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Apple exec reveals how your iPhone data is used to improve Maps

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Hair Force One wants everyone to become a coder.
Craig Federighi oversees the development of both iOS and macOS.
Photo: Apple

In a new wide ranging interview, Apple’s senior VP of internet software and services, Eddy Cue, revealed how the company fixed a lot of mistakes it made with the launch of Apple Maps in 2012 by utilizing data from the hundreds of millions of iPhones around the globe.

Cue and Apple software chief Craig Federighi sat down to talk about the troubles with Apple Maps, the difference between working for Tim Cook and Steve Jobs, Apple’s competition with Facebook and Amazon and learning from failure.

These weatherproof backpacks are the only tech bags you’ll ever need [Review]

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Lowepro Streetline
These backpacks will carry your tech goodies in style and comfort.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Backpacks aimed at tech heads are seemingly everywhere these days. But even with such a crowded marketplace, a couple of bags really leap out.

Two such backpacks are the Lowepro’s Fastback BP 250 AW II and Streetline BP 250, both of which are my go-to carriers when I need to haul my camera equipment, laptop, tablet — and maybe even an odd change of clothes — around with me.

Why do these two bags stand out from the pack? Check out the video below for my full reviews:

Everything that’s new in iOS 10 beta 5

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iOS
Check out the latest tweaks in iOS 10 beta 5
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

We’re gradually getting closer and closer to the public release of iOS 10 later this fall, which means developer betas are dropping fast. Just a week after beta 4 was released, beta 5 is already here.

Check out what’s new in our hands-on video below.

USB travel charger reminds you where you parked your car [Deals]

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Zus Smart Car Charger

Some ideas have a combination of common sense and innovation that it feels good just to think about. An example: since you’re charging your smartphone while you drive, why not turn that charger into a locator so you know where your car is after you get out? That’s exactly what this car charger from Zus does, a brilliant, simple device built for double duty that can be yours for almost half off — get one for $29.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Apple’s Rio Watch bands dodge official Olympics sponsorship

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Apple-Watch-780x585
Smooth move, Apple! Smooth move.
Photo: Trayvon Bromell/Twitter

Apple’s decision to sell national flag-themed Apple Watch bands exclusively in Rio may look like an official Olympics tie-in, but it’s actually a smart bit of guerrilla marketing that’s having the (unintentional?) side effect of drawing attention away from rival Samsung, a.k.a. the official phone sponsor of the Olympic games.

Things go from bad to worse for iPhone display maker

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The iPhone 6 Plus was Apple's biggest phone yet.
Japan Display is running into problems.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple display maker Japan Display continues to suffer setbacks, with the latest being a fall in its share price after it was revealed that the company is seeking financial support from a Japanese government-backed fund.

Japan Display has been hit by the triple whammy of iPhone sales falling, a damaging rise in the Japanese yen currency, and seemingly betting on the wrong horse by hanging onto LCD technology for too long while rival companies were ramping up their OLED facilities for next year’s big iPhone refresh.

Today in Apple history: iTunes catalog hits 1 million songs

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Apple might start signing artists to contracts, in order to compete with the likes of Spotify. Photo: iTunes/Apple
iTunes hit a major milestone in 2004.
Photo: Apple

August10 August 10, 2004: The iTunes Music Store catalog grows to 1 million songs in the United States, a first for an online music service.

Stocking music from all five major record labels and another 600 indies, and with more than 100 million songs downloaded, the iTunes Music Store is officially established as the world’s No. 1 online music service.

“The iTunes Music Store offers the world’s most extensive collection of downloadable music with over one million tracks available,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of applications, in a press release. “With more than one million songs, over 600 independent labels and dozens of innovative features, iTunes is the ultimate destination for discovering and downloading music.”

Apple Car may use hollow batteries to stay cool

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Charging the Apple Car.
Apple is making revolutionary batteries for its car.
Photo: Motor1

Apple might team up with “expert technologists in batteries” from South Korea to create hollow lithium-ion power cells that will fuel the upcoming Apple Car, according to a new report.

While the name of the South Korean company hasn’t been revealed due to a nondisclosure agreement with Apple, it’s supposedly comprised of just 20 people. The South Korean team reportedly joined Apple’s secretive Project Titan automotive effort earlier this year, and the battery innovations could help the Apple Car stand out from the competition.

macOS Sierra gets its fifth beta build

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macos_sierra_tabs
macOS Sierra puts Tabs everywhere.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

One week after releasing macOS Sierra beta 4, Apple is already back with a new beta build of its future operating system for Mac that is set for public release later this fall.

Apple mentions in the release notes that it has made bug fixes for Apple Pay, iTunes, Keychain Access and even Microsoft OneDrive in the new build. The upcoming update brings a ton of new features, including Siri for Mac, auto-unlock with Apple Watch, Apple Pay, better iCloud integration and more.

How to search your photos by objects and scenery in macOS Sierra

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Cult of Mac
Searching your photos just got easier!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is giving its Photos app a massive overhaul for macOS Sierra, adding cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology to make searching for individual pictures far, far smarter than it’s ever been before.

