Year: 2014

Apple defeats $94 million patent infringement suit

Cody Lee ∙ October 23, 2014

Apple on Wednesday defeated a civil suit put forth by GPNE, a non-practicing patent holding company in Honolulu, that was seeking nearly $100 million in damages. The company alleged that three iPhone and iPad models infringed on its pager technology patents.

A jury in the US District Court of San Jose disagreed, and rejected all of patent infringement claims. Apple applauded the verdict, calling GPNE a "patent troll," a term given to companies who acquire patents for the sole purpose of collecting licensing and lawsuit fees.

Instacast 5 is out with new design, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus support, and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2018

Vemedio has released version 5 of its popular Instacast podcast client this morning, and it is absolutely packed with new features and improvements. Perhaps the most obvious change is the new design, which gives the app a much more modern look.

And as you'd hope, the new UI looks great on the new iPhones, as it includes full support for their larger displays. The app also includes support for iOS 8 extensions, which allows you to share episode show notes, links and more via the iOS share sheet.

Tim Cook stops by Foxconn iPhone factory during China trip

Cody Lee ∙ October 23, 2014

Tim Cook paid a visit to Foxconn's iPhone manufacturing plant in Zhengzhou today, one of what could be many stops during his China trip. The Apple CEO tweeted out "Great to meet talented like Zhang Fan, who helps make iPhone 6 in Zhengzhou," along with a photo.

Cook's face is a familiar one at many Asian supplier factories, thanks to his long tenure as Apple's operations chief and the company's recent commitment to comply with Fair Labor Associations guidelines. In fact, he visited the Zhengzhou plant as recently as spring 2012.

iFixit finds smaller battery, reworked internals in iPad Air 2 teardown

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

As the new iPads begin arriving in stores and on doorsteps, iFixit has gotten its hands on an iPad Air 2 and performed its usual teardown ritual. Upon popping the tablet open, the team discovered a more powerful processor, 2GB of RAM, and a smaller battery.

The processor is of course the new A8X, which is similar to the A8 in the iPhone 6 but with improved graphics. The RAM is comprised of two 1GB Elpida F8164A3MD sticks placed on either side of the A8X, and the battery is of the 27.62 Whr; 7,340 mAh variety.

How to install Cydia on iOS 8 [video]

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 22, 2014

As you know, the Pangu jailbreak came out this morning and enabled the ability to jailbreak iOS 8-8.1. Unfortunately, the jailbreak wasn't bundled with Cydia, so it's not much use to the general jailbreak users by itself.

Thankfully, Saurik quickly compiled a working version of Cydia for iOS 8, which is pretty easy to install if you follow our 8 steps. We show you how in this hands-on video walkthrough.

Olloclip introduces 4-in-1 camera lens for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Popular mobile device accessory maker Olloclip introduced a new product today for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. It's a 4-in-1 photo lens kit, designed exclusively for Apple's two latest handsets, that includes fisheye, wide-angle, 10x and 15x lenses.

The new Olloclip brings about some new features as well. For the first time ever, all four lenses work with both the iSight and FaceTime cameras, and thanks to a new customizable pendant, it can be clipped to a backpack, lanyard or key ring.

How to jailbreak iOS 8.1 with Pangu 1.0.1 [video]

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Pangu for iOS 8 caught us all by surprise, but it shouldn't be a shock that the talented Chinese jailbreak team pulled off a jailbreak in such a short period of time since iOS 8's release. While the Pangu tool for iOS 8 isn't exactly ideal as far as a consumer jailbreak goes—it doesn't come bundled with Cydia, it's in Chinese, and it's Windows only—it's certainly better than nothing.

In this video tutorial, we will show you how to jailbreak iOS 8.1 using Pangu 1.0.1 with a Windows machine. It's an extremely easy and simple process, as long as you follow the steps exactly. This tool can jailbreak the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and any other device capable of running iOS 8.x. Check out our full video tutorial for the details.

Apple Pay glitch causing some Bank of America users to be double charged

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

There is a glitch in Apple Pay that is causing some Bank of America customers to be charged twice for purchases, reports Bloomberg. A number of BOA card holders have come forward saying that they are seeing duplicate charges on their statements for Apple Pay-related transactions.

While some teething issues are expected with any new service launch—particularly on Apple Pay's—this has proven to be a serious problem. Customers affected by the glitch found themselves stuck between Apple and Bank of America customer service, with both sides passing the buck.

New iPads now available for in-store pickup at some Apple Stores

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 22, 2014

Apple's latest iPads, the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, are now available for in-store pickup at a growing list of retail locations in the United States, MacRumors reported Wednesday. Initially limited to Wi-Fi-only iPads and available for a limited number of retail locations that have received shipments, every Apple Store in the United States and abroad will provide personal pickup as soon as Apple catches up to demand for the new tablets.

If you are planning on purchasing one of the new iPads for in-store pickup, head over to Apple's US Online Store, choose your iPad model and check the bottom of the page: if personal pickup is available, you'll see the “Available for pickup” message. You can also click the “Check availability” link and enter your ZIP code to get a list of nearby stores that will let you pick up your iPad in person.

Yahoo Mail adds travel and event alerts and news notifications

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 22, 2014

Not to be outdone by Google which just unveiled Inbox, “a completely different type of inbox” from the Gmail team, rival Yahoo on Wednesday pushed an update to its native Mail application for the iPhone and iPad.

The latest versions of Yahoo Mail adds notifications for your favorite news stories, travel/event alerts and other tidbits.

Yahoo Mail is available free in the App Store.

Google launches a different take on email: introducing Inbox by Gmail

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 22, 2014

Writing on the Official Gmail Blog Wednesday, Google announced immediate availability of a new email app for iOS and Android, Inbox. Available free of charge in the App Store on an invite-only basis, Inbox represents “a completely different type of inbox”. The app strives to surface the most relevant stuff that often gets buried and forgotten due to an avalanche of unwanted emails we get bombarded with.

Built by the Gmail team and “years in the making”, Inbox has been conceived to fit your life by keeping your emails organized to “help you get back to what matters”. That sounds much like Mailbox.

Jump past the fold for the full reveal.

Google’s Hangouts app is now iPhone 6-ready

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 22, 2014

Continuing its string of app updates adding native support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screen sizes, Google on Wednesday issued a small update to its Hangouts messaging software for the iPhone and iPad, which now looks as you'd expect on the 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 screens.

In addition to UI support for the new Apple smartphones, Hangouts 2.3 contains no other additions or improvements. The app is available free of charge in the App Store and requires iOS 6.0 or later.