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News - page 971

This sexy sleeve is worthy of the new MacBook Pro

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Maxwell Sleeve by WaterField Designs
The Maxwell Sleeve will keep your new MacBook Pro covered.
Photo: WaterField Designs

There’s little exciting about a laptop sleeve. Usually made of neoprene or some other soft flexible material, it has one job and often it stays hidden if the user carries a backpack or messenger bag.

But in anticipating a refresh of the MacBook Pro, WaterField Designs did a fitting — and dare I say attractive? — refresh of the unsung laptop sleeve.

On eBay, a Galaxy Note 7 box is worth more than the phone

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galaxy note 7
There's some consolation for Note 7 owners.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Now that Samsung has asked for all Galaxy Note 7 units to be returned and ceased production, the device is worthless. Even if you decide to keep yours (which you shouldn’t), it’s going to have no resale value. But you might be surprised to learn that its box has.

Some Note 7 owners have already taken to selling their packaging on eBay, and some listings are calling for as much as $60.

Apple Watch could use heart rate sensor to ID you

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Apple Watch
Your pulse may one day unlock your Apple Watch.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Future versions of the Apple Watch may be able to identify owners just by taking their pulse.

Apple was awarded a patent this week that details the use of biometrics on a smartwatch that can identify the user based on their heart rate and other variables. All without the users having to make any input.

iPhone wallet case is as rugged in the outdoors as you are

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Edward Field introduces a nylon iPhone wallet case designed for the person active outdoors.
Edward Field introduces a nylon iPhone wallet case designed for the person active outdoors.
Photo: Edward Field

Remember the fat wallets our dad’s carried? Unfortunately, cash was rarely responsible for the back pocket bulge with things like receipts, business cards, a spare key, contacts list and of course an accordion fold-out of family pictures taking up wallet real estate and stretching them into a back-breaking burden.

Today, our iPhones can carry virtually everything, our memories, our money, our contacts and even a virtual key with the right Smarthome app. And what remains could easily fit in a case that serves as both a wallet and iPhone protection.

E-commerce accessories company Edward Field exists to merge wallet and smartphone and its latest line called Cordura strays from the usual Italian leather of their product lines to cater to people active in outdoor leisure.

Steve Jobs is her main squeeze when she visits Apple Store

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body pillow
Ayano Tominaga shares a little pillow talk with Steve Jobs while waiting to purchase the iPhone 7.
Photo: Ayano Tominaga/Instagram

Cult of Mac 2.0 bugApple co-founder Steve Jobs was known to have a prickly personality. But Japanese internet star Ayano Tominaga can honestly say Jobs is a good cuddler.

Tominaga is a popular tech journalist, Apple fan and IT consultant who can be seen at the launch of every new iPhone, camping out in line at the Apple Store in Tokyo clutching a body pillow featuring the likeness of Jobs.

Apple Watch heart rate monitor is a beat ahead of the competition

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Update your fancy wrist computer to the latest watchOS.
Apple Watch blasts your wrist with green light to read your pulse.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Fitness fanatics that want a good heart rate reading from their wrist better get an Apple Watch.

A new study of the four most popular wearables on the market found Apple Watch to be the most accurate smart watch for tracking heart rate. And it wasn’t even close.

Dent-proof case gives MacBook a retro iMac look

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DropTech-case
The futuristic DropTech case on a MacBook Air.
Photo: Gumdrop Cases

It’s not easy to find MacBook cases that are both protective and good-looking; you usually have to choose between the two. But Gumdrop Cases has hit the nail on the head with its new DropTech case.

It promises to be one of the “world’s most durable MacBook cases,” and it looks like it came straight out of a futuristic sci-fi movie. Or maybe a retro iMac? Claim yours on Kickstarter now to take advantage of big discounts with early bird pricing.

Soaring iPhone 7 demand helps Apple supplier set new profit record

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A10 processor
Building Apple's A10 chip turns out to be good business.
Photo: Apple

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reportedly had to fight to secure the A10 chip orders for the iPhone 7, but whatever it had to do to get there has clearly paid off!

That’s based on the company’s new 2016 revenue forecast, which has just been ramped up based on new profit and sales records being reached in the year’s third quarter — largely thanks to the success of Apple’s next-gen iPhone.

Apple denies store employees were fired for stealing customer photos

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Apple_Store,_Brisbane_01.2014_01
Brisbane's Apple Store is center of controversy.
Photo: Wikipedia/KGBO CC

Apple is denying claims that customers were victims of a “photo-sharing” ring in which its retail store employees in Brisbane took and circulated photos of female customers and staff.

The employees were fired for the inappropriate behavior, which included ranking the victims out of 10.

Apple may be working on keyboard with e-ink display keys

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The next Magic Keyboard may look something like this.
The next Magic Keyboard may look something like this.
Photo: Sonder

Apple is reportedly in talks to acquire an Australian startup called Sonder that specializes in making keyboards with individual e-ink displays on each key.

The Sonder acquisition is supposedly part of Apple’s plan to update its Magic Keyboard in 2018 with a smart keyboard module and color e-ink keys that allow programs to quickly swap characters for shortcuts or change to a different language.

