iPhone News

United Airlines outfitting over 20,000 flight attendants with iPhone 6 Plus

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

United Airlines announced today that it plans to equip its flight attendants with Apple's iPhone 6 Plus next year. The airline says that the move will put important safety and service information at flight attendants' fingertips and enhance their ability to meet customers' needs.

Attendants will be using the handsets for a number of tasks, including onboard retail transactions for food, drink and other purchases. They'll also be used for accessing important info via email and the United Airlines Intranet, as well as their policy and procedure manuals.

Apple rumored to be working on new 4-inch iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple is working on a new 4-inch iPhone model for next year, according to website G for Games. Citing sources in the Asian supply chain, the site says the Cupertino firm is aiming to release the smaller form factor device in the second half of 2015.

If true, the move would bring one-handed usability back to the iPhone line—a benefit that Apple frequently touted in previous years, but essentially abandoned in September when it introduced the new 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch 6 Plus.

TaiG releases jailbreak for iOS 8.1.1

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

TaiG released a jailbreak for iOS 8.1.1 devices this morning, roughly two weeks after Apple closed the latest Pangu jailbreak by releasing iOS 8.1.1. For those unfamiliar with the TaiG team, they were behind the third-party Chinese app store-evad3rs controversy last fall.

It's surprising that the team chose to release at this time, given that the previous jailbreak has only be defunct for a few weeks, and Apple is in the middle of testing iOS 8.2. But long-time jailbreak community patriarch MuscleNerd speculates that it likely had something to do with money.

Good deal: 25% off NES-style Bluetooth controller

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 6, 2016

If you're an iOS gamer, or have one on your holiday shopping list, you might want to check out this deal on this NES-style Bluetooth controller. It's called the NES30, and for a limited time, Stack Social is offering it at 25% off of its regular retail price.

The controller features two additional action buttons, and two shoulder buttons, but other than that it's nearly identical to Nintendo's classic gamepad. It works via both Bluetooth and USB, supports multiplayer, and has a 20+ hour rechargeable battery.

New ‘Homescreen’ app shares your iPhone Home screen with others

Cody Lee ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Betaworks, the team behind the popular game Dots, and later versions of Digg and Instapaper, has released a new app today called #Homescreen. The goal of the app, as its name suggests, is to allow users to share screenshots of their iPhone Home screens.

This in and of itself is a rather interesting concept, as people seem to be genuinely intrigued with others' Home screens—I've caught myself on more than one occasion peering at stranger's devices—but Betaworks takes it a step further with app identification.

Shipping times improve for select iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models

Cody Lee ∙ November 21, 2014

With the all-important Black Friday shopping weekend just around the corner, Apple continues to improve supply of the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Shipping estimates for select models of the handsets have recently ameliorated for Apple's US online store and in other countries.

Both 64GB and 128GB iPhone 6 models, as well as the 16GB iPhone 6 Plus, are now showing ship dates 7 to 10 days out for all colors across all major US carriers. And the 16GB iPhone 6 is now shipping in 5 to 7 days, with Personal Pickup available at a number of Apple Stores.

Disney Store app updated with support for Apple Pay

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

The Disney Store app has received an update, bringing it to version 3.2.1. Just in time for the holidays, the update includes support for Apple Pay, allowing iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users to pay for their purchases using Apple's new payment method.

While in-app Apple Pay is supported by the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, it doesn't appear the iPad version of the Disney Store app takes advantage of it yet. It also looks like folks utilizing Apple Pay will still have to enter all of their shipping info.

Telltale offering first episode of ‘The Wolf Among Us’ for free right now

Cody Lee ∙ November 19, 2014

Heads up gamers, Telltale Games is currently offering the first episode of ‘The Wolf Among Us’ for free right now. We named the game one of our ‘Apps of the Week‘ for the iPhone and iPad back in February, and it normally retails for $4.99.

For those unfamiliar with the title, The Wolf Among Us is a violent, mature thriller based on the award-winning Fables comic books. It’s made by the same team behind The Walking Dead, and features similar decision-making gameplay mechanics.

Snapchat app updated with support for new Snapcash service

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Snapchat updated its iOS client today, bringing the app to version 8. The update activates the company's new 'Snapcash' money transfer service, which it announced yesterday, that allows users to quickly send money to one another by simply sending a message.

Snapcash is a collaborative project between Snapchat and Square, built using the SquareCash concept. SquareCash allows users to send money via email, text message and Bluetooth with little friction, so it's not hard to see how they made the jump to Snapchat.

Shazam updated with support for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Audio identification service Shazam updated its iOS client today, bringing the app to version 8.1. The change log for the update is very short, but it does include one significant item: the app now officially supports the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

"Shazam now makes the most of the big, beautiful screens of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, so you can get the full glory of those extra pixels." reads the text, which was posted by the developers in the App Store earlier today. "We get it, size matters."

Ubisoft releases ‘Arcade Poker’ tie-in game for Far Cry 4

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Ubisoft has launched a new tie-in title for the highly anticipated Far Cry 4, set to launch on consoles and PCs today, called Far Cry 4 Arcade Poker. It's a standalone app, but players can sync it up with the new Far Cry to earn currency that can be used in the game.

Arcade Poker is an interesting game that plays like a mix of tetris, poker and something else. Cards fall from the top of the screen, and can be randomly shuffled until they hit the bottom to build a 5-card poker hand. The better the hand, the more coins you'll be given.

Eddy Cue demos Apple Pay for local news program

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

During a Monday night segment of the Tech Report on local LA news station KTLA, Eddy Cue took host Rich DeMuro on a "shopping spree" to demonstrate how easy it is to use Apple Pay for purchases. The pair visited a number of places, including Panera Bread, Bloomingdale's and the Disney Store.

Using his gold iPhone 6 Plus, Apple's SVP of Internet software and services, pre-ordered food from Panera Bread using the restaurant's app, and paid for it via Apple Pay. He then went to Bloomingdale's to buy sunglasses, the Disney Store for a few toys, and of course they ended up at an Apple Store.