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News - page 665

iPod touch could make a comeback in 2019

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iPod touch 1
Remember the iPod touch? Sort of?
Photo: Apple

Apple’s phone-less iPhone might be getting a refresh. A leak indicates a new version of the iPod touch is in development.

And this might not be the only iOS product coming out of retirement: other recent reports have an updated iPad mini in the offing.

Apple Health Records initiative off to good if shaky start

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Health records firm worried policy supported by Apple will hurt patients
Your health records from over 160 hospitals, doctors, etc. can be collected so they're viewable on your iPhone.
Photo: Apple

Patients who’ve used the system Apple created to let iOS users see their medical history right on their mobile device are generally pleased with it.

That said, a small survey of users also showed there’s still room for improvement in this method for accessing health records.

Cops can’t force you to unlock phone with face or fingerprint scan

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Face ID iPhone X
Face ID is the start of a new wave of biometric security.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Being forced by police to unlock your smartphone with your face or fingerprint is illegal, a California judge recently ruled.

Previous U.S. judges had ruled that cops could use biometric data to make you unlock your device, but not your passcode. The newest ruling could be a landmark case for protecting the privacy of citizens, although law enforcement officials aren’t terribly excited about it.

Lonely egg cracks Kylie Jenner’s record for most likes on Instagram

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Instagram egg
The world's most-liked egg.
Screenshot: world_record_egg/Instagram

A photo of an unremarkable egg has dethroned model and influencer Kylie Jenner for the most-liked post of all time on Instagram.

The egg popped up on Jan. 4 through an anonymous user who made it clear the egg was gunning for Jenner.

The creator of @world_record_egg egged on the community with this caption: “Let’s set a world record together and the most liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We got this.”

Apple says Qualcomm refused to sell it chips for iPhone XS and XR

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Qualcomm headquarters
Qualcomm and Apple's legal war has no end in sight.
Photo: Qualcomm

Apple wanted to use Qualcomm’s LTE modems in the iPhone XS and iPhone XR this year, but according to Apple COO Jeff Williams, Qualcomm refused to sell Apple its chips due to their current legal disputes.

After using both Intel and Qualcomm modems in the 2017 iPhone lineup, Apple says it planned to use chips from both companies again on the 2018 iPhones. Qualcomm’s refusal to sell Apple chips forced Intel to scramble to make up for the extra production.

Why Apple should buy a major movie studio

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A reboot of Amazong Stories is one of the many shows coming to the Apple TV service.
A reboot of Amazing Stories is coming to Apple’s TV service, but one analyst says it needs much, much more content.
Photo: Cult of Mac

The best way for Apple’s upcoming streaming video service to compete against already established competitors like Netflix is to buy a movie studio, according to an industry analyst.

Apple is reportedly going to introduce its video service in the first half of this year, and the analyst recommends buying Sony Pictures, Lionsgate or another studio to increase its offerings.

Adobe Lightroom now supports Shortcuts

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I sent this image to Lightroom with a Shortcut.
I sent this image to Lightroom with a Shortcut.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Adobe’s Lightroom, perhaps the best photo-editing app on iOS, now supports shortcuts. That is, it supports one shortcut, letting you load photo into it from the camera roll, or any other place your find images in iOS.

Wouldn’t a simple Open In… option suffice? Perhaps, but by adding just one simple shortcut, Adobe has also added quite a few powerful possibilities.

Nike’s futuristic self-tying shoes will be controlled by iPhone

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Kyle Kuzma
Kyle Kuzma's reaction to Nike's self-tying shoes is priceless.
Photo: Nike

Nike just posted a major teaser for the release of its self-lacing shoes set to debut tomorrow and it looks like the iPhone will play a major role with the new sneakers.

The teaser video Nike put out today shows some popular basketball players trying on the new shoes. Nike appears to have created an iPhone app that lets you adjust the laces without touching your feet. Even though the shoes can’t be seen in the video, it’ll certainly get you hyped for the future of basketball shoes.

Watch some of the NBA’s stars get wowed:

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.

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.