Tag: Apple

The best cheap headphones and earbuds for 2024 | Digital Trends

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Not every pair of headphones or earbuds has to cost over $200.

Yes, the fancy, expensive flagship models from brands like Bose, Sony, and Apple get a lot of attention, but the truth is that you can absolutely get great sound, comfort, and convenient features without spending more than $100 if you shop carefully. That’s where we come in.

We’ve compiled a list of the best cheap earbuds and headphones that will cost you less than a nice dinner for two, yet they deliver the most sought-after qualities of much more expensive models.

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Apple gives developers a way to nominate their apps for editorial consideration on the App Store | TechCrunch

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App developers will have a new path for getting their apps recognized and promoted, Apple told developers at WWDC 2024 this week. In an update planned to arrive in September alongside the release of iOS 18, developers will be able to alert Apple’s Editorial team about their app’s new content or features ahead of its release to be considered for featuring on the App Store.

Today, the App Store’s Editorial team creates stories about apps and their developers and rounds up apps of interest into collections that are highlighted across the App Store’s many sections. However, there was no formal process for alerting App Store editors about upcoming changes that could potentially qualify an app for this type of recognition. With the launch of something called “Featuring Nominations,” developers will be able to directly share their plans with Apple. This is managed via the App Store Connect app where developers already manage their applications, installs and sales.

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Apple needs to make the iPhone cool again. Today is its chance | CNN Business

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Apple hasn’t given users a significant reason to buy an upgraded iPhone for four years, since it rolled out 5G connectivity with the iPhone 12 — a worrying trend for the tech giant’s core business. That could change this week.

The iPhone brought in more than half of the company’s total revenue last year, but sales growth has lagged as customers have been slower to upgrade to new models. Longer upgrade cycles — the time between users’ new phone purchases — currently plague many device companies. But they’ve been especially painful for Apple as it grapples with compounding challenges that also include steep competition in the key China market and a landmark antitrust lawsuit.

Apple is expected to announce new artificial intelligence features at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday, which could supercharge its products and bring Apple back into competition with much of the rest of the tech world that has already gone full steam ahead on AI. And no product is more important to Apple than the iPhone.

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Apple working to fix alarming iPhone issue | BBC News 

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Apple says it is working quickly to fix an issue that caused some iPhone alarms not to play a sound, giving their slumbering users an unexpected lie-in.

For many people, their phone is an indispensable alarm clock and some over-sleepers turned to social media to vent.

One TikTokker complained that she had set “like five alarms” and they didn’t go off.

Apple has confirmed it is aware of the issue – but is yet to spell out what it believes is causing it, or what users can do to avoid a late start.

It is also unclear how many people are affected or whether the problem is restricted to particular models of iPhone.

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iOS 18 tipped to redesign 4 apps | Mashable

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The iOS 18 hype train is building up speed.

Apple’s next iteration of iPhone software is set to be announced at WWDC 2024 in June, but as always, we’re learning a lot about it ahead of time. The latest scoop comes from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, who claimed in his latest Power On newsletter that four key iOS apps are getting revamped or redesigned for iOS 18.

Which iOS 18 apps are getting big changes?

According to Gurman, the following built-in apps are getting significant updates:

  • Fitness
  • Mail
  • Photos
  • Notes

Unfortunately, Gurman didn’t go into specific details about what to expect from the aforementioned changes. However, that doesn’t mean we’re completely out of luck. Thanks to leaks and industry whispers, we can make some educated guesses. Recent rumors suggest that the Notes app could get mathematical notation and built-in voice memos, putting it more on par with Microsoft’s OneNote app.

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Apple Expands Self-Service Repair with New Diagnostic Tool, Extends Reach in Europe | Small Biz Trend

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Apple Inc. has expanded its Self Service Repair program and introduced a new diagnostic tool, aimed at giving users greater autonomy in troubleshooting issues with their Apple devices.

This expansion brings the Self Service Repair program to the iPhone 15 lineup and Mac models powered by the M2 chip, including the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro, 15-inch MacBook Air, Mac mini, Mac Pro, and Mac Studio. More notably, Apple has extended this service to 24 additional European countries, such as Croatia, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Switzerland. With this latest growth, the program now supports 35 Apple products across 33 countries, accessible in 24 languages.

A key development in this expansion is the introduction of Apple Diagnostics for Self Service Repair, which is currently available in the U.S. and expected to launch in Europe next year. This tool empowers users, particularly those with the expertise to repair Apple devices, by providing the same diagnostic capabilities as those available to Apple Authorized Service Providers and Independent Repair Providers. It allows for comprehensive testing of device parts for functionality and performance, thereby identifying necessary repairs.

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Apple cuts off Beeper Mini’s access after launch of service that brought iMessage to Android | TechCrunch

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Was it too good to be true? Beeper, the startup that reverse-engineered iMessage to bring blue bubble texts to Android users, is experiencing an outage, the company reported via a post on X on Friday. And Apple is to blame, it seems. Users, including those of us at TechCrunch with access to the app, began seeing error messages when trying to send texts via the newly released Beeper Mini and messages are not going through.

The error message reads: “failed to lookup on server: lookup request timed out” spelled out in red letters.

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Apple might launch an OLED iPad Pro and larger iPad Air in early 2024 | Mashable

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Apple is planning a big overhaul of its iPad lineup next year.

This is according to a new report by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who claims that the company plans to launch new iPad Pro models with M3 processors and OLED displays.

All of the current iPads have LCD displays, though the larger, 12.9-inch iPad Pro has an enhanced, mini-LED display. But OLED is a logical choice for the iPad, as it would likely offer deeper blacks, better viewing angles, and less battery consumption.

The new iPad Pro models are likely to come in the first half of 2024, with mass production starting either late in the first quarter, or in the second quarter.

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Apple targeted in App Store antitrust damages suit that’s seeking $1BN+ for UK developers | TechCrunch

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A class-action damages claim is being brought against Apple on behalf of UK-based developers. The suit, which is seeking a compensation payout that could be as high as £800 million (over $1BN), accuses the tech giant of abusing a dominant position by charging an “anticompetitive” 30% fee on in-app sales made by app makers on its iOS App Store. It also argues UK consumers are missing out as developers are being deprived of money that could be spent on R&D to drive forward app innovation.

Sean Ennis, a professor of competition policy at the University of East Anglia who has held positions at the OECD, US Department of Justice and European Commission, is bringing the class action on behalf of over 1,500 UK-based developers.

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WWDC 2023: 5 takeaways from Apple’s biggest product event in years | CNN Business

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Apple on Monday unveiled its most ambitious – and riskiest – new hardware product in years: a mixed reality headset called the Apple Vision Pro.

Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook touted the Vision Pro, which combines virtual reality and augmented reality, as a “revolutionary product,” with the potential to change how users interact with technology, each other and the world around them.

The highly anticipated announcement came at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, where it also teased a long list of new features and updates to some of its most widely used products.

Here’s what you should know from the event:

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