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Apple: unexpected iPhone 6s battery shutdowns caused by a manufacturing issue

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 2, 2016

Two weeks ago, Apple issued a global battery replacement program to address a problem where some iPhone 6s handsets manufactured between September and October 2015 may unexpectedly shut down (see if your phone is eligible for a free battery via Apple's web tool).

While the company originally did not say why these devices are shutting down when the battery indicator drops below the 30 percent mark, MacRumors points us to a message posted in a support document on Apple's website in China which blames the problem on a manufacturing issue.

OWC’s ThunderBay 4 mini is now available with up to 40TB SSD storage

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Other World Computing (OWC) expanded its ThunderBay lineup of storage devices with the introduction of the speedy ThunderBay mini 4 portable SSD storage with RAID 5 two years ago. Recently, OWC introduced its highest capacity and fastest desktop SSD configurations yet by adding 10, 20, 30 and 40TB SSDs to the ThunerBay mini 4.

Apple is switching App Store pricing from USD to regional currencies in 9 countries

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 2, 2016

Apple's emailed its registered developers to inform them of some upcoming App Store pricing policy changes in Egypt, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Tanzania and Vietnam.

No longer will prices of paid downloads on these local App Stores be shown in US dollars. According to the communique, the App Store in these markets will now show prices of apps and In-App Purchases in their domestic currency.

iOS 10.1.1 bug allows researchers to bypass Activation Lock protection on iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 2, 2016

Back in November, India-based security researcher Hemanth Joseph discovered a bug in iOS 10.1 which permitted him to bypass Apple's anti-theft Activation Lock feature by entering an excessively long string of characters in the Wi-Fi setup text fields.

Apple has patched the flaw in iOS 10.1.1 but now, as noted by SecurityWeek, researchers at Vulnerability Lab have managed to find another method of bypassing Activation Lock protection on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iOS 10.1.1 and they posted video evidence to prove it.

How to hide specific mounted volumes from your Mac’s desktop

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated December 8, 2022

We've already covered how to completely prevent partitions from mounting under macOS, but sometimes you want a partition mounted and ready to use but still want the benefit of it not cluttering up your desktop. For example, many people want their Time Machine partition constantly mounted and backing up throughout the day but don't need it to be visible at all.

Finder's preferences allow for hiding all volumes from the desktop but offer no control on a volume-by-volume basis. Therefore, we'll show you how to use the Terminal to hide mounted volumes on a case-by-case basis.

SmallHint keeps a subtle hint for your passcode on your Lock screen

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 2, 2016

Forgetful people can now combat their inability to remember their iPhone or iPad passcodes with a new free jailbreak tweak called SmallHint.

What this tweak allows you to do is put an inconspicuous hint on your Lock screen, just below the date, that can help jog your memory in the event that you forget your passcode.

Apple’s free app of the week: Toca Hair Salon 2

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 1, 2016

Like every Thursday, Apple today updated its Free App of the Week promotion on the App Store with a brand new item, a kids-friendly game called Toca Hair Salon 2. This means that for the next seven days, you’ll be able to download this app free of charge—a savings of $2.99.

In Toca Hair Salon 2, you play as one of the six charming characters and run a hair salon of your own.

There are lots of virtual tools of trade at your disposal which you'd find in any hair salon that let you cut, color and style any way you want, from a simple comb and scissors to a curling iron and a straightener.

iHeartRadio launches two on-demand subscription tiers in beta

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 1, 2016

iHeartRadio started out in April 2008 as a simple Internet radio service at the website iheartmusic.com before becoming both a music recommendations system and a radio network that aggregates content from hundreds of local radio stations across the U.S. On Thursday, the company stepped into on-demand streaming with a pair of subscription tiers, launching in beta, that let listeners create playlists from tracks, listen to music offline, play songs in any order, skip tracks and more.

Google Santa Tracker goes live

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 1, 2016

Google today launched its Santa Tracker in Google Maps. If you find NORAD's own Santa Tracker lacking in terms of visuals and overall design, Google's web app may be right up your alley. By visiting santatracker.google.com from any device, you can take a peek at at Santa's Village as the white-bearded man gets ready for the big day.

Unfortunately, the Santa Tracker does not work in Apple's Safari browser so use Chrome instead or another browser of your choice.

Google updates Docs, Sheets and Slides with Trash view

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 1, 2016

Google has updated its productivity mobile apps on the App Store—Docs, Sheets and Slides—that act as alternatives to Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The new versions of these apps have added a brand new Trash view which lets you easily recover previously deleted documents, spreadsheets and presentations. In addition to Trash, the most recent updates to Docs, Sheets and Slides come with the usual bug fixes and performance improvements.

iPhone 7 demand reportedly starts fading as iPhone 8 rumors continue picking up steam

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 1, 2016

Apple has enjoyed success with the new iPhone 7 family as the Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus models saw strong demand, in some part due to Samsung's Note 7 debacle. But demand for latest iPhones may have started to fade recently, forcing Apple to cut back on orders, Taiwanese supply chain sources told trade publication DigiTimes.

That's especially true with the rumor-mill in high gear regarding next year's massive iPhone 8 upgrade and all the talk of the so-called Tenth Anniversary iPhone gaining all-glass, bezel-free industrial design and a wraparound OLED displays akin to that on the Galaxy S7 edge.