WhatsApp for iPhone rolling out VoIP calling, gains iOS 8 share extension and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 31, 2023

Following months of promises and multiple delays, Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which commands more than 800 million active users worldwide, on Tuesday started rolling a voice calling feature in its iPhone application.

WhatsApp Calling is a staggered release and will be rolling out “slowly over the next several weeks,” the company said, meaning it may not be available for you immediately.

In addition to calling other people for free over Wi-Fi networks, regardless of where they may live, the app has gained other enhancements, too, starting with a much welcomed app extension on iPhones running iOS 8. Sadly enough, this update hasn't brought out support for iOS 8's Interactive Notifications.

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Deliveries: a great way to track your Apple Watch order

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Like all of us at iDB, you're likely waiting on pins and needles with regard to your Apple Watch order. Will you get it on April 24th, the first official launch day? Will you have to wait a while?

Of course, the answer to that question is still up in the air. Many people saw movement yesterday, including credit card charges, and shipping status changes, but none of us at iDB, myself included, have seen an actual "shipped" message as of yet.

In the meantime, I'll keep watching my orders like a hawk. I find that the best way to track an Apple Watch order is to use the Deliveries iOS app. With Deliveries, you don't even need a standard UPS or FedEx tracking number to track your Apple Watch order, because it works directly with Apple's order numbers.

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Survey: Apple Pay surpasses PayPal in mobile payments

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 2, 2018

Apple Pay is picking up steam and has hit an important milestone: the service is outperforming PayPal in mobile payments, according to a new 451 Research survey shared with iDownloadBlog on Tuesday. It's been gaining momentum in the mobile payments space since becoming available six months ago, primarily at the expense of PayPal.

The March study, conducted by 451 Research’s ChangeWave service, consisted of 4,168 respondents primarily based in North America, and looked at planned use of mobile payment applications and the issue of security.

Respondents interested in buying an Apple Watch are twice as likely (54 percent) as all other smartphone owners to say they’ll use mobile payment apps (29 percent said 'Very Likely' and 25 percent said 'Somewhat Likely').

And overall consumer interest in Samsung's mobile payments service (which is launching this summer) sits at a meager eight percent of respondents who are 'Very Likely' or 'Somewhat Likely' to use Samsung Pay in the future.

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Apple awarded patents for Apple Watch Sport Band, Classic Buckle and Link Bracelet designs

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 21, 2015

Innovation that went into conceiving, designing and engineering the Apple Watch extends to the bands, too. And as we count down the remaining days until Watches start shipping, the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) has just granted Apple a trio of patents covering designs for the most popular Watch straps, branded the Sport Band, Classic Buckle and Link Bracelet.

Interestingly enough, all three patents are titled just “Band” and described as covering “the ornamental design for a band”. The newly issued patent grants arrived just one month following another USPTO patent award for the Watch's Modern Buckle strap.

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Microsoft updates PowerPoint with remote Apple Watch functionality

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Microsoft on Tuesday issued a refresh to its PowerPoint presentation software on the App Store, adding remote functionality for Apple Watch users.

The newly added PowerPoint Remote feature allows you to control slides running on your iPhone, such as starting the slideshow and easily navigating to the next and previous slides.

In addition, the Watch app provides you with an at-a-glance overview of the elapsed presentation time while putting the current slide number and total number of slides on your wrist.

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NimbleBit releases new word game ‘Letterpad’ with Apple Watch support

Cody Lee ∙ April 20, 2015

Long-time developer NimbleBit, responsible for several hit titles such as Tiny Tower and Pocket Planes, released a new game on Monday called 'Letterpad.' It's a word puzzler, and it's available for free for both the iPhone and iPad, as well as the Apple Watch.

The game tasks players with finding words related to the given topic, hidden within a group of 9 letters. So if the topic is 'Music,' you'll want to uncover words related to that such as radio or jam. Find all the words, and work your way through over 200 puzzles.

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Apple preparing initial batch of Apple Watches for shipment

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple on Monday began notifying pre-order customers that it is preparing their Apple Watch orders for shipment. Multiple members of the iDB team saw the status of their Watch orders change from 'Processing Items' to 'Preparing for Shipment' this afternoon.

Apple also began charging customer credit cards for their orders on Monday, something that it typically doesn't do for new products until they are ready to be shipped. Combined, these signs bode well for Apple's ability to get Watches out to customers this week.

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Twitter now lets you receive DMs from anyone

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 2, 2018

Twitter apps for mobiles are getting a small yet significant update Monday, bringing out the ability to receive direct messages (DMs) from anyone. The company originally rolled out this feature as an experiment in October 2013 only to pull it the following month because it was unfinished and not ready for prime time yet. You opt-in to use the new feature by ticking a box next to “Receive Direct Messages from anyone” in the settings.

This lets anyone on Twitter send you a private message, regardless of whether or not they're following you. Previously, direct messaging has only been possible between users who follow each other.

The current implementation doesn't pose a major threat to established messaging services due to an account limit of 1,000 DMs sent per day. Once you hit this limit, you won't be able to send any more DMs for the day. The update is currently rolling out to App Stores around the world so check back in a few hours if it's not live yet.

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How Apple Watch measures your heart rate

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 20, 2015

A support document Apple published earlier this month contains a number of interesting tidbits and nice-to-knows regarding the Watch's built-in heart rate monitor. We thought it'd be useful to give you a quick summation of the technologies the wrist-worn device uses to provide accurate readings of your heart rate.

The document also confirms that the Watch can connect wirelessly to external heart rate monitors such as Bluetooth chest straps for even more precise readouts.

All in all, Apple's done a fine job outlining in Layman's terms the tech and the sensors that measure a user's heart rate, a feature many reviewers have described as seamless. In Apple's parlance, it just works and here's exactly how it works.

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