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News - page 690

Apple is bringing Steve Carell back to TV

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The Office
This sounds like the perfect role for Carell.
Photo: NBC Universal

Steve Carell is finally making his return back to the small screen after reportedly signing a deal to join one of Apple’s new TV shows.

Apple struck a deal with Carell to star alongside Jennifer Anniston and Reese Witherspoon for its comedy TV series about a struggling morning TV show. The role will be Carell’s first since starring in The Office.

Group FaceTime for Mac is nearly ready for launch

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Group FaceTime Mac
The most significant improvement coming in macOS 10.14.1 is Group FaceTime.
Photo: Apple

Beta testing for macOS 10.14.1 began the day after the launch of its predecessor, macOS Mojave. A month later, the release of this new version could be drawing close.

Developers just got their hands on the fifth beta. Which might be the last.

Standing in line is now the only option to get an iPhone XR on Friday

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iPhone XR
There's no reward for procrastination when pre-ordering an iPhone XR.
Photo: Apple

If you haven’t already preordered an iPhone XR, the only way to get one on its release date is to head to a nearby Apple Store and hope they have one in stock.

Preorders for these colorful new handsets started last Friday, and until now devices were arriving on Oct. 26. Not any more.

App Store search ads could be worth billions by 2020

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App Store
The App Store has undergone major renovations.
Photo: Apple

Analysts are predicting big things for Apple’s App Store business ahead of the company’s Q4 2018 earnings report coming on November 1.

Search ads from the App Store could generate over $500 million in revenue during all of 2018, according to Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi. Even better, Sacconahi thinks the App Store ad business could be worth a whopping $2 billion by the end of 2020.

Why I wish I’d bought the iPhone XR instead of the iPhone XS

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iPhone X-R-llent.
iPhone X-R-llent.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone XS might be Apple’s best phone yet, but the iPhone XR will probably be Cupertino’s best-seller ever. It could even beat out the record-breaking iPhone 6, which proved so successful it skewed Apple’s sales numbers for years after its launch.

Why? Because the XR is cooler, cheaper and bigger than the top-of-the line iPhone XS, and nobody who buys it will care about the other differences. I almost wish I’d waited and bought one of these instead of the iPhone XS.

The iPad mini might not be dead after all

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iPad mini
The new iPad mini is more affordable when you sell your old one.
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

Apple is allegedly making a new iPad mini, according to one of the most reliable Apple analysts around. And new AirPods might be on the way, too.

TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told investors today that he expects Apple to release two new iPad Pros at the October event in New York City. Even more surprising is Kuo’s claim that an iPad mini is in the works.

Apple refuses to give up on AirPower wireless charger

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AirPower
The AirPower multi-device charger is really very late, but it's apparently still coming.
Photo: Apple

Over a year ago, Apple announced AirPower, an accessory that’ll wirelessly charge three devices at once.  It has yet to be released, but there’s definite evidence the project hasn’t been abandoned.

The documentation for the new iPhone XR makes a clear mention of this unreleased product.

Update: A respected analyst predicts that AirPower will be released, but might not make Apple’s current deadline.

Apple teams up with French school to teach Swift coding

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Swift Crypto will help more developers than ever to build secure applications
Apple is spreading its Swift curriculum around the world.
Photo: Apple

Apple is teaming up with a French digital vocational school Simplon to teach Swift coding to learners. Swift is the language used for developing iOS apps.

“Proud to announce our new training program in partnership with France’s [Simplon], teaching the basics of coding with Swift,” Tim Cook wrote in a tweet. “Learning to code unlocks a world of creativity and potential.”

Today in Apple history: OS 9 is ‘classic Mac’ operating system’s last stand

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Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 brought welcome new features.
Photo: Developers-Club

October 23: Today in Apple history: OS 9 is 'classic Mac' operating system's last stand October 23, 1999: Apple releases Mac OS 9, the last version of the classic Mac operating system before the company will make the leap to OS X a couple years later.

It does not veer far from OS 8 in terms of look and feel. However, OS 9 adds a few nifty features that make it well worth the upgrade.

Apple opens new Beats 1 studio in New York City

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Beats 1 will be the first channel to announce MTV's 2015 VMA nominees.
Are you a Beats 1 listener?
Photo: Apple

Apple has opened a New York studio for its Beats 1 radio station. The new office is located in Manhattan’s Union Square. It joins other broadcasting studios in London and Los Angeles.

“I want this space to represent the sound and energy of New York, and how multicultural this city is,” said Ebro Darden, who hosts a hip hop music-based radio show on Beats 1. Zane Lowe, one of the first DJs to join Beats 1, described it as a “huge moment” for the station. “We are fully functioning in one of the greatest cities in the world now,” he said.

Amazon and Super Micro also want retraction of spy chip story

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Tim Cook
Tim Cook previously asked Bloomberg to retract story.
Photo: Apple

The CEO of Amazon Web Services and the CEO of Super Micro have joined Apple CEO Tim Cook is asking Bloomberg to retract its recent spy chip story.

All three companies were named in a recent Bloomberg Businessweek article claiming that Chinese spy chips had been embedded into hardware supplied by Super Micro. Since the story first broke, Super Micro lost more than half its value in a single day. Unsurprisingly, it’s not happy about it. And clearly neither is Amazon.

