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News - page 934

Ready, get set, go download Super Mario Run for iOS

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Super-Mario-Run-Dec-15
That's today!
Photo: Nintendo

At long last, Nintendo’s long-awaited Super Mario Run has sprinted into the App Store, in what is certainly the biggest iOS game launch of 2016 after Pokémon Go.

Marking the first time Nintendo’s most iconic character has been available on iOS — outside of dodgy third-party game emulators — a demo of Super Mario Run is downloadable for free, while the whole game priced at $9.99.

Instagram’s Snapchat-like features pull in more users

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Stories is already seeing more users than Snapchat.
Stories is already seeing more users than Snapchat.
Photo: Instagram

Instagram’s move to adopt features similar to SnapChat seems to have paid off for the globally popular photo-sharing network.

On its blog Thursday, Instagram sent a thank you note to its community, a number that surpassed 600 million users since it was founded in October of 2010.

Japanese ad shows off speed of Apple Pay

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Apple Pay
One of the big Apple Pay selling points in Japan is the ability to use it on the subway.
Photo: Apple

Like a short, Apple-produced version of the movie Sliding Doors, the company’s latest ad for the Japanese market pits two parallel versions of the same character against each other — one with Apple Pay, one without.

Guess which one makes it onto the train home in time? (Hint: the answer probably won’t shock you!)

New wireless tech could allow iPhones to charge from across the room

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iPhone wireless charging
You call this wireless charging?
Photo: Ivo Marić and Tomislav Rastovac

Apple could incorporate some impressively cutting edge wireless charging tech into its future devices, claims a new report — and it’s got the perfect partner companies to work with.

According to Fast Company, Apple may draw on the wireless company Energous and chip maker Dialog to usher in technology that would allow users to charge their iOS devices from across the room, rather than using the kind of charging mats employed by rivals like Samsung.

Week’s best Apple deals: Get iPad Pro at Black Friday prices, Goat Simulator for free!

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iPad Pros at Black Friday prices? Goat outta here!
iPad Pros at Black Friday prices? Goat outta here!
Photos: Apple, Acoustic Research, Coffee Stain Studios

Christmas is almost here, and if you’re still shopping for gifts, you only have a few days left before express-shipping fees kick in and brick-and-mortar stores get stingy with discounts to take advantage of your need.

Before that happens, check out some of the best iPad, iPhone and game prices we’ve seen all year, in this week’s roundup of the best Apple deals.

Tim Cook and other tech titans meet Trump in his tower

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Peter Thiel separates Tim Cook and Donald Trump at tech summit.
Peter Thiel separates Tim Cook and Donald Trump at tech summit.
Photo: Sean Spicer/Twitter

Trump Tower in New York City became the site of the biggest meeting of tech figures in years Wednesday, as President-elect Donald J. Trump called together Silicon Valley’s elite for a meeting of the minds.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was among those in attendance and was seated within arm’s reach of the Trump, even though Cook  previously has been criticized by the recently elected Republican. Trump also called for a boycott against Apple products during the blistering presidential campaign.

Apple drops fresh batch of betas for iOS, macOS and tvOS

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A new iOS beta is here!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Developers received a fresh new batch of beta software from Apple today, just two days after the company launched iOS 10.2 and tvOS 10.1 to the public.

The new first betas for macOS 10.12.3, iOS 10.2.1 and tvOS 10.1.1 all come with a number of bug fixes and performance enhancements, but they likely don’t contain any major new features.

Apple must pay $2 million to employees it screwed over

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Apple sign
Gene Levoff is accused of insider trading while at Apple.
Photo: Milo Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple’s former retail employees have come away victorious in their long legal battle against Apple in California.

A jury has ordered Apple to pay $2 million, after the iPhone-maker has found to have illegally denied retail staff meal and rest breaks and took weeks or months to give departing employees their last checks.

Apple is hiring more automotive mapping experts

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Apple Maps reservation OpenTable
Apple is working to improve its mapping services.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s continuing to ramp up its automotive mapping experts by poaching employees from the German company Here, owned by Audi, BMW, and Daimler.

A new report claims that Apple has hired around a dozen employees over the past several months for software or mapping-related roles.

Microsoft Cortana will open up to third-party devs

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Cortana was named after a character from Halo 4
The battle to establish a dominant AI assistant is ramping up.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft has just announced new Software Developer Kits (SDKs) for its Cortana virtual assistant, allowing developers to create new Cortana skills, as well as to integrate it into smart devices.

Check out the video below for a look at some of the skills Microsoft’s Cortana can offer when incorporated into a smart device.

