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News - page 938

Apple Pay is now available to customers in Spain

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Screen Shot 2016-12-01 at 14.38.09
Apple Pay is in its thirteenth country.
Photo: Apple

Apple Pay has arrived in yet another country, with Spain’s Banco Santander bank now offering its customers the ability to use Apple’s mobile payments solution.

“Apple Pay shows we are committed to collaborate and to bring innovation and new technology to our customers to make their payments easier, faster and more secure,” Rami Aboukhair, country head of Santander Spain, said in a statement. “We are convinced our customers will love it.”

Steam holiday sale kicks off December 22

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Steam-holiday
It's that time of the year again!
Photo: Cult of Mac

Christmas is a great time to pick up cheap games for Mac and PC on Steam, with big discounts on the latest titles and timeless classics. According to a new leak, this year’s sale will kick off on Thursday, December 22.

Apple will use drones to make Maps better

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Apple Maps reservation OpenTable
Drones could be key to improving Apple Maps.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple plans to use a combination of drones, indoor mapping and other smart tech to improve its Apple Maps service, claims a new report.

Employing drones could help Apple catch up with industry leader Google. The search giant has routinely outpaced Apple on mapping technology ever since Cupertino entered the space with its (initially disastrous) Apple Maps in 2012.

Apple may be cutting iPhone 7 orders as demand falls

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iPhone 7 back
Interest in the iPhone 7 is already falling.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is reportedly cutting iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus orders less than three months after their debut due to falling demand.

Momentum has fallen “significantly” in China and other markets, according to sources in Apple’s supply chain, and component makers are already shifting their focus to iPhone 8.

Fitbit said to be planning $40 million Pebble acquisition

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Pebble might be dead, but your watch isn't.
Can Fitbit breathe new life into Pebble?
Photo: Pebble

Fitness band maker Fitbit is said to be in the process of acquiring Pebble, the company that kickstarted the smartwatch generation. Sources say the acquisition will cost between $35 million and $40 million, and will include the entire Pebble portfolio — including its intellectual property.

People love Apple’s doomed AirPort more than any other router

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Apple's routers are #1.
Apple's routers are #1.
Photo: Apple

Apple sure seems to be doing routers right. At least according to the more than 3,000 customers polled in J.D. Power’s 2016 Wireless Router Satisfaction Report.

Apple came out as the top-rated router manufacturer in Overall Satisfaction, which would be great news for the AirPort team — if Apple hadn’t just disbanded it.

Week’s best Apple deals: Best prices yet on Apple TV and more

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Apple deals
Cure your post-Black Friday hangover with great deals on Apple TV and more.
Photos: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac, Apple, DirecTV

Congratulations — you survived Black Friday! We were thrilled to see some new highs (and lows) from retailers. But if you missed out on the savings, fear not: Plenty of discounts are still going strong.

In this week’s roundup of the best Apple deals, you’ll see all-time price lows on Apple TV, MacBooks, iPads, iPhones and more. These hot deals either match or beat prices we’ve seen in the last week.

How to watch Netflix offline

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The new Netflix app reveals your internet speeds.
Finally, watching Stranger Things on the subway is a reality.
Photo: Photo: Shardayyy/Flickr CC

If you’ve been dying to watch Netflix offline, your life just got better. An update to the official Netflix app lets you download TV shows and movies so you can view them without munching through your data allowance.

Anyone who’s dreamed about watching Stranger Things or The Crown on the subway to work, or at 35,000 feet, this is your lucky day! Here’s how to get in on the action.

iPhone app gives digital shooters a taste of film

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FB
This app may inspire you to grab an old camera and shoot a roll of film.
Photo: Filmborn screenshot/Mastin Labs

What is the best way to convince a global community of mostly digital photographers that they should pick up an old camera and shoot film? Put film on the iPhone.

That is exactly what Seattle-based Mastin Labs has done with its new film emulation app for iOS, Filmborn.

Woz’s wacky music festival is the focus of new documentary

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Steve Wozniak wax sculpture fake eyes
Remember that time Woz was a concert promoter?
Photo: Madame Tussauds

Before there was the Apple Music Festival, there was the US Festival: a sprawling, Woodstock-style music event hosted by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

Boasting performances ranging from the Grateful Dead and the Ramones to The Kinks and Fleetwood Mac, the story behind the epic, money-losing concert is set to be told in a new documentary called The US Generation.

