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News - page 584

Apple Watch prompts 48-year-old man to get lifesaving heart surgery

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Apple Watch alerts user of irregular heart rhythms in sleep
The Apple Watch is turning out to be a life-saver!
Photo: Apple

Someone needs to get the Apple Watch its own comic book series, because right now it’s saving more lives than most DC and Marvel superheroes put together.

The latest case involves a 48-year-old U.K. man who underwent lifesaving heart surgery after a series of Apple Watch alerts about his low heart rate.

Tim Cook tweets condolences to Japanese animation studio

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Kyoto Animation image
KyoAni was attacked in an arson attack this week.
Image: Kyoto Animation

Tim Cook has sent his condolences to the Japanese animation studio targeted in a suspected arson attack. The attack resulted in the deaths of 33 people. It is Japan’s worst mass killing in 20 years.

“Kyoto Animation is home to some of the world’s most talented animators and dreamers,” Cook tweeted. “The devastating attack today is a tragedy felt far beyond Japan.”

New malware steals data from your device and cloud accounts

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Proposed bill could hold tech giants more accountable for child exploitation
Pegasus could be used by governments to spy on individuals.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A new spyware tool reportedly can harvest data from iOS devices and their connected cloud accounts.

The tool, called Pegasus, also works with Android devices. The data it is able to gather even reportedly includes encrypted messages from third-party apps. It does this by fraudulently posing as the user to download their private content.

What you need to know about that viral face-aging app you’ve been using, this week on The Cultcast

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CultCast 397
Whoa there, buddy! We need to chat about that face-aging app...

This week on The CultCast: Why some say FaceApp, the mega-viral app that ages your face, might also be stealing your data. Plus, why your next iPhone or Mac may feature Apple’s rainbow logo; Apple might soon make a big move into original podcasts; and we’ll tell you about the wild lengths some Apple factory works go through to smuggle out top-secret tech.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. 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..

Apple Music rebrands one of its most popular playlists

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Apple Music's focus on hip-hop continues.
Apple Music's focus on hip-hop continues.
Screenshot: Apple

Apple Music has switched the names of one of its most popular playlists. “A-List: Hip-Hop” is now branded as “Rap Life,” and comes with a new show on Beats 1 radio.

The change was orchestrated by Ebro Darden, global editorial head of hip-hop and R&B at Apple Music. “Rap Life” will be promoted as a segment during Darden’s daily show on Beats 1. Apple is also launching a self-contained “Rap Life” show on Beats 1 every week.

Fortnite players on iOS must reinstall after game-breaking bug

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Fortnite iOS 14
Everyone should welcome skill-based matchmaking.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Epic Games has told Fortnite players on iOS that they will need to delete and reinstall the game to keep on playing.

Disgruntled iPhone and iPad users quickly discovered they were unable to load into Battle Royale after a game-breaking bug was introduced in the most recent 9.40.1 patch.

Epic’s unusual “fix” has understandably upset a lot of fans, who now have to download gigabytes of data all over again.

5G could make Apple a $1 trillion business again

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money
Judging from this reaction, the 5G iPhone will be a big one.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple won’t get 5G iPhones until next year, but already it’s causing investment analysts to geek out on the hype.

In a new note to clients, an analyst for investment banking firm Raymond James raises the firm’s price estimate on Apple due to the next-gen connectivity technology. That’s despite the fact that he thinks this year’s iPhone refresh will be a disappointment.

Most Americans are excited about 5G

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2020 could be Apple's greatest year so far
There’s pent-up demand for a 5G iPhone.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A large percentage of Americans are happy that 4G wireless networks are being supplanted by faster 5G ones, according to a recent survey by a respected market-research firm. And a majority of US consumers are very interested in getting a phone that supports these speedier networks.

Apple’s new Vancouver office looks absolutely spectacular

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Merrick
New office looks like a Hollywood special effect!
Photo: Merrick Achitecture

Whether it’s taking space in iconic buildings or creating one of Earth’s most valuable offices, Apple sure has an eye for architecture.

Its next move? Occupying two floors in a spectacular, still-under-construction development in Vancouver, BC. The 400 West Georgia building is set to open in 2020.

Upcoming iPhone XI gets third eye in intriguing new renders

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iPhoneX1
This weird design looks kind of cool.
Photo: MKHBD

With renders and dummy units showing how a third rear camera might look on 2019 iPhones, there’s still some debate about how the new lens array will look on the final product.

