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News - page 659

Stunning concept shows how iPhone could evolve in 2019

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iPhone XI concept
Would you spend $1,000 on this?
Photo: Waqar Khan

With iPhone sales falling, Apple needs to do something special in 2019 to convince fans to upgrade to its next-generation smartphone lineup. One fan might just have the answer.

Waqar Khan’s gorgeous new concept imagines an “iPhone XI” with big improvements, including a third rear-facing camera and a smaller notch. Would you spend $1,000 on it?

Apple Pay could hit Czech Republic and Slovakia soon

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple Pay is continuing its march to global dominance.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Pay could land in Slovakia and the Czech Republic over the next couple of months, a new report claims. A local news source suggests that Apple’s mobile payment service is likely to launch in either late February or early March.

This could make the markets the 33rd and 34th locations to receive Apple Pay, after it launched in Germany back in December.

Apple stops you playing different music on iPhone and HomePod

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HomePod market share
The new HomePod could offer a neat new feature.
Photo: Apple

If you want to stream different tracks on different devices from Apple Music, you’ll need two subscriptions. It was previously possible to listen to one track on your iPhone while enjoying another on HomePod in a different room, but not anymore.

Apple says this was a bug — not a feature — and it has finally been fixed.

Apple buys 50 business class seats to Shanghai every day

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United Airlines
A United Airlines flight attendant uses an iPhone.
Photo: United Airlines

Apple shells out a total of $35 million every year to buy 50 business class airline seats from San Francisco to Shanghai.

The numbers were shared by United Airlines, which revealed that Apple is the airline’s biggest customer at San Francisco International Airport. While Apple’s products are, famously, “designed by Apple in California,” the majority of its supply chain is based in China. Tim Cook has also talked about the importance of China as Apple’s second-biggest market.

Apple chipmaker struggles to deliver promised earnings

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money
Dialog Semiconductor didn't make as much money as hoped.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Dialog Semiconductor, the European chipmaker that Apple has been working with since the first iPhone, has reported disappointing earnings for the fourth quarter of 2018.

The firm, which Apple invested $600 million in last year, rakes in about 75 percent of its revenue supplying power management chips for iOS devices. Dialog’s shares fell more than 3 percent with the earnings news.

HomePod is finally launching in China this week

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The HomePod -- a beautiful body with the brain of an idiot.
HomePod launched in the U.S. a year ago.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The HomePod smart speaker is finally launching in China, Apple’s second-most important market. Having previously been teased on Apple’s China website for early 2019, the company revealed over the weekend that HomePod will go on sale on Friday, January 18.

It launched in the U.S. back in February 2018, and has since expanded to the U.K., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, and Spain.

With a $19 Do Your Data Recovery plan, dead files rise from the grave [Deals]

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data recovery
Recover precious files from your MacBook with Do Your Data.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

There are few feelings worse than that moment you realize a vital file is gone. Whether your hard drive crashed, a virus struck or you just made a terrible mistake, the surge of panic and disgust that washes over you in that horrible flash of realization is the worst.

Apple’s long-delayed AirPower charging mat might finally be in production

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AirPower
Could the multi-year wait for AirPower be almost over? Maybe so.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Production of the long-overdue AirPower charging mat has begun at last, according to a report from Apple’s Asian supply chain.

Apple first showed off the multidevice wireless charger way back in 2017, but it remains hopelessly MIA. If this latest supply chain rumor proves true, the wait for AirPower could end soon.

Pursuing a fitness resolution? Nab a sports band for your Apple Watch [Watch Store]

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shift

Photo: EdgeGear

It’s January of a brand new year, and you find yourself with two things that go well together: a resolution for better fitness and a new Apple Watch. What you might be missing is a band that is made to stand up to the rigors of a tough workout.

There’s good news: The Cult of Mac Watch Store has you covered. Here are a few bands that might help you become more fit in 2019:

 

How to make your old iPhone last longer [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 279]

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If you're not a serial upgrader, you can eke out even more life from your aging iPhone with these tips.
If you're not a serial upgrader, you can eke out even more life from your iPhone with these tips.
Photo and cover: hikersbay/Pixabay CC and Marty Cortinas/Cult of Mac

iPhones typically keep going strong for years, but a few smooth moves on your part can make them last even longer. These tips will show you how to squeeze as much life as possible out of your aging Apple handset.

Get this handy info and much more in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Grab it now from iTunes, or keep reading for the week’s best Apple news, reviews and how-tos.

Powerful MacBook dock lets you escape ‘dongle hell’

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Linedock
LineDock has ports, power and plenty of storage.
Photo: Linedock

CES 2019 bugLinedock is a device designed to deliver power and salvation from what its creators refer to as “dongle hell.”

It’s a massive messiah at two pounds with nine ports, a 20,000mAH battery with 100 W pass-through charging and an onboard SSD with up to 1 TB of storage.

2019 iPhone may boast super-fast Wi-Fi 6

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home Wi-Fi
You’ll connect to Wi-Fi access points much faster with the 2019 iPhone.
Photo: Alan Levine/Flickr

The next-generation iPhone will reportedly include a version of Wi-Fi that’s up to 30 percent faster than the current one. And that’s not even its biggest improvement in this upcoming wireless networking standard.

This is just one of the details of the 2019 iPhone that’ve leaked out in recent days.

