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News - page 864

Foxconn could confirm U.S. manufacturing plans this week

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Foxconn
But there's a definite chance of further delays.
Photo: Foxconn

Foxconn, Apple’s largest manufacturing partner, could this week announce its plans to open new manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

Sources say the Chinese company could hold an event in Washington, D.C. to announce new electronics plants in Detroit and Wisconsin — but it’s not yet clear whether those plants will be making goods for Apple.

Apple makes a Siri ‘movie’ with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

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Siri movie
The Rock is the start of Apple's first Siri "movie."
Photo: Apple

Apple has teamed up with Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock, to make its first Siri “movie.”

It’s called The Rock x Siri: Dominate the Day, and it’s pretty hilarious. Johnson plays an exaggerated version of himself who uses Siri to fulfill crazy dreams. But it’s certainly not a movie.

Layton’s Mystery Journey, Clips, and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend everyone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A brilliant, sumptuously animated point-and-click mystery game is just one of the great App Store picks we’ve highlighted for this week’s “Awesome Apps” roundup.

We’ve also selected two major updates to big messaging apps, and a new “must have” app for Nintendo Switch owners. Check out our choices below.

Cult of Mac Magazine: Best Apple Watch Running App, Everything new with Siri, and more!

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cult of mac magazine
All this week on Cult of Mac, Graham Bower's been reviewing the best running apps for Apple Watch. And, now we bring them to you!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

We’ve got a jam-packed issue this week including a rundown of six running apps for Apple Watch. See which one comes out on top!

In this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine, you’ll find that story and more. Get the latest on iPhone 8’s Touch ID. Find out everything new with Siri in iOS 11 update. And discover five apps that keep you safe while traveling. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

Why Apple’s making an iPhone Pro, this week on The CultCast

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It's time to make the iPhone exciting again.
It's time to make the iPhone exciting again.
Photo: @YSR50

This week on The CultCast: Why Apple’s making an iPhone Pro, a tech-packed cutting-edge phone that will showcase what Cupertino is capable of. Plus: Genius Bar jackpot! (Or, why Apple sometimes replaces your old, broken gear for a brand new model.) And stick around for a super-powerful electric long board, a HomeKit-enabled ceiling fan, and a pro-level keyboard case for your iPad Pro in an all-new Under Review.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code “CultCast” at checkout to get 10 percent off any hosting plan.

Can facial recognition replace Touch ID? [Friday Night Fights]

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iPhone facial recognition
Unlocking your iPhone could be as easy as looking at it.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Recent iPhone 8 rumors have left the future of Touch ID unclear. Some indicate it will remain, but in a new position, while others warn that Apple plans to replace it with iris scanning and facial recognition.

Friday Night Fights bugThese aren’t entirely new technologies; other manufacturers have been offering them for years with mixed results. But can Apple deliver a solution that’s simple, fast, and secure enough to replace the fingerprint scanner?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over whether the iPhone can bid farewell to Touch ID.

Apple onboard with India for high-speed trains

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Apple train tech India
India's government hopes Apple can help make the country's trains run faster.
Photo: Ankur Yadav/Flickr CC

Apple is eager to get business in India on a fast track – plans that include partnering with the government on high-speed rail.

Apple reportedly is among a group of technology firms that will help India’s railways increase train speeds up to as much as 600 kilometers per hour.

iOS 11 automatically ignores flaky Wi-Fi connections

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Flaky Wi-fi
You should already have this switched off.
Photo: Cult of Mac

With iOS 11, your iPhone gets smart enough to realize when a Wi-Fi connection is flaky, and gives up trying to join it. This might be most useful if you’re one of those people who keeps your Ask Join Networks setting activated, but it should help anyone who uses their iPhone in multiple places — i.e. everyone ever.

iPhone 4s sparked house fire, lawsuit claims

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iPhone 4s
A lawsuit claims the battery of an iPhone 4s is responsible for a house fire.
Photo: Apple

The insurance company for a Wisconsin man is suing Apple claiming his iPhone 4s caused a house fire last year that left significant property damage.

The lawsuit, filed recently by Xai Thao and State Farm insurance company, blamed a faulty lithium ion battery in the handset for causing the fire. Thao says the iPhone 4s contained the original factory battery.

How ARKit will deliver the future of maps

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Augmented
This is one way not to get lost.
Photo: Andrew Hart

From crowdsourced traffic data on Waze to Apple’s innovative “Flyover” feature for Apple Maps, our smartphones have introduced a number of clever map-related technologies that make it easier to get from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible.

