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News - page 955

Everything that’s new in iOS 10.1 beta 2

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iOS 10 Messages
See all that iOS 10.1 beta 2 has to offer.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS 10 has only been available to the public for a few weeks, but developers are already receiving updates for iOS 10.1 beta 2. Along with bug fixes and a beta version of Portrait Mode for the iPhone 7 Plus, beta 2 offers a few new minor improvements and features.

Check them out in action in our video below.

U.K. prime minister takes possible shot at Apple for refusing to help fight terrorists

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Ukraine_Forum_on_Asset_Recovery_(14038928986)
Theresa May hasn't always been Apple's biggest fan.
Photo: Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Apple’s pro-encryption privacy standoff with the FBI may not have been in the news too much as of late, but Apple’s strong stance in favor of encryption continues to ruffle feathers among authorities.

Today. U.K. prime minister Theresa May gave a speech at the Tory party conference, in which she took what many are calling a veiled dig against Apple by referring to a “household name” that is refusing to work with officials to fight terrorism.

Apple supplier now employs 40,000 robots to do its bidding

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Irobot
It'll still be a while before Foxconn's factories are totally automated, however.
Photo: 20th Century Fox

Apple supplier Foxconn has installed a massive 40,000 robots for handling manufacturing jobs at a number of its factories in China, claims a new report.

The industrial robots — named “Foxbots” — are currently being rolled out at factories in Zhengzhou, Kunshan, Jiashanm and a “tablet plant” in Chengdu, where Apple is known to produce iPads. Foxconn’s future robot production is expected to hit around 10,000 units per year.

Google Pixel first impressions: Solid build, fugly back

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Google Pixel
It's in talks to buy HTC, maker of the Pixel lineup.
Photo: Google

Google’s new Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones are ready to do battle with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus and based on the first hands-on reviews, Apple could learn a few things from the new devices.

Apple’s shadow loomed large during today’s Google event. Exec from the search engine giant threw plenty of shade at the iPhone-maker for its lack of a headphone jack and storage limitations. Even though Google’s new devices look like total iPhone ripoffs the initial reaction has been mostly positive.

We’ll have to test Pixel in the wild before making our final judgement but here are some of the first reactions to the device from people that got to play with it:

Sleek power bank charges Apple Watch and iPhone simultaneously

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The ZENS Power Bank  for the Apple Watch and iPhone.
The ZENS Power Bank for the Apple Watch and iPhone.
Photo: ZENS

Our Apple devices are designed, in part, to make our lives easier. But the chargers they come with add a burden. Tangled cords and bulk become nuisance cargo in our bags and that’s if you don’t lose track of one of your chargers.

The Dutch company ZENS has prided itself for the last five years on cutting our cords and its latest wireless power bank offers an Apple MFi certified one-stop charging solution for the Apple Watch and the iPhone or iPad.

Get the Cult of Mac Fitness Handbook, an exclusive free ebook

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Check out our free ebook
Check out our free ebook
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

After undergoing successful chemotherapy treatment for cancer, Apple’s fitness gadgets helped me turn my life around and get fit in middle age. So I know from personal experience just how important they can be. That’s why I focus on fitness for Cult of Mac, and it’s why I’ve written The Cult of Mac Fitness Handbook: Get in Shape With iPhone and Apple Watch.

Today, I’m in the best shape of my life, and I rely on my iPhone and Apple Watch to help keep me that way.

They are powerful tools for getting fit and losing weight — if you know how to use them.

SIM card gadget lets you leave the second iPhone at home

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Carry an extra iPhone or carry a SIMpro to manage that extra phone line.
Carry an extra iPhone or carry a SIMpro to manage that extra phone line.
Photo: SIMpro

Too bad Hillary Clinton is busy or she could serve as a celebrity endorser for a Kickstarter campaign sure to interest people whose important lives depend on carrying two smartphones.

SIMpro is a credit-card-sized device that serves as a dual-SIM adapter with data connection that can manage two active phone numbers. SIMpro works with an iOS app and even works with Bluetooth to turn an iPod or iPad into smartphones.

Apple gives devs new betas for iOS, watchOS and tvOS

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iPhone 7
iOS 10.1 brings some tweaks to the iPhone.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Developers received a batch of new beta software updates today bringing a bunch of bug fixes to the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV.

iOS 10.1 beta 2 is the most notable of the new beta builds. The last version added the new Portrait Mode to the iPhone 7 Plus, which has earned rave reviews so far, though some early images have shown it still needs some tweaking.

