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News - page 562

Apple’s USB-C AV dongle gets a 4K HDR upgrade

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Apple-USB-AV-dongle
It's finally fit for 2019.
Photo: Apple

Apple this week upgraded its official USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter to support 4K HDR video at up to 60Hz.

The newest model, numbered A2119, boasts HDMI 2.0 connectivity. That means you can enjoy HDR10 and Dolby Vision content when outputting video from a compatible Mac or iPad Pro.

Apple increases its number of self-driving car test drivers

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Project Titan
Apple has the third-largest self-driving car fleet in California.
Photo: Idiggapple/Twitter

Apple has slightly increased the number of test drivers for its self-driving car project, although the total number of vehicles remains the same.

According to new figures from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Apple is currently testing 69 cars on public roads in California. That’s the same number it had in late April. However, Apple has increased its test drivers from 110 to 143 since then.

Researchers trick Face ID with modified glasses

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Facial Recognition
Face ID won‘t unlock your iPhone if you're unconscious. Glasses can trick the sensors, though.
Image: Apple

One of the advantages of Face ID over Touch ID is that the person unlocking their iPhone must be awake. However, researchers found a way to fool Apple’s facial recognition system into thinking someone is conscious when they weren’t — using modified glasses.

This method does not allow a hacker to trick an iPhone into misidentifying one person as another. But it still could prove problematic for Face ID.

Last chance! Get this luscious Apple Watch band and save 50% on a matching bracelet

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Rilee & Lo stretch link band
Brilliant stretch-link bracelets that won't break the bank.
Photo: Rilee & Lo

Bling it up with Rilee & Lo’s spectacular stretch-link band for Apple Watch and get half off a matching stacking bracelet in this exclusive deal.

Available in a range of gorgeous color options and made from premium stainless steel, they’ll help make your Apple Watch look better than ever. Bag yours today before this offer expires on Friday, August 9.

Mini Apple 1 replica celebrates the computer that started it all

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3d printed Smithsonian Apple 1
Looks like it belongs in a museum.
Photo: Matteo Trevisan

The Smithsonian is home to the most famous of the Apple 1 computers. It’s covered in a crude wooden case and Matteo Trevisan wants it.

That’s not happening. But he and another self-described Apple maniac indulged their geeky pleasure by creating a miniature version with a 3D printer and Raspberry Pi computer.

Apple expands bug program with monstrous $1 million bounty

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The CIA has a team of more than 5,000 hackers.
Hackers can get PAID for finding bugs now.
Photo: Brian Klug/Flickr CC

Apple is ready to pay a bigger bounty than any other tech company when it comes to finding bugs on the iPhone or other Apple products.

The iPhone-maker revealed today at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas that it will now pay up to $1 million for some discovered vulnerabilities, up from the $200,000 it offered when the bug bounty program began three years ago.

New iOS 13 beta makes Dark Mode easy as flipping a switch

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iOS 13
There’s lots to try out in iOS 13 Public beta 5.
Screen capture: Apple

Apple just introduced a fifth beta of iOS 13 to the general public. All the really significant new features appeared in earlier betas, but this one does have a nice tweak: switching to Dark Mode takes only pushing a button.

Apple also released the closely-related iPadOS 13 Public beta 5, as did tvOS 13.

Surreptitious Siri recordings spawn class-action lawsuit

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Siri Alexa in voice report
The recent controversy surrounding Siri recordings is headed for the courts.
Photo: Apple

A class action lawsuit has been proposed to prevent Apple from recording Siri commands without users’ express consent. And the plaintiffs want restitution, of course.

Apple admits it made recordings of people talking to the Siri voice-control system to improve the system. As part of the process, some of these were listened to by humans.

Samsung deletes ad mocking Apple after copying Apple

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Samsung ad
"Apple sure was lame getting rid of the headphone jack. And -- wait, we're copying them?"
Photo: Samsung

Samsung attempted to quietly delete one of its old ads mocking Apple for ditching the headphone jack in the iPhone 7.

Why? Because, as it turns out, Apple might have been right with its controversial move. Samsung followed Apple’s lead by leaving the 3.5mm jack out of its new Galaxy Note 10. Oh, Samsung, will you never learn?

Apple’s soothing ASMR iPhone videos will put you to sleep

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ASMR
Savor the rhythmic sounds of wood as it’s scraped and shaved into a work of art.
Photo: Apple

Apple hops on the ASMR trend with its latest series of shot on iPhone ads, created to help you relax no matter where you are.

ASMR — short for autonomous sensory meridian response — is the experience of weird “brain tingles” some people experience when they hear or see certain things. ASMR videos shot to popularity on YouTube recently, thanks to people who crank out soothing videos designed to make the back of your neck tingle.

Grab your AirPods and get ready to bliss out!

iMessage flaws leave iPhone open to hijacking

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Messages iOS 10
That doesn't mean you should stop using it.
Photo: Apple

Security researchers have uncovered new flaws in iMessage that could give hackers control of your iPhone or iPad.

Apple has already patched five similar bugs, but several are still present in recent versions of iOS. What makes these particularly concerning is that a potential attack requires no input from the user.

88% of iOS devices are running iOS 12

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iOS 12
This is probably the last time Apple will release iOS 12 adoption figures.
Photo: Apple

Weeks before the official public debut of iOS 13, Apple says that 88% of users are currently running iOS 12.

