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News - page 813

Even the chairs at Apple Park are designed to promote collaboration

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Apple Park chair
For $1,200 you can sit in style like an engineer at Apple Park.
Photo: Barber Osgerby

There’s a good chance you’ll never have the opportunity to work at Apple, let alone attain the success of chief designer Jony Ive. But that doesn’t mean you can’t sit like Jony Ive — and, no, we don’t mean on a giant pile of money in front of a white backdrop.

According to a new report, Apple Park uses design firm Barber Osgerby’s Pacific Chair throughout its campus. The elegantly simple chairs, designed to promote collaboration between employees, retail for $1,185. (Although Apple likely got a bit of a discount on a bulk order of 12,000 units!)

iPhone X launch sales will be revealed in Apple’s Q1 earnings call

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What’s it like to have your startup bought by Apple? Stressful
Apple's next earnings call will tell us a whole lot about the way 2018 will play out.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s first quarterly earnings call of 2018 will take place on Thursday, February 1, the company has revealed.

Apple will host a conference call to discuss its first fiscal quarter results for the year. This will happen at 2:00 p.m. PT or 5:00 p.m. ET, and is available to listen to online.

Upgrades to iMac Pro? Major disassembly required

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iFixit
iFixit carefully tore open an iMac Pro.
Photo: iFixit

You wouldn’t dare crack open your new iMac Pro, the one you paid $5,000 for, just for a peek under the hood.

But the teardown team at iFixit happily and fearlessly disassembles devices just to sate your curiosity and maybe entice you to fix or upgrade your own machines. The wiki-based repair resource wasted no time in the new year to tear open Apple’s long-anticipated and rather expensive next-generation iMac.

Apple gets new dev tools with Buddybuild acquisition

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iOS 11
Do you have problems with iOS 11?
Photo: Apple

Apple is adding another big tool for developers to its arsenal thanks to the acquisition of Vancouver-based startup Buddybuild.

The small 40-person company created a mobile iteration platform that allows devs to streamline their workflow and push app updates out through GitHub, GitLab and the like. Now Apple plans to take those tools and integrate them natively into Xcode.

Highly highlights text on webpages and iPhone

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highlighter
You'd be better off using one of these.
Photo: liveandrock/Flickr CC

Highly is a service that lets you highlight anything on the web from your iPhone, iPad, desktop, or even Slack. On iOS, it combines an app with a share extension so that you can easily highlight and save any snippet of text. But the app, and its insistence on sharing everything, makes the whole experience terrible.

Apple’s $29 iPhone battery replacement just got easier

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iPhone battery
Brazil demands easy iPhone battery replacements.
Photo: iFixit

New Apple support documentation leaked from one of its retail stores that the company’s new $29 battery replacement program is a lot less strict than some customers originally feared.

Earlier in the week, some iPhone customers reported that the genius bar refused to swap their battery if it wasn’t under 80% capacity. According to a new documentation though, employees have now been instructed to replace batteries no matter what.

iPhone X demand could be significantly lower than expected

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iphone x
iPhone X demand could be 15-20 million units lower than expected.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Despite Apple stock having fallen to reflect lower iPhone X demand, one Wall Street analyst claims that expectations are “still too high.”

In a note to clients, Nicolas Baratte of CLSA says that any estimate over 35 million for Apple’s fourth quarter iPhone X volume estimate is overstating demand. The prediction follows hot on the heels of a Taiwanese news report claiming that weak demand has caused Apple to cut orders for the iPhone X from 50 million to 30 million units.

Analysts: There’s a 40 percent chance Apple will acquire Netflix

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Netflix has a plan to win over new subscribers in an age of Apple TV+
Our take? Don't count on it.
Image: Netflix

Citi analysts claim that there is a 40 percent chance that Apple will acquire Netflix in 2018.

Analysts Jim Suva and Asiya Merchant peg their prediction on the extra cash that Apple could have on its hands following President Trump’s recent tax cut — thereby allowing it to repatriate around $220 billion in cash.

According to Suva and Merchant, Apple would need just one third of that cash to buy Netflix.

Some Samsung Note 8 owners are experiencing battery issues

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Galaxy note
Samsung is experiencing battery-related PR issues of its own.
Photo: Samsung

Apple’s not the only smartphone manufacturer having PR issues involving its phone batteries. Some owners of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 are reporting that their handsets refuse to charge or turn on after running out of charge.

According to Samsung, this issue affects a, “very limited number of reports which could be associated with the power management circuit.”

Most smartphones will ditch the bezel in 2018

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iPhone X standing
It seems that everyone wants a piece of the bezel-free smartphone market this year.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple may not have invented the bezel-less all-screen smartphone, but the iPhone X has certainly helped popularize it.

According to a new report, shipments of all-screen smartphones are set to increase enormously in 2018, and will soon make up the overwhelming majority of smartphones — as rivals rush to compete.

Finally learn and master the advanced concepts of Excel this year [Deals]

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The Ultimate Excel Bootcamp Bundle
Get a head start this year with improving your Excel skills for the office.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Everyone can brush up on their Excel skills for the workplace. This new year being more productive and efficient are probably on the top of most people’s list when it comes to career-focused resolutions. Learning to master Excel does not have to be overwhelming or daunting.

Apple in 2017: A year of epic proportions

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Apple year in review 2017
Did any company have a better 2017 than Apple?
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac's 2017 Apple year in review 2017 was a pretty damn good year for the world’s most profitable tech company.