The Photos app can now search upward of 4,432 scenes and objects, letting you pull just the pictures shot in your backyard, for instance, or only those that include your car. Although the feature’s not working in Apple’s beta releases just yet, the finished version of macOS Sierra also promises to recognize seven different facial expressions — including greediness, disgust, smiles, neutral, surprise, screaming and suspicious.

Here’s how to use Apple’s smart photo search when running the new operating system, which is currently in public beta and will be released this fall.

Apple seeds fifth betas of iOS 10, watchOS 3 and tvOS 10

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iOS-10-QuickType-keyboard
iOS 10 beta 5 has arrived.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Developers received a brand-new batch of betas from Apple this morning after the company released the fifth builds of iOS 10, watchOS 3 and tvOS 10, which bring a number of changes and performance improvements to Apple’s platforms.

The updates come just over a week after Apple dropped the fourth beta of iOS 10, which included more than 100 new emoji, new sounds for keyboard clicks, quicker animations and tons of other improvements. We can’t wait to see what improvements Apple has made this go-round.

Apple ditched plan to make three iPhone 7 models

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iphone-7-iphone-7-plus-iphone-7-pro-back
Only two of these will go on sale this fall.
Photo: NowhereElse

Apple really has been working on three different versions of the iPhone 7, according to sources familiar with its plans — but only two of them will go on sale this fall.

The rumored “iPhone 7 Pro” has reportedly been cut from the final lineup, but we’ll still see Apple’s new dual-lens camera.

Chinese Apple Watch clone costs just $63, but is it any good? [Reviews]

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WatchClone
Has time run out for more expensive smartwatches?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The Apple Watch is one of the more affordable devices Apple makes. But a lot of people are still understandably hesitant about shelling out a few hundred bucks on a first-generation gadget they’re not sure they need.

If this describes you, check out our video review of a $63 Chinese Apple Watch clone, the (deep breath) Lemfo Bluetooth Smart Watch Phone GSM Pedometer Fitness Tracker. You may even come away surprised …

Thieving dolphin jumps out of pool to steal iPad on porpoise

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This is why you shouldn't take pics with an iPad.
This is why you shouldn't take pics with an iPad.
Photo: Deklyn Kai

Next time you visit SeaWorld make sure to keep one eye on the dolphins and the other on your Apple products.

It turns out one of the most intelligent species of the ocean is just as crazy about iPads and iPhones as humans are, as seen in a new video from Orlando, Florida where a dolphin jumps out of his pool to steal a spectator’s iPad while she’s taking a photo.

Watch the full video below:

Get double browsing protection with a password manager and VPN [Deals]

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Dashlane Hotspot
This pair of apps will let you take control of your online security.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Going online is automatically risky, what with data thieves, snoops and location restrictions, among plenty of other hazards. One great way to make sure you’re protected is to regularly change up your passwords, and another is to connect through a virtual private network, or VPN.

Either move can take a lot of effort. But with this duo of apps — Dashlane Premium and Hotspot Shield Elite VPN — taking these precautions becomes effortless. And right now you can get three years of both for just $69.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Unexpected Apple military patent is basically MagSafe for tanks

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Maintenance personnel from the 5055th Range Squadron drive an M-973 small unit support vehicle through the snow.
Your Apple Car? Probably not, to be honest.
Photo: Wikipedia CC

With Project Titan reportedly gathering momentum, it might come as no surprise to hear that Apple was granted a vehicle-related patent today.

What might surprise you a bit more is that this doesn’t relate to the Apple Car many people are expecting — but rather to robust steering controls for an articulated truck, originally filed by a company which manufactures and sells military vehicles.

Apple to get answer on Irish data center this month

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Irish flag
Apple's proposed data center has met with a bit of resistance.
Photo: John Hoey/Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple can expect to get a final verdict on whether it can continue development on its proposed 850 million euro ($960 million) data centre in Athenry, Ireland later this month.

An oral hearing concerning the major development took place earlier this year, and inspector Stephen Kay has now submitted his recommendations to the Irish advisory board about the project.

Today in Apple history: Mac’s default browser company goes public

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Screenshot of Netscape Navigator internet browser on a Macintosh
Do you remember Netscape Navigator?
Photo: Netscape

August 9August 9, 1995: The Netscape Communications IPO floats shares of the company behind Netscape Navigator, the Macintosh’s default browser, on the stock market.

While not totally an Apple-centric moment, this was big news for Mac fans in 1995. The success of Nestcape’s $2.9 billion IPO also sweetened Wall Street on technology companies. Plus, the experience of using Netscape Navigator to surf the internet on a Macintosh is something many older Apple users will still remember fondly.

Google Photos ad capitalizes on iPhone’s biggest weakness

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Don't you hate this message?
Don't you hate this message?
Photo: Google

Google has decided to attack Apple directly in a funny new ad that rips the iPhone for its paltry 16GB of storage on entry models.

The new ad has been played heavily during NBC’s Rio Olympics coverage and promotes Google Photos “free up space” feature the upload an unlimited number of pictures to the cloud so users have more storage for apps, videos, music and other content. Apple has a similar feature with iCloud, but you have to pay for it.

Watch the hilarious ad below: