These are key iPhone 8 production issues plaguing Apple and its suppliers

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 25, 2017

Corroborating yesterday's report by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Asian outlet Nikkei said Tuesday that customers may in fact be unable to get their hands on Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 until late October or November at the earliest.

According to industry sources, volume production of so-called Tenth Anniversary iPhone has hit a snag as suppliers struggle to perfect key components including curved OLED panels, wireless charging components and miniaturized printed circuit boards, among other parts.

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Google Photos gains AirPlay support

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 25, 2017

Google's dedicated Photos app for iPhone and iPad was updated on App Store today with the ability to enjoy your photos and videos through the Apple TV media streamer with AirPlay. Aside from the ability to beam photos and videos wirelessly to your telly, Google Photos for iOS 2.14.0, a free download from App Store, also includes unspecified performance improvements.

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The best Augmented Reality apps for iPhone

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

More often than not, the term Augmented Reality still has that elusive, techy ring to it, particularly when brought up in conjunction with Apple’s purported eyewear project. Curiously, many of us have it down as tomorrow’s technology rather than today’s, when the truth is that AR apps have populated the App Store for years.

While some of these apps are admittedly not much more than shoddy tech demos, separating the wheat from the chaff actually produces some really cool apps conceived to boost your business, creativity or simply keep you entertained in novel ways. With the preamble out of the way, here are the best Augmented Reality apps for iPhone available today.

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ExactTime shows exactly when your notifications were received

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 25, 2017

When there are missed notifications on your iPhone or iPad, a summary of what’s awaiting your attention is available in Notification Center. Each notification header displays an estimate of when it was received, but it’s not always as descriptive as you might want it to be.

A new free jailbreak tweak called ExactTime by gilshahar7 helps improve on this tiny frustration with iOS notifications by providing an exact time received in the notification header, rather than just an estimate.

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Apple to cut affiliate commission on apps and in-app content to 2.5 percent

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 24, 2017

As first noted by Contrast founder David Barnard, Apple just slashed the affiliate commission on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac apps and In-App Purchases from the previous seven percent rate down to 2.5 percent globally.

“Beginning May 1, 2017, commissions for all apps and in-app content will be reduced from seven percent to 2.5 percent globally,” Apple told iTunes Affiliate Program members via email.

All other iTunes content types, including music, movies, electronic books and TV subscriptions, shall remain at the current seven percent commission rate in all markets.

“We will also continue to pay affiliate commissions on Apple Music memberships so there are many ways to earn commissions with the program,” reads Apple's message.

Apple's Affiliate Resources webpage has received a facelift with optimized navigation, a new Getting Started guide on becoming an affiliate partner, an updated Program Overview section providing information on the commission raters, reporting, creating links and more.

Source: David Barnard on Twitter via MacRumors

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Fourth betas of iOS 10.3.2, macOS Sierra 10.12.5, watchOS 3.2.2 & tvOS 10.2.1 now available

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 24, 2017

Apple on Monday issued fourth betas of what would become maintenance and bug-fix updates to its four major software platforms: iOS, macOS Sierra, watchOS and tvOS. Members of the Apple Developer Program can now deploy iOS 10.3.2 beta 4 (build 14F5086a), macOS Sierra 10.12.5 beta 4 (build 16F67a), watchOS 3.2.2 beta 4 (build 14V5485a) and tvOS 10.2.1 beta 4 (build 14W5583a) through the Software Update mechanism.

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Apple Maps launches transit directions for Paris

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 24, 2017

Apple has added transit options to its Maps app for the city of Paris, TechCrunch reported Monday. Customers can now use Apple Maps on their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and Apple Watch to calculate itineraries using the available public transportation options which include subway, RER and busses lines, among others.

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Samsung likely to set up 7G flexible OLED factory

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Samsung's display-making arm is likely to set up a seventh-generation manufacturing plant in South Korea solely dedicated to flexible OLED panel production, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported this morning citing UBI Research. Samsung Display produces more than 90 percent of all OLED panels for smartphones and tablets. The company is expected to churn out OLED panels for iPhone 8 on an exclusive basis until rivals Sharp, LG Display and Japan Display join the mix in 2018 and 2019.

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iPhone 8 dummy indicates Touch ID embedded in OLED display

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 24, 2017

Aside from publishing a purported drawing of iPhone 8's logic board this morning that's “only 70 percent accurate,” Benjamin Gasket this past week shared photos of a dummy CNC iPhone model obtained from a Foxconn source. Of note, it features a single cutout for a vertically aligned dual-camera system with no other cutouts on the backside.

This might indicate that Touch ID could be embedded into iPhone 8's OLED display, as previously suggested. As others have underscored, Benjamin Gasket's Twitter account may not be the most reliable source of Apple leaks so take this report with a big pinch of salt.

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iPhone 8 could boast L-shaped battery and True Tone display, retain Lightning connector

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 24, 2017

Purported drawings of iPhone 8's logic board showing internal component layout leaked on the web Monday. The images indicate that Apple's upcoming flagship won't adopt USB-C after because the good ol' Lightning port can be seen at the bottom of the device. Other things we can infer from the images, allegedly obtained from a Foxconn source, include an L-shaped battery, a display with True Tone capability similar to that on the 9.7-inch iPad Pro and more.

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KGI: iPhone 8 could launch in extremely limited supply in September

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 28, 2017

According to the latest KGI Securities research note Monday, Apple's iPhone 8 could be in extremely limited supply to end 2017. The note, obtained by MacRumors, blames the delay on significant hardware upgrades like a custom edge-to-edge OLED display panel, a redesigned thin-film 3D Touch module, 3D sensing cameras, ten-nanometer A11 Fusion processors and substrate-like printed circuit board.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo writes in the note that Apple's suppliers are now expected to ramp up production of the handset as late as October or November versus the usual August-September timeframe for a new iPhone. As a result, Kuo believes that iPhone 8 will launch in September to face “severe supply shortages” for some time.

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