Notorious smartphone-leaker Ben Geskin tweeted a few images this morning showing a different take on the iPhone XI and iPhone XI Max than we’ve seen before. Instead of having a giant black tile in the back, Geskin suggests Apple may not hide the lenses at all. Instead, the three-lens array would be on full display.

Is this what the iPhone XI will really look like?

Eventide brings iconic music effects to iOS

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Eventide effects inside GarageBand on iPad.
Ths is wild -- you can use Eventide effects inside GarageBand on iPad.
Photo: Eventide

Eventide, one of the most important creators of musical effects, and the inventor of many crazy audio-mangling ideas, is now making effects apps for the iPhone and iPad. This is just about as big as news can get for musicians working on iOS. For those outside the world of music-creation, Eventide is roughly equivalent to Adobe, and the release of these apps is like Photoshop’s entry into mobile.

iOS musicians can now enjoy three effects from Eventide, all of which are Audio Units (plugins for other apps), and all of which run on both the iPhone and the iPad.

Instagram makes ‘likes’ disappear in even more countries

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heart shapes
Your fans will know you are liked. They just won't know how much.
Photo: Iouri Goussey/Wikimedia CC

Instagram’s hidden “likes” experiment is expanding to six other countries as the photo-sharing app continues to change features to make social media a more positive experience.

Instagram made the announcement Wednesday on its Twitter feed, though it has yet to disclose findings from a trial of select users in Canada. It will now hide “likes” tallies on select posts in Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand.

Fear of iPhone chip shortage spurs Apple trip to Korea

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2019 iPhone
Apple does not want to run short on chips for its newest iPhones.
Photo: Marques Brownlee

Apple reportedly flew a team to Seoul as the tech giant sweats a trade dispute between South Korean and Japan that could lead to a shortage in iPhone chips and OLED panels.

The meeting with Samsung, the main supplier of memory chips for iPhone, also included executives from Google, Microsoft and Amazon. Those three companies contract with Samsung for memory chips used in data centers for cloud services.

New Pokémon Masters trailer teases big battles, co-op play

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Pokemon-Masters
If you weren’t already excited, you will be.
Photo: The Pokémon Company

A new trailer and additional information for Pokémon Masters has dropped ahead of the game’s much-anticipated debut this summer.

The one-minute clip reveals more gameplay, including explosive battles and co-operative play. It also provides our first look at the powerful sync moves available from partner Pokémon.

Mac app lets you enjoy Continuity with Android devices

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MacBook-Pixel-3-Android
KDE Connect is free to download and incredibly useful.
Image: Cult of Mac

Not every Mac owner uses an iPhone, and that means they often miss out on first-party features like Messages and iCloud. But there’s one feature Android users can now enjoy.

KDE Connect is a new macOS app that allows for Continuity between Mac and Android devices. You can enjoy desktop notifications, file sharing, and more — and it’s free.

Sky: Children of the Light brings a stunning adventure to iOS

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Sky-Children-of-the-Light
The wait is over on iOS.
Photo: thatgamecompany

Sky: Children of the Light, the gorgeous new adventure game from the makers of Journey, has finally landed on iOS.

The game hopes to deliver “a world of wonder where compassion and generosity are interwoven and integral to the story.” It’s free to download, and it is already racking up rave reviews for players.

Belkin’s latest wireless chargers debut at the Apple Store

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Belkin Wireless Charging Stand
This Belkin Wireless Charging Stand can hold up an iPhone in portrait or landscape mode.
Photo: Belkin

The Apple Store’s selection of third-party accessories keeps growing. A trio of chargers from Belkin in a range of different designs just launched there, only a day after Mophie’s new charging lineup first made its appearance.

Why Apple doesn’t prosecute factory workers who leak iPhone secrets

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iPhone 11 schematics
The person who leaked this purported iPhone 11 schematic almost certainly wasn’t arrested for industrial espionage.
Photo: Weibo

When the casing or another component for an unreleased iPhone leaks before the official unveiling, it’s often because someone at an assembly plant in China snuck it out. Apple always does its best to track down the culprit and the punishment is … generally not much.

And there’s a good reason why.

Snoopy heads to space in brand-new Apple TV+ original

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snoopy
Snoopy and the Peanuts gang are coming to Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s got one more surprise to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing: a preview of its upcoming Peanuts TV show.

The first teaser for the Snoopy in Space series starts with the lovable pooch floating through the void of space before slamming back onto his red dog house in Charlie Brown’s backyard.