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Steve Jobs - page 17

Why even audiophiles are hyped for HomePod, this week on The CultCast

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Phil Schiller said Apple won't release the HomePod till it's satisfied with the quality.
Phil Schiller said Apple won't release the HomePod till it's satisfied with the quality.
Photo: Digital Trends

This week on The CultCast: The magic of HomePod! We’ll tell you about the built-in audio tech that’s getting even the most ardent audiophiles hyped about Apple’s upcoming smart speaker.

Plus: Why iPhone 8’s biggest features may be disabled at launch; how you can grab Apple’s new back-to-school promo without being in college; the fascinating story behind Steve Jobs’ iconic turtleneck; more of iOS 11’s best unknown features; and we wrap with the heartwarming story of why Jobs insisted on always buying his friends’ lunches.

Our thanks to Casper for supporting this episode. Learn why Casper makes the internet’s favorite mattress, and save $50 off your order at casper.com/cultcast.

Rare photo shows Steve Jobs rocking Beats headphones

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Photo: Beats
Did Steve Jobs like Beats headphones?
Photo: Beats

Apple acquired Beats a few years after co-founder Steve Jobs’ death, but a rare photo has surfaced showing the former Apple CEO rocking a pair of ugly Beats headphones.

Jobs had some familiarity with the Beats brand before Apple eventually bought it. As part of the new HBO documentary, “The Defiant Ones”, Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine says he insisted all his friends test out the new headphones his company was developing. One of those friends was Steve Jobs, who was photographed wearing the headphones in a rarely seen picture:

Check out Jobs rocking the ugly headphones:

How Apple Park is like Steve Jobs’ ill-fated NeXT Computer

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Apple Park
Both examples of hubris on their creator's part?
Photo: Igor America

Apple Park is a physical manifestation of Steve Jobs’ undying hubris, a monument to fussy perfectionism that’s as crazy as his NeXT Computer, the not-entirely-successful computer he launched after being booted from Apple in 1985.

That’s the premise of a new Bloomberg op-ed, which draws parallels between the new Apple campus and one of Jobs’ most notorious tech launches. It’s interesting, but ultimately wrong. Here’s why.

Kickstarter documentary unpacks Steve Jobs’ original Apple downfall

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Jobs
Documentary will tell the story of Jobs' 1985 Apple firing and the immediate aftermath.
Photo: Esther Dyson/Flickr CC

Given that he was, you know, Steve Jobs, it’s still pretty crazy to think that there was a time in Apple history when Jobs was pretty much forced out of the company he helped found.

A new documentary, currently raising funds on Kickstarter, aims to tell the story of Jobs’ attempted boardroom coup and 1985 ouster from Apple with insights from the people who were actually there.

In related news, Apple’s latest innovations continue to push the boundaries of design, including the world’s smallest iPhone—discover more in the latest predictions here.

Camaraderie, chaos and the original iPhone launch stories you’ve never heard, on The CultCast

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Introducing, iPhone
Though Steve played it cool, the iPhone's launch was plagued with huge problems.

This week on The CultCast: You’d never know it from Steve Jobs’ effortless keynote introduction, but the original iPhone was plagued with huge design and production issues that almost made Apple call it quits — right up until the day it was released! To commemorate the iPhone’s 10th anniversary, we’ll recount some of the incredible stories behind iPhone’s beleaguered early days, and celebrate how Apple pulled off one of the greatest device launches in history.

Our thanks to Shutterstock for supporting this episode. Kickstart your next interactive project with video clips or music tracks from their collection, and save 20 percent for a limited time at shutterstock.com/cultcast.

See extremely rare iPhone prototypes in action

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iPhone prototypes
These prototypes show some of the early steps Apple took in developing the revolutionary iPhone.
Photo: Hap Plain

iPhone turns 10 Apple collector Hap Plain can observe the iPhone’s 10th anniversary today by powering up two extremely rare iPhone prototypes — and you can see them in action, too.

The prototypes, which likely passed through the hands of Apple execs including Steve Jobs, Tony Fadell and Scott Forstall, offer a unique glimpse at iPhone development. You can see Plain fire them up in the video below, the latest entry in Cult of Mac’s collaboration with Wired UK to recap a decade of the iPhone.

Relive Steve Jobs’ unveiling of the original iPhone at Macworld 2007

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Steve Jobs
One of the greatest product unveilings in history.
Photo: Apple

Whether you write about it on a daily basis or just use it to stay in touch with your friends, family and the world around you, the iPhone is such a big part of our lives today that it’s difficult to remember what it was like before it existed.

With today marking 10 years since the original iPhone going on sale, it’s worth venturing back in time to check out Steve Jobs’ original unveiling of the iPhone at the 2007 Macworld.

This is the moment everything changed — and our Moto Q, Palm Treo and Nokia E62 handsets suddenly looked very, very dated:

The inside story of the iconic ‘rubber band’ effect that launched the iPhone

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Bas Ording Apple interface designer
Former Apple designer Bas Ording created the rubber band effect, which convinced Steve Jobs to build the iPhone.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

iPhone turns 10 One day in early 2005, interface designer Bas Ording was sitting in a secret, windowless lab at Apple HQ when the phone rang. It was Steve Jobs.

