Chad Johnson NFL Comeback Talk Was a Joke ... 'I'd Embarrass Myself'

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Chad Johnson is sticking a fork in his NFL comeback ... telling TMZ Sports IT AIN'T HAPPENIN' ... 'cause he says his body's "too f**ked up" to play anymore.

The 39-year-old tweeted the N.Y. Giants for a tryout earlier this season after Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall went down with season-ending injuries.

And after the way he balled out with legit NFL superstars during off-season training sessions, it seemed Ocho was serious about one last hurrah with the pros.

So, when we saw Chad on his way out of the Apple Store in L.A., we asked him straight-up how the comeback was coming along.

Spoiler: It's not.

But Chad explains why he needed to finance his new, expensive iPhone X and it's pretty hilarious.

HOLDIN' HIS OWN

'Shark Tank' Star Kevin O'Leary iPhone X is a Status Symbol That Will Make Me Even Richer!!!

APPLE IS HOT, HOT, HOT!!!
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One of the biz moguls on "Shark Tank" thinks Apple's latest iPhone is priced ridiculously ... but it's still gonna sell like crazy and it will make him a bloody fortune.

We got Canadian businessman Kevin O'Leary Wednesday at LAX and he says the reason the iPhone X is gonna be so damn expensive at $1,000-plus is 'cause Apple has become a luxury brand, and more than that ... it's turned into a lifestyle.

That's all good for Kevin -- dude's a big-time stakeholder in Apple, and he says he's making back his dough. As for whether buyers will shell out for the X ... no doubt.

Apple's iPhone X Launch UK Artist Gets Ultimate Publicity I'm Closer to a Record Deal!

THE POWER OF APPLE
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Apple's head honchos gave the biggest plug possible to an unsigned, independent artist during their iPhone X launch, and she could land a record deal because of it.

We spoke with British singer/songwriter Emma Blackery -- whose EP, "Magnetised," and the artwork to her single got shown to millions of people tuning in Wednesday to Apple's presentation -- and she says it was a godsend.

Emma tells us she and her team knew her album and artwork were going to be on Apple's site, but got taken by surprise with the unexpected cameo on the jumbo screen. As of now, she's mostly known as a vlogger on YouTube.

As you might imagine, her fan base has soared since -- not to mention her business opportunities. She says multiple record labels have come calling ... and she's picking up.

Too Short iPhone X's Best Feature? Definitely 3D Chick Scanning!!!

BITCHIN' RECOGNITION
TMZ.com

Too Short's got big plans for the new iPhone X ... we're just not sure the women in his life will be down with it.

We got Short leaving TAO in Hollywood with 2 smoking hot chicks -- which is totally relevant to what he says about Apple's new $1,000 rollout. We asked him about what everyone agrees is its coolest feature -- the 3D facial scanning.

If you think Steve Jobs was a genius -- wait until you hear how Short plans to use the phone.

If Apple's smart, they'll get this guy a cubicle. Now!

X GON' GIVE IT TO YA
Apple

Apple Unveil$ iPhone X Features Animoji & Face ID

X GON' GIVE IT TO YA
Apple

Apple unveiled the much-hyped iPhone X -- and it's both pretty awesome and pretty damn expensive!!!

The announcement came Tuesday morning at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple's new HQ in Cupertino, CA ... where the final item introduced was the iPhone X. The new phone has a radical new design -- no more home button, edge-to-edge display and a bunch of other cool features:

-- Animoji tracks 50 facial muscle movements to create your own emojis

-- Wireless charging

-- And, of course, Face ID to unlock the iPhone X

It unlocks after recognizing your face and only when you look directly at it. It won't unlock if you're facing away. There was a hiccup when the X wouldn't unlock but a backup phone solved the issue.

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES
Apple

For those concerned about safety ... facial recognition data is stored on a chip in the X and NOT sent to an Apple or third-party server, per Apple, which added there's a 1 in 1,000,000 chance that a random person can unlock your iPhone X.

