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News - page 660

Latest iOS beta confirms ‘Hey Siri’ in AirPods 2

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iOS 12.2 makes it clear you’ll be able to set up AirPods with “Hey Siri.”
iOS 12.2 makes it clear you’ll be able to set up AirPods with “Hey Siri.”
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Buried in the just-released iOS beta is a clear reference to using “Hey Siri” with Apple’s AirPods.  It’s generally assumed this addition — which will make it much easier for people on the move to give verbal commands ot their iPhone — won’t work with the current version.

And this is just one of the features expected in Apple’s next-generation wireless earbuds.

Luna Display update makes iPad a better MacBook second screen

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Luna Display easily converts an iPad into a second screen for your MacBook Pro.
The Luna Display adapter is so small you can hardly see it.
Photo: Astro HQ

A new version of the software that drives Astro HQ’s Luna Display promises to noticeably improve the screen refresh rate and latency for this dongle that lets an Apple tablet function as an external screen for a Mac.

The improvements have also been brought to Astropad Stiudio, this company’s app that turns an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil into drawing tools for a Mac.

iPhone, Apple Watch could get poison gas sensor

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A future Apple Watch might be able to alert you that you’re breathing poison.
A future Apple Watch might be able to alert you that you’re breathing poison.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple is considering adding a poison gas sensor to its mobile products. This would enable your iPhone or Apple Watch to detect if you’re being exposed to carbon monoxide or another harmful chemicals.

iOS 12.2 beta 1 brings Apple News to Canada

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News app top stories
Apple News has finally landed in Canada, eh.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS developers didn’t have to wait long for Apple to bust out new software for testing after the company put out iOS 12.1.3 just a few days ago.

The first iOS 12.2 beta was seeded to developers this morning bringing a host of new fixes and under-the-hood improvements. There are also a couple of new features, including support for Apple News for users in Canada for the first time ever.

HomeKit geofencing may soon gain pinpoint accuracy

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Apple Home Services chief Sam Jadallah left his post after less than three years.
HomeKit accessories could know to group themselves together based on exactly where they are.
Photo: Apple

Instead of you having to tell your HomeKit devices that they should work together, Apple wants its home-automation system to know when items are close to each other. The goal is to greatly simplify both setup and daily usage of HomeKit gear.

Sonos headphones will face off against Beats (and maybe Apple)

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sonos beam
Sonos is ready to bust out of the house.
Photo: Sonos

Apple’s Beats lineup of headphones could soon face some new competition from one of the HomePod’s biggest rivals.

Sonos is allegedly planning to create a set of premium headphones. Development for the over-the-ear buds is reportedly in the early stages, but they could launch by next year and offer some features rivals can’t.

Microsoft Office 365 available now from the Mac App Store

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Office Mac App Store
Your favorite apps could soon be available on any Apple device.
Photo: Apple

Just as expected, the Microsoft Office 365 suite is now available to download from the Mac App Store.

The bundle includes six apps — including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint — each of which can also be downloaded individually. They are free to obtain, but you’ll need a subscription to unlock even basic features in most of them.

Apple extends ‘limited time’ iPhone XR and XS trade-in offer in Japan

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iPhone sales
Apple's still trying to sell cheaper iPhones to customers.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s trade-in offer for the iPhone XS and XR in Japan shows no sign of being quite as “time limited” as Apple suggests.

Having previously been advertised in the country as ending January 31, Apple has now modified the end date to February 28. That gives fans in the country an extra month to take advantage of the deal. It also suggests that Apple still isn’t selling quite as many of its new handsets as it would like.

20 most important Macs of all time

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128k Mac and 21-inch iMac
Things have come a long way in 35 years.
Photo: iFixit

Today marks 35 years since the launch of the original Macintosh computer, the product which most defined Apple until the iPod and iPhone came along years later. The Mac changed the course of personal computing history, and started a product line which Apple continues today. But which Macs along the way rank as the biggest game changers?

We went right back to the start to bring you our picks for the top 20 most important Macs of all time.

Alien: Blackout on iOS is all about survival

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Blackout
Could this be one of the year's scarier games?
Photo illustration: Alien: Blackout

In space, no-one can hear you scream. When you’re playing a mobile game on the commute to work, everyone can. That rule could possibly apply to new Alien game Alien: Blackout, which launches in the App Store today.

Adopting a survival horror approach, similar to the brilliant Alien: Isolation, but with gameplay more akin to Five Nights at Freddy’s, it aims to be one of the scarier iOS titles of the year. Check out the trailer below.

Tim Cook celebrates the Mac on its 35th anniversary

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Macintosh
The very first Macintosh.
Photo: Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook took to Twitter today to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Mac.

Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder and former CEO, unveiled the very first Macintosh on January 24, 1984. The machine had been teased in a now-famous Super Bowl commercial two days earlier.

“It changed the way we think about computers and went on to change the world,” Cook says.

