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News - page 789

Amazon could beat Apple to $1 trillion market cap by one week

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Apple is worth more than the entire US energy sector combined
Apple remains no. 1... for now.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Amazon could beat Apple to become the world’s first $1 trillion company, a new report suggests.

While Apple’s market cap currently stands at $893 billion to Amazon’s $752 billion, the online retail giant is rapidly closing the gap. By current trajectories, it will beat Apple to the $1 trillion mark by a mere week.

Yes, we can? Apple wants to sign Obama to a content deal

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Obama at SXSW
President Obama wants to continue spreading his message.
Photo: WH.gov

Apple is reportedly battling with Netflix and Amazon to sign former President Barack Obama to a deal that would see him produce a high profile series of shows with wife Michelle Obama.

These shows will likely focus on the Obamas hosting conversations on a variety of topics, ranging from health care and climate change to nutrition. Unfortunately for Apple, it seems that Netflix may have this deal in the bag!

iOS nips at Android’s heels in user loyalty

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iPhone Loyalty
Apple fanboys get a bad name, but Android users are less likely to switch.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Americans are far less likely to switch between an iPhone and an Android smartphone than they once were. A new study shows that virtually all users of both types have little interest in moving to the other team.

Loyalty to Android is just slightly stronger than it is to iOS. Nevertheless, more people are switching away from Google’s operating system than they are Apple’s.

Hands on with Ottm’s wonderful wooden Apple Watch bands [Video]

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ottm
The Ottm wooden Apple Watch band in Gabonese Zebrawood.
Photo: Ottm

In the world of watch straps, we think Ottm, a manufacturer of wooden Apple Watch bands, offers one of the best unboxing experiences.

The box itself is plain and simple, but the package is thoughtfully designed, containing extra links and a pin removal tool that makes it very easy to adjust your new band.

The bands are awesome, too. Made from zebrawood and/or sandalwood, each hand-finished strap is eye-catching, comfortable and unique.

We made a video to show you what to expect. And, check out Ottm’s wooden Apple Watch bands in the Watch Store.

Kellogg’s beats Apple on ‘charisma’ (and so do 7 other surprising companies)

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Tim Cook’s Charisma
Surely Tim Cook has charisma.
Photo: Apple

Charisma is hard to judge, but apparently Apple doesn’t have it. Or at least it’s less charismatic than many rivals, including Amazon and Google.

“Compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others,” is how the Oxford dictionary defines charisma. Since Apple is known for generating a legion of fans — a cult, if you will — one would expect it to sit at the top of a new survey judging the charisma of various brands. Instead, the iPhone-maker ranked eighth.

Week’s best Apple deals: Get all-time low prices on iPads and iMacs!

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9.7-inch iPad
Get the best prices we've ever seen on these iPads and iMacs.
Photo: Apple

There are great deals, and then there are great deals. These are the latter kind: Right now, you can get the best prices we’ve ever seen on certain iPads and iMacs. Or you can score a $60 cash card when you purchase an Apple Watch from a certain retailer. You’ll find those great buys and more in this week’s roundup of the best Apple deals.

How the iPhone accelerated the career of an unknown photographer

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iPhone photos
Little league pitcher Mone Davis, one of the subjects Luisa Dörr photographed for TIME
Photo: Luisa Dörr

We post our iPhone photos on Instagram and are often content if an image gets a few dozen likes. Luisa Dörr’s iPhone pictures got her a gig at TIME magazine. With the assignment, she landed the magazine’s cover — 12 of them to be precise.

The resulting work featuring some of the world’s most powerful women was published late last year and accelerated the career of the young unknown photographer from a small village in Brazil.

Jurassic World Alive is Pokémon Go with a T. rex

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Jurassic World Alive
ARKit, uh, finds a way.
Photo: Universal/Ludia

People got bored of Pokémon Go pretty quickly, but 20-foot-tall flesh-eating dinosaurs prove way harder to ignore. That’s the gist of Jurassic World Alive, a new augmented reality game that’s coming to iOS this spring to coincide with the release of the new Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom movie.

Taking inspiration from the aforementioned Pokémon game, it lets you capture dinos by walking around, train them up, and then battle them against others. Check out the pretty awesome-looking trailer below.

Apple trumpets its plans for fixing factories

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Foxconn
But there's a definite chance of further delays.
Photo: Foxconn

Apple this week acknowledged it is still battling poor working conditions and environmental violations with some of its overseas supplier factories, but highlighted programs to solve ongoing issues, according to a company audit.

Apple’s annual Supplier Responsibility Report addressed conditions at 756 sites in 30 countries last year and scored facilities based on its Code of Conduct.

Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose likens Tim Cook to Donald Trump

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Axl
Rose apparently isn't the biggest fan of Tim Cook.
Photo: Raph_PH/Wikipedia CC

Tim Cook is the “Donald Trump of the music industry,” claims outspoken Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose.

