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.

Apple Watch goes on display at Colette boutique in Paris

Several photos have appeared on Instagram and Twitter this morning showing the Apple Watch on display at Colette's boutique on Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris. On Monday it was reported that Apple was planning a joint promotional event with the French retailer.

More specifically, Colette is now prominently showcasing various models of the Apple Watch in its high profile windows. It has also updated its website announcing that the boutique is inviting people to come preview the wearable device in a special one-day event.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus launching in China on Friday, October 17

Apple has announced this morning that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will be available in China beginning Friday, October 17. The devices will be launching in the company's online store, as well as its retail stores and various other chains and Authorized Resellers in the country.

Both handsets will support TD-LTE and FDD-LTE, and be offered by China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom across mainland China. Apple says that customers can pre-order the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus from its online store in two weeks, beginning on Tuesday, October 14.

References to Touch ID iPad and settings for Apple Pay found in iOS 8.1 beta

References to new iPad models with Touch ID support and a settings page for Apple Pay have been discovered hidden in the just-released beta of iOS 8.1. Developer Hamza Sood posted the evidence on Twitter this evening, in the form of three screenshot images.

The first two images, which you can see above, show a new Passbook pane in the Settings app for setting up Apple Pay, as well as a Privacy Policy page for the new mobile payment service. In the page, Apple outlines what user data it collects, and what it does with it.

All iCloud services currently down for some users [updated]

If you're having issues with some, or all, of your iCloud services you're not alone. It appears that several of Apple's iCloud services are down for a number of users. We've seen numerous complaints of it on Twitter, and Apple has updated its System Status page to reflect the outages.

A few of us here at iDB are experiencing iCloud issues—I specifically am receiving pop up warnings on both my Mac and iPhone saying that my iCloud password is incorrect for various applications. Others have reported that they are unable to access iCloud.com, or iCloud backups.

Apple releases first beta of iOS 8.1 to developers

Apple has seeded the first beta of iOS 8.1 to developers this afternoon, with build number 12B401. The release comes just a few days after the company posted iOS 8.0.2, and just a few hours after reports surfaced claiming that multiple iOS 8 updates were in the works.

We’re currently installing the beta and will be updating this post with any changes we find. If you find any changes from previous versions, be sure to email us at tips@idownloadblog.com or leave a comment below, preferably with a screenshot of the change or addition.

Apple issues update to patch ‘Shellshock’ Bash bug in OS X

Apple on Monday delivered the promised update to patch the 'Shellshock' Bash bug in OS X. You can download the update manually here, otherwise it should be popping up in the Updates tab of the Mac App Store shortly.

The security flaw was uncovered by security researchers last week and sent much of the Internet into a panic. Affecting the bash command shell in UNIX, the exploit allows for hackers to remotely execute malicious code.

iOS 8 bug in ‘Reset All Settings’ feature deletes iCloud Drive files

A new bug has been discovered in iOS 8 that will indadvertedly delete iCloud Drive documents. MacRumors reports that selecting the 'Reset All Settings' option from the Reset menu in the Settings app of iOS 8 will erase iWork-related files in iCloud Drive.

The issue here is that when the 'Reset All Settings' option is selected, users are specifically told that "no data or media will be deleted." But that doesn't seem to be the case with iOS 8, as MacRumors says it has confirmed the process is also deleting select files.

New iPhones use two accelerometers for better power management

Apple is using two accelerometers in both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Chipworks has discovered in its extensive teardowns of the two handsets. The first is the three-axis BMA280 accelerometer, made by Bosch, and the second is believed to be InvenSense's six-axis MPU-6700.

Why two? Interestingly enough, Chipworks believes that Apple decided to go with two accelerometers to improve power management and overall user experience. The InvenSense is more sensitive, and can do more things, than the Bosch, but it also draws a lot more power.

Consumer Reports: new iPhones ‘not as bendy as believed’

Consumer Reports says the new iPhones "aren't as bendy as believed," after testing both handsets, alongside other top smartphones. Using a three-point flexural test, the outlet found that the iPhone 6 can withstand 70 pounds of pressure before deforming, and the 6 Plus can take up to 90.

That was good enough to beat HTC's One (M8)—which makes this bendgate tweet a bit ironic—but both iPhones still finished well behind the LG G3 and Samsung's Note 3. The bottom line, though, is Consumer Reports says it expects "that any of these phones should stand up to typical use."

MLB live streaming every World Series game, select postseason games via At Bat app

Baseball fans rejoice, the MLB.com At Bat app has just been updated with some great new features in time for October. For the first time, the League will be live streaming every World Series game and select postseason games to mobile devices.

Obviously, you'll need to be an MLB.TV Premium subscriber to access the new content, but it'll cost you $3.99 to get in for the rest of the season. And if you want to watch Major League Baseball on your iPhone or iPad, there's no better way to do it.

iPhone 6 reportedly nearing approval for sale in China

Apple is in the final stages of securing regulatory approval for the iPhone 6 in China, reports Tenacent, meaning it could soon go on sale in the country. It's a major market for the Cupertino firm, as it contains two of the largest carriers in the world.

The news outlet quoted China's Ministry of Industry and Information technology as saying "it's just a matter of time" before regulators complete the approval process for Apple's new handsets, which have already gone on sale in several countries.

Apple no longer signing iOS 7.1.2, closing the downgrade window

Apple has finally ceased signing iOS 7.1.2 today, notes hacker iH8sn0w, more than a week after releasing iOS 8 . This means that you can no longer downgrade to the older firmware from iOS 8.x, or upgrade to it from older versions.

This is a big deal for jailbreakers, as 7.1.2 is the latest firmware that can be jailbroken, and there won't be one on iOS 8 for the foreseeable future. But it also affects average users too, as those not happy with iOS 8 can no longer revert.