Apple store employee: iPhone battery replacement is a mess

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iphone-7
Genius Bar expert says Apple has "no real plan" to deal with problem.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple was quick to rectify the “random shutdown” problem affecting some iPhones by offering in-store battery replacements for affected customers. Unfortunately, it seems that already-busy Apple store employees aren’t too happy about the replacement program.

Given that each replacement takes between 20 and 45 minutes, and staffers are doing 15 to 30 replacements per day, it’s quickly adding up to “more than we [can] replace,” according to a longtime Genius Bar guru.

Apple’s Support app is now available in the U.S.

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Supportapp
There's a new way to get help from Apple.
Photo: Apple

Apple has launched its new Support app in the U.S., giving customers the ability to get expert help with devices and software — as well as scheduling repairs at the Apple store if necessary — from the comfort of their iOS device.

Handily, the app also provides a catalog of support articles designed to help users fix common issues.

Breaking down Apple’s latest design studio video

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Apple Infinite Loop II
Apple's secretive Industrial Design Studio is on the ground floor of Infinite Loop II, one of the main buildings of Apple's Cupertino campus.

To promote his new design book, Jony Ive has made a video giving a very rare peek inside Apple’s ultra-secretive design studio.

The video is only the second one that I know of that shows the inside of the “studio behind the Iron Curtain” — so called because it’s so sealed off from the outside world. (The other was last year’s 60 Minutes episode).

While watching it, I recognized a lot of details that I mention in my book about Jony Ive but I don’t think are generally well-known. So I screenshot the video and made a few notes. Warning: This one’s for the design nerds.

macOS 10.12.2 is out with new emoji and wallpapers

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macOS Sierra logo
New goodies have arrived for Mac users.
Photo: Apple

Mac owners can now take advantage of all the new emoji iPhone users got earlier this week, thanks to today’s release of macOS 10.12.2.

Apple launched the macOS update this morning, bringing a host of performance enhancements to users, as well as couple new features and small tweaks.

Headphones with AI, super smartwatches for kids and more [Crowdfund Roundup]

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Crowdfund Roundup
Help turn these awesome ideas into reality!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

You can find some incredible new gadgets on Kickstarter and Indiegogo that often go unnoticed. We’re rounding up some of the best every week to help them get the funding they need to become a reality.

This week, we’ve got super smartwatches that keep your kids safe, incredibly intelligent headphones with artificial intelligence, a device that measures your nutrient levels, and more!

Stream 360-degree video from your iPhone

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Take this 360 camera for a spin. Get it?
Photo: Giroptic

360-degree photography is all the rage these days, and a new third-party iPhone accessory could further add to that — by giving users the chance to easily record 360 photo and video using their trusty iPhones.

Designed to allow for live-streaming via Facebook and YouTube, the iO device takes both 4K still photos and enhanced 2K video. Check out a video demonstration below:

BeatsX in-ear headphones will ship in February

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Screen Shot 2016-12-13 at 15.12.13
You'll be waiting just a bit longer for these headphones.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s much-delayed AirPods may be shipping in time for Christmas, but if you’re after the BeatsX in-ear headphones announced at exactly the same time, you’ll be waiting a bit longer than that.

That’s according to Apple, which just updated its official webpage to note that the new headphones won’t be shipping until February — or considerably later than the Fall release date they originally had.

AirPods finally available with shipping in time for Christmas

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Apple won't miss out on the all-important holiday market after all!
Photo: Apple

Update: Well that didn’t last long! Already it seems that AirPod demand has exceeded supply, as shipping times have been pushed back past Christmas into 2017.

Apple’s long-awaited, sometimes derided wireless AirPods are finally available to buy through Apple’s online store — priced at $159.

While it’s not known when they’ll be available for sale in brick-and-mortar Apple retail stores, you can breathe a sigh of relief, since orders placed through Apple’s online store are currently showing a pre-Christmas delivery date of December 21.

Samsung may spin off its chip business as standalone company

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A10 Fusion
Losing Apple's A-series chip orders may have prompted the move.
Photo: Apple

Samsung may spin off its chip-making business as part of a company-wide restructuring, claims a new report.

The move would be a response to Samsung’s loss of Apple’s A-series chip orders to rival chipmaker TSMC for the iPhone 7 and, potentially, future iOS chips as well.

Shigeru Miyamoto says Nintendo and Apple go together like Mario and Luigi

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Players have spent more than $1 billion on Nintendo's mobile games
Nintendo mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto opened up to Glixel about his thoughts on his role, and the company's partnership with Apple for Super Mario Run.
Photo: Nintendo

When Nintendo announced they’d be working with Apple to launch Super Mario Run on iPhone, the partnership made a lot of sense. After all, both companies share a similar arc in the history of their respective industries, each defining the early decades of the home gaming and computing industries, respectively. But perhaps the most relevant similarity is in the two companies’ focus on design.