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News - page 848

Undisturbed takes control of your Mac’s Do Not Disturb mode

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Undisturbed
Undisturbed turns off those annoying red badges.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Do you know how to turn on your Mac’s Do Not Disturb mode? That’s right, you open up the Notification sidebar, pull down, and toggle the switch. It works great. Right up until you look at the Dock, or the app switcher, and see a bunch of big red badges hassling you to read your email or check your boss’ Slack messages.

That’s where Undisturbed comes in. It’s an app that improves Do Not Disturb, so you really don’t get disturbed.

Adobe rebuilds Lightroom from scratch

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Lightroom CC
Adobe's new Lightroom CC seamlessly syncs across all devices.
Photo: Adobe

Adobe rolled out a rebranded Lightroom software Wednesday and photographers should rejoice because it will mean less time processing and organizing their images.

At the heart of the big update is an all-new Lightroom CC, a cloud-based app that will work more seamlessly to sync RAW images, edits and metadata across all devices, from iMac to iPhone. Original images are automatically stored or backed up, rather than having to select images for cloud storage.

Apple reveals AI magic behind ‘Hey Siri’

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Siri do not disturb
Apple puts a lot of AI tech into Siri.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A tiny, low-power auxiliary processor that constantly listens for the phrase “Hey Siri” enables one of the most basic features of Apple’s AI assistant.

The processor, embedded in the iPhone’s motion coprocessor, keeps the “Hey Siri” command from running on the device’s main processor all day. That revelation comes in a research paper published today by Apple’s machine learning team. The paper dives deep into how Apple uses AI to power “Hey Siri.”

Apple’s Project Titan car resurfaces with bigger sensors

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Project Titan
Apple is invested heavily in self-driving tech.
Photo: Idiggapple/Twitter

The self-driving sensors that power Apple’s autonomous car have gotten a significant update since the last time we saw them.

Apple’s self-driving car was recently spotted by the CEO of a self-driving car start-up called Voyage. Co-founder MacCallister Higgins got up close with one of Apple’s Lexus RX450h’s that’s outfitted with a monstrous new sensor array. The short video posted to Twitter shows Apple’s project has made some serious strides in the last few months.

Check it out:

Advanced wireless earphones, 8K VR and more [Crowdfund Roundup]

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Freecube Crowdfund Roundup
The modular command center.
Photo: Freecube

Crowdfund Roundup bugBuild your ultimate command center and have easy access to power outlets, USB ports, Bluetooth audio, and more at any time with Freecube.

It’s just one of the awesome ideas in this week’s Crowdfund Roundup. We also have smart bike lights that’ll keep you safe on the road, advanced wireless earphones, an ultra-immersive virtual reality headset, and more!

Apple comes under fire for banning anti-abortion app

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app
The "banned" app lets you pray in real-time.
Photo: Human Coalition

Apple has reportedly banned an anti-abortion app from the App Store after complaints were made about it from “left-wing bloggers.”

Among the features of the Human Coalition app is a “Prayer Feed,” where users can access a real-time map of the United States, allowing them to join in with the prayers of other users on behalf of “abortion-determined families.”

Awesome Mac app makes managing contacts easier than ever

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Cardhop contacts app for Mac
Cardhop was created by the stellar team behind Fantastical.
Photo: Flexibits

Remember how Flexibits made managing your calendar incredibly easy with Fantastical? Now it is doing the same for your contacts with a brand new app called Cardhop.

Cardhop makes keeping your address book up to date and staying in touch with friends and colleagues quick and easy. It uses the same great natural language recognition found in Fantastical, and it’s available today on macOS.

Apple forms new app partnership with General Electric

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GE
Two of America's titans of industry are teaming up.
Photo: Bubba73/Wikipedia

Apple and General Electric (GE) are teaming up to allow iOS apps to take advantage of the predictive data and analytics from Predix, GE’s industrial Internet of Things platform.

“GE is an ideal partner with a rich history of innovation across the industrial world in areas like aviation, manufacturing, healthcare and energy,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “Together, Apple and GE are fundamentally changing how the industrial world works by combining GE’s Predix platform with the power and simplicity of iPhone and iPad.”

Qualcomm CEO says war with Apple will end if the money is right

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Qualcomm patents
An end is in sight. Or at least it could be.
Photo: Qualcomm

Speaking on stage at the Wall Street Journal’s D.Live tech conference, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said that he thinks that the company’s feud with Apple can be resolved — so long as the right fee is negotiated.

“At the end, the important thing to remember is this is fundamentally a discussion about pricing over the fundamental technology that makes the phone the phone,” Mollenkopf said. “It comes down to, how much are you going to pay?”

Smart speakers could invade homes faster than any other gadget

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Apple's new HomePod smart speaker is ready to rock your house.
Smart speakers could be fastest consumer device ever to hit 50 percent adoption.
Photo: Apple

Smart speakers like the Amazon Echo, Google Home, and forthcoming Apple HomePod could become the fastest consumer device in history to hit 50 percent adoption levels, claims Activate CEO Michael J. Wolf.

