Year: 2016

First claimed photo of iPhone 7’s A10 chip surfaces

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 10, 2016

We may have just been treated to our first glimpse of Apple's next-generation A10 system-on-a-chip that should power the forthcoming iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus devices.

Leaked on the web through a Weibo account that belongs to Chinese repair shop GeekBar, which in the past provided genuine components for unreleased Apple products, the chip's label suggests it was manufactured in mid-July.

What's more, the package has the same number of pins as its predecessor, potentially alluding that it could sport the same 64-bit LPDDR4 interface like the current A9 chip.

India’s finance minister ratifies a proposal that’d let Apple run retail stores in the country

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 10, 2016

Apple is one step closer to opening first-party retail stores in India, its increasingly significant market with population of 1.3 billion people, with a new Bloomberg report claiming that India’s finance minister Arun Jaitley has approved a proposal that clarifies how Apple could open retail stores without initially having to source components locally.

Last month, the cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a three-year extension on local-sourcing rules that require foreign firms wanting to run their own local retail stores to source at least 30 percent of components within the populous country.

Tip: quickly measure your Netflix streaming speed with this iPhone app

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 10, 2016

Netflix yesterday announced a brand new iPhone app on the App Store which it designed to let you quickly measure how fast your broadband downlink is by testing the connection to Netflix’s servers. The goal of the free app, aptly named Fast, is to give Netflix subscribers a better understanding of the streaming quality they can expect from the service on their Internet connection. It's not a replacement for SpeedTest or similar software and does not measure the uplink speed because it has little effect on streaming quality.

Will overhauled MacBook Pros debut alongside iPhone 7 in September or in October?

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 10, 2016

In an article this morning, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman rehashed much of the previous rumors regarding Apple's widely expected MacBook Pro refresh with Touch ID, AMD GPU, an OLED touch strip replacing the row of function keys and more. As per the report, these new MacBook Pros “aren’t likely” to debut alongside the new phones at the September 7 iPhone media event.

Which brings me to our question of the day: will the new machines launch in September, October or maybe even later? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Craig Federighi and Eddy Cue on learning from Maps debacle and improving the service

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 10, 2016

Monday, Fast Company interviewed CEO Tim Cook and other Apple executives, with Cook revealing that public iOS betas actually exist to help improve the Maps service, which was widely panned and ridiculed over egregious inaccuracies shortly after its September 2012 debut.

Today, the publication interviewed Eddy Cue, Apple's boss of Internet Software and Services, and Craig Federighi, who is Apple's chief of Software Engineering, on learning from Maps failures.

Here's what they had to say about improving Maps over the years.

Bloomberg: next-gen MacBook Pro with OLED touch strip “most significant update in 4 years”

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 22, 2017

Bloomberg threw its weight today behind rumors that a next-generation MacBook Pro would have Touch ID and an OLED touch strip with programmable shortcuts replacing the function key row, among other features first predicted by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Author Mark Gurman now writes for Bloomberg that the new MacBook Pros represent “the most significant upgrade” to the lineup in four years with the updated, thinner notebooks offering more powerful graphics processors “for expert users such as video gamers” and design features like a smaller footprint, thinner appearance, a bigger trackpad and more.

DigiTimes: TSMC to build 16nm Apple Watch 2 chip

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 10, 2016

An Apple-designed 'S2' system-in-package that will power a second-generation Apple Watch won't be produced by Samsung, like the original Apple Watch's S1 chip. According to a new report by Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes, semiconductor foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has managed to beat Samsung in securing S2 orders. In fact, both the second-generation Apple Watch and an enhanced version of the original Apple Watch will be driven by the S2 chip, built using TSMC's 16-nanometer process technology.

Cleo brings a rich alternative styling to Control Center

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 10, 2016

One of my absolute favorite parts about jailbreaking is how creative developers are able to manipulate iOS' UI and animations to look so much nicer than they do out of the box, all while still containing all of the necessary functionality you need and demand.

A new jailbreak tweak release called Cleo does this by giving Control Center a sexy new look and feel.

LockShot tweaks your Lock screen so you can almost see what’s behind it

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 10, 2016

LockShot is a new jailbreak tweak in Cydia that brings a new blurred aesthetic to the Lock screen so you can see what's behind it.

In this review, we'll show you how it works and provide some examples of its tantalizing appearance.

Everything new in iOS 10 beta 5

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 14, 2017

Somewhat unexpectedly, Apple this morning issued new developer-only betas of iOS 10, macOS Sierra, tvOS 10 and watchOS 3—a mere week after posting their respective fourth beta. While Apple's release notes for iOS 10 beta 5 (build number “14A5335b”) mention no new features as we inch closer to a Gold Master, there are a few tidbits and tweaks to wet your appetite.

Aside from other changes, for instance, iOS 10 beta packs in a new lock sound and lets you download apps from the App Store after a reboot without needing to re-authorize Touch ID purchase with your Apple ID password.

Unencrypted iOS 10 kernel poses no risk to platform security or user data

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 9, 2016

Apple's unexpected decision to leave certain parts of the iOS 10 kernel unencrypted didn't sit well with some privacy advocates over fears that the move could aid nefarious users to look for security weaknesses in the iOS software. But as it turns out, we now know that an unencrypted kernel allows iOS 10 to run faster: Ivan Krstić, Apple's head of Security Engineering and Architecture, explained at the Black Hat security conference that the unencrypted iOS 10 kernel has absolutely no impact on platform security nor does it decrease security of encrypted user data.

Apple issues fifth betas of tvOS 10 and watchOS 3

Cody Lee ∙ August 9, 2016

Following iOS 10 and macOS Sierra releases, Apple on Tuesday issued beta 5 of both tvOS 10 and watchOS 3. Registered developers with updated profiles can install the over-the-air updates via the Watch app in iOS 10, or the Update mechanism in tvOS 10.

The updates come just a week after Apple sent out fourth betas to developers, suggesting we are now in the finishing touches stage ahead of their expected fall releases. Both tvOS 10 and watchOS 3 have been in beta since they were introduced in June.