Cody Lee

Cody Lee, iDownloadBlog.com’s longest-serving Editor, joined the site in 2008. He specializes in uncovering the best deals on Apple products, apps, and accessories. With years of experience in technology journalism, Cody helps readers save money while staying informed about the latest trends and updates in the Apple ecosystem. Cody’s history with smartphones goes almost as far back as he does. As the son of a Nokia employee, he was exposed early on to handsets like the N91 and the Communicator. He has since been involved in nearly every aspect of the mobile phone industry. While going to college, he worked at a Nokia factory, building handsets, and later moved on to a sales position at a major wireless carrier.

The best smart scales

Whether you're looking to track your progress on the way to a weight goal, or you just simply want to be a little healthier, smart scales are useful tools. They're accurate, provide valuable data, and sync up with your smartphone so you can easily log and share your results.

There's a lot to consider when shopping for a smart scale including price, features, app compatibility, and customer ratings. To help you make the right decision, we've decided to put together a roundup of what we think are the best smart scales on the market right now.

Apple seeds sixth betas of iOS 10.3 and macOS Sierra 10.12.4

Apple on Monday seeded the sixth betas of iOS 10.3 and macOS Sierra 10.12.4. Registered developers can install the new betas either via over the air update mechanisms, or as standalone downloads from Apple's Developer Center.

Today's releases come less than a week after Apple issued beta 5 of both iOS 10.3 and macOS Sierra 10.12.4, indicating Apple may be closing in on remaining bugs and preparing to launch the software publicly in the near future.

ZenScreen, Chroma, Flyr, and other apps to check out this weekend

Looking for some new apps to try this weekend? iDB has you covered. In this week's edition of our Apps of the Week roundup, we've selected some great new apps including a wallpaper-maker, an adult coloring book, and an interactive video platform. And as always, we've also picked two great new games for you to check out.

Apple-backed Didi Chuxing opens self-driving lab near Cupertino

Didi Chuxing, the leading ride-hailing company in China, has opened an artificial intelligence lab near Apple's Cupertino headquarters, reports Recode. The lab is located in Mountain View, CA and it will focus on "intelligent driving systems."

Apple last May invested $1 billion in Didi, which earned it a seat on the company's board, and given that it's rumored to be working on its own self-driving system, the location of the new R&D lab—6 miles from Cupertino—is interesting.

Tim Cook: you will see Apple do more in the pro space

Apple on Tuesday held its annual shareholder meeting at its Cupertino headquarters. The gathering is standard affair—company executives and board members meet with stockholders to discuss a wide range of topics, including performance and proposals.

The most interesting part of today's meeting, however, was Tim Cook's informal Q&A session. The casual section allows attending shareholders to offer up their questions and comments to the CEO and other members of the company's senior leadership team.

Apple seeds tvOS 10.2 beta 4 to developers

Apple on Tuesday seeded tvOS 10.2 beta 4 (build 14W5252c) to developers. The release comes just over a week after the third beta was released and a month after tvOS 10.1.1 launched to the public. The software can be installed over the air on compatible Apple TVs with the appropriate profile.

According to what we've seen in Apple's release notes for tvOS 10.2, the update improves scrolling behavior so users can sift through longer lists more quickly. The feature is activated with a large swipe on the Siri Remote touchpad, and a far right-side swipe brings up index options.

Report: U.S. iPhone users spent an average of $40 on apps last year

iPhone owners in the United States spent an average of $40 on apps last year, reports analytics firm Sensor Tower. That number includes both premium and in-app purchases, and it represents a $5 increase from 2015.

Unsurprisingly, most of that money is going to games. Sensor Tower says more than 80% of US App Store revenue in 2016 came from games, and it shows on the device level—users spent an average of $27 on games.

Facebook in talks to live stream MLB games this season

Facebook is in talks with Major League Baseball to live stream games this season, reports Reuters. The deal would include at least one game per week, which could be accessed for free by users logged into the platform.

The move comes just a week after Facebook announced plans for a video-focused Apple TV app, as part of the social network's efforts to push further into original programming—a strategy shared by several tech firms.