call of Duty: Mobile loses its Zombies mode because it’s not good enough

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Call of Duty: Mobile racks up amazing 100m downloads in first week
It may be back, but probably not.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Call of Duty: Mobile is losing its popular Zombies mode this month because it doesn’t meet the “level of quality” Activision expects.

It’s unclear whether Zombies, which was added last November, will return at a later date. The game’s developers are currently focused on more important aspects of Call of Duty: Mobile, like Multiplayer, Battle Royale, and Ranked Mode.

Apple Pay for Mexico looks set to launch imminently

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Apple Pay Terminal
¡Es inminente!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple Pay could make its official debut in Mexico any day now after local iPhone users on Thursday discovered they could start adding debit and credit cards to the Wallet app.

Only regional bank Banregio appears to be supported for now, which suggests Apple Pay support may be an exclusive initially.