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News - page 510

Digitimes: 2020 iPhones could get special sensor-shift camera stabilization

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sensor-shift stabilization
Next year's iPhone cameras could get a nifty new feature.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Some 2020 iPhones will feature special sensor-shift stabilization technology for their cameras, according to Digitimes.

This technology, used in many high-end cameras, would further reduce camera shake on the next-gen iPhone. It differs from the optical image stabilization currently used in iPhones.

It’s the hottest gifts, tech and stuff of 2019, this week on The CultCast

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CultCast 419
It's time to reveal all our favorite stuff of the year!
Photo: @YSR50

This week on The CultCast: From the hottest gift of 2019, to our favorite tech and travel locations, catch our picks for Best of the Year!

This episode supported by Squarespace

Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code “CultCast” at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

It’s season finale time for The Morning Show and For All Mankind

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It’s season finale time for The Morning Show and For All Mankind
Two of Apple TV+'s top shows are finishing up for the year.
Photo: Apple

It’s the last Friday before the holidays, and appropriately enough, two of Apple’s most popular Apple TV+ Originals are wrapping up. On Friday, Apple debuted the season finale for both The Morning Show and For All Mankind.

There are new episodes of both Servant and Truth Be Told as well. That’s plenty to keep you entertained between frantic bits of last-minute shopping!

Mario Kart Tour‘s eagerly anticipated multiplayer beta goes live

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Mario Kart Tour's anticipated multiplayer beta goes live
The wait is over.
Photo: Nintendo

If you’ve beaten the computer a thousand times on Mario Kart Tour (which, let’s face it, is pretty tough not to do), you can finally pit your Mario and Luigi-steering abilities against other flesh-and-blood players.

That’s because Nintendo has launched the eagerly anticipated multiplayer online beta for Mario Kart Tour. You’ll need to sign up to the Gold Pass to play it, though.

AirPods Pro owners scratch and sniff … blueberries

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AirPods Pro blueberries
Some AirPods Pro owners smell blueberries when they open their new earbuds. An expert says that's not surprising.
Photo: Envato Elements

Some AirPods Pro owners report an unusual smell emanating from the plastic and rubber casings of Apple’s hot new earbuds. Of all things, they say they detect a whiff of … blueberries.

One expert tells Cult of Mac the aroma could be deliberate, or simply a result of chemical compounds in the plastics.

Give the gift of luxury with these high-end Apple Watch bands

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OleksynPrannyk-red-Apple-Watch
A terrific Apple Watch upgrade.
Photo: OleksynPrannyk

The newest luxury leather bands from OleksynPrannyk are out ahead of the holidays, and they’re a wonderful gift for any Apple Watch owner.

Handmade in the U.S. from soft Italian leather, and available in a number of gorgeous color options, they’re a delight to wear and incredibly long-lasting. They’re also more affordable than they look.

Strobe support coming to iPhone 11, add-on makers confirm

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With light in hand, the Profoto C1 flash brings studio power to your iPhone photos.
The C1 Light by Profoto is among the Bluetooth-enabled options to add strobes to iPhone photos.
Screenshot: Profoto/YouTube

The iPhone’s Portrait mode lets users add effects that emulate studio lighting. Soon, the iPhone could allow for the real thing.

Apple has added support for strobes as a preview for developers in its Made-for-iPhone licensing program.

Catastrophe creator Sharon Horgan inks Apple TV+ deal

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shargonhorgan
Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney made a hilarious duo in Catastrophe.
Photo: Channel 4

The U.K. division of Apple’s worldwide entertainment team finally inked its first major exclusive-look deal this week, after reaching an agreement with Catastrophe creator, Sharon Horgan.

Horgan, who just finished a similar deal with Amazon, will be reunited with Jay Hunt, Apple’s creative director in Europe. Hunt commissioned Catastrophe for Channel 4 and Amazon.

Cubasis 3 is a total rewrite of a beloved music-making app

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Cubasis 3 is a complete rewrite.
Cubasis 3 is a complete rewrite.
Photo: Steinberg

Cubasis, the audio workstation app from Steinberg, just got rewritten as a brand new app. Cubasis 3 looks just like the old version, but is all-new, and includes support for the iPhone as well as the iPad. And hopefully, this rewrite also means that in the future, updates that adjust the user interface for new iOS features and screen sizes will be supported a lot faster. It took more than a year for Cubasis to support the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, for example.

So, what’s new in Cubasis 3?

The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition finally hits stores, so let’s party tonight [Book signing]

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Innovative design: The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition looks like a MacBook.
If you're in San Francisco, come out tonight for a book signing and sale.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Our new book about the Apple community, The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition, is finally available in book stores and on Amazon.

To celebrate, we’re throwing a book-signing party tonight at the publisher’s HQ in San Francisco — and all Cult of Mac readers are invited. Please join me and the book’s award-winning designer, Derek Yee, at the No Starch Press offices. There will be a big sale (and free Chinese food, too)!

First Little America trailer is a great distraction from US politics

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Little America was rejected from multiple networks being Apple snapped it up
All 8 episodes of Little America now streaming on Apple TV+
Photo: Apple

The first trailer for Little America, Apple’s anthology series about immigrants, is finally here, and it might just be the antidote we need for these wildly divisive impeachment days.

Clocking in at just over two minutes, the Little America trailer starts with a round table discussion among immigrants from various nations talking about things you’ll only see in America. The trailer then dives into glimpses from the eight different episodes that show the uniqueness of all immigrant stories.

Check it out:

Does Apple’s Night Shift mode really work? New study questions its effectiveness.

