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Microsoft is working on mobile Xbox controllers for iPhone

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Microsoft-mobile-Xbox-controller
They would be perfect for streaming Xbox games.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft has started developing new Xbox controllers for mobile gaming. Prototype images reveal how the gamepads might attach to the sides of your iPhone and iPad for portable play.

The controllers would be ideal for Microsoft’s upcoming Project xCloud service, which will allow players to stream Xbox games to their smartphones and tablets.

What Game of Thrones tells us about Jony Ive’s departure from Apple [Opinion]

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The epic downfall of Daenerys Targaryen left many Game of Thrones fans disappointed.
Why Jony Ive is like Daenerys Targaryen and Apple is not doomed.
Photo: HBO

It’s been more than a week since the shocking news that Jony Ive is leaving Apple, and everyone is still trying to make sense of what it means for the company’s future.

According to some, it’s an internal coup: Tim Cook’s operations team finally wrested control from Ive’s industrial design crew, and the company‘s glory days of innovation are over. Others claim Ive’s days have been numbered ever since his dream of a solid gold Apple Watch flopped.

How can there be so many conflicting accounts of one man’s departure? Surprisingly, it may be for the same reason that the final season of Game of Thrones sucked. It all boils down to how we tell stories.

How Ross Perot changed the course of Apple history

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Ross Perot pictured in 1986, the year he first met Steve Jobs.
Ross Perot pictured in 1986, the year he first met Steve Jobs.
Photo: Allen Warren/Wikipedia CC

American business magnate and politician Ross Perot died yesterday at the age of 89.

However, while the world probably remembers Perot best for his 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns, Perot also played a crucial role in Apple history. Here’s how.

Making music on iPad forced me back to the Mac

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Tuning a ukulele
Sometime the old ways are the best.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

I use my iPad for almost all my computing. I write, read, record and edit music, edit photos — you name it. I’ve used my decade-old Mac less and less in recent years, as the iPad, or rather iOS, has gotten ever more capable.

But this week I dusted off my Mac, ordered some extra RAM (yes, it’s still available!), and fired it up. Why? Because, as powerful as the iPad is, the Mac is still way, way better for some tasks. In my case, that task is recording and editing music.

Latest MacBooks still use Apple’s flawed butterfly keyboard

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MacBook Keyboard
The keyboard in the newest MacBooks have the same problem as earlier ones.
Photo: Apple

Update Nov. 13, 2019: The 16-inch MacBook Pro released today is the first in years without the Butterfly keyboard. And the head of Apple marketing talks about redesigning this notebook keyboard in an interview.

 

Original article:

The upgraded MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models released today are faster and better looking. However, they still include the keyboard that sent so many of their predecessors to the repair shop.

A rumored redesign apparently hasn’t happened yet.

Waterproof AirPods 3 could launch this year

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AirPods wall display is on show in New York.
AirPods are reportedly getting some design changes.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple updated the design of its AirPods in-ear headphones this spring but reportedly isn’t resting on its laurels. A redesigned third-generation version will be out later this year, according to a market-analysis firm.

Apple makes huge cuts to SSD upgrade pricing for Macs

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iMac
Maxing-out your new Mac is now a lot more affordable.
Photo: Apple

Apple has significantly reduced the price of its SSD upgrades for Mac.

Many options now cost half as much as they did yesterday. A whopping 4TB SSD for the 15-inch MacBook Pro is now priced at $1,400 — down from $2,800.

Bag free Beats with Apple’s latest Back to School promo

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Apple-Back-to-School-2019
You have until September 26 to take advantage of it.
Photo: Apple

Apple today kicked off its latest Back to School promotion. It gives students the opportunity to bag free Beats headphones with qualifying purchases.

The deal comes just as a more-affordable MacBook Air with True Tone and a faster 13-inch MacBook Pro were added to the Apple Store.

Apple brings True Tone to MacBook Air, faster chips to MacBook Pro

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The late-2018 MacBook Air with Retina display.
They’re now more affordable, too.
Photo: Apple

Apple has updated the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro for the back-to-school season. And they’re now more affordable.

