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The 10 biggest Apple announcements of all time

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Steve Jobs presided over some memorable announcements during his time at Apple. (Picture: Flickr)
Steve Jobs presided over many memorable moments during his time at Apple. Here are our all-time favorites. Photo: Ben Stanfield/Flickr CC

Apple’s most-anticipated — and likely most-eventful — product introduction since the iPad is set for later this morning. It will undoubtedly be Tim Cook’s biggest moment yet as Apple’s CEO, with the company reportedly ready to unveil new products from what has been described as its most exciting product pipeline in a quarter century.

Anticipation among the Apple faithful couldn’t be any higher. Endless speculation and massive expectations about finally laying eyes on the long-awaited iWatch got us thinking about other memorable announcements from Apple’s 37-year history.

While you wait for this morning’s 10 a.m. liveblog from Apple’s big event, relive some of Cupertino’s past glories. Here are our picks for the 10 biggest Apple announcements of all time.

Shatterproof and water-resistant? Full iPhone 6 spec list contains surprises

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iphone 6 back cover (1)

Bad news for anyone in the cellphone repair business!

A full list of the iPhone 6 specs we’ve received from a source in China says not only is the iPhone 6 water-resistant but that the screen is shatterproof.

Not “scratch-resistant” or even “scratch-proof,” but “shatter proof,” which suggests the new iPhone is nearly indestructible and could put a few repair shops out of business.

As far as we can tell, the spec list below is the most comprehensive list of features published to date.

Apple takes security to highest level for Sept. 9 event

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CUPERTINO, California -- What's inside the mystery building Apple is fabricating for its big September 9 event? The giant construction project is almost as big of an enigma as what the iWatch will actually look like or do.


The boxy structure, which sprang up behind the Flint Center for the Performing Arts here on the De Anza College campus, looks like a cross between an igloo and a winning confection on Cake Wars.  Naturally, the enormous two-to-three story building sparked intense curiosity among the Apple faithful when pictures emerged Thursday, so we had to go take a look for ourselves.


Will it hold something as mundane as a demo area where tech journalists can fondle Apple's latest, greatest gear? Does it contain a full-size home of the future to show off amazing HomeKit implementations? Will it house a runway for an Apple wearables fashion show or a giant stage for a post-announcement Dr. Dre concert?


Whatever it holds, it is truly a massive undertaking. It's surrounded by green fences and countless security guards. We, like you, can't wait for Apple's big reveal — here's what we saw walking around the outskirts of the secretive project Thursday afternoon.
Apple is taking security for its big Sept. 9 event to a new level. Phones are being searched, cameras are covered in special tape and everyone is "super-paranoid." Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

With less than 24 hours to go, security precautions for Apple’s big press event Tuesday have been taken to unprecedented levels.

Apple has wired the entire event auditorium — the Flint Center for the Performing Arts — with a brand new, state-of-the-art security system to lock down access and prevent leaks.

The auditorium is crawling with 24-hour security personnel. Anyone working at the massive show, from caterers to construction staff and technicians, is required to submit their phones to Apple’s security team. The phones’ cameras are being covered in special tamper-proof tape, which changes color if removal is attempted.

“If it changes color, we’ll be fired on the spot,” said one person who is working at the show but asked to remain anonymous.

Get your Apple keynote bingo cards!

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Apple bingo card, courtesy Appency.com
Apple bingo card, courtesy Appency.com

We’re in a frenzy of anticipation about Apple’s September 9 event. Just like you, we’re expecting big and bigger iPhones, the iWatch and something to take the stage of that immense box Apple has constructed outside the Flint Center auditorium.

As we tweet, liveblog and take you hands-on with new products from what may be the most important Apple event in years, you can play along with this awesome set of free bingo cards, courtesy mobile PR firm Appency.

American Horror Story’s freak-filled trailer will creep you out

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Screengrab from FX Networks' YouTube Channel
Screengrab from FX Networks' YouTube Channel

American Horror Story: Freak Show is set to premiere this October 8 on FX. As each season of the acclaimed FX series is a self-contained mini-series, this fourth season will focus on a big-top freak show.

Below is the first full reveal of the main cast, which includes a mysterious Jessica Lange (who’s played a different character in each season of this drama), dressed in a circus tent-style dress that just begs to be compared to the tents that fall to the ground at the end of the trailer. Also, as above, Kathy Bates is playing a bearded lady for the win.

Check the trailer out and enjoy the creepy music, courtesy of Melanie Martinez’s haunting “Carousel.”

Reddit leak shows wireless iWatch charging, says former Apple engineer

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Photo: Fuse Chicken
Photo: Fuse Chicken

A former Apple senior mechanical engineer has confirmed to Cult of Mac that, judging by pictures, the iWatch most likely comes with wireless charging.

Earlier today a Reddit user posted schematics supposedly showing various components of the iWatch. One of these refers to BCM coils, meaning Battery Charging Module or Battery Control Module. These components are routinely found in electric cars featuring wireless charging.

“If it has wireless charging then it needs an internal coil and the screen shots look to have a coil,” says Abraham Farag, Apple’s former Senior Mechanical Engineer of Product Design and owner of product development consultancy Sparkfactor Design. 

While the Reddit post alluded to wireless charging by noting the lack of ports on the iWatch, it did not explicitly state this to be the case.

