Video: developers read 1-star reviews

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 7, 2016

User-submitted reviews on the App Store can be quite mean. There's no denying the fact that people too often slam app makers with 1-star reviews without much thinking.

Now, some of the most unfavorable app ratings are based on complaints about the most mundane things such as the size of the font, the color palettes or the lack of features users think developers should have prioritized over the others and what not.

In case you haven't yet seen this video in which well-known developers read aloud some of the 1-star reviews their apps contend with, give it a quick watch now and meet us in comments.

Read More

Video: Apple’s Craig Federighi on the new MacBook Pro, Touch Bar and a touchscreen Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 7, 2016

The MacBook Pro controversy isn't dying down yet so Apple dispatched Craig Federighi, its Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, who discussed the new Pro and thinking behind the Touch Bar feature in a short video interview with CNET in which he also defends no-touchscreen Mac stance.

He goes on to reveal that Apple had in fact built several touchscreen prototypes that however didn't impress Apple executives enough to greenlight the project.

Read More

Google overhauls Gmail for iOS, adds swipe to archive/delete, Undo Send & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 7, 2016

Google today pushed an update to Gmail for iOS, bringing out several new productivity-focused enhancements. Gmail 5.0.3 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, a free download from the App Store, has been overhauled to make navigation easier than before. More importantly, the refreshed mobile Gmail client packs in an Undo Send feature, improved search with spelling suggestions, a new swipe to archive or delete feature and more.

Read More

Hit PC/Mac strategy game ROME: Total War is launching on iPad later this week

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 17, 2017

Mac and Linux games publisher Feral Interactive has confirmed today that it will be bringing the iconic PC strategy game ROME: Total War to the iPad this coming Thursday. “On November 10, the grandeur, glory and brutality of Ancient Rome comes to iPad,” said the company.

The premium title is priced at $9.99 and includes no In-App Purchases whatsoever. Feral is promising touch-friendly controls, optimized Retina graphics with updated textures and other enhancements.

This marks the first time ROME: Total War has been ported to mobile devices.

Read More

Samsung Galaxy S8 to integrate Viv personal assistant developed by Siri creators

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 7, 2016

As we reported, Samsung last month bought Viv Labs, a San Jose startup co-founded by former Siri creators who have developed a brand new Viv artificial intelligence assistant. The Galaxy maker has now confirmed to Reuters that it will be integrating Viv technology into an advanced personal digital assistant of its own.

Samsung's Viv-based AI assistant will debut on next year's Galaxy S8. According to The Wall Street Journal, the handset should have a dedicated button to summon the new service though the Galaxy S8 may be delayed until April following the costly Note 7 debacle rather than at the Mobile World Congress trade show in February.

Read More

Rumor: Apple could add new Jet White finish to iPhone 7 lineup

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 7, 2016

The fairly reliable Japanese blog Mac Otakara is reporting that Apple is considering adding a brand new colorway to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus lineup: Jet White. Based on purported information received from suppliers, the outlet speculates Apple may be planning to add a Jet White model to the iPhone 7 lineup, although plans could change and Apple could abandon the idea. Mac Otakara cautioned that its sources “may be unreliable.”

Read More

Wallpapers of the week: yellow, red, and blue droplets

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Any time Apple uses specific images to highlight their new products, we scramble to find copies. For example, go ahead and grab our iPhone 7 marketing wallpapers, from the Apple website. In addition, Apple used what appears to be amorphous droplets in a variety of colors to highlight the iPhone 7, but neglected to put them in the iOS 10 GM.

Thankfully, with the release of iOS 10.2 beta 1, the wallpapers are now included. If you do not have a dev account and the latest beta, you will be waiting for the images. Additionally, these wallpapers appear to be available only for iPhone 7, so this might be your only chance to get your hands on them if you don't have the latest device.

Read More

Luca Todesco tweets photo of iPhone 7 jailbroken on iOS 10.1.1

Anthony Bouchard ∙ November 6, 2016

At the end of last week, a demo video surfaced on Reddit revealing what appeared to be an iPhone 7 running iOS 10.1 that was jailbroken.

There was a lot of skepticism surrounding its legitimacy, but now the established iOS hacker Luca Todesco is sharing photographic evidence of his own iPhone 7 jailbroken on iOS 10.1.1 via Twitter.

Read More