Apple did much more than rake in more cash than any company this year. Cupertino also pushed out its most impressive product lineup ever, laid the groundwork for the future of augmented reality, moved into a new spaceship campus, battled other tech giants and got tossed into the political spotlight.

Apple dominated the tech scene in 2017 more than any other company. Here’s a recap of some of the year’s most memorable Apple moments.

The best apps to help make your New Year’s resolutions come true

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New Year's apps
'Appy new year, everyone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

As the clock ticks down to 2018, many folks’ minds turn to the question of New Year’s resolutions, and all the ways that we’re going to better ourselves over the next twelve months.

Well, look no further than this list when it comes to the apps that will assist you on your quest. Whatever your goal, we’ve combed through the App Store to find the apps which will help you accomplish it.

Check out our list below:

Top tech trends of 2017

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top tech trends 2017
2017 was a great year for consumer technology.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac's 2017 Apple year in review2017 was an exciting year for consumer technology. It brought us big advancements in areas like machine learning and biometric security, as well as a big boost for augmented reality, and some not-so-satisfying changes to smartphone price tags.

Here are the top technology trends of 2017.

Every single product Apple rolled out in 2017

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2017 was a very good year for new Apple products.
2017 was a very good year.
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac's 2017 Apple year in review 2017 was a killer year for new Apple products — and it’s not all because of the iPhone X.

Apple’s design team spun out updates in nearly every single category while also popping out a few all-new products. The Mac Pro and Mac mini were pretty much the only machines that got no love from Apple this year. But with all the new stuff, it’s hard for Apple fans to complain.

Here’s a recap of every new Apple product of 2017.

Samsung and LG don’t throttle their phones like Apple does

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galaxy note 7
The battery might burst into flames, but at least you get a full-powered CPU.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple’s decision to throttle CPU speeds on iPhones with older batteries isn’t a feature its competition is eager to copy.

Both Samsung and LG have come out with statements today saying that none of their phones use similar power management tactics. Their claims echo other Android makers Motorola and HTC who made the same claim yesterday.

Apple’s Chicago Store cordons off outdoor area due to snowfall

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Chicago store
A look at the Apple Store at present.
Photo: Spudart

Apple’s flagship Chicago Apple Store may be designed to look like a giant MacBook, but it’s apparently not designed to cope with the area’s harsh winters and snowfall.

Or, at least, that’s according to a local Chicago blog, which reveals how the North Michigan Ave. Apple Store’s sloping roof has run into problems in the snow, resulting in parts of the store’s outdoor area being cordoned off.

Nearly 67,000 iPhone users in South Korea want to sue Apple

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iPhone SE 2 could cost $399 just like the first-gen iPhone SE
Users aren't happy about Apple throttling iPhone speeds.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has been the subject of multiple class action lawsuits since admitting that it purposely throttles the speed of older iPhones. However, no lawsuit is quite as big as one that’s brewing in South Korea — where nearly 67,000 iPhone users have applied to join a suit against Apple.

The number of potential plaintiffs reportedly doubled over the course of Friday — from 34,000 applicants in the morning to 66,800 by the end of the working day, claims law firm Hannuri Law.

What’s the best Apple gadget of 2017? Catch our picks, on The CultCast

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Lisa CultCast
It's been a great year for Apple hardware.
Photo: @YSR50

Very spicy episode this week on The CultCast: We break down why everyone is pissed that Apple is slowing down iPhones and Macs with older batteries, and how you can tell if you’re being throttled. Plus, it’s been a great year for Apple hardware — don’t miss our picks for Apple gadget of the year!

Our thanks to Upsie for supporting this episode. Why pay $200 for AppleCare+ when an iPhone X accidental damage warranty from Upsie is $80 less? Get 10 percent off your first purchase at upsie.com with code “CultCast” at checkout.

Apple apologizes with $29 iPhone battery replacements

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iPhone battery
Brazil demands easy iPhone battery replacements.
Photo: iFixit

Apple has offered iPhone customers yet another apology for intentionally slowing down the CPU on some older iPhone models in order to increase overall performance.

In a letter to customers this afternoon, Apple explained that it added a feature in iOS 10.1.2 that successfully reduced the occurrence of unexpected shutdowns on iPhones. Apple was able to do so by lowering CPU performance so that it drew less power from older batteries, but the company is now offering an olive branch to customers: cheap battery replacements.

These widgets will stop you losing your tiny Apple Pencil parts

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fintie caps
A few bucks will fix all your Apple Pencil problems.
Photo: Fintie

It is usually correct to ridicule Apple Pencil accessories. This hand-stitched leather sleeve for the Pencil, for instance, is absurd. But some Apple pencil accessories are almost essential, including today’s selection, the Fintie cap holder, nib cover, and Lightning cable adapter tether. At first glance, these may look as pointless as a the pencil case, but after some study, you’ll see they’re essential to fix Apple’s own design mistakes.

Creepy video shows how iPhone X can make your face vanish

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iPhone X
It's the Invisible Man.
Photo: Kazuya Noshiro

Having your own invisibility cloak could soon become a reality thanks to the iPhone X. Kind of.

Japanese developer Kazuya Noshiro showed off a demo of an app he’s working on that uses the iPhone X’s facial recognition features to completely camouflage a users’ face with the background. The trippy effect almost makes you look like a set of floating eyeballs with hair on top.

Watch his face disappear: