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 sends email to Apple employees regarding management changes

Cody Lee ∙ October 29, 2012

Earlier today, Apple announced some major changes to its management team. The company's SVP of iOS Software, Scott Forstall, will be leaving next year, as will SVP of Retail John Browett. Other executives, particularly Jony Ive, will be picking up Forstall's responsibilities, and a search is underway for Browett's replacement.

This afternoon, Tim Cook sent an internal email to Apple employees regarding the management changes, and thanked Scott for his many years of service. We've got that email after the break...

Apple’s SVP of iOS software Scott Forstall to leave the company next year

Cody Lee ∙ October 29, 2012

This is huge: Apple just announced that some major executive changes will be taking place in 2013, one of which involves Senior Vice President of iOS Software Scott Forstall leaving the company. Forstall, as most of you know, has been largely responsible for the success of iOS and its devices. In his absence, Jony Ive, Bob Mansfield and other executives will take on more responsibilities.

Additionally, Apple's newly-appointed head of retail John Browett will also be leaving the company. A new search for his position is already underway, and in the mean time, all Apple retail will be reporting directly to Tim Cook.

More details after the break...

Apple sells out of initial iPad mini pre-order stock in 72 hours

Cody Lee ∙ October 29, 2012

Apple has taken some heavy criticism over the past few days regarding the iPad mini's price tag. Starting at $329, a lot of folks feel that it has priced itself out of the 7-8-inch tablet market, which is dominated by $200 slates.

Well if that's the case, then someone forgot to tell consumers. Because according to Apple's website, the company has sold out of its initial pre-order stock of all Wi-Fi iPad minis during the tablet's first 72 hours of availability...

Amazon takes on the iPad mini in homepage ad

Cody Lee ∙ October 29, 2012

With the release of the 7.9-inch iPad mini this week, Apple will essentially be entering Amazon's home turf. You could argue that Apple still dominates the overall tablet market. But with two years of Kindle Fire sales under its belt, Amazon owns the 7-8-inch tablet space.

And as you may have guessed, it's not prepared to concede any of that space to Apple without a fight. Over the weekend, people started noticing that Amazon had placed a comparison chart between the iPad mini and its Kindle Fire HD, front and center on its homepage...

New app promises to remove purple haze from iPhone 5 pics

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Shortly after the iPhone 5 launched, a number of users started complaining about a "purple haze" in their photos. It's essentially a purple flare effect that comes from a bright, out-of-scene light source while capturing an image.

Apple has already addressed the issue, and a number of other smartphones and portable cameras have been proven to have similar hazes. But if it's still really bothering you, there's a new app that claims it can help...

How green is the iPad mini?

Cody Lee ∙ October 27, 2012

In the run up to last week's iPad mini event, we heard multiple rumors claiming that Apple's new tablet would come in multiple colors, like the iPod touch. But obviously, the speculation never materialized.

Like other iPads and iPhones before it, the iPad mini only comes in two colors: white and black. There is, however, one other color that folks seem to be concerned about: green. How green is the iPad mini?

Initial pre-order stock of black 16GB iPad mini gone

Cody Lee ∙ October 27, 2012

Bad news for folks who haven't pre-ordered their iPad mini yet, it looks like the initial stock of all of the entry-level models are gone. White versions sold out shortly after pre-orders began Friday morning, and black 16GB minis sold out today.

This means that if you are hoping to score one of the aforementioned tablets on launch day, you'll have to head to your local Apple Store...

Record labels reportedly unhappy with Apple’s radio service proposal

Cody Lee ∙ October 26, 2012

By now, you've probably heard the rumors that Apple is working on a Pandora-like internet radio service. Yesterday, Bloomberg added to the speculation, saying that a deal with record labels could be reached by mid-November.

But according to a follow-up report, that may not be the case. Apparently, some record executives haven't been particularly impressed with the revenue sharing proposal. And they want Apple to sweeten the deal before they sign...

Initial pre-order stock of white iPad mini sold out

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 5, 2018

Apple made the fourth generation iPad and iPad mini available for pre-order earlier this morning. And as pointed out by some of our readers, the white version of the smaller tablet sold out rather quickly.

Here in the US, all models of the white iPad mini started showing two week shipping estimates within the first half hour. So if you're looking to score one on launch day, you'll have to head to a retail store...

Some hobby: Apple sold 1.3M Apple TVs last quarter

Cody Lee ∙ October 26, 2012

While going over its sales figures for the quarter yesterday, Apple once again neglected to mention the Apple TV. In fact, it wasn't even until an analyst asked a question about it, that Tim Cook spoke of the product.

This should kind of give you an idea of how Apple views the $99 set top box. It's obviously not near as important as say the iPhone or, any of its other iOS devices. But that doesn't mean that it's not selling well...

Tim Cook and Peter Oppenheimer defend iPad mini pricing

Cody Lee ∙ Updated November 20, 2017

You had to know this was coming: during the Q&A portion of Apple's conference call yesterday, analysts grilled Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer about the higher-than-expected pricing on the iPad mini.

As you would expect, the two defended the tablet's $329 price tag, stating that they didn't want to build a small, cheap tablet. "iPad mini is a fantastic product; it's not a compromise like the other 7-inch tablets."

Apple posts “Samsung didn’t copy the iPad” notice on UK site

Cody Lee ∙ October 26, 2012

A week ago, Apple tried appealing a recent ruling by the High Court in London that Samsung's Galaxy Tab didn't infringe on its design patents. As you may recall, this is the same case where the presiding Judge ordered Apple to run advertisements stating that Samsung didn’t copy the iPad.

Well, Apple lost that appeal. And this morning, it made good on its orders by posting a notice on the ruling to its UK website...