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News - page 776

iPhone suppliers aren’t expecting business to pick up any time soon

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Tweak this iOS setting to make iPhone speakers louder. (Works with iPad and iPod, too!)
This year's iPhone production hasn't been seamless.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone component orders for Apple’s suppliers aren’t likely to pick up until the third quarter of this year, a new report suggests.

It’s just the latest bit of bad news in a series of recent reports suggesting that Apple is slashing orders for its present generation iPhones, and may be leaving manufacturers with excess inventory.

Google becomes latest company following Apple’s lead on pistol emoji

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Gun emoji from several companies
Phone and software companies are moving away from a realistic gun emoji to a harmless one.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Google today joined the movement replacing the gun emoji with a water pistol. A number of other companies already made the same move amid a growing awareness of gun violence.  

Apple started this trend several years ago when it exchanged the pistol emoji for a harmless pool toy in iOS 10.

Tim Cook attends Trump’s first state dinner

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tariffs
Tim Cook sat down to dinner with Donald Trump, along with dozens of other politicians and CEOs.
Photos: White House/Apple

President Donald Trump held his first White House state dinner tonight since moving into the Oval Office, and Apple CEO Tim Cook was on the guest list.

The left-leaning Cook might have felt very much in the minority. Trump didn’t invite a single Democratic member of Congress to the dinner, but arch-conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch was in attendance.

Get the macOS 10.13.4 update that fixes security flaws

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macOS high sierra
A security update for macOS 10.13.4 patches some potential problems.
Photo: Apple

Several weeks after the release of macOS 10.13.4, today came a security update that patches some holes in this High Sierra version. This isn’t so critical that it has to be installed right now, but Apple says “This update is recommended for all macOS High Sierra users.”

There’re also security fixes for Safari 11.1, which was introduced recently too.

Apple’s $16 billion tax trial will finally kick off this fall

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What’s it like to have your startup bought by Apple? Stressful
An appeal of an EU ruling that Apple benefited from Ireland functioning as a tax haven will kick off this fall.
Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A court case to determine if Apple owes the European Union about €13 billion will begin in about six months.  The trial will determine if Ireland gave Apple illegal tax incentives.

The two are actually appealing a decision by the European Commission made in 2016 that Ireland is effectively a tax haven.

How to download all your old Instagram photos and videos

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Instagram
Instagram has a new tool for downloading old photos.
Photo: Instagram

Pulling your photos off of Instagram just got a lot easier.

Instagram revealed today that it is finally starting to roll out a new tool that lets any Instagram user retrieve all of the photos, videos, comments, likes and other data stored on Instagram’s servers.

Get your data by following these steps:

iOS 11.3.1 rolls out with iPhone display fix

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iPhone 8 Wireless Charging
Cheap iPhone 8 displays should work with iOS 11.3.1.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple just rolled out iOS 11.3.1 with a fix for third-party iPhone displays that stopped working properly after an earlier software update. The release also promises security improvements for iPhone and iPad.

iPhone manufacturers are hurting from uncertainty about future plans

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iPhone X Product Red Wallpaper
What does Apple's next-gen iPhone have in store?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is reportedly dropping Touch ID altogether this year in favor of Face ID for its next-gen iPhones. However, Apple is still keeping its suppliers in the dark about plans, a new report suggests.

Shares in AMS, a supplier which produces some of the components for Apple’s TrueDepth camera, have fallen 9.1 percent as a result. That’s its biggest decline in two years. And other suppliers are hurting, too.

Bid now for an original Beta copy of the iconic 1984 Mac ad

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Apple ad
Own a piece of Apple history.
Photo: Brent Thomas

Want to own a genuine rare piece of Apple history? Up for auction right now is an original Beta cassette dub from 1983, containing two different edits of Ridley Scott’s iconic “Nineteen Eighty-Four” Macintosh commercial.

The tape is signed by the ad’s late art director Brent Thomas. It came from his estate, and is a pre-Super Bowl dub of the same original master tape seen by the Apple executive board. They absolutely hated it!

Here’s who Apple will call to the stand in its latest Samsung trial

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iPhone with Samsung
The latest Samsung vs. Apple trial kicks off next month.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple has revealed which executives will be taking the stand when it comes to court for its latest bout with Samsung — and, no, sadly that doesn’t include Tim Cook or Jony Ive.

Instead, at Apple’s May 14 hearing it will call Richard Howarth, senior director of the Apple Design Team, and Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of product marketing to testify. More intriguingly, it will also call original Mac icon designer Susan Kare to the stand.

New iPad ads showcase Apple Pencil versatility

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iPad ad
Apple is keen to show off the Apple Pencil.
Photo: Apple

Apple wants everyone to know about the Apple Pencil compatibility with this year’s 9.7-inch iPad refresh — and a new series of ads aims to help with that mission.

