Apple

Report: Apple’s Home Automation System May Be Simpler Than You’d Hope

GigaOm has a report on Apple’s forthcoming connected home system. According to the site, it might be a hell of a lot simpler—and perhaps disappointing—than we expected. http://gigaom.com/2014/05/29/heres-how-apples-smart-home-program-will-work-2/ The system will be marketed under the purported “Made for iPhone” label. Per unnamed sources, GigaOm says: [Our sources] explain that the smart home effort will have…

Why Isn’t the Guy Who Designed Beats Going to Work For Apple, Too?

When Apple bought Beats earlier this week, it also got two high-profile new employees. Dr. Dre is going to work for Apple. So is music mogul Jimmy Iovine. But there’s one surprise: Robert Brunner, the industrial designer behind Beats, is not coming along for the ride. Maybe because he worked at Apple 25 years ago.…

Beats Solo2: A New Day, Same Beats By Dre

It’s been hours—hours!—since Apple and Beats announced they would be tying the financial knot, and today, we’re getting a revamped version of Beats’ most popular headphone. The Solo was a winner, and so the new Solo2 doesn’t mess with the recipe much. The Solo2 sport an identical foldable, on-ear design to the older model. The…

Apple Just Hired the Two Smartest Music Moguls of Our Time

It’s official, Apple’s dropping $3 billion on a headphone empire. But more than a blockbuster headphone brand and a promising streaming music service, Apple is getting two of the smartest music and entertainment minds in the world. Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine work for Apple now, and that’s a potentially revolutionary combination. Beats by Dre…

Beats by Apple Makes Monster’s Big Mistake Even Bigger

Apple’s move to buy Beats for $3 billion is a big deal, and not just because it’s the biggest acquisition in the company’s history. But for Monster’s Noel and Kevin Lee, the original brains behind Beats, all it means is extra salt in the wound. https://gizmodo.com/beat-by-dre-the-exclusive-inside-story-of-how-monster-5981823

Apple Is Officially Buying Beats for $3 Billion

After weeks of rumors and speculation, Apple has officially bought Beats By Dre for $3 billion. The deal includes both Beats’ immensely lucrative headphone business and the recently launched streaming audio service. Beats founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple. That’s right, Dr. Dre works for Apple now. There has been a lot…

The Future of Apple Computing Was Almost Turned Sideways

The sky is blue, water is wet, and the digital world is oriented landscape. But almost 30 years ago, that last truth wasn’t exactly self-evident. Back then, Apple and others were experimenting with vertically-oriented computers. And it made more sense than you might think. Next week, the auction house Bonhams is putting a rare Apple…

Hackers Are Using Find My iPhone to Hold iOS Devices for Ransom

A strange rash of virtual iPhone kidnappings in Australia recently spread to the United States, and boy, are they strange. Hackers appear to be using Find My iPhone to lock iOS devices remotely, and then demanding a ransom to unlock them. Said ransom is payable through PayPal. You should not pay it. Again, these incidents…

Life-Saving App Knows How Much Blood You Lost Just Looking At a Sponge

During a surgery, doctors and surgeons use a measurement called EBL—or estimated blood loss—to determine how much blood a patient has lost, and how much needs to be returned via a transfusion. Unfortunately it’s really just an educated guess, until Gauss Surgical’s new Triton Fluid Management System makes its way into operating rooms. Instead of…

Apple Patent Hints at Plans for LiquidMetal and Sapphire iPhone Chassis

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued Apple with a patent that finally suggests how the company may have planned (or be planning) to use LiquidMetal: in conjunction with display glass made from sapphire to form a single, integrated chassis for the iPhone. The patent is actually over six years old, but has just…

Australia is suffering a spate of iPhone hijackings at the hands of a hacker called Oleg Pliss—who demands $50 via PayPal to unlock each handset. There’s currently no sign of it spreading to the rest of the world but, as ever, be vigilant.

Report: Apple’s Turning the iPhone Into a Remote For Your Entire House

In addition to a new iPhone possibly making an appearance at Apple’s June 2nd Worldwide Developer Conference launch event, the Financial Times is reporting that the company plans to introduce new smart home software and functionality that puts your iOS devices in control of everything in your home—from lighting to your security system. Because your…

Watch a Bunch of Adorable Kids React to an Old Apple Computer

It’s hard to know which specific emotion this video of kids reacting to old computers from the late 1970s and early 1980s evokes. The feeling is somewhere between sheer delight (how cute are they?!) and utter horror (how old am I?!) Either way, it’s worth it. As we pointed out when the last video in…

An Augmented Reality Made With Hand-Drawn Cartoons and an iPhone

Prolific doodler Marty Cooper carries around animation cels, a marker, and some Wite-Out as he wanders the city, creating whimsical scenes that turn mundane background imagery into charming mini-stories. And he painstakingly captures them on his iPhone to create the animated world of Aug(De)Mented Reality. http://mcgnarcal.tumblr.com/ These grin-inducing little vignettes defy rigid definition: are they…

Our Favorite Android, iOS, and Windows Phone Apps of the Week

Hey friends, it’s the weekend—and not just any weekend, but a holiday weekend. For a lot of you, that means an extra day off work, and therefore an extra day to idly play around with your smartphone. Make it a great one with these, our favorite new apps. Android Gmail A few nice updates arrived…

Your Phone Will Break Before These Fortified Charging Cables Do

It’s widely assumed that printer manufacturers make all of their money from expensive replacement ink cartridges, not the hardware. Perhaps the same can be said for smartphone makers, given how often their USB charging cables break. But you can put an end to constant replacements with these MOS Spring cables that are reinforced six ways…

Osmo Uses Your iPad to Get Your Kids Playing in the Real World

A lot of kids love iPads, to the point where they’re almost never just, y’know, playing with kids stuff. Osmo is a nifty little gadget that does both, encouraging kids to play with tangible, real-world toys that magically interact with games on the iPad’s screen. And you can pre-order one through Osmo’s crowdfunding campaign starting…

Apple Admits iMessage Screw-Up, Has a Fix Coming… Sometime

If you’ve tried to transition out of your iPhone into an Android or Windows Phone device, you’ve likely known the singular frustration of having your text messages vanish into the iMessage ether. Today, in a statement to Recode, Apple acknowledged the problem, explained why it’s been particularly awful lately, and promised a fix. https://gizmodo.com/when-apple-damns-your-texts-to-imessage-purgatory-1575937398 The…

Look At Apple’s First 1980s Stab at the Smartwatch

A design book that promises to show the “true design story” behind Apple features some glorious retro designs from the company, including this early concept of a form of smartwatch that makes up for in buttons what it lacks in screen — and pairs with a wireless headset. The image is one of many from…

Report: Apple Is Taking Over a Seven-Building Campus in Sunnyvale

Not content with a 2.8 million square-foot flying saucer, Apple is apparently taking over a seven-building campus in Sunnyvale, too. https://gizmodo.com/norman-foster-on-apples-hq-over-1-000-bikes-four-sto-1538670795 The San Jose Mercury News claims that Apple has agreed to lease a seven-building campus in Sunnyvale which can house 1,450 workers. The buildings, which provide 290,000-square-feet of office space, are decades old but…