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No more 7-day signing woes: use Extender Installer

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated May 12, 2017

Update: the tool is now entitled Extender: Reloaded, not Extender Installer. Amend your Cydia search accordingly.

Since the release of Yalu for iOS 10, many users have been faced with a new annoyance: the 7-day signing period for their jailbreak app. Without a paid Apple developer account they are forced to connect their devices to their computers once a week to sideload their jailbreak app again.

Whilst this has technically been true for all semi-(un)tethered jailbreaks, it was never an issue with Pangu 9.2-9.3.3 because it came with a one-year certificate, and later a re-jailbreaking website. It was with mach_portal and Yalu102 that the problem became evident.

Smart light bulbs you can control with your iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2018

If you're looking to dip your toes in the smart home pool, there's perhaps no easier or less-expensive way than with smart light bulbs. Simply install them into the appropriate light sockets, pair them with their mobile app, and you're ready to go.

As with most electronics, there are a lot of choices out there, and some are much better than others. So to help you separate the good from the bad, we decided to compile a list of some of the best smart bulbs you can can control with you iPhone.

Survey ranks Apple as #1 wearables maker

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 5, 2017

In a report issued Thursday market research firm Strategy Analytics said that Apple has overtaken Fitbit to become the world's leading vendor of devices worn on one's body, capturing sixteen percent of the global market for wearables in the March quarter.

Apple sold an estimated 3.5 million watches during the three-month period ending in March, a 59 percent increase over the 2.2 million Apple Watch units sold in the year-ago quarter.

According to Strategy Analytics data, rival Fitbit shipped 2.9 million units in March, marking a significant 36 percent drop from the 4.5 million Fitbits shipped in the year-ago quarter.

Strategy Analytics stated:

Fitbit has lost its wearables leadership to Apple, due to slowing demand for its fitnessbands and a late entry to the emerging smartwatch market.

Fitbit’s shipments, revenue, pricing and profit are all shrinking at the moment and they have a major fight on their hands to recover this year.

The new Apple Watch Series 2 is selling “relatively well” in the US, UK and elsewhere, due to “enhanced styling, intensive marketing and a good retail presence,” said the research firm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NAj6A_noZI

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Chinese startup Xiaomi shipped 3.4 million wearable units, good for a cool fifteen percent marketshare worldwide. Demand for Xiaomi's popular Mi Band fitness range was broadly flat across its core markets of Asia.

Fitbit thus far has mostly focused on fitness bands and related accessories.

That could change soon as the company is expected to add smartwatches to its portfolio. However, if an image leaked earlier this week (above) is anything to go by, Fitbit's upcoming smartwatch slated for release this fall won't win any beauty contest.

Fitbit also plans on releasing a pair of Bluetooth earbuds, codenamed “Parkside” internally, alongside the smartwatch, according to two of Yahoo Finance’s sources. A photo of the upcoming $150 earbuds (below) was leaked to Yahoo Finance earlier this week.

Last December, Fitibit acquired software assets of the struggling smartwatch maker Pebble for a mere $40 million. Following the acquisition, Fitbit put the last nail in Pebble's coffin by cancelling all new hardware that Pebble had in the pipeline.

Global wearables shipments reached 22 million units during the March quarter, marking a 21 percent increase year-over-year from 18.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Stronger demand for new smartwatch models in North America, Western Europe and Asia drove the uptick, said Strategy Analytics.

The full Wearables Market Data repot is available on the Strategy Analytics website.

Amazon may launch its video streaming app for Apple TV in the summer

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 5, 2017

After pulling all Apple TV hardware from Amazon.com in December 2015 because it didn't “interact well” with its video-subscription service, online retail giant Amazon has at long last warmed up to the idea of permitting owners of Apple's set-top box to use its service.

Recode reported Friday that the two companies are “close to an agreement” that would bring Amazon's Video app to Apple TV in the third quarter of the year, possibly coinciding with the introduction of a next-generation Apple TV with support for 4K video streaming and more.

“It’s unclear what got the two companies to reach an agreement, though some industry observers suggest that any pact would have been worked out, at a high level, by CEOs Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos,” said Recode.

That app would let Amazon Prime Video subscribers watch TV shows and movies directly on their Apple TV set-top box without having to use AirPlay.

