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News - page 560

Scotland’s biggest city will distribute iPads to all high school students

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Podcast transcripts search
iPads are becoming part of the school experience.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Glasgow, Scotland’s most heavily populated city, is planning to spend millions giving an iPad to every middle and high school student.

As part of a new contract, 47,100 iPads will be handed out to students, alongside an extra 4,900 to teachers. But not everyone is happy about the dispensing of these “shiny new objects.”

Apple is relying on factories in China more than ever

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Hong Kong police arrest smugglers with $1 million of iPhones and other devices
China continues to be the epicenter of Apple's manufacturing.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple may be trying to wean itself off manufacturing in China, but despite its use of factories in Brazil and India, it’s actually relying on China more than ever.

According to Reuters, the majority of Apple suppliers have become increasingly concentrated in China. Although Apple uses small factories outside the country, these are typically used only for small domestic runs.

Apple looks forward to ‘welcoming customers’ to India’s first Apple Store

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Apple's first Indian Apple Store will be located in Mumbai mall
What "Apple Stores" currently look like in India.
Photo: Lawrence Sinclair/Flickr CC

Apple is getting excited at the prospect of opening its long-awaited first retail store in India.

“We appreciate the support and hard work by Prime Minister Modi and his team to make this possible and we look forward to one day welcoming customers to India’s first Apple retail store,” Apple said in a statement Thursday.

Buy one classy Clessant Apple Watch band, get one at 50% off

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Buy one of these great Clessant Apple Watch bands, get a second at half off!
Buy one of these eye-catching bands, get a second at half off!
Photos: Clessant

Still wearing the same old band that came with your Apple Watch? Booooorring! Switch things up with this great deal on classy Apple Watch bands from Clessant.

Right now, when you buy any Clessant band, you get a second one of equal or lesser value at 50% off. But if you want to take advantage of this deal, you’d better act fast. This sale ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific on Friday, August 30, 2019.

Apple opens iOS 13.1 beta testing to the public

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iOS 13 on an iPhone XS
Why wait for iOS 13 when you can already install the first iOS 13.1 beta?
Photo: iHelp BRM/Cult of Mac

Anyone who wants to get a jump on iOS 13.1 can do so: the first public beta of this version was just released.

This includes features that apparently won‘t be in iOS 13 when it debuted in a few weeks.

Apple could finally begin direct iPhone sales in India this fall

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iPhone XS in India
Right now, buying an iPhone in India requires going through a third-party retailer. Not for much longer, though.
Photo: Apple

Apple may have finally succeeded in its long, long quest to be allowed to sell its products directly in India. Until now, the company has been forced to go through third-party resellers, but the Indian government today changed the rule that was hobbling Apple.

Being able to deal directly with the public might increase Apple’s poor sales of iPhones in this huge market.

Best new (and returning) features in iOS 13.1 beta 1

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iOS 13.1 beta 1 adds Books reading goal, brings back almost every feature dropped in previous betas.
iOS 13.1 beta 1 brings back almost every cool feature dropped from previous betas.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Surprisingly, iOS 13.1 is already in beta. It looks like Apple’s release strategy this year is to freeze the current beta version of iOS 13.0 in order to get it ready for the new iPhones expected on September 10. Meanwhile, Apple continues to test the next version, adding back some features removed during the beta period — Shortcuts automations, for example.

So, what other new (or revived) features will you find in iOS 13.1 beta 1?

Apple apologizes for Siri spying, pledges privacy fixes

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Siri
Going forward, no one will listen to what you say to Siri unless you approve it.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

A revamp of Apple’s program that had people monitoring Siri voice commands for quality control will soon ask users to opt-in first, and only Apple employees will be listening.

“We realize we haven’t been fully living up to our high ideals, and for that we apologize,” the company said in a statement.

T-Mobile Test Drive hands out free mobile hotspots

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T-Mobile hotspot
Anyone thinking of switching their iPhone to T-Mobile can try the service out for free.
Photo: T-Mobile

T-Mobile is so eager to get people to try its network, the company is giving away wireless hotspots. These are good for a month or 30GB of data, and are intended to let potential customers see how well T-Mobile service works at their home, office or school.

This telecom has a bad reputation as being mostly available only in big cities. This promotion seems intended to overcome that.

Qantas Airways bans MacBooks from passengers’ checked luggage

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Apple just added MacBook Pros to its refurb shop.
Probably best not to take this on your travels.
Photo: Apple

Qantas Airways, Australia’s largest airline by fleet size, has joined Virgin Australia in banning certain MacBooks from checked luggage.

Virgin announced its decision yesterday, citing fears that the laptop batteries could catch fire. Other airlines to also ban the laptop include Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration also reminded laptop owners not to bring on board products with recalled batteries, including Apple’s. Now Qantas is following suit.

Punishingly great platformer Dead Cells lands in the App Store

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Dead Cells screenshot
It looks like the greatest Sega Saturn game the Saturn never got.
Photo: Motion Twin

Motion Twin’s celebrated game Dead Cells has finally landed on the App Store. In the process, it gives iPhone and iPad gamers the chance to play one of the most fun indie releases of recent times.

