iPhone News

This week on iDB: app sale bonanza

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Like every Sunday, we get to take a look at some of the most popular posts that were published on iDB during the week that just ended. Whether it is a news item, a new jailbreak tweak, a tutorial, or an app review, we sum it all up in one convenient place for you.

As always, if you like what you're reading, please feel free to spread the love by sharing our posts on your favorite social network.

We're usually hanging out a lot on Twitter and Facebook, more rarely on Google+.

EA Games slashes over 40 games to just 99 cents Every single Halfbrick Studios game is now free Sega discounts Sonic games to 99 cents New iOS 8 Beta 2, Yosemite Developer Preview 2, and Apple TV software Evidence discovered in iOS 8 suggests iPhone 6 will feature multiple new sensors iPhone 6 rumored to run 2K Retina screen iPhone 6 manufacturing mockup shows off Space Grey finish Apple turns to professional athletes for testing of iWatch fitness capabilities iWatch to come in multiple designs with more than 10 sensors How to delete old iCloud backups on iPhone The best apps for tracking your fitness activities Yosemite’s Handoff feature may not be compatible with all Macs This is Fire Phone, Amazon’s first smartphone Unicode 7.0 includes 250 new emoji icons that could come to future iOS update How Google could soon tell when the next iPhone will be released Great deal: name your own price on this awesome Mac app bundle Apps of the week: PlunderNauts, Grub, Fuse, and more Wallpapers of last week: Tokyo Apple store

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Google-owned Nest acquires Dropcam for $555 million

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Smart thermostat-maker Nest announced on Friday that it has reached an agreement to acquire Dropcam. The company, which itself was purchased by Google earlier this year, says that the all-cash deal is worth a hefty $555 million.

For those unfamiliar with Dropcam, it's behind the popular line of Internet-connected home monitoring cameras. Major selling points for the cameras include easy setup, 2-way audio and remote streaming via any PC or mobile device...

iWatch said to feature blood glucose and sweat sensors

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 19, 2018

Rumors regarding the iWatch have reached a fever pitch this week. We've heard 3 reports in just the past 2 days, and we've got another one to add to the list this morning. It seems that everyone is interested in Apple's highly anticipated wearable.

Today's report comes from Chinese website Laoyaoba, which claims that Apple has finalized the design and specifications of the watch, and is now awaiting FDA approval. The site also says that the device will include blood glucose and sweat sensors...

Photos of alleged 5.5-inch iPhone 6 LCD part surface

Cody Lee ∙ June 21, 2014

New evidence of the larger iPhone 6 surfaced online this morning. 9to5Mac has posted a pair of images believed to be a display component for Apple's oft-rumored 5.5-inch smartphone—one of two handsets the company is believed to be launching this fall.

While we've seen plenty of case and part leaks for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, physical evidence of the larger model has been far more scarce. These photos, in fact, are said to be the first showing an iPhone 6 component that matches the 5.5-inch device rumors...

iOS 7.1.2 coming soon with fixes for Mail, Lock Screen and iBeacon issues

Cody Lee ∙ June 20, 2014

Apple is preparing to release iOS 7.1.2 in the coming weeks, according to a new report from MacRumors. Citing sources familiar with the update, the site says Apple plans to use the release to address a handful of long-standing issues.

Perhaps the most prominent issue the firmware will resolve is the 'email attachment encryption bug' that surfaced last month. It also includes a fix the just-publicized Lock screen vulnerability, which could allow access to limited apps...

Apple turns to professional athletes for testing of iWatch fitness capabilities

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

With just four months remaining until Apple is expected to unveil its oft-rumored iWatch, a new report claims that the iPhone maker has teamed up with professional athletes to test the smartwatch's fitness capabilities in intense training environments. The report, citing a source with knowledge of the testing, adds that Apple has invited players from the MLB, NBA and NHL to its Cupertino headquarters on numerous occasions for this testing.

