| Cult of Mac

Google I/O 2020 goes online-only due to COVID-19 fears

By

Sundar Pichai at Google IO
Sundar Pichai's annual keynote appearance will be a streaming-only event.
Photo: Google

The COVID-19 virus killed another major tech event Tuesday, when Google canceled the physical aspect of its annual developers’ conference, Google I/O 2020.

The company sent emails to attendees this afternoon notifying them that the event, scheduled to take place from May 12 to 14, has been canceled due to coronavirus concerns. The news came shortly after Adobe canceled its annual developers’ conference.

Cult of Mac Magazine: 5 ways Apple will rule Mobile World Congress and more!

By

cover
Everyone who is anyone in mobile (except Apple) will be at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

When the entire mobile phone industry heads to Barcelona next week for Mobile World Congress 2018, there will be one notable absence: Apple.

Cupertino doesn’t do trade shows. Not even really big ones like Mobile World Congress. Yet, despite its absence from the massive Spanish trade show, Apple’s influence will loom large over Barcelona’s beautiful horizons. Cult of Mac shows you five things Apple fans should look out for at MWC next week.

In this week’s issue, you’ll find that story and more. Enter to win a HomePod through Cult of Mac Deals. Learn how to drag and drop text between apps on iPad. Shop Casetify’s Stainless Steel Mesh Bands in two new finishes — Gold and Irisdescent — in our Watch Store. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

Samsung will make fans wait longer for its iPhone 7 rival

By

Samsung Galaxy
The Galaxy S8 won't appear at MWC.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Galaxy fans who are clinging onto their wallets in anticipation of Samsung’s answer to the iPhone 7 will have to wait a little longer.

The South Korean company was expected to announce the Galaxy S8 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month. It’s thought the launch was delayed so that Samsung can carry out additional battery checks to avoid another Galaxy Note 7 disaster.

Samsung’s new Galaxy S7 and S7 edge bring better designs, incredible specs

By

samsungs-new-galaxy-s7-and-s7-edge-bring-better-designs-incredible-specs-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads2016024_vr-homepage-desktop-size-a-letterbox-v1-jpg
Welcome Samsung’s latest Galaxies.
Photo: Samsung
Welcome Samsung's latest Galaxies. Photo: Samsung
Welcome Samsung’s latest Galaxies. Photo: Samsung

Mobile World Congress doesn’t officially begin until tomorrow — and yet Samsung has already stolen the show with its new Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

MWC-CoA-2016Packing improved designs that are IP68-certified for water-resistance, always-on displays, and stellar specifications, these are the South Korean company’s best smartphones yet.

Read on to find out what you get under the hood, and when they’ll be available.

Gesture tech will bring hands-free control to your phone

By

Elliptic Labs CEO Laila Danielsen shows how simple hand gestures can activate her smartphone's camera. Photo: Elliptic Labs
Elliptic Labs CEO Laila Danielsen shows how simple hand gestures can activate her smartphone's camera. Photo: Elliptic Labs

You taking a selfie and a dolphin hunting for prey don’t seem to have much in common. But what if you could operate your smartphone with signals similar to the ones dolphins use to find food?

Elliptic Labs, which has bases in San Francisco, Norway and China, used the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, to show off advances in ultrasonic touchless gesturing Tuesday that will be available on some smartphone models later this year.

“We are excited about this,” chief technology officer Haakon Bryhni told Cult of Mac in a phone interview from Barcelona. “We’ve been working with touchless gesturing for years and now we have a real breakthrough. The technology enables you to wake up the phone, take a selfie or engage any other functions on the phone without touching it.”

Mobile World Congress 2014 Day One [Liveblog]

By

image

This year we’re covering the Barcelona Mobile World Congress a little differently. Each day there will be one liveblog post here on Cult of Mac and one on Cult of Android.

Instead of gathering up press releases and writing them up in the press office at the show, and then hitting the parties, we’ll be posting quick photos and snippets of info from the show floor itself (and from the parties, if we don’t lose our phones).

Think of it as a kind of Instagram/Twitter hybrid, only right here on the site. Currently the newest posts are at the top, reverse-chronological style. And if you want us to check something out, Tweet us @mistercharlie or @killianbell.

Check it out:

Samsung’s At It Again, Announces Passbook Clone Called Wallet [MWC 2013]

By

post-217687-image-e359062382a6190d7d7ec7061f7939c7-jpg

mwc2013bug-coaBARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS — During a Samsung developer conference here at Mobile World Congress this morning, the Korean company unveiled a new service called Samsung Wallet, which lets Samsung smartphone owners turn tickets, coupons, membership cards, boarding passes, and more into digital cards that they can store in a virtual wallet.

The service probably sounds familiar, and it is — Samsung Wallet is basically Apple’s Passbook, but for Samsung phones. It works in almost exactly the same way, and looks very similar, too.

The Sealabox Case Lets Your Smartphone Swim With The Fishes [MWC 2013]

By

post-217676-image-3a063f2d21ed5bcbebf9505d9341eb9f-jpg

mwc2013bug-coaBARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS — Here at MWC in Barcelona, Krussell is showing off its latest lineup of waterproof smartphones cases called Sealabox, which let you take your smartphone swimming to snap pictures of the fishes. Available for almost all common smartphones, the Sealabox is IPX7 certified for water resistance up to one meter, and it’s been carefully designed to allow you to make the most of your smartphone in almost any environment.