Jeff Benjamin

Jeff has been with iDownloadBlog since 2010, acting as resident video specialist, and tutorial expert. He earned his degree in Computer Network Systems back in 2001, but decided Cisco routers and the like just weren’t for him. Since then, he’s been heavily involved with online writing. He’s written for numerous tech and video game sites since the late 1990′s, and has a knack for explaining things in a simple, clear, and concise manner. Jeff works primarily from the east coast on his Retina Macbook Pro, and shoots video with a Canon DSLR. During downtime he likes to travel the world, visiting the various Apple Stores across the globe. You can email him at jeff [at] idownloadblog.com and follow him on Twitter @JeffBenjam or on Google+.

Apple quietly raises the price of AppleCare+ for its new iPhones

If you plan on picking up a new iPhone 6s, you should be aware that the price of AppleCare+ just received an increase.

AppleCare+ is an enhancement to the basic AppleCare coverage that every new iPhone comes standard with. With AppleCare+, customers extend their hardware repair coverage and complimentary phone support to two years, and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage. Accidental damage covers anything from water damage, to drops, or other follies.

To take advantage of the accidental damage coverage, customers are required to pay a deductible fee for each accident. This fee is on top of the initial AppleCare+ signup fee.

When AppleCare+ initially debuted back in 2011, the signup fee was $99 and it the per-accident fee was a mere $49 for each event incurred. But over the last four years, the fees have slowly risen to the levels that they are today...

Apple posts full September 2015 event on its YouTube channel

If you've yet to watch Wednesday's Apple keynote, or if you've been waiting for it to be posted somewhere other than its own website, now is your chance to watch it. Just a little over 30 minutes ago, Apple posted its full September 2015 event keynote to its YouTube channel.

The event, which lasts for 2 hours 19 minutes and 44 seconds, is where Apple reveals the new gold and rose gold Apple Watch Sport colors, the iPad Pro, the new Apple TV, and of course, the iPhone 6s. Read on for the full video embed.

Ex-Apple employee: the iPad Pro is a game changer for graphic designers

Linda Dong, a former designer at Apple, has spoken her mind on the iPad Pro, particularly when it comes to comparing it with Wacom's Cintiq line of tablet form-factor displays. Dong, who begun her tenure at Apple as a UI design intern back in 2009, worked at the Cupertino firm up until April of this year.

Today, via a guest post on Cult of Mac, she chimed in on how the iPad Pro compares to Wacom's Cintiq line—a range of tools that are used by many a graphic designer across various industries. How does the Cintiq line compare to the iPad Pro in her eyes? Let's just say that she's not very bullish on Wacom's offerings...

If you’re serious about video, the iPhone 6s Plus is the iPhone for you

You have a big decision to make. That's because iPhone pre-orders open up at 12:01 AM PDT. While things like color and storage size certainly matter, choosing the type of iPhone is an even bigger decision.

In a few hours, you'll have to decide whether to go for the iPhone 6s or the larger iPhone 6s Plus. There are pluses and minuses associated with each device. For example, the iPhone 6s Plus is much less pocketable than the iPhone 6s.

But there's one particular area of interest that makes the iPhone 6s Plus hands-down the right choice. If you plan on using your iPhone extensively for video, then the iPhone 6s Plus is a no brainer. Here's why...

You should opt for at least a 64GB iPhone 6s if you plan on shooting 4K video

As I conjectured back when it was first rumored that the new iPhone 6s would get 4K video recording capabilities, iPhone 6s owners will have a hard time maintaining space if they shoot even a moderate amount of Ultra High-Definition video on a 16GB iPhone 6s.

First and foremost, the 16GB iPhone features about 12 GBs or so of usable storage space. 4K video, while amazing looking, uses 375 MB of storage for every minute of video shot. It doesn't take a mathematician to quickly discern that 4K video will eat through 12GBs of storage space in relatively short order.

Upcoming jailbreak tweak looks to bring 3D Touch-inspired features to older iPhones

If you don't plan on buying one of the new iPhones, but are intrigued by the iPhone 6s' hallmark 3D Touch feature, you might want to listen up. Popular jailbreak developer Elias Limneos is currently working on a 3D Touch-inspired jailbreak tweak.

Since 3D Touch requires special hardware, this obviously isn't real 3D Touch, but it emulates the 3D Touch feature by means of a long tap-and-hold gesture on the iPhone's screen. The tweak, which is entitled Touch 3D, appeared in preview form on a recently posted YouTube video. Check it out and let us know what you think...

How to create a USB install disk for OS X El Capitan the right way

Now that the final GM version of OS X El Capitan is released, it's time to revisit how to create a USB install disk. Chances are high this GM seed will be the same version of OS X that ships later this month on September 30th.

Not only is the OS X 10.11 GM available to registered Apple developers, but it's also available via Apple's public beta program. With this in mind, you may now deem it the appropriate time to take the plunge, if you already haven't thus far.

In this post, we'll show you how incredibly simple it is to create an OS X El Capitan USB install disk from scratch. All you need is a USB disk with at least 8GB of storage space. 

iOS 9 untethered jailbreak demoed on video

iH8sn0w, a well-known and reputable hacker in the jailbreak community, has demonstrated an iOS 9 untethered jailbreak running on his iPhone 5. The jailbreak demonstrates Verbose booting, a custom boot logo, code injection, and Cydia.

iH8sn0w is running the just-released iOS 9 GM seed on his iPhone, as proven by the 13a340 build number seen in the About section of the Settings app. Watch the full jailbreak video demonstration, and see for yourself.

OS X El Capitan Golden Master released to developers and public beta testers

Apple has seeded the golden master version of the latest update to its desktop operating system, OS X 10.11 El Capitan. The update, which comes with a build number of 15A282b, is now available on Apple's Developer Center for registered developers. It is also available for public beta testers via Apple's beta website.

Like the iOS 9 GM seed, which also was released today, this will likely be the final version of the OS X 10.11 beta before it is released to the public.

New iCloud storage plans: get more for less

iCloud storage has always trended towards the more expensive side of things when compared to other popular cloud storage providers such as Google and Microsoft. Users will be happy to know that Apple apparently understands this, and as a result, its significantly reduced the price of its iCloud storage. With 4K video support and a higher megapixel camera featured in the new iPhone 6s, iCloud storage will be in higher demand for those of you using iCloud Photo Library.

Weight, size, and battery life: how iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus compare to their predecessors

As of today's big launch announcement, Apple now has four really powerful smartphones in its lineup, not including the entry-level iPhone 5s. At the lower end of the totem poll, there's the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. At the top of the lineup are the just-announced iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

How do all of these devices compare? What about things like battery life, size, and weight? In this comparison post, I'll breakdown the differences between each of Apple's iPhone offerings.