The first thing Jobs says is that the conversation is super-secret, and must not be repeated to anyone. Ording promises not to.

“He’s like, ‘Yeah, Bas, we’re going to do a phone,'” Ording told Cult of Mac, recalling that momentous call from long ago. “‘It’s not going to have any buttons and things on it, it’s just a screen. Can you build a demo that you can scroll through a list of names, so you could choose someone to call?’ That was the assignment I got, like pretty much directly from Steve.”

Designer preps new version of Steve Jobs’ iconic mock turtleneck

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Steve_Jobs_2007
Want to dress like Steve Jobs? It'll cost you $270 -- plus a pair of Levi's.
Photo: Ben Stanfield/Flickr CC

Fashion designer Issey Miyake, creator of Steve Jobs’ iconic mock turtleneck, is launching a very similar shirt. Called the Semi-Dull T, it will go on sale next month for $270.

Although not exactly the same, the new creation looks close enough to the original to inspire a strong sense of déjà vu.

2017 App Store revenue crushes Apple’s entire 2007 earnings

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App Store icon
Business is booming for the App Store.
Photo: PhotoAtelier/Flickr

Apple is making more revenue off the App Store alone in 2017 than it did in all of 2007, according to a new study that analyzed Apple’s money-printing app empire.

When the iPhone launched in 2007, Steve Jobs absolutely refused to let third-party apps on his beloved device. Fast forward ten years later and not it’s not just hard to imagine the iPhone without the App Store. It’s hard to imagine Apple being as profitable without it.

Cult of Mac teams up with Wired UK for 10 years of iPhone

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Qualcomm patents
A lot has changed since the iPhone made its debut in 2007.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone turns 10 The iPhone is turning 10 years old this week and we’re ready to celebrate with more coverage and insight than any Apple fanboy could ever want. Every day through June 29, we’ll be publishing a batch of stories focused on the greatest device Apple’s ever made.

Cult of Mac is collaborating with Wired UK for the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. We’ll run down some of the device’s biggest innovations, failures and what’s in store for the future.

Check out what we’ve written so far:

5 predictions of what iPhone will look like in 10 years

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Original iPhone running iOS 1
A lot has change since 2007, when iPhone OS arrived on the original iPhone.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone turns 10 As the iPhone turns 10 years old this week, the Apple’s long streak of dominance makes it seem like iPhone will rule the tech world for the forseeable future. Nothing last forever though, so what could the iPhone look like in 2027 when technology is more seamlessly embedded in our lives?

Cult of Mac is collaborating with Wired U.K. all this week for an in-depth look at the iPhone’s lasting impact and possible future. Tech experts that Wired talked to are pretty optimistic that the iPhone will still exist in some form 10 years from now. But interacting with it will be completely different.

10 times Apple learned from massive iPhone mistakes

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iPhone 7 red
iPhone 8 rumors haven't had an impact yet, either.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone turns 10 It might be the most successful smartphone on the planet, but the iPhone didn’t become what it is today without some failures along the way.

Even before the device made its much-anticipated debut in 2007, Apple overcame big missteps and mistakes. It tried putting iTunes on other phones. It believed we didn’t need native apps. It entered into embarrassing partnerships with big bands.

As Cult of Mac looks back over the iPhone’s history to celebrate the device’s 10th anniversary, in collaboration with Wired UK, 10 big failures stick out like a sore thumb.

Steve Jobs Theater lights up in new Apple Park drone video

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Steve Jobs Theater
It's nearly showtime at Steve Jobs Theater.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

The lobby of the Steve Jobs Theater at the new Apple Park campus looks nearly ready to host Apple events. Crews are working around the clock to finish the new Apple headquarters and the entire site is finally starting to come together now that landscaping is almost done.

A new drone video reveals there’s still some work to go on the theater and the main spaceship building, but road striping and landscaping are well underway. The video includes an incredible shot of the theater lit up at night with Apple Park in the background.

Check it out:

Birth of the iPhone: How Apple turned clunky prototypes into a truly magical device

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iPhone 2G prototype
iPhone 2G prototype
Photo: Jim Abeles/Flickr CC

iPhone turns 10 The world had never seen anything like the iPhone when Apple launched the device on June 29, 2007. But the touchscreen device that blew everyone’s minds immediately didn’t come about so easily.

The iPhone was the result of years of arduous work by Apple’s industrial designers. They labored over a long string of prototypes and CAD designs in their quest to produce the ultimate smartphone.

This excerpt from my book Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products offers an inside account of the iPhone’s birth.

6 things we learned from the creation of iPhone documentary

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iPhone doc
Scott Forstall and others chip in to tell their iPhone war stories.
Photo: WSJ

If you hadn’t heard by now, this week marks the tenth anniversary of a little device called the iPhone going on sale. To celebrate, the Wall Street Journal has created a new mini-documentary, entitled Behind the Glass, detailing the making of Apple’s breakthrough smartphone.

