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iPhone 8 may pack frickin’ lasers for facial recognition

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iPhone
Lasers could be the iPhone's next big feature.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s next iPhone may come with new facial recognition technology and actual friggin’ laser beams, according to an analyst.

By adding lasers near the front-facing camera, Apple will be able to depth-map objects, according to analysts at Cowen and Company. The camera could also be used for image recognition, enhancing security and fueling augmented reality.

Vintage Mac Museum steers clear of Macs that sucked

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Adam Rosen's Vintage Mac Museum
The Vintage Mac Museum heads west to Montana
Photo: Adam Rosen

Cult of Mac 2.0 bug Adam Rosen’s collection of vintage Macs doesn’t make him a hoarder, but he acknowledges it doesn’t make him an obvious choice for a husband, either.

In several rooms of Rosen’s Boston home you’ll find a love story nonetheless. The rooms are shrines to a high school sweetheart that matured and grew more sophisticated with time, a friendly face still aglow with “hello.”

Original iPhone design team reunites for 10th anniversary

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Original iPhone design team
The design team behind iPhone OS.
Photo: Imran Chaudhri

The design team behind the original iPhone’s software reunited to celebrate its 10th anniversary this week.

Imran Chaudhri, who still works at Apple, posted the photo above on Instagram. He’s pictured alongside Freddy Anzures, Bas Ording, Marcel Van Os, Steve Lemay and Mike Matas.

Apple loses another key employee to Tesla

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Tesla
Tesla is siphoning engineering talent from Apple.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The battle between Apple and Tesla to attract top talent revved up to a new level this week after another key employee for the iPhone-maker defected to Elon Musk’s auto company.

Matt Casebolt, who made key contributions to the design of the original MacBook Air, has reportedly left the company to work as an engineer for Tesla.

This is the iPod-style UI originally built for iPhone

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Good thing Apple didn't ship this.
Good thing Apple didn't ship this.
Photo: Sonny Dickson

The original iPhone nearly came with a digital click wheel that mimicked the iPod’s interface, according to video of an alleged prototype running the software that has not previously been made public.

Former Apple engineers confirmed in the past that Apple created a click-wheel-based solution for the iPhone’s software during the early stages of development, but until now, no one outside Apple had seen what it looked like.

New security chip combines fingerprints with facial recognition

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Some selfies are harmless.
Unlock your phone by snapping a quick selfie!
Photo: Per Gosche/Flickr CC

Leading human interface solution developer Synaptics has announced a new “multi-factor biometric fusion” security system for mobile devices and PCs, built around a combination of both fingerprint and facial recognition.

The system would allow users to either set up extra secure logins requiring multiple forms of biometric ID, or have devices which could intelligently choose the most convenient mode for an occasion — such as opting for facial recognition when a person is likely wearing gloves.

From tiny innovations to big brawls, this is how Apple rolled in 2016

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Thank Jobs, 2016 is finally over!
Thank Jobs, 2016 is finally over!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

2016 Year in Review Cult of Mac 2016 sent Apple for a wild ride full of fantastic new products, crazy controversies and tons of extra drama with its rivals.

Tim Cook and his colleagues probably can’t wait to jump into 2017. But before we start looking toward Apple’s future, let’s take a quick look back at all the stories that made 2016 a year Apple fans will never forget.

Get your read on: Best tech books of 2016

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Best Tech Books of 2016
Get caught up on your reading this holiday.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

2016 Year in Review Cult of Mac The holidays are a great time to hide away from visiting relatives and enjoy a good book. Fortunately, when it comes to tech-centric books released this year, there’s a great crop to pick from.

Here are our choices for the best tech books of 2016 (and no, we’re not including Jony Ive’s $300 tribute to himself).

iPhone display maker gets massive government bailout

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iPhone 7
Apple is keen to adopt OLED displays for its next iPhone.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The Japanese government has bailed out struggling Apple display supplier Japan Display with a 75 billion yen ($636 million) aid package, the company admitted today.

The government-backed Innovation Network Corp. of Japan owns 36 percent of Japan Display, which works on Apple’s iPhones.

Apple orders mystery folding displays from LG

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LG-flexible-OLED
LG's flexible OLED displays.
Photo: LG DIsplay

LG Display is to start mass-producing folding OLED displays in 2018, and new reports claim Apple is one of the first companies to have already placed an order. The displays pave the way for smarter flip phones that can be folded in the middle.