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News - page 821

Why Face ID may never support multiple users

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VCSEL
The laser in the iPhone X's Face ID could one day transform the speed of broadband.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Face ID on iPhone X was designed to be operated by just one user, and that’s not going to change anytime soon.

Apple’s Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, says there are no plans to add multi-user support.

iPhone X shipping times fall to just one week

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Face ID
Apple has done an outstanding job of getting the iPhone X into customers' hands.
Photo: Apple

Apple has done an outstanding job of meeting demand for the iPhone X. Less than one month after Apple’s eagerly anticipated tenth anniversary iPhone started shipping, Apple has already gotten U.S. shipping estimates down to one week.

That’s pretty astonishing considering that many folks were expecting iPhone X shortages to last well into next year!

The useful iPhone X gestures you haven’t heard about, on The CultCast

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The CultCast: The best 30-minute Apple podcast you'll hear anywhere.
Let us reveal to you the hidden gestures.
Image: YSR50/Twitter

This week’s CultCast is a hot one! We discuss: The useful iPhone X gestures you haven’t heard about; why you need to check out Apple’s new YouTube channel; why folks are mad as heck about Apple Watch 3’s data prices. Plus, it’s the end of an era: Jailbreaking is dead. (And stay tuned for our favorite movies of 2017.)

Steve Jobs’ ‘phone-phreaking’ blue box is going up for auction

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blue box 1
This is an ultra-rare piece of unofficial Apple history.
Photo: Bonhams

What was the first gadget Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak ever manufactured and sold? No, we’re not talking about the Apple-1, but rather the “blue box,” a device which allowed users to make free long-distance phone calls by reproducing specific dial tones.

One such device is up for auction this month, where it is expected to sell for upwards of $67,400. That’s roughly 67 brand new iPhone X handsets if you want to do the math!

Ireland reveals when Apple will finally pay its giant E.U. tax bill

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Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
That's one heckuva bank transfer!
Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

After dragging its feet over collecting its giant 13 billion euros ($15.5 billion) tax bill from Apple, Ireland’s Department of Finance has revealed that an agreement has been reached with Apple over when the sum will actually be paid.

The giant tax haul, which Apple was ordered to pay by the European Commission over a year ago, will be transferred to an escrow account, which will manage the funds until all of Apple’s appeals have been heard. But not until 2018!

Apple planning even cheaper iPad for 2018

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ipad
An iPad refresh could be right around the corner.
Photo: Apple

Apple is said to be developing a new inexpensive iPad for 2018.

Sources say it will be even cheaper than the 9.7-inch model currently on offer as the company looks to take on affordable rivals from the likes of Amazon, Samsung, and Huawei.

Qualcomm seeks import ban on iPhone X

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Photo of iPhone X in a person's hand, used to illustrate iPhone X review
iPhone X sales are booming.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The battle between Apple and Qualcomm and Apple is turning downright nasty.

Hot on the heels of Apple’s counter-lawsuit, Qualcomm has filed three new patent infringement claims against the iPhone-maker. It is also seeking a ban on the import of all AT&T and T-Mobile iPhone X and iPhone 8 units in the US which could cause major headaches for Apple.

Apple Watch just got way better at spotting heart problems

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heart
This is one app you may want to download.
Photo: Apple

The Apple Watch just got a whole lot more indispensable! Today, two major heart-related developments mean Apple’s wearable device could one day save your life.

Firstly, Apple teamed up with Stanford Medicine to launch an Apple Watch heart app that looks for deadly atrial fibrillation. It alerts users when they experience irregular heart rhythms, and can actually get them help.

Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration finally approved AliveCor’s Kardiaband EKG reader. It’s the first medical device accessory for the Apple Watch.

Apple designing super efficient power management chips for iPhone

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chips
Apple is doing more and more of its chip design work in-house.
Photo: Intel

Apple is busy designing its own power management chips for use in future iPhones, which could debut as soon as next year, a new report claims.

