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News - page 955

Apple Music racks up more than 20 million subscribers

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Apple-Music-Android
Apple Music has hit a big milestone!
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Music has passed the 20 million subscriber mark, according to new figures released by Apple.

Last time the company released adoption figures, back in September, those numbers hovered around 17 million — meaning the number of paying Apple Music users jumped 15 percent in the past three months.

Apple gives us its list of the year’s best apps, movies, music and podcasts

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bestof2016
Apple's got some recommendations for you!
Photo: Apple

Looking for recommendations for possible Christmas gifts or end of year purchases? Don’t worry, Apple’s got you covered — and, crazily enough, all of it’s stuff you can buy through Apple.

Kidding aside, Apple just dropped its 2016 picks for the years best apps, movies, music, TV shows, podcasts and books. It’s a comprehensive list, and you can check out all the details below.

Must-have holiday gifts for hardcore Apple fans [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Holidays are coming!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Christmas is right around the corner, which means it’s time to start shopping for your loved ones. If one of them is a hardcore Apple fan, that might be easier than you think.

Friday Night Fights bugApple products aren’t cheap, but there’s something sweet at every price point, from maxed-out Macs that cost an arm and a leg, to the latest iOS devices for someone really special, and awesome accessories that fit into any budget.

In this week’s Friday Night Fight, we’re putting away our pitchforks for one week only and focusing on great gifts for every Apple fan.

Apple will pay state EPA fine for mishandled toxic waste

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Apple has settled claims with state regulators who allege the company mishandled electronic waste.
Apple has settled claims with state regulators who allege the company mishandled electronic waste.
Photo: Thomas Dohmke

Apple will pay the state of California $450,000 to settle claims that it improperly handled industrial waste at facilities the company ran in Silicon Valley.

Apple said the violations relate to reporting and tracking mistakes, claiming that health and safety standards at its waste facilities exceed the state’s requirements.

Supreme Court sides with Samsung in patent battle with Apple

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A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Tuesday brought relief to Samsung in its lawsuit with Apple over smartphone design patents.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Tuesday brought relief to Samsung in its lawsuit with Apple over smartphone design patents.
Illustration: Cult of Mac

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to Apple Tuesday when it sided with Samsung in a smartphone patent battle that had the South Korean company staring at hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties.

In a unanimous ruling, the Court ruled a patent violator does not have to turn over all its profits from sales if the stolen design involved certain components and the not the entire device.

‘Netflix of Mac software’ lets you binge on apps

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Mac App Store
The email app BlueMail finds itself on the outside of the "closed garden."
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s Mac App Store has been a desolate wasteland of mediocrity for years, but a new service called Setapp wants to breathe new life into macOS apps.

Setapp app claims it’s an “Unstore” alternative to the Mac App Store. Instead of paying for apps individually, you’ll pay a monthly subscription fee for access to 300 popular apps.

Apple is finally ready to spill some of its AI secrets

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Cy_5-XiW8AEVx3z
Apple is opening up about its AI work.
Photo: Hardmaru/Twitter

In a break from its ultra-secretive attitude toward R&D, Apple is set to start engaging more with the AI academic community by allowing its researchers to publish their work in machine learning journals.

The news was announced by Russ Salakhutd, director of AI research at Apple and a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania. He made the announcement at the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS) conference earlier today.

Instagram controls let you share more love, shut out hate

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Instagram
Instagram makes sharing Stories simpler.
Photo: Instagram

In a year highlighted by high-octane social media unkindness, Instagram is adding controls to make the photo sharing site safe for all.

Instagram will soon give its 500 million users a setting to turn off comments on any post, the ability to remove followers from private accounts, and a tool to anonymously report users expressing signs of hurting themselves.

Tim Cook says Apple Watch sales ‘off the charts’

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Apple Watch Series 2 waterproof
Apple says the Apple Watch set a sales record for the first week of holiday shopping.
Photo: Apple

A day after a gloomy third-quarter sales report about the Apple Watch, CEO Tim Cook says the device is already having a record holiday as one of the season’s most popular gifts.

