Year: 2016

Apple’s created mockups of iMessage for Android, including one with pure Material Design

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 25, 2016

I was just reading a post titled “On iMessage's Stickiness” from Apple pundit John Gruber, published last evening on his Daring Fireball blog, and stumbled upon an interesting passage alleging that Apple's created several mockups of iMessage for Android.

One of the mockups of iMessage for Android reportedly looks like a carbon copy of its iOS counterpart, with another one based on Google's Material Design guidelines.

“I’ve heard from little birdies that mockups of iMessage for Android have circulated within the company, with varying UI styles ranging from looking like the iOS Messages app to pure Material Design,” reads the post.

Commuters struggling to register their train passes following Japan’s Apple Pay launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 25, 2016

Following its official launch in Japan, Apple Pay has experienced a rocky debut in the 127 million people market as commuters struggled to register their train passes onto iPhones for more than ten hours amid apparent system overload.

Many people in Japan use their rail passes that double as electronic money cards.

According to Bloomberg, the trouble started shortly after 9am in Tokyo as users began reporting issues adding their cards to Apple Pay.

Let’s Talk iOS 158: Thursday’s Mac event predictions

Sébastien Page ∙ October 25, 2016

One month in, Sebastien reports about the state of micro-abrasions on his iPhone 7. The guys then talk about the recent release of iOS 10.1, and a new one-handed keyboard discovered in iOS code. Of course, at the eve of Apple's October event, Cody and Sebastien discuss the potential for future Macs and what the company might unveil on Thursday.

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PlayDismiss hides the controls in the iOS video player the moment you tap Play

Anthony Bouchard ∙ October 25, 2016

Do you watch a lot of videos on your jailbroken iPhone or iPad? If so, then you should check out a new free jailbreak tweak called PlayDismiss. The tweak aims to improve the experience of playing videos on the platform by reducing clutter as quickly as possible when you play a video.

Pokémon GO update adds new egg designs, Pokémon type indicators, and other minor improvements

Anthony Bouchard ∙ October 25, 2016

Pokémon GO for both Android and iOS has been updated this week with a number of aesthetic changes and fixes that will make egg hatching and Pokémon type deciphering easier, among other things.

The update brings the game up to version 1.13.3 for iOS.

How to snap Picture-in-Picture videos anywhere on your Mac screen

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 7, 2025

Learn how to place a video playing in a floating picture-in-picture window overlay anywhere on your Mac's screen instead of automatically snapping to corners.

Apple Pay launches in Japan

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 24, 2016

Apple Pay today launched in Japan, one of Apple's most important markets and home to population of 127 million souls. Marking its twelfth major market, Apple Pay permits Japanese customers to make private credit and prepaid card purchases in stores, online and in apps, plus commute and pay for everyday items with Suica from JR East.

To support the service, Apple today issued the free iOS 10.1 software update which has enabled support for transit directions in Japan to help users find ride details, including fare breakdowns that automatically show Suica pricing on their device.

Apple releases macOS Sierra 10.12.1, watchOS 3.1 and tvOS 10.0.1 with bug fixes and improvements

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

In addition to iOS 10.1, Apple on Monday released updates for its other 3 growing software platforms. After a month of beta testing, macOS Sierra 10.12.1, watchOS 3.1 and tvOS 10.0.1 are now available to the public and can be installed via their respective over-the-air Update mechanisms.

Apple releases iOS 10.1 with Portrait mode and other improvements

Cody Lee ∙ October 24, 2016

Apple on Monday pushed out the iOS 10.1 software update for iPhone and iPad. The release comes after more than a month of beta testing, and it includes various improvements and one major new user-facing feature: Portrait mode, which is exclusive to the dual-camera iPhone 7 Plus.

First introduced at Apple's iPhone event in September, Portrait mode is a new setting in the stock Camera app that uses the 7 Plus' wide angle lens to gather perspective data for a photo. This allows the handset to take photos with a depth-of-field, or 'bokeh,' effect with blurry backgrounds.

Trademarks for three new MacBooks discovered in Russia ahead of Apple’s “Hello again” event

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 27, 2016

French-language publication Consomac.fr has discovered a trio of previously unknown trademarks for unreleased MacBook models as Apple preps to share what's new for its aging Mac lineup at the “Hello again” media event scheduled for this Thursday, October 27. Apple filed three trademarks for “portable personal computers” in Russia, possibly in order to keep them secret for as long as possible.

It's worth noting that Russian law requires foreign companies to register any products that use encryption or provide other cryptographic tools.

The documents found in the Eurasian Economic Commission database mention model numbers that cannot be linked to existing hardware: A1706, A1707 and A1708.

iPhone manufacturer Foxconn planning to expand its operations in India next year

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 24, 2016

A May report from The Economic Times alleged that Apple had approached Foxconn about assembling iPhones in India in the next two to three years. The Economic Times of India confirmed Monday that Foxconn will be expanding its operations in India next year, backing its $600 million investments already made in the country.