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iPhone 8 may have even higher waterproof rating

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iPhone 7
The next iPhone will be great at swimming.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple may be planning to make its next iPhone even more waterproof, according to the newest rumor out of Asia.

Samsung’s Galaxy S7 is currently the only smartphone with a device boasting a IP68 rating, but Apple allegedly plans to catch up this year with an iPhone that can can be submerged just as deep.

Key Apple partners could set up shop in U.S.

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foxconn
Could we see buildings like this in the U.S. soon?
Photo: Foxconn

A number of key Apple suppliers are considering new facilities in the U.S., according to reports out of China.

Assembler Foxconn, display maker Sharp, and chip maker TSMC are all said to be interested in taking advantage of new business incentives proposed by soon-to-be President Donald Trump.

These sleek fitness trackers lean into Apple Watch territory [Deals]

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CoM - Striiv Fusion Activity & Sleep Tracker
Striiv Fusion adds water resistance and a hardened screen to its feature rich fitness tracker.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

One of the big features of the Apple Watch is its health tracking ability. Another one of its prominent features is a steep price tag. Striiv has flipped that script with a sleek fitness tracker that also sports the functions of any smartwatch worth its salt, at a fraction of the price. We’ve just got a pair of Striiv models into the Cult of Mac Store, check them out below:

Consumer Reports changes its verdict on new MacBook Pros

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Custom keys for Photoshop.
Software update sorts out battery issues, says the consumer watchdog.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Consumer Reports has revised its earlier rating for the new MacBook Pro lineup and now recommends the laptops, after a software update fixed battery problems found in testing.

The respected consumer watchdog previously cited the new laptops’ “highly inconsistent” battery life as the reason it couldn’t give out one of its coveted recommendations — the first time an Apple laptop had failed to make the grade.

Don’t abandon your Apple TV, sell it to us

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The new Apple TV is about to be unveiled.
The new Apple TV is about to be unveiled.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

If you’re a decent person (we’ll assume you are since you’re a Cult of Mac reader), you don’t leave your old TV on the sidewalk when it’s outlived its usefulness. The same consideration for your neighbors and the environment should extend to your old Apple TV.

Whether you’re abandoning your old Apple TV to upgrade, replace a busted unit or to give up TV entirely (yeah right), the Cult of Mac buyback program will make sure you get the most money possible. Even better-known companies like Gazelle and Walmart can’t offer as much, and you’ll be making sure your dated or defunct device ends up in the right place.

Apple’s obsessive secrecy may have driven out Swift’s creator

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Apple makes Swift open source at WWDC 2015.
Making Swift open-source wasn't enough to keep its creator at Apple.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s culture of secrecy was responsible for the departure of Chris Lattner, the company’s former head of developer tools and the creator of programming language Swift, claims a new report.

Lattner recently left Apple for Tesla — with friends putting the move down to the ongoing conflict between wanting to create open-source tools and Apple’s tendency to not want to publicly discuss anything.

Apple TV apps can now be up to 20x bigger

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apple tv and siri remote
Apple TV apps can now be 4GB right from the start.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s plan to make the modern TV experience all about apps has just gotten a big boost, with Apple upping the size limit of tvOS apps from 200MB to 4GB.

For those keeping track at home, it’s a whopping 20x the original size limit — and means that Apple TV apps can now be as big as the ones developers can submit for iOS.

App Store’s walled garden could bring antitrust suit

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Apple pays $467k for doing business with blacklisted app developer
Does Apple have a monopoly on apps?
Photo: Apple

Apple may find itself at the center of a new antitrust lawsuit after the U.S. appeals court ruled that the App Store’s “walled garden” could be monopolizing the market for iOS apps.

What the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling takes issue with is the fact that iOS apps can only be downloaded from the App Store, and not from elsewhere — thereby adding up to a potential monopoly.

Devs get fourth betas of macOS 10.12.3 and iOS 10.2.1

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iPhone 7
A new iOS beta is now available.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple seeded two new beta builds to developers today, bringing a host of bug fixes and improvements to iOS 10.2.1 and macOS 10.12.3.

The new builds come just three days after Apple dropped its first batch of betas for 2017. Registered developers can now download iOS 10.2.1 beta 4 and macOS 10.12.3 beta 4 from Apple’s developer portal to take advantage of all the new features.

Why a 10.5-inch iPad Pro isn’t totally crazy

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A 10.5-inch piece of paper on a 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
A 10.5-inch piece of paper on a 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
Photo: Dan Provost

Apple’s rumored plans to launch three different-size iPads this spring has fans a bit confused as to why creating a new 10.5-inch model is a good idea. But according to Dan Provost, the co-founder of Studio Neat, it actually wouldn’t be crazy for Apple to change the screen size when you look at the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

Apple VP Lisa Jackson joins federal committee overseeing automation

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Jackson
Lisa Jackson presenting at an Apple keynote.
Photo: Apple

The U.S. Department of Transportation revealed that it has established a new advisory committee that will make recommendations in the field of automation.

Apple’s VP of environment and policy, Lisa Jackson, will be one of the committee’s 25 members that will work on some of the most important issues facing transportation, including self-driving cars.

Netflix gives birth to boy with smartphone brain

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iBoy
As long as it's not a Galaxy Note 7 stuck in his brain, he'll be OK!
Photo: Netflix

If you thought Black Mirror had the market cornered on stories about the dark side of technology, you’d better think again!

