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‘Presto,’ your new iPhone comes out of box with fresh software update

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Presto iOS updates
The Presto system will update new iPhones right through the packaging in the store.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

The next time you buy a new iPhone, it could come out of the box with a fresh iOS software update, according to a new report. A new proprietary system called “Presto” will update it right in the packaging before you buy it at an Apple Store.

Normally, updating iOS is one of the first orders of business for new iPhone purchases. Now it won’t be necessary unless a new update comes out right after their purchase.

Apple tests 3D printing that could revolutionize manufacturing

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Stainless steel Apple Watches are the test case for a new manufacturing process using 3D printers.
Stainless steel Apple Watches are the test case for a new manufacturing process using 3D printers.
Photo: Apple

Apple is testing a 3D-printer-based manufacturing process for some of its upcoming Apple Watches that could radically change how it manufactures products generally, a new report said Wednesday.

In testing, the company is using 3D printers for the stainless steel chassis of some wearables. It may prove more eco-friendly and economical, cutting down on materials needed.

Inside the secret mission to add glucose monitor to Apple Watch

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In a possible groundbreaking new product, Apple Watch could monitor blood glucose with the help of device strapped to the bicep.
In a possible groundbreaking new product, Apple Watch could monitor blood glucose with the help of device strapped to the bicep.
Photo: Apple

Apple Watch is well-known as a health tracker, but a new report said a secret project dating back to Steve Jobs’ era — to use the wearable to monitor glucose without pricking the skin to get blood — has made headway recently. And that has major implications.

The secret effort, known as E5, could involve a device that straps to the bicep and works with the watch. If it comes to market, it could disrupt industries and help millions of diabetics.

Here’s what the new MacBook Air might look like

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New renders show a sleek and colorful New MacBook Air.
New renders show a sleek and colorful New MacBook Air.
Image: Darvik Patel
WWDC22 - Brought to you by CleanMyMac X

Sources have begun to doubt Apple will unveil its realityOS and AR/VR headset at next week’s Worldwide Developers Conference, but some folks still believe a colorful new MacBook Air could still be in the offing.

Whether or not Apple rolls out a new version of its slimmest laptop at WWDC22, here’s what you should expect to see soon enough, from the latest rumors to new renders by concept artist Darvik Patel.

Apple scoops up UK startup that could boost iPhone camera’s powers

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iphone11promax
The iPhone 11 Pro's excellent camera is about to get even better.
Photo: Apple

Future iPhone cameras could get some big upgrades thanks to the latest company Apple purchased in the U.K.

Spectral Edge, a start-up that combines image processing with machine learning to create sharper smartphone photos, has quietly been acquired by Apple, giving the iPhone a potentially huge advantage over its competitors.

Apple denied tariff exemption on 5 Mac Pro components

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MacPro
5 out of 15 of Apple's exemption requests were denied.
Photo: Apple

The U.S. federal government denied Apple’s request to be exempt from the 25% tariffs that affected some components of the new Mac Pro.

Apple revealed last week that it will make the Mac Pro at its plant in Austin, Texas which some observers thought might be key to getting relief from Trump’s tariffs. The U.S. Trade Representative posted its decision today saying Apple didn’t show that the tariffs would cause severe economic harm to the U.S.

Leaked photos reveal new 2019 iPhone XR colors

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IPhone Xr
Say goodbye to coral and blue.
Photo: Apple

The 2019 version of the iPhone XR will likely come in two new color options.

Leaked details of the new colors surfaced last week revealing that Apple will opt for Green and Lavender instead of coral and blue. Today we’ve got our first glimpse of what the new colors will look like thanks to some photos of leaked colored glass pieces for the rear casings.

The green one looks especially great:

New Apple Music app might steal the show with macOS 10.15

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Podcasts and Apple TV are among the applications expected to make the jump from iOS to macOS 10.15.
With original content being developed for television, Apple is reportedly looking to create podcasts.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple’s ongoing project to make it relatively simple for developers to port iPad software to macOS is apparently on schedule. This will reportedly be a highlight of next month’s developers conference.

