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Apple TV+ coming to more smart televisions later this year

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What Apple TV+ needs to be a big player in 2020
What Apple TV+ needs to be a big player in 2020
Photo: Apple

Buried in a press release with nothing from the manufacturers themselves, Apple revealed Wednesday its Apple TV+ app is coming to Sony and Vizio smart televisions “later this year.”

The additions join Samsung, which added the app to some of its TVs in December 2019. LG also announced this week it would be adding the app to its units later this year.

Apple scans photos uploaded to iCloud to check if they contain child abuse

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Apple ditched plans for secure iCloud backups after FBI concern
Apple's chief privacy officer discussed the tech in a CES panel.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

CES-2020-bug-2

Apple’s chief privacy officer says that Apple scans photos uploaded to iCloud to check whether they contain child abuse. Jane Horvath discussed the use of the technology during a Tuesday panel on user privacy at CES.

Horvath didn’t reveal exactly how Apple carries this out. Many companies — including Facebook, Twitter and Google — already use a Microsoft-developed tool called PhotoDNA. This checks images against a database of previously identified pictures.

Make tracking your budget easy and even kind of fun [Deals]

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MoneyWiz
This powerful bookkeeping tool makes tracking your budget easy and enjoyable.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Staying on top of our budgets and finances is just part of being an adult. No one said growing up would be all fun and games, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable. This personal finance app sports intuitive tools and features for managing money so managing your money feels easy satisfying.

Apple wants to see your best Night mode photos from iPhone 11

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iPhone-11-Night-mode-photo
Can you take Night mode photos as good as this? Prove it!
Photo: Apple

Apple is inviting owners of its latest iPhone lineup to share their best Night mode photos. It plans to choose five winning snaps that will be showcased on the Apple website and official Instagram channel.

Winners may also see their photos featured in digital advertising campaigns, at Apple Stores, on billboards, or in third-party photo exhibitions, Apple says. You may also receive some cash.

CES sure has changed a lot since Apple was last there in 1992

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CES sure has changed a lot since Apple was last there in 1992
Here's the CES floor in 1992.
Photo: News 8

CES-2020-bug-2Apple’s privacy-focused appearance at this year’s CES marks the first time in 28 years the Cupertino company has appeared at the Consumer Electronics Show. It last had an official presence at CES way back in 1992.

Want a glimpse of what the world famous high-tech expo was like the last time Apple took the stage? Read on to find out.

Apple exec takes the stage at CES to talk about the importance of privacy

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Apple exec turned up at CES to talk about the importance of privacy
Apple is big into privacy.
Photo: Apple

CES-2020-bug-2Apple has made its return to CES for the first time in 28 years, as a representative of the world’s biggest tech company appeared on-stage at the world’s biggest tech conference.

Apple wasn’t showing off new products, however. Instead, Jane Horvath, Apple’s senior director of global privacy, participated in a panel Tuesday titled “Chief Privacy Officer Roundtable: What Do Consumers Want?” The panel also included representatives from Facebook, Procter & Gamble, and the FTC.

AirPods Pro will ‘just work’ with a 10-year-old iPhone

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AirPods will ‘just work’ with a 10-year-old iPhone
Even iPhone 3GS users can get in on the wireless listening fun.
Photo: Apple

Apple stopped selling the iPhone 3GS, its third ever iPhone model, in 2012. The last version of iOS it supported was iOS 6.1.6, released February 21, 2014. But — wouldn’t you know it — this old phone still works with Apple’s cutting edge AirPods Pro.

For anyone who remembers the struggle with finding and installing drivers to try and get new tech to work with old tech, it’s pretty awesome. And proof positive of why Apple talks about making devices that “just work.”

TikTok’s wild memes put hilarious spin on ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign

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Shot on iPhone
Apple's famous tagline has become a punchline.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s ‘Shot on iPhone‘ campaign is taking over TikTok, only probably not in the way Apple would like.

‘Shot on iPhone’ ads have been used by Apple for years to highlight the amazing quality of videos and photos that can be captured by normal people. Now TikTok users are reappropriating the term to show the type of dumb videos most people actually shoot on their iPhones and the results are absolutely hilarious.

Check out this compilation of funny ‘Shot on iPhone’ TikToks:

Zagg soon to release charging mat to rival Apple’s failed AirPower

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AIrPower CultCast 382
Zagg has apparently solved issues to a workable wireless charging mat and will release such a product sometime this year.
Photo: Apple

CES 2020Mophie parent company Zagg Brands is preparing to release a wireless charger sometime this year similar to that of Apple’s canceled AirPower, according to a published report.

A company spokesman told Bloomberg on Tuesday that it is developing a wireless charging mat with the capabilities to power wireless devices, something Apple attempted to devise in the now-aborted AirPower.

Apple Arcade’s Mutazoine leads nominations in indie games oscars

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Mutazoine from Apple Arcade looks too do well in the IGF 2020 awards.
No rival got as many nominations for IGF 2020 awards as Mutazoine from Apple Arcade.
Photo: Die Gute Fabrik/Apple

There’s a real standout in the 2020 Independent Games Festival Award nominations. Mutazione from Apple Arcade is the clear front runner with nominations in four categories, including the grand prize.

Two other titles from Apple’s gaming service picked up honorable mentions. And four games available in the App Store were also recognized.

Keep your PopGrip on with this wireless charger

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PopPower
PopPower Home Charger in Cosmic Cloud
Photo: PopSockets

CES 2020PopSockets was a wildly successful brand that was in danger of losing its grip.

Wireless charging is becoming a standard feature in smartphones and the stick-on PopGrip it created for reducing drops suddenly looked like an unintended battery barrier.

