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News - page 82

Microsoft: Apple’s greed makes Xbox Cloud Gaming on iPhone ‘impossible’

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Apple iPhone web apps: Microsoft Xbox Cloud Gaming and Amazon Luna
Microsoft wants Apple to relax more App Store rules for Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple relaxed the App Store rules earlier this year, paving the way for cloud gaming apps on the iPhone. However, Microsoft and Nvidia have not yet listed their cloud gaming services on the App Store. The former argues that Apple’s rules are still too restrictive for this.

Microsoft’s main issue revolves around the 30% commission that Apple wants for IAPs. It says the fee is “neither economically sustainable nor justifiable.”

iPhone SE 4 might finally make jump to OLED

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iPhone SE 4 rumors
Apple could close the door on LCD iPhones with the SE 4.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Fresh evidence points to iPhone SE 4 including an OLED display. If true, this would make it the first in Apple’s line of budget handsets to use this improved type of screen, while every other iPhone gave up traditional LCDs years ago.

The next iPhone SE model is supposedly on the docket for 2025.

Apple Watch rumors: Series 10, SE 3, Ultra 3 are on the way

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Apple Watch Series 10 rumors
A slimmer Apple Watch Series 10 could be one of the wearables revealed September 9.
Image: concept_central/Cult of Mac

Both Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch SE 3 could be among the many products on the agenda for Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event on September 9. The situation with Apple Watch Ultra 3 is a bit more murky, however.

And speaking of murky, we don’t know whether any of these will offer blood oxygen monitoring in units sold in the United States.

More affordable iPad Magic Keyboard is in development

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Apple Magic Keyboard for M4 iPad Pro
The budget iPad might get a version of the brilliant iPad Magic Keyboard.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

iPad users can look forward to a less expensive version of Apple’s Magic Keyboard, according to information leaking out of Apple. The goal is apparently a variant more appealing to buyers of entry-level tablets.

Expect a launch in 2025.

4 new features coming to AirPods with iOS 18

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iOS 18 will bring several improvements to AirPods
iOS 18 will make your AirPods even better.
Photo: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac

Like iPhones, Apple regularly updates AirPods with new features. iOS 18 will continue that trend by introducing several enhancements for Apple’s earbuds. They include interacting with Siri using head gestures, lowering audio latency while gaming, and more.

Read on to see what new AirPods features iOS 18 will bring to further improve the best earbuds for Apple fans.

AirPods 4 rumors: Dramatic change coming next week

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AirPods 4 rumors
AirPods 2 and AirPods 3 are on their way out. Here comes the fourth generation of Apple wireless earbuds.
Image: Cult of Mac

AirPods 4 could launch in just a few days to replace two models of wireless earbuds now in Apple’s lineup. Rumors indicate the new version will borrow a feature from the Pro models: Active Noise Cancellation.

And AirPods Max 2 could be in for a revamp next Monday, too. Probably not so for AirPods Pro 3, though.

Here’s what to look forward to in new AirPods variants when they’re unveiled at the “It’s Glowtime” event on September 9.

M4 Mac mini might give up on USB-A entirely

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M2 Mac mini
M4 Mac mini might not sport any USB-A ports.
Photo: Apple

Apple could go all-in on USB-C with its upcoming M4 Mac mini. As a part of the machine’s major design revamp, the company might ditch USB-A ports for good.

The Cupertino company should unveil the M4 Mac mini later this year.

It’s almost ‘Glowtime!’ [The CultCast]

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The CultCast logo, episode 662 - Apple It's Glowtime event invite artwork
iPhone 16 is right around the corner. On this week's podcast, we discuss what we'll see at the "It's Glowtime event."
Image: Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: We finally know exactly when Apple’s iPhone 16 event will happen. It’s “Glowtime” on September 9 … and now it’s time to talk about what’s in store.

Also on The CultCast:

  • iOS 18’s AI-powered Clean Up feature in the Photos app yields some freakish results that might give you nightmares.
  • The latest Mac rumors make us buzzy about the future.
  • If you think Apple is behind on AI — at least on a practical level — you’re wrong.
  • And Griffin wraps up the show with some cool Continuity features that everyone who owns multiple Apple devices should know.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

18 hidden features in iOS 18 that Apple didn’t tell you about

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Hidden iOS 18 features
There are so many hidden features in iOS 18 to try out!
Photo: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac

iOS 18 is packed full of great features Cult of Mac has covered at length — but the upcoming iPhone software update packs many more tiny features and small improvements that Apple did not mention or talk about. If you know to look out for these features, they’ll make the everyday interactions with your phone faster and easier.

Here’s a roundup of 18 little changes and useful features in iOS 18. Keep reading or watch our video.

Mockup reveals iPhone 16 Pro gold titanium color

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iPhone 16 Pro gold titanium concept
There's gold in them there iPhones!
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A new render shows the iPhone 16 Pro in a gold titanium finish. Rumors suggest the new color option will replace the blue titanium shade in Apple’s 2024 iPhone Pro lineup.

The mockup also shows a cutout in the iPhone 16 Pro’s case near the Power button, supposedly for the new Capture button.

Go behind the scenes of struggle to become K-Pop Idols [Now on Apple TV+]

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K-pop Idols on Apple TV+
K-Pop Idols docuseries streams globally on Apple TV+.
Image: Apple TV+

An Apple TV+ documentary brings a whole lot of gritty reality to dreams of becoming a Korean pop star. K-Pop Idols features interviews with young singers that reveal the enormous amount of effort needed to make their performances look effortless.

The trailer for the series includes one of its young stars saying, “I thought being a K-pop idol was going to be all great and beautiful, but that’s not the reality.”

