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News - page 596

WWDC banners pop up in San Jose ahead of Monday’s keynote

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WWDC 2019 banner
WWDC kicks off on Monday, June 3.
Photo: David Lewis Thomas/9to5Mac

Apple has started erecting WWDC artwork around the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, ahead of Monday’s big developer event.

Banners featuring neon icons and other assets now hang from streetlights and transit stops downtown around the venue that will house this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Workers also started decorating the front of the convention center itself.

App Store’s cellular download limit increases on iPhone

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App Store
Apple apps no longer dominate App Store search results.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has finally increased the App Store’s cellular download limit on the iPhone — but not by much.

You can now download up to 200MB over a 3G or 4G connection. The limit was previously set at 150MB. You will still need to connect to a Wi-Fi network to download larger apps and games.

Apple earns biggest Q1 market share for wearables

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AirPods art challenge
Apple is the Goliath of the wearables market.
Photo: @SCOTUSPlaces/Twitter

Apple’s lineup of wearables for this year’s first quarter earned the company the largest share of an exploding wearable devices market, according to a report from the International Data Corp.

Shipments of Apple Watches, AirPods and Beats headphones totaled 12.8 million for a 25.8 percent Q1 market share. While its share slipped a 1 percent, its year-over-year growth nearly topped 50 percent, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker.

Global shipments reached 49.6 million, up 55 percent from the previous year.

All the major features to expect in macOS 10.15

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MacBook Pro coding
Apple is coding up some big upgrades for Mac this fall.
Photo: Apple

iOS 13 is expected to be the star of WWDC 2019, but this year’s conference could unleash some of the biggest changes for the Mac we’ve ever seen.

The rumor mill has been dishing out tons of details about macOS 10.15 in the lead up to WWDC 2019. We’ve already seen screenshots of some of the new apps and gotten some good details on how iOS apps are making their way onto the Mac. There’s still plenty of room for Apple to surprise us when it reveals the full details of macOS 10.15 on June 3, but here’s what we know about it so far.

DJ’s MacBook Pro catches fire in shocking video

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White panda
If this incident is any indication, White Panda’s next remix will be lit.
Photo: White Panda

Video of a MacBook Pro catching fire is getting a lot of views on Reddit and Twitter this morning showing a potentially deadly situation.

White Panda, a DJ from the U.S., posted video yesterday of his MacBook Pro a few minutes after the explosion happened. He claims it burst into flame while plugged into its charger.

Watch what happened:

Rabid bat bites man as it hid in iPad case

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bat hides in iPad and bites man
Roy Syvertson describes what he saw sticking out from the lid of his iPad case.
Screenshot: WBZ-TV/YouTube

A New Hampshire man opened his iPad last week to a new feature – a rabid bat that bit him.

The bat had wedged itself between the case and the device. Roy Syvertson, 86, of Exeter, had sat in an easy chair to read the news on his iPad when he felt a bite on his index finger.

Apple signs letter protesting U.K. anti-encryption proposal

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iMessages in iCloud is coming in iOS 11.3.
Apple has long fought on the side of privacy.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple has joined Google, WhatsApp and 44 other signatories in penning an open letter to the U.K.’s cybersecurity agency GCHQ. The open letter asks the agency to abandon plans for the so-called “ghost protocol.”

This would force encrypted message services to allow eavesdropping by silently adding “a law enforcement participant to a group chat or call.” In essence, it would make it possible to inject hidden participants into secure messaging services.

iOS 13 wish list: Giving health & fitness a workout

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Will Apple move workouts to iCloud so you can browse them on any device?
Will Apple move workouts to iCloud so you can browse them on any device?
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

WWDC is less than a week away and there are already plenty of rumors doing the rounds on what new features Apple has in store for iOS and watchOS. Dark mode, a refreshed Reminders app and a new Find My app all look set to make an appearance.

But will Apple also be giving its operating systems a shot in the arm to improve their health and fitness as well? Here’s my top-ten wish list of announcements I’m hoping to hear during next week’s keynote. These features will get my pulse racing so fast it’ll trigger a heart rate warning on my Apple Watch.

This zombie invasion simulator makes you the plague master

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Infectonator 3: Apocalypse
Infectonator 3: Apocalypse pretty much does what it says on the tin.
Photo: Armor Games Studios

In some zombie games, you play as the zombies. Others make you play as the survivors. And in Infectonator 3: Apocalypse, you play as the plague.

