Apple flat-out denies that an iCloud security breach led to the trove of celebrity nudes that leaked over Labor Day weekend. “None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone,” said the company in a statement.
Private photos of stars like Jennifer Lawrence were posted on the internet over the weekend, and initial reports pinned the hack on a flaw in iCloud’s login security.
Apple is expected to launch a tsunami of new products this fall, starting with next week’s official unveiling of the iPhone 6. With the rumor mill hitting all-time new heights of crazy, you’d think iPhone 6 sales would be off the charts when it hits stores September 19. But Piper Jaffray’s top Apple analyst, Gene Munster, is predicting that won’t be the case.
Munster hasn’t been one to shy away from bold Apple predictions (no matter how many times he’s wrong), but his latest note to investors claims iPhone 6 sales probably won’t be as nearly as huge as the iPhone 5s during launch weekend.
Here are Munster’s estimates:
Apple seeded the seventh beta of OS X Yosemite to developer this afternoon with build 6A280n. The release comes ahead of Yosemite’s wide release this fall, and while the seed note doesn’t mention any new features, it looks like Apple’s engineers have been busy squashing bugs.
While the number of leaks regarding the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 means a lot of people aren’t expecting to be surprised come September 9, the larger 5.5-inch phablet iPhone remains something of a machine of mystery.
A new component uncovered by French Apple website Nowhereelse.fr, however, purports to show a 2,915 mAh capacity battery from the lesser-seen 5.5-inch model iPhone 6.
Provided that the part is legitimate, it represents a considerable increase from the 1,570 mAh battery included in the current generation iPhone 5s.
Your Mac computer is a powerful machine. It can run software that makes people more productive and increases their working efficiency. The only problem is that software can be prohibitively expensive, so many tend to put off buying the very thing that can help them be better.
That’s why those people need to take a serious look at The Award-Winning MacLovin Bundle available for a limited time at Cult of Mac Deals. The MacLovin Bundle, available for only a little while longer, gives you 8 awesome Mac apps which would normally cost hundreds of dollars for just $39.99!
Sonos’ incredible wireless speaker system is getting even easier to setup now that company has announced its $50 Bridge that was required to stream music to any Sonos speaker in your house, will now be completely optional.
A new firmware update for Sonos will make the Bridge – which had to be connected to a router via an ethernet cable to work – nearly obsolete today, allowing users to connect Sonos speakers directly over Wi-Fi rather than setting up a proprietary network.
Banksy, the U.K. street artist who doesn’t shy from making commentary on social and technology issues with his graffiti street art, published a new sketch with a terrifying reminder that your iPhone has basically become a parasitic extension.
In a separate piece of graffiti art posted on Twitter, Banksy had a subtle message against corporations like Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola, and others.
Take a look:
As the iPhone 6 and public launch of iOS 8 gets ever closer, a number of products offering full integration with Apple’s new HomeKit platform have started popping up on a regular basis.
The latest of these is Elgato’s new line of “Eve” connected home sensors, which debuted at the IFA 2014 trade show in Berlin, Germany. The range of Bluetooth accessories are able to monitor air quality, detect smoke, and track humidity, energy used, air pressure and water consumption — then feeding all of this data back to your iPhone or iPad.
The world may be buzzing to get a glimpse of Apple’s eagerly-anticipated iWatch, but according to sources from the “upstream supply chain” the company is unlikely to unveil its take on the smart watch Apple’s September 9 press conference.
The report, from Digitimes, also notes that despite various iWatch components already entering production, the wearable device itself is still in what is termed the engineering verification testing (EVT) stage.
With all the excited chatter about the iPhone 6 and the iWatch, the iPad is starting to look like a relic from the past — and the sales back this up.
Across the board, tablet sales have flatlined. On the back of another lower-than-expected tablet quarter, research firm IDC recently slashed its 2014 forecast for worldwide tablet shipments from 260.9 million units all the way back to 233.1 million. With Apple’s leading position in the market, even Tim Cook has had to admit that this has represents a bit of what he calls a “speed bump”.
The iPad took a crack at disrupting classrooms, cash registers, hospitals and airplane cockpits, but sales nonetheless slumped 10 percent from the same quarter last year. Simply put, Apple’s once white-hot tablet brand has cooled off. Relegated to a second-tier product, it just doesn’t seem as exciting any more.
“I own an iPhone, a Mac and an iPad, and out of these I use the iPad the least,” says Michael Grothaus, a former Apple employee, and the entrepreneur behind SITU, an iPad-enabled set of smart kitchen scales. “It occupies a bit of a no man’s land. As much as I love Apple products, recently I’ve been looking around at other tablets on the market to see what’s out there.”
Here’s what the top developers we talked to said might make the iPad a game changer again.
As Apple knows full well, it’s lonely at the top!
As if the constant shots from Samsung weren’t enough, Microsoft has just unleashed a new ad pitting its Cortana virtual assistant against Apple’s Siri. The ad, for those who can’t view it, begins with Siri ‘singing’ “I feel pretty, oh so pretty” into a mirror, only for the HTC One M8 with Windows to turn up, apparently dazzling the iPhone 5s with its superior size.
