iPhone News

Hands on with the iPhone 6s, new Apple TV and iPad Pro

By now you probably feel like you know everything there is to know about Apple's new iPhone, Apple TV and iPad Pro, but thus far, you've only seen the devices from either afar or in marketing materials. Sure, all products look good in staged or rendered settings, but what are they like in real life?

Following today's event, Apple gave a select group of journalists the chance to spend some hands on time with the aforementioned iPhone, set-top box and iPad, in an effort to garner some initial feedback. So naturally, we’ve rounded up some of these first impressions in a single, digestible post.

If you want a gold iPhone, you’ll have to buy the iPhone 6s

If you're in the market for a new iPhone, and prefer the color gold, you're going to have to spring for the new iPhone 6s (or its larger sibling). The gold version of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus disappeared from Apple's website this afternoon, and the company has confirmed with The Verge that its older handsets are no longer available in the color.

Have a look at Apple’s new iPhone docks and cases

In addition to the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, Apple on Wednesday announced new accessories for its next-generation handsets. The products didn't get much stage time, but listed on Apple's website are a new Lightning dock, leather and silicon cases, in new colorways.

The new dock is very similar to the one Apple announced in May, except now it's available in iPhone-matching colors Gold, Rose Gold, Space Gray and Silver. It's compatible with all late-model iPhones and iPod touches, and will be available for online order today for $49.

Apple brings your photos to life with Live Photos

During the iPhone 6s section of today's Apple event, Apple SVP Phil Schiller announced an incredible new feature called Live Photos. As the name suggests, Live Photos will essentially bring your photos to life by capturing small snippets (1.5 seconds) of video right before and after you take a photo.

You'll be able to view the Live Photos on your iPhone 6s by activating 3D Touch, and Apple says playback will be available on Photos in El Capitan on the Mac, iPhone, iPad, and even Apple Watch. And since they're not technically videos, it claims they don't take up much more space than photographs.

3D Touch: a brand new way to interact with your iPhone

Apple this morning unveiled its next-generation smartphone, the iPhone 6s. While it looks virtually the same as last year's model on the outside, the inside contains tons of brand new technology—including an incredible feature called 3D Touch.

Built on the Force Touch technology first introduced in the Apple Watch, 3D Touch allows the iPhone to detect the force of a touch, opening the doors for new gestures, menus and shortcuts. Here are some of the ways you'll be using the new feature.

Claimed iPhone 6s parts show larger FaceTime camera, Force Touch

Some new photos surfaced this weekend, showing what is said to be the front face of an iPhone 6s. 9to5Mac shares the high resolution images of the claimed component, which appears to offer up insight into two of the unannounced handset's new features.

The first is a higher resolution FaceTime camera. We've been hearing rumors for a while now that the iPhone 6s will feature an improved front-facing camera for taking better selfies, and if legitimate, this part confirms it with a larger FaceTime camera sensor.

Tweetbot 3 updated with support for new ‘Quote Tweet’ feature

The Tapbots issued an update for their iPhone Twitter client Tweetbot 3 today, bringing the app to version 3.6. The release includes a number of bug fixes, and it adds support for the new 'Quote Tweet' feature Twitter rolled out last month.

For those who haven't used the feature yet, it's actually pretty handy. Unlike the typical retweet, which will insert the tweet between quotation marks and count toward your character limit, Quote Tweet embeds the tweet like a card or photo.

Tim Cook makes TIME’s 100 Most Influential People list

Tim Cook added to his long list of accolades on Thursday, by making TIME's annual '100 Most Influential People' list. The Apple CEO joins other pioneers, leaders and cultural icons such as rap artist Kanye West, Pope Francis, and Xiaomi founder Lei Jun.

Civil rights leader and Georgia Congressman John Lewis calls Cook a 'courageous innovator' in his TIME piece on the executive, praising him for both the work he has done at Apple, and his unwavering commitment to the fight for equality and human rights.

Microsoft releases ‘Office Delve’ app for iPhone

Building upon its already enormous library of iOS software, Microsoft on Tuesday released 'Office Delve' for iPhone. The app serves as a mobile client to Microsoft's Office Delve service, which connects Office users to relevant people and documents.

The official tagline of the iPhone app is "find and discover documents through people you work with." Microsoft says the app will allow you to see what you and your colleagues are working on across Office 365 and suggest relevant documents to you.

You can now play Blizzard’s Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft on iPhone

Fans of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft will be happy to hear that you can now play the game on your iPhone. Blizzard pushed out an update today for the popular card battler that, among other improvements, brings about support for Apple's handset.

Blizzard says the new iPhone version features an all-new intuitive interface, handcrafted specifically for smaller mobile devices. Those devices, however, are limited to the iPhone 4s, or later models, or the fifth-generation iPod touch (iPad 2 for tablets).

Tim Cook: Apple Watch pre-orders have been ‘great’

Tim Cook took time out of his day on Friday to visit his local Palo Alto Apple Store, to greet folks trying on the Apple Watch. The CEO shook hands, posed for photos, and fielded questions regarding Apple's highly anticipated wearable.

CNBC was on hand for the meet-and-greet and managed to speak with Cook for a moment about the Watch, and what he's seen in terms of initial response. Unsurprisingly, he says the company has been "impressed" with consumer enthusiasm.

Instagram announces new ‘Fade’ and ‘Color’ tools

Instagram on Tuesday announced that it would be adding two new options to the suite of tools in its photo editing app. Those tools are 'Fade' and 'Color,' and they will allow users to further tweak the appearance of their photos before sharing them on the social network.

More specifically, Color will bring about the ability to tint the highlights or shadows within photos with choices of yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, cyan and green. Fade, on the other hand, will enable users to bring a quiet tone to their photos by softening colors.