Imgur for iOS gains search and revamped interface

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 2, 2015

After relaunching its iOS app and introducing an all-new interface in the Android client three months ago, Imgur today announced a major revamp of its iPhone and iPod touch application, a free download in the App Store.

For starters, the app has at last gained a Search feature so you can search for specific viral posts on the service. The app's grid view has been redesigned to show bigger thumbnails, push notifications have been improved and profile screens revamped for a more pleasing appearance.

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Huawei announces a new Android phone with a Force Touch-inspired pressure-sensitive screen

Jeff Benjamin ∙ September 2, 2015

The IFA trade show in Berlin is well under way, and Huawei, Chinese OEM of Android smartphones, just announced its Mate S—a new smartphone with Force Touch-esque technology incorporated into the screen. Of course, Huawei isn't officially calling it "Force Touch" in its press materials, but it is doing so via hashtags in tweets from its official Twitter account.

During its press event, Huawei took the opportunity to show off its new force-sensing screen weighing an orange by placing the piece of fruit on top of the Mate S' screen. I have to admit, that's kind of cool, but it also seems a bit odd at the same time.

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iPhone 7 rumored to switch back to using glass-on-glass screen technology

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 2, 2015

Unhappy with the in-cell screen process used in production of iPhone displays which is plagued with lower touch sensitivity on screen edges, Apple is reportedly considering a return to glass-on-glass (G/G) touchscreen panels for an 'iPhone 7,' a technology it ditched with the release of the iPhone 5 in the fall of 2012.

According to a somewhat sketchy report published Wednesday by DigiTimes, Apple is currently sampling glass-on-glass touch samples for 2016 iPhones.

If true, the iPhone 7—or whatever a 2016 iPhone ends up being named—will feature better touch accuracy, improved Multi-Touch performance and better touch detection on screen edges. In addition, glass-on-glass technology would permit the company to develop a bezel-free iPhone and support 4K resolutions.

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How to create animated GIFs on Mac

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

From time to time, I like to include GIF animations in my posts on iDB. I usually use GIFs when I want to demonstrate some functionality without making a full blown video to do so. GIFs are great for quick demonstrations where videos aren't necessarily needed.

Whenever I include a GIF animation on a post, there's usually at least one comment inquiring about how I went about making the GIF. Although there are many options out there for creating GIFs, including using Photoshop, I personally prefer GIFBrewery ($4.99 on the Mac App Store) from the folks over at Hello, Resolven Apps.  GIFBrewery is solely focused on creating GIFs, and thus, it's fairly straightforward and easy to use.

In this post, I'll show you my GIFBrewery workflow, and how I use this awesome Mac app to quickly create great-looking GIF animations from videos.

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Android Wear for iOS found incompatible with Apple’s HealthKit

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 2, 2015

Google's Android Wear for iPhone software debuted earlier this week and while we suspected ahead of its release it might not offer tight integration with iOS like the Apple Watch does, I don't think many people expected it to be incompatible with HealthKit, Apple’s platform for developers of health and fitness apps.

Sadly, that's exactly what transpired here.

As discovered by BuzzFeed, the decision to make Android Wear incompatible with HealthKit was entirely Google's as the search company wants iOS users who own Android Wear devices to log their steps and physical activity through its own Google Fit dashboard.

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Alpatronix AX400 is a tiny speaker with a big sound

Lory Gil ∙ September 2, 2015

When you are hanging out with friend, whether it is a backyard barbeque or a picnic in the park, music always makes the festivities a little more enjoyable. However, packing a heavy, large speaker into your picnic basket isn't exactly convenient.

Alpatronix AX400 Bluetooth speaker is less than five inches long and just over two inches tall. So, you can toss it in with all of your other outdoor gear and barely even notice its existence until you are ready to rock the tunes.

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Google Maps updated with new Street View features, custom map viewing, and more

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Less than a month adding a new Night Mode feature to its Maps app, Google is back with a host of new features for its popular iOS navigation app. The latest update to Google Maps, version 4.10.0, brings new features like new Street View thumbnails, custom maps, and support for six additional new languages.

Of course, Google also took the opportunity to update the Maps app with its new logo. Not only will you find the new Google logo inside of the Google Maps app, but the Mountain View, CA company has also updated its popular app with a brand new app icon.

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Apple adds yet another former Tesla engineer to Project Titan team

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple has hired yet another former Tesla engineer for its growing Project Titan team, reports MacRumors. The site points to the LinkedIn profile of Hal Ockerse, which shows he was an engineering manager at the electric car company before joining Apple in August as a "software engineer."

Ockerse's profile doesn't offer any details about his new position, but he's likely working on Apple's "Titan" electric car project. At Tesla, he worked on hardware architecture and advanced driver assistance system components, such as hi-res cameras, radars, LiDAR and engine control units.

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Instagram Direct rolls out threaded messaging and sending feed content privately

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 24, 2017

Tuesday, Facebook-owned Instagram launched some notable improvements for its private-messaging feature, called Instagram Direct.

Available in Instagram's 7.5 update, a free download in the App Store, Instagram Direct now supports threaded conversations and allows you to pick a photo from a user's feed to send to a friend or group privately as a Direct message.

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Review: ReBoard keyboard boosts your productivity and cuts down on app switching

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2015

The biggest thing about iOS 8 for me is a productivity boost stemming from new technologies such as pervasive inter-app communications, third-party actions in system-wide Share sheets and more. But for all the good work Apple's done from a productivity standpoint, iOS (version 9 included) still has some way to go before it's capable to exceed multitasking features on Microsoft's Surface tablets or Samsung's Note phablet, for example.

ReBoard, a new software keyboard for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad created by India's independent developer Gursimranjeet Singh, puts useful actions for performing common tasks and all sorts of look ups right into the keyboard itself so you won't need to switch back and forth between apps like an animal.

By embedding useful third-party shortcuts within the context of the keyboard, ReBoard can save you a lot of time and boost your productivity.

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Have you checked out Google’s new playful logo yet?

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2015

As part of its massive restructuring effort, the Internet giant Google on Tuesday showed off its brand new logo. While the Mountain View company has refined its logo multiple times over the past seventeen years, today's announcement marks the biggest visual change to Google's brand identity thus far.

The new logo reflects the fact that people now interact with Google across many different platforms, apps and devices, the company argues.

Check out the new logo and identity family and tell us in comments how you liked them.

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