He shoppers bought a record number of Apple Watches during the first week of holiday shopping, and the wearable is on pace to have its best quarter ever to close out 2016.

Apple’s latest ad asks wherefore art thou, iPhone 7?

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Screen Shot 2016-12-06 at 11.42.32
Shouldn't a Romeo and Juliet ad really be about star-crossed Android and iOS owners?
Photo: Apple

Apple’s launched another heartstring-tugging ad in time for the holidays, with an iPhone 7 commercial showing a teary-eyed dad filming his daughter in a school play version of Romeo and Juliet.

As with many of the other iPhone 7 ads, it focuses on the handset’s new camera upgrade, but ditches the moody black and white aesthetic for a more colorful one.

Check it out below.

The new MacBook Pro may have some battery issues

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Luminar
Some owners of the new MacBook Pro report unexpectedly short battery life.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s innovative new MacBook Pro may come with a battery that is a magnet for problems.

Several owners of the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar have taken to Apple’s support forums and Twitter to complain that the battery inside the new machine doesn’t last nearly as long as advertised.

CBS CEO hints a DirecTV Now deal will probably happen

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Add CBS to the list of broadcasters ready to sign a deal for Apple TV
You won't find CBS on DirecTV Now.
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

The biggest hole in DirecTV Now’s lineup may finally get filled by CBS, but it’s going to take awhile.

CBS CEO Les Moonves said today he’s confident his company will be able to make a deal with AT&T’s DirecTV Now service. However, CBS may delay and wait for a better deal.

Celebrity Apprentice hires YouTube star iJustine

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Justine Ezarik, a.k.a iJustine, will appear on The New Celebrity Apprentice.
Justine Ezarik, a.k.a iJustine, will appear on The New Celebrity Apprentice.
Photo: iJustine screenshot/YouTube

Justine Ezarik built a successful brand from her home by unboxing the latest Apple gadgets in front of a video camera and sharing her geeky tech enthusiasm with millions of YouTube followers.

Now the internet influencer known as iJustine will reach a new audience as she joins Arnold Schwarzenegger in the “Boardroom” as an adviser on The New Celebrity Apprentice.

Fitbit surges as Apple Watch stumbles

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Simple fitness trackers from Fitbit, Xiaomi and Garmin outsold Apple Watch during the third quarter.
Simple fitness trackers from Fitbit, Xiaomi and Garmin outsold Apple Watch during the third quarter.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

Apple Watch may be the most recognizable product in the wearables space, but it isn’t the best-selling.

Sales of Apple Watch are down more than 70 percent, according to IDC Research, which cites third-quarter sales figures of the wearables market.

Palo Alto Apple store targeted by ‘ram-raider’ thieves

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apple store
Not the correct place to park your car.
Photo: Apple

The Apple store in Palo Alto, California, suffered a brazen attack when a group of thieves in a rented SUV “ram-raided” the store early Sunday morning.

The burglars drove their vehicle at high speed into the 40-foot glass window at the front of the store, then climbed through the hole it had made. They stole iPhones, Macs and other devices before fleeing.

5 years after his death, Steve Jobs remains among top ‘current’ tech leaders

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Steve Jobs was anything but a bust as CEO.
Steve Jobs is still one of the most revered leaders in tech.
Photo: China News

Put it down to Steve Jobs’ astonishing legacy — or poor reading comprehension — but according to a poll of 700 tech company founders, the late Apple CEO is among the most admired “current” tech leaders.

Despite having died five years ago, Jobs scored fourth place in the poll, following Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

Hackintosh monster Macs and iPhone 8’s marquee feature, on The CultCast

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Could this be the next Mac Pro?
Could this be the next Mac Pro?
Photo: Nvidia

This week on The CultCast: Why building a Hackintosh can get you the monster Mac you’ve always wanted. Plus: Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reveals iPhone 8’s marquee feature; AirPods ship date is finally revealed; and stick around for our top Apple AirPort router replacement picks!

Our thanks to Casper for supporting this episode. Casper’s American-made mattresses have just the right amount of memory foam and latex, and people everywhere love them. Learn why and save $50 off your order at casper.com/cultcast.