With new hardware trio, Google makes major play for your home

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google home speaker
Google Home is taking on the Amazon Echo.
Photo: Google

Not only does Google want to replace your iPhone with a Pixel, the search giant revealed today that it plans to invade homes with three new products that directly compete with offerings from Apple and Amazon.

During an event in San Francisco today, Google unveiled a new Wi-Fi router, an improved Chromecast and a new Google Home device that’s a lot like Amazon’s Echo smart speaker, only it’s powered by Google Assistant.

How Google’s Pixel phones stack up against iPhone 7

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Pixel
Pixel and Pixel XL.
Photo: Google

Google’s new Pixel smartphones have landed, and they’re here to show the world that Android is stepping up its fight against the iPhone.

The Pixel lineup shares a lot in common with the Nexus family it replaces, but it’s not designed with pure Android enthusiasts in mind anymore. Google wants to reach everyone with its new Pixel and Pixel XL, and it has gone all out to make that happen.

But does the Pixel duo have what it takes to beat iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and other high-end rivals? Find out in our smartphone comparison below.

How to give your iPhone 7 a retro iPhone 4 makeover

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Don't try this at home.
Don't try this at home.
Photo: PeripateticPandas

The design of the iPhone 7 is awfully disappointing to Apple fans who were hoping for a major change this year, but there’s still a way to get all of the new device’s features into a totally different form factor.

All it takes is a giant saw and an industrial sanding belt and you’ll be on your way to getting the sleek straight edge frame of the iPhone 4. YouTuber PeripateticPandas created a new video showing the full process that will give you the most unique looking iPhone 7 in the world.

Check it out:

More proof Apple wants to embed Touch ID sensors in iPhone display

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Touch ID
No more of this, apparently.
Photo: Apple

After switching to a Taptic Touch ID sensor for the iPhone 7, Apple is strongly rumored to be eliminating a physical “Home” button altogether for next year’s iPhone 8 — and instead integrating Touch ID fingerprint sensors into the main display.

Now a newly-published patent appears to back up that rumor, with the stated goal of expanding screen real estate by avoiding, “assigning valuable surface space exclusively to a component that may only be used briefly during the process of identifying the user.”

PartyUp turns dozens of Ultimate Ears speakers into distributed sound system

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PartyUp Ultimate Ears
Ultimate Ears' new PartyUp mode is capable of seamlessly linking "more than 50" of the company's brightly colored Bluetooth speakers.
Photo: Ultimate Ears

A free software update for Ultimate Ears’ popular Boom and Megaboom speakers lets you connect dozens of the Bluetooth devices to create a massive wall of sound.

The over-the-air update, coming today to the “life-proof” speaker line, enables a new feature called PartyUp that can connect “more than 50” of UE’s popular tube-shaped speakers. “More than 50” is the party line, but UE product manager Jim Saraco said his team connected 130 of the speakers at the company’s HQ.

“In reality, we’re still trying to find a cap,” Saraco told Cult of Mac.

Scratch test suggests iPhone 7 camera lens may not be pure sapphire

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Apple digital viewfinder patent
Apple's new camera lens is cool, but it may not be pure sapphire.
Photo: Apple

We may not yet have sapphire glass on our iPhone screens, but Apple has been claiming to use the ultra-hard material for its iPhone camera lens since 2013’s iPhone 5s.

However, those claims are being called into question by a new durability test carried out by YouTuber JerryRigEverything, who compares the hardness of the iPhone 7 camera lens with the sapphire display of a Tissot sapphire watch — and finds that the iPhone camera lens scratches far more easily.

Check the video out below.

Customers of Russia’s largest bank can now use Apple Pay

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Screen Shot 2016-10-04 at 13.45.17
Apple Pay is now available in ten countries.
Photo: Apple

Apple Pay has arrived in a new country, with Apple’s mobile payment service launching in Russia on Tuesday — although right now it’s only available with one bank and card.

“Sberbank clients – MasterCard cardholders – can now use Apple Pay, which will allow them to make contactless payments online safely and comfortably,” a press release from Sberbank of Russia, which is the largest bank in Russia and Eastern Europe, stated.

