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New watchOS 2.2.1 and OS X 10.11.5 betas have dropped, too

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 20, 2016

After seeding iOS 9.3.2 beta 2 to its registered developers this morning, Apple has also released new betas for its other forthcoming operating system updates: watchOS 2.2.1 and OS X 10.11.5 El Capitan. You can download watchOS 2.2.1 beta 2 (build 13V420) and OS X 10.11.5 beta 2 (build 15F24b) through Apple's Developer Center, which requires a paid account for full access, or apply them on the devices themselves through the Software Update mechanism on devices running a beta OS.

Apple seeds iOS 9.3.2 beta 2 to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 7, 2017

Two weeks after Apple released the first beta of iOS 9.3.2 to its registered developers, the company today released iOS 9.3.2 beta 2 to members of the Apple Developer Program. The new beta has a build number and can be applied over-the-air on devices running an iOS 9 beta in Settings → General → Software Update or you can download the full installer from the Apple Developer Center, which requires a paid membership in the Apple Developer Program for full access.

Samsung to re-enter Apple’s supply chain for NAND flash memory chips in 2017

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 20, 2016

Following a five-year hiatus, Apple's frenemy Samsung is set to supply NAND flash memory chips to Apple for its devices beginning with 2017, ETNews reported Wednesday. NAND flash memory is extensively used across Apple's many products, including the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch and Mac notebooks.

Apple dropped Samsung as a NAND flash supplier following the iPhone 5 introduction in 2012 because the South Korean conglomerate was stuck with ball grid array (BGA) packaging and refused to invest in land grid array (LGA) package contacts that allow the flash memory chips to sit flush with the printed circuit board and were required to comply with Apple's electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding requirements.

Use Apple Maps and plan trips on the big screen with TV Maps for Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 20, 2016

Since learning that Apple's software development kit now includes a new MapKit framework for tvOS, I've been eagerly awaiting to see what Apple TV developers are going to do with it. I salivated at the prospect of Apple Maps on a big screen telly because it sounded too good to be true.

Even better, Apple's SDK supports advanced features like map annotations, adding overlays and performing reverse-geocoding lookups to determine placemark information for map coordinates, among other features.

With TV Maps by Arno Appenzeller—to my knowledge, this is one of the first of MapsKit-enabled apps for the new Apple TV—you can browse Apple Maps from the comfort of your couch. At long last, planning trips on the big screen has become a reality for those of us who're invested into the Apple ecosystem. The experience of using maps on a television is much cooler than you could imagine: this is the first tvOS app that has made me wish that the Apple TV supported hand gestures so that I could explore maps Minority Report-style.

84 percent of devices are now using iOS 9

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 20, 2016

iOS 9, Apple's latest and greatest edition of the mobile operating system powering the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, is currently installed on 84 percent of device, according to the freshest stats posted on Apple's official App Store dashboard for developers.

In less than a month, iOS 9 adoption rate has climbed from the eighty percent mark, a figure Apple officially shared during its March 21 'Let us loop you in' media event, to 84 percent—a cool four-point gain.

Let’s Talk Jailbreak 148: Interview with nitoTV developer Kevin Bradley

Sébastien Page ∙ April 20, 2016

Today we have a slightly different show for you with a slightly different format. We actually have Kevin Bradley also known as nitoTV on the show. I sat down for a few minutes with Kevin and chatted a little bit about the recent Apple TV jailbreak and the release of nitoTV. I want to warn you that the sound quality is not that great. It’s actually pretty bad at times, but I hope you will enjoy this episode of LTJ nonetheless. And now, without further ado, Kevin Bradley.

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SwitchHUD makes it easy to toggle between iPhone volume modes

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 20, 2016

The two most commonly-used volume modes in iOS are the ringer volume and media volume. The ringer volume controls the volume of text tones, ring tones, and notification sounds, while the media volume controls the volume of your music and videos.

The only problem is, iOS likes to default to the ringer volume all the time, unless you have media playing. If you do, that's the only time the volume buttons will actually change the media volume level.

If you don't like that solution, then hold on to your seats, because we're going to be showing you a new free jailbreak tweak called SwitchHUD, which takes volume switching to the next level by letting you manually toggle between the two at any time with an Activator action.

Marquee lets you have long, scrolling folder names in iOS

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 20, 2016

If you've ever had a folder name that was too long for iOS to display, then you probably had an atrocious-looking folder title like the one above; cut off, and ended with an ellipsis.

Unfortunately, the way stock iOS handles longer folder names makes it nearly impossible to tell what the entire folder title is.

That's why a new free jailbreak tweak called Marquee is going to appeal to those of you with the desire to have longer folder names on your Home screen.

Apple begins enabling web previews for Apple TV apps

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple has begun rolling out iTunes web previews for fourth generation Apple TV apps. The move, which was first spotted by Jeff Scott (via MacStories), will allow both users and developers to easily share links to Apple TV apps on the web.

It doesn't appear that web previews are available for all apps yet, and it's unclear which apps it's working for—Apple isn't advertising them anywhere. If you want to see what they look like, here's a link to Scott's app for Beergeek.com TV.

Apple says it refused Chinese demand for iOS source code

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple declined to provide Chinese officials with access to iOS source code, General counsel Bruce Sewell said on Tuesday at a subcommittee hearing on encryption. "We have been asked by the Chinese government. We refused."

Sewell said the request had come in the last two years, and noted several times that Apple has not cooperated with China on that level. Some lawmakers have questioned whether or not Apple has given the country special treatment.

Apple Pay launches in Singapore with support from Amex, Visa and MasterCard due soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

Through launch partnership with American Express, customers in Singapore can now take advantage of Apple's mobile payment system to pay for goods and services in stores with a touch of their finger. Adding Singapore to the list of countries that support Apple Pay was advertised earlier today on the local Apple Pay website in Singapore.

Local retailers like FairPrice, Starbucks, TopShop, TopMan, StarHub, Shaw Theaters and several others will now take Apple Pay as a form of payment. In the coming months, outlets like 7 Eleven, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Food Republic and Toast Box will roll out support for Apple Pay in the 5.4 million people country.

New MacBooks offer 90 percent faster SSD write speeds, Skylake CPU up to 20 percent faster

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 6, 2016

Apple today announced a second-generation twelve-inch MacBook which brings speed increases across the board thanks to the use of Intel's latest Skylake chip platform, PCIe-based flash storage and a speedier 1,866MHz RAM.

The Verge took the new machines briefly for a spin. Having put the new MacBook through its paces in Primate Labs' $0.99 Geekbench 3 benchmarking app to measure the performance of the new Intel CPU and using the free Blackmagic Disk Speed Test app for benchmarking disk I/O operations, the publication was able to determine just how performant the updated flash storage and Intel's new Skylake CPU are.