Apple hires former NASA veterans for augmented reality and self-driving software testing

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Apple has hired several expets from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), including three engineers who worked at the space organization's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. They, along with other engineers, have been tasked with working on Apple's rumored augmented reality projects and self-driving software initiatives.

According to the latest articles from Bloomberg, Dow Jones Newswire and Business Insider, a rare bureaucratic mistake has revealed Apple’s secret team of NASA veterans and experts holding PhDs in robotics and other related fields. They were apparently recruited for Project Titan, Apple's self-driving car project, and augmented reality, another not-so-secret Apple initiative.

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Let’s Talk iOS 184: Pulling the trigger

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated May 2, 2017

The trigger has been pulled and iDB got a new design, so Cody and Sebastien talk a bit about what went into this design and why. Of course, the two co-hosts also discuss the latest iPhone 8 rumors, as well as more concrete news, like Apple's involvement in satellites.

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“Today at Apple” educational sessions coming to Apple Stores in May

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 25, 2017

Apple announced Tuesday that dozens of new educational sessions will be launching next month across the 495 retail outlets the company operates in the United States and around the world.

These hands-on sessions, collectively called “Today at Apple,” have been offered at Apple's flagship Union Square store in San Francisco since last year, with topics ranging from photo/video to music, coding, art, design and more. Apple says these sessions cater to all skill levels/ages and include how-to lessons, professional-level courses and more.

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Dutch court rules Apple cannot replace broken iOS gadgets with refurbished or remanufactured ones

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 25, 2017

A judge in the Subdistrict Court of Amsterdam has ruled that Apple cannot replace broken iPhone, iPad or iPod touch devices with refurbished or remanufactured units, Dutch outlet Tweakers reported Tuesday. That ruling arrived after a similar decision in December 2016 forced the Cupertino giant to replace a Danish man’s broken iPhone with a new unit rather than a refurbished model that he was entitled to in accordance with local law.

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Pangu allegedly demo iOS 10.3.1 jailbreak

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated February 16, 2021

Images have surfaced on Chinese blogging site Weibo which appear to show a working jailbreak for Apple's current firmware, iOS 10.3.1. Whilst details are extremely thin on the ground at present, they appear to be genuine and are an encouraging sight for jailbreakers everywhere.

Remember: Demonstrating a jailbreak is not the same as committing to release a jailbreak. Many tools use exploits the teams wish to keep for research purposes. Jailbreaks are sometimes demonstrated with no intention of release.

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Super Mario Run gains Game Center achievements, new buildings & other perks

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Nintendo just issued a second major update to Super Mario Run for iPhone following the game's App Store inception in December 2016. Version 2.1 includes several enhancements and perks, such as official support for Game Center achievements (finally!), the ability to use your bespoke Miitomo character as your in-game player icon, new buildings including the 8-bit Bowser Statue, Bullet Bill Statue and Bob-omb Statue, plus additional changes and improvements.

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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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