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News - page 695

You can now use Apple Pay at CVS

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Apple Pay Terminal
Shopping at CVS just got easier.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

CVS Pharmacy has finally completed its Apple Pay rollout in stores across the U.S.

It slowly started adding support a few weeks ago, but customers should now be able to enjoy it at all locations nationwide. The rollout comes several months after Tim Cook promised that CVS and 7-Eleven would be adopting Apple Pay.

Is Apple prepping big Mac updates for an October event? Catch our discussion on The CultCast

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CultCast 357 MacBook Pro
Almost the entire Mac line is due for an update.

This week on The CultCast: Is Apple preparing to dump a bunch of much-needed Mac updates on us? We discuss. Plus: Something very strange is going on with the Mac — we fill you in. And is MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar actually useful? We give you our brutally honest opinions. And stay tuned for another episode of CultCast 2nd Hour. This time: Siri Shortcuts, explained!

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first hosting plan or domain.

Nintendo’s Dragalia Lost is killing it on mobile

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Dragalia Lost
Are you playing Dragalia Lost yet?
Photo: Nintendo

Dragalia Lost, the latest mobile game from Nintendo, has been killing it during its first two weeks of availability — despite being available only in a handful of markets.

New data reveals the action RPG pulled in an estimated $3.5 million during the first five days alone, making it more successful than the beloved Animal Crossing: Fire Camp. More than half of its players are on iOS.

TMSC will be Apple’s exclusive manufacturer for next year’s A13 chips

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Gather_Round_A12Bionic 2
The A12 Bionic chip was great. What will the A13 chip offer?
Photo: Apple

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has been the exclusive manufacturer of Apple’s A-series mobile chips since 2016, and it appears that this arrangement will continue on into 2019.

According to a new report, TSMC will be producing all of the orders for Apple’s A13 series chip next year, thereby continuing to cement its position as one of the most dominant chipmakers in the industry.

Photo shows what may be Thailand’s first Apple Store

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Thailand Apple Store
A glimpse at the (possible) new Apple Store.
Photo: Siampod

We may well have confirmation of the opening of the first Apple Store in Thailand, thanks to an image shared on social media. While it doesn’t reveal the retail store in all its completed grandeur, it does show a building with recognizable glass exterior and, of course, that all-important logo.

Apple wants your iPhone to warn you of spoofed calls

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Fraudster steals $16k from victim posing as Apple tech support
"Hello ma'am, this is, ugh, John from your bank. Could you tell me your account number?"
Photo: Donald Tong/Pexels CC

Everyone loathes telemarketers, but  phone scammers are much worse. Spoofers are people who trick the phone system into mis-identifying the number they are calling from. This causes people to believe they are talking to their bank or credit card company, not a criminal. Apple wants to help prevent phone spoofing.

The company filed a patent application for a system to automatically identify when an incoming call isn’t coming from where it says it is.

Kanye surprises Apple store with bizarre tabletop ‘keynote’

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Kanye West's new album Ye drops today on Apple Music (and elsewhere).
Ye, Ima let you finish, but Steve Jobs was the greatest keynote speaker of all-time.
Photo: Mark Azali/Flickr CC

Customers at the Apple store in Washington D.C. we’re taken by surprise this afternoon by an impromptu keynote hosted by Kanye West.

After telling Trump this morning that Apple should make the president an iPlane, West apparently went to a nearby Apple store and asked if he could hold a keynote on top of iPhone and iPad display tables.

The entire scene looks amazingly bizarre:

Over 50% of iPhones and iPads now run iOS 12

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iOS 12
iOS 12 runs on any device that supported iOS 11.
Photo: Apple

iOS 12 is now officially the most popular version of iOS in existence, according to the latest adoption numbers from Apple.

After being released to the public less than a month ago, Apple is reporting that iOS 12 is now being run on 50% of all iPhones and iPads, making it one of the fastest adopted upgrades yet.

Facebook turns iPhone bokeh images into 3D Photos

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Facebook can turn a Bokeh image into a 3D one.
Facebook can turn a Bokeh image into a 3D one.
Photo: Facebook

Bokeh images look sort of three dimensional, with their subjects in focus and their backgrounds blurry. Facebook took this idea and ran with it. The social networking service created tech to turn bokeh pictures into 3D images.

NSA can’t find evidence of Chinese spy chips in Apple servers

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computer chip
If there are Chinese spy chips concealed on Apple data servers, the NSA can't find them.
Photo: JÉSHOOTS/Pexels

The tech world has been rocked by allegations that companies, including Apple and Amazon, were sold data servers compromised by Chinese spies. However, a senior cyber security advisor to the National Security Agency says that no one he knows of has found any sign of this.

Kanye wants Apple to build Trump an ‘iPlane 1’

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Kanye
Oh look, Kanye said something crazy again.
Photo: Bloomberg

Kanye West wants President Donald Trump to ditch Air Force One and force Apple to build him a really neat concept airplane that he saw a GIF of on the internet.

No, this is not a new episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. This is what American politics have devolved to. During a visit to the White House today, West shared a bunch of his outlandish ideas with the president — while revealing his totally insecure iPhone passcode in the process.

New sign indicates iPad Pro update is imminent

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2018 iPad Pro concept art
The new iPads can't come soon enough.
Photo: Álvaro Pabesio

The long wait for new iPad Pros may be nearly over if a recent filing by Apple in Asia is any indication that Apple has finalized its product lineup.

This week it was discovered that Apple just registered three new iPad models with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Apple also registered a new Bluetooth device with MIIT, which could be a new Apple Pencil for the iPads.

Apple’s second-generation mapping vehicles spotted in the wild

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apple maps
The new Apple Maps vehicle spotted in LA.
Photo: BusinessInsider

Apple’s fleet of vehicles used to gather data for Apple Maps appears to have gotten a significant upgrade and it could help make Apple Maps even better.