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The Night Shift mode on Apple products may not be worth the hype. Using dim, cooler lights in the evening may be more beneficial to our sleep and health.
The Night Shift mode on Apple products may not live up to the hype.
Photo: Envato Elements

Blue light from iPhones or MacBook Pros might not be keeping people up at night as originally thought, according to new research.

The bottom line … the Night Shift mode on Apple products — meant to dial down the amount of blue light emitted by displays — may not be as effective as expected. Using dim, cooler lights in the evening, and bright, warmer lights in the day might prove more beneficial to our health.

Counterpoint: iPhone rakes in 66% of smartphone profits

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International governments plan to rethink tax rules for the ‘digital age’
Who knew? Turns out that the iPhone is quite the money-spinner.
Photo: Pixabay/Pexels CC

When you hear about declining iPhone sales and factoids like Huawei overtaking Apple as the world’s second biggest smartphone maker, it’s easy to lose sight of just how successful Apple is at selling phones.

A new report from Counterpoint Research is a reminder just what a profit-generating powerhouse the iPhone actually is. In Q3 2019, Apple captured a whopping 66% of industry profits. Second place winner Samsung, by comparison, pulled in just 17% of handset profits.

Music licensing company takes aim at Apple Music for illegal streaming

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Music licensing company takes aim at Apple Music for illegal streaming
Apple reportedly didn't obtain the necessary license.
Photo: Stas Knop/Pexels CC

Apple stands accusing of breaking the US Copyright Act by streaming copyrighted songs through Apple Music without the right permissions.

The company Pro Music Rights (PRM) filed its complaint in New York on Wednesday. It describes unpaid royalties and ongoing infringement relating to a number of songs. PMR licenses a couple of million tracks, including works from artists such as A$AP Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell, Gucci Mane, and others.

Disney Magic Kingdoms adds Star Wars content

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Disney Magic Kingdoms gets added Star Wars content
May the Force Touch be with you.
Photo: Gameloft/Disney

A quirky little indie movie you probably haven’t heard of is coming to theaters this Friday and — oh, who am I kidding, it’s freaking Star Wars!

In an effort to ramp up excitement about The Rise of Skywalker, Disney just added new Star Wars content to its Disney Magic Kingdoms game. Check out a trailer below:

Ex-Apple Store Genius sues Apple for not accommodating his disability

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Ex-Apple Store Genius sues Apple for not accommodating his disability
Robert Shaw worked in Toronto's Sherway Gardens Apple Store.
Photo: Apple

A former Apple Store Genius is suing Apple for not providing legally obligated adequate facilities to allow him to work with his disability.

Robert Shaw says he was promised that the store he worked at would be fitted with automatic doors and a special table to accommodate his wheelchair. However, this did not happen to the degree allegedly promised.

Last of Australia’s big four banks will offer Apple Pay

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
It might sound like just another Apple Pay announcement, but it's actually the end of a saga!
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The last of Australia’s big four banks to adopt Apple Pay says that it will support Apple’s mobile payments service.

While Australia is just one market of many where Apple Pay is available, its arrival in the country has been particularly fraught with challenges. Westpac’s support marks the end of that particular story.

Apple TV+ comedy Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet gets premiere date

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Apple TV+’s gaming comedy has already been renewed for second season
Apple TV+’s gaming comedy has already been renewed for second season
Photo: Apple

Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet, the gamer comedy series from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia stars Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, has finally been scheduled for its Apple TV+ premiere.

All nine episodes of the show will be available globally on Friday, February 7, 2020. The comedy follows the developers behind a fictional game that rocketed up the charts to become the most popular title ever.

Check out the only teaser we’ve seen so far:

Apple might snap up Broadcom’s RF chip business

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Broadcom
Broadcom has been supplying Apple with chips for years.
Photo: Florian Knodt/Flickr

Apple might be in the market to acquire the radio-frequency chip division from one of its biggest parts suppliers.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Broadcom Inc is working with Credit Suisse to find a possible buyer of its RF wireless-chip unit in an effort to diversify its business and move more toward software. Although the names of companies potentially interested in the division haven’t been named, Apple observers are quickly pointing out that the iPhone-maker scooping it up makes the most sense.

Spotify’s Tastebuds feature will show you what friends are listening to

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Spotify Premium update October 2018
Try it out today.
Photo: Spotify

Spotify is gearing up to add a new social feature to its apps that could give it another edge over Apple Music.

Prototype screenshots of an upcoming feature called “Tastebuds” were unearthed on Twitter this week. From the looks of it, Tastebuds will build off Spotify’s underlaying social networking features, giving users a new way to discover music through what their friends are listening to.

Pixelmator Pro can now upsize tiny images without losing detail

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Pixelmator Pro's new ML Super Resolution tool
New Pixelmator Pro feature keeps the sharpness in upsized images.
Screenshot: Pixelmator

Pixelmator Pro, an increasingly popular macOS photo-editing program, has a new tool its creators say will let you blow up an image and maintain detail and sharpness “like they do in all those cheesy police dramas.”

ML Super Resolution lets users increase the resolution up to three times without the muddy, pixelated mess normally associated with upscaled images.

Apple drops first iOS 13.3.1 public beta

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iOS-13-Communication-Limits
Communication Limits doesn't work as intended.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Public beta testers can already get their hands on the new beta for iPhones and iPads that was just seeded to developers yesterday.

iOS 13.3.1 public beta 1 is available to all members of Apple’s Public Beta Testing program starting today, bringing a bunch of performance improvements, including some crucial fixes for Screen Time.