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News - page 583

Lovable platformer Human: Fall Flat crashes into the App Store

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Human-Fall-Flat
Everyone should play Human: Fall Flat.
Photo: 505 Games

Human: Fall Flat, the wonderful puzzle platformer from 505 Games, has made the leap to the App Store.

This unique title lets you play as a wobbly human who gets stuck inside surreal dreams and has to find the exit. You have no superpowers or special abilities, which makes the open-ended, physics-based gameplay all the more fun.

Ableton puts a synth inside your browser

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Ableton has put a synth school into the browser.
Ableton has put a synth school into the browser.
Screenshot: Cult of Mac

Did you ever wonder how a synthesizer works? It’s all just “electronic noise,” right? Well, yes, it totally is. But if you’d like to know a bit more than that, Berlin-based Ableton will teach you. The electronic music giant launched a website that puts a synthesizer inside your browser, and uses it to teach you exactly how a synth works.

The synth simulator works great in Mobile Safari, too, but if you use Google’s Chrome, you can hook up an actual keyboard to your Mac and use it to play. That’s thanks to Chrome’s support for Web MIDI, which Safari doesn’t offer.

Let’s have a quick look at this cool teaching tool.

Apple pours billions more into controversial stock buybacks

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France fines Apple $27 million for intention iPhone 'throttling' controversy
Apple spent more on its own shares in Q1 than any company ever before in a single quarter.
Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s stock buybacks in Q1 totaled more than any other S&P 500 company by a wide margin. The iPhone maker poured $23.8 billion into purchasing its own shares, more than it has ever done before. And that’s saying a lot, as Apple been spending billions on buybacks for many years.

LGBTQ employees want Google kicked out of SF Pride parade

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SF pride
Apple employees marching in the SF Pride parade.
Photo: Tim Cook/Twitter

Some of Google’s LGBTQ+ employees have petitioned the San Francisco Pride board of directors to kick the search engine giant out of the SF Pride parade slated for this weekend.

The Google employees posted an open letter this morning saying they’ve spent countless hours trying to get Google to improve policies and practices regarding the treatment of LGBTQ+ persons, but the company has done nothing. Even though they might get in trouble for writing the letter, nearly 100 employees signed it, urging the parade to reject Google’s failure to act.

Samsung may already be working on a second Galaxy Fold

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Galaxy Fold front
Are you ready to splash your cash?
Photo: Samsung

Samsung is yet to iron out the teething troubles it has suffered with the Galaxy Fold. But that hasn’t stopped the South Korean company from diving head first into developing a sequel.

A new rumor claims Samsung’s second model will feature a larger screen and S Pen stylus. And it could arrive a lot sooner than fans anticipated.

Your Apple Watch could soon remind you to eat healthier, relax more

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Apple Watch Series 4 Solar System Watch Face
Digital health company Livongo is working for a new tool for Apple Watch.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Leading digital health company Livongo is working on developing new tools for Apple Watch and other wearables to help users live healthier lives.

The company’s new tools will help provide users with customized alerts regarding things like healthy eating, relaxation, and exercise.

End in sight for damaging trade war with China

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Activist shareholders push Apple on why it booted Hong Kong protest app
Trump’s trade war with China is bad business for Apple.
Photo: Fredrik Rubensson/Flickr CC

The burgeoning trade war with China has caused Apple no end of headaches. But an end could be in sight, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Speaking with CNBC, Mnuchin said that the U.S. and China have a “path to complete this.” He notes that both parties were “90% of the way there” during previous talks, before discussions broke down.

Oppo reveals world’s first ‘Under-screen Camera’ for smartphones

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Oppo-Under-screen-camera
And it’s coming soon!
Photo: Oppo

Oppo’s efforts to eliminate the notch have led to the world’s first selfie camera that sits under your smartphone’s screen.

The new technology, which was showcased to the public at MWC Shanghai this week, will be making its way to commercial handsets “in the near future.” And it promises to be just as good as existing selfie cameras.

Intel is auctioning off its massive 5G modem tech portfolio

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intel
Could Apple snap it up?
Photo: Thomas Hawk/Flickr

Having gotten out of the 5G smartphone modem game, Intel is auctioning off its IP related to cellular wireless technology. In total, a massive 8,500 assets will be up for auction.

Intel made the call to get out of 5G modems after Apple made up with Qualcomm. At the time, Intel noted that there was no profitable route forward.

Apple News will guide you through the first 2020 Democrat debate

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Democratic candidates
Apple News will shine a light on 2020 Democratic candidates.
Photo: Apple

Apple has launched a special guide section for Apple News, featuring coverage of 20 Democratic candidates in the lead-up to the 2020 U.S. Elections.