It's unclear if Apple TV hardware will be returning to Amazon.com anytime soon and whether or not the two tech giants might have settled other disputes involving their rival video ambitions.

Last year, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said why they stopped selling Apple TVs:

We want our player, our Prime Video player, to be on the device, and we want it to be on the device with acceptable business terms. And so, you can always get the player on the device; the question is can you do so with acceptable business terms.

And if you can’t, then we don't want to sell it to our customers, because they’re going to be buying it thinking they can watch Prime Video and then they’re going to be disappointed. And they’re going to return it.

Currently, Apple TV owners and Prime members must use AirPlay to wirelessly send movies and TV shows to their Apple TV via Amazon's pretty limited Prime Video app for iOS, which still won't let you buy or rent individual programs without visiting Amazon.com first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io8NU6iTto0

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“As we have already succeeded in developing an app for iPhone and iPad, we hope to make an app separately for the Apple TV,” said the online retailer a year and a half ago.

The app was supposed to release before the end of 2015, but negotiations between the two tech giants obviously took a lot longer than expected.

Earlier this year, Apple hired Amazon's former Fire TV chief to head up its Apple TV business.

Meanwhile, Amazon’s shopping app is available on the fourth-generation Apple TV with purchasing support for Prime members and other features.

Bosch wins orders for iPhone 8 motion sensors

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 5, 2017

German engineering and electronics company Robert Bosch GmbH has reportedly landed orders to manufacture motion sensors for Apple's upcoming iPhone 8. According to a report Friday by Bloomberg citing a person familiar with the deal, the German firm could build as much as half of the motion sensors in upcoming iPhones, with InvenSense supplying the rest.

InvenSense counts Apple as its client and files as the primary supplier of the smartphone motion-sensing components, with the iPhone maker accounting for an estimated 60 percent of InvenSense's revenue. In that regard, the Apple-Bosch deal could be a major blow to Invense, shares of which declined more than five percent in extended trading Thursday.

InvenSense is currently seeking to complete its $1.3 billion sale to TDK Corp. The deal is partly aimed at boosting the Japanese company’s business with Apple. Apple was already one of TDK’s biggest customers before the Japanese firm agreed to buy InvenSense in December.

“We aim to become a strong player in the sensor business with InvenSense as our perfect partner,” TDK CEO Shigenao Ishiguro said at the time.

Bosch did supply gyroscopes and accelerometers for Apple in the past and it currently supplies barometric pressure sensors for iPhones. Before iPhone 5s came out, STmicroelectronics used to supply gyroscope sensors for iPhones.

Since iPhone 5s, Bosch has been supplying gyroscopes and accelerometers for iPhone 6 models, with California-based InvenSense providing the gyroscopes and accelerometers in iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 7 on an exclusive basis.

The first Bosch microelectromechanical systems to make its way inside any iPhone was their Sensortech BMA220 unit in iPhone 5s, which initially suffered from inaccuracies that were later fixed via a firmware update.

The iPhone 6 series uses a three-axis accelerometer sensor built by Bosch and InvenSense’s six-axis MPU-6700 accelerometer. Relying on accelerometers from two different vendors helps increase power efficiency.

The Bosch accelerometer has a significantly faster cold start up time than the InvenSense—3ms vs. 30ms, respectively—meaning users see less of a delay.

For games and other apps that require sophisticated inertial sensing capabilities, iPhone 6 uses the InvenSense sensor. For simpler tasks, such as tracking footsteps and rotating the screen to match the device's orientation, the device uses the Bosch sensor.

Photo: Bosch's Sensortech BMA220 accelerometer in iPhone 5s, via Chipworks.

ExxonMobil expands Apple Pay support to Speedpass+ for Apple Watch app

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 5, 2017

Oil giant ExxonMobil introduced basic Apple Pay support within its mobile Speedpass+ app in March 2016, allowing customers to pay for fuel at approximately 6,000 gas stations nationwide. Yesterday, the company announced that customers can now pay for fuel and car washes using their Apple Watch and Apple Pay at over 10,000 Exxon and Mobil refueling stations across the United States.

Users must launch the Speedpass+ app on their watch and select the pump they're at to authorize it for payment. Next, press the Side button twice to invoke Apple Pay and approve the payment. You can start fueling up your vehicle.