Apple is reportedly working with Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Kings right winger Dustin Brown and at least a few other star athletes, one being an unidentified player for the Boston Red Sox. The athletes have been forced to sign non-disclosure agreements that prohibit them from discussing the existence of the iWatch or their involvement in the testing process…

Why Apple dumped Yahoo for The Weather Channel to power weather data in iOS 8

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Apple announced several new flagship features in iOS 8 at its WWDC keynote a few weeks ago, but one of the quiet changes uncovered was that Yahoo has been replaced by The Weather Channel for weather data. The move came as a bit of a surprise, given that Yahoo has been aggressively pushing to have more of its services integrated across the iPhone software platform.

So, why did Apple make the switch? Interestingly enough, Yahoo weather services have actually been powered by The Weather Channel for quite some time. By cutting the middleman out of the equation, the iPhone maker benefits from more specific weather data and technologies that The Weather Channel did not provide to Yahoo…

Path jumps on the private messaging bus, releases new Talk for iPhone app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Path, the private social network for families and close friends, is jumping on the messaging bandwagon with launch of a new privacy-focused, standalone messaging software for the iPhone.

Available free in the App Store, Path Talk is basically a spin-off of Path's in-app messenger. For starters, your message exchanges get automatically wiped out from the servers after 24 hours.

And, Path Talk has a nice Ambient Status feature that automatically lets your friends know when you’re in transit, in the neighborhood and even low on battery, possibly helping reduce some misunderstandings in online communication...

T-Mobile confirms signing up more than 12,000 people to take home a free iPhone 5s for a week

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 20, 2014

The nation's fourth-largest wireless carrier, T-Mobile, is close to getting acquired by Japan's Softbank-owned Sprint in a deal valued at $40 billion, but that's not stopping them from solving customer pain points.

At last week's ‘Uncarrier 5.0.’ event in Washington, the Deutsche Telekom-owned company has announced a pair of new initiatives - ‘Music Freedom’ and ‘Unradio’.

More importantly, it's launched a new program called ‘Test Drive’ which borrows would-be switchers an iPhone 5s for a seven-day period to test-drive its LTE network. And believe it or not, the carrier has already seen more than 12,000 sign-ups for Text Drive ahead of June 23, when the service actually opens.

Note to Legere: call Apple for more iPhones...

Sega discounts Sonic games to 99 cents

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 17, 2019

Encouraged by strong response to April's 99-cent sale of Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Japanese games maker Sega has put in effect a massive Sonic games sale.

Valid for a limited-time only, as many as seven Sonic releases have been slashed from a few bucks to just 99 cents, including Sonic Jump, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and Sonic CD, to mention a few.

Go past the fold for the full list of discounted games along with their download links...

Today only: PayPal offering $10 iTunes Gift card for $5

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 2, 2016

Last December, PayPal started selling iTunes gift cards and other digital vouchers through its new Digital Gifts Store.

It's perhaps the most convenient and hassle-free option to quickly top up your iTunes credit via PayPal, provided you're in the United States.

The problem is, every now and then other retailers discount iTunes vouchers.

Typically, 20 percent off is the best deal you can find and 30 percent or more off is pretty rare, but we've never seen a discount of 50 percent or more on iTunes Gift cards.

Good today only and while supplies last, PayPal is now offering a $10 iTunes Gift card for just five bucks...

DockWare: access the iOS dock from anywhere

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

DockWare is a brand new jailbreak tweak that brings an interesting idea to the table: it lets you access your iOS dock from anywhere, even while within apps. DockWare uses Activator gestures to accomplish this feat, allowing you to both display and hide the iOS dock while on the Home screen or while within apps.

We've taken DockWare for a spin on video in order to show you how it works in action. It's an interesting tweak, but at $1.99 on Cydia's BigBoss repo, it probably won't be for everyone. Have a look at our video walkthrough inside to see what we mean.