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New rumor exposes Apple’s dual-lens camera plans

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I'd pay extra for this.
Why make do with one lens when you could have two?
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple has been secretly experimenting with dual-camera iPhone lenses for three years, according to Altek’s Xiaru Wen, the CEO of the company responsible for building similar camera modules for HTC and Huawei.

The report claims that Apple has been held up by two challenges until now: technical problems resulting in blurred images, and an inability to find a manufacturer able to build enough of the components in the allotted time.

But things may be about to change.

Will.i.am thinks the Apple Watch is weird

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Ahrendts
Will.i.am cheesin' with Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts at the Apple Watch unveiling.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Black Eyed Peas founder Will.i.Am has been an Apple fanboy for years, but when it comes to supporting Jony Ive’s new wearable, the singer thinks it’s just weird.

During a panel discussion at the Cannes Lions festival, Mr I.Am said he recently saw a man at the gym with an iPhone 6 strapped to his arm even though he was wearing an Apple Watch, and it just didn’t look right he told SaleForce CEO Marc Benioff.

How the Swiss Army Knife was the iPhone of its day

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The first Swiss Army Knife, which was issued to soldiers in October of 1891.
The first Swiss Army Knife, which was issued to soldiers in October of 1891.
Photo: Wikipedia

With an iPhone in your hand and thousands of apps at your disposal, you may think you have the one gadget that can get you out of any situation.

But there’s a kind of analog handset that offers sharp solutions to cut through unexpected challenges. The Swiss Army Knife comes from the 19th century but never gets old.

The red handle and silver cross is enough to inspire confidence knowing that what unfolds from it could help you solve problems, build things, keep you on the job or possibly save your life.

Slim Shady stands up for first Beats 1 interview with Zane Lowe

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Beats 1 could soon be broadcasting from an Apple store.
Eminem is the first major musical guest on Apple Music.
Photo: Apple

DJ Zane Lowe is clearly intent on getting Beats 1 kicked off with a bang, since he has posted an image to Instagram revealing that hip-hop artist Eminem will be his first guest interview when Apple Music launches next week.

Lowe joined Apple from BBC Radio 1 earlier this year, where he had previously interviewed top-tier music names including Eminem, Kanye West, Jay Z, Rick Rubin, and Chris Martin.

Some T-Mobile iPhone users are suffering a case of ‘blue screen of death’

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t-mobile
T-Mobile CEO John Legere.
Photo: T-Mobile

Numerous T-Mobile iPhone users are complaining that their handsets are reportedly suffering bizarre outages, causing them to reboot at half-hourly intervals.

On social media, users are describing how their Uncarrier iPhones crash every 20 to 30 minutes while they are using certain apps, leading to a Microsoft-style “blue screen of death” and then a reboot.

Shoulderpod’s iPhone grip helps you shoot video like a pro

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ShoulderPod's S1 grip is a fantastic addition to your kit.
ShoulderPod's S1 grip is a fantastic addition to your kit.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

So you want to take video with your iPhone, because you realize that it’s a fantastic camera with some great features like slo-mo and time-lapse, and you also know that the best camera for any video or photo shoot is often the one you have with you.

If you’re like me, though, chances are you’re a bit shaky-handed. Or you have big mitts that tend to cover your whole iPhone, and they constantly end up hitting the Sleep button when you don’t want them to.

In short, shooting video with any sort of professionalism or polish is much more easily accomplished with a camera you can grip. That’s where ShoulderPod S1 Pro iPhone Grip comes in.

Apple component orders again hint that Force Touch is coming to iPhone 6s

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The Force Touch trackpad as seen in the recent MacBook.
The Force Touch trackpad as seen in the recent MacBook.
Photo: Apple

More and more evidence is racking up that Apple will introduce its Force Touch technology — previously seen in the Apple Watch and recent MacBook models — as a chief feature for the upcoming iPhone 6s.

According to a new report citing industry sources, Apple has upped its orders for the flexible printed circuit boards necessary for incorporating Force Touch into its next-gen iPhones — with its main FPCB suppliers being Zhen Ding Technology and Flexium Interconnect.

Apple will pay same streaming royalty rate as Spotify during free trial

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Iovine
Jimmy Iovine talks up Apple Music at WWDC 2015.
Photo: Apple

Having agreed to pay out royalties to music artists during the initial three-month trial period of Apple Music, Apple will reportedly pay rights holders 0.2 cents per stream, according to a new report.

This rate is similar to that paid by other streaming companies, such as Spotify, for their free tier. Apple is also said to be still negotiating a smaller free for songwriting rights which be paid to publishers.

Gmail’s handy ‘Undo Send’ feature comes to Inbox

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We’ve all sent emails to the wrong person accidentally. Sometimes it’s as harmless as inviting your grandma to a drum and bass rave; other times it’s pictures to your boss that no one should see.

But if you use Gmail, those mistakes can quickly be reversed with the awesome “Undo Send” feature — which just made its way to Inbox.

The patent that proves Apple wants to put fingerprint scanners inside displays

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Touch ID as you know it could be about to change.
Touch ID as you know it could be about to change.
Photo: Apple

Recent reports claim that Apple is looking to eliminate the need for a physical “home” button on future iPhones by integrating Touch ID fingerprint sensors into the main display. Now we have the patent application to prove it!

Published Thursday, Cult of Mac got its hands on a patent application entitled “Fingerprint Biometric Sensor Including Drive Signal Level Updating,” which reveals how Apple has been exploring processing circuitry capable of acquiring fingerprint data by using special “sensing pixels” within screens.