The new chips would reportedly be the most advanced power management chips in the industry. They will boast superior processing abilities, allowing them to better monitor and control power consumption — thereby letting iPhones and iPads deliver better performance on lower power consumption.

Apple goes all-out red for World AIDS Day

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Apple Store (RED) logo
Get ready for (RED).
Photo: Apple

Apple is ready to go red for World AIDS Day.

More than 400 Apple Stores around the world will sport red logos next week, while every Apple Pay transaction will result in a donation to the Global Fund. Apple will also promote apps and games that support (RED).

Need a stable smartphone? Buy iPhone, not Android

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iphone x
iPhones suffer fewer issues, claims new report.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The “failure rate” of Android devices is nearly double that of iOS device, although iOS apps crash 7x more frequently than Android apps.

Those are two of the findings from respected mobile diagnostics experts Blancco Technology Group, who have just released their latest mobile device performance and health report.

Qualcomm targets iPhone X in its ongoing war with Apple

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Face ID
Qualcomm claims that the 2017 iPhones are violating its patents.
Photo: Apple

Hot on the heels of Apple suing Qualcomm over its Snapdragon processors, Qualcomm has fired back by filing a patent lawsuit (a counter-countersuit?) against Apple for technology in the iPhone 8 and iPhone X.

Qualcomm filed its grievance with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. It singles out five patents that Apple is allegedly infringing on — including tech related to radio frequency transceivers, power management in mobile CPUs, image enhancement using depth-based data, and more.

Music streaming is a horrible business, says Apple Music boss

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Iovine
Jimmy Iovine’s days at Apple are numbered.
Photo: Apple

Spotify is in for a rough future, according to Apple’s Jimmy Iovine, who is warning the music industry not to place too much faith in the tech industry.

Iovine sat down for a new interview where he discussed the future of the music industry. According to the Apple Music boss, record labels are “100 percent” overly optimistic about where things are headed with technology.

DropStream: Drag-and-drop movie streaming for Apple TV

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Apple TV Siri Remote
DropStream streams any video or audio straight to Apple TV.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

You can snap photos of your iPhone, edit them on your iPad, and view them on your giant-screen iMac, with everything almost instantaneously in sync. But what if you have a video clip that you want to watch on your Apple TV? Oh man, maybe it’s best not to even ask. Now, though, there’s an app that lets you do just that: DropStream.

DropStream’s function is right there in its name. You drop a movie onto its Mac window, and the movie starts playing on your Apple TV (or Chromecast). You don’t have to convert it to the right format, or add it to iTunes, or anything like that. It just, as they say, works.

YouTube is adding Snapchat-like stories for creators

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Youtube’s Incognito mode
Some big changes are coming to YouTube.
Photo: freestocks.org/Pexels CC

Stories, the short-video format popularized by Snapchat, is making its way to YouTube.

Everyone from Instagram to Facebook Messenger has already copied Snapchat’s popular, so it should be little surprise that YouTube has decided to get in on the action too. The video platform revealed to creators today that it’s working on a new feature called “Reels” that is a lot like Stores. Only it comes with some major differences.

Essential chief takes leave of absence over ‘inappropriate’ relationship

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Andy Rubin
Andy Rubin allegedly dated a colleague at Google.
Photo: Google

Essential founder Andy Rubin has stepped away from the company following claims he had an “inappropriate relationship” with a colleague while at Google.

Rubin’s leave of absence comes just three months after Essential launched its first smartphone. A statement from his representative denies any wrongdoing.

Instagram might finally get a ‘regram’ button

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These Instagram tips will help you connect with photographers who share your interests.
Currating your feed is about to get even easier.
Photo: Lee Peterson/Cult of Mac

Reposting your favorite photos on Instagram is about to get a lot easier if a new feature that’s currently in testing makes it out to the public.

Instagram appears to be testing a button that allows users to “regram” button that allows users to share posts to their timeline. There’s no guarantee when the feature will make it out to the public, but it if it does, it could finally mean the end of horrible third-party reposting apps.