MoviePass continues flip-flop saga, revives ‘unlimited’ movie-watching plan
MoviePass users have been having a rollercoaster of a time over the last few months, with the company changing its policies and then reverting those changes. Today is not an exception to that trend…
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20 years of iMac: A story of relentless design iteration
A 20th anniversary is a milestone worthy of celebration in its own right, but even more so when describing a computer. Few technology products boast such a feat in an industry where changing customer preference and exponential technical advancement can quickly obsolete even the most well-considered plans.
9to5Toys Lunch Break: CarPlay deals from $350, Anker Truly Wireless Earbuds $110, iPhone X/8/7 Cases from $4, more
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Nokia’s Health division to be sold back to Withings co-founder
Nokia ended speculation today that its Digital Health division could end up at Google or even Samsung. Instead, the wearable company will be sold to the co-founder of Withings and return to being an independent brand.
Cardhop 1.1 introduces Smart Groups, customized contact printing, more
Cardhop, from the makers of Fantastical, has quickly joined my list of must-have Mac apps since it launched last fall. Working with contacts — like properly saving new entries from email with the right details and quickly recalling those contacts when needed — feels crippled on my Mac when Cardhop isn’t installed and running.
Now Cardhop is receiving its first big update since debuting in October. New features include Smart Groups, custom printing, support for five languages total, and more.
Apple negotiating with United Arab Emirates government to lift ban on FaceTime in the region
Due to local regulatory rules, FaceTime is blocked on iPhone and iPad devices sold in UAE countries including Abu Dhabi and Dubai. This has been the case for many years. Obviously, the appeal of Apple’s ecosystem is stunted when features like FaceTime are unavailable.
There are promising signs that, soon, the ban will be lifted. Apple is in active negotiations with the United Arab Emirates federal government to permit the use of internet video-chat services on its devices, enabling FaceTime to be unlocked for Apple customers.
Comment: Apple saying nothing about HomePod sales isn’t a problem … yet
Apple had plenty of good news yesterday. Revenue, profit and iPhone sales were all up. Any doubts about the iPhone X were pretty firmly laid to rest. ‘Other’ products – which includes Apple Watch, AirPods and HomePod – set a new record, at almost $4B sales. Services grew 31% to hit another all-time record.
But when you look at what Apple said about that Other products category, there was one notable omission …
Visual effects supervisors share how iPhone heavily influenced original Iron Man HUD
A new piece diving into the history and creation of the visual effects for 2008’s Iron Man and specifically the original HUD reveals that iPhone was one of the driving inspirations.
Hulu adding ability to watch downloaded shows with ads as it hits 20 million subscribers
Hulu is holding a media event in New York City today where it is announcing lots of new show renewals and content deals, new advertising features, a subscriber milestone, and the ability to download shows for offline viewing soon.
Opinion: Earnings show that the iPhone X was a huge success, even if Apple hoped for more
Prior to yesterday’s AAPL earnings report, all the speculation about iPhone sales was doom-and-gloom. Although analysts were predicting that Apple would hit its guidance – and it would have been a dramatic shock if it had failed to do so – anyone reading the reports could be forgiven for thinking iPhone sales were tanking.
In particular, it appeared that the iPhone X was very far from the success that analysts had earlier predicted.
The early talk was of a new ‘supercycle’ – that the radical new design of the iPhone X would lead to the same kind of dramatic boost to sales we saw when Apple made its move into larger-screened phones with the iPhone 6. But that idea didn’t last long, as subsequent reports suggesting that Apple was now halving its sales expectations for the quarter …