The section of the app curates content from a variety of news sources. It also includes basic information about the different candidates who will take place in the first debate. This includes their biography and current position on key issues.

Apple Pay arrives in Greece, Portugal, and other new countries

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Apple Pay
Apple Pay continues its international rollout.
Photo: Apple

Update: Apple Pay launched in a total of 13 markets today. The full list includes Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Slovakia.

Apple Pay has debuted in four new countries. The mobile payment service is now live in Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Portugal.

Apple has said that Apple Pay will be supported in 40 countries by the end of 2019. This marks yet another step toward that goal.

Apple hires top Drive.ai talent as self-driving startup shuts down

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Drive.ai self-driving car
Drive.ai is dead.
Photo: Drive.ai

Self-driving car startup Drive.ai is reportedly shutting down — and Apple is scooping up the talent.

Drive.ai, which made kits that turn regular cars into self-driving cars, notified the Employment Development Department of California that it was shutting down and laying off all 90 of its employees. Apple was reportedly looking into acquiring the company earlier this month. Instead, Cupertino decided to just hire some of its key employees.

OWC launches fastest USB-C SSD drive ever built

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OWC Envoy Pro Ex
The Envoy Pro Ex has a higher data-transfer speed than any other USB-C drive.
Photo: OWC

OWC makes an eye-opening claim about the Envoy Pro Ex: the company claims its latest solid-state drive is faster than any rival with a USB-C connection.

In addition, the portable drive can stand up to dust and even immersion in water.

iWork apps for iOS and Mac get a massive update

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iWork
iWork could expose user data to U.S. authorities.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s suite of iWork productivity apps received a big batch of updates today for both the Mac and iOS versions.

Keynote, Numbers and Pages for the two platforms added a bunch of new features. The biggest addition is some new outline styles. There are also a couple of new customization options for Apple Pencil and a face detection feature that intelligently positions people in placeholders and objects.

Take a glimpse at the tech-obsessed mutants of the future

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tech-obsessed human in 2100
Behold, the human of 2100!
Photo: Maple Holistics

Some people were freaked out by the recent report that phone overuse causes spikes to grow on people’s skulls. Well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

A group of experts created a 3D model showing changes they see coming to humanity by 2100, including permanently hunched backs and claw hands. It seems each and every American will be ready to star in a horror flick.

New Pokémon Masters details will be revealed this week

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Pokémon Masters
It will feature every Trainer and Pokémon from every region.
Photo: The Pokémon Company

The Pokémon Company will reveal new information about upcoming mobile game Pokémon Masters this week.

Its first presentation since the game was confirmed ahead of E3 is just a couple of days away. We know very little about it so far, but we have been promised battles against Pokémon Trainers from the main RPG series.

These wireless chargers provide power wherever you go

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Mophie Powerstation Hub and Kenu BingeBank
Mophie Powerstation Hub and Kenu BingeBank are just-released external battles with wireless charging.
Photo: Mophie/Kenu

Two companies just unveiled portable batteries that include built-in wireless chargers.

The Mophie Powerstation Hub also includes built-in foldable AC power prongs. The Kenu BingeBank, on the other hand, sports a kickstand so it props up your iPhone while charging.

Apple is serious about strapping a camera to your wrist

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applewatch
The camera looks like its part of the loop band.
Photo: USPTO

It seems inevitable that a camera will eventually find its way onto the Apple Watch, the only question is ‘how’? The USPTO awarded a new patent this week that reveals one pretty novel idea Apple has come up with that would allow the Apple Watch camera to be reversible.

It doesn’t look very sleek, but it could be pretty useful:

macOS Catalina public beta doesn’t support multiple iTunes libraries

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Goodbye iTunes.
Just avoid Catalina for now.
Photo: Apple

We’ve explained why it’s really not a great idea to update to the iOS 13 and iPadOS public betas right now — and the same goes for macOS Catalina. Not only is it unstable in its current form, but some things don’t work properly.

One of those is multiple iTunes libraries. As things stand, you will have access to only one. And if it’s not the right one when you first install Catalina, there’s nothing you can do about it.

You could write Hollywood’s next blockbuster on your iPhone

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Wattpad: The social reading and writing app that’s transforming the entertainment industry
Wattpad: The app that's transforming the entertainment industry
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Ever dreamed of penning a Hollywood blockbuster? Turns out there’s an app for that: social reading and writing app Wattpad.

With more than 70 million monthly users (and growing fast), Wattpad is a low-key App Store hit. The app is like Instagram, but for sharing stories instead of photos. It’s a great way to find fantastic new stories — and it’s flipping the script on how Hollywood makes movies.