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The evolution of iOS: From iPhone OS to iOS 11

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Original iPhone running iOS 1
A lot has change since 2007.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone turns 10 The operating system that powers the iPhone has undergone radical changes since Apple launched the device 10 years ago.

As part of Cult of Mac’s collaboration with Wired UK to mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, we took a look at the evolution of iOS, from a simple touchscreen operating system lacking key features into a true computing behemoth with more tools than any one user could possibly need.

iPhone 7 finally loses in speed test against Android rival

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iPhone 7 in hand
iPhone 7 isn't top dog anymore.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Thanks to Apple’s engineering magic, the iPhone has long outpaced its Android-powered rivals.

In real-world speed tests, the iPhone can blaze past high-end competitors from the likes of Google, Samsung and LG, despite slower processors and less RAM. But not anymore. We finally have an Android device that packs more power than the iPhone 7 — and that’s the OnePlus 5.

Qualcomm has the tech to put Touch ID in an iPhone display

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Touch ID
Embedding Touch ID under the iPhone 8's display is one of the big rumors for this year's handset.
Photo: Apple

Whether Apple will be able to deliver on the rumor that it will be embedding its Touch ID fingerprint sensor beneath the display of the iPhone 8 remains to be seen.

However, a new demo coming out of the currently-happening Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2017 demonstrates that it is indeed possible — with Qualcomm showing off ultrasonic technology that allows fingerprint unlocking even through OLED displays.

China’s black market can build an iPhone from scratch

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iPhone black market China
China's black market looks like "an iPhone factory has thrown up all over itself."
Photo: Brian Merchant/Wired

iPhone-turns-10-1You don’t have to visit a Foxconn factory to see an iPhone built from scratch.

Visit China’s black market and you’ll meet traders with the components, tools, and know-how to build you a working handset for a fraction of the price you would pay Apple. The whole process is complete by the time you’ve finished your coffee.

2017 App Store revenue crushes Apple’s entire 2007 earnings

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App Store icon
Business is booming for the App Store.
Photo: PhotoAtelier/Flickr

Apple is making more revenue off the App Store alone in 2017 than it did in all of 2007, according to a new study that analyzed Apple’s money-printing app empire.

When the iPhone launched in 2007, Steve Jobs absolutely refused to let third-party apps on his beloved device. Fast forward ten years later and not it’s not just hard to imagine the iPhone without the App Store. It’s hard to imagine Apple being as profitable without it.

iOS 11 turns the iPad into a legit Mac replacement

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iPad iOS 11
iOS 11 for iPad might be Apple's biggest new product this year.
Photo: Apple

Updated 27 June, 2017: This post now includes details about the iOS 11 public beta.

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote this June was so packed that even two-and-a-half hours didn’t seem like enough time. And yet the biggest announcement wasn’t new hardware, or a new app. It was an update.

Specifically, the iOS 11 update for the iPad, which turns Apple’s tablet from little more than a big iPhone into a full-featured touchscreen PC. In one go, Apple showed that it is still full-steam behind the iPad, and that a desktop-class touchscreen computer doesn’t have to actually run a desktop OS, like Microsoft’s Surface.

Second thoughts on iOS 11? Here’s how to downgrade

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iOS 11 downgrade
Finding iOS 11 too buggy? Downgrade with our handy video!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you jumped into the future and upgraded to a beta version of iOS 11, but now found the cutting-edge software a bit too rough around the edges, don’t panic. Downgrading from iOS 11 back to the more familiar (and totally stable) iOS 10.3.2 isn’t difficult. All you need is a Mac or PC running iTunes.

If you’re worried about losing data, that’s completely avoidable! Just follow our how to downgrade from iOS 11 video, below and your iPhone or iPad will be back to normal in no time.

Cult of Mac teams up with Wired UK for 10 years of iPhone

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Qualcomm patents
A lot has changed since the iPhone made its debut in 2007.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone turns 10 The iPhone is turning 10 years old this week and we’re ready to celebrate with more coverage and insight than any Apple fanboy could ever want. Every day through June 29, we’ll be publishing a batch of stories focused on the greatest device Apple’s ever made.

Cult of Mac is collaborating with Wired UK for the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. We’ll run down some of the device’s biggest innovations, failures and what’s in store for the future.

Check out what we’ve written so far:

Watch new Star Wars trailer re-created on an Apple IIc

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Star Wars on Apple IIc
You've never seen a Star Wars trailer like this.
Photo: Pinot Ichwandardi/Instagram

Apple’s retro IIc computer that was released in 1984 has been obsolete for 30 years, but an NYC-based illustrator has just proven that it is still capable of creating amazing stuff, if you’re willing to put in the time.

Animator Wahyu Ichwandardi unveiled his Apple IIc masterpiece on Twitter by re-creating the latest Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer in using software from the early 80’s.

Prepare to be blown away:

5 predictions of what iPhone will look like in 10 years

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Original iPhone running iOS 1
A lot has change since 2007.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone turns 10 As the iPhone turns 10 years old this week, the Apple’s long streak of dominance makes it seem like iPhone will rule the tech world for the forseeable future. Nothing last forever though, so what could the iPhone look like in 2027 when technology is more seamlessly embedded in our lives?

Cult of Mac is collaborating with Wired U.K. all this week for an in-depth look at the iPhone’s lasting impact and possible future. Tech experts that Wired talked to are pretty optimistic that the iPhone will still exist in some form 10 years from now. But interacting with it will be completely different.

Greenpeace pushes Apple to make products anyone can fix

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Greenpeace
Greenpeace wants Apple to make its products more repairable.
Photo: Greenpeace

Greenpeace has launched a new campaign, seeking signatures to push Apple and other device makers to make more repairable, longer-lasting products to cut down on electronic waste.

