iPhone News

LG releasing Lifeband Touch Activity Tracker and Heart Rate Earphones this Sunday

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 9, 2017

This coming Sunday, May 18, LG will release a pair of new wearable products. Designed to work with iOS and Android, the Lifeband Touch Activity Tracker, as the name implies, is a wrist-worn fitness band which measures your physical activity performance - stuff like speed, steps taken, calories burned and covered.

And LG's new Heart Rate Earphones with built-in sensors will measure your heart rate as you listen to your music, make calls or just chill.

Used together, these two products promise to help you reach and maintain your fitness goals while fusing advanced activity tracking, biometric data, Bluetooth app connectivity with easy access to your music and iOS device and what not. Both accessories can be pre-ordered now through Best Buy prior to launch...

Castro podcast app gains better audio, continuous play, sleep timer, crisper UI and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2018

The high-fidelity Castro podcast player for the iPhone and iPod touch debuted last December and today got bumped to version 1.1. Despite the incremental change in version number, developers have added numerous new capabilities and refinements that will improve upon your already top-notch Castro experience.

There's now a new continuous play feature for episodic listening, a sleep timer, vastly improved audio quality of slow-speed playback, rich new options inside in-app settings, a cleaner user interface with nicer typography and much more.

From before, the app supports non-iTunes subscriptions. Today's update is free to existing owners of the software. For newcomers, Castro is a $3.99 download from the App Store...

Sonos revamps iOS app, adds tons of new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 2, 2016

Sonos has introduced a major new version of its app which allows you to control your Sonos hardware using an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

Following the release of a redesigned Android app earlier in the year, Sonos has now refreshed its iOS counterpart with a revamped user interface, while adding dozens of new features, refinements and enhancements.

The all-new Sonos 5.0, in addition to the flattened interface, now supports VoiceOver (on iOS 7 devices only), lets you use the included Universal Search feature to search multiple music services at once (Google Play Music, MLB, Beats Music, Shuffler.fm and others) and more.

The new version is now available in the App Store...

Report: Apple building split-screen multitasking into iOS 8

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Soon there may be no need to gnash your teeth at Microsoft whose anti-iPad television commercials always highlight the Surface's split-screen multitasking, a feature iOS currently does not support. But Microsoft will want to rethink those ads as an exclusive report by a reliable blogger claimed Tuesday that Apple is building split-screen multitasking functionality into iOS 8.

If the report is anything to go by, it should be akin to the iPad jailbreak tweak called OS Experience that our own Jeff Benjamin highlighted recently. Details are right after the break so read on for the full reveal...

Rumor: Apple will tap Beats to introduce high-res iTunes music, improve In-Ear Headphones

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 13, 2014

Apple's purported acquisition of Beats Electronics, LCC has set the tongues wagging as pundits race to offer their armchair analysis of the grand strategy behind Apple's alleged $3.2 billion deal.

The latest in the Apple-Beats saga comes via the rather reliable Japanese blog Macotakara which earlier this morning asserted that Apple will use Beats to introduce support for high-resolution audio files in iTunes and the iOS Music app and also improve sound quality of its pricey pricey $79 In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic...

This ‘iStick’ USB flash drive has a built-in Lightning connector

Cody Lee ∙ May 13, 2014

Folks looking for a way to move media and other data between their iOS devices and computers locally may want to check out the iStick. The newly-announced device may look like an ordinary USB flash drive, but it features a built-in Lightning connector.

The creators of the iStick, Hyper, say it's the first of its kind, and the whole purpose behind it is to provide users with a way to quickly and safely move data between their computers, iPhones, iPads and iPod touches without the need for iTunes or the Internet...

Gorgeous RPG The Shadow Sun goes on sale for a limited time

Cody Lee ∙ May 13, 2014

Game-maker Ossian Studios has put one of its most popular titles, The Shadow Sun, on sale this week. The beautiful RPG, which we named one of our Apps of the Week back in December, is normally priced at $7.99, but for a limited time, you can snag the game for just $3.

For those unfamiliar with The Shadow Sun, it's your standard RPG with customizable characters, skill-building and quests. But, developed by veterans of the Neverwinter Nights and Baldur’s Gate franchises, this game is anything but ordinary. Keep reading for a full overview...

New report says iPhone 6 likely to feature NFC for future mobile payment service

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

According to a new report, the incoming iPhone 6 is going to feature support for NFC technology (or near field communications). Citing sources 'close to the matter,' New York news outlet Brightwire says Apple is planning to utilize the wireless tech in a future mobile payment system.

In fact, Brightwire claims that Tim Cook and company have already inked a deal with China UnionPay service. And under that deal, users will be able to make mobile payments on over 3 million China UnionPay 'QuickPass' POS machines in the country using Passbook on their iPhones...

Let’s Talk iOS 028: Samsunged

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated March 20, 2018

Episode 28: We share our thoughts on Apple's rumored Beats Music acquisition and what it could all mean. Jeff explains why he both likes and dislikes the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Samsung Gear Neo 2 smartwatch.

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Microsoft announces Office for iPad has surpassed 27 million downloads

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Microsoft announced today that downloads for its newly-released Office for iPad suite have surpassed another major milestone. The company's Julia White told a crowd at its TechEd conference in Houston this morning that the software has been download over 27 million times, more than double the figure shared a month ago...

Design comparison: final iPhone 6 mockup vs iPhone 5s vs fifth-gen iPod touch

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 12, 2014

With everyone and their brother 3D printing iPhone 6 mockups, virtually every single day brings another iPhone 6 "leak" that wants to go viral. There's just too much stuff proliferating out there so iDownloadBlog usually only covers the material we specifically deem newsworthy.

This would typically entail photos and footage that bring something new to the conversation, be it a never-before-seen angle, an interesting design choice or other curious detail.

Today's video is no different.

Created by an Italian enthusiast blog, it pits an unusually detailed physical iPhone 6 mockup against the iPhone 5s and the fifth-generation iPod touch, showing the supposed design differences from various angles...

Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre could see grand introductions as Apple executives at WWDC

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 12, 2014

Should Apple's rumored $3.2 billion deal to buy Beats Electronics, LCC come through, its most visible co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre could show up on the Moscone West stage to be introduced as Apple executives, as per Billboard. An annual pilgrimage for programmers, Apple's 5-day Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, kicks off on June 2.

If history is an indication, Tim Cook will share the stage with other senior executives to tell us what's next for Apple's mobile and desktop operating systems. Given the amount of coverage WWDC typically enjoys, it would be the perfect venue to make such a high-profile announcement...