For the uninitiated, Dead Cells combines Castlevania-inspired side-scrolling action with some beautiful graphics and terrific gameplay. The results are an undisputed “must download.” Check out the trailer below.

Apple’s stunning new Miami store pays homage to area’s nautical history

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Miami Apple Store
Check out that stunning ocean-inspired roof!
Photo: Foster + Partners

One of the best things about Apple Store design is how Apple’s architects find ways to embrace local design elements, while still making the stores feel connected to one another.

The latest example of this is the stunning Foster + Partners design for the new Apple Aventura store in Miami, Florida. The most notable aspect of the store’s design is its undulating vaulted roof. This was intended to represent the city’s nautical history.

Consumer Reports says AirPods ‘just don’t sound great’

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AirPods wall display is on show in New York.
AirPods aren't good enough to get Consumer Reports' official recommendation.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s AirPods are some of the top-selling earphones of all time. But according to Consumer Reports, they have a problem: “They just don’t sound great.”

In a series of tests, the consumer testing group pits the second-gen AirPods against Samsung’s Galaxy Buds. And, spoiler alert, their conclusions don’t come down in Cupertino’s favor.

Tim Cook gets lucrative reward for his success as Apple CEO

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Tim Cook interview
"And then I think I'll buy 7 iPhone XS Max units... and a mansion... and a private jet."
Photo: The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer

Apple hit all its performance expectations this year — and CEO Tim Cook is being rewarded for that achievement.

According to a new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Cook has been awarded 560,000 restricted stock options. At present market prices, that equals around $115 million. Not a bad payday!

Microsoft’s revolutionary dual-screen laptop/tablet might launch this fall

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Intel dual-screen concept device, code-named Twin River
Microsoft’s dual-screen concept device might resemble this one Intel demoed at Computex 2019.
Photo: Intel

Microsoft might take on the iPad and MacBook simultaneously if a semi-secret folding tablet is unveiled at a press event this fall.

The company just sent out invitations to an October event, and speculation is running high that the dual-screen “Centaurus” will be the star, along with refreshed versions of other Surface computers.

The Marqui Crossbody Pouch: Welcome to the future of pockets

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Marqui Crossbody Pouch
Contrary to what every schoolteacher told you, pockets are for hands.
Photo: WaterField Designs

That’s it, I’m calling it. 2019 is officially the year that men’s pockets become obsolete. Women have had to do without pockets on their pants since, well, since women were finally granted the right to wear pants in 1946, after a year of post-war protests. They then had to wait until the late 1970s before the federal ban on pockets was finally lifted. But by then, no manufacturer was brave enough to take on the powerful anti-pocket lobby.

If only women had had access to the WaterField Designs’ new Marqui Crossbody Pouch, history might have been quite different.

Apple surprises everyone with first iOS 13.1 beta [Updated]

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iOS 13.1 Developer beta 1
iOS 13 isn’t expected for weeks and Apple is already testing iOS 13.1 Developer beta 1.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The slow slog toward the release of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 took an unexpected twist today: Apple just introduced the first betas of the followup versions.

The debut of prerelease versions of iOS 13.1 and iPadOS 13.1 would seem to indicate that Apple has already finished development of the versions that’ll debut next month.

Sprint serves up a whopping 2,100 square miles of 5G

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HTC 5G Hub
With this mobile hotpot, a Mac or iPad can connect to Sprint 5G today.
Photo: HTC

Although Sprint could soon be swallowed by T-Mobile, the telecom is nevertheless aggressively rolling out 5G service. Its cutting-edge network is up and running in nine cities, and the carrier promises this is up to 6X faster than its LTE service.

Sprint offers a 5G mobile hotspot that can bring much faster access to Macs and iPads day.

Steve Jobs look-alike blows internet’s mind

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Steve Jobs look-alike spotted in Egypt. Now that's a
Now that's a "One More Thing" surprise I'd be on board with!
Photo: @x6oor/Twitter

Any iconic person who dies before their time occasionally gets photos shared of look-alikes, raising the faintest shred of possibility that they’re alive after all and just enjoying life out of the spotlight.

There’s no shortage of shots of Tupac and Elvis years after their apparent demise. But this week, the Twitterverse exploded when a photo looking a whole lot like Steve Jobs popped up. The Apple co-founder’s doppelganger is in Egypt, FYI.

Fortnite X Borderlands crossover brings Psycho skin, Pandora zone

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Fortnite-X-Borderlands
Think twice about spending 2,000 V-Bucks.
Photo: Epic Games

Fortnite’s newest patch is out, introducing a surprise crossover with popular Gearbox Software franchise Borderlands.

The version 10.20 release brings Psycho and Claptrap cosmetics, a new Rift Zone that resembles the planet Pandora, and themed challenges that unlock free rewards.

And in true Fortnite style, the update also makes a controversial change that many players are already unhappy about.