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.

What iOS 7 running on iPad might look like

Cody Lee ∙ June 16, 2013

Apple surprised a lot of folks last week when it announced that the first beta of iOS 7, it's next generation mobile software, would only be available to registered developers on the iPhone and iPod touch. Last year, Apple released a beta for all 3 of its mobile devices.

The reason behind Apple's decision to forego releasing the first beta on the iPad isn't clear. But for those of you wondering how the redesigned operating system looks on the popular tablet, we've come across several screenshots of just that—iOS 7 running on an iPad straight from the Xcode simulator...

Google reveals plans to bring internet to the masses using balloons

Cody Lee ∙ June 15, 2013

Google's 'X' division has gained a reputation for making the seemingly impossible, possible. The not-so-secret lab is responsible for churning out a number of innovative projects, including self-driving cars and more recently, Google Glass.

Yesterday, the search giant unveiled X's next 'moonshot' venture called Project Loon. The idea behind Loon is to let loose a ring of balloons, outfitted with cellphone tower-like tech, in the sky in an effort to provide internet to the masses...

New tweak based on Sentry’s ‘fan out app grouping’ concept coming soon

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 31, 2017

The news cycle was completely dominated by iOS 7 this week. As most of you know, Apple took the wraps off of its next generation mobile operating system on Monday during its WWDC keynote. And good or bad, people can't stop talking about it.

But that doesn't mean things have quieted down on the jailbreak front—it's just the opposite. Caughtinflux, an iOS developer and one half of the group A3Tweaks, announced this week that him and Sentry have a new jailbreak tweak in the works.

And it looks awesome...

Impressive iPhone concept shows iOS 7 running on a 4.3-inch edge-to-edge display

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Now that Apple has unveiled iOS 7, and we know what its next generation software is going to look like, it's time to start thinking about its next-generation handset. No, I'm not talking about the iPhone 5S that's expected this year. I'm talking about after that.

Well if you ask the folks over at ADR Studio, they think it's going to sport a 4.3-inch edge-to-edge display and a fingerprint scanner. The design team has put together an impressive iPhone 6 concept that mixes their creativity with ongoing iPhone rumors...

Facebook to host event June 20th, says it’s been working on ‘big ideas’

Cody Lee ∙ Updated November 21, 2017

It's just June now, and the Facebook team has already had a big year. It's launched major new search tool, rolled out a completely revamped version of its Timeline feature, and oh yeah, it developed its own Android launcher.

But apparently it's not finished yet. The social networking giant just sent out invitations to a media event scheduled for June 20th. Facebook's invite doesn't offer many details, but it does say that it's been working on big ideas...

Mistake on Apple’s website shows different iOS 7 app icons

Cody Lee ∙ Updated September 26, 2016

This is kind of interesting. New versions of some of the stock app icons in iOS 7 have been spotted on Apple's website. The reason for the changes is not yet known, but the app icons have received the blunt of the criticism thus far regarding Apple's new mobile OS.

Some of the new icons are starkly different than the ones seen in the first developer beta of iOS 7, while others appear to only feature subtle differences. And it's not clear if this was a mistake on Apple's part, or these will be the new app icons in iOS going forward...

Apple now reportedly adding 500,000 new iTunes accounts per day

Cody Lee ∙ June 14, 2013

Aside from its iPhone sales, and total iOS device sales, another stat Apple likes to tout is its number of iTunes accounts. At the beginning of the company's WWDC keynote earlier this week, Tim Cook announced that there are now more than 575 million registered iTunes users.

Cook claims that iTunes is the largest online service with credit cards connected, which is pretty impressive. But perhaps even more impressive is its staggering growth rate. A new report from expert number-cruncher Horace Dediu claims Apple is adding 500k accounts per day...

A closer look at the new Notification Center in iOS 7

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 24, 2013

From the moment you lay eyes on iOS 7, you can tell that it's completely different than any of the previous versions of Apple's mobile OS. The entire system has been redesigned, from the Lock screen to the app icons, and everything in between.

We've taken brief peeks at a lot of the changes that we've spotted thus far in iOS 7 over the past few days, but we felt some of them deserved a more in-depth look, like the all new Notification Center. It's better looking now, and quite a bit smarter...

Apple said to be working with Logitech and others on MFi gamepads

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Yesterday we talked a little bit about a new feature (or rather, developer API) in iOS 7 that offers support for MFi (Made for iPhone) certified hardware game controllers. This will be the first time that Apple has officially supported third party gamepads.

Today a few more details have surfaced about Apple's plans regarding these controllers. A new report is out this afternoon claiming that the Cupertino company is working with the likes of Logitech and MOGA to produce a new line of iOS gaming peripherals...

Apple’s key ‘rubber banding’ patent validated by US Patent Office

Cody Lee ∙ June 13, 2013

Apple's 'rubber banding' patent has been under heavy scrutiny in recent months, invalidated twice by the US Patent Office. It used the patent, which pertains to a software feature that allows content to 'bounce back' during scrolling, in its big $1 billion victory over Samsung.

But good news today for the Cupertino company. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (or USPTO) has said it will issue a re-examination certificate that confirms the formerly invalidated invention, clearing up any doubts of the patent's weight or validity...

Apple makes ‘iWork for iCloud’ beta available to developers

Cody Lee ∙ June 13, 2013

Alongside OS X Mavericks and iOS 7, Apple showed off its new web-based 'iWork for iCloud' software suite during its Monday keynote. The suite, similar to Google Docs and Office 360, allows users to view and edit iWork, and other documents right from their browser. And Apple just activated a beta version of it for registered developers...

Give your iPhone an iOS 7 makeover with this new theme

Cody Lee ∙ June 13, 2013

Folks feeling left out of all of the iOS 7 beta festivities will be happy to hear that there is now a way you can get in on the fun—no developer account required. A new theme just popped up in Cydia that promises to give your jailbroken iPhone an iOS 7-style makeover.

Now, obviously it's not going to be exactly like iOS 7. You're not going to get any of the new features that come with the major update, like the control center or the revamped Notification Center. But if you just want your iPhone to look like iOS 7, this theme is for you...