TiVo’s new Apple TV app will only stream at 720p, 30fps

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TiVo might not release an Apple TV app after all
Suddenly, TiVo's CES announcement sounds a bit less exciting.
Photo: TiVo

Plenty of people were excited when TiVo recently announced a new app coming to Apple TV, letting users watch live and recorded content without having to buy multiple TiVo boxes.

They may be a bit less excited when they hear about the app’s big limitation, however. According to a TiVo executive, it will offer streaming that’s limited to 720p resolution, with 30 frames-per-second.

Apple pays $2.5 million in annual rent for Chicago flagship store

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Chicago Apple Store 1
Yep, that's pretty prime real estate!
Photo: Apple

If you think your rent is expensive you might want to spare a thought for the amount Apple pays for its spectacular waterfront flagship store in Chicago.

Located on Chicago’s iconic “Magnificent Mile,” the iconic glass Apple Store with the MacBook-inspired roof costs Apple a massive $2.5 million in rent each year — and prices go up 10 percent every five years.

Acclaimed Steve Jobs opera coming to Seattle

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Ashton Kutcher and Michael Fassbender played Steve Jobs in movies. Now Edward Parks III brings his rich baritone voice to the Steve Jobs opera, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs as portrayed by Edward Parks III in the original Santa Fe version of the opera, circa 2017.
Photo: Dario Acosta/Santa Fe Opera

It’s not often that a business executive’s life can be described as operatic. If that’s true for anyone, though, it may well be Apple’s late CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs — whose life saw plenty of the kind of dramatic triumphs and failures that inform the best operas.

It’s therefore appropriate that Jobs’ life forms the basis for The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, a modern opera which is soon to make its debut in Seattle.

Ride over for 200 employees of Apple’s autonomous vehicle program

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Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Apple keeps so quiet about its vehicle program that this concept someone dreamed up is the best image we have.
Image: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Normally, Apple keeps mum about its self-driving car program but it has officially acknowledged a bit of restructuring in the project. This involved a reduction in its headcount.

The employees weren’t fired, and the move is being positioned as a restructuring after a new manager joined the program in August.

Apple poaches battery expert from Samsung

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The first iPhone XS teardown video shows the unusual L-shaped battery.
Apple hiring someone to be in charge of battery development is a strong sign future iPhone batteries could be made in-house.
Photo: FixjeiPhone

Apple‘s new global head of battery developments is very familiar with these critical components. Most recently, new Apple hire Soonho Ahn served as a vice president at Samsung SDI, a division of the Korean conglomerate that specializes in battery tech.

If Ahn’s new title doesn’t seem familiar, that’s because he appears to be the first person to hold this position at Apple.

Slim backpack hides even the biggest MacBooks and iPads in style

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The new Sutter Slim Backpack provides special pockets to store your Apple gear.
The new Sutter Slim Backpack provides special pockets to store your Apple gear.
Photo: WaterField Designs Sutter Slim Backpack

WaterField Designs’ new Sutter Slim Backpack keeps a low profile while swallowing up a 15-inch MacBook, a 12.9-inch iPad Pro and a bunch of other gear.

A few neat features make it sound like a pretty great way to carry all that tech we drag around everyday.

Quirky Apple Pay videos urge iPhone users to text cash

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Pay for your doughnut dash with help from Apple Pay.
Pay for your doughnut dash with help from Apple Pay.
Screenshot: Apple

It’s been a banner week for Apple Pay with big new retailers adopting this payment service. And now the company is piling on with a trio of short videos urging users to send money via the Messages app with Apple Pay Cash.

Like many  of this company’s videos, the entries in “They send, you spend” are both funny and informative.

Watch them now:

Create funky photo art with this double-exposure iPhone app

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Fusion
Who could do this to a selfie.
Photo: Fuzion

Of the countless apps for creating stunning effects to your iPhone photos, the best ones have two things in common: ease of use and effects that are actually stunning.

Fuzion, an artsy double-exposure iOS app, aspires to be in that elite stable of must-have photo styling apps. Its developers should know relatively quickly if they have a hit on their hands when it launches Thursday.

Hulu drops price of cheapest streaming tier

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Hulu1
Watching The Handsmade Tale just got cheaper.
Photo: Hulu

Catching up on your favorite network TV shows through Hulu is about to get a little bit cheaper.

Hulu revealed today that it will lower the price of its most affordable tier from $8 to $6 per month. Of course, the new pricing comes with some compromises but it could help the streaming service gain some ground on its competition.

Foxconn hiring spree allays some iPhone fears

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iPhone XR test
A top iPhone maker hiring thousands of new people is a strong sign that sales aren’t in a freefall.
Photo: Apple

A recent unconfirmed report indicated that Foxconn, who produces handsets for Apple, had laid off thousands of employees. But the company itself says it’s actually hiring 50,000 people, a sign that iPhone sales aren’t a weak as some fear.

Still, there are indications of a slowdown in Foxconn production, just not a dramatic one.