Apple has been awarded a new patent for adding moving radial menus to both Macs and iOS devices.
The use of radial menus would give Apple an alternative to the pull-down menus currently used in most applications — allowing context-specific menus and submenus to be created at optimal positions close to a user’s mouse cursor or, in the case of an iPhone or iPad, their finger.
Apple is “actively investigating” if and how iCloud is to blame for the hacking of numerous celebrity accounts. Dozens of nude and scandalous photos were posted on the internet over the weekend featuring famous actresses like Jennifer Lawrence and Kirsten Dunst.
Though still unconfirmed at this point, many have speculated that the hack was a result of a flaw in iCloud’s security.
Apple’s 2014 iTunes Festival begins today with performances every day through the month of September. Like previous years, each performance will be streamed in HD for free through iTunes and the festival’s dedicated Apple TV channel.
To kick things off, electronic artist Deadmau5 is headlining tonight at The Roundhouse in London. Apple has revealed that Spanish singer and conductor Placido Domingo will close the festival on September 30th.
A slew of reports and leaked pictures have suggested that Apple could ship a new Lightning cable with reversible USB connector in the iPhone 6’s packaging. That’s not happening, according to venerable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Kuo, who is rarely off the mark with his Apple predictions, has said that a new charging cable won’t debut this month due to “cost concerns” and “limited improvements to overall user experience.”
We’re fairly confident that Apple will show off the iPhone 6 at its September 9th media event next week, but when will the new hardware actually go on sale?
Signs are pointing to Friday, September 19th for the date that preorders begin—at least in the Netherlands. The Chinese media and Deutsche Telekom support representatives have already mentioned the 19th as new iPhone day too.
Your Mac is a productive device. What makes it even more productive is having killer Mac apps that will open new doors and make your life better.
Today, we feature 4 Mac apps that you just cannot live without. Check out TextExpander 4, TuneUp, Flip PDF, and iMedia Converter Deluxe. What’s even better than those Mac apps? Saving money on those Mac apps. All are heavily discounted at Cult of Mac Deals now.
If you’re the type of person who enjoys/has a work-related need to track airplanes using their iPhone or iPad, you may want to download plane-tracking app Plane Finder, which has just received a brand new update — letting you watch previous flights, dating all the way back to April 2011.
The app lets you replay holiday flights, diversions, and major incidents, as well as easily seeing the effect of storms, ATC strikes, volcanic ash clouds, and more.
SEATTLE — It’s like Halloween two months early at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), with gamers and geeky fans of every stripe dressing up in costumes of varying quality and seriousness.
More than 70,000 gamers converge each year in Seattle for PAX, a fan-centric celebration of all things gaming that was created by web cartoonists Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik as a way to honor their passion for video, board and card games.
We saw hundreds of people wearing elaborate costumes from their favorite games, television shows and movies. Some do it for the attention, others really enjoy making the outfits, and all the folks we encountered in the expo halls were excited to show off their final products.
Take a look in the gallery above at the best of the many fantastic cosplay outfits we ran into this year.
All Photos: Hunter LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
An alleged mass iCloud hack has seen a veritable who’s who of Hollywood nude selfies leaked onto the Internet.
The photos — which include the likes of Avril Lavigne, Hayden Pannettiere, Kate Upton, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Rihanna — appeared first on 4Chan, with an anonymous poster telling people he/she had obtained the photos by hacking iCloud accounts. In addition, the photos were being sold for Bitcoins, which most likely makes this a first.
While we don’t yet know what kind of battery life the iPhone 6 is going to have, it’s always good to have a way of charging your smartphone when you’re out and about.
With that in mind, the city of Seoul in South Korea has announced that it is building a series of outdoor recharging ports along manmade stream, the Cheonggyecheon, in the city’s downtown region. Rather than drawing from the city’s regular power grid, the chargers will instead draw their current from various hydroelectric turbines which are embedded in the stream itself.
This Labor Day holiday we take things easy. Whether stargazing with Starwalk 2, taking a walk and remembering the hot spots along the way with Rego, getting a recommendation for a good read with Bookvibe, or adding so retro-style light leaks to our photos with a new set of Prolost Lightroom presets.
If you love learning about the technical intricacies of your favorite gadgets, chances are you’ve heard of the website AnandTech.
The founder of the 17-year-old site, Anand Lal Shimpi, has been a highly regarded tech reviewer for years. Over the weekend, he announced his retirement from the world of journalism with no explanation.
Now it has been revealed why he quit: to work for Apple.
Apple will show off the iPhone 6 to the world in less than two weeks, and like always, an executive in an untucked dress shirt will explain why it’s the best iPhone ever.
If you pride yourself on knowing Apple history, then we’ve come across a cool summary of each iPhone launch to date. The six-minute video hits the highlights from each iPhone event since 2007.
One of the great mysteries of the App Store is why certain apps get rejected and why others don’t. Apple has let a surprising number of ripoffs and clones through the store’s iron gates, yet some developers face rejection for seemingly innocent apps.
“Before you develop your app, it’s important to become familiar with the technical, content, and design criteria that we use to review all apps,” explains Apple on a new webpage called “Common App Rejections.”