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News - page 970

Target blames Apple for its own decline in sales

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target-hopes-for-bulls-eye-with-its-mobile-wallet-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads20151214206310981_090d141772_o-jpg
Target says its Apple sales fell 20 percent over the past quarter.
Photo: Target

Declining sales of Apple products is one of the factors Target has blamed for its disappointing second-quarter earnings.

During a conference call today, Target CEO Brian Cornell noted that Apple products fell 20 percent in sales at his company’s stores, resulting in a double-digit percentage sales decline in the retailer’s electronics division.

With eyesight failing, CEO hurries to make voice-enabled tech mainstream

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Chris Maury leads the charge towards smarter voice-enabled technology.
Chris Maury leads the charge towards smarter voice-enabled technology.
Photo: Conversant Labs

Cult of Mac 2.0 bug When Chris Maury tried helping an elderly blind woman use voice commands on an iPad, she thanked him but said, “I just wish Siri could read me the news.”

Maury understood her frustration. He, too, was losing his vision and could foresee a struggle to remain productive using the visual interfaces common on all computing devices.

Only ‘special edition’ iPhones may get OLED displays at first

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The next iPhone will have a huge battery.
The OLED could be an iPhone 8 Plus exclusive.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Most people are pretty darn excited about the possibility of Apple adding an OLED display to the iPhone in the near future, but according to one analyst, the feature is likely to be rolled out slowly — arriving first of all as an “added bonus” for only select higher-end iPhones.

Legendary Apple store unloads treasure trove of vintage Macs

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Tekserve
Tekserve's Mac Museum shortly before it was auctioned off in 2016.
Photo: Roland Auctioneers

Apple fans in the Big Apple are misty eyed this week as a beloved repair shop gets ready to close its doors for good.

Tekseve, with a true genius bar of technicians unmatched by any modern Apple Store, has been forced out of its Manhattan location after nearly 30 years because of high rents and retail competition. Its collection of rare old Macs that were on display will be auctioned off next Tuesday.

Apple is producing an exclusive documentary about Cash Money Records

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Screen Shot 2016-08-17 at 11.54.04
Apple is all about that Cash Money.
Photo: Instagram

In its quest for more exclusive music content, Apple Music has signed an agreement with Cash Money Records: the record label which brought fan Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Young Money and Birdman.

According to the deal, which was described as a “power move” by co-founder Birdman on his Instagram, Apple will produce a documentary about the label — set to air exclusively on Apple Music.

Today in Apple history: Happy birthday to Steve Jobs’ best friend, Larry Ellison

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Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison once offered to buy Apple for Jobs to run.
Photo: Oracle Corporate Communications

17AugAugust 17, 1944: Larry Ellison, billionaire co-founder and former CEO of Oracle, and Steve Jobs’ best friend, is born.

A later member of the Apple board of directors and the closest thing Jobs had to a confidante, in the 1990s Ellison even considered staging a hostile takeover of Apple to reinstall Jobs as CEO during his time away from the company.

Jobs’ son, Reed, reportedly referred to Ellison as, “our rich friend.”

Apple gives hackers a behind the scenes look at iOS security

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iOS 10
Here's how Apple keeps iPhone data locked right.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple gave hackers an inside look at how it keeps iOS 10 secure during a recent Black Hat conference keynote that has now been made available to view online. 

The keynote by Apple security expert Ivan Krstic discusses three iOS security mechanisms (HomeKit, Auto Unlock and iCloud Keychain) in unprecedented detail, showing key elements of Apple’s cryptographic design. If you’ve ever been curious how Apple keeps all your private data safe, it’s well worth watching. 

Check it out below:

Consumers say Apple and Samsung make too many smartphones

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The iPhone 6s is selling like hotcakes.
Do you really need to upgrade every year?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

When it comes to smartphone upgrades, consumers now think that companies like Apple and Samsung release too many new models and don’t put enough effort towards recycling.

A new study from Greenpeace surveyed over 6,000 people in the U.S. China, Russian, Mexico, Germany and South Korea and found that the average person has at least three phones at home, and more than half said they more than half said they would be okay with changing phones less often.

Apple is hiring a team of lyrics curators for Apple Music

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apple music app
iOS 10 brings lyrics to Apple Music.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The new lyrics feature in Apple Music might not be powered by a third-party company, according to a new job posting found on Apple’s website.

It appears that Apple instead plans to do most of the work compiling lyrics all on its own by hiring “a team of lyrics curators with excellent writing skills, music knowledge, and attention to detail.”

Ford plans to make ride-hailing service with autonomous cars

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Ford is ready for the future of self-driving cars.
Ford is ready for the future of self-driving cars.
Photo: Mike Mozart/Flickr

The next time you buy Ford, instead of buying a car to keep you might just get access to an entire fleet of autonomous cars.