Check out the e-ink keyboard in action:

Samsung still can’t solve its exploding Galaxy Note 7 problem

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Galaxy Note 7 edge
Samsung has given up on the Note 7, but it still has to solve its fiery problem.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

After recalling 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 handsets and finally ceasing production of its flagship phablet earlier this week, Samsung still cannot get to the bottom of its exploding battery issue, according to a new report.

The South Korean company initially believed that defective batteries from a certain supplier were the problem, but after replacement units with new cells started catching fire, Samsung has been unable to pinpoint the cause of the issue.

It’s worrying news for Samsung smartphone fans.

Apple will open a second R&D center in China next year

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Photo of Apple CEO Tim Cook talking with Chinese children to illustrate an Apple history article about the deal that brought the iPhone to China Mobile, the world's largest carrier.
Apple is upping its focus on China.
Photo: Apple

Apple has announced plans for its second R&D center in China, located in the country’s manufacturing hub Shenzhen. The 2017 opening will help Apple further grow its market in the world’s second largest economy as it challenges local competition.

“We are excited to be opening a new Research and Development center here next year so our engineering team can work even more closely and collaboratively with our manufacturing partners,” Apple spokesperson Josh Rosenstock said.

Amazon’s new music streaming service costs as little as $3.99 per month

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Screen Shot 2016-10-12 at 14.14.31
Guess who's got a brand new music service!
Photo: Amazon

Apple Music has a new competitor in the form of Amazon, which today launched music streaming service Amazon Music Unlimited.

The premium service carries the same $9.99 monthly fee as Apple Music for regular users, although Prime customers get a reduced $7.99 monthly charge — while owners of the Amazon Echo can use an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription through the standalone device for a mere $3.99 per month.

Apple joins board of ‘Chinese Uber’

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Didi Chuxing is China's answer to Uber, but is much bigger. Apple just made a $1 billion 'strategic' investment in the company.
Apple's "strategic" investment is paying off.
Photo: Virginia Werner / Cult of Mac

Apple has scored a seat on the board of Didi Chuxing, the Chinese Uber rival that Apple invested $1 billion in earlier this year.

Although Didi Chuxing denied it at the time, regulatory filings show that Apple took the board position in late June, one month after it made its generous investment — designed to aid Apple’s continued push into China and interest in shaking up the automotive industry.

Jimmy Iovine gives a glimpse of Apple Music’s future

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Iovine
Apple Music wants to have a strong voice in the music world.
Photo: Apple

Apple Music remains a long way from being a finished product, according to Apple executive and Beats Electronics co-founder Jimmy Iovine.

In a new interview discussing the struggles of building a product that fuses the worlds of tech and music, Iovine revealed that the company wants to build a product that is more than just a utility for accessing your music or getting a weekly playlist.

Apple vs Samsung patent battle has U.S. Supreme Court confused

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Samsung
Apple vs Samsung is going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

U.S. Supreme Court justices appear to be confused over how much Apple’s patented iPhone design should worth.

Lawyers for Apple and Samsung faced off this morning at the nation’s highest court. The two sides argued whether breaking a design patent should be worth most of a product’s profits, or if the thousands of other patents that go into a smartphone should be viewed as equally valuable to the contribution of profits.

Billions of dollars and the future of patent law is at stake in the case that hinges on a law written in 1887. But the justices didn’t give much indication which side they’ll take.
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macOS Sierra 10.12.1 gets fourth beta build

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macOS Sierra logo
Another macOS Sierra beta is here.
Photo: Apple

One day after dropping new betas for iOS 10 and tvOS 10, Apple has seeded a new beta build of macOS Sierra 10.12.1 to registered developers this morning.

The fourth beta of macOS Sierra 10.12.1 comes a week after Apple released the last build that contained a number of bug fixes and performance improvements for the Mac.

Cheaper iPhone 7 models may be slower, too

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iPhone 7
Lower storage could mean less speed.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple finally bumped the storage on the baseline iPhone model to 32GB this year, but it looks like choosing the cheapest model may come with some serious speed setbacks.

The 32GB versions of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus suffer from slower storage speeds, according to benchmarks that reveal the memory chip on the baseline model scores markedly worse than other versions.

LOL: Galaxy Note 7 return kit includes fire-proof box and gloves

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Note-7-return-kit
Don't return your Note 7 without one of these.
Photo: XDA Developers

After watching $17 billion fall off its market value today, it’s still too early for Samsung to laugh about the whole Galaxy Note 7 debacle. But that doesn’t mean we can’t.

This video of a Note 7 return kit, which includes a fire-proof box and gloves, will certainly put a smile on your face.

How Steve Jobs’ swimming failure became unlikely inspiration

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Steve King never would've guessed that he would be designing products to go with computers created by an old swim club teammate, Steve Jobs.
Steve King never would've guessed that he would be designing products to go with computers created by an old swim club teammate, Steve Jobs.
Photo: PRISM

Cult of Mac 2.0 bug Two people couldn’t have been further apart as they sat close to each other on carpool rides to swim meets. Steve King was a jock. The other kid was a geek.

But the geek did something one day that King would never forget. King watched as his teammate made a horrific turn at the wall in the backstroke and popped up in a neighboring lane.

Steve Jobs was immediately disqualified. He got back in his lane and finished the race.