iPhone News

iPhone 5S may sport sapphire crystal capacitive Home button with fingerprint sensor

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 14, 2013

The Home button has got to be one of the defining features of the iPhone's clean rounded rectangular design. Whereas some other manufacturers add a bunch of physical buttons to their gadgets, Apple instead has moved all controls to the iOS software, leaving only the Home button on the iPhone's face.

That could change with the iPhone 5S, the next iPhone refresh expected later this year. If a new rumor is to be believed, Apple will for the first time replace the iPhone's Home button - prone to failure after long periods of use - with its capacitive counterpart.

This isn't new: many Android handsets have touch-enabled "buttons" like Samsung's Galaxy S series, for example. Apple's innovation, the story goes, involves using sapphire crystal to prevent scratches and dings and protect the integrated fingerprint sensor...

Cydia Substrate makes its way to Android [Video]

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Big news in the world of Mobile Substrate, but oddly enough, it has nothing to do with iOS and everything to do with Android. Yes, you heard right, Android. The creator behind Cydia and Mobile Substrate, Saurik, has released Substrate for Android, and he's created a brand new website to document the new addition to the family.

What does this mean for Android users? It means many of your favorite jailbreak apps and tweaks could make it to Android, (WinterBoard is already available!) with the potential for many more...

Siri updated to respond to longer queries with quotes on brevity

Cody Lee ∙ May 14, 2013

This is kind of interesting. A thread has popped up in the Reddit forums this week regarding some recent changes to Siri. It appears that Apple has quietly updated the digital assistant with a new, quirky attitude toward lengthy queries.

Now, when Siri is asked a question (or given a command) that is excessively long, she will quote famous passages from notable historical figures like William Strunk and Thomas Jefferson on the subject of—you guessed it—brevity...

JellyLock adds tons of new features and makes its way to the ModMyi repo

Sébastien Page ∙ May 14, 2013

JellyLock has been my Lock screen launcher of choice for a few weeks now. Up until now, the jailbreak tweak was available on the developer's private repo only, limiting its availability to the masses, but the developer recently decided to move the package to the ModMyi repo.

Still labeled as a beta release, JellyLock packs some interesting features that take this tweak to yet another level while giving more customization options to users...

Martin Hajek’s new concept pictures budget iPhone running revamped iOS 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

The renderings use Hajek's past budget iPhone concepts as the basis for the hardware. As for the software, he incorporated a round of nice concepts by 3D artist Dámaso Benítez, picturing a flattened iOS 7 user interface that Apple's design head Jony Ive and his team are widely believed to be working on.

His mockups, Hajek explains on his personal blog, serve to illustrate "how Apple might introduce the new, cheap iPhone." More awesomeness can be found right past the fold...

Disney’s Watch ABC live streaming app launches

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 14, 2013

After major networks such as Time Warner and CBS (and even Blockbuster) in recent weeks enabled live streaming in their respective iOS apps, Disney-owned television network ABC has followed suit. I recently called the development a potentially disruptive move on Disney's part and Cody likened it yesterday to a mini-revolution of sorts. Call it what you will, but it's here. Disney basically took its existing ABC Player iOS software and re-branded it under the more suggestive Watch ABC moniker.

The big news is a new Live button that gives you access to ABC's live television programming in select local markets. You can also stream full episodes of the previously aired shows. Not that live TV functionality requires a subscription with an eligible TV provider. Unfortunately, the Watch ABC app doesn’t have DVR functionality. Additional tidbits right below...

Square’s stylish Stand accessory taps iPad to reinvent the cash register

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 29, 2016

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's other startup, the payment service Square, today announced an interesting hardware dubbed the Square Stand. The all-white stylish accessory lets merchants run their business from an iPad and requires the Square Register iPad app to process payments. The Stand shouldn't be confused with the Business in a Box, Square's $299 (and up) bundle that incorporates an uglier iPad stand, cash drawer and an optional receipt printer...

New Rovio Stars label launches with Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage and Tiny Thief games

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Finland-based Angry Birds maker Rovio Tuesday teased its brand new iOS game titled Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage. The game will be published under a new Rovio Stars label and follows the adventure of a lone Viking. Rovio Stars focuses on "the best new games from talented and innovative developers" and files as Rovio's first foray into including third party titles in its game line-up.

Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage is being developed by UK-based studio Nitrome and is hitting iOS "soon." The game will be followed by Tiny Thief by Barcelona-based third-party developer Ants Studio. I've included teaser videos after the break...

Perform calculations on the fly with Calculator for Velox

Cody Lee ∙ May 14, 2013

It seems like developers are really enjoying making add-ons for Velox. The jailbreak tweak was released a little over a week ago, and already we've seen several extensions for it like Addial, Compass and App Store.

Today we've got another one for you, called Calculator for Velox. And as you've probably already guessed by now, it provides you with Home screen access to your Calculator app...

Clear app creators unveil the snappiest iPhone photography app, Analog Camera

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

The popular Clear to-do app (currently free for a limited time) won us over with the minimalistic, clean and flattened user interface and its delightful use of multitouch gestures.

And now, from the same guys who made Clear comes a brand new iPhone photography software called Analog Camera. As you could imagine, it's built with the same principles that made Clear such a hit.

Specifically, this photography app features a beautifully simple and uncluttered user interface that will no doubt prove as delight to use as Clear's. It remains to be seen whether Analog Camera can revolutionise taking photos just as Clear revolutionized to-do lists, though it packs in core features you've come to expect from a decent photography app, including a set of filters for post-processing.

I've included a promo video and more tidbits after the break...

Apple to add Galaxy S4 to second California suit

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 14, 2013

We certainly saw this coming. According to the FOSS Patents blog, run by patent expert Florian Müeller, Apple has decided to add the Galaxy S4 flagship smartphone to its patent infringement case against Samsung Electronics, while also dropping another product. The parties are expected to narrow their lists of the patent-infringing products. Currently, there are 22 gizmos each on their respective lists...