Courtesy of interviews with former Apple execs Tony Fadell, Scott Forstall and Greg Christie, here are the top factoids we learned from it.

Relive 10 years of amazing iPhone innovation

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iPhone evolution GIF
The iPhone sure has changed over the years.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone turns 10 The iPhone packed a lot into its first astonishing decade. Not only has the device itself evolved significantly since its promising-but-by-no-means-perfect beginnings, but it’s transformed Apple’s business — and many of our very lives — in the process.

All this week, Cult of Mac’s “iPhone Turns 10” series will look at the innovative device’s massive impact on worldwide culture. The iPhone, which launched on June 29, 2007, truly changed the world.

What iPhone milestones have passed since Steve Jobs introduced this stunning hybrid device, which combined a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough internet communications device? Check out our handy guide to 10 years of iPhone history.

The powerful iOS 11 features you haven’t heard of, this week on The CultCast

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iOS 11 WWDC Hero
This week we'll tell you about iOS 11's best lesser-known features.
Photo: Apple

This week on The CultCast: More of the powerful new iOS 11 features you’ve never heard of! Plus: The talented app that will harnesses the power of Apple’s new augmented reality features; Scott Forstall is back, and he’s sharing the bizarre story of how the original iPhone really came to be; and everything you need to know about HEIF, the JPEG-killing format Apple is adopting.

Our thanks to Blue Apron for supporting this episode. Blue Apron makes it easy to cook delicious meals at home. Get your first three meals free at BlueApron.com/CultCast.

Steve Jobs demanded Android-style back button for iPhone

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iPhone could have looked a lot different had Steve Jobs had his way.
iPhone could have looked a lot different had Steve Jobs had his way.
Photo: Apple

Since it made its debut in 2007, the iPhone has relied on just one physical button for returning to the Home screen. But if Steve Jobs had his way, it would have had two.

The Apple co-founder and former CEO tried to convince other executives that the iPhone also needed an Android-style back button for navigation.

Jony Ive wants to design a soap dispenser

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Apple Design Boss Jony Ive has some low-tech ambitions.
Photo: Apple

After developing some of the most iconic tech products of the last two decades, Apple’s design boss Jony Ive has some astonishingly low-tech ambitions when it comes to the future.

During a recent interview at a conference organized by the Norman Foster Foundation, Jony Ive gave a surprising answer when what futuristic product he would like to design next.

“A soap dispenser,” Ive replied.

See Tim Cook deliver inspiring MIT commencement speech

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Apple CEO Tim Cook before giving the 2017 MIT Commencement Speech.
Apple CEO Tim Cook before giving the 2017 MIT Commencement Speech.
Photo: TIME

Apple CEO Tim Cook warned MIT’s graduating class of the dangers society faces as a result of rapidly advancing technology during his commencement speech this morning.

Cook challenged the 2017 graduates to measure their impact on humanity on the lives they touch, rather than the likes you get on social media.

WWDC over the years: How it became a tech juggernaut

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7630600426_e9f56e770d_k
WWDC has been home to some seismic announcements over the years.
Photo: Daniel Spiess/Flickr CC

As Apple’s longest-running annual keynote event, it’s no surprise that WWDC has played host to some absolutely enormous announcements over the years.

From strategies that changed the company’s course to the debut of astonishing new products, here are our picks for the most important ones. Check out the list below.

Jimmy Iovine says free music streaming is screwing artists

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apple-music
Apple Music doesn't have a free tier.
Photo: Apple

Jimmy Iovine wants people to pay for music again and he’s got a plan that just might work: make free music streaming suck.

The Apple exec and music industry legend sat down for a new wide-ranging interview, during which Iovine lamanted that artists aren’t getting paid enough for their music anymore. And it’s mostly Spotify and YouTube’s fault.

Steve Jobs wanted Jeff Goldblum to be ‘voice of Apple’

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Screen Shot 2017-05-17 at 10.23.25
Jeff Goldblum appeared in a 1998 ad for Apple.
Photo: Apple

Steve Jobs wanted The Fly and Jurassic Park actor Jeff Goldblum to be the “voice of Apple,” the actor claimed in a recent interview on the Today Show in Australia. “Steve Jobs called me up a few decades ago,” said Goldblum. “That was early on, and I did not know it was Steve Jobs.”

Sadly it didn’t exactly happen like that. It seems that, unlike life, Steve Jobs, uh, couldn’t find a way

Apple Park originally looked like a penis and 5 other wild facts

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Apple hQ
Steve's original vision was a bit different than this.
Photo: Apple

Apple pulled back the curtain of its new spaceship campus in a new interview that highlights all sorts of crazy facts about what went into the new campus, including how it Steve Jobs originally wanted it to look like a penis.

Obviously, Penis Park got scraped in favor of Apple’s perfect circle. But the perfect campus might not have been a disaster if Steve Jobs’ hadn’t shown some early drawings to his son, according to Wired’s deep look into the campus that also reveals how Apple went out of its way to invent an all-new pizza box that keeps crusts fresh.