In addition, Apple executives will unveil several of their own iOS apps ported to macOS 10.15, as well as a Mac version of the Music app.

iOS 13 could be Apple’s biggest iPad-focused upgrade ever

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Apple Smart Keyboard Folio turns the 2018 iPad Pro into a notebook.
Details leaking out ahead of next month’s iOS 13 announcement indicate it will offer plenty for iPad, but iPhone won‘t be overlooked.
Photo: Apple

The unveiling of iOS 13 is expected in less than a month, and a new report spills details on many of the improvements supposedly coming. For iPhone users, iOS 13 is bringing refinements to already existing features. iPad users, on the other hand, are supposedly getting plenty of new capabilities.

Company in unproven spy chip story moving business out of China

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MacStadium Mac mini server racks
Chips were rumored to have found their way into servers used by the likes of Apple.
Photo: Apple

California-based Super Micro Computer is moving server production out of China. The company was last year at the center of a damaging story from Bloomberg.

The article alleged that spy chips had been placed into server motherboards, including those used by Apple, manufactured by Super Micro. Despite the story appearing to be highly dubious, it seems Super Micro is still having to take action.

Apple bars Bloomberg from iPad event as payback for spy chip story

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More than a year of reporting went into
More than a year of reporting went into "The Big Hack," an explosive story about Chinese spy chips.
Photo: Bloomberg Businessweek

Apple and Amazon are already starting to make retaliatory moves on Bloomberg Businessweek for its claims that the two companies’ servers were hacked by China.

Amazon pulled its Q4 ads from Bloomberg’s website, cutting off significant ad revenue. Meanwhile, Apple has decided to give Bloomberg the old Gizmodo treatment — by banning the company from next week’s “There’s More in the Making” event.

Amazon and Super Micro also want retraction of spy chip story

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Tim Cook
Tim Cook previously asked Bloomberg to retract story.
Photo: Apple

The CEO of Amazon Web Services and the CEO of Super Micro have joined Apple CEO Tim Cook is asking Bloomberg to retract its recent spy chip story.

All three companies were named in a recent Bloomberg Businessweek article claiming that Chinese spy chips had been embedded into hardware supplied by Super Micro. Since the story first broke, Super Micro lost more than half its value in a single day. Unsurprisingly, it’s not happy about it. And clearly neither is Amazon.

Super Micro will investigate its hardware after spy chip allegations

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computer chip
Super Micro is accused of manufacturing hardware containing Chinese spy chips.
Photo: JÉSHOOTS/Pexels

Super Micro Computer, the manufacturer of technology accused by Bloomberg of containing Chinese spy chips, has said that it will carry out a review of its own hardware.

This isn’t any kind of admission on its part, however. In a letter to customers, the firm noted how, “Despite the lack of any proof that a malicious hardware chip exists, we are undertaking a complicated and time-consuming review to further address the article.”

Tim Cook calls on Bloomberg to retract Chinese spy chip claims

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Apple revenues
Tim Cook defends Apple's decision to pull HKmap.live from App Store.
Photo: Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook is fighting back against a story from Bloomberg that claimed Chinese hackers put spy chips in Apple and Amazon’s servers.

In a recent interview, Cook went on the record for the first time to deny the allegations. Cook also called on Bloomberg to retract its story saying it is absolutely false.

Apple bans apps from selling your friends’ contact info

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How to remove suggested contacts on iPhone and iPad
Apple is clamping down on privacy issues.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

iOS app that misuse iPhone owners’ contact data for their own gain are about to get slammed with the ban hammer.

Apple revealed a number of new ways it’s trying to protect users’ privacy at WWDC 2018, but one major change that wasn’t mentioned on stage could have huge ramifications for companies that try to profit off your iPhone’s contact information.