There’s no further explanation from Rose, who posted the message on Twitter. It’s probably not meant as a compliment, though. Rose previously criticized Trump for appointing controversial ex-Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as his attorney general and accusing the president of “whining.”

Google Chrome is making passwords simpler to download

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Google Chrome password download
Importing to a password manager will be easy.
Photo: Francois Beaufort

Google is making it easier to download all your saved passwords from Chrome. It has long offered the ability to export the data, but the process has been complicated and cumbersome. That’s going to change “soon” with a new export system.

Google’s video calling app adds useful feature you don’t get with FaceTime

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Google Duo
Google Duo has added video voicemails.
Photo: Google

Google Duo, the FaceTime rival video calling app from Alphabet, has received an update adding an often-requested feature that FaceTime still doesn’t offer: video voicemails.

That means that, should you try and video call a person who doesn’t pick up, you can still record up to 30 seconds of video and send it them. These video messages can easily be played inside the Google Duo app. Check out the video explainer below.

General Magic documentary sheds light on Apple spinout’s glorious failure

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General Magic
General Magic wanted to build an iPhone-like device back in the 1990s.
Photo: General Magic

Are you familiar with General Magic? If you’re not, and you’re a fan of tech history, you really should be. A cutting edge startup founded by Andy Hertzfeld, Bill Atkinson and other veterans of the original Macintosh team, it was one of the most exciting tech companies of the 1990s — before it all came crashing down.

Now a new documentary is set to debut at the 17th Tribeca Film Festival, telling the story of General Magic and its efforts to build a breakthrough handheld computer.

‘Right to Repair’ bill could be coming to Apple’s home state

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Cult of Mac's buyback program pays good money for your gear, even broken ones.
Lawmaker Susan Talamantes Eggman wants to bring 'Right to Repair' to California.
Photo: Warren R.M. Stuart/Flickr CC

Apple’s home state of California could embrace the “Right to Repair” act if a new bill introduced by lawmaker Susan Talamantes Eggman is passed.

California is the 18th state in the U.S. to look into the possibility of making electronic devices easier to repair. The Right to Repair act would compel tech companies to release repair guides and make official parts available to any customers or third-party repair shops who want them. Doing so could have multiple benefits, such as reducing the amount of e-waste produced every year.

FBI seeks industry help unlocking iPhones and other devices

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FBI Director
FBI Director Christopher Wray says law enforcement should be able to access any phone.
Photo: FBI

The FBI wants the tech industry to help unlock thousands of smartphones and tablets involved in criminal cases each year.

FBI Director Christopher Wray did not single out any companies during his talk at a cybersecurity conference today. Still, Apple certainly sits at the top of his wish list.

Check out these amazing, creative iPhone home screens

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squeeze iPhone
Grip and squeeze could be a feature on future iPhones.
Photo: Dan Rubin/Twitter

It’s not like you can ever find the app you’re looking for on your various home screens anyway, so why not do something fancy with those icons instead? Like, making your home screen an expression of your inner chakra, man. Or getting in tune with the color harmonies of the universe or whatever.

Whatever hippie crap you’re using to justify it, the results can be amazing. And who knows — if you arrange your home screens by color, then maybe you’ll actually end up finding things faster.

Alexa’s random, creepy laugh scares the crap out of people

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Amazon Alexa
It's about time.
Photo: Amazon

Anyone afraid that the robot apocalypse is imminent might head to the panic room now: Reports are coming in that Amazon’s Alexa smart speaker has begun laughing all on its own.

People who claim to have experienced this generally say they’re not interacting with their Amazon Echo, but it will suddenly begin laughing. Many of the descriptions describe the robolaughter as “creepy.”

Apple might drop new iPad Pro with Face ID in June

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bezel free
Prepare for an all-new iPad Pro.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple will deliver a revamped iPad Pro during the June quarter of this year, according to a new report.

Inspired by the iPhone X, the device is expected to have significantly slimmer bezels and Face ID, and could make up for weaker-than-expected demand for Apple’s latest smartphones. Apple could also be planning a smaller, more affordable version of HomePod.

New LTE tech brings screaming speeds — but not to iPhones

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T-Mobile LTE speed test

Photo: T-Mobile

T-Mobile has increased LTE speeds to a staggering 500Mbps in New York City. It has become the first carrier to test commercial Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) technology, which sends 4G signals over unused 5GHz Wi-Fi channels to increase bandwidth, in the United States.

LAA will soon be expanding its reach across the U.S. — but you won’t be able to enjoy it on iPhone.

Apple Music update fixes streaming issues on Android

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music streaming
The latest release also includes Chromecast support.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple Music subscribers who use Android devices can now enjoy stable streaming. Apple’s latest update fixes the frustrating playback issues some users were facing on certain devices. It also adds the ability to listen to music videos in the background.