Apple hustles through iOS 12.1 beta process

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The wait for iOS 12.1 public beta 5 was so short you could have napped through it.
The wait for iOS 12.1 public beta 5 was so short you could have napped through it.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The fifth beta version of iOS 12 was released exclusively to developers this morning. But it turns out everyone else didn’t have to wait very long because the public beta is already available.

In past beta cycles, Apple has made the public wait as much as a week to get a new pre-release version after developers could access it. The iOS 12.1 beta process is much more fast and loose.

Serious GasBuddy bug locks up iPhones [Updated]

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GasBuddy makes it easy to see where refueling will cost you less.
Ordinarily, GasBuddy shows you nearby fuel prices. Right now, it might lock up your iPhone.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Avoid using the latest version of the GasBuddy app on your iPhone. The developer admits it is causing problems and has temporarily withdrawn it from the App Store until a fix can be released.

UPDATE: A fixed version of GasBuddy is available on the App Store. Users of this service should install this new version immediately.

GasBuddy lists crowdsourced gasoline prices. It’s free and useful enough to make our list of 50 essential iOS apps.

Muse used iPad artist for spacey cover of new album

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An iPad Pro is the canvas for the artwork for Muse's Simulation Theory album.
An iPad Pro is the canvas for the artwork for Muse's Simulation Theory album.
Photo: Kyle Lambert

Too many people assume that it takes a MacBook Pro or something similar to create serious digital art, while an iPad is more of a toy. The best response to that is a new video showing album artwork for Muse’s new Simulation Theory album being created with an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil.

Echo sells better but HomePod sells smarter

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

Amazon’s line up of Echo speakers accounts for 63 percent of all smart speakers in use, while Apple’s late-to-market offering, the HomePod, has just a 4 percent share of the market.

While the results of a quarterly consumer survey, published today in a report by Strategy Analytics, seem daunting for Apple, the numbers reflect only one side of the story.

iPhone XS Max destroys Pixel 3 XL in speed test

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iPhone XS Max
Pixel 3 XL can't keep up with the iPhone XS Max.
Photo: PhoneBuff

Google’s new Pixel 3 XL smartphone is supposed to be the company’s best challenger yet to the iPhone. But when it comes to speed, Google still can’t keep up.

YouTuber PhoneBuff put the two new smartphones through a real-world simulated speed test and found that the Google Pixel 3 has some serious shortcomings when it comes to performance. Despite boasting a spec sheet that looks nearly as good as the iPhone XS Max’s, the Pixel 3 XL came in more than a minute slower than the iPhone XS Max.

Watch Google’s new phone get dominated.

iPhone XR could easily outsell iPhone XS

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Long-term iPhone XR demand could eventually lead to greater sales than the iPhone XS.
Sellers are desperately hoping for a sales boost.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone XR just debuted on Friday, and an esteemed analyst says it outsold last year’s iPhone 8 on their respective opening weekends.

The analyst goes on to predict that Apple’s newest handset will eventually outsell the iPhone XS models that launched last month.

Tim Cook showcases new apps and iPhone film during EU trip

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Tim Cook
French filmmaker Claude Lelouch and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Photo: Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook is taking a trip through Europe before the company’s big iPad event in New York next week.

During his pitstop in Germany and France, Cook was busy checking out some new iPhone projects and apps that could be total game changers as well as film from one of the most legendary directors in France who’s ditching his big rigs to shoot on iPhone onle.

New renders show 2018 iPad Pro in all its glory

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The 2018 iPad Pro has supposedly been redesigned without without the Home button. And without a Lightning port too.
The 2018 iPad Pro has supposedly been redesigned without without the Home button. And without a Lightning port too.
Photo: Viktor Kádár

Apple is expected to unveil the next-generation iPad Pro at the end of this month. An industrial design student from Hungary. just couldn’t wait. 

He created a collection of images of this upcoming tablet showcasing the significant redesign that’s been all over the Internet. The rumored USB-C port isn’t overlooked either.

iPhone XR repairs are surprisingly cheap

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The iPhone XR will feature Haptic Touch. But just what is that?
You should still buy AppleCare+.
Photo: Apple

Apple has confirmed its pricing for iPhone XR repairs and it’s surprisingly reasonable.

It will certainly leave a dent in your bank account if you break your screen without AppleCare+, but repairing an iPhone XR doesn’t cost much more than repairing an iPhone 8. It’s considerably cheaper than fixing an iPhone XS or XS Max.

iPhone is the smartphone of choice for most American teens

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iPhone survey
The iPhone wins the smartphone popularity contest among teens.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

The iPhone is in the hands and pockets of more than 80 percent of U.S. teens, according to a survey conducted by the investment firm Piper Jaffray.

Apple’s dominance among teens will continue to rise with 86 percent anticipating their next smartphone will be an iPhone, according to the Taking Stock with Teens survey.

Epic Games teases ‘Fortnitemares’ event for Halloween

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Fortnite Fortnitemares
Are you ready?
Photo: Epic Games

Epic Games won’t let any season or event pass by without celebrating it inside Fortnite Battle Royale, so it’s no surprise the company has something big up its sleeve for Halloween. Get ready for the mysterious “Fortnitemares.”

Teased on Twitter over the weekend, Fortnitemares is … some kind of … something. All we really know so far is that it will be popping up in Battle Royale soon.