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.

Walmart Black Friday sales begin early with discounts on iPhone 6, iPad Air 2

Cody Lee ∙ November 19, 2014

Walmart on Wednesday announced that it is launching a number of its Black Friday sales a week early. In a press release, the company said that its 'Pre-Black Friday Event' will kick off at 8 a.m. on November 21, and give customers an early taste of its Black Friday prices.

A number of items are being discounted in the sale, including iPhones and iPads. Walmart will be offering 16GB iPhone 6 models for $179 (with two-year service agreement), along with a free $75 gift card, and 16GB Wi-Fi iPad Air 2 models for $489 with a $100 gift card.

iH8sn0w shows off untethered iOS 8.1.1 jailbreak

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Well known iOS hacker iH8sn0w has posted a new video on his YouTube channel of an iPad 3 (J2a model) running an untethered iOS 8.1.1 jailbreak. This is significant because 8.1.1 patched 3 of the Pangu team's exploits, effectively killing the latest jailbreak.

As usual, just because we have proof that a firmware can be jailbroken, doesn't mean that we're guaranteed to see a public release anytime soon. In fact, it's worth pointing out that iH8sn0w has in the past demonstrated jailbreaks that never saw the light of day.

Telltale offering first episode of ‘The Wolf Among Us’ for free right now

Cody Lee ∙ November 19, 2014

Heads up gamers, Telltale Games is currently offering the first episode of ‘The Wolf Among Us’ for free right now. We named the game one of our ‘Apps of the Week‘ for the iPhone and iPad back in February, and it normally retails for $4.99.

For those unfamiliar with the title, The Wolf Among Us is a violent, mature thriller based on the award-winning Fables comic books. It’s made by the same team behind The Walking Dead, and features similar decision-making gameplay mechanics.

PayPal mobile payments app now available for the Pebble smartwatch

Cody Lee ∙ November 19, 2014

PayPal has announced that its popular mobile payments app is now available for the Pebble smartwatch. In a blog post, first spotted by VentureBeat, the company said that owners can now pay for goods and services at select locations using their Pebble, linked to their PayPal account.

Users can make PayPal payments using one of two methods: by checking into a store using the PayPal app, or by providing the store with an auto-generated payment code. Both ways require that the particular location support PayPal payments, and the latter requires special POS hardware.

Snapchat app updated with support for new Snapcash service

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Snapchat updated its iOS client today, bringing the app to version 8. The update activates the company's new 'Snapcash' money transfer service, which it announced yesterday, that allows users to quickly send money to one another by simply sending a message.

Snapcash is a collaborative project between Snapchat and Square, built using the SquareCash concept. SquareCash allows users to send money via email, text message and Bluetooth with little friction, so it's not hard to see how they made the jump to Snapchat.

Apple keeping Arizona plant despite GT Advanced bankruptcy

Cody Lee ∙ November 18, 2014

Apple plans to keep the sapphire production factory it built with GT Advanced in Mesa, Arizona, according to a report from Bloomberg. The outlet says the company has told officials that it's committed to bringing jobs and manufacturing to the area, despite GT's bankruptcy.

"They’ve indicated their commitment to us: They want to repurpose that building and use it again," Mesa City Manager Christopher Brady told Bloomberg. "Apple is focused on preserving jobs and promised to “work with state and local officials as we consider our next steps."

Shazam updated with support for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Audio identification service Shazam updated its iOS client today, bringing the app to version 8.1. The change log for the update is very short, but it does include one significant item: the app now officially supports the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

"Shazam now makes the most of the big, beautiful screens of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, so you can get the full glory of those extra pixels." reads the text, which was posted by the developers in the App Store earlier today. "We get it, size matters."

Apple asks ‘Neato’ to remove keyboard in ongoing war on widgets

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple is once again going after a Notification Center widget for overstepping its bounds. Neato, a popular note-taking widget with a built-in keyboard and share controls, says the Cupertino firm has threatened to remove the app for violating its App Review Guidelines.

More specifically, the developers behind Neato told Gizmodo that Apple has asked them to remove the keyboard from their widget, or else. The team tried to appeal, but Apple wasn't going to budge, and gave them two weeks to submit an update to correct their issue.

Good deal: 65% off 6-piece iPhone photo lens kit

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 2, 2016

If you’re an avid iPhone photographer, and find that the handset’s tiny lens just isn’t cutting it anymore, there is a number of add-on lens kits to choose from. TRNDlabs makes one of those kits, and it's being heavily discounted right now by deals site Stack Social.

They're calling it the "The New Age Smartphone Photo Kit," and it includes pretty much everything you'd need to take great photographs. There is a variety of lenses, a carrying case, a tripod, and best of all, it's all compatible with the larger iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Apple releases first iOS 8.2 beta to developers

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Alongside its release of WatchKit, Apple has posted the first beta of iOS 8.2 to developers. The update brings about support for the new Apple Watch developer tools, and can be downloaded either over the air, or directly from the dev center, by any registered iOS developer.

Interestingly enough, the beta release comes just one day after Apple pushed out iOS 8.1.1 to the masses, which had only been in testing itself for a few weeks. That's quite the turnaround time when you consider that Apple sometimes waits several months between iOS releases.

Apple credits Pangu team for discovering vulnerabilities patched in iOS 8.1.1

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple has posted a support page on the security content of the just-released iOS 8.1.1, reaffirming previous reports that the firmware breaks the Pangu jailbreak tool. In the page, the company credits the Pangu team for discovering three vulnerabilities patched in 8.1.1.

Among those vulnerabilities was a state management issue in the dyld directory, which has to do with app launches. There was also a validation issue in the handling of metadata fields with the kernel, and a sandbox profile bug that allowed apps to launch arbitrary binaries.

Ubisoft releases ‘Arcade Poker’ tie-in game for Far Cry 4

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Ubisoft has launched a new tie-in title for the highly anticipated Far Cry 4, set to launch on consoles and PCs today, called Far Cry 4 Arcade Poker. It's a standalone app, but players can sync it up with the new Far Cry to earn currency that can be used in the game.

Arcade Poker is an interesting game that plays like a mix of tetris, poker and something else. Cards fall from the top of the screen, and can be randomly shuffled until they hit the bottom to build a 5-card poker hand. The better the hand, the more coins you'll be given.