It’s a fun — and grotesquely unique — spin on the genre that’s sure to appeal to gamers with a love of tasty, tasty brains. Now after a stint on PC, courtesy of Steam, it’s now spread to iOS, too. Check out the trailer below.

Excel for iPhone update turns photos into editable spreadsheets

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Microsoft Excel
One of Microsoft Office's coolest features.
Photo: Microsoft

An update for Microsoft Excel on the iPhone may not sound like the most exciting thing. But the update in question is actually pretty darn neat. That’s regardless of whether you regularly use spreadsheets or just fancy a neat tech demo.

The update lets you easily import spreadsheets by simply snapping a photo with your iPhone. The image you take of a paper-based spreadsheet is then recognized and turned into a fully functioning editable spreadsheet.

Apple’s hard at work on building its first Mexico City flagship store

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Mexico Apple Store
A look at the upcoming Mexico City Apple Store.
Photo: Apple Insider

Construction is well underway on Apple’s first Mexico City flagship retail store.

The upcoming Apple Store will be a standalone structure located in the Antara Fashion Hall at an upscale mall in Mexico City. Apple first committed to opening a Latin American flagship Apple Store back in 2017.

Apple Pay Express Transit en route to London

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Pay Express Transit is on its way to London, giving travelers a quick and easy way to pay for rides.

Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed it is working closely with Apple to enable the feature “in the coming months.” It promises more information will be available at a later date.

Huawei is gearing up to battle its U.S. government ban

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Huawei
Huawei has faced a series of challenges in the U.S.
Photo: AndroidCentral

Huawei has filed a legal motion to try and reverse the against the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, the ruling which blocked U.S. government agencies from buying Huawei products.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the motion argues that the ruling was unconstitutional.

T-Mobile and Sprint may have to create a new wireless carrier in U.S.

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T-Mobile CEO John Legere with the Phone BoothE.
Deal between T-Mobile and would be worth $26.5 billion.
Photo: T-Mobile

The Department of Justice are happy to let T-Mobile and Sprint’s merger complete — on one condition. In order for the $26.5 billion merger to proceed, the DOJ wants the companies to help with the creation of a new wireless carrier.

This would address the concern about a merger stifling competition by reducing the number of major U.S. carriers. But as Bloomberg points out, “spinning off a full-fledged national competitor would be a high bar for T-Mobile and Sprint to meet.”

5 improvements iPad users expect from iOS 13 [Opinion]

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So powerful, and yet it can’t even copy a file off a USB stick.
Better support for external monitors is one of the features iPad users want in iOS 13.
Photo: Apple

Those of us with an iPad have big expectations for the next version of Apple’s mobile operating system. These tablets pack performance comparable to laptops, but the software continues to lag.

Here’s what Tim Cook and Co. can do to remedy that.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on January 20, 2019 but is being revisited in the lead up to WWDC 2019.

UPDATE: iPadOS 13.1 is now out, and it offers almost everything asked for in this editorial.

Why the iPod touch is still totally relevant

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It's a repair manual! The iPod touch can be anything.
It's a repair manual! The iPod touch can be anything.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The iPod touch exists to be used by waiters, warehouse staff, delivery persons, and anyone else whose employer wants them to use an iOS device as a handheld on-the-job computer. That’s why it just got an update, and it’s probably why it hasn’t — and never will — change size or shape. It is a utility computer. Making it an all-screen, buttonless iPhone-lite is pointless. Adding Touch ID is equally useless when it is used by multiple people.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t also a great device for everyone else. If you need a utility iOS computer, then you should buy it. Musicians are one great example of potential users. Let’s see why the iPod Touch is still great.

Leaked macOS 10.15 screenshots reveal Music and TV apps

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The TV app for Mac is coming this fall.
The TV app for Mac is coming this fall.
Photo: 9to5Mac

The first glimpse of Apple’s new Music and TV apps for Mac has been revealed with less than a week to go before WWDC 2019.

9to5Mac published two leaked screenshots of macOS 10.15 this morning just one day after they showed off leaked screenshots of iOS 13’s dark mode. The Music app and TV app screenshots look pretty bare, but reveal some new UI tweaks before Apple’s big keynote on June 3.

Take a look at the new Music app:

Apple explains App Store policies as it fights monopoly charges

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Apple App Store principles
A direct appeal to the public.
Screenshot: Apple

Apple took the defense of its App Store practices directly to its consumers, launching a new web page as it prepares for a court battle over accusations claiming the company has monopolistic control over iOS apps.

The page appeared this morning on Apple’s website with the title “App Store, Principles and Practices.”