Year: 2016

Apple SIM partner AlwaysOnline Wireless unveils new UK plans, expands in 29 countries

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 3, 2016

Apple SIM is available in 140+ countries via GigSky, but now customers traveling abroad have additional choices when it comes to buying short-term data plans on the go, directly from their cellular-enabled iPad, thanks to a company called AlwaysOnline Wireless which today announced that its 4G LTE roaming network is now available via Apple SIM in the United States and 28 additional countries.

The company also launched new data plans in the United Kingdom via a partnership with British wireless carrier Three: an hourly plan with 100MB of 4G LTE for $0.49 (£0.37), a daily plan with 500MB of 4G LTE for $5.99 (£4.50), a 1GB plan for $10.99 (£8.26), a 3GB plan for $18.99 (£14.28) and a 5GB plan for $29.99 (£22.55).

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Video: all iPhone sapphire lenses scratch tested

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 3, 2016

As you may know, Apple's marketing boss Phil Schiller recently insisted that rumors of the iPhone 7's Home button and camera lens not being covered in pure sapphire were false. However, YouTuber JerryRigEverything has found that these parts do leave scratch marks at a level six on the Mohs scale of hardness, which is odd given that pure sapphire crystal should sustain scratches up to a level nine.

Apple on its website states that all of the iPhones it currently sells offer sapphire protection for the Touch ID sensor and iSight camera, which doesn't explain why these parts appear to scratch more easily than they should.

Could Apple be using a sapphire/glass hybrid or even a normal tempered glass rather than a 100 percent sapphire crystal? That's what JerryRigEverything set out to find in a comprehensive scratch test video of the iPhone SE/6/6s/7 series.

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Report: new iPad mini Pro, 10.1″ iPad Pro & updated 12.9″ model due in Spring 2017

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 3, 2016

Japanese blog Mac Otakara has heard from reliable sources that Apple is gearing up to refresh its iPad lineup in Spring of 2017 with an updated 12.9-inch iPad Pro model, a new 10.1-inch model joining the lineup and a fifth-generation iPad mini, which should gained the 'Pro' moniker and be marketed by Apple simply as the 7.9-inch iPad mini Pro.

For the most part, the outlet corroborated a previous report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with one major difference: Kuo claimed Apple would be releasing a 10.5-inch model iPad Pro model next year, not the 10.1-inch device mentioned in Mac Otakara's report.

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Wallpapers of the week: iPhone 7 internals

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Typically, the Wallpapers of the Week section adds beautiful, photo quality images to our catalogue. From galaxy to geometric CGI, our wallpapers focus on the world around us. However, in a twist, today's wallpapers help us look through our iPhone screens into a world of circuitry.

iFixit is well known for breaking down the latest devices to determine repairability, provide walkthroughs on the internals, and create repair kits for those looking to complete their own work. As jailbreakers and modders at iDB, we are big fans of their work. Today's wallpapers are full resolution images of iPhone internal components. Making your own device a window into itself.

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Jailbreak tweaks of the week: Vinculum, Lithium Ion, & more…

Anthony Bouchard ∙ October 2, 2016

With the launch of the new iPhone 7 & 7 Plus, and the release of iOS 10 not too long ago, the jailbreak is in a bit of a lull right now. Nevertheless, Cydia is still surprising us with new jailbreak tweak releases throughout the week, and we've been covering them as they've been launched.

In this roundup, we'll show you all the jailbreak tweaks that were released this week, starting with our favorites.

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Apple ordered to pay VirnetX $302.4 million in patent retrial

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 1, 2016

A jury has ordered Apple to pay $302.4 million to VirnetX Holding Corp over using its patented virtual private networking protocols in FaceTime and iMessage on the iPhone, iPad and Mac. The case will now go to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington DC before VirnetX sees any payout, Reuters and Bloomberg reported today.

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Apple threatens pulling an app for pranking friends with stickers that mimic iMessage bubbles

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 1, 2018

Apple on Friday threatened to pull Phoneys, a 99-cent sticker pack which lets you prank friends by putting words in their mouth. The #1 Top Paid item in the Messages App Store, Phoneys employs a simple trick to make the illusion work: it provides stickers that look exactly like the blue iMessage bubbles. Phoneys developer Adam Howell says Apple told him it would be pulling the app next Thursday unless it's fundamentally changed so that the stickers looked nothing like iMessage bubbles.

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TSMC to start mass producing 10nm chips nearly a year ahead of Intel

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), which builds Apple's in-house designed A10 Fusion chip that powers the iPhone 7, has confirmed mass production of ten-nanometer chips for clients will kick off by year-end, beating Intel by almost a year in terms of high-performance silicon.

Chip maker Intel's own ten-nanometer chips are due in second half of 2017.

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Latest 4K drone flyovers show off iSpaceship facade glowing at night & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 30, 2016

A pair of new flyover videos from YouTubers Duncan Sinfield and Matthew Roberts reveal that Apple has installed exterior lights at Apple Campus 2 site, showing the iSpaceship building facade glowing at night. It's quite a spectacular sight given the enormous scale of the flying saucer-shaped structure.

Apple Campus 2, as it's officially called, will become home to more than 12,000 employees when it's completed some time in early 2017.

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