Apple Watch Series 2 may not be enough to boost sales

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Apple Watch Nike Plus
Will the Nike+ bring in more Apple Watch customers?
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

The new features on the Apple Watch Series 2 will not be enough to boost overall sales of the wearable, claims KGI Securities analyst Ming Chi Kuo.

Even though the original Apple Watch was only on sale for eight months in 2015, Kuo’s supply chain sources indicate that sales will decline compared to last year.

Pixel phones are Google’s chance to out-innovate Apple

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Pixel by Google
Will Google deliver?
Photo: Google

The twin phones Google will launch Tuesday will show the company is finally serious about tackling the iPhone head-on. And they couldn’t be arriving at a better time.

With iPhone demand falling and many fans disappointed with the improvements Apple has made with the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, it’s a perfect opportunity for Google to prove it can out-innovate its biggest rival in the smartphone industry.

Microsoft just killed its Apple Watch competitor

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The Microsoft Band 2 never caught on.
The Microsoft Band 2 never caught on.
Photo: Microsoft

The Microsoft Band may have just met its demise.

Microsoft’s online store has officially stopped selling the Band 2 which was positioned as a competitor to the Apple Watch. The company also revealed today that it will not release a new Microsoft Band 3 this year.

Apple seeds third macOS Sierra 10.12.1 beta to developers

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macOS Sierra logo
A new macOS Sierra beta is here.
Photo: Apple

The third beta builds of macOS Sierra 10.12.1 was seeded to developers today, less than a week after Apple released the second build that contained a number of bug fixes.

Developers can pick up the new beta directly form the Apple Developer Center, or install it via the Mac App Store’s software update option if the previous beta build is already installed on your Mac.

StubHub’s Apple TV app brings ticket search to your couch

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Stub Hub is now on Apple TV.
Stub Hub is now on Apple TV.
Photo: Stub Hub

Finding tickets to the next concert, sporting event or comedy show you want to go to is now as easy as watching TV, thanks to the new StubHub app for Apple TV.

StubHub’s new offering is the first-ever ticketing app for the Apple TV, only instead of just making their popular mobile app TV-sized, the company focused the experience on browsing upcoming events in your area.

Reboot of London’s long-shuttered Apple store nears completion

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Apple is the U.K.'s top tech employer.
The iconic Regent Street store is finally reopening.
Photo: Apple

After being shuttered for all of 2016, Apple’s flagship Regent Street store in London will reopen on Saturday, October 15, Apple has announced.

Working with Foster & Partners, the architectural firm responsible for London’s Gherkin skyscraper, Apple’s renovations plans called for it to update what it calls the “tired and outdated” look of the store front.

What are we expecting instead? Some more Jony Ive minimalism and a whole lot of indoor trees.

Apple partnering with Danish university to investigate sustainable energy

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aarhus-university
Apple's new investment represents a rare partnership with a university.
Photo: University of Aarhus

Apple has entered into a partnership agreement with Denmark’s University of Aarhus to investigate bio-gas research and how sustainable energy can be obtained from agriculture.

The R&D partnership is part of “billion-kroner” (read: hundreds of millions of dollars) partnership, according to Denmark’s foreign minister, Kristin Jensen.

Three new iPads Pro are coming early next year

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x
New iPads are on their way. Allegedly.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is set to debut a trifecta of new iPad Pro models in Q1 2017, according to a new report, citing “well-placed sources” of the Japanese Apple blog Mac Okatara.

If the report is to be believed, Apple will release a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a slightly larger version of its 9.7-inch iPad with 10.1-inch display, and a 7.9-inch iPad Pro upgrade of Apple’s iPad mini lineup.

iPhone 7 battery life can’t match rivals

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iPhone
A familiar sight on your iPhone?
Photo: Apple

The iPhone 7 battery might be larger than its predecessor, but that’s still not enough for it to catch up with other leading flagship smartphones, as per a new consumer testing report.

According to the U.K.-based Which?, the iPhone 7 performs far behind the Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5 and HTC 10 when it comes to call and internet time.

Burly Men at Sea, Alto Dashboard, and other awesome new apps

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If you're appy and you know it, check our list!
'Appy weekend all!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

From a great app to make your email experience more efficient to a uniquely superb narrative-driven game, we’ve sifted through the most exciting new apps to bring you the ones you’ll want to download this weekend.

Check out our picks below. Trust us, this is the way you want to spend Sunday!