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News - page 859

Why ARKit will be Apple’s biggest innovation in years

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ARkit
ARKit is going to be a tasty innovation for Apple.
Photo: Alper Guler

From the iPhone 8 to iOS 11, Apple’s got no shortage of big launches coming in the next few weeks. But the one with the biggest long-term potential for Apple is one that Tim Cook says makes him want to “yell out and scream” with excitement.

That product is ARKit, the augmented reality platform Apple unveiled this year at WWDC. Here’s why it’s going to be massively important for Apple.

Pokémon GO adds its best Legendary Pokémon yet

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Legendary
Get your passport ready! (Or be prepared to wait.)
Photo: Niantic

Pokémon GO developers Niantic have debuted three new Legendary Pokémon in the popular augmented reality game.

The trio of Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, from the Gold, Silver and Crystal incarnations of the game, are arguably the best Legendary Pokémon yet. Although to catch ’em all you’re going to need to shell out for some plane tickets. (Or exhibit a bit of patience!)

Possible Apple antitrust complaint being investigated in China

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Apple Store
The mural outside the Hengzhou Apple store in China.
Photo: Apple

China has confirmed that it is reviewing a possible antitrust complaint against Apple for allegedly abusing its market position in the country.

The complaint, from 28 Chinese developers, claims Apple charged excessive fees (the company’s usual 30 percent) and also removed apps from its App Store without providing a full explanation.

Apple reportedly planning its biggest ever iPhone for 2018

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iPhone color
The new iPhone 8 is set to be big. Next year's could be even bigger.
Photo: Ben Miller

The iPhone 8 may be Apple’s most significant handset update since 2014, but if you’re a lover of large smartphones you may be better off waiting on next year’s iPhone.

That’s according to a new report, claiming that Apple has started development of an additional sized OLED iPhone for 2017, which will be the largest screen iPhone yet.

Achievements Unlocked: Pedometer++ now gives awards

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pedometer 3 achievements
Health, energy, and a long life are no longer the sole rewards for taking a walk.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Pedometer++, from developer Underscore David Smith, is everyone’s favorite step-counting iPhone app. It’s simple, it is accurate, and it just works. Now, in version 3.0, the four-year old app gets a neat new Today widget, and — brace yourself — Achievements.

Apple joins last-ditch bid for Toshiba’s chip division

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Toshiba
Toshiba is ready to go public.
Photo: Toshiba

Acquiring Toshiba’s chip-making business could still be in play for Apple after all, even though the company’s previous attempts to secure the coveted division with Foxconn fell through.

According to a new report, Apple is part of a “last-ditch” bid to acquire Toshiba’s chip-making ability along with Bain Capital and a few other players. If successful, the acquisition could give Apple a serious weapon in its battle with Samsung for smartphone supremacy.

This fake iPhone looks so good it almost fooled the experts

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From the back, the fake iPhone looks just like the real thing. (The fake phone is on the right.)
From the back, the fake iPhone looks just like the real thing. (The fake phone is on the right.)
Photo: Gabe Trumbo/MyPhones Unlimited

This fake iPhone looks so impressive that it fooled us for a hot minute. A rose gold iPhone 7 Plus clone, it shines just like the real thing. At first glance, it seems to deliver everything you would expect from a real iPhone: Lightning port, dual rear cameras, even a touch-ready Home button.

In short, this is the highest-quality iPhone clone we’ve ever seen. It’s a surprising indicator of just how good Chinese manufacturers are getting at reproducing Apple products. And it’s also a cautionary tale for anybody looking to buy a used iPhone.

Augmented reality Walking Dead game brings zombies into our world

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Walking Dead
A version of Pokémon GO for the grown-ups? Yes please!
Photo: Walking Dead: Our World

AR has a bunch of real-world uses that will help make our lives easier. Sometimes, though, you just want to use cutting edge technology to blow away a few brain-hungry zombies.

That’s a noble goal that upcoming iOS game The Walking Dead: Our World is more than willing to make a reality. Well, an augmented reality, at least.

Check out the super atmospheric trailer below.

New Carpool Karaoke ads show off the most oddball pairing yet

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Carpool Karaoke
Carpool Karaoke's best combination yet?
Photo: Apple

Apple has released two new trailers showing a preview of next week’s episodes of Carpool Karaoke: The Series.

One ad shows the pairing of Michael Strahan and Jeff Gordon as they sing songs like the 1980s classic “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John. The other depicts what may be the most fun oddball pairing so far as Shaquille O’Neal goes on a drive with one of WWE’s most popular wrestlers — and his name is John Cena.

Check out the ads below.

Without a Home button, here’s how the new iPhone 8 UI will work

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iPhone color
iPhone 8 will feature Apple's biggest redesign in years.
Photo: Ben Miller

It’s no secret that Apple is planning to ditch its Home button for the next-gen iPhone 8, but with the exception of how Touch ID will be replaced by facial recognition, very few details have been circulated about how the move will impact the iPhone UI.