Other new features available within the app include support for Touch ID app protection and Ford vehicles equipped with SYNC 3 technology to easily authorize payments, making it the first fuel payment connected car app in the United States.

Ford owners can additionally use the Speedpass+ app to check how much fuel is left in the tank when they are away from their car. Customers even have the option to apply for an ExxonMobil-branded credit card issued by Citibank from inside the app.

Once your application has been approved, the card will be automatically added as a payment option within the app, and you can start using it right away. For a limited time, new accounts shall receive a savings of 20 cents per gallon for the first two months, then six cents on every gallon after that, the company said.

ExxonMobil's app now supports several payment methods, including major credit cards, debit cards, ExxonMobil Smart Cards, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

ExxonMobile Speedpass+ for iOS is available for free on App Store.

How to fix photos not uploading to or downloading from iCloud Photo Library

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 16, 2024

iCloud Photo Library is one of these great features that you think you don't really need until you actually start using it. One of the promises of the service is that it automatically keeps every photo or video you take in iCloud. These photos and videos can then be accessed from any of your devices, assuming the feature is enabled on these devices. iCloud Photo Library is great... at least when it works as it should.

Spotlife hides Today widgets, brings back the iOS 9-style Spotlight page

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 5, 2017

While some people like using the Today page on the Home Screen, Lock screen, and in Notification Center, others don’t. It really comes down to whether or not you actually use any of your Today widgets.

If you find yourself missing the simplicity of the iOS 9 Spotlight page because you don’t use any Today widgets, then a new free jailbreak tweak called Spotlife by iOS developer pxcex could be a beneficial addition to your device.

Watch Tim Cook interview with Mad Money’s Jim Cramer

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 4, 2017

Following Apple's quarterly earnings report two days ago, CEO Tim Cook sat down with CNBC's “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer to talk business and “the bigger picture”. Marking Cook's third appearance on the show, Cramer spoke with the Apple CEO about Wall Street’s reaction to his company’s latest quarter, job creation in the United States and his views on the future of Apple.

In terms of US job creation, Cook said Apple employs about 80,000 people domestically.

Of that number, nearly 25,000 people work in research and development. Cook said Apple is now buying more parts from US-based suppliers like Corning and 3M and underscored that an additional 6,000 people are employed by his company in a facility in Austin, Texas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcxR0-ZgO5o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTOR_of39do

Apple spent $50 billion last year in the US alone, Cook said.

But is he concerned about iPhone users switching to Samsung?

Read the full quote:

No, we don’t see much of that. We don’t want to see any of that, and we try really hard to retain people by giving them an experience that they really love. That’s our objective.

But generally speaking we measure that fairly closely, and we don’t see very much of that. On the switcher side, we were very pleased that we set a record for switchers outside of China for the first six months of this fiscal year.

As you know, we start in October and we just finished the first half in March. And we set a record there and we set a record for upgraders across the world. And so this felt really good.

Cook revealed that Apple is creating an advanced manufacturing fund in the United States.

“We're initially putting $1 billion in the fund,” he added, saying the Cupertino company will be announcing the first investment for this fund later in the month of May.

Fun fact: Cook has lost 30 pounds “thanks partly to my Apple Watch”.

You can read the full transcript of the Tim Cook interview on CNBC.

The best and worst places to buy an iPhone 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 4, 2017

“If you find yourself on holiday in Turkey, Brazil, Russia or Greece, try to avoid the Apple Store as iPhones are 25-50 percent more expensive than in the United States,” cautions strategist Jim Reid. And he's right.

According to Deutsche Bank’s annual “Mapping the World’s Prices”, iPhone prices can vary wildly from one country to another but one thing has remained true: the United States is still the cheapest place to buy an iPhone.

Here's what an iPhone 7 costs in Apple Stores in the following 33 countries:

Turkey—$1,200 Brazil—$1,115 Russia—$1,086 Greece—$1,028 Poland—$1,005 Italy—$995 Czech Republic—$994 Norway—$993 Denmark—$986 Sweden—$982 Portugal—$973 Finland—$973 Ireland—$973 New Zealand—$972 France—$962 Spain—$962 Netherlands—$962 Belgium—$962 Austria—$951 Germany—$951 Mexico—$941 Australia—$926 India—$902 China—$899 United Kingdom—$898 Switzerland—$886 The Philippines—$885 Singapore—$874 Canada—$855 Malaysia—$846 Hong Kong—$821 Japan—$815 United States—$815

To be sure, the aforementioned prices are for the 128-gigabyte 4.7-inch iPhone 7 model.

