How to sort iOS notifications

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 14, 2017

iOS has always grouped alerts in the Notification Center in the order they were received. If you're overwhelmed with numerous notifications from apps and services on a daily basis, this can quickly clutter your view and push important notifications out of the view.

It is possible to change grouping of push alerts to have them compartmentalized according to their respective originating app and listed in the order you define.

In this tutorial, we'll detail how you can select, manage and adjust app grouping within the Notification Center on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

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Targus Versavu folio for iPad Air 2 is a sturdy and practical case

Lory Gil ∙ Updated June 11, 2018

When it comes to protection for Apple's tablet, there is a number of options. You may want a waterproof case so you can read by the pool, or a rugged case so you can take it on hikes. A nice folio is great for heading out to a business meeting.

Targus' Versavu is a folio case that is all business. It protects your iPad Air 2 from scrapes and bumps while providing a classic look. This model also features a rotating shell so you can flip your tablet into portrait mode.

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Apple adds digital license plate engineer to Project Titan team

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2016

Apple recently added digital license plate expert Rónán Ó Braonáin to its growing Project Titan team, reports Electrek.co. The site points to Braonáin's LinkedIn profile, which notes that he served as Director of Engineering at Reviver before becoming a "Secret Agent" working on special projects at Apple.

Before working at Reviver, a company that makes digital license plates, Braonáin wrote fleet management software to read data from electric vehicles for Vision Fleet. And prior to that, he worked at German auto manufacturer BMW as a software engineer on the team responsible for its connected car apps.

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Review: take a Quick Look inside OS X installer packages with Suspicious Package for Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

I download apps for my Mac from the Mac App Store whenever possible. Going through the Mac App Store gives me a piece of mind knowing Apple screens all submissions and keeps harmful software at bay.

But every once in a while, an app comes along and gets distributed outside the Mac App Store's safe haven. True, one can verify signing information for non-Mac App Store apps in Terminal, but it isn't for the faint-hearted.

That's precisely the kind of problem that a nifty little Mac app, called Suspicious Package, solves in one fell swoop.

Created by a company called Mothers Ruin Software, the free of charge app is actually a plug-in for the Mac's Quick Look feature, allowing you to easily and quickly inspect contents of  a .PKG installer file after you've downloaded it but before it's launched.

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Apple posts OS X 10.11.2 beta 2 to public beta testers

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2015

Less than 48 hours after seeding its developers with the second OS X 10.11.2 El Capitan beta, Apple today made OS X 10.11.2 beta 2 available to public beta testers.

People who are running a previous El Capitan beta on their Mac can apply the update through the Mac App Store's Purchased tab, or download the standalone installer through Apple's portal for developers. You must be a member of the Apple Beta Software Program to use this pre-release software.

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How to use photos from the Shot on iPhone 6 campaign as screensavers on your Apple TV

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated October 9, 2023

The new Apple TV features quite a few screensaver options available via tvOS' Settings app. In it, you can setup the cool new aerial view screensavers, or you can choose to use screensavers based on album artwork from music found in your music library.

Along with those screensaver options, you can enable screensavers based on photos in your photo library, including Photo Stream photos and iCloud Photo Library photos. You can even go as far as to extract photos from videos and music accessible via Home Sharing if you happen to have Home Sharing enabled.

Of course, Apple is lending us the typical Animals, Flowers, and Nature photos as screensaver options as well. Needless to say, there's no shortage of potential screensavers for use on the new Apple TV.

But one particular option stood out to me above all of the others, and that's Apple's new "Shot on iPhone 6" screensavers. Yes, Apple is allowing us to take photos from its Shot on iPhone 6 media campaign, and use them as screensavers on our Apple TV. In this post, we'll show you how.

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Facebook launches Music Stories with Spotify and Apple Music integration

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2015

Facebook is announcing today a brand new feature called Music Stories, basically a new post format for Facebook that should make it easier to discover and share music from Spotify and Apple Music.

Now every time you share songs or albums shared from Spotify or Apple Music using Facebook's iPhone application, these links will automatically get turned into the new post format which lets others listen to 30-second previews while on Facebook.

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Rayman Fiesta Run for iPhone and iPad slashed to $0 in Apple’s Free App of the Week promo

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2015

Since its November 2013 debut, Ubisoft's Rayman Fiesta Run has only gone free briefly through an in-app promotion within the Expedia app.

That's why Apple's editorial team has decided it was high time to permit everyone to download this game to their devices at no charge, so they've made Rayman Fiesta Run free until next Thursday.

This marks the first time the fast-paced platformer has been slashed to zero bucks in the App Store. Taking cues from Rayman Jungle Run, Rayman Fiesta Run has you jumping, flying, punching, running up the walls and more in the wacky new Fiesta world.

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Google Maps for iOS gains spoken traffic alerts

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2015

Google yesterday refreshed its iPhone and iPad mapping application in the App Store with a pair of new features. For starters, the iOS application introduces spoken traffic alerts to help you find the best route without taking your eyes off the road. In addition, it is now possible to add new and missing businesses from the app's sidebar menu.

Google Maps is available free in the App Store.

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iPhone 7 to run Synaptics’s display driver chips as Apple delays own in-house single-chip solution

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes is reporting that Apple has placed orders for display driver chips from supplier Synaptics for 2016 iPhones. This is interesting because rumors were swirling back in 2014 that Apple was buying Renesas SP Drivers, a division of Renesas Electronics and a sole supplier of LCD driver chips for iPhones.

The deal was supposed to help Apple “improve image sharpness and battery life” on iPhones, but negotiations broke down. Renesas was later acquired by touchscreen chipmaker Synaptics which wanted to combine its touch technology with Renesas’ display drivers into one chip.

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Google Drive gets better with sharing notifications and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2015

Google has updated its Drive cloud storage client for iOS with mobile notifications when files or folders are shared, or when someone requests access to a file you own.

The change allows for a more consistent sharing experience across platforms and includes enhancements such as jumping directly to a shared file by tapping on the notification banner and providing a custom message when sharing a file or folder with others.

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