For those keeping track at home, that’s faster than smartphones, television, cars, the internet, and personal computers.

AI powers this bike light to make cycling safer

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See.Sense Ace bike light
Ace is the ultimate bike light.
Photo: See.Sense

When you’re out on your bike, you need to be as visible as possible — especially at night. See.Sense ACE is a bike light that uses artificial intelligence that reacts to every moment of your journey, making cycling safer and simpler.

The light improves visibility when you need it most, and ensures you’re seen on the road. It also connects to your smartphone to provide things like theft alerts and cycling stats.

Microsoft’s Surface Book 2 is ready to take on the MacBook Pro

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Microsoft Surface Book
The Microsoft Surface Book 2.
Photo: Microsoft

The MacBook Pro is about to face some tough competition from Microsoft’s newest laptop/tablet hybrid that was just revealed today.

Microsoft’s new Surface Book 2 computers are being billed as the most powerful laptops to come from Microsoft. The company even says they’re twice as powerful as the latest MacBook Pro.

iPhone X will drive a worldwide spike in smartphone sales

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iPhone X keynote
iPhone X is going to have a big impact on worldwide device sales.
Photo: Apple

The expected success of the iPhone X could help drive worldwide device shipments — comprising smartphones, tablets, and PCs — to their highest level of growth since 2015, a new report claims.

Figures released by data analysis firm Gartner suggests that total device shipments are predicted to exceed 2.35 billion units in 2018, an increase of 2 percent from this year. The firm notes that the iPhone X is likely to be a big sales driver in the United States, China and Western Europe, despite its $1,000+ price.

Sci-fi puzzler Returner 77 lands on iOS this week

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games
A treat for the brain and the eyes alike.
Photo: Returner 77

I’m a big sucker for iOS puzzle games, and I love beautiful, sweeping sci-fi games which show off the graphical capabilities of the iPhone and iPad by creating otherworldly space vistas to explore.

Imagine my excitement then at the upcoming Returner 77, an intriguing blend of both genres which will be arriving in the App Store this week. Check out the stunning trailer below.

Google forced to remove new iPhone feature following outrage

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Google Maps calorie count
A calorie count is useful to some, but offensive to others.
Photo: BuzzFeed

Google added a neat new feature to Maps on iPhone this week — then pulled it in under 24 hours following user outrage.

It was seemingly designed to encourage users to walk more frequently by showing how many calories they could burn on their route. But many feel the feature was shameful and judgmental, and a negative trigger for those who suffer from an eating disorder.

Apple’s massive health push could mean its own medical clinics

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apple store
An Apple store-style health clinic, anyone?
Photo: Apple

As part of its push into mobile health, Apple was reportedly in “deep talks” to buy Crossover Health, a health clinic company, which has offered employee healthcare to tech companies including Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and others.

The acquisition would have put Apple in charge of a string of health clinics, which it could potentially have run like healthcare versions of the Apple store. However, despite stretching on for months, no deal ultimately materialized.

iPhone X component suppliers beat teething troubles

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iphone x
Supply should meet demand early next year.
Photo: Apple

After running into multiple problems building its next-gen iPhone X, Apple’s suppliers have reportedly achieved more stable yield rates for troublesome components.

As we noted yesterday, the first batch of iPhone X handsets has now been shipped out, and further shipments of the device are expected to “grow substantially” after October, according to sources in Apple’s supply chain.

Greenpeace says Apple is almost top of the class, but could do better

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Green
Apple is (almost) leading the pack.
Photo: Greenpeace

Greenpeace has praised Apple’s energy initiatives in its new Guide to Greener Electronics report, although it notes that there is still work to be done in other areas.

Drilling down, Greenpeace awards Apple A- on its efforts involving sustainable energy, a B for its use of hazardous chemicals, and a C for resource consumption. Overall, the environmental non-profit awards Apple a B- for its efforts in this area, which is considerably higher than tech rivals Microsoft (C-), Sony (D+), Google (D+), Samsung (D-), and Amazon (F) — although lower than Fairphone (A).

Apple explains how it tried to prevent Face ID from being racist

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FaceID
The iPhone X's FaceID feature looks impressive.
Photo: Apple

Apple says it has done extensive testing to ensure that Face ID treats everyone equally when the feature launches next month with the iPhone X.

Face ID has attracted a slew of security questions from the public wondering how Apple plans to keep biometric data private. U.S. Sen. Al Franken also asked what Apple is doing to protect against racial, gender or age bias in Face ID.

Apple finally responded to the senator’s question, providing a deeper look into the testing process.

Tim Cook geeks out on AR during Oxford demo

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iPhone 8 Plus
Augmented Reality on the iPhone 8 Plus is a taste of the future.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple CEO Tim Cook is a full-on geek when it comes to augmented reality.

Cook has raved about AR’s potential in a number of interviews the last year, but according to a PhD student at the University of Oxford, Tim actually has a great understanding of the technology. In a story shared on Reddit, the student reveals how Tim Cook dug deep into the details of the tech during a recent demo.