But the company finally figured out a way forward in the emerging wireless world with a round wireless charging pad with a hole in the middle.

Razer’s new Kishi controller makes iPhone a better handheld console

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Razer-Kishi-controller-iPhone
For iPhone gamers on the go.
Photo: Razer

CES 2020Razer wants to make your mobile gaming experience even better with its brand-new Kishi controller for iPhone, revealed today at CES.

The device puts controls on either side of your handset, making it look a little like a Nintendo Switch, and it offers everything you would want in a modern iPhone controller — including clickable analog sticks.

What makes the Kishi really special is its ultra-low latency technology that makes it ideal for game streaming.

Glitch Clip makes music-video art on the iPad

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Glitch Clip
Glitch Clip glitches clips
Photo: Jerôme Gangneux

Glitch Clip is an iPad app for VJs. That is, Glitch Clip lets you combine video clips with in-app effects and visuals, and sync them to music. Thus, you can create live video performances, or you can just make killer music videos for when you put your own songs up on YouTube.

Previously this kind of power was found in apps like Isadora for the Mac, which costs over $500. And while Glitch Clip is no Isadora, it’s only 1/100th the price.

Sonos claims Google and Amazon stole its smart speaker tech

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Sonos Move
Sonos was the first to make great smart speakers. Now everyone's copying.
Photo: Sonos

Sonos, the smart speaker company that (usually) plays nice with pretty much every other tech company, is fighting back against Google and Amazon for allegedly stealing some of its secret sauce.

Two lawsuits were filed by Sonos this week against Google that accuses the search engine giant of infringing on five of its patents. Sonos claims Amazon is guilty of the same thing but the company decided to only sue Google because it can’t take on two tech giants at once.

YouTuber is giddy giving tour of iPhone battery factory

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Pisen battery factory in China
A lot of moving parts in this Strange Parts episode at an iPhone battery factory.
Screenshot: Strange Parts/YouTube

Watching an iPhone battery being made might sound interesting. But Scotty Allen was left over the moon after his tour of the Pisen factories in China that makes after-market lithium polymer batteries.

Allen’s exuberance is routinely felt in videos for his YouTube channel Strange Parts. Each component of an electronic device brings the joy of discovery to Allen, known for having built an iPhone from scratch by shopping for parts in the components markets of Shenzhen, China.

How to stop Safari asking permission to download everything

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safari download
Imagine if real deliveries had to be given permission to arrive. What a second…
Photo: Kelli McClintock/Unsplash

Ever since Safari 13, the Mac browser now prompts you every time you try to download a file. In this way, it behaves much like Safari for iOS. It’s a security feature, clearly designed to stop websites sneaking files onto your computer. But perhaps you value the convenience of uncontrolled downloads more than this added security? If so, you’re in luck, because you can turn this feature off. Better still, you can still block Safari downloads from “bad” sites, even while allowing new ones automatically.

Apple drops hilarious first trailer for Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet

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Apple TV+ comedy Mythic Quest coming to PAX South gaming expo
Apple TV+ has a quality. Now it just needs some more quantity.
Photo: Apple TV

Apple finally unveiled the official trailer for its first major comedy series Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet and so far it appears the wait has been worth.

Co-created by It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia stars Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, Mythic Quest follows a team of video game developers hellbent on creating an epic sequel to the biggest multiplayer video game ever made. Mythic Quest‘s cast is packed with hilarious actors playing nerds with big egos that could turn it into the perfect successor to Silicon Valley which just aired its last episode.

Prepare to laugh your socks off:

iPhone SE 2 could sport a frosted glass back

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Apple boots smelter and refiners in crackdown on conflict minerals
Apple boots smelter and refiners in crackdown on conflict minerals
Render: OnLeaks/iGeeksBlog

The latest detail leaking out on a hotly-anticipated low-cost iPhone indicate this handset — possibly called the iPhone SE 2 – will have a back of frosted glass.

Quite a bit of other information about this model has come to light, including its dimensions. Which is not surprising, considering it’s rumored to launch in about two months.

Moshi announces 10-year warranty, chargers

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Moshi SnapTo wireless charger
The SnapTo charger does a stand-up job on iPhones.
Photo: Moshi

CES 2020Moshi, maker of stylish tech accessories, rolled out new products at CES Monday night along with a new warranty program that seems to discourage upgrades.

It sounds counterintuitive for a tech company. But Moshi, in announcing a 10-year global warranty program on all new products, says it wants to avoid producing cheap gadgets that add to mounting piles of tech garbage.

Patricia Arquette joins cast of Apple TV+ original Severance

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boyhood-arquette-coltranejpg-b65fa56bc12064ec
Arquette bagged an Oscar for her role in Boyhood.
Photo: Universal Pictures

Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette has signed up to star in Severance, a new thriller on its way to Apple TV+, according to a new report.

Arquette will be directed by Ben Stiller. The pair worked together on Escape at Dannemora, a limited series for Showtime, for which Arquette won another Golden Globe, before her most recent TV role as Dee Dee Blanchard in the acclaimed true crime drama The Act.

Why Samsung will probably get away with ‘borrowing’ Face ID icon

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Samsung Pass logo
That logo certainly looks familiar.
Photo: Parker Ortolani/Twitter

Eagle-eyed viewers spotted something oddly familiar during Samsung’s CES keynote Monday. On a slide regarding Samsung Pass, its new biometric “identity management as-a-service” product, Samsung included a logo that looks (to be polite) “borrowed” from Apple’s Face ID.

Yes, this not-quite-identical logo is the latest chapter in Samsung being, err, inspired by Apple designs. But should Apple be firing up its on-call lawyers for an easy win over Samsung? Legally speaking, things might be a bit more complicated than they initially seem.