Netflix just released the official trailer for a new movie called iBoy and, as its name implies, there’s a certain tech connection. Check it out below:

Raise shields when you go online with this powerful VPN [Deals]

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This high speed VPN can protect your internet connections on up to five devices at once.
This high speed VPN can protect your internet connections on up to five devices at once.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Setting out into the wilds of the internet means being vulnerable to all sorts of hazards and headaches. From identity thieves to data snoops and location restrictions, PureVPN offers a way to deflect these threats and keep your personal data and online activity safe and anonymous. And right now, you can get a lifetime subscription to PureVPN for just $69 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Apple could offer original scripted TV content by end of 2017

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4118bc185081d7b9ff5160dc6e5304cbaab081a7
Could Apple challenge shows like Netflix's Stranger Things
Photo: Netflix

Move over The Crown and Stranger Things! Apple is planning to enter the original TV shows and movies market, according to a new report.

The Wall Street Journal claims Apple has been in talks with “veteran producers” over the past few months about buying the rights to existing shows, and has also told them that it has plans to create its own programming — although those efforts are still in the early stages.

Blood glucose monitoring kit boasts sleek Apple-inspired design

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ONEDROP-images.004
One Drop could be the solution diabetics have been waiting on!
Photo: One Drop

Apple has started selling a new FDA-approved blood glucose monitoring kit on its online store, created by the health startup One Drop.

Costing $99.95, the device comprises a Bluetooth-enabled blood glucose meter, 100 test strips, carry case, and a chrome lancing device — which we’re helpfully told was based on a Marc Jacobs lipstick design.

iOS revenue to surpass $1 trillion this year

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iPhone 7
iOS sales are about to hit a major milestone.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s revenues generated from the iOS ecosystem will surpass $1 trillion sometime this year, according to one analyst.

By mid-2017, the company is forecast to have sold a whopping 1.2 billion iPhones, while collective sales of all iOS devices will surpass 1.75 billion units.

The real reason iPhone didn’t inherit iPod’s click-wheel UI

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iPhonealternate
Yep, this is how the iPhone could have looked -- had project P1 taken off.
Photo: Apple

Former Apple VP Tony Fadell has dispelled the popular rumor that Apple had two rival teams working on different user interfaces for the first prototype iPhone.

Video of two prototype operating system builds for the original iPhone surfaced this week as Apple celebrated the iPhone’s 10th anniversary. One of the UIs proposed adopted the iPod’s click wheel interface and, according to Fadell, it actually worked really well.

There was just one problem: It sucked at making calls.

Enter to win an iPhone 7 Plus [Giveaway]

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Now's your chance to win a brand spanking new iPhone 7 Plus.
Now's your chance to win a brand spanking new iPhone 7 Plus.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

For some of us, “new iPhone” is another way of saying “cool thing I definitely can’t afford.” Instead of sitting on the sidelines staring sadly at your wheezing old mobile and waiting for the contract to turn over, you can jump at the chance to get a shiny new iPhone 7 Plus in this amazing giveaway.

This is not a drill, folks. Now’s your chance to win the latest and greatest mobile device around.

Flashing the peace sign is now a security risk

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fingerprints from selfies
Your fingerprints can now be snatched straight from your selfies.
Photo: Ryuta Ishimoto/Flickr CC

Next time someone poses for a selfie with their fingers held up in a peace sign, maybe tell them to leave it at a smile.

An ordinary photo of the universal sign of goodwill might be enough for a thief to copy a fingerprint, thanks to the high quality of digital photos these days. And since Touch ID and similar technologies turn fingerprints into keys that unlock our devices and the data we keep in them, that’s cause for concern.

Adobe wants you to edit photos by voice with Siri-style assistant

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Instead of using your fingers to adjust the crop guides, use your voice to ask for a square crop.
Instead of using your fingers to adjust the crop guides, use your voice to ask for a square crop.
Photo: Adobe Research/YouTube

Great photographers often employee great assistants. Ansel Adams hired master darkroom technicians who printed to his exact specifications, and the lush lighting in an Annie Leibovitz portrait is typically achieved by trusted assistants who understand her vision.

Adobe is working to bring photographers of all levels a valued assistant — and the voice of that assistant may sound familiar.

A video produced by Adobe Research shows a man giving voice commands to an iPad to crop a photo and prepare it to post on Facebook. The voice coming from the iPad sounds like Siri as it repeats the photographer’s commands.

Apple’s spaceship campus gets closer to launch in latest drone vid

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Landscaping on Apple's HQ is still underway.
Landscaping on Apple's HQ is still underway.
Photo: Matthew Roberts/YouTube

Cupertino has been soaked with rain the last few days which has made construction on Apple’s spaceship campus messy work in the latest drone video showing the headquarter’s progress.

Smaller structures are starting to take shape inside the infinite loop, while construction of the solar roof is about 65% complete. The first of hundreds of large trees have finally brought in as landscaping continues on the property. Crews have nearly finished burying the main tunnel to the parking lots which are now starting to be used.

Check out all the details:

Apple loses another key employee to Tesla

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Tesla
Tesla is siphoning engineering talent from Apple.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The battle between Apple and Tesla to attract top talent revved up to a new level this week after another key employee for the iPhone-maker defected to Elon Musk’s auto company.

Matt Casebolt, who made key contributions to the design of the original MacBook Air, has reportedly left the company to work as an engineer for Tesla.