iPhone News

Google reportedly tried to buy WhatsApp for $10 billion

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

The entire Internet is abuzz right now with this whole Facebook and WhatsApp deal. For the few that haven't heard yet, the social network announced yesterday afternoon that it has agreed to acquire the cross-platform messaging giant for a staggering $16 billion.

Since the announcement, details of the buyout negotiations between the two companies have begun to slowly trickle in, and as you might expect, some of them are rather interesting. Fortune, for example, is reporting that Google actually offered to buy WhatsApp first...

Springtomize 3 updated with new Barrel-inspired animations and more

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 20, 2014

Filippo Bigarella has pushed the latest update for Springtomize 3 to Cydia, and it's a doozy. The update brings loads of bug fixes, but it also adds new features like lock animations, new app switcher features to handle the look of inactive apps, new Barrel-like scroll animations, and more.

Springtomize 3 is one of the best tweaks for iOS 7, and with this latest 1.1 update, it only gets better. Have a look at our new video, which showcases some of Springtomize 3's new features—including all two-dozen plus scroll animations—after the jump.

Google’s Project Tango: phone that maps 3D environments, senses depth and geometry

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 24, 2017

Imagine directions to a new location not stopping at the street address, or never getting lost in a new building again. Or, how about playing hide-and-seek in your house with your favorite game character or competing against a friend "for control over physical space with your own miniature army"?

That's the promise behind Project Tango, a new Google initiative which seeks to give mobile devices "a human-scale understanding of space and motion".

The brainchild of Google's Advanced Technology and Projects group, Project Tango is, on the surface, an unimpressive Android phone with a five-inch display and a four-megapixel camera.

But scratch deeper and you'll find custom hardware like two Computer Vision Processors, sensors for measuring geometry and seeing in three dimensions, a camera which tracks motion and other goodies that basically turn this handset into a device that can map your environments, track its motion in full 3D space and much more...

Camera+ 5.1 lands with new Boost feature, 16×9 shooting mode, Lab refinements and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

iPhone photography fans, pay notice: following a major iOS 7 revamp, developer Taptaptap has delivered the first major update for its popular Camera+ app, a $1.99 download in the App Store.

Camera+ 5.1 brings out several refinements to The Lab feature, as well as some nice improvements and a pair of new features: a new 16x9 shooting mode for taking widescreen photos and a new Boost option for more intense filters.

As you'd expect, the team has also fixed a number of bugs such as a nasty API issue which caused apps like Day One to not work properly with Camera+...

Waze gains Calendar support and event navigation

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2014

An update to Waze's free mapping, traffic and navigation app for the iPhone and iPad is about to land on the App Store later today, bringing integration with your iOS Calendar, the company wrote Thursday in a blog post.

More importantly, this Waze refresh allows you to navigate to Calendar events with just one tap, making it easy to access location-based events stored in the iOS Calendar, right within the app.

Waze for iPhone is available free of charge in the App Store. This particular update is expected to launch in the App Store later today...

Springshot: add a slingshot effect to the app switcher

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Whenever I see one of Adam Bell's tweaks hit Cydia I get excited, because I know it's going to be something innovative and/or fun to use. And Adam didn't disappoint with his latest release, which is appropriately titled Springshot.

Springshot is a jailbreak tweak that allows you to pull down on the app switcher cards to dismiss apps using a slingshot effect. The WebOS inspired tweak is available free of charge from Cydia's BigBoss repo. Have a look at our video walkthrough inside to see what Springshot is all about.

IconLock7: prevent apps from being moved or deleted in iOS 7

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 20, 2014

IconLock7 is a free jailbreak tweak recently released on Cydia's BigBoss repo. It's a tweak that allows you to add a password to prevent apps from being moved or deleted without verification.

Unfortunately, IconLock7 has a few design flaws, most notably, the lack of password verification when establishing the initial password. Check inside as we walk through IconLock7's pluses and minuses in this hands-on video demonstration.

Google Wi-Fi app being tested, takes the pain out of accessing public hotspots

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2014

Google is testing a new iPhone application which aims to make it easier to access public Wi-Fi hotspots on your handset, Engadget reported Thursday.

The software will make it simple to automatically authenticate and connect users to Google's free hotspots inside Starbucks stores "or wherever they are available".

The publication has learned that the Google Wi-Fi app could even tap users' Google Account to “install a dedicated security certificate on their device to automatically authenticate devices when a connection is available,” bypassing the need to go through the clunky login process when joining public Wi-Fi hotspots...

AutoPause: pause the current song when volume is decreased to zero

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 20, 2014

One of the great things about /r/jailbreak on Reddit is that users can submit tweak requests and many times they are fulfilled by generous developers. AutoPause is a new jailbreak tweak resulting from one of those requests, and it forces music to automatically pause when the volume on your iPhone is decreased to zero.

AutoPause only works with the physical volume buttons, so using the software volume controls doesn't cause the tweak to pause the music. Have a look inside at our video walkthrough to see AutoPause in action.

GridSwitcher: show the iOS 7 app switcher in a grid view

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

GridSwitcher is an upcoming jailbreak tweak that allows you to display the iOS 7 app switcher in a grid-based view. Most notably, you still retain the same app switcher functionality of the standard app switcher while in grid view.

At this point in the tweak's life, there are no options to configure how it works, just install it and start using it. Have a look at our video walkthrough of the tweak after the break.

Two-step Apple ID authentication launches in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Spain

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2014

Following a flurry of reports which criticized various security holes allowing hackers to break into people's Apple ID accounts, Apple in March of 2013 finally stepped up account security by rolling out two-step verification for Apple IDs in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.

Two months later, the feature launched in nearly a dozen additional countries: Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland and Russia.

And now, as part of the third wave of expansion, the firm is enabling stronger account security for Apple ID users located in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Spain...

How to add a Mac OS X boot sound to the iPhone

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 20, 2014

BootSound is a recently released jailbreak tweak with one simple premise—it brings the iconic Mac OS X boot-up sound to the iPhone. BootSound is a tweak with no options or settings to configure. Once you install it, any respiring or reboot will cause the OS X start-up sound to play via the device's speakers.

If you're looking for a way to further customize your iPhone, then BootSound is a good place to start. Have a look at our video walkthrough inside to see what it all entails.