In partnership with our friends over at iFixit, the campaign casts a critical eye over 40 different devices made between 2015 and 2017, and then assesses them according to how repairable each one is.

iPhone collection makes perfect birthday gift for Apple-loving CEO

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iPhones at MacPaw museum
A collection of iPhones, presented as a 30th birthday present to MacPaw CEO Oleksandr Kosovan, fills a critical hole in his private Apple museum.
Photo: MacPaw

iPhone turns 10 Buying a birthday present for your boss can seem impossible. But the friends and co-workers of MacPaw CEO Oleksandr Kosovan — a diehard Apple fan — saw an opening after he bought a treasure trove of vintage Macs to create a museum at his company’s headquarters.

MacPaw’s mini Apple museum, filled with vintage gear auctioned off by fabled Apple repair shop Tekserve, contained no iPhones. Leaving out the smartphone that changed the world seemed like a glaring hole in a collection that otherwise did a good job of showing Apple’s role in revolutionizing personal computing.

How to install iOS 11 public beta on your iPhone or iPad

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iOS 11 public beta
Now you can test out drag-and-drop, and all the other goodies in iOS 11.
Photo: Apple

Just three weeks after presenting iOS 11, and making the first iOS 11 betas available to developers, Apple has released a public beta of the next iPad and iPhone operating system. That means that anyone, including you, can sign up, download and run iOS 11 public beta on your iPhone or iPad. Doing so is super easy. Here’s how:

Buy a refurbished Apple Pencil to save a few bucks

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iPad Pro drawing Apple Pencil
Apple Pencil can't beat a mouse at many things.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has begun selling refurbished models of the Apple Pencil at a discount. iPad Pro owners in the United States can save a pretty penny when picking up the best stylus available for their tablet — but it’s still not the most affordable.

Make your Mac sound better than ever [Deals]

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Boom 3D for Mac
This app can add a surprising level of depth to your common Mac speakers and headphones
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

It’s a common joke to say that our Mac’s built-in speakers sound better than you’d expect. They actually don’t, but we do consume a lot of music on our Macs, and especially with Macbooks. Listening through built-in speakers or earpods can feel limiting as far as audio quality.

iPhone camera rig will make your footage look silky smooth [Review]

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Shoulderpod
The X1 Pro Rig from Shoulderpod.
Photo: Shoulderpod

The more powerful the iPhone camera gets, the less practical the iPhone design is for certain jobs. Holding a thin, pocket-shaped device out in front of your face with your forefingers and thumbs on both ends to view the screen is risky and shaky, especially for video.

But there are accessories that can give the mobile video shooter a secure and steady grip without adding much weight or bulk in the field. Among the best tools come from a company in Spain called Shoulderpod.

Apple tore apart 100 rival devices to build its perfect phone

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Fadell
Tony Fadell spills the beans on the original iPhone's creation.
Photo: Nest

iPhone turns 10 As Apple scrambled to create the first iPhone, the company’s engineers tore apart literally dozens of rival products to work out what made them tick, according to a new interview with former Apple exec Tony Fadell.

He may be best known today as the founder of Nest, but Fadell was one of the fathers of the iPhone — which, if you haven’t heard, celebrates its 10th birthday this week. Fadell reveals more about Apple’s reverse engineering efforts in an interview with Wired U.K..

Cult of Mac is collaborating with Wired U.K. all this week for an in-depth look at the iPhone’s first decade — and the device’s lasting impact.

How the iPhone revolutionized photography

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iPhone photo shoot
Fashion photographer Georges Antoni uses the iPhone 7 Plus on Portrait mode to photograph Margaret Zhang for the June cover story of Elle Australia.
Photo: Bauer Media Australia/YouTube

iPhone turns 10When Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, no one imagined that in 10 short years it would become the world’s most popular camera and herald a new era of visual communication.

Yet we are witnessing the death of point-and-shoots, the explosion of massive social networks devoted to pics and videos, and the rise of perhaps the most popular photo style of all time — the selfie.

Just consider that we are expected to take 1 trillion pictures this year alone. That’s a million million photos.

Here’s a brief overview of some of the ways the iPhone was transformed photography forever.

Tim Cook meets Indian PM to talk local Apple stores

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India Apple Stores
The closest thing India currently has to an Apple Store.
Photo: Lawrence Sinclair/Flickr CC

Tim Cook met with the prime minister of India over the weekend, concerning permission to open official Apple stores in the country.

This is something Apple has been chasing for some time now, but has yet to get off the ground. However, with Apple now officially selling iPhones that have been made in India, the hope is that it has sufficient leverage to get permission to open retail stores.

iPhone 8’s new display could hold back launch sales

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iPhone leak
iPhone 8's OLED display is reportedly causing Apple headaches.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone 8 production has reportedly hit another roadblock, with the problem this time being the OLED panels Apple is using for its next-gen handsets.

The use of OLED panels, instead of the LCD screens used on current iPhones, has been heavily rumored as one of the biggest selling points of the new iPhone for quite some time. A report earlier this year claimed that Apple will snap up 14 percent of all OLED panels produced in 2017 for the iPhone 8.

Antitrust investigators slam Google with $2.7 billion fine

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Google
The E.U. regulators are hitting out at Google.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Google has been fined 2.4 billion euros ($2.7 billion) by European Union regulators for reportedly skewing its search results in a way that hurts smaller shopping search services.

In addition to the massive fine, Google has been told that if it doesn’t stop its “illegal” suppression of rival price comparison services within 90 days, the European Commission will fine it up to 5 percent of its daily revenue.