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Apple gives early glimpse of redesigned Regent Street store

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Apple is the U.K.'s top tech employer.
Apple is the U.K.'s top tech employer.
Photo: Apple

An early preview of Apple’s redesigned London store reveals lots of new plants, simplified shelves and tables, as well as untethered iPhones and iPads that visitors can pick up and carry around the store.

Apple’s flagship Regent Street store, closed since June for the major remodel, is set to reopen Saturday. Early photos and a video tour show off the retail outlet’s uncluttered new look.

Apple poaches top talent from iPhone 7 GPU chipmaker

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A10 processor
Custom graphics chips could be Apple's next big move.
Photo: Apple

Apple is siphoning talent from one of its key partners, Imagination Technologies, which makes the graphics chip for the iPhone 7.

The British chipmaker was rumored to be in acquisition talks with Apple earlier this year. Apple told the press it wasn’t interested in buying Imagination Technologies, but based on a slew of recent hires, the iPhone-maker does want its employees.

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.

How to change the feedback strength of iPhone 7’s Home button

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iPhone 7 Home button
iPhone 7's new home button is awesome.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus deliver an all-new Home button that uses the Taptic Engine inside your device to simulate clicks. It doesn’t actually move in and out like a traditional iPhone Home button, but that’s not a bad thing.

Not only does it make your iPhone more reliable (without a moving button there’s no need to worry about it failing), but it also makes it more water-resistant. It’s also customizable; you can adjust the strength of the haptic feedback to make your clicks more noticeable.

Here’s how.

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.

Now half off, this Bluetooth speaker is sonic gold and tough as nails [Deals]

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These water-resistant Bluetooth speakers offer 12-hour playtime on a single charge
These water-resistant Bluetooth speakers offer 12-hour playtime on a single charge
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Bluetooth is the way we’re getting our music now, thanks in large part to the headphone jack-free iPhone 7. Lucky for us, Bluetooth speakers are keeping right up — for proof, just look at this new water-resistant, long-lasting, shock-absorbing speaker from Braven. It’s a speaker that’s up to the challenge of being a workhorse for bringing the noise, and right now you can get one for just $49.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

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:

How to activate Siri with ‘Hey Siri’ on macOS Sierra

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Hey Siri macOS
Here's a workaround to bring "Hey Siri" to your Mac.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The ability to activate Siri by saying “Hey Siri” is an incredibly useful feature on iOS. Want to do it on macOS Sierra? Too bad you can’t.

Or, rather, you can’t through the usual Siri system preferences. However, if you’re really intent on being able to start up Siri without hitting a single key or mouse click, it’s possible to do it using Sierra’s Accessibility options. Here’s how.

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.

Learn front-end web development and save almost $1,000 [Deals]

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Spend 48 hours with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to become an in-demand front end engineer
Spend 48 hours with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to become an in-demand front end engineer
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Development for web users is one of the most lucrative and portable skills you can learn today. It can be hard to know where to start in front-end development though, making this bundle an especially great opportunity. Clocking in at 48 hours, it’s a comprehensive set of 8 lessons covering basic and advanced concepts and techniques in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and more. It usually goes for over $1,000, but right now you can get the whole thing for just $39 at Cult of Mac Deals.

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.