Year: 2016

Apple seeds iOS 10 beta 7 to developers, beta 6 to public testers

Apple on Friday seeded the seventh beta of iOS 10 to developers. Registered developers running the latest betas can access the update via the OTA mechanism in iOS, or as a standalone download via Apple’s developer center.

Today's release obviously comes as a surprise, given that Apple just issued beta 6 on Monday. The timing suggests that Apple has entered the fine-tuning stage, as it prepares to release iOS 10 to the public in the next few weeks.

Apple and other tech giants join forces with FCC to crack down on spammy robocalls

Robocalls, phone calls that uses a computerized autodialer to deliver a pre-recorded message, may become a thing of the past as Apple, Google and other Silicon Valley giants join forces with the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to crack down on spammy automated phone calls, according to Reuters this morning.

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson is expected to make the announcement at the first “Robocall Strike Force” meeting at the FCC later today.

Double-capacity batteries loom, get ready for even thinner Apple gadgets

SolidEnergy Systems, MIT's commercial spin-off, has managed to create a technology which promises to double the capacity of standard lithium-ion batteries used in today's gadgets without increasing the size of the battery module.

The trick involves a simple tweak of existing technology that can be incorporated into existing production lines, theoretically bringing twice the battery power to our pockets from 2017.

I know what you're thinking, but don't hold your breath for an iPhone with 2x stronger battery. Given Apple's focus on thinness, thinner iPhones with the same or marginally better run time as existing models are much more likely.

Sony announces $499 aftermarket CarPlay audio system, arriving in November

If you mind buying a brand spanking new car just to get CarPlay, aftermarket solutions from Pioneer, Alpine and Kenwood allow you to add Apple's in-car infotainment system to older vehicles.

Now Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony has unveiled its first-ever in-car audio system with CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.

It sports high-fidelity sound and includes voice command features, Siri integration with support for Maps, Music and iMessage features, plus other perks.

Twitter gains features to limit notifications and filter out lower-quality content

Twitter continues adding features to let users control and personalize their experience on the service with yesterday's announcement of a new quality filter and notification settings.

Now available in Twitter 6.6 for iOS, the new content quality switch allows you to optionally weed out lower-quality tweets from your feed, notifications and other parts of your Twitter experience.

“It does not filter content from people you follow or accounts you’ve recently interacted with – and depending on your preferences, you can turn it on or off in your notifications settings,” cautioned the service.

Taiwanese suppliers refuse to lower their quotes for iPhone 7 components

Apple may be forced to amend its purchasing policy when it comes to securing various components that go into its handsets, according to a report Friday by trade publication DigiTimes.

The company's policy of constantly squeezing profits from suppliers has been challenged by Taiwanese companies who have now refused to lower their quotes for iPhone 7 parts.

Suppliers like advanced packaging technology maker Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE), along with many others under the Foxconn Group, reportedly told the iPhone maker that they “could not be able to accept orders without reasonable profits”.

NYT is shutting down its Now app on August 29

Released in March of 2014, The New York Times' news curation app, NYT Now, is scheduled to shut down on August 29, the newspaper announced in a blog post.

The app debuted as a more affordable alternative to the paper's digital subscriptions, offering premium content for as low as $8 per month. It was regularly updated and at one point even gained features like 1Password integration.

This tweak makes Siri less impatient so you can take your time speaking

A lot of times while using Siri, you might have to repeat yourself or start over while you're talking because if you speak too slowly, or pause while you're talking, you'll get the "I didn't quite get that" message.

As frustrating as this can be, especially in louder environments, a new free jailbreak tweak called SiriKeepListening now available in Cydia helps remedy this problem.

Frank Ocean releases ‘Endless’ visual album on Apple Music

Frank Ocean has released a new visual album entitled "Endless" exclusively on Apple Music. The 45-minute video features new songs from the popular R&B singer, and takes place in the same warehouse shown in the web feed on his website.

Endless comes roughly two weeks after it was reported that Mr. Ocean was preparing to release "Boys Don't Cry," his first new album since 2012. This of course never materialized, but the singer's rep says watch out for more content soon.