UPDATE: The new docuseries premiered on Apple TV+ on Friday. All six episodes are ready to stream now.

California’s controversial AI safety bill moves closer to reality

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California passes AI safety law
For better or worse, California leads the way on reigning in the potential dangers of powerful AI models.
Photo: Pexels-cottonbro

California’s legislature passed a hotly contested AI safety bill Thursday — the groundbreaking Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act (SB 1047).

The controversial bill, which awaits Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature before it can become law, introduces the first major AI regulations in the United States. It could have far-reaching implications for tech companies and users alike.

Why Apple refuses to kill the unpopular Mac mini

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Apple Mac mini
Apple doesn't sell many Mac minis. But the small desktop computer appeals to a big, important group of buyers.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Guess what percentage of Mac buyers choose the Mac mini. Whatever your estimate is, the real number is probably lower. Much lower.

Despite selling so very few of them, it seems likely Apple keeps making and updating the tiny macOS desktop because many of them go to young buyers just starting on a lifetime of buying Apple products.

Spotify blames Apple for this Spotify Connect downgrade

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Spotify logo on iPhone
Controlling the volume of Spotify Connect devices from your iPhone is getting difficult.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Spotify users can no longer control the volume of Spotify Connect devices using their iPhone’s volume button. Instead, they must use the workaround: an in-app volume slider.

The company is making this change because Apple discontinued the technology behind this feature.

Apple Photos’ new AI Clean Up feature works great … unless it doesn’t!

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A photo edited with Apple Photos' AI-powered Clean Up feature shows a man with a hideously overgrown soul patch.
Don't let this happen to you!
Photo: Charlie Chapman

The new AI-powered Clean Up feature in the Apple Photos app got people raving about the magical ability to “fix” pictures — and posting examples of when things go horribly wrong. The positive experiences sound great, but the negative ones look like pure nightmare fuel.

Apple added the Clean Up feature in iOS 18.1 beta 3, released Wednesday, and users put the new photo touch-up tool to the test immediately. The results, posted on X, show a wide range of outcomes, including some hilarious misfires.

Napoleon: The Director’s Cut adds 48 mins to Ridley Scott’s epic

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Napoleon: The Director’s Cut storms Apple TV+
Napoleon: The Director’s Cut takes a longer look at history's greatest general.
Photo: Apple TV+

Before Napoleon hit theaters in late 2023, director Ridley Scott promised a longer, more complete cut would follow on Apple TV+. The streaming service fulfilled that promise on Thursday.

The original lasts 2 hours and 38 minutes, while Napoleon: The Director’s Cut brings nearly an hour more of Joaquin Phoenix as the infamous French emperor and conqueror of much of Europe.

Major websites opt out of Apple’s content scraping to train AI

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websites opt out of Apple AI scraping
Bot crawlers scraping website content for training AI is more controversial than other uses, like improving search functionality.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Many prominent news outlets and social media platforms have opted out of Apple’s AI training data collection via website scraping, according to a new report Thursday.

Apple does it through a new tool called Applebot-Extended, which the iPhone giant introduced less than three months ago. If major content websites opt out of Apple AI scraping, that could have implications for the continuing development of Apple Intelligence.

Apple shows why it’s ahead in AI, not behind

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Animation showing Apple Intelligence on iPhone
Apple Intelligence is a powerful LLM that runs both in the cloud and on-device.
Image: Apple

Contrary to popular opinion, Apple appears to be ahead in AI — and in some cases seems far in front of the competition. The revelation comes from an Apple white paper that hasn’t gotten much attention, but should.

A white paper on Apple’s Foundation Model, the company’s homegrown LLM (large-language model) that powers Apple Intelligence, reveals two important facts: it’s the safest in design and highly competitive with both Meta’s Llama and OpenAI’s GPT-4. This seems to debunk a big myth about Apple’s AI efforts: that the company’s privacy-first philosophy would hold it back.

The Apple Foundation Model is just as capable in tests of writing and summarization compared to the top LLMs by OpenAI, Meta, Mistral AI and others. And thanks to Apple’s strict guidelines for expunging harmful content, human-evaluated tests repeatedly rank its foundation model as the safest above all the rest — by a wide margin.

It looks like Apple Intelligence could be off to a good start.

iPhone 17 Pro Max might exclusively ship with a superior cooling system

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iPhone 15 Pro Max
The iPhone 17 Pro Max might pack some key upgrades over its other siblings.
Photo: Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac

Apple will seemingly continue offering enhanced specs on its Pro Max iPhone to differentiate it from other models. As a part of the strategy, the company might only equip the iPhone 17 Pro Max with 12GB RAM in 2025.

Additionally, the phone will feature an upgraded cooling system. This system will use a combination of a vapor chamber and graphite sheets for better thermal efficiency.

Apple Music now lets you export playlists to YouTube Music

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Apple Music to YouTube Music
Apple Music to YouTube Music playlist gets easier.
Photo/Graphics: Apple/YouTube/Rajesh Pandey

In a surprising move, Apple is making it easier to transfer your playlists from Apple Music to YouTube Music. This is the first time the Cupertino company is offering a tool like this for Apple Music users.

If you are an Apple Music subscriber, the tool makes transferring your playlists to YouTube Music easy.

Hawaii drivers can now put their license in Apple Wallet

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Apple Wallet with digital driver's license options
Get your Hawaii digital driver's license or ID.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Hawaii just became the latest U.S. state to support digital driver’s licenses and IDs stored in the Wallet app on iPhone or Apple Watch.

That brings to seven the number of states to support Apple’s system, as several joined since the start of summer.