Apple takes simple step to help secure iCloud

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court order iCloud access
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

It’s been a week since the Great Fappening rocked Hollywood and the rest of the internet, and true to Tim Cook’s promise, Apple is already adding extra security to iCloud.com.

Apple is now sending email alerts when an iCloud is accessed by a web browser. The alerts are being sent even if you’ve already accessed iCloud.com from the browser previously, but only occurs on the first login.

Here’s a copy of the email Apple notification:

Here comes iOS 8: Last chance to get The Complete iOS 8 Course With Swift [Deals]

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CoMi0s8course

More than ever before, our connected world is becoming a mobile one. What good is a strong web presence if it isn’t optimized for use with mobile devices? That’s where having your own app comes into play. It allows your audience to connect with you in a way that is personalized to them.

The Complete iOS 8 Course With Swift will teach you the skills necessary to create iPhone and iPad applications using Swift, the new iOS developer language, as well as the platforms of iOS 8 and XCode 6.  iOS 8 is coming soon and this deal is almost over.  Lock in now at Cult of Mac Deals for a limited-time price of $79 and get in on the iOS 8 ground floor.

iWatch specs and components show up on Reddit

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Is this the iWatch chassis? The round hole is reportedly for the sensor plate, which will be in contact with the skin. The chunk missing on the side is where the watch's crown will go.
Is this the iWatch chassis? The round hole is reportedly for the sensor plate, which will be in contact with the skin. The chunk missing on the side is where the watch's crown will go. (Picture: Reddit)

There’s just one day to go until Apple reportedly unveils its long-awaited iWatch and — as if anticipation couldn’t be any higher — a Reddit user just posted what he claims to be half a dozen technical images of Apple’s wearables device.

The user claims that the device will feature a microphone, speaker, and Siri virtual assistant. It is also reported that there will be a flexible multi-touch screen, that it will be waterproof to a depth of 20 meters, and that Apple will announce the availability of 4 colors and 2 different sizes.

The iOS @@ shortcut is so useful, you’ll never use your iPhone the same way again

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Screen Shot 2014-09-08 at 8.01.38 AM

Text shortcuts are one of the most useful settings in iOS. Having the potential to just hit a couple of keys to input an entire string of text is a wonderful time saver… as long as you have the foresight to set them up first.

Alas, most of us never delve into text shortcuts on iOS 8. But here’s a shortcut anyone can take advantage of: a text shortcut that allows you to cycle rapidly through your email addresses with just a single keypress.

Former Apple exec says mobile payments are all about selling hardware

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Apple profits
Jean-Louis Gassée thinks mobile payments are, first and foremost, a way to sell hardware.
Illustration: Cult of Mac

Former Apple exec Jean-Louis Gassée has posted a new edition of his always enjoyable Monday Note blog, arguing that Apple isn’t intending to disrupt banks and credit card companies with its entry into the mobile payments world.

It’s an interesting read, and makes a whole lot of sense: pointing out that Apple’s mobile payment drive is simply an extension of the company’s current strategy.

The 5.5-inch iPhone 6 will have a 2,915mAh battery, but don’t expect better battery life

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iphonebattery
The 5.5-inch iPhone 6 may have a bigger battery, but don't expect bigger battery life.

In just a little over 24 hours, Tim Cook and Co. will take the stage of Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino, California and unveil at least one 4.7-inch iPhone 6. From previous leaks, we know that this iPhone 6 will have a 1,810mAh capacity battery, a 14% beefier battery than the 1,560mAh battery used in the iPhone 5s. It makes sense it would need one: it will have a sizably bigger display to light up.

But what about the 5.5-inch iPhone 6? Won’t it need a bigger battery even than that? It will, and a new leak out of Apple’s supply chain suggests that it will be a massive 2,915mAh battery, a battery 86% larger than the current iPhone 5s battery.

Token technology will make Apple’s mobile payments extra secure

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Apple Pay's ease of use may lead to increased impulse buying -- and that's exactly what Apple's hoping for.
Apple could use both NFC and tokenization as part of its mobile payments drive.

In addition to near field communication (NFC) as part of its mobile payments drive, Apple will be incorporating something called “tokenisation” technology, according to sources who spoke with Bank Innovation.

As the report explains, “Financial institutions — card issuers and networks — prefer token technology because it replaces primary account numbers, those 16-digit card numbers on the front of credit and debit cards. Instead, the tokenization technology uses complex codes that are easily transmittable over the air and between devices, but that are used only once, so even if they are intercepted, are of no use to fraudsters.”

Apple has been investigating tokenization technology for several years, with multiple patents relating to the process dating back as far as 2009.

Linkedin profile confirms sapphire glass screens coming to Apple mobile devices

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Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 8.51.29 PM

Although we know that Apple has spent a lot of money to team up with GT Advanced to created a sapphire glass manufacturing facility, we haven’t up until now had any direct confirmation on whether or not it that glass would be used for the screen of the iPhone 6. All we’ve heard are rumors, which right now say that sapphire glass will be limited to the most premium models of Apple’s latest smartphone.

But thanks to a rather loose-lipped former GT Advanced employee, we might have our first real confirmation that Apple and GT Advanced have been working to ship the iPhone 6 with a sapphire glass display.