A new demo of Apple’s ARKit augmented reality reality by independent iOS developer Andrew Hart showcases how augmented reality could help take our navigation to the next level. Check it out below.

A faulty first-gen Apple Watch could get you a free upgrade

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Apple Watch
Apple Watch Series 3 will look exactly the same as its predecessors.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

If you have a first-generation Apple Watch that’s faulty, you could bag a free upgrade when you take it to the Apple store.

Employees and Authorized Service Providers in some countries have been given authorization to replace original models with Apple Watch Series 1 units, but only certain variants are eligible.

Apple’s biggest rivals back fight against Qualcomm

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Red iPhone in hand
Other tech companies aren't happy that Qualcomm's trying to ban the iPhone.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has some serious backup in its battle against Qualcomm, as a lobbying group representing some of tech’s heaviest hitters (including a handful of Apple’s biggest historic enemies) have called on regulators to reject Qualcomm’s bid to ban the importing of iPhones.

Some of the names in said group? Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Samsung — all of whom have filed official comments in support of Apple with the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Apple may have already picked its iPhone 9 battery supplier

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battery1
Apple's got LG in its sights. In a good way.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone 8 isn’t even out yet, and already the tech world is focused on who might be supplying the various components for next year’s iPhone 9 (or iPhone 8s, depending on whether Apple returns to its traditional naming formula!)

A new report claims that South Korean tech company LG has secured the exclusive contract to provide Apple with its iPhone 9 batteries, having committed to making a big investment in production facilities in 2018.

Apple reportedly working with Chinese firm on electric car battery

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apple car
A rendering of an Apple car with a different kind of bumper
Photo: Motor1

Apple may be working on a car after all. A partnership between Apple and China’s biggest battery manufacturer is all about developing an electric car battery, according to a new report.

Apple was long rumored to be working on an autonomous vehicle under the code name Project Titan. But recent signals from Cupertino made it look like the tech company was downshifting its automotive ambitions, focusing on software rather than building an actual electric car.

Clever origami stand won’t fold under weight of your devices

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FODI
This origami-inspired stand will prop up your tech life.
Photo: FODI

There are people in the world with the title professional origami artist. Just the thought puts a crease in your forehead.

To answer your question, Yes, there is value in people knowing the art of folding paper. Let a product called FODI convince you by being one of the most indispensable tech accessories you could carry.

Samsung might get aced out of big iPhone chip deal

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iPhone 7 back
TSMC may be the company behind Apple's A12 iPhone chips.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is likely to hang on to Apple’s A-series iPhone chip orders in 2018, a new report claims.

The report contrasts with one published earlier this week, suggesting that Samsung would be taking over the role of A12 chip manufacturing, on account of its investment in “extreme UV lithography machines,” some of the the most advanced chip-making equipment around.

iPhone 8’s Touch ID returns to the back in new leak

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iPhone 8 chassis
Touch ID moves again.
Photo: Baidu

The positioning of Touch ID has changed yet again in the latest iPhone 8 leak.

A machined rear panel for Apple’s upcoming device suggests the company still has plans to put a fingerprint scanner on its back — as indicated by earlier leaks. But it won’t be a pain to reach like the Galaxy S8’s.

Apple execs meet with Australian government to talk encryption

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iPhone hack
The Australian government is no fan of strong encryption
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Australia may not be one of Apple’s biggest markets, but that doesn’t mean that Apple’s not taking its impending law changes regarding strong encryption seriously.

In fact, according to a new report, Apple has flown to of its top privacy executives to the country over the past month to lobby the government over its demands. Apple representatives met with Australian Attorney-General George Brandis and members of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s government this week to discuss cybersecurity.

Curtains raise on The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs opera this weekend

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Ashton Kutcher and Michael Fassbender played Steve Jobs in movies. Now Edward Parks III brings his rich baritone voice to the Steve Jobs opera, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.
Your new Steve Jobs, everyone!
Photo: Dario Acosta/Santa Fe Opera

Always wanted to know more about the life of Steve Jobs, but been put off by the lack of show-stopping musical numbers? The Santa Fe Opera is here to offer a solution.

This Saturday, the Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico debuts its long-awaited production, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. It tells the life story of Apple’s co-founder and most iconic CEO in a way no biography has done before.