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.

Tim Cook’s charity lunch auction raises $515K for human rights

Cody Lee ∙ May 5, 2016

Tim Cook's annual CharityBuzz auction ended this afternoon, with the winning bid raising $515,000 for the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights. The winner of the auction will get a one-hour lunch date with Tim Cook at Apple headquarters, as well as tickets to an upcoming Apple keynote event.

There were over 40 bids in the auction, with the high bid nearly doubling over the last 24 hours. The lunch date is valid for up to two people, and will be scheduled at an agreed upon date, based on availability. Obviously the guests will be subject to security screenings, but don't worry, the cost of the meal is included.

Camera Plus goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Apple on Thursday updated its App of the Week promotion with the app Camera Plus (not to be confused with the popular Camera+). This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the photo editing app for free—a solid savings of a buck.

Camera Plus describes itself as the app for "the best macro photos and remote photography." It features the usual photo app options like filters and effects, but it also has special tools for taking close-up photos, and a feature called AirSnap for taking photos remotely.

Apple announces new enterprise partnership with SAP

Cody Lee ∙ May 5, 2016

Apple and SAP announced a new partnership on Thursday, which they hope will "revolutionize the mobile work experience for enterprise customers of all sizes." The joint effort will combine powerful native iOS apps with the cutting edge capabilities of SAP's HANA platform.

The two companies also plan to deliver a new SAP HANA Cloud Platform SDK exclusively for iOS that will provide businesses and developers the tools to build their own enterprise apps. And, as part of the deal, SAP will develop native iOS apps for critical business operations.

Siri creators to introduce new AI assistant ‘Viv’ next week

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

The creators of Siri are preparing to introduce a new AI assistant on Monday, reports The Washington Post. It's called 'Viv,' and it's far more advanced than Siri, capable of handling complex tasks like purchasing movie tickets or ordering pizza, without the need to switch between apps or other human interaction.

Unlike most virtual assistants today, which can understand precise queries and issue scripted responses, Viv can imitate "the spontaneity and knowledge base of a human assistant." So with this technology, and third-party app integration from the likes of Uber and Grubhub, Viv is expected to impress next week.

Tim Cook tells CNBC Apple has ‘great innovation in the pipeline’

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Tim Cook on Monday appeared on CNBC's 'Mad Money' to talk with host Jim Cramer about Apple's recent earnings report. The iPhone maker announced weaker-than-expected Q2 sales last week, and its stock has since dropped more than 10 points.

While the interview is transparently a PR move to let Wall Street know that Apple is still on the right path, Cook did offer up some interesting comments about the future of his company. Naturally, we've highlighted some of our favorites for you below.

Talkshow, Stuttr, Swish and other apps to check out this weekend

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

It's been kind of a crazy week. Apple reported not-so-impressive numbers during its Q2 earnings call on Tuesday afternoon, and that dominated the headlines for the past 4 days. So for those looking to unwind this weekend, we've put together a list of great apps and games for you to check out.

Apple updates iMovie for Mac with various visual and speed improvements

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple on Thursday pushed out a solid update for iMovie for Mac, bringing the popular video-editing software to version 10.1.2. The release brings about several improvements, including faster project creation, easier clip selection and more.

The focus of the update seems to be visual cues and speed. Apple added a New Project button in the Projects Browser and Larger project thumbnails on the visual side, and the ability to begin editing a project with a single click on the speed side.

Dragon Hills goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ April 28, 2016

Apple on Thursday updated its App of the Week promotion in iTunes with Dragon Hills. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the action-packed adventurer for free—a solid savings of $2.

In Dragon Hills, players take control of a dangerous dragon to help the furious princess on her revenge mission. You'll slide down the hills jumping into and out of the ground, crashing and destroying everything on your way.

15 interesting points from Apple’s Q2 2016 earnings call

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple announced the financial results for its fiscal second quarter of 2016 this afternoon, and the numbers are pretty rough. While they fall within the company's own guidance, iPhone sales are down 10 million units from the year-ago quarter, and revenue is down $7 billion.

We’ve just finished up the conference call, where Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri discussed Apple’s performance over the three-month period, and offered up some insights into its future. And as usual, we’ve rounded up the 15 most interesting points from the call below.

Apple’s Q2 2016 earnings: 51.2M iPhones, 10.2M iPads, $50.6B revenue

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple on Tuesday released its earnings report for the second [fiscal] quarter of 2016. The Cupertino company fulfilled expectations that it was going to report its first ever year-over-year decline in iPhone sales, moving just 51.2 million handsets vs. 61.2 million in Q2 last year. Revenue is also down substantially from the year-ago quarter.

Apple seeds iOS 9.3.2 beta 3 to developers

Cody Lee ∙ April 26, 2016

Apple on Tuesday seeded the third beta of iOS 9.3.2 to developers. The update is available to registered developers either via an over-the-air update, or as a standalone download through Apple’s online developer center.

Today's release comes just one week after beta 2, suggesting 9.3.2 may soon be ready for launch. From what we've seen so far, the update will bring about various under-the-hood improvements, but few user-facing changes.

Apple slowing down recruiting efforts, report says

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple in the past few weeks has been dismissing all of its contract recruiters, reports VentureBeat. Citing a source familiar with the matter, the outlet says the Cupertino company has begun cutting full-time recruiter as well.

These moves are part of a broader plan to slow down recruiting efforts across the board, the report says, as Apple looks to reevaluate. At least 100 people are expected to be cut, and there are no new job postings for recruiters.