A new report may change that, however, by revealing how the removal and replacement of the Home button, which has existed on every iPhone since 2007, will actually work.

Apple just won an Emmy award… for Siri?

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FireWire lands Apple its first Emmy.
This is Apple's third Emmy award.
Photo: The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences/Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s original TV show efforts haven’t exactly set the world on fire, but that didn’t stop the company from being honored with an Emmy award this week.

Apple was among the tech companies who received technical Emmy awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, alongside Microsoft, YouTube, and others.

Skateboard scooters, smart wallets, and more [Crowdfund Roundup]

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Scooterboard
The skateboard that's also a scooter.
Photo: Scooterboard

Crowdfund Roundup bugThe skateboarding experience doesn’t have to come with grazed knees and broken teeth. With Scooterboard, you get the same ride with the stability of a scooter — and a built-in motor that means you don’t have to do all the work.

It’s just one of the awesome ideas in this week’s Crowdfund Roundup. We also have the world’s most powerful smart wallet, a dongle that turns your iPad into a wireless secondary display for your Mac, and more!

Feed Hawk hunts down YouTube channel RSS feeds for you

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feed hawk
Feed Hawk makes subscribing to your favorite sites super easy.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Are you still using RSS? If you are (and you should be, as we’ll see in a moment), then you should use the Feed Hawk app on your iPhone and iPad. Feed Hawk puts itself in your iOS Share Sheet and locates the RSS feed(s) from any website you visit. If you want, it can automatically subscribe you to the RSS feed in your RSS reader of choice.

The latest version of Feed Hawk can even find feeds for YouTube channels. That, in case you’re wondering, is huge.

Apple’s September 12 keynote is all but confirmed

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Tim Cook
Tim Cook and Co. are ready to take the wraps off the next great iPhone.
Photo: Apple

It’s looking increasingly likely that Apple’s next big iPhone unveiling will happen on September 12.

Following a rumor last week that circled the second Tuesday of September as the date for the big iPhone 8 keynote, two more reports from reliable sources have practically confirmed that the next Apple smartphone will be revealed in just two weeks.

Samsung’s next stab at Apple Watch lands Wednesday

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Samsung Gear S3
Samsung's fight against Apple Watch won't end.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung will take a new stab at Apple Watch on Wednesday.

The South Korean company has scheduled an event in Berlin on August 30, where it will unwrap a brand new wearable. A teaser animation posted on Twitter backs up recent rumors that have claimed health and fitness will be its primary focus.

Leaked iPhone 7s dimensions are bad news for your wallet

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iPhone 7s dimensions
iPhone 7s is taller, wider, and thicker than iPhone 7.
Photo: TechnoBuffalo

iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus might be more affordable than the swankier iPhone 8, but it certainly won’t be cheap upgrades. If you were hoping to hold onto all the accessories you have already purchased for iPhone 7, you can think again.

Leaked schematics for both devices suggest all your existing cases might not fit.

Amazon matches Apple Music on subscription fees for students

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Amazon Music
Amazon's music service has competed with Apple since day one.
Photo: Amazon

If you’re a student in the U.S., you can now get Amazon’s Music Unlimited service for the same subscription price as Apple Music — thanks to Amazon slicing its fees.

Students who aren’t subscribed to Amazon Prime can get Amazon Music Unlimited for $4.99, the same amount that Apple charges. For Prime subscribing students, a six month subscription meanwhile costs just $6!

Apple wants to sell 4K iTunes movies for $20

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Apple wants a deal with studio execs to bring high-priced movie rentals to iTunes within days of release.
iTunes movies could soon look a whole lot sharper.
Photo: William Iven/UnSplash

4K video is likely to be the big update for this year’s Apple TV, and to mark the occasion Apple has been trying to finalize deals with movie studios to begin offering 4K movies to accompany it.

The only problem? According to a new report, both parties are struggling to meet when it comes to pricing.

Apple’s not giving up on button-free Touch ID just yet

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Touch ID
Apple's new patent involves acoustic-based Touch ID.
Photo: Apple

Apple may have ditched plans to embed Touch ID sensors in iPhone displays in favor of facial recognition, but that doesn’t mean it’s no longer interested in improving its fingerprint sensing capabilities.

In a newly-granted patent, Apple describes a type of acoustic-based fingerprint imaging technology that could replace the current Touch ID Home button with special ultrasonic transducers under the display of its devices.

Tim Cook says Apple has ‘moral responsibility’ to U.S. economy

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Tim Cook
Oh, and he won't be running for office any time soon!
Photo: Apple

Tim Cook says Apple bears a “moral responsibility” to help grow the U.S. economy. And he harbors no current plans to run for president of the United States.

Those are two takeaways from an interview Cook gave to The New York Times as part of his trip to Austin, Texas, where he laid out plans to expand Apple’s Swift curriculum to new community colleges.