MIT: Apple is smarter than Snapchat, dumber than Google

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Tim Cook commencement
S-M-R-T.
Photo: George Washington University

Tesla Motors is the smartest company in the world, according to MIT Tech Review’s latest survey of the brainiest corporations. Apple, which was not on last year’s list returns at number 16, beating out other firms like ride-sharing company Uber and smartbulb-maker Philips. MIT cites the newly released Apple Watch and touchless payment method Apple Pay as its reasons for inclusion, saying that these two products “set the pace for competitors.”

You can see the full list of smartiespants in the table below.

UK Apple Pay comes up short at the cash register

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Apple Pay is coming to the U.K. this fall.
Apple Pay for the U.K. It's coming sometime, maybe.
Photo: Apple

Merchants in the United Kingdom are preparing their shops and wares for the launch of Apple Pay this fall, but they have some extra work to do if they want to make the big sales.

Apple Pay U.K. will come with a £20 per transaction limit unless shop owners have the latest gear on their counters.

Get your vacation on with the best of Apple Maps Flyover

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View some of the most beautiful cities and landmarks in the world with Flyover.
View some of the most beautiful cities and landmarks in the world with Flyover.
Photo: Apple

The worst part about vacationing is coming back home and getting hit in the face with cold, hard reality. Excessive food consumption, relaxing atmospheres and sugary alcoholic beverages are out of your life and work is back in. But what if you take the travel part (not to mention the cost) completely out of equation? You get Flyover in Apple Maps.

Why vacation in this costly, unforgiving world when you can live vicariously through your iPhone, iPad or Mac?

Flyover, the immersive 3-D view in Apple Maps, now supports hundreds of cities around the world and Apple adds more all the time. In fact, seven more were added to the list just today so we thought it would be fun to take a look at the hottest vacationing spots of 2015, without even leaving the couch.

Get your summer vacay on at these hot Flyover spots:

Carl Icahn: Apple could be one of the great stocks of the century

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Carl Icahn is coo-coo for AAPL.
Carl Icahn is coo-coo for AAPL.
Photo: Forbes

Carl Icahn is bearish on the current stock market. After making billions buying Netflix shares near $58, the iconic investor announced today that he’s cashing out now that the stock is trading around $677 because the ‘overheated.’

Despite pulling out of Netflix though, Icahn is still super bullish on AAPL and thinks that the stock is actually at the same point now as when he bought into Netflix back in 2012.

Capture blur-free iPhone vids with this tip

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Lock focus and exposure values for better video (and photos).
Lock focus and exposure values for better video (and photos).
Photo: Steve Brooks/Image North

Your iPhone is set up as a still camera first and foremost, so it tends to automatically focus and expose your images. This is fantastic when you need a quick snapshot, but when you’re taking video, the constant re-focusing and exposure adjustment just makes everything look blurry and amateur.

You can tap the screen in either video or photo modes to get a quick adjustment, but the minute you or or subject moves, all bets are off. Your best chance, then, at keeping your iPhone videos blur-free is to lock the focus and exposure.

Here’s how.

Taylor Swift responds to criticism that she’s as bad as Apple

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Taylor Swift takes issue with a certain photographer.
Taylor Swift takes issue with a certain photographer.
Photo: GabboT/Wikimedia Commons CC

Taylor Swift, who made Apple blink this week by criticizing the company for initially denying musicians royalties during the free trial period of its new streaming service, now has her gaze square on the photographer who implied her stance is hypocritical.

Swift, through a spokesperson in England, said music photographer Jason Sheldon misrepresented the contract shooters sign before her concerts, saying it does not force them to sign away the rights to their shots.

Dump Flash Player now or spend the rest of your life patching it

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Might be time to get rid of this vector for security exploits, yeah?
Might be time to get rid of this vector for security exploits, yeah?
Photo: Adobe

Adobe Systems Inc. has yet another patch for you to download and install to fix yet another critical security hole in its ubiquitous Flash Player browser plugin.

Hackers are already onto the exploit, so if you use Adobe Flash Player, you really need to download and apply the patch.

Better yet, though: just stop using Flash Player.

Apple Watch is more popular now than orginal iPhone

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Apple Stores finally have Apple Watch in stock

The launch of the original iPhone and the first Apple Watch have been polar opposites. While the iPhone was available at Apple Stores and third-parties on launch day, getting your hands on an Apple Watch on April 24th was almost impossible.

According to researchers at Morgan Stanley, that’s because the Apple Watch is in even more demand than the original iPhone weeks after it launched in 2007.

Android running on a TI graphing calculator is uselessly cool

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When it comes to cool Android hacks, this one’s got to be up there with the best.

Developer Josh Max has managed to get Google’s mobile platform running on a Texas graphing calculator with about as much power as a kitchen wall clock. It doesn’t just boot up, either; it’s also capable of running apps, like early Android game Lunar Lander.

Pharrell Williams is on Team Taylor in battle vs Apple Music

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Pharrell's got Taylor Swift's back
Pharrell's got Taylor Swift's back
Photo: The Voice

Pharrell Williams has been Apple’s BFF lately, but when it comes to the battle between Apple and Taylor Swift, Skateboard P is on Team Taytay.

The eleven-time Grammy award winning artist spoke at the Cannes Lions Festival today (where Apple just scooped up a big award), and said that what Taylor did was a great thing for music.