Year: 2016

Bloomberg: Apple developing a new iPhone video-sharing app & deeper social ties in iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 25, 2016

Bloomberg reported Thursday that Apple has been developing a brand new Snapchat-style video editing and sharing application that could launch in 2017 as a standalone download, as well as testing deeper social ties across iOS as part of a newly directed focus to integrate more social networking features within its mobile products. These moves are said to be a response to the success of social services like Facebook and Snapchat, according to people familiar with Apple’s strategy.

The Sena Watch Roll is a great travel companion for Apple Watch users

Sébastien Page ∙ August 25, 2016

One of the greatest first world problems of our century is figuring out how you're going to carry all these extra bands when traveling with an Apple Watch. There are of course many solutions available to you, such as throwing everything in a box or in a pocket of your backpack/luggage, but that is a somewhat inelegant way of going at it.

I recently came across the Sena Watch Roll, a neat-looking leather roll that stores your Apple Watch bands and small accessories in a tight package, offering a worthy storage solution for the classy traveler you are. We'll have a quick look at it in this short review.

Volt: a customizable clock and battery indicator screen for your charging iPhone

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 25, 2016

It was only a few days ago that we showed you a tweak called Vettr, which displayed a nice and simplistic time and battery interface on your display whenever you had your iPhone plugged into a power source.

But now, a new jailbreak tweak called Volt is challenging Vettr head-on with a number of features that you can customize to your liking. We'll show you what Volt is all about in this review.

LocationHandle lets you spoof your location on iOS 9.3.3 [jailbreak]

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 25, 2016

Your location is an important piece of information, and sometimes apps ask for it. If you're somewhat of a privacy monger, then you might like to keep a lot of apps from acquiring your true location and logging information about you.

With a new jailbreak tweak called LocationHandle, you can actually spoof your location. This tweak works on iOS 9.3.3, unlike many other popular location-spoofing jailbreak tweaks, and we'll show you how it works in this review.

Downgrading to iOS 9.3.3 now impossible as Apple stops signing software

Sébastien Page ∙ August 24, 2016

Nearly three weeks after releasing iOS 9.3.4, Apple has closed the signing window for iOS 9.3.3 and iOS 9.3.2, making it impossible to downgrade from the latest firmware version available to these older ones.

Code strings in macOS Sierra hint at future Macs with 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 support

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 22, 2017

Code strings found in the latest beta of macOS Sierra—originally discovered in the macOS API definitions by app developer Felix Schwartz back in June—indicate that future Macs will almost certainly support the latest USB 3.1 Gen 2 standard, which allows for up to 10 Gbps transfer speeds. While plans regarding future Macs could change, we fully expect the upcoming machines—just like existing and previous Macs—to support the latest and greatest in USB and Thunderbolt tech.

Major record label reportedly bans “exclusive” deals with Apple Music and other services

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 29, 2016

Apple's practice of locking down long-term exclusive deals with artists has reportedly drawn ire from Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's biggest major label. Frank Ocean’s recent exclusive deal with Apple was a wakeup call for the industry, with UMG set to curtail its practice of supplying Apple Music and other services with longterm exclusives.

“It’s our job to make sure that there’s not just one winner in music streaming,” a source told BuzzFeed News.

Report: Deutsche Telekom to lure customers with 6 months of Apple Music for free

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 24, 2016

German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom is reportedly planning to lure prospective customers into the fold by enticing them with six free months of Apple Music, about a $60 value.

German-language blog iPhone-ticker.de reported Wednesday that Deutsche Telekom is set to announce the offer at IFA in Berlin, Europe's largest consumer electronics show that runs September 2-7.

A fascinating look at how artificial intelligence and machine learning work at Apple

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 22, 2017

Respected journalist Steven Levy has scored another nice exclusive with a new write-up over at Backchannel, a Wired Media Group property, giving us a rare inside look at how artificial intelligence and machine learning work at Apple.

The article contains a lot of gems, with company executives Eddy Cue, Craig Federighi, Phil Schiller and Siri leads Tom Gruber and Alex Acero providing a bunch of previously unknown facts about Apple's AI efforts, including this one: machine learning has enabled Apple to cut Siri's error rate by a factor or two.

Twelve South launches BookBook and SurfacePad cases for 9.7″ iPad Pro

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 24, 2016

Premium accessory maker Twelve South today added a new 9.7" iPad Pro-optimized member to its vintage-style Book Book cases, three months following Book Book for 12.9-inch iPad Pro that debuted in early-summer. The company also said that customers can now pick up Surface Pad covers for their 9.7-inch iPad Pro. The new Book Book for the 9.7-inch tablet is priced at $79.99, or $99.99 for the Rutledge Edition.

As for the stylish SurfacePad sleeve for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, it'll set you back $79.99.

Apple customers spend an estimated $1 per day

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 24, 2016

A lot has been said about Apple's various services like the iTunes and App Stores, Apple Pay, Apple Music, Apple Care and others now making more money than its Mac business. In the June quarter, for example, the Services category shot up 20 percent year-over-year, raking in nearly $6 billion in quarterly revenue and making Services the second largest part of Apple's revenue overall.

Services allow Apple to generate a steady stream of revenue from existing devices, leading Asymco analyst Horace Dediu to estimate in an interview with The Financial Times that, including hardware and software, existing Apple customers currently spend around $1 per day.

Obviously fake iPhone 6SE packaging photos are circulating around the Internet

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 24, 2016

Some reputable outlets are running supposed photographs of the supposed packaging for Apple's supposed 'iPhone 6SE' smartphone—despite the fact that the images have been identified as poorly faked Photoshop mockups. The understandable excitement around those obviously doctored shots stems from a very sketchy post by German blog Apfelpage.de.

Earlier in the summer, that outlet made unsubstantiated claims that Apple might market the iPhone 7 under the 'iPhone 6SE' moniker or perhaps release an updated iPhone SE with iPhone 6-style design, neither of which makes any sense to me.