People in the Los Angeles area have spotted a second-generation version of Apple’s mapping vehicles in the wild. Unlike the previous version, these cars aren’t vans, as Apple has opted to use Subaru SUVs instead.

Foxconn’s stellar September suggests strong iPhone XS sales

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Foxconn employees accused of $43 million iPhone scam
Apple and Foxconn have especially close business ties.
Photo: Foxconn

Foxconn is best known for assembling iPhones, so it’s watched as a sign of demand for Apple’s most important product.  The Chinese company just reported its revenue increased 30 percent last month, an indication that there’s plenty of demand for the iPhone XS models that debuted in September.

This is just the latest hint that Apple’s latest are performing well.

Apple Music now offers Genius annotations and lyrics

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iPhone with Genius
Level up your music knowledge today.
Photo: Genius

If you’ve ever wanted to dive more deeply into the music you love, boy, have we got the announcement for you! Starting today, digital media company Genius (formerly Rap Genius) is teaming up with Apple Music to provide annotations and song lyrics to “thousands of songs” on the platform.

iPhone XR could be bigger than iPhone 8 in one key market

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iPhone XR test
iPhone XR could be more popular than you think.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone XR is expected to enjoy a strong start in China later this month as a result of the lack of innovation from local brands and weakening demand for their devices, according to one reliable analyst.

Apple’s new handset, which will start at $749 in the U.S., could see bigger demand than last year’s iPhone 8 lineup.

Don’t be fooled by the 2018 AirPods ‘leak’

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AirPods sales
New AirPods this year? Probably not.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple could surprise us with updated AirPods before the end of 2018. But don’t be fooled by supposed “leaked” photos that claim to offer our first glimpse at the new headphones and their packaging.

The publisher claims the refresh will bring Apple’s long-awaited wireless charging case, better sound, and more. Some things just don’t add up in this case, however.

Popular medication tracking app gets Health Records integration

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Medicsafe app 1
Medisafe lets you easily track medication without having to manually enter it into the app.
Photo: Medisafe

Popular medication management app Medisafe has added support for Apple’s Health Records service. This means that users can more easily track the medication that they are supposed to be taking, without having to manually enter it into the app.

That’s useful not just for reminder purposes, but also for more easily and accurately tracking dosage and avoiding potentially lethal drug interactions. As a result, it could potentially save lives.

Stolen Apple IDs reportedly used for Chinese mobile payment thefts

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Alipay
Alipay is one of the mobile payment services where users have reportedly had money taken.
Photo: Alipay

Hackers in China have used stolen Apple IDs to make off with cash from customers’ Alipay and Tencent accounts, two popular Chinese mobile payments service.

In a post on Weibo, Alipay said that it has contacted Apple to determine the exact details of the breach. It also warned that users who have linked their Apple IDs to mobile payment services should lower their transaction limits. Tencent has also gotten in contact with Apple.

Two women wanted for stealing $6,000 of devices from Apple Store

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Virginia Apple Store
The Apple Store where the robberies took place.
Photo: Apple

Police may have arrested those responsible for the recent spate of Apple Store organized thefts across California, but that’s unfortunately not the end of people targeting Apple Stores for robberies.

In Virginia Beach, VA, police are looking to identify two women accused of stealing more than $6,000 worth of Apple devices over a single weekend. The main devices stolen were Apple Watches.

Apple makes massive deal to buy part of Dialog chipmaker

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The iPhone XS Max is 25 percent larger than any previous iOS handset. So how is it as an iPad mini replacement?
Apple has used Dialog Semiconductor's tech dating back to the first iPhone.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple is paying $300 million in cash to purchase part of Dialog Semiconductor, a European chipmaker that Apple has been working with since the first iPhone.

The investment is part of Apple’s strategy to develop superior chipsets which will help it stand out and differentiate itself in the battle with rival smartphone and other mobile device makers.

Apple will donate to Hurricane Michael recovery and relief efforts

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money
Apple is donating some of its hard-earned cash to a great cause.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple will donate to relief efforts for Hurricane Michael, the most powerful hurricane ever to hit north-west Florida. According to emergency services, the storm left around 500,000 people without electricity in Florida, Alabama and Georgia.

Tim Cook made note of Apple’s decision in a series of tweets sent out late Wednesday, in which he said that he grew up on in the part of the Gulf Coast being affected by the hurricane. As a result, it is an area he shares a “special” connection with.

Mac sales declined in Q3, despite new MacBook Pros

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2018 MacBook Pro
Even the shiny new 2018 MacBook Pro models couldn't save Mac sales last quarter.
Photo: Apple

The third quarter of this year wasn’t a particularly good one for Apple, with Mac sales dropping a significant amount. That doesn’t say positive things about sales of the 2018 MacBook Pro models that debuted this summer.

Still, the company held onto its place as the world’s fourth-largest PC maker.

Apple plans to give away its $1 billion TV shows

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Apple TV
Apple is loading up with original content.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s new TV streaming service will allegedly debut in early 2019 — and all those original Apple TV shows won’t cost customers anything, according to a recent report.

Despite planning to spend more than $1 billion on original content this year, Apple will supposedly give away its original content to customers that already own an iPhone, iPad or Apple TV.

Samsung might copy Apple’s homicidal take on headphone jacks

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Here's how much space the Galaxy S9 headphone jack takes up.
Space inside a smartphone is precious; here's how much the Galaxy S9 headphone jack takes up.
Photo: IFIXIT

There were howls of protest when Apple left the 3.5mm headphone jack out of the iPhone 7, but it was really just another example of the company being ahead of the competition. Arch-rival Samsung is reportedly going to be the next to eliminate this single-use port from its flagship phones next year.