Animoji

Full-body Animoji? Smart tech uses iPhone camera to track body motion

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Animoji
The future of Animoji?
Photo: Carnegie Mellon

Forget only animated avatar faces: a team at Carnegie Mellon University wants to bring the world full-body Animojis. As the director of the Future Interfaces Group at Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Chris Harrison‘s job is to help create the computer features of tomorrow.

In a newly published demo, shown off this week, Harrison’s team has come up with a way to let regular iPhones do full body tracking using only the front-facing camera — by estimating what the rest of your body is doing.

It works surprisingly well.

Replacing iPhone notch with hole-punch camera makes no damn sense

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Replacing iPhone notch with holepunch camera makes no damn sense
This isn’t an improvement.
Artists concept: Cult of Mac

Apple might get rid of the screen notch in the 2022 iPhone. But before you start celebrating, there’ll be a hole-punch camera in its place, according a trusted analyst. If true, this will be one step forward and two steps back.

The notch is a superior solution to a hole in the middle of the display. Here’s why.

iOS 13.4 beta 2 brings more tweaks to Mail toolbar

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iCloud folder sharing is in iPadOS 13.4 and iOS 13.4
iCloud folder sharing finally arrives in iPadOS 13.4, and iOS 13.4 too.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple seeded the second beta build of iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4 to developers this morning bringing a bunch of bug fixes and some small new features to the iPhone and iPad.

Included among the changes are some more changes to the controversial toolbar in the Mail app. Apple also added some under-the-hood improvements and some changes to how location authorization works in apps.

How to add a custom iMessage avatar in iOS 13

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Memoji are awesome. Here's how to make your own.
Now you can use Memoji in iMessage profiles.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

You know how you can add an avatar to pretty much any social app ever, and all your friends, family, contacts, etc., will see it? Well, in iOS 13 you can finally do the same for iMessages.

No longer will you have to hope that your contacts use a nice photo of you, or worry that your boss is using a picture of a cute pig or pussycat to represent you in the group chat. Now you can add and share your own avatar, or even a Memoji. Let’s see how.

How to make and use Memoji stickers without Face ID

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iPad with stickers
No, not that kind of sticker.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

iOS 13 automatically turns all your Memoji into iMessage stickers. Even better, anyone can create new Memoji, on any device. You no longer need an iPhone or iPad with a depth-sensing Face ID camera to create them.

Using the new Memoji creator tool in the Messages app, you can do almost everything that can be done with Face ID. Here’s how to make and use Memoji stickers in iOS 13.

What’s new in iOS 13 beta 2

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iOS 13 has almost too many features to cover -- but that won't stop us trying.
iOS 13 has almost too many features to cover -- but that won't stop us trying.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The second iOS 13 and iPadOS betas bring both good news and bad. Unless you’re a total “thrill-seeker,” it’s still not a good idea to install these betas on your main iOS device. In fact, there will be far more spills than thrills: The code remains raw and buggy as hell.

I have iPadOS running on an old iPad. While this latest version seems much less ragged around the edges, many apps still crash. And I still can’t make the Slide Over apps hide themselves at the side of the screen. Nor do all my favorites appear in the Files app.

The good news is that, despite this, the latest betas offer several new features — and lots of stuff has been fixed. Let’s take a look at the highlights of what’s new in iOS 13 beta 2.

iOS 13 will bring new Animoji to iPhone

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Animoji have become one of our favorite FaceTime features.
Animoji have become one of our favorite FaceTime features.
Photo: Apple

iPhone owners can expect to get a new batch of Animoji characters later this year according to newly leaked details regarding Apple’s iOS 13 update.

After revealing Animoji as a feature on the iPhone X, Apple has been slowly updating its library of characters over the last few years. The last iOS 12.2 update added new characters for giraffe, shark, boar and owl and it appears that we’ll get at least four more fun characters to play with later this year

iOS 12.3 beta 1 arrives with new TV app [Updated]

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iOS 12 features
There's a new iOS beta out for iPhone and iPad.
Photo: Apple

Apple has one more major update for iOS 12 before it unveils iOS 13 at WWDC 2019.

Developers just received the first beta build of iOS 12.3 this morning, bringing a bunch of new features and bug fixes to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. There is also a new beta for tvOS 12.3 available.

UPDATE: The public beta is out now too.

iOS 12.2 beta 5 is out now for developers

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iOS 12 and Siri make finding photos a breeze.
This could be Apple's last big update for iOS 12.2.
Photo: Apple

iOS 12.2 inched closer to a public launch today with the release of the fifth beta of the software update to developers this morning.

Coming just one week after iOS 12.2 beta 4 was released, the new beta build packs a ton of bug fixes and performance improvements for iPad and iPhone to go with some UI changes and new features Apple added in previous builds.

iOS 12 adoption rate hits 80% on all iOS devices

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iOS 12.2 public beta 1 is more than just a collection of bug fixes.
iOS 12.2 adds even more goodies for iPhone and iPad.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

iOS 12 is proving to be Apple’s most widely adopted software updates for iPhone and iPad in years.

Apple published its latest adoption percentages for iOS 12 today revealing that 80% of all iOS devices in the world are now running iOS 12, far outpacing iOS 11’s adoption last year.

iOS 12.2 beta 3 brings changes to Apple News, TV remote app and Group FaceTime fix [Updated]

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animoji
The new animoji of iOS 12.2.
Photo: Apple

Update: The latest beta of iOS 12.2 is now available to the public, not just developers.

Apple just released the third beta build of iOS 12.2 to developers this morning, bringing a bunch of fixes and new features to the iPhone and iPad.

iOS 12.2 beta 3 arrived just over two weeks after developers received the last build. There are also new betas out for tvOS 12.2 and watchOS 5.2 to go with the macOS 10.4.4 beta that came out yesterday.

