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News - page 652

Latest Apple Pay promo gets you 20% off at Fanatics

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Apple Pay Fanatics
Don’t forget to use the promo code.
Photo: Apple

This week’s Apple Pay promotion will save you 20 percent on sports goods at Fanatics.

You’ll need to spend $25 or more and will obviously need to use Apple Pay to qualify for the discount. You will also need to remember to enter a promotional code at checkout.

Angela Ahrendts: How Apple Stores have defied the retail odds

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Angela Ahrendts.
Angela Ahrendts has a definite vision for Apple Stores.
Photo: Apple

The retail sector is in trouble — with almost 10,000 stores in the U.S. having closed their doors in the U.S. since 2017. Apple’s solution? Make shopping into an experience for customers, rather than just a place to spend money.

That’s the theory laid out by Apple’s retail VP Angela Ahrendts in a new interview for Vogue Business. In it, Ahrendts lays out her Apple Store philosophies as pertain to both customers and employees. It certainly seems to be working!

Fortnite finally gets game controller support on iOS

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Fortnite controller support iOS
It’s about time!
Photo: Epic Games

Fortnite’s latest update is now available across all platforms, and it’s a big one — particularly for those who play on iOS devices.

The version 7.30 release sends a number of popular weapons to the vault, adds a brand new Chiller Grenade, and finally brings physical controller support to iPhone and iPad.

Chemical problems cause defective chips for Apple supplier

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chips 2
TSMC hasn't confirmed exactly which clients were affected.
Photo: Tomizak/Flickr CC

Apple chip supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) says that a problem involving substandard chemicals resulted in more than 10,000 wafers of defective chips at its factories.

The issue caused a temporary shutdown on the production line. It’s not clear exactly which clients’ chips were affected by the issue, although Apple may not be among them.

Apple could sell subscriptions through upgraded TV app

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Apple TV
Apple will upgrade TV app around April.
Photo: Apple

Apple is reportedly planning to upgrade its TV app with support for subscription services. This will likely happen around mid-April 2019.

Don’t necessarily expect this to be the debut of Apple’s original TV efforts, however. Instead, this likely refers to making it easier to subscribe to service like HBO Now using the TV app, instead of having to subscribe through HBO’s app.

FaceTime bug lets others see and hear you before call starts [UPDATED]

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Group FaceTime is super easy to use.
Someone’s iPhone can be added to a Group FaceTime call before they’re ready.
Photo: Apple

Apple has confirmed that it’s possible for a FaceTime caller to listen to the person on the other end of the call — and even see them — before they pick up. Making use of this newly-discovered bug requires actions someone isn’t likely to do accidentally, which is probably why It wasn’t noticed during testing.

UPDATE: Apple said this evening it will quickly fix this serious privacy flaw. In the mean time, it has also disabled its servers needed for Group FaceTime to function.

Coming-of-age drama Hala jumps from Sundance to Apple

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Geraldine Viswanathan appears in Hala, chosen for the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
Geraldine Viswanathan appears as the title character in Hala.
Photo: Parrish Lewis/Sundance Institute

One of the films making waves at the Sundance FIlm Festival is Hala, about a Muslim teenager’s struggles growing up in America. Apple likes it so much it bought the worldwide rights.

This is one of a growing collection of movies and TV programs that Apple is expected to weave into a streaming TV service.

Apple gets experimental in new iPhone XR ad

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iPhone XR Spectrum ad
The new iPhone XR ad is crazy.
Photo: Apple

Apple is pulling out a Matrix-move for its new iPhone XR ad that features some of the wildest videography the company has ever put out.

Using a bullet time video rig mounted with 32 iPhone XRs, Apple showcases the low-light shooting powers of the iPhone XR. And boy is it mesmerizing.

You’ll want to watch this on your iPhone:

iOS devs rake in $120 billion and just keep going

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iPhone app development can be very profitable, and Apple has a new program to help more women get in the business.
iPhone app development can be very profitable, and Apple has a new program to help more women get in the business.
Photo: Apple

Since the iOS App Store launched in 2008, Apple has paid developers $120 billion. And more than a quarter of that came in the past year alone, according to the iPhone maker.

To increase diversity in software developers making all that money, Apple today opened the first of what will be quarterly Entrepreneur Camps for female-founded app development companies.

Bluetooth 5.1 makes it easier to find gear with direction sensing

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Bluetooth 5.1 should make point-of-interest (PoI) notifications much more accurate.
Bluetooth 5.1 should make point-of-interest (PoI) notifications much more accurate.
Photo: Bluetooth SIG

The lust-introduced version of Bluetooth enables devices to sense the direction a wireless signal is coming from. The goal is to significantly improve the performance of location services.

If nothing else, this should hugely enhance Tile trackers. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is promising accuracy for personal property tags down to the centimeter.

iPhones sales in China dropped 13% in 2018

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iPhone sales are finally rebounding in China
iPhone sales were starting to pickup in China.
Photo: Tim Cook/Weibo

Investors just received a worrying report about iPhone sales in China ahead of Apple’s pivotal 2018 holiday earnings report slated for Tuesday, January 29.

Apple warned investors earlier this year that iPhone sales in Greater China came in lower than expected. We’ll have to wait for the official numbers from Apple tomorrow, but according to data firm Canalys, total smartphone sales dropped 15% year-over-year in Q4 2018 with Apple taking one of the biggest hits.

