iPhone jailbreaking pioneer George Hotz is building a self-driving car of his own

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 16, 2015

George Hotz aka ”Geohot”, one of the pioneers of the early jailbreak scene, is building a self-driving car of its own, according to a lengthy profile published today by Bloomberg Businessweek.

If you frequent this website, you're probably aware that Hotz is credited with becoming the first person to carrier-unlock an iPhone, which allowed users to use their handset with other carriers.

Much like he'd hacked the original iPhone, he's now done the same with his ordinary 2016 Acura ILX sedan. Working in his garage, he's managed to turn the Acura into a self-driving vehicle in about a month, by putting a laser-based radar on the roof, mounting a camera near the rearview mirror and attaching a 21.5-inch screen and a joystick to the dashboard.

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Lightroom for iOS gains iPad Pro & 3D Touch support, camera with real-time presets and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 16, 2015

Adobe today unleashed a major update to its Lightroom photography application for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad in the App Store.

Both Lightroom for iPhone and Lightroom for iPad apps now feature full support for the iPad Pro's high-resolution screen and iOS 9'2 Split View and Slide Over multitasking modes, in addition to an all-new built-in Adobe camera with shoot-through presets.

You also get split-tone adjustments, a Notification Center widget to launch the Adobe camera, full support for 3D Touch shortcuts on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus and much more.

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Asphalt 8: Airborne receives 3D Touch controls, Lamborghini Egoista, Area 51 track and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 16, 2015

Gameloft's super-popular arcade racing title, Asphalt 8: Airborne, has received a major holiday-themed update in the App Store today, bringing out tons of new content. For the first time ever, the Lamborghini Egoista makes an appearance, not just in Asphalt but in any video game for that matter. You can unlock this amazing car, as well as the exclusive McLaren 570, Mercedes SLK 5 and more, in the new racing events starting December 18.

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iOS 9 now installed on 71 percent of devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 16, 2015

According to fresh new stats from Apple's App Store dashboard for developers, iOS 9 is now powering 71 percent of iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices in active use, a one-percentage point gain versus the 70 percent milestone recorded two weeks ago.

iOS 8 continues declining as a result, dropping from 22 percent two weeks ago to 21 percent of iOS hardware as of yesterday, indicating that much of iOS 9's growth in the 14-day period came from users upgrading to iOS 8 and new iPhone buyers.

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This DC splitter doubles your car charger sockets

Lory Gil ∙ December 16, 2015

Some cars have just one power outlet (aka cigarette lighter) to be shared amongst all gadget-using travelers. There are multi-USB adapters that help spread the wealth, but it would be even better if there were two power outlets.

Bestek makes an adapter that splits into two DC power outlets and provides two USB ports for all your charging needs. If you add something like the EleckeyTM or the reVOLT, then you're talking six charges at a time.

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Let’s Talk iOS 113: Are we still talking about a case?

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Episode 113: A breakdown and review of Apple's newly-released and highly polarizing Smart Battery Case. iOS 9.2 is released with lots of new features. The Apple Remote app is now compatible with the new Apple TV. Apple launches watchOS 2.1, and we talk about what we'd like to see from the rumored Apple Watch hardware refresh.

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Seng: even in beta, it’s the best App Switcher tweak for jailbroken iOS 9 devices [video]

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

If you're looking for an App Switcher replacement for iOS 9, then look no further than Seng, the currently in-beta Auxo-inspired tweak from developer Charlie Hewitt. We first told you about Seng's recent beta a few days ago, but since then, I've been able to go hands-on with the tweak.

What I found was a tweak that worked much like the original version of Seng released back in the summer time. The big difference here is that Seng now plays nice with iOS 9, a feat that's likely harder than it looks given the state of Auxo 3.

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How to save serious money with Apple-Certified Refurbished hardware deals

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

I'm a big believer in taking advantage of Apple-Certified Refurbished hardware sales. Not only do its refurbished models undergo extra scrutiny, but each product is backed up by a 1-year warranty, are Apple Care eligible, and come with free shipping.

The real draw to buying Apple-Certified Refurbished hardware is the amount of money that you can save on hardware. It's not uncommon to find hardware going anywhere from 15% to 24% off retail price.

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Mockingbird: a new App Switcher tweak that’s not quite ready for prime time

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated June 11, 2018

Mockingbird ($1.99 on Cydia) is a new jailbreak tweak that brings a completely redesigned App Switcher experience to jailbroken iPhones running iOS 9. The tweak merges App Switcher cards and Notification Center notifications for a unique app switching experience that's truly original.

Unfortunately, originality will only score you so many points. Mockingbird, while presenting some good ideas, is the textbook example of a tweak that was released long before being ready for prime time.

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How to purge iPhone memory without rebooting

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 14, 2017

As you use apps on your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, iOS dynamically manages system memory (don't confuse RAM with storage), allocating chunks of RAM to foreground and background tasks and suspending memory usage for apps that are not actively running in the background.

For the most part, iOS manages RAM efficiently to ensure that your frequently-used applications are ready for action as soon as you switch to them. But as so-called garbage collection is not available in iOS, a poorly written application might keep large portions of memory to itself and refuse to release it at iOS's request, resulting in slower performance.

You can get around this by rebooting your device, but there's a more elegant way to purge the memory taken up by apps without rebooting, as explained in this tutorial.

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KGI: 3D Touch-less iPad Air 3 due in H1 2016

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 15, 2015

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared some interesting predictions for 2016 iPhones and iPads in a note sent to clients this morning, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors.

For starters, Kuo is adamant that the third-generation iPad Air will be arriving in the first half of next year. The tablet won't be outfitted with a pressure-sensing screen due to alleged production issues related to building a 9.7-inch 3D Touch sensor array.

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