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News - page 805

Developer demos ‘portable hole’ augmented reality effect with ARKit

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TheParallaxView
A portable hole made with ARKit and an iPhone X
Photo: Peder Norrby Peder Norrby

 

Taking a journey down virtual rabbit holes may not be far away.

With the Pokemon Go craze now a thing of the past, developers are looking for other uses for augmented reality. Peder Norrby has created an app that shows off some of the possibilities of Apple’s ARKit and the iPhone X: a portable hole.

Spotify is finally going public

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Spotify
The Spotify IPO is finally here.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Music’s biggest competition is about to get an influx of Wall Street cash.

Spotify finally filed documents for an initial public offering, after rumors of going public had been floating around for years. According to reports, the company could be worth as much as much as $23 billion, but it’s still not profitable.

Remaster music on your iPhone or iPad with Grand Finale

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mixer
Mastering music mixes makes musicians mad.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Mastering is the final stage of making a record. After all the playing, recordings, and mixing is done, you send the stereo track off to the best mixing guru you can afford, and they work their special magic, probably surrounded by all kinds of fancy machines.

And while you probably don’t have the experts’ golden ears, or their golden years of experience, now you can have a crack at mastering right there on your iPad (or even iPhone), with Klevgränd’s new mastering app, Grand Finale.

Cool new HealthKit gadgets can measure practically anything

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Cool new HealthKit-compatible gadgets at MWC
New HealthKit gadgets make health and fitness easier than ever.
Photos: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Mobile World Congress 2018 BARCELONA, Spain — Smart sperm testers, body cavity inspectors, Bluetooth pillows, holographic jump ropes and contactless thermometers. It’s all just another day at Mobile World Congress, where more and more companies show off their new HealthKit-compatible gadgets.

If you want your iPhone to know absolutely everything about what’s going on with your body, these handy medical devices are for you. Here’s what they do — and why they’re cool.

6 things Apple should do to fix Siri

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Siri display
"I don't have these features. Would you like me to search the web for you?"
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Siri kind of sucks, despite its increasingly prominent role in the Apple ecosystem.

With the general verdict on the HomePod being “great speaker, shame about Siri,” what does Apple need to do in order to catch up with its rivals? Here are six Siri improvements we’d love to see Apple implement as soon as possible.

Worries arise as Apple hands over iCloud accounts to China

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Apple Store
Apple has had a number of challenges growing its market in China.
Photo: Apple

Apple has completed the transition of iCloud accounts registered in China to state-run Chinese servers, and privacy and human rights advocates are (rightfully) worried.

In addition to transferring the accounts to state-run servers, Apple may have also transferred the digital keys to Chinese jurisdiction, although Apple says it retains control of them. Nonetheless, it’s a concerning event — especially at a time when people are already worried about Xi Jinping, ruler of the Communist Party of China, ramping up censorship as part of the bid to establish himself as president for life.

Apple Watch can now track snowboarding and skiing activities

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Skier
The Apple Watch is an incredibly versatile fitness tracker.
Photo: Apple

The Apple Watch continues its mission to become the most versatile fitness trackers around, with Apple today introducing the ability for Apple Watch Series 3 wearers to track detailed information about both snowboarding and skiing runs.

Skiers and snowboarders running watchOS 4.2 can now use their Apple wearable to measure these activities, via new updates to apps available in the App Store. Users can record runs, see vertical descent and other stats, and contribute active calorie measurements directly to the Apple Watch Activity app.

Tekken card battler smashes its way onto iPhones

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Tekken Mobile
It's just like the fighting game you know... but with cards.
Photo: Bandai Namco

Like Tekken? Have an iPhone? Then you might just want to check out Tekken Mobile, a new worldwide release of the iOS fighting game that soft-launched this past summer.

Unlike it’s console big brother, however, this isn’t a direct port of Tekken in the style of, say, Street Fighter IV: Champion Edition. Instead, it’s a simpler card-based “swipe fighter” game reminiscent of a title like the mobile version of Injustice 2. Check out a couple of videos below.

Activists want you to boycott Apple over NRA app

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NRA app
Celebrities and activists want Apple to ditch its NRA apps.
Photo: NRA

Apple is one of three companies, including Amazon and FedEx, named in a celebrity and activist boycott of companies with supposed ties to the National Rifle Association (NRA).

