iPhone News

My family cares about taking a good picture, not a megapixel count

Sébastien Page ∙ September 19, 2013

In an interview with USA Today, Craig Federighi illustrates what I believe is the essence of Apple:

"Look at the camera space, companies are chasing megapixels but the pictures often look horrible because of their tiny sensors," says Federighi. "My family cares about taking a good picture, not a megapixel count. We carry that through to all the decisions we make about our phone. What experience is it going to deliver? Not what number will it allow us to put on a spec sheet."

This is the thinking behind everything Apple does. And this is why my mom has an iPhone.

How to hide apps, folders, and place folders within folders on iOS 7

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

It seems like every time there's a new version of iOS released, users find a way to utilize glitches to their advantage. We all remember the Newsstand glitch found in iOS 6, and various other glitches and tricks to hide folders, apps, nest folders, etc.

Similar glitches were discovered to work in the beta version of iOS 7, and many of them remain in the final build. In the video that follows, I'll show you how to use these glitches to hide apps, hide folders, and to nest folders within folders.

No, it's not the most ideal method for achieving such results, but until we get a jailbreak, or until Apple allows end users to further customize their device, this will have to do.

Despite being dual-core, the iPhone 5s A7 chip beats every phone to CPU punch

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 19, 2013

Apple hasn't fully documented the new 64-bit A7 chip that powers the iPhone 5s (they never do that) so we'll have to wait until the handset goes on sale this Friday so that Chipworks can put the chip under a microscope, but that hasn't stopped people in the know from speculating.

AnandTech knows hardware perhaps better than anyone else out there and its founder Anand Lal Shimpi posted a detailed iPHone 5s review which, among other things, put the A7 chip through its paces to conclude that Apple is still using a dual-core design for the CPU part...

iPhone 5s sales go live in Australia with 7-10 day shipping estimates

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Folks hoping to score an iPhone 5s anytime in the near future should probably opt to stand in line at their local retailer. The handset just became available for purchase in Apple's web store in Australia and other countries, and it's already showing 7-10 day shipping times.

The news comes after several months of reports claiming that the iPhone 5s would be in short supply at launch time, but it's starting to look like it could be this way for a while. Most models from Hong Kong and Singapore stores, for example, aren't shipping until October...

Poll: who’s upgraded to iOS 7?

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 19, 2013

We now know nearly one out of each three iOS users has upgraded to iOS 7 in the first sixteen hours of its availability. Have you? We're only asking you to tell us whether or not you upgraded by now, in order to get a better understanding of the iOS 7 adoption rates thus far.

This being a non-scientific YES/NO poll means readers who haven't upgraded yet but are planning to should of course vote with a 'no'...

Google releases official Wallet app for iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 13, 2018

Google has released an official Google Wallet app for the iPhone this morning, bringing its popular mobile payment service to Apple's platform for the first time. The app includes several features, but it doesn't have all of the capabilities of its Android counterpart.

For example, you can't make in-store payments with the app—which isn't surprising, considering the feature is limited to only a handful of NFC-enabled Android devices. But it's worth noting. You can send money to other people, though, and utilize Google Offers...

Apple now requires medical apps to provide sources of the information included

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 19, 2013

Would you follow a treatment plan outlined in a medical app? The increasing popularity of apps which diagnose and treat medical issues is causing Apple to enact stricter guidelines. Apple wants developers of medical apps which give consumers drug dosages to cite references. The new requirement is designed to reduce medical misdiagnosis, as well as potential plagiarism, according to a news site Wednesday...

App Store ‘Kids’ category launches

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 16, 2022

Following a storm of criticism by disgruntled parents and after being forced to refund tens of thousands of dollars in individual cases of kids inadverntendly ratcheting up their parents’ iTunes bill with in-app purchases (here's how to turn these off), Apple finally caved in.

Thursday morning, the company has unveiled a new 'Kids' category on the App Store. Designed to give parents a piece of mind, the new sections hosts a selection of carefully curated apps for children. Apps are sorted thematically in sub-sections such as 'Create & Play' and 'Shapes & Colors' and shortcuts to apps that are 'Best for Ages 5 & Under', 'Best for Ages 6-8' and 'Best for Ages 9-11'...

Cook, Ive, Federighi sit down with Businesweek for a wide-ranging interview

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 13, 2017

Last time an Apple executive gave a detailed interview to Bloomberg Businessweek was in December 2012, when CEO Tim Cook talked Scott Forstall, collaboration and management changes.

Following last week's iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c introduction and yesterday's release of iOS 7, the most significant visual change to Apple's mobile operating system since the original iPhone, the publication interviewed Cook and his lieutenants, design guru Jony Ive (who designed iOS 7) and software head honcho Craig Federighi.

In a wide-ranging interview, the three men discussed iOS 7, collaboration, competition, Android, the so-called cheap iPhone and other topics.

I've included the best quotes right below...

iOS 7 now prevents some non-certified Lightning cables from charging your device

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 19, 2013

Back in June, we discovered Apple implemented a warning in iOS 7 Beta builds to caution people against using non-certified Lightning cables, many of which contain cracked authentication chips.

Specifically, connecting an accessory to an iOS 7 Beta device through a non-certified Lightning cable produced a prompt saying “This cable or accessory is not certified and may not work reliably with this iPhone”.

It seems the company has thrown down the gauntlet to unauthorized accessory makers over the use of unapproved Lightning cables because folks have confirmed that the shipping version of iOS 7 now in fact blocks such cables, preventing them from actually charging your iPhone...

Apple now lets devs manage availability of apps’ previous versions

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 19, 2013

Yesterday, we told you about an unexpected improvement of the App Store backend which results in customers being able to grab older versions of apps. This is especially useful to those who may be browsing the App Store using an older device with one of the older iOS versions.

For those people, attempting to download, say, the latest version of an app would produce a prompt offering the last compatible version available for their legacy hardware, provided the app at some point supported their hardware.

Thursday, we received a word that Apple now allows developers to use the iTunes Connect portal to specify which apps and what versions should be made available to owners of legacy software through the App Store...

Apple chairman Art Levinson to head up Google’s new health venture

Cody Lee ∙ September 19, 2013

Google announced yesterday that it's backing a new health-focused company called Calico. Like many of the tech giant's initiatives, it's a moonshot project, tasked with extending human life by combating things like aging and disease.

To make things even more interesting, current Apple chairman Arthur D. Levinson has been named CEO of the newly-founded venture. He'll oversee the entire operation, and will apparently be reporting directly to Google's Larry Page...