Deutsche Bank has obtained the prices from official Apple websites and online retailers. “In the absence of official prices via the websites, we have used prices from online retailers and news websites,” cautions Deutsche Bank.

It's important to note that US prices exclude the sales tax because it differs from one state to another. Online prices in the United Kingdom and other countries include the sales tax so that's something to keep in mind when comparing local iPhone prices to those in the US.

I'm based in Europe, one of the worst places to buy an iPhone.

Apple likes to say that the cost of doing business in Europe is higher than in the US, which is true, but that doesn't fully explain why people in Turkey are paying nearly one and a half times as much as users in the United States. Other factors are clearly at play here, including import taxes and other regulations specific to every country.

It's interesting that Turkey has now replaced Brazil as the most expensive expensive place in the countries surveyed to buy an iPhone 7.

As Business Insider explains, that's due to the combination of political instability in the country and the big ramp in US dollar appreciation against global currencies after Donald Trump’s win smashed Turkey's Lira currency late last year.

As a result, Turkey has replaced Brazil as the most expensive place in the countries surveyed to buy an iPhone. By the way, Brazil now ranks second on the list with a 37 percent higher iPhone 7 price vs US.

With iPhone 7 said to cost north of $1,000, I'm afraid to think what

32GB iPhone 6 now available in Spain, Italy, Turkey, Germany, Austria, Denmark & elsewhere

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 4, 2017

Apple's limited-edition iPhone 6 with 32 gigabytes of storage, dubbed “iPhone 6 (2017),” is now available in Spain via the German retailer Media Markt for €469, which works out to about $500, with a two-year warranty and a 14-day return policy.

In comparison, Apple sells the 32GB iPhone 6s in Spain though its online store for €659, or about $720.

The handset is available in other markets, too, including Chile, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Italy, Turkey (aka the worst place to buy an iPhone) and possibly elsewhere.

iPhone 6 originally launched in 16, 64 and 128-gigabyte versions and this new storage tier appears to be Apple's option for budget shoppers in select markets.

The 32GB iPhone 6 was originally relaunched in January in China.

In early-March, Taiwan Mobile began promoting the 32GB iPhone 6 in gold casing as the cheapest iPhone to be offered on its network, for the equivalent of $435 unlocked.

In mid-March, it arrived in Belarus, a landlocked country in Eastern Europe bordered by Russia, via the i-Store retail chain, priced at the equivalent of $522 (999 Belarusian rubles).

Amazon is also offering the device via its online store in India.

The 32GB iPhone 6 (2017) is identical to the original iPhone 6 which debuted in 2014, complete with a 4.7-inch 1,334-by-750 pixel resolution screen, a 1.2-megapixel camera out the front, an eight-megapixel shooter out the back, Apple’s 64-bit A8 processor with 1GB of RAM and more.

Aside from the previously unavailable storage SKU, the phone comes with iOS 10 versus iOS 8 which came pre-installed on Apple's original iPhone 6 models.

Apple rolls out fifth developer beta of tvOS 10.2.1 for Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 4, 2017

Apple today rolled out a fifth beta of what would become a minor software update for the fourth-generation Apple TV. If you're a registered developer, tvOS 10.2.1 beta 5 (build 14W585) can be installed via the Software Update mechanism provided your set-top box runs an appropriate configuration profile obtainable through Apple’s portal for developers.

tvOS 10.2.1 beta 5 can be deployed on your Apple TV in Settings → System → Software Updates → Update Software. Apple says it includes bug fixes and security improvements.

The most recent tvOS beta follows the fourth developer-only betas of tvOS 10.2.1, iOS 10.3.2, macOS Sierra 10.12.5 and watchOS 3.2.2 that released on April 24.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRNjTVppF4I

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The most recent stable release of the Apple TV software, tvOS 10.2, released on March 27 with minor improvements, including accelerated scrolling on Siri Remote, mobile device management improvements for enterprise, the Video Toolbox framework, bug fixes and more.

Only Apple's registered developers and members of the Apple Developer Program can deploy and use tvOS and watchOS betas. The general public can test-drive upcoming iOS and macOS releases via Apple's Beta Software Program.