Year: 2016

Limitless: the curious case of the Cydia fork project

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ December 6, 2016

John Coates, the creator of the popular patching platform Flex and a well-respected developer in the jailbreak community, announced this week the first public releases of a new endeavour called Limitless. Currently at Beta 6, this ambitious open project aims to bring newer features to Cydia's traditional functionality by freeing it from some of the constraints which the stalwart package installer faces, for example, version compatibility reaching through every iOS back to iOS 2.0.

Let’s Talk iOS 164: A battery of problems

Sébastien Page ∙ December 6, 2016

Cody got a new MacBook Pro but he doesn't talk much about it. The guys discuss the calendar spam issue that has been plaguing users and how to prevent it. They also talk about battery problems that affect some iPhone 6s users, the new Spark mail app for Mac, DirecTV Now, and more.

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Support Let’s Talk iOS: Get $50 towards any mattress purchase by going to Casper.com/ios and using code ios.

How to switch to Power Reserve mode on watchOS 3

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated August 8, 2024

If you are not closely tracking every subtle interface change that Apple puts into practice on iOS, macOS or watchOS, it is likely you have entirely lost sight of a smaller feature or setting before. This is because, in short, Apple likes to relocate and thereby slowly supplant features no longer withstanding the test of time. With watchOS 3, the complete renovation of the operating system and reinvention of the Side button on top of it has had a similar ripple effect for numerous older features.

Power Reserve mode has become one of such cases, a feature still of much use despite the improved battery performance on Apple Watch Series 1 and 2. It used to be as easy as holding down the Side button and swiping to activate Power Reserve, but mind you, nothing is permanent with Apple and it has been silently relocated since. In case you have been caught napping on Power Reserve, let's quickly fill you in on how to deploy the potential life saver on the latest watchOS.

Tim Cook: Apple Watch sales set new record during first week of holiday shopping

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Sales of the Apple Watch to consumers set a record during the first week of holiday shopping, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an emailed statement to Reuters. Additionally, he says the current quarter is on track to be the best ever for the wearable.

The comments were in response to a Monday report from technology research firm IDC, which estimated that Apple sold just 1.1 million Watches during its Q3, down 71% from the year-ago quarter. But Cook says its growth is off the charts.

Apple airs new ‘Romeo and Juliet’ ad showcasing the iPhone 7’s camera

Cody Lee ∙ December 5, 2016

Apple on Monday night posted a new iPhone 7 commercial it's calling 'Romeo and Juliet.' The ad, which aired during Monday Night Football, highlights the video recording capabilities of the company's latest handset.

The spot opens with two children acting out a scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It looks very movie-esque, until the camera zooms out and you see a father sitting in the audience, recording the play on his iPhone.

iCloud account & sign in services and web apps are down [U: resolved]

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2016

According to multiple reports on Twitter that have since been officially acknowledged on Apple's own System Status dashboard webpage, some iCloud services are currently down for an unknown number of customers, including Account & Sign In services and web apps available through iCloud.com.

Login issues seem to have been affecting users since at 8am Pacific time, according to Apple. Is your device putting up a prompt repeatedly saying it cannot sign in to iCloud? Well, now you know why.

UPDATE 2:45pm Pacific: All iCloud services are now operational.

Amazon’s new grocery store uses artificial intelligence and sensors to eliminate checkout

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2016

Online retail giant Amazon is testing a new type of brick-and-mortar convenience store where you simply walk in, pick up your items and walk out, no clerk or a cash register required whatsoever because everything you've put in the shopping basket is automatically charged to your Prime account as soon as you leave the store. Located at 2131 7th Ave in Seattle, the futuristic grocery store, dubbed Amazon Go, has been four years in the making.

The system uses computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning to detect when goods are removed and returned to the shelves. Amazon's retail store of the future that eliminates checkout is launching in early-2017.

App Store refund policy under fire from Korean game publishers

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2016

Apple's app refund policy on the App Store has come under fire from South Korean game developers who are complaining about a loophole that permits ill-minded users to purchase charged content multiple times, request refunds and continue to consume the content without actually paying for it.

The Korea Times is reporting that the issue stems from Apple's policy of withholding information about those who have been issued a refund.

You can now start Chrome in Voice Search or Incognito mode from Spotlight Search

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2016

Google added Spotlight Search integration to Chrome for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch back in January 2016, allowing you to search for your Google bookmarks using iOS's Spotlight feature. Today, the Internet giant issued a small update to Chrome for iOS, bumping version number to 55.0.2883.79 and adding a pair of enhancements.

The first lets you start Chrome in Voice Search mode or open a new Incognito tab right from Spotligh.

As for the other change, Google has now removed the folder named All Bookmarks from your bookmarks view in Chrome “by popular request”.

Apple seeds iOS 10.2 beta 6, and fifth betas of watchOS 3.1.1 and macOS 10.12.2

Cody Lee ∙ December 5, 2016

Apple on Monday released iOS 10.2 beta 6, watchOS 3.1.1 beta 5 and macOS 10.12.2 beta 5. Developers can install the updates via the company's dev portal, or via each platform's respective OTA update mechanism, and both iOS 10.2 and macOS betas are available to public testers.

The new betas come one week after Apple seeded beta 4 to developers, and just a few days after iOS 10.2 beta 5 was released. The rapid rollout suggests we are close to seeing public versions of the software—likely before the iTunes Connect holiday shutdown coming up in 2 weeks.

How to read and write messages in landscape orientation on iOS 10

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2016

Apple's much improved, expressive Messages app is one of the hallmark new features of iOS 10. We've noticed that some people have been wondering if Apple has removed the message compose in landscape mode from Messages on iOS 10.

In iOS 9 and earlier, turning the device upside down allowed you to read and write messages in widescreen mode. On iOS 10, Messages defaults to showing a dedicated interface for handwritten messages in landscape orientation.

Thankfully, iOS 10 still supports reading and composing messages in landscape orientation with a tap of a special button, let us show you how.

Map your runs accurately without iPhone in Runkeeper’s latest Apple Watch update

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2016

If you own an Apple Watch Series 2, you can leave your iPhone at home the next time you go on a run with Runkeeper as the app's just been updated with full support for the built-in GPS on the Apple Watch Series 2. Runkeeper's refreshed experience also includes new active metrics with charts for target pace and heart rate.

Runkeeper is a free download from the App Store.