Year: 2016

It seems that iOS 10 beta 2 locks some people out of their Apple ID

Some folks with iOS 10 beta 2 installed on their iPhone are finding that they've been locked out of their Apple ID account, unable to perform a password reset. As per a new thread on Reddit, the problem seems to affect a portion of iOS 10 beta 2 users whose Apple ID account has been protected with Apple's two-step authentication system, which requires both a password and a one-time six-digit code when using iCloud on a new device.

We're posting this as convenience for those who have been affected. If you're seeing this, you probably don't need to worry about your Apple ID being hacked and unrecoverable, it's just a bug in iOS 10 beta 2.

macOS Sierra preview: Auto Unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch

Auto Unlock, a new feature in macOS Sierra, gives you instant access to your Mac when you’re wearing an Apple Watch. As its marketing name suggest, Auto Unlock is seamless. You simply wake your Mac from sleep while wearing your watch, and boom—just like that, you’re logged in and ready to go, no password typing required. Here's our entertaining video walkthrough of Auto Unlock and a detailed overview of the feature for those interested in its inner workings and intricacies.

Pokémon GO launches on US App Store

Following a period of field-testing in the United States, Nintendo's augmented-reality game Pokémon GO should become available shortly on App Stores in select countries, including the United States and Japan. A Pokémon Company spokesperson told a Wall Street Journal reporter to “please wait for a while” for formal launch of the game.

Update: Pokémon GO is now available in the US App Store.

The download is already live on the New Zealand and Australian App Stores and is expected to launch later today on the Japanese and US App Stores.

Pokémon GO is Nintendo's second iOS game after Miitomo, an odd title designed as “a friendly conversation starter” and based on Nintendo's lucrative Mii universe.

Verizon launches new wireless plans with higher prices and more data

Verizon on Wednesday announced a new wireless plan platform and several new features for its customers. The new plan is more expensive, but it includes at least 30% more data than the previous offering, as well as new stuff like Carryover Data and Safety Mode.

It looks like they're calling it simply the new Verizon Plan, and it comes in 5 flavors: Small, Medium, Large, X-Large and XX-Large. The Small option costs $35 per month for 2GB (previously $30/month for 1GB), and the XXL gives you 24GB for $110 per month.

Snapchat brings Memories to iOS app with My Eyes Only mode and other perks

Snapchat today announced a major update to its free-of-charge mobile application on the App Store. The new version brings out a major new feature, Memories, a new way to save a personal collection of your favorite Snaps and Stories. Also, the app now lets you send Snaps and make new Stories from Memories, find other people's Moments with search and more. To open Memories, just swipe up from Snapchat's built-in camera.

Apple Pay support code makes its first appearance in Safari Technology Preview 8

Safari Technology Preview, an experimental version of the Safari browser meant for testing upcoming new capabilities and web technologies, is a good place to look for clues regarding new features in development. Today, Apple released an eighth update to Safari Technology Preview, which debuted in March 2016, and the browser appears to include pieces of code to support the upcoming Apple Pay integration with websites.

iOS 9.3.3 beta 5, tvOS 9.2.2 beta 5 and OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 beta 5 released for testing

Two weeks after seeding a fourth beta of iOS 9.3.3, Apple today released a fifth beta of the mostly bug-fix software update to members of the Apple Developer Program and public beta testers signed up with the Apple Beta Software Program. The new software is available as an over-the-air update on devices running a prior beta of iOS 9.3.3 through the Software Update mechanism in Settings. Apple also released tvOS 9.2.2 beta 5 to its registered developers and OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 beta 5 to developers and public beta testers.

Has Apple gone mad? More iOS 10 parts left unencrypted in beta 2

As you know, security experts were baffled realizing that the iOS 10 kernel in beta 1 was not encrypted. Apple argued it was no big deal because the kernel contained no user data so the company had left it unencrypted intentionally in order to increase general system performance, in their own words.

But Apple didn't stop there.

As first discovered by prominent jailbreak developer and iPhone hacker, MuscleNerd, iOS 10 beta 2 actually leaves more parts of the operating system unencrypted.

What's going on here?

CAD renderings “confirm” many rumored iPhone 7 features

I generally avoid using the verb “confirm” together with “rumor” and its synonyms in the same sentence, but in this particular instance it's probably the right thing to do. Last night, claimed iPhone 7 technical drawings began circulating around the web, seemingly confirming many of the previously published rumors regarding Apple's upcoming smartphone refresh.

Re-posted by French blog NowhereElse.fr and originally published on Chinese social media, these CAD renderings show a notably subdued antenna lines, no headphone jack, a pair of speaker grilles for stereo sound at the bottom, dual-cameras on the back of the 5.5-inch model and an enlarged single-camera hole on the 4.7-inch model, among other interesting features.

Does your iPhone support Raise to Wake on iOS 10?

iOS 10 makes waking your iPhone from sleep as easy as raising it in your hand. Aptly named Raise to Wake, this useful feature automatically wakes the screen as you raise the device so that you can instantly see all your notifications at a glance. It may sound like it's no big deal, but it is. However, Raise to Wake requires iOS to constantly capture and interpret data from the iPhone's many sensors to determine how you're holding the phone in your hand.

In order to realize this feature in a power-frinedly manner, it reads data from the sensors using  an Apple-designed motion coprocessor, which also happens to be required for tetherless 'Hey Siri' functionality. So, does your iPhone support Raise to Wake on iOS 10 or not?