Apple’s 4 new Animoji are now available to public testers

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iOS12
iOS 12.2 is bringing a bunch of new features to iPhone and iPad.
Photo: Apple

The most fun new feature of iOS 12.2 is already available to members of Apple’s public beta testing program.

Apple seeded the second public beta of iOS 12.2 to public testers today, just one day after the new software was pushed out to developers. The new update includes a number of notable new features, including the addition of 4 new Animoji.

Apple adds 4 new Animoji to iOS 12.2

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iPhone X Animoji
Animoji are too much fun!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The latest iOS 12.2 beta Apple seeded to developers today brings four new Animoji options to iPhone X, XS, XR and XS Max owners.

Now iPhone and iPad Pro users can choose between the new giraffe, shark, boar and owl Animoji characters during FaceTime calls and in the effects option for iMessage.

This is what they look like:

Memoji steal the show in bouncy new music video

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Memoji music video
Baby with an Animoji twist.
Screenshot: Scorpio Music/YouTube

Our amazement for great photos and even feature films shot on the iPhone is starting to seem less amazing.

But a French DJ and producer recently took a music video to the next level by animating some of the singing actors with Memoji.

Watch Nickelback get the Memoji treatment

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Memoji Creed
It's like 2001 all over again!
Photo: Danny Kabouni

iOS 12’s Memoji feature lets users create their own custom Animojis. These animated characters use the facial recognition tech from the newer iPhones’ iPhones’ TrueDepth cameras to copy your expressions.

Harnessing these capabilities, Twitter user Danny Kabouni recently recreated the 2001 Nickelback smash hit “How You Remind Me.” The results are, well, they’re pretty glorious.

The 10 best Apple ads of 2018 [Year in Review]

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Year in Review Best Apple ads 2018

Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac Year in Review 2018: best Apple ads of 2018 The past 12 months have been one of the busiest ever for Apple’s video team.

Apple churned out more than 120 ads and other videos in 2018, unleashing some of its most memorable commercials in years.

After hours of watching all of Apple’s 2018 ads, we rounded up the 10 absolute best, some of which you probably haven’t even seen yet. Get ready to relive all the good times!

Apple has an idea to make Animoji even more fun

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animoji
Sound effects could play a bigger role in Animoji.
Image: Apple

Apple is rightly proud of its Animoji and Memoji technology, which uses the front-facing camera on new iPhones to create cartoonish avatars of users — complete with facial expression matching.

But the tech could be about to get even more fun, as described in a recent patent application. Here’s how.

Apple’s Face ID supplier has been acquired for $3.2 billion

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VCSEL
The company that made Face ID possible has been snapped up.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Finisar, supplier of the laser scanners used to enable Face ID in Apple’s latest iOS devices, has been acquired for a reported $3.2 billion.

II-VI Incorporated, a leading producer of optoelectronic systems, announced its purchase on Friday. It expects to close the deal, which is expected to generate $2.5 billion in annual revenue, in mid-2019 following regulatory approval.

How to make a great Memoji

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Memoji are awesome. Here's how to make your own.
Memoji are awesome. Here's how to make your own.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

iOS 12 lets you create Memoji, your own custom Animoji. What’s an Animoji? It’s a little animated character that — thanks to some facial recognition tricks from the latest iPhones’ TrueDepth cameras — copies your expressions live. This turns the cute Animoji critters into little virtual face puppets.

Now you don’t need to rely on a stock Animoji like Apple’s monkey, dog or space alien. You can create your own custom Memoji from scratch. You can make a virtual version of yourself, or you can create an original character. Or, as we’ll do today, you can copy a celebrity. Who? Let’s see …

iOS 12 spills new evidence of future iPad with Face ID

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AvatarKit for iPad in iOS 12
Animoji is ready for iPad in iOS 12.
Photo: Steve Troughton-Smith

New evidence that confirms Apple is preparing a future iPad with Face ID has been spilled by the latest iOS 12 beta.

One developer has discovered that AvatarKit, the framework that powers Animoji, is now ready for iPad. It still requires a TrueDepth camera which can only be found in iPhone X for now, but it seems that will change when new iPads arrive this fall.

All the iOS 12 features Apple didn’t mention

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iOS 12
iOS 12 rolls out to all this fall.
Photo: Apple

WWDC 2018 bug Cult of Mac iOS 12 is shaping up to be one biggest software updates Apple’s ever released and it’s so stuffed with major and minor new additions there wasn’t time to go over a lot of them at the WWDC 2018 keynote.

We’ve been combing through the first iOS 12 beta looking for all the new goodies and have found some underrated new features that will totally change how you use your iPhone and iPad this fall.

These are the little iOS 12 features you need to know:

Animoji go on a wild ride in crazy K-pop iPhone X ad

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animoji
Animoji are one of the best iPhone
Photo: Apple

Apple has tapped into the power of K-pop for its wild new Animoji ad that came out today. The South Korean group HYUKOH gave Apple exclusive rights to their catchy new song for the fun ad that features a dazzling array of lights and animated cityscapes.

The minute-long ad is similar in style to the Grammy-themed Animoji ads Apple put out earlier this year. Only in this one, the visuals are ramped up to an all-new level.

Buckle up and enjoy the ride:

iOS 11.3 arrives with new battery features and more

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Animoji
iOS 11.3 comes with four new Animoji.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The first major iOS update of 2018 has finally arrived, bringing a host of new features and improvements to the iPhone and iPad.

Apple initially released iOS 11.3 yesterday just for the only available to download on the new 9.7-inch iPad Apple. Now the software update is finally available to all users worldwide.