Doom is not on Apple’s audacious agenda

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iPhone X Product Red Wallpaper
Believe it or not, Apple has a plan.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

With smartphone sales plateauing, the iPhone can no longer propel Apple to the sort of stratospheric success the company (and its shareholders) enjoyed over the past decade.

Is Apple CEO Tim Cook clueless? Will Apple be caught flat-footed, unable to pivot and move to the next big thing? The latest prediction of Apple’s impending doom sounds particularly dire.

Apple raids Silicon Valley Data Science for new hires

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Apple leases new offices near to Apple Park
Apple's building a huge team of data scientists.
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

Apple’s data team just got a big talent boost after the company raided a local Silicon Valley consultant firm in hiring spree of data scientists.

Some of Silicon Valley Data Science’s key employees have reportedly joined Apple, giving the company more experts that can analyze data to make products even better.

Trump thanks Tim Cook for Apple’s $350 billion bonanza

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President Trump: Apple encryption could protect ‘criminal minds’
President Trump: Apple encryption could protect ‘criminal minds’
Photo: Bloomberg

Tim Cook finally earned some praise from long-time foe Donald Trump today, thanks to Apple’s plan to contribute $350 billion to the U.S. economy over the next five years.

Trump went so far as to call Tim Cook “a great guy” during a speech at a factory in Pennsylvania today while talking about Apple’s investment into the U.S.

Battery replacement program could be bad news for iPhone sales

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iPhone battery
Brazil demands easy iPhone battery replacements.
Photo: iFixit

Apple’s iPhone battery replacement program could cause the company to lose out on millions of new iPhone sales, according to analysts at Barclays.

It was revealed last month that the company intentionally throttles CPU speeds on some iPhones with older batteries to provide an overall better experience. Apple has offered $29 battery replacements to make up for it, but that might be bad news for its bottom line.

Key Apple supplier strikes AR glasses deal

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Face Id
Apple smart glasses would have to look stylish.
Photo: Apple

One of Apple’s biggest manufacturing partners says it plans to get into the augmented reality business.

Quanta Computer revealed today that it has struck an agreement to start making lenses for an augmented reality headset. Even though the deal isn’t with Apple, it could signal that augmented reality headsets are about to hit the market in a big way.

iPad Pro might get Face ID by 2018

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Face ID attention awareness
Face ID will come to iPad soon.
Photo: Apple

Apple is planning to make some big design changes to the iPad lineup next year, based on a new report that claims the tablet will ditch the home button.

Hot on the heels of the iPhone X, Apple plans to bring some of its $1,000 smartphone’s key features to the iPad Pro, giving the device the most drastic new look it’s seen since its debut in 2010.

Apple denies report about reduced Face ID accuracy

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Want Face ID jokes? Twitter's got a million of them.
Face ID is ready to replace Touch ID.
Photo: Apple

Apple batted down a report this morning that claimed the company made compromises with the iPhone X’s new Face ID hardware after the phone was revealed at last month’s keynote.

Bloomberg reported that “Apple didn’t add extra time to get it right,” referring to the dot projector on the Face ID component saying it’s accuracy is weaker now. This allegedly was done because it was holding back iPhone X manufacturing, but an Apple spokesperson says security hasn’t been weakened.

‘Apple should pull the plug’: 10 iPhone predictions from 2007

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iPhone predictions from 2007
They must have been holding their crystal balls wrong.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone turns 10 Predicting the future is tough, even for the experts. That’s the only lesson we can learn from looking back at these horribly misguided iPhone predictions that greeted the device at its launch 10 years ago.

Before most people had even wrapped their fingers around Apple’s first-gen smartphone, tech pundits, analysts and competing CEOs were already writing off the iPhone as a disaster similar to Apple’s previous excursions into video game consoles and the like.

Here are just a few of the laughable reactions that greeted the iPhone in 2007.