Modern Combat 5, meet iPhone 6. Gameloft has just posted an update for the latest edition of its popular first-person shooter franchise, Modern Combat, with support for the larger displays found in Apple's new 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch handsets.
Even casual gamers will immediately notice the difference after updating. Since Modern Combat 5 now supports the higher resolutions of the larger displays, it no longer has to upscale images, meaning graphics appear much cleaner and sharper.
Apple is using two accelerometers in both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Chipworks has discovered in its extensive teardowns of the two handsets. The first is the three-axis BMA280 accelerometer, made by Bosch, and the second is believed to be InvenSense's six-axis MPU-6700.
Why two? Interestingly enough, Chipworks believes that Apple decided to go with two accelerometers to improve power management and overall user experience. The InvenSense is more sensitive, and can do more things, than the Bosch, but it also draws a lot more power.
Consumer Reports says the new iPhones "aren't as bendy as believed," after testing both handsets, alongside other top smartphones. Using a three-point flexural test, the outlet found that the iPhone 6 can withstand 70 pounds of pressure before deforming, and the 6 Plus can take up to 90.
That was good enough to beat HTC's One (M8)—which makes this bendgate tweet a bit ironic—but both iPhones still finished well behind the LG G3 and Samsung's Note 3. The bottom line, though, is Consumer Reports says it expects "that any of these phones should stand up to typical use."
Baseball fans rejoice, the MLB.com At Bat app has just been updated with some great new features in time for October. For the first time, the League will be live streaming every World Series game and select postseason games to mobile devices.
Obviously, you'll need to be an MLB.TV Premium subscriber to access the new content, but it'll cost you $3.99 to get in for the rest of the season. And if you want to watch Major League Baseball on your iPhone or iPad, there's no better way to do it.
Apple has finally ceased signing iOS 7.1.2 today, notes hacker iH8sn0w, more than a week after releasing iOS 8 . This means that you can no longer downgrade to the older firmware from iOS 8.x, or upgrade to it from older versions.
This is a big deal for jailbreakers, as 7.1.2 is the latest firmware that can be jailbroken, and there won't be one on iOS 8 for the foreseeable future. But it also affects average users too, as those not happy with iOS 8 can no longer revert.
Apple invited a handful of reporters to visit its iPhone testing facility in Cupertino on Thursday, to offer a peek at where and how it puts its handsets through the paces. The move comes in response to growing concerns over "bending issues" with the new iPhone 6 Plus, following this YouTube video.
The facility sits a few blocks away from Apple's Cupertino campus, and contains a lot of equipment for testing the strength and durability of the iPhone. Here, engineers for the company put handsets through a variety of tests including torsion (or twisting) and pressure, to make sure they will hold up.
Apple has named Mattel's 'Whac A Mole' its App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the title for both your iPhone and iPad, for free—which will save you a buck.
For those unfamiliar with it, Whac A Mole is essentially a touchscreen take on the classic arcade game with the same name. Players are given a mallet and tasked with navigating their way through 60+ levels by...whacking moles.
Apple has officially commented on the ongoing bending iPhone 6 controversy, saying that an iPhone bending with normal use is "extremely rare." In a quote to the Financial Times, a spokesperson for the company said that only 9 people have complained of the issue since the 6 and 6 Plus went on sale last Friday.
Touch ID in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has improved, but it's still vulnerable to attack according to Lookout Mobile Security researcher Marc Rogers. Rogers says that the same fake fingerprint hack he used to bypass Touch ID on the iPhone 5s works flawlessly on the new handsets.
The improvement comes in the form of better accuracy, thanks to its higher resolution scanner, which Rogers has found makes it harder to clone fingerprints. But, he says, Apple has done nothing to tighten up Touch ID's security in the iPhone 6, leaving the door open for determined hackers.
The folks over at Taptaptap, the creators of Camera+, have posted an interesting set of photo comparisons, showing how the iPhone's camera has evolved over the years. Included in the set are photos taken using Camera+ on the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, 5, 5s and the new iPhone 6, in various situations.
Your $650+ iPhone 6 (or $199+ with carrier contract) only cost Apple around $200 to build, according to a new report from Recode. Using teardown data from research firm IHS, the site says that the Cupertino firm spends between $200 and $247 in parts and labor to build an iPhone 6.
For the larger iPhone 6 Plus, IHS says that Apple spends between $216 and $263 on parts and labor, depending on the model. The estimates include the cost of labor associated with assembly as between $4 and $4.50 for each device, but not R&D, shipping, marketing and other affiliated costs.
Following up on yesterday's news that Apple is looking to sunset the Beats Music brand, Recode reports today that Apple has picked a timeframe for when it wants to unveil the new service. The site says it hopes to make the introduction sometime in early February, possibly time to the Grammy Awards.
Recode's John Paczkowski hedges on the claim, calling it "a guess backed up by some industry scuttlebutt," but given his track record in predicting Apple's plans, we'd be crazy not to pay attention. The one thing he hasn't heard, however, is what the company plans on calling the new subscription service.