News - page 830

Android Wear, Google’s operating system built to be a rival to Apple’s watchOS, is getting a huge name change.

And the iPhone is a big reason why.

While rumors are swirling that Apple will release new products soon, you can get great deals on the latest iPad right now. Plus, this week you can save loads by buying refurbished, unlocked iPhones.

iPhones already replace credit cards, and a pilot program is exploring the next logical step: a digital drivers licence.

Delaware just began testing a mobile driver license (mDL) with some state residents, checking if a smartphone application can be kept secure while offering real advantages over plastic cards.

Apple’s huge lead over Samsung in mobile facial recognition won’t be threatened anytime this year.

Samsung is supposedly working on adding a 3D mapping facial recognition sensor to its next flagship smartphone, but according to a report from Asia, the supplier won’t have it ready until 2019.

Logitech’s new speaker system adds a new dimension to gaming: color. LEDs hidden in the front and back of the speaker bathe your desktop and the wall behind your computer in light.

That’s fine for making your room look like a disco palace while listening to music. But it’s really designed to make video games more immersive.

Intel has redesigned its processors to help eliminate the Meltdown and Spectre flaws once and for all.

Its eighth-generation Core and Xeon chips use protection through partitioning, along with the latest software patches, to kill all three variants of the bug. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich warns, however, that “there is still work to do” to ensure users stay protected.

Music service Spotify has added a voice search feature to its iOS app that allows users to find song tracks, albums, and playlists.

The new test feature takes Siri out of the equation. With Apple trying to grow its music streaming service, it never allowed Spotify to integrate with Siri, including with Apple’s first smart speaker, HomePod.

Responding to concerns about smartphone addiction among younger users, Apple rolled out a new “Families” page to describe the parental controls and safety features currently available on the company’s devices.

The page reveals how parents can track their kids’ location, monitor purchases, and filter what their children can see on their devices. It also reviews Apple’s privacy and health-related features, along with sharing among family members, and Apple’s focus on education.

Apple has formerly requested approval for its Shazam acquisition from the European Commission.

EU antitrust regulators confirmed last month that they had launched an investigation into the deal following concerns from seven European countries. Apple will get a decision next month, but it may not be final.

Disappointing iPhone X demand is singled out as one major reason why the revenue of major Taiwanese manufacturers declined year-on-year in February.

Combined sales for nine Apple suppliers fell 4.8 percent in February, representing a two-year low. This is reportedly linked to Apple slashing iPhone X orders in half for the January through March period, although some suggest that actual demand could be even lower than that.

The makers of the excellent 2014 game Leo’s Fortune are back with a new action platformer, and this time they’re shifting their their focus from the cartoony world of Leo, which looked like it came straight out of a Pixar movie, to something based on Viking and Norse mythology.

While the game won’t arrive until later this spring, the developers just dropped a trailer for Oddmar — and it looks kind of awesome, with all the graphical gorgeousness we’d expect. Check it out below.

Apple has reportedly suspended production at one of its iPhone manufacturing plants in China as the result of the use of unauthorized components.

The story concerns a Wistron plant in Kunshan, China, where the iPhone 8 Plus is manufactured. Production has allegedly been suspended for two weeks, although Wistron insists that this is not true and that, “operations remain completely normal.”

Apple asked six filmmakers to create short videos that highlight the cababilities of the recently-released iMac Pro. The results debuted today: trippy, abstract films that are mesmerizing to watch.

All are quite short (under 30 seconds) and include a quick plug for the computer, and so could be turned into advertisements, either online on TV.

A major redesign of Twitter’s mobile app is rumored to be underway and it could spell bad news for Snapchat.

Rumors of Twitter’s camera-focused redesign have been swirling for months, but according to a new report, the redesign will also steal one of Snapchat’s best location-based features.

All the Yoga Flames, Dragon Punches and Sonic Booms of Street Fighter II spill out into the real world in a new demo that mixes classic gameplay with augmented reality.

Michigan-based software developer Abhishek Singh‘s “Real World Warrior” edition of Street Fighter II features all the familiar characters, moves and sounds of the original. But now, the game’s arena is the outside world.

“I loved playing [Street Fighter] as a kid with my sister on an actual arcade machine,” Singh told Cult of Mac. “I was thinking about multiplayer experiences and this kind of popped into my head.”

Siri is in trouble. Apple’s AI assistant is way behind the competition, and a new report indicates that Cupertino’s coders can’t agree on how to fix Siri — or even if it should be fixed.

Anonymous sources, supposedly from inside the Apple development team, say there’s no strong vision of what Siri should be.

Nearly a quarter of current iPhone users already plan to buy Apple’s next smartphone — even before they know what new features it will bring. That’s the most surprising finding from a new poll, which also shows demand for iPhone upgrades has stabilized at a high level.

Heavy demand for an unannounced product shows trust in Apple. That’s welcome, as the company’s reputation has slipped a bit.

An Apple prototype of an early laptop, one of only four known to exist, sold on eBay Tuesday evening for more than $16,000.

It was the second time the owner of the Apple Macintosh Portable M5126 – fully functional and with a rare-for-its-time backlit screen – tried selling the test device on the auction site. Last month, bidding closed at just over $10,000 but the buyer backed out.

If you own an AmazonBasics portable battery pack, you should stop using it now. Amazon has recalled more than 260,000 units following 53 reports of overheating in the U.S. alone.

Six different models, sold between December 2014 and July 2017, have been condemned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) this week.

Earlier today, Tim Cook posted a tribute to the late professor Stephen Hawking, who passed away on March 14, aged 76. “We will always be inspired by his life and ideas. RIP,” Cook wrote.

As one of the world’s most visionary physicists and popular science writers, it’s no surprise to hear that Hawking inspired folks at Apple — just as he did people all around the planet.

But Apple and Hawking share an interesting connection: It was an Apple machine that first gave him the ability to verbally communicate using a computer.

The French government plans to take both Apple and Google to court for what French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire classes as “abusive trade practices.”

This relates to the way that both companies reportedly treat startups and developers. In particular, Le Maire singles out the way that Apple and Google unilaterally impose prices and contractual terms on software devs.

How seriously are people taking password security in your city?

Password management service Dashlane today published its 2018 City Security Rankings, revealing the state of password security in America’s most populous cities — and those that are home to some of the biggest companies and government agencies.

Apple’s home city of Cupertino ranks highly, right behind Fort Meade, MD, home of the National Security Agency (NSA).

WWDC will have an extra set of helping hands this year, thanks to Apple’s hiring of a brand new events director. New recruit Gail Hunter previously served as president of public affairs and event management for the Golden State Warriors, a.k.a. Eddy Cue’s favorite NBA basketball team.

She will officially leave her current job this Friday, and join Apple on Monday, March 19. Just in time to help Apple’s preparations for its annual developer showcase event in June!

Tim Cook visited Washington D.C. on Tuesday, having lunch with Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who has shown considerable interest in the subject of digital encryption and privacy.

Tim Cook won’t be at AltConf 2018, but then attendees of this alternative Apple developer conference will pay a wee bit less. The official WWDC is $1,599, while AltConf is free.

It will be held in San Jose near the official conference, and on the same dates as the WWDC: June 4-7.