If you’re wondering about what possibly links the typically progressive Apple could have with the more conservative NRA, it’s apparently related to Apple’s silence over whether it will remove the NRAtv streaming TV station.

Vintage computer museum on sale with 80 classic Macs

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Benj Edwards Computer Collection
This is about half of Benj Edwards‘ computer collection
Photo: Benj Edwards

Many people can’t bear to part with their old computers, and slowly build a collection of aging models in their basement. Benj Edwards took that impulse to the next level: He owns at least 228 unique devices, many of them classic Apple products going back to the 1980s.

Now he’s put them all up for sale. Ready to start your own computer museum?

Former Apple exec tapped to lead Computer History Museum

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Dan’l Lewin in NeXT’s Palo Alto, California, offices, 1986–1987.
Dan’l Lewin in NeXT’s Palo Alto, California, offices, 1986–1987.
Photo: Doug Menuez

The Computer History Museum named former Apple executive Dan’l Lewin as its new CEO and President today.

Lewin was one of Steve Jobs’ top guys back in the early days of Apple. He served in a number of marketing roles from 1981 to 1985 and was recruited by Jobs to join his new company, NeXT, after Jobs was fired from Apple.

Apple drops some photography tips in new iPhone ads

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iPhone X
iPhone X takes the best still images.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Want to take your iPhone photos to the next level? Apple’s got a few tips that just might do the trick.

The iPhone-maker dropped two new ads today that are focused on helping iPhone users improve the composition and framing of their photos. Apple’s new how-to videos cover using the telephoto lens on the iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. There’s also some info on how to experiment with framing.

Watch both ads right here:

Gold iPhone X mockup looks absolutely stunning

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iPhone X
The 2018 iPhone lineup could be prettier than ever.
Photo: Martin Hajek

Gold iPhones are set to make a big comeback in 2018 and based on these gorgeous mockups, the wait will definitely be worth it.

Concept designer Martin Hajek has busted out a few mockups on what the 2018 gold iPhone X might look like with both black, white and gold highlights dominating the device.

Take a look:

Apple picks up thriller series from M. Night Shyamalan

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

Apple is teaming up with M. Night Shyamalan for a mysterious new TV project.

Shyamalan reportedly struck a deal with Apple to executive produce a new TV show that’s being described as a psychological thriller, but other details are being kept under wraps.

These smart glasses get me excited about how cool Apple Glasses could be

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Trying out the Vuzix Blade augmented reality smart glasses at Mobile World Congress 2018.
The Vuzix Blade AR smart glasses offer a glimpse of the future.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Mobile World Congress 2018 BARCELONA, Spain — The best product I’ve tried out at this year’s Mobile World Congress is the Vuzix Blade AR glasses. These smart specs superimpose a sharp, high-definition display over your regular vision, making real life resemble an awesome Xbox game.

The Blade basically delivers on everything that Google Glass tried to do, but without sucking. I was skeptical about the rumors that Apple is developing its own augmented reality glasses. But what I saw through the lens of a Vuzix Blade showed me how far this technology has come — and just how cool Apple AR glasses could be.

Woz got scammed out of $70,000 worth of bitcoin

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wozniak
Woz could've been rich off bitcoin, now he's just rich off Apple.
Photo: Reddit

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has a cautionary tale for people hoping to strike it rich off bitcoin.

During an appearance at the Economic Times global business summit, Woz admitted that he had been scammed out of several bitcoin worth about $70,000 earlier this year by falling for a common fraud tactic that can happen to any bitcoin buyer.

Apple pilots U.S. repair program for 2011 iMac

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The 2009 unibody iMac proved a watershed design for Jony Ive and Apple.
Apple went all-in on unibody design in 2009.
Photo: Apple

Apple is launching a pilot repair program in the U.S. for iMac models released in mid-2011.

The machines will be classified as “vintage” next month, but for a short time, Apple will allow its stores and Authorised Service Providers to continue carrying out repairs.

Apple wellness clinics will offer ‘world’s best healthcare’

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AC Wellness clinics
AC Wellness clinics will open in California this spring.
Photo: AC Wellness

Apple plans to launch new wellness clinics that will offer employees and their families “the world’s best healthcare.”

AC Wellness will be independently operated, according to its official website — but job listings suggest it is a wholly Apple-owned subsidiary. One of its clinics will be situated inside Apple Park, the Cupertino company’s brand new headquarters.