Those figures are impressive in their own right. They get even more impressive when considering only devices released in the past four years — of which 90% are upgraded to iOS 12.

Apple faces unfair competition investigation in Russia

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Apple in Russia
Investigators will look at whether Apple abused its position as controller of the App Store.
Photo: Caviar

Apple is being investigated for suspected unfair competition in Russia, following a complaint from a Moscow cybersecurity company.

Kaspersky Lab says that Apple declined one of its parental control apps, prior to releasing its own Screen Time service. Russia’s anti-monopoly watchdog has now announced that it will look into Apple’s behavior.

Apple wants iPhone users to shun third-party battery replacements

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iPhone XR battery life is the best of any iPhone on the market.
You'll need to get your iPhone battery replacement carried out by one of Apple's chosen repairers.
Photo: Kristal Chan/Cult of Mac

Apple has long been trying to push users to shun third-party repairers and go through Apple for device repairs. Now it’s activated a previously dormant software lock on iPhone to try and crack down on battery replacements by third-party repairers.

That’s even the case if they’re replacing your battery with an official Apple battery.

iPhone could someday check your blood pressure in a snap

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Blood pressure testing
Your iPhone could soon make this hassle unnecessary.
Photo: Pexels

Researchers built a smartphone app that can check blood pressure by simply recording a short video of someone’s face, then analyzing the blood flow under the skin.

High blood pressure can lead to heart attack or stroke so making an easy at-home test for it could save huge numbers of lives.

7 new Samsung features Apple should steal

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Note10
The Note 10 packs a ton of new features. Not all of them are great.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung’s new lineup of smartphones, tablets and notebooks were on full display today during the company’s Unpacked event for the Galaxy Note 10 in Brooklyn. Instead of waiting for Apple to introduce new iPhones and MacBooks in September, Samsung decided to get a head start on the competition.

Like pretty much all Samsung keynotes, the event included a shotgun blast of new features. Some of them are absolutely ridiculous and will be dead in the water at launch. However, Samsung’s team also uncorked a couple of great ideas that have us green with envy.

Hopefully, Apple execs are taking note of the good and bad things Samsung just revealed.

iPhones could spot early signs of dementia

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Couple with iPad
A decline in how someone uses an iPhone or iPad could be an early indication of mild cognitive impairment.
Photo: Pexels

Researchers from Apple and Eli Lilly looked into whether the ways people use their iPhone and Apple Watch can warn of mild cognitive impairment, a condition that’s difficult to diagnose.

Their pilot program had some early success.

Want a Galaxy Note 10? Sell your old iPhone for upgrade cash

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GalaxyNote10_Right30_Pen_AuraRed
We wouldn't blame you for switching.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung’s fancy new Galaxy Note 10fancy new Galaxy Note 10 is perhaps the most impressive smartphone we’ve seen so far this year. And we wouldn’t blame you if you decided it’s time to switch from iPhone.

But before you go jumping ship, raise some quick and easy upgrade cash that’ll make paying for your pricey Note a little easier. Here’s how.

Samsung unleashes Galaxy Note 10 to take on iPhone

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Note10
The Note 10 comes in two sizes.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung unveiled its latest answer to the iPhone today during an event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The new Galaxy Note 10 is undoubtedly one of the prettiest smartphones Samsung has ever come out with, thanks to its giant display with a pinhole cutout for the camera. This year’s Note 10 lineup comes in two different varieties. The Note 10 comes with a 6.3-inch display, while the monstrous Note 10 Plus packs a 6.8-inch display. But screen sizes aren’t the only thing that sets them apart.

Apple picks up the pace of iOS 13 betas

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Buggy iOS 13 made Apple rethink how it develops software
After being unveiled in June, iOS 13 is headed for release perhaps as soon as next month.
Screenshot: Apple

Apple seeded iOS 13 Developer beta 6 this afternoon, slightly more than a week after the last pre-release update. Until now, the company has generally introduced new versions every two weeks, so it’s accelerating the rate.

Tablet users also got the sixth iPadOS 13 Developer beta today containing the same changes as the iPhone one. There are fresh betas for watchOS 5 beta 6 and tvOS 13 beta 6, too.

New Zealand looks dreamy in iPhone film shot with cinema lens

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iPhone film of New Zealand by Mathieu Stern
Shot on iPhone – with a big assist from an anamorphic lens.
Screenshot: Mathieu Stern/YouTube

In your pocket is a camera capable of making films that stretch across a silver screen. But to get that sweeping, horizontal field of view, you want to make room in an extra pocket for one important accessory – an anamorphic lens.

Rather than explain it, Parisian photographer and filmmaker Mathieu Stern shows off the wow factor an anamorphic lens delivers with a short film he made in New Zealand using an iPhone 8 Plus.

Apple Music showcases its massive high-def library

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Apple Music and Drake
Let's hear it for high-res Drake tracks.
Photo: Apple

Music producers will bring sweeter sounds to the discriminating Apple Music user thanks to a new digital masters initiative for Apple’s burgeoning streaming service.

As Apple phases out iTunes with the launch of a new macOS, it will fold in all Mastered for iTunes tracks and high-definition Apple Music songs into one catalog.