The iPhone X starts at $999 and pre-orders start October 27. They ship November 3. Apple also unveiled the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, new AppleWatch and AppleTV. The company next year plans to unveil AirPower, a charging station for multiple Apple products.

Steve Jobs' Widow Cruisin' Croatia in $100 Million Yacht!!!

Steve Jobs' widow brought her best accessories to Croatia -- her daughter, hot bf and Steve's yacht.

Laurene Powell hit up the historic city of Dubrovnik in southern Croatia flanked by 19-year-old daughter Eve and bf Adrian Fenty ... the former mayor of D.C.

Docked not far off the coast was the 256-foot, $100 mil yacht, Venus ... commissioned by the late Apple founder back in 2008. He never got to enjoy it -- Steve died a year before it was finished in 2012.

Laurene will take it from here ...

Kanye West Tidal Taught a Lesson ... No More Exclusive Music Deals!!!

Kanye West isn't interested in bonuses from Apple, Spotify or any other streaming platforms ... 'cause he's done with exclusive releases.

Sources with knowledge of the conflict between Kanye and Tidal tell us Kanye does not want to enter into any more exclusive album releases or contracts with streaming services to host any upcoming projects of his, because he wants to avoid what happened on Tidal ... too limited access for far too long.

We're told when Kanye does drop new material, he plans to make it available on as many music platforms as possible ... so more people can listen as soon as it's released.

We broke the story ... Kanye has split from Tidal over a money dispute, and both parties face possible legal action if he goes to another streaming service. His last album, "The Life of Pablo," was exclusively on Tidal for about a month and a half, and we're told that's affecting his decision to widely release his music.

As we reported ... Kanye's business beef with Tidal predates the release of Jay-Z's album "4:44" ... in which he disses 'Ye.

The bottom line, though ... new Kanye music should be coming to a streaming service near you in the near future.

Prince New Album Yanked Off iTunes While Court Battle Begins

Prince's new album won't see the light of day if his estate gets its way -- and the legal battle's already resulted in the new music getting removed from iTunes and Apple Music.

The "Deliverance" album vanished from Apple's platforms Wednesday around 3:30 PM PT. When you search for it on iTunes it shows no results for Prince, and Apple Music says the album is "not available." It was #1 on the pre-order chart.

Meanwhile, Prince's estate went into court Wednesday asking a judge to block the album's release ... in conjunction with a lawsuit it filed against the producer behind the EP.

Apple itself wasn't named in the suit, but seems like it's waiting for the legal dust to settle. We've reached out to Apple, but haven't heard back.

Google Play has also pulled it, while Amazon still has it up for pre-order, but you don't immediately get the title track ... like you previously could on Apple.

iPhone 7 Debut Apple Screws Itself

Apple's big reveal for iPhone 7 was upstaged thanks to its own Twitter account ... where images of the new phone were leaked even before CEO Tim Cook could unveil it.

Cook was right in the middle of the iPhone debut presentation from San Fran -- but hadn't actually shown the device -- when a few tweets went out from the company's account.

OOPS doesn't begin to cover it.

Sorry, Tim ... but now everyone knows: Water resistant, new camera, stereo speakers, longer battery life. Really no need to continue your speech.

Heads would've rolled under Jobs.

WE SCREWED UP
Apple

Apple Body Found at HQ

POLICE SCANNER AUDIO

11:42 PM PST -- A Sheriff spokesperson says the person found dead was a Hispanic male who worked at Apple ... there was no one else involved. It's still unclear why officers said there was a female with a head wound in the dispatch audio.

A body was found this morning on the campus of Apple's headquarters.

Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies are on the campus in Cupertino, CA. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the call came in to dispatch at 8:38 AM as a "possible suicide."

