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Samsung’s AirPower knockoff might be ready to ship before Apple’s

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Samsung is knocking off the AirPower.
Samsung is knocking off the AirPower.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung might finally beat Apple at its own game when it comes to wireless charging.

During its Galaxy Note 9 keynote today, Samsung revealed that it has created a knockoff version of Apple’s AirPower charging mat. Even though Apple revealed AirPower last year its release is nowhere in site while Samsung is ready to pounce on the opportunity to ship first.

Video game developers are set to shine in Apple comedy show

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Rob McElhenney, one of the writers of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, has teamed up with an old partner on a new Apple TV show.
Rob McElhenney, one of the writers of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, has teamed up with an old partner on a new Apple TV show.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

Another day, another Apple TV series. The company continues to build a library of shows, despite having announced no plans what it will do with them.

The latest is a comedy set at a video game development studio. It’s reportedly being created by the team behind It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

How Apple’s AI gurus made Siri an expert in local businesses

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Siri Alexa in voice report
Siri knows the name of your local pizza joint, making it much easier to get directions when you have a craving.
Photo: Apple

Siri is quite good at recognizing what we say, but used to run into difficulties with the names of small businesses. That was until Apple developers found a way to make her much better at this task.

In fact, the new system is more than 40 percent less likely to come up with the wrong business name. 

Brand new Macs at risk of hacking during setup process

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macOs Mojave
Your brand new Mac can be hacked really easily.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s rock-solid supply chain might be churning out new Macs that are already hacked.

Getting a brand new Mac usually means you’re getting the freshest, most bug-free system possible, but security researchers have discovered that there’s a way to hack brand new Macs before they’ve even been turned on.

Samsung preps rivals for Apple Watch and HomePod

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Samsung Watch and Samsung Home go up against Apple equivalents.
Samsung Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Home go up against Apple equivalents.
Photo: Samsung

Along with its newest smartphone, Samsung just unveiled two more products designed to take on some of Apple’s. The Galaxy Watch isn’t the Korean company’s first Apple Watch competitor, but this is the first time it’s unveiled a HomePod rival.

Apple dominates smartwatch sales, so Samsung faces an uphill battle. Amazon has the lead in smartspeakers though, and Apple has shown it’s not an easy market to break into.

Write catchy songs in your browser with Hookpad 2

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Anyone can compose a hit song in Hookpad 2
Anyone can compose a hit song in Hookpad 2
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Hookpad is a web app for music composition, and it’s also a killer way to learn about music theory. Hookpad and its companion theory app/book have been around for a while. The problem was, it only worked on the desktop. Hookpad 2 is a complete rewrite, and it works just great in mobile Safari. You can even save it to your home screen.

Google’s new Cameos app gives celebs a bigger voice on the internet

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Google Cameos
Google's Cameos app focuses on celebrities.
Photo: Google

Google is giving celebrities a new way to answer some of the most popular questions asked by fans thanks to a new app called Cameos.

The search giant launched Cameos on the iOS app store this morning. Created for public figures, celebrities and sports teams, Cameos is an extension of the Posts on Google platform that allows some people and organizations to post directly to Google’s search result pages.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 prepares to face the 2018 iPhones

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The Galaxy Note 9 will have to face not just the iPhone X, but also the models Apple will launch next month.
The Galaxy Note 9 will have to stand up to not only the iPhone X, but also the models Apple will launch next month.
Photo: Apple/Samsung/MobileFun

This spring’s Galaxy S9 hasn’t sold all that well, so Samsung is pinning its hopes on the Galaxy Note 9, just announced this morning.

This 6.4-inch Android device will have to compete with the iPhone X, and also the new smartphones Apple will introduce in a few weeks. Let’s see how it compares.

Apple is cracking down on gambling apps

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Coronavirus could have a surprisingly positive impact on App Store revenue
Trouble is, not all the apps removed are actually gambling apps!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is cracking down on gambling content in the App Store. The problem is that some of the apps caught in the crossfire don’t have very much to do with gambling at all.

Several developers have noted on social media that their apps — ranging from a Polish magazine to a game that lets you send Xbox game clips to buddies — have been removed from the App Store as part of the purge.

Apple may be forced to back down in India privacy clash

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Apple supplier is increasing its ability to build masses of iPhones in India
This could be one fight Apple won't win.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple may have “won” its standoff with the FBI over privacy, but it’s unlikely to be able to repeat the same feat in a clash with the Indian government on the same topic.