Clever iPhone X2 concept finds a cool way to hide notch

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iphone concept
Here's one way Apple could ditch the notch.
Photo: ConceptsiPhone

The death of the iPhone’s notch can’t come soon enough for some Apple fans.

Concept designer Antonio De Rosa has come out with a new spoof iPhone ad that shows how Apple could easily remove the notch by adding a slide out camera to the top of the iPhone. Xiaomi actually implemented the idea on its latest flagship phone, but after watching this video, you might start jonesing for Apple to do the same.

Concept iPhone case makes true wireless charging a reality

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Ossia
Ossia's iPhone cases will be a total game changer.
Photo: Ossia

CES 2019 bug: Concept iPhone case makes true wireless charging a reality The era of using cables to charge your iPhone may finally be coming to an end.

During CES 2019, Ossia, a company that specializes in creating truly wireless charging solutions, debuted its first case for iPhone that can take radio waves out of the air and convert them into useable electricity.

Truck with secret Apple payload crashes, killing security guard

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Apple adds 5 new vice presidents to its executive lineup
Tragic incident took place on Wednesday.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

A box truck, featuring armed guards reportedly looking after a “special load” for Apple, was tragically involved in a fatal crash this week.

The incident took place Wednesday on Highway 101 in San Jose. It happened in the early hours of the morning and left one former police officer dead, and another injured. The driver, who survived, is said to have fallen asleep at the wheel.

iSenberg? Breaking Bad game coming to iOS

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Breaking-Bad 2
Coming soon to a mobile device near you.
Photo: HBO

Breaking Bad is coming to iOS. No, we’re not talking about Aaron “Jesse Pinkman” Paul signing up for one of Apple’s original TV shows, but rather a new Breaking Bad game coming to mobile devices.

The upcoming Breaking Bad: Criminal Elements is seemingly set during the timeline of the show’s original run. The game features key characters including meth-cooking science teacher Walter White and drug world baddies like Gus Fring, Saul Goodman and Mike Ehrmantraut. The game should land on iPhones later this year, b**ch!

Popular VLC video player is getting AirPlay support

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VLC AirPlay
VLC will make it easy to stream to Apple TV from anywhere.
Photo: VideoLAN

CES 2019 bugPopular open-source video player VLC is getting AirPlay support “in about a month.” VideoLan, the team behind it, also plans to make it easier for users to switch to VLC from iTunes.

The confirmation comes just as VLC celebrated a staggering 3 billion downloads — around a quarter of which came from mobile devices.

Finally! Apple’s bringing HomeKit to your favorite TVs and gadgets, this week on The CultCast

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CultCast 370 Lisa
You'll soon be able to control your favorite TVs and gadgets right from your iPhone.
Photo: @YSR50

This week on The CultCast: Smart window blinds, smart plugs, smart lights, smart locks and now … the best televisions on the market. Apple just revealed big moves to bring HomeKit to all your favorite gadgets, and Cupertino is just getting started. In 2019, the smart HomeKit devices we’ve always wanted finally arrive. Plus: Tim Cook just let it slip — Apple’s got new services lined up for release this year, but what could they be? We think we might just know.

Our thanks to LinkedIn for supporting this episode. A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters. Head to LinkedIn.com/cultcast and get a $50 credit toward your first job post.

Former CEO John Sculley thinks Apple will disrupt healthcare

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Former Apple CEO John Sculley talks at Web Summit 2015 in Dublin, Ireland.
John Sculley ran Apple from 1983 to 1993.
Photo: Web Summit/Flickr CC

Former Apple CEO John Sculley agrees with Tim Cook that healthcare is a great area for Apple to move into. It may even, he suggests, “be the great legacy that [Cook is] talking about.”

Tim Cook recently made the comments about health in an interview with CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer. He said that health services may wind up being, “Apple’s greatest contribution to mankind.”

Online retailers start cutting iPhone prices in China

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iPhone sales are finally rebounding in China
Can Apple reinvigorate iPhone sales in China?
Photo: Tim Cook/Weibo

As expected, Apple resellers have started cutting the price of the iPhone in China. Today, popular e-commerce platforms JD.com and Suning reduced the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone XR’s asking price — with some price tags dropping by as much as 22 percent.

For what it’s worth, the iPhone prices remain unchanged on Apple’s official website in China.

2019 iPhones’ big feature will be an extra camera lens

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2019 iPhone render 2
A recent render showing how the 2019 iPhone may look.
Photo: OnLeaks/Digit.in

Expect to see an extra lens for each of the 2019 iPhone models, claims a new report from the Wall Street Journal. In the case of the iPhone XS and XS Max sequel, this will mean jumping from two to three lenses. In the case of the iPhone XR follow-up, it means moving from one to two lenses.

This report appears to back up another recent rumor, suggesting that the new top-tier iPhone will sport a series of camera lenses arranged in a triangle configuration.

Lady Gaga removes R. Kelly collab from Apple Music and iTunes

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Gaga 2
A wax sculpture of Lady Gaga at Madame Tussauds London.
Photo: Hilary_JW/Wikipedia CC

Lady Gaga has taken the step of removing a single track from her 2013 album Artpop from both Apple Music and iTunes — with other streaming music services to follow.

The reason? Because the song, “Do What U Want,” features R. Kelly, whose history of alleged sexual and physical abuse against women and underage girls was recently the subject of a documentary series.