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.

Dr. Dre’s new album to premiere on Apple Music this Thursday

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Dr. Dre's highly anticipated Compton will premiere on Apple Music this week, says Zane Lowe. The popular DJ and Beats 1 Radio host announced on Twitter this afternoon that the album will stream uncensored and exclusively this Thursday from 6pm to 9pm PDT.

This will be Dre's first new album in more than 15 years, succeeding Chronic 2001, which went sextuple platinum. He announced the record on his Beats 1 show "The Pharmacy" late last week, saying that the music was inspired by the new movie Straight Outta Compton.

T-Mobile overtakes Sprint to become third largest US carrier

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

It's official. T-Mobile has overtaken Sprint to become the third largest carrier in the United States. During its earnings call on Tuesday, Sprint told investors that it ended its most recent quarter, which ended in June, with 56.8 million customers.

That falls just shy of the 58.9 million subscribers T-Mobile finished with in its most recent quarter, which also ended in June, officially moving the Magenta-colored company into the third largest US carrier spot, behind AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Apple releases OS X El Capitan public beta 4

Cody Lee ∙ August 4, 2015

Apple on Tuesday seeded the fourth public beta of OS X El Capitan to testers. The release comes less than 24 hours after beta 6 of El Capitan was pushed out to developers, and roughly a month after the first public beta landed.

The new build is available to registered public testers who are already on beta 3 via the Updates section of the Mac App Store, or through the beta web portal as a standalone download. You can enroll in the program by clicking here.

Twitter testing out dedicated News tab in mobile apps

Cody Lee ∙ August 3, 2015

Twitter is experimenting with a new "Featured News" tab in its mobile apps, reports BuzzFeed. The tab surfaces trending news items, which the social network hopes will keep users engaged.

"We're experimenting with a news experience on iOS and Android," a Twitter spokesperson told the publication. "We are continuing to explore new ways to surface the best content to users."

Apple buys huge development site in San Jose for $138 million

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple has purchased a massive development site in North San Jose in a blockbuster real estate transaction, reports the Silicon Valley Business Journal. The move comes just weeks after the company leased nearly 300,000-square-feet of office space in the city.

According to public records, Apple closed the deal with developer Lowe Enterprises' for its so-called "n1 Campus" last week. It paid around $138 million for a roughly 43-acre development site, which has been approved for up to 2.8 million square feet of office space.

Apple seeds OS X El Capitan beta 6 to developers

Cody Lee ∙ August 3, 2015

Apple on Monday released the sixth OS X El Capitan beta to developers. The new build is available to registered developers via the Updates section of the Mac App Store or through Apple’s Developer Center.

Today’s update comes less than a week after Apple pushed out the fifth beta of OS X El Capitan, and nearly two months after its initial release in early June during Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference.

Reuters: Apple, BMW could resume talks over electric car partnership

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

The rumors that Apple visited a BMW plant last year to learn about auto manufacturing is true, reports Reuters. Citing sources familiar with the talks, the outlet says that Tim Cook and his senior executive team traveled to BMW's Leipzig factory last fall, showing interest in its i3 electric car.

"Apple executives were impressed with the fact that we abandoned traditional approaches to car making and started afresh. It chimed with the way they do things too," a senior BMW source said. The executives asked BMW board members detailed questions about both tooling and production.

Apple seeds OS X 10.10.5 beta 2 to developers

Cody Lee ∙ July 30, 2015

Apple on Thursday seeded the second beta of OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 to developers. The software, labeled build 14F19a, is available to all registered Mac developers in the Updates section of the Mac App Store, or as a standalone download from Apple's dev portal.

Beta 2 of 10.10.5 comes two weeks after the first developer beta, and just a month after 10.10.4 was released to the public. It also comes on the same day as beta 2 of iOS 8.4.1, suggesting that Apple is looking to shore up its two OSes before their major fall updates.

New Apple TV coming in September with full App Store, report says

Cody Lee ∙ July 30, 2015

We are finally going to see the long-rumored update to Apple's set-top box this fall, reports BuzzFeed's John Paczkowski. The well-connected journalist says sources have informed him that the company plans to introduce a new Apple TV in September.

Pacszkowski says to expect a slimmer chassis and new internals, anchored around Apple's A8 processor. He also says the remote has been "drastically improved" with a built-in touchpad for input, and there will be a native App Store and developer kit.

Worms3 goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ July 30, 2015

Apple has just named Team17's "Worms3" its App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to download the popular artillery strategy game for both iPhone and iPad for free—saving you $5.

For those who aren't familiar with the Worms franchise, players are tasked with eliminating the opposing team(s) of worms using an assortment of weapons. There are various game modes, including an asynchronous multiplayer battle.

Apple offering behind-the-scenes look at Beats 1 studios via Snapchat

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 7, 2018

Apple on Wednesday launched an official AppleMusic Snapchat account. The company is promoting the venture on Instagram and other social networks, indicating that its first story offers an exclusive look at Beats 1 Radio.

You can find the story on Snapchat under the user name AppleMusic. The video is just over 200 seconds long, and it takes you on a quick tour of the three studios in Los Angeles, New York and London that keep Beats 1 going.

Apple Campus 2 visitor’s center to feature store, cafe and rooftop observation deck

Cody Lee ∙ July 29, 2015

Apple's new headquarters is going to be quite the tourist attraction, reports Silicon Valley Business Journal. The site has uncovered documents, first filed with the city of Cupertino back in April, which layout the company's plans for a massive visitor's center located on the "spaceship" campus.

According to the plans, the center will include a rooftop observation deck, a cafe, and a 10,000 square-foot storefront. Apple hopes the space will "create a public face of the Apple Campus 2 that reflects Apple's business and design practices, and allows for a long-term presence in Cupertino."