The newest MacBook Air now ships with a True Tone display — just like its more expensive siblings. The newest 13-inch MacBook Pro is powered by faster Intel chips, while the entry-level model now offers a Touch Bar with Touch ID.

Fresh public and developer iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 betas out today

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iPadOS gets a new home screen design.
Your iPad Pro could look like this if you’re running iPadOS 13.
Photo: Apple

There’s a cornucopia of Apple betas out today. For starters, the public can download their second pre-release versions of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13.

And, in a curious move, developers just got tweaked versions of the betas introduced last week.

New iPhone 11 processor should smoke Android’s best

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TSMC 7nm processor
Apple chips keep shrinking, which makes them more efficient.
Photo: TSMC

This fall’s iPhone models will supposedly include a processor able to outperform any Android handset. It apparently won’t be just a little bit better, either. The source for this unconfirmed report on the A13 chip says it will offer “a one-year advantage” in graphics performance. Multi-core performance supposedly will get a large boost, too.

iOS 13 Shortcuts can automatically download new wallpaper

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Cheesy romantic photo on ipad screen
WTF SRSLY Shortcuts?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

In iOS 13, Shortcuts has gotten some pretty wild new powers. It can run shortcuts automatically, in the background, for example, based on the time of day, or your location. You can tap your iPhone on an RFID tag, and it’ll fire off a shortcut. You can have your iPhone hand off a podcast from your AirPods to an AirPlay speaker when you arrive home.

And, as we’ll see today, you can have your iPhone or iPad download and load new wallpaper automatically, so you can see a fresh backdrop every morning.

iPhone thief posts selfie on victim’s Instagram

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Suspect in a stolen iPhone case posts selfie on victim's Instagram
The best way to get caught with a stolen iPhone is to post a selfie.
Photo courtesy of: Kearny Police Department/Facebook

New Jersey detectives are searching for an iPhone thief who may ultimately aid in his own capture because he posted a selfie on the victim’s Instagram feed.

The Kearny Police Department recently released the above photo asking the public for some Face ID and information that could help them locate the man.

6 months using only an iPhone camera leaves pro photog inspired

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Photographer Noe Alonzo used only an iPhone for six months
What could you do with an iPhone as your only camera? Plenty says Noe Alonzo.
Screenshot: Noe Alonzo/YouTube

Photographer Noe Alonzo gave himself a challenge that some people called ridiculous: He worked exclusively with his iPhone 7 Plus for six months.

The results proved stunning. Even more surprising to Alonzo, his project landed him new clients — and gave him humbling insights into his own creativity.

Apple’s ‘two spiritual soulmates’ have left the building

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Walter-Isaacson-Jony-Ive
Without Jobs and Ive, Apple can’t design, Isaacson says.
Photo: CNBC

Walter Isaacson says Apple has lost “these two spiritual soulmates who just lived and breathed the beauty of products.”

The Steve Jobs biographer believes the company still know how to execute, but that it has missed out on a number of opportunities for exciting new products — including an Apple TV set.

Purported iPhone 11 logic board signals big changes

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Right to Repair
Apple's first 5nm chips are expected to ship in iPhone and iPad this year.
Photo: iFixit

We already have a pretty good idea what the next-generation iPhone lineup will look like on the outside. And thanks to a new leak, we can take a sneak peek at its insides, too.

These images are of a logic board purportedly destined for the iPhone 11 — and they signal some big changes.

Minix’s amazing USB-C hub is also a 240GB hard drive [Review]

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Minix Neo Storage review
Minix Neo Storage is both a 4-port USB hub and an external SSD drive.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Minix Neo Storage is one of those inventions so clever they make you ask, “Why didn’t someone think of this before?” It combines into one small package two accessories many people carry around: an external hard drive with up to 240GB of capacity and a 4-port USB hub.

We tested it with both a MacBook Pro and an iPad Pro. We’re sharing our real-world experience.