Memoji steal the show in bouncy new music video

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Memoji music video
Baby with an Animoji twist.
Screenshot: Scorpio Music/YouTube

Our amazement for great photos and even feature films shot on the iPhone is starting to seem less amazing.

But a French DJ and producer recently took a music video to the next level by animating some of the singing actors with Memoji.

First iOS 12.2 public beta boosts Downtime, Apple News

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iOS 12.2 public beta 1 is more than just a collection of bug fixes.
iOS 12.2 public beta 1 is more than just a collection of bug fixes.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The first fairly significant update to iOS in months is available now for the general public to update. iOS 12.2 will have a scattering of new features, not just the bug fixes and tweaks in recent updates.

The end of beta testing for this version could bring new iPad and iPod models. And AirPods 2 as well.

Google shames iPhone’s low-light performance in new Pixel 3 ad

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Pixel 3 Night Sight
The Pixel 3 destroys iPhone in low-light performance.
Photo: Google

Google is shaming the iPhone’s low-light performance once again in new marketing material for its Pixel 3 lineup.

One company VP shared comparison photos on Twitter that highlight (no pun intended) the Pixel 3’s incredible ability to capture dark scenes. The results simply aren’t possible on an iPhone — or any other handset on sale today.

Apple gives behind-the-scene glimpse at ads created with iPad Pro

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ipad pro
The iPad Pro is a powerful content creation machine.
Photo: Apple

Apple revealed some of the tricks it used on the iPad Pro to create its latest slate of how-to videos that were published earlier this month.

Not only did Apple film all the videos on the new iPad Pro, it also edited, animated and composed music for the ads that showed viewers how to perform tasks that used to require a PC to pull off.

Watch Apple’s secrets to doing everything on iPad:

Apple plans Netflix-for-games subscription service

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Get the professional instruction you need to start developing games for iOS
Developers could make games exclusively for Apple's game subscription service.
Photo: Epic Games

Apple allegedly wants to tap into the booming gaming industry to boost its growing Services business. The company is reportedly planning to create a new subscription service for games and it’s already talking to developers about becoming a publisher for iOS games too.

Samsung eyes camera company that sued Apple

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CorePhotonics
The rear-facing dual-cameras of the iPhone X.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Samsung is reportedly close to completing a deal to buy an Israeli optics company accusing Apple of stealing its patented dual-camera technology.

CorePhotonics most recently developed a periscope camera module with 5x telephoto for the Chinese smartphone maker Oppo.

Scribd racks up 1 million paid subscribers

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Scribd2
Scribd is the ultimate subscription service for readers.
Photo: Scribd

Scribd, the company which describes itself as the “Netflix for reading,” says that it has passed 1 million paid subscribers for its $8.99 a month service.

While 1 million is way below the kind of numbers enjoyed by Netflix, Spotify or Apple Music, it’s still an impressive milestone at a time when many publishers are struggling. It’s also one that Apple is likely paying a whole lot of attention to.

Lack of screws put the hurt on Apple’s U.S. manufacturing plans

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Screws 1
This anecdote illustrates why U.S. manufacturing is so tough for Apple.
Photo: Gemma Stiles/Flickr CC

President Trump has suggested that Apple manufacture its devices in the United States. But things aren’t quite so easy as that — as a New York Times article makes clear.

It describes the challenges Apple faced when it tried making its top-of-the-line Mac Pro in the U.S. several years ago. One of the big problems? Simply, that Apple couldn’t get hold of enough screws to assemble the $3,000 computers in Austin, Texas.

Latest Mojave beta brings Touch ID support to Safari AutoFill

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2018 MacBook Air Touch ID
Apple Watch could be a Touch ID alternative on Mac.
Photo: Apple

Safari AutoFill in macOS Mojave is about to get even more convenient, thanks to Touch ID support.

The first macOS 10.14.4 beta reveals you’ll be able to log into websites simply by scanning your fingerprint. This feature has long been available on iOS, but it will be a first for Mac.

Vizio kicks off AirPlay 2 beta test in U.S. and Canada

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AirPlay 2
Sign up for SmartCast 3.0 access today.
Photo: Apple

Vizio will soon add AirPlay 2 support to some of its most recent TV sets, and you can try it out early by signing up for the new beta test in the United States and Canada.

AirPlay 2 support will let you stream content from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac — including 4K movies you’ve purchased on iTunes. It will also allow you to control your set from an iOS device.

Apple met with AR startups at CES 2019

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ARkit
Apple is rumored to be developing AR glasses.
Photo: Dent Reality

Apple may not have had an official presence at CES 2019, but a new report claims that key personnel were present at the event to meet with leading AR companies.

More than half a dozen company representatives supposedly met with AR waveguide suppliers, including DigiLens, Lumus, Vuzix and WaveOptics. Waveguide is one of the most widely used structures in see-through AR displays, seen in products such as the Microsoft Hololens and Magic Leap One.

Sharp wants a piece of iPhone OLED manufacturing

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The iPhone XS Max screen delivers more of that OLED awesomeness.
Foxconn-owned manufacturer is looking to get in on building high quality displays for Apple.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Japanese electronics firm Sharp, owned by Apple supplier Foxconn, is supposedly working to enter the supply chain for future iPhones boasting OLED displays.

The news comes shortly after a report claiming that Apple plans to include all OLED displays in its 2020 iPhone lineup. Currently it includes a mix of LCD and OLED models. As a result of the increased focus on OLED displays, a number of companies are supposedly gearing up their OLED panel production capability.