Ford CEO Mark Fields revealed today during a meeting with employees in Palo Alto that not only is the company building an autonomous car, it plans to launch an entire fleet of autonomous vehicle by 2021 to create its own ride-hailing service by 2021.

iPhone 7 may launch on September 23

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iPhone 7 Plus prototype
Get your wallet ready.
Photo: PConline

Apple’s next iPhone could be available to the public as soon as September 23rd, based on a new leak that reveals AT&T plans to do a big “Merchandising Reset” at all stores that day.

The unveiling of the iPhone 7 is rumored to take place on September 7th with pre-orders to follow two days later, meaning customers will have to wait three weeks for the device to arrive this year instead of the usual two weeks.

How to add, delete and rearrange apps in the new Apple Watch dock

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apple watch
The new Dock is one of watchOS 3's best features.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple Watch is getting a UI makeover with watchOS 3 which completely changes how you interact with apps, making them faster and easier to access thanks to the all new Dock feature.

Now when wearers press the side button on Apple Watch, instead of bringing up your favorite contacts, the watch brings up the dock providing a quick view of your favorite apps that are now updated immediately, so you spend less time staring at the spinning wheel.

Here’s how to make the most of the new Apple Watch dock:

Microsoft Surface ad mocks iPad Pro’s big ambitions

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iPad-Pro-vs-Surface-Pro-ad
Microsoft wants you to know the iPad can't replace your PC.
Photo: Microsoft

Apple desperately wants the iPad to replace your computer, but it can’t carry out everyday computer tasks as well as some other tablets can. Microsoft highlights that by mocking the iPad Pro’s computer dream in its new Surface Pro 4 ad.

Warren Buffett is betting bigger than ever on AAPL

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money
Buffett has made some serious money betting on Apple.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Legendary investor Warren Buffet tends to stay away from technology stocks, but he can’t be too upset about his company’s decision to invest in AAPL stock.

At least, that would be the assumption based on the fact that his Berkshire Hathaway investment company announced this week that it’s increasing its stake in AAPL by a massive 55 percent.

Apple’s latest New York store has one of the most spectacular settings yet

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World Trade Center Transportation Hub.
The site of Apple's latest brick-and-mortar retail store.
Photo: John Sonderman/Flickr

The Big Apple gains an extra Apple Store today, with the opening of a brand new retail outlet in the iconic World Trade Center area.

Located in the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, the light and spacious Apple Store fits perfectly in its impressive (and, dare we say it, Jony Ive-style minimalist) surroundings. Check out footage of the new retail space below.

Today in Apple history: Ashton Kutcher’s JOBS lands with a thud

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Ashton Kutcher played Steve Jobs in 2013 biopic.
Ashton Kutcher bore a striking resemblance to Steve Jobs.
Photo: Steve Jobs

Aug16August 16, 2013: JOBS, the Steve Jobs biopic starring Ashton Kutcher, lands in theaters.

The first of two competing Jobs movies (the second one was the Aaron Sorkin version, based on Walter Isaacson’s best-selling biography), the movie receives polarizing reviews from critics, but fails to make an impact at the box office — where it earns just $6.7 million in its first weekend.

Former Apple Watch architect reveals heart-rate sensor design process

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Apple Watch sensors
Getting accurate heart rate sensors here wasn't easy.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The Apple Watch is known for having one of the best heart-rate sensors among smart watches, but according to former Apple platform architect Bob Messerschmidt, getting a super accurate reading wasn’t an easy task.

Messerschmidt joined Apple in 2010 after Steve Jobs acquired his company and set him to work on the Apple Watch team. In a new interview that reveals some of the design process that went into Apple Watch, Messerschmidt says he originally wanted to put the heart rate sensor in the Apple Watch bands.

Is Apple Maps still the laughing stock of maps apps? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Is Apple Maps your first choice?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The release of Apple Maps with iOS 6 was so disastrous it led to the firing of Scott Forstall, former SVP of iOS, and to a rare public apology from CEO Tim Cook.

Friday Night Fights bug Almost four years on, Maps is in a very different place. Apple has worked hard to iron out the kinks and add new features that help the service compete with rivals like Google Maps. But is Apple Maps still the laughing stock of maps apps?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fights as we battle it out over the state of Apple Maps.

Faraday Future poaches Apple Car’s navigation engineer

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Faraday Future's concept car looks like a batmobile.
Faraday Future's concept car looks like a batmobile.
Photo: Faraday Future

Apple’s efforts to build a self-driving electric car hit another speed bump recently after the company lost its navigation engineer to electric car startup Faraday Future.

Computer vision and vehicle navigation specialist Bart Nabbe was working with Apple’s not-so-secret Project Titan team for nearly the last two years, but his LinkedIn profile now shows that he’s at Faraday Future serving as the director of strategic partnerships.

macOS Sierra and tvOS 10 get sixth beta builds

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Picture in Picture macOS Sierra
macOS Sierra brings Picture-in-Picture to the Mac.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple continues to polish macOS Sierra and tvOS 10, seeding the sixth beta builds of the new software updates to developers today.

The new betas come a week after Apple dropped the last batch of betas, which brought a number of new bug fixes and performance improvements to the gigantic releases that are set for public launch this fall.