Apple marks World AIDS Day with new products and donations scheme

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Apple Store in Hong Kong show support for World AIDS Day.
Apple stores around the world go red for World AID Day
Photo: Lorraine Ng/Instagram

Tomorrow is World AIDS Day, and — as it has for the past decade — Apple is taking a stand as part of the Product (Red) campaign.

To mark the occasion, Apple is turning its logo red in Apple stores around the world, debuting several new products, selling limited edition content in the App Store, and matching customer purchases with donations to help fund the global fight against HIV.

iPads linked to bullying in schools, claims British politician

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Is there a link between bullying and iPads in class?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Bullying in schools? Blame iPads, claims U.K. politician Edward Timpson, the Minister for Children and Families.

Speaking to the House of Lords Communications Committee, Timpson said that iPads are “forming too much” of kids’ school days, and as a result are being increasingly used inappropriately for “bullying and harassment.”

Apple Music’s student plan reaches 25 more countries

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Apple Music
Apple Music costs a lot less for students.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Music’s student plan is now available in 25 additional countries around the world. The plan gives college and university students around 50 percent off a single-user account, cutting the cost to $4.99 a month in the U.S. and €4.99 in Europe.

iTunes Connect will shut down for Christmas

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iPhone 7
Get your apps ready for Christmas.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

App developers hoping to cash in on the Christmas downloading season better get their new builds and updates submitted to Apple soon.

Apple warned today that it will shutter iTunes Connect during the holidays so employees can have some time off.

Alexa in your car, customizable drones and personal air-con [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 modular drones that turn into all kinds of flying machines, a tiny white box that promises to improve your posture, a device that brings Amazon Alexa to your car, and the world’s first personal air conditioner.

Amazon plans touchscreen Alexa speaker

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Amazon Echo
Using Alexa is about to get even better.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Amazon is planning to capitalize on the success of its Alexa speakers by launching a high-end model with improved audio and a built-in touchscreen, according to a new report.

It would become the first Alexa speaker with a display, which is expected to show useful information like weather forecasts, calendar appointments and breaking news.

Innovative iPhone 8 could shatter sales records

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iPhone 7
Next year's iPhone may topple even the mighty iPhone 6 in sales.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has big plans for the iPhone 8, claims KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

How big? According to Kuo, Apple will be scaling up iPhone production 120-150 million units in the second half of 2017. If true, this would would be well above the 110-120 million units Apple ordered of its bestselling iPhone 6 generation handsets.

Apple will make four more Macs obsolete at end of 2016

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Mac App Store
It's time to upgrade.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you own a Mac that was made between 2009 to 2011 it is about to become officially obsolete.

Apple plans to no longer offer support for two MacBook Pros, a Mac mini and MacBook, according to a new report that reveals the devices are set to join the long list of vintage Apple products.

Samsung shareholders could prompt business split

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samsung-to-copy-iphone-upgrade-program-to-stop-switchers-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201511Galaxy-S6-cam-jpg
We are never, ever, ever getting back together.
Photo: Cult of Android

Samsung Electronics has revealed that it is considering splitting itself into two separate companies, as the result of intense pressure from shareholders.

The South Korean tech giant will carry out a review to look at the implications of such a massive move, although in a statement it noted that such a review “does not indicate the management or the board’s intention one way or another.”

Apple smashes Samsung in India’s high-end smartphone market

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Apple supplier is increasing its ability to build masses of iPhones in India
Apple is dominating high-end sales in India.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 7 may cost half the average annual salary in India, but that’s not stopping it from trouncing rival Samsung when it comes to premium smartphone marketshare in the country.

While Samsung garnered just 23 percent of the Rs 30,000 and up ($437-plus) market last month, Apple almost tripled this with a 66 percent share of high-end smartphone unit sales. Google’s new Pixel smartphone slid into third place with 10 percent of the market.

Australia won’t let banks gang up on Apple Pay

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple gets its way down under.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission won’t let banks team up to bargain with Cupertino over Apple Pay fees.

Three of the country’s four major banks applied to negotiate with Apple together, and potentially boycott the wireless payments service if no deal was reached. Now that the banks’ request has been denied by the ACCC, they’ll be forced to work out individual agreements over Apple Pay.