Year: 2016

Ugreen’s Magnetic Charger for Apple Watch is slim enough to keep in your pocket

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 3, 2017

Most people experience all-day battery life with the Apple Watch, whether it’s the single core first generation model, or the dual core Series 1 or 2 versions that were launched just this year. While this is true for most people who use their Apple Watch regularly, new apps like Pokémon GO for the Apple Watch threaten to deplete your Apple Watch’s tiny battery much faster.

With that being the case, investing in some kind of portable power pack made specifically for the Apple Watch, like the Ugreen Magnetic Charger, is a good idea.

Picky, Dashpop, Timebomb Messenger, and other apps to check out this weekend

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Happy holidays everyone! It's been kind of a slow week in terms of news and app releases, but don't worry, we were still able to put together a solid list of apps and games for you to check out this weekend. The roundup includes an app that uses AI to pick out your best photos, a new todo list app with a fun twist, and a messaging client that lets you decide when your messages can be opened.

CCRecord: a tweak to quickly and easily record your iPhone screen

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 30, 2016

Display recording tweaks have long been a favorite utility of the jailbreak community, and now you don’t even need to put an app icon on your screen to utilize this kind of functionality.

A new free jailbreak tweak called CCRecord adds a display recording toggle button right to Control Center on all jailbroken iOS 10 devices, making the feature more convenient than ever before.

Customize your iOS 10 Control Center toggle colors with Cream 2 and Creamless

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 30, 2016

Starting with iOS 10, your Control Center toggles are colored whenever they’re toggled on. This includes the toggle buttons at the top, in addition to the AirSharing buttons and the Night Mode toggle.

On the other hand, anyone who doesn’t like the appearance of the new colorizations in Control Center in iOS 10 and is jailbroken with the beta iOS 10.1.1 jailbreak by Luca Todesco can use one of two new free jailbreak tweaks called Cream 2 and Creamless to either customize all of Control Center's colors or disable them altogether.

How about Jet Black AirPods?

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 30, 2016

If it hadn't been for the new gloss and matte black color options, this year's iPhone 7 refresh would have admittedly been underwhelming as most buyers are not eager to buy the same basic handset design for three years in a row. Which begs the question of Jet Black AirPods you've been dreaming about.

Colors are important and no matter how you look at it, black-clad AirPods would perfectly compliment the superior sheen of Jet Black iPhone 7. Well, earlier this month Dutch artist Martin Hajek took it upon himself to imagine what a pair of AirPods done in black would look like.

2017 iPhone 7 production cut by 10 percent

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 30, 2016

Several analysts interviewed recently by The Wall Street Journal opined that iPhone 7's supposed lack of compelling features probably convinced many owners of the exploding Note 7 to opt for another high-end Galaxy handset, and not Apple's flagship phone.

Their remarks were corroborated today by supplier data collected by Japanese newspaper Nikkei Asian Review, which claims Apple is planning to cut iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus orders by ten percent starting in the first quarter of 2017 after they “sold more sluggishly than expected”.

Changes to Apple’s TSS servers currently render Prometheus non functional

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated May 8, 2017

Update: tihmstar has stated that the tool is working perfectly, and that he has used it successfully multiple times today. However, some users have been encountering a TSS server error when using the tool nonetheless.

Hot on the heels of Prometheus' release at the 33c3 convention two days ago, tihmstar's tool for upgrading and downgrading to unsigned iOS firmwares seems already to have hit a snag. Following some changes to Apple's TSS servers today, the nature of which are yet to be investigated, the tool has been rendered non-functional at the present time.

Foxconn has 10 fully automated production lines

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 30, 2016

iPhone manufacturer Foxconn continues to replace factory workers with industrial robots, called Foxbots. These machines take advantage of artificial intelligence to perform elaborate assembly work more efficiently than humans can. As of May 2016, Foxbots had replaced as many as 60,000 factory workers and now a new report from DigiTimes details progress the contract manufacturer has since made in terms of boosting automated production across its facilities in China.

Apple has reportedly commissioned three different manufacturers to build iPhone 8

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 30, 2016

Hedging its bets, Apple has apparently commissioned a third contract manufacturer to build iPhone 8 alongside established suppliers and longtime partners Foxconn and Pegatron. According to a Chinese-language report in the Economic Daily News newspaper, quoted by Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes, Apple supplier Wistron will get to build some of the future iPhone units.

Cydia beta for iOS 10.1.x jailbreak released

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ December 30, 2016

Thursday saw the release of a new build of Cydia from its creator Jay Freeman (Saurik). Coming in at version 1.1.28, the build is marked as a beta, designed for use with the fledgling iOS 10.1.x jailbreak from Luca Todesco.

Although I still do not recommend the average user to jailbreak with Yalu for 10.1.x, those who are confident doing so and have already taken the plunge may find this Cydia release improves their experience running the jailbreak slightly.

Samsung developing own AirPods-like earphones for Galaxy S8 launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 30, 2016

Samsung is probably going to rip off AirPods next: the company should debut all-new wireless earphones alongside Galaxy S8 launch, according to confidential information received by SamMobile. “Samsung is surely looking to put out a product that competes with Apple’s AirPods,” reads the report.

Samsung, of course, was found guilty of lifting Apple's hardware and software designs in the past.

It currently owes the Cupertino firm hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Back in 2015, Samsung copied the look and feel of Apple's wired EarPods for Galaxy S6.

AirPods manufacturer Inventec is expanding capacity to meet strong demand

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 30, 2016

According to a brief report in the Chinese-language Economic Daily Times newspaper that was quoted Friday by DigiTimes, strong sales of the W1-enhanced AirPods and robust demand for Apple's earphones during the year-end holidays have prompted supplier Inventec to increase production capacity. While Inventec declined to comment on its orders, it's reportedly begun expanding capacity at its Shanghai plants, which are currently working overtime to deliver orders.