Appearing on Apple’s U.K. YouTube channel, the short ads demonstrate how the Apple Pencil can be used for image markup, writing and drawing. The spots are set to NONONO’s track “Masterpiece.” Check them out below.

New iPhone SE will steal one of iPhone X’s best features

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iPhone SE encryption
iPhone SE set for biggest upgrade yet.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s new iPhone SE is shaping up to be the biggest upgrade the smallest, most affordable iPhone has seen in years. Alongside more powerful internals, the 4-inch device is expected to come with a tweaked design that makes way for one of iPhone X’s best features.

Apple doubles OLED orders from Samsung, but there’s a catch

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Ex-student sentenced to 3 years in prison for massive iPhone scam
Apple is ramping up its use of OLED displays in 2018.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is upping its use of OLED displays for this year’s iPhone refresh — and it wants a better deal as a result.

As was the case last year, this year’s iPhone displays will reportedly be manufactured by Samsung Display. Due to the numbers Apple is projecting for this year’s OLED iPhone orders, it wants Samsung to lower the costs it charges Apple by around 9 percent.

Apple pays at least $1 million for Ed Sheeran documentary

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Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran, an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist, is the subject of a documentary Apple just purchased.
Photo: Atlantic Records

Apple continues to add to its collection of movies and TV shows, with the latest acquisition a documentary about Ed Sheeran called Songwriter.

At this point, Apple is paying for a dozen TV shows to be produced, though the company hasn’t said what it’s going to do with them.

How is the iPhone X selling?

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iPhone boot up
The iPhone X isn't a dud, but it also it's Apple's top seller.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 8 is Apple’s best-selling model, and the larger 8 Plus is in second place. The controversial iPhone X is currently Apple’s third best-selling model, according to a market analysis firm.

Apple’s older models make up 40 percent of the company sales, a higher percentage than last year.

Apple throws shade at Android in hilarious iPhone ads

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Apple ad
Up your selfie game with Portrait Lighting.
Photo: Apple

Apple is back with a new set of ads aiming to get Android users to switch to iPhone. The two new ads showcase Portrait Mode and Portrait Lightning on the newest iPhones, while also bragging about the App Store’s security compared to Google Play.

Watch them both:

Lay your head on these plush Apple apps

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icon pillows
Throwboy puts the soft in software for Apple fans.
Photo: Throwboy

Two Apple geeks were dating during Christmas 2007 when the young man of this story, Roberto Hoyos, made his girlfriend hand-sewn pillows that looked like Mac desktop icons.

A picture of the finished pillows went viral and orders began to flood Hoyos’ inbox. To meet the sudden demand, he started the company, Throwboy. To celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary, Hoyos has issued a second collection of icon pillows.

Control this window air conditioner with your iPhone

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GE HomeKit window AC unit
This GE window AC unit is HomeKit compatible, making it far more intelligent than typical ones.
Photo: GE

When people think of home automation, something like the Nest thermostat probably leaps to mind first. But not everyone needs something that elaborate. For those who needs are simpler, GE just launched a window AC unit that’s HomeKit compatible so it can be controlled by an iPhone.

iPhone X users love the ‘notch’

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iphone x
A survey shows 97 percent of iPhone X owners are satisfied with this device, including its screen cutout.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

More than 90 percent of iPhone X users like the design without a Home button, according to a scientific survey. That’s good news for Apple, as most of the 2018 models are expected to use a similar form factor.

That’s not to say there’s no room for improvement. The survey also pointed several aspects of the iPhone X that responders didn’t like as much.

Amazon is (apparently) doing more than Apple to improve society

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Amazon
A veritable saint of a company, it seems.
Photo: Mike Seyfang/Flickr CC

Tim Cook has been outspoken about Apple being a “force for good” in the world. However, when it comes to which tech giants have the most positive impact on society, the public has spoken — and the answer isn’t Apple, but rather Amazon.

Or, at least, that’s the response from a recent survey of 2,722 U.S. adults, who decided to hand the first place to the Jeff Bezos-run, high street-destroying retail leviathan. We’re not totally convinced, though.

Time runs out for Apple Watch pop-up shop experiment

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apple watch
Tokyo store is the last of Apple's three Apple Watch pop-up shops.
Photo: Apple

Apple is closing the last of its remaining Apple Watch pop-up shops. Based in Tokyo, the last of the mini-stores is located in Shinjuku’s high-end Isetan department store. It will shut its door next month.

A message outside the store reads, “This is a notice that Apple Watch at Isetan Shinjuku will close as of Sunday, May 13. Thank you very much for your continuous patronage.”