A new article published by Reuters runs down the various obstacles Apple faces in its battle with India’s telecom regulator over an anti-spam app, which Apple believes infringes on user privacy. And while nothing is settled yet, this looks like one fight Apple won’t be winning!

iOS 12 brings big improvements to iPhone’s Portrait mode

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truedepth iphone x camera portrait lighting
Portrait mode never looked so good on iPhone.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

iOS 12 packs a whole host of significant improvements that Apple didn’t get a chance to showcase during its WWDC preview. One of those, according to one developer, is a greatly-enhanced Portrait mode for compatible iPhone models.

The image below highlights the impressive difference between a Portrait photo taken with iOS 11 and another taken with iOS 12.

You can now enjoy Roku’s free channel on your iOS devices

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Roku
A new way to watch free movies.
Photo: Roku

Want to give the Roku experience a go, but don’t own a Roku TV streaming device? Today may be your lucky day, since Roku has announced that its free, ad-supported streaming service, the Roku Channel, is now available for people to watch, via the internet, on your smartphone, tablet, or personal computer.

To access the content — which includes plenty of good, albeit slightly older movies like The Matrix trilogy, in addition to other content — you’ll simply need to create a Roku account.

iPhone supplier sees increasing Face ID orders ahead of new devices

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Face ID attention awareness
Face ID can now recognize a second person.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

One of Apple’s manufacturing partners is enjoying a sizable boost in revenue off the back of increased orders for Face ID components.

Lumentum’s vertical-cavity-surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), a key component of the flood illuminator and dot projector inside iPhone X, is in high demand as Apple prepares its next-generation iPhone and iPad lineups for a fall debut.

Apple and Verizon begin an ‘exclusive partnership’ with music deal

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apple-music
Get an extended trial of Apple Music with your Verizon Unlimited plan.
Photo: Apple

U.S. telecoms try to lure new customers with free streaming services. Verizon has teamed up with Apple to offer half a year of Apple Music at no additional cost.

What’s even ore interesting is that the wireless provider calls this “just the first step in an exclusive partnership with Apple.”

Apple celebrates young developers at Chicago store event

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Everyone Can Code
Chicago's Mayor attended the event.
Photo: Mayor Rahm Emanuel

Apple held a special “Today at Apple” session on Wednesday at its Michigan Avenue, Chicago store to celebrate young developers.

The event took place under the banner of Apple’s “Everyone Can Code” initiative, and featured students who had participated in the “One Summer Chicago” program, giving a public demonstration of their Swift-coded apps.

Apple ‘monitoring’ Infowars app, but it’s staying for now

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Alex Jones
Alex Jones' podcasts are bad, but his app is... okay?
Photo: Infowars

Earlier this week, Apple booted five of Infowars‘ six podcasts out of iTunes and its Podcasts app, but made the decision to keep the company’s app in the App Store.

In a statement, Apple has said that it continues to support “all points of view” being represented in the App Store, but notes that it will continue to review the situation.

View your medical records from dozens of hospitals on your iPhone

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Health records firm worried policy supported by Apple will hurt patients
Health records firm worried policy supported by Apple will hurt patients
Photo: Apple

The goal of Apple’s Health Records initiative is to enable iOS users to see their medical history right on their device. Hospitals need to share their data for this to work, and Apple is getting a strong response.

When Apple introduced this addition to the Health app in January, there were just a dozen hospitals and clinics participating. That number has grown dramatically in the intervening months.

The iPhone keyboard could have looked this bad

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A pair of iPhone concept devices called Wallabies.
These iPhone "Wallaby" prototypes were the way early iPhone keyboard concepts were tested.
Photo: Ken Kocienda

The designers of the very first iPhone had a problem: how to get a workable on-screen keyboard into 2.0-by-1.3-inch space. Apple designer Ken Kocienda explains the difficulties in an excerpt from his upcoming book. 

His 304-page description of his 15 years at Apple isn’t out yet, but he gave an early look at a keyboard concept that didn’t work out. 

Use an Apple Pencil with your iPhone with this dumb hack

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Apple Pencil Hack
Wrap this paper napkin around an Apple Pencil, and add water. What could possibly go wrong?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The Apple Pencil is easily the best stylus for any tablet computer, but thanks to the deep hardware ties that make it work so well with the iPad, it won’t work with anything else. Or will it? With this messy hack, you can make your Apple Pencil work with your iPhone. Or with any smartphone or tablet.

A device called Palm brings back a once-promising name

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Palm
The Palm name will return to the smartphone market, according to federal documents.
Photo: desmorider - http://flic.kr/p/7KY6dt

Palm, once considered a darling of innovation, disappeared from hands thanks to a series of ill-fated mergers and game-changing smartphones, including the iPhone.

Now Palm, or least the name, is poised for a comeback with an Android smartphone later this year.