According to the sheriff's dispatch call there was a female employee involved in an argument on the campus, and had sustained a head wound -- possibly from a gun -- before Apple security escorted her out of the building.

As deputies were responding, they were unclear if there were multiple people involved. At one point cops describe a body being found in a conference room, and say that person had a gun.

It's increasingly looking like there were 2 people involved since the fatality was reportedly a Hispanic male ... and we know the person with the head wound was a woman.

Apple's stock plummeted overnight, more than 7% -- crushing the company's value by more than $40 billion.

Story developing ...

Cecil's Revenge Apple Flip-Flops App Gets the Greenlight

Cecil the Lion will get his revenge after all!!!

Apple has reversed itself and "Cecil's Revenge" will now be featured in the App Store. The company rejected the game -- in which Cecil and his animal buddies kill hunters in space -- because it violated Apple policies by targeting a real-life group.

The game's creators tell us Apple didn't offer an explanation for its change of heart, but it happened after TMZ ran the rejection story.

The app had been advertised on Google free of charge, but now it's priced at $0.99 -- with all proceeds going to stop illegal poaching.

Melinda Gates Apple Watch Frenzy ... Not in Our House!!

Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife may not be cashing in on the new Apple Watch -- but they've gotta at least check out the competition, right? Maybe ...

Our photog spotted Melinda Gates Tuesday afternoon in New York City, and asked if Mr. and Mrs. Microsoft would be indulging in the competition's new gadget.

Melinda tells us she and Bill are passing on the watch.

As for other Apple products -- well, watch her answer about what you'll find around the Gates household.

CNN Election Commentators Microsoft Surface Is Great For Hiding Our iPads!

CNN just got busted in the biggest political cover-up, and it has nothing to do with Benghazi or the IRS -- instead it's all about ... TABLETS!!!

Last night CNN's Election coverage experts were given Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablets to use. It was reportedly part of a product placement deal ... and competing devices -- like the iPad -- were supposed to be no where in sight.

Not everyone got that memo ... because Jake Tapper and Ana Navarro were caught on camera using the Surface Pros as shields to cover up their iPads ... which they were clearly still using.

With 100% of precincts reporting, we are prepared to call this race ... for the iPad.

A Microsoft spokesperson was "unable" to comment on the apparent CNN gaffe.

Meagan Good My Days in the Cloud Are Over!

Meagan Good isn't ashamed of the photos of her that got leaked as part of the celebrity nude photo hacking scandal, but she and her husband agree ... no more cloud for them!

Good and her husband DeVon Franklin were out Monday night at Couture in Hollywood where the couple said they are taking the scandal in stride ... at least we think that's what Franklin meant when he quoted the Bible.

Franklin said they are keeping any future private moments out of the cloud ... which is interesting because when we asked Megan about the scandal before her photos leaked, she said she didn't keep any photos there anyway.

Guess we know which of the two got hacked ...

Joan Rivers Promotes iPhone 6 Feet Under

The ghost of Joan Rivers has a message for you ... BUY THE iPHONE 6!!! After all, who knows more about the cloud than a ghost?

This post appeared -- briefly -- on Joan's Facebook page Friday morning ... clearly the result of a pre-negotiated deal with Apple. Someone pulled a Ron Popeil ... set it and forget it.

The post was removed pronto.

Steve Jobs could not be reached for comment.

Steve Wozniak I'm Ditching My Android Phones! iPhone 6 Is THAT Good

Steve Wozniak is finally going back to Apple, exclusively ... when it comes to phones -- and it's all because he thinks the company finally has a product in the iPhone 6 to rival Android.

The Woz was making his way through Dulles International Airport when he copped to tossing out multiple Android phones he had been using instead of the iPhone ... and said the new model (TWO DAYS AWAY!) is a game changer.

Steve started gushing about new iPhone 6 features -- and it sounds like one in particular sold him on the device.

Check out the vid ... Woz can still sell. Better than the average Genius Bar jockey, anyway.

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