Early iPad Air 2 reviews praise display, performance

Cody Lee ∙ October 22, 2014

Right after its iPad event on Thursday, Apple gave a select group of journalists early access to its two new tablets— the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3—for early review. Tonight, a number of those reviews hit the web, offering up initial feedback on the two devices.

Reviews for the new iPad mini seem pretty dull, given how similar it is to its predecessor, but reviewers had some interesting things to say about the iPad Air 2. So, as usual, we've rounded up some excerpts from Air 2 reviews to give you an idea of the consensus.

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Apple launches Maps Connect, a way for businesses to manage their Apple Maps listings

Cody Lee ∙ October 21, 2014

Apple has launched a new self-service portal for US businesses to add or edit listings within Apple Maps. Dubbed Apple Maps Connect, the portal aims to allow small business owners to ensure that their listings are up-to-date and accurate.

According to Search Engine Land, who has used the service, Maps Connect is free, and listings appear in Apple Maps on both desktop and mobile versions. You simply login with your Apple ID, and either create or claim your business listing.

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GT Advanced reaches bankruptcy deal with Apple, selling furnaces to pay debt

Cody Lee ∙ October 21, 2014

GT Advanced and Apple have reached a settlement that will allow the two companies to part ways amicably, reports The Wall Street Journal. Under the terms of the deal, GT will be paying Apple back for its $439 million loan by selling off its 2,000+ furnaces.

The news surfaced during GT Advanced's bankruptcy hearing this afternoon—two weeks ago, the sapphire-maker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Low cash flow was cited as a reason for the filing, but few details are known about the circumstances.

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The iPad Air 2 is much faster than the iPhone 6 and the original iPad Air

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 21, 2014

No big shocker at first glance. Of course the iPad Air 2, a device that's just now landing into the hands of rabid fans, is faster than the year-old device that it's intended to replace. Yes, the iPad Air 2 is faster, but it's the way that it's faster that is truly noteworthy.

The A8X processor that's nestled deep within the confines of the iPad Air 2's new slim and trim body is, for the first time in the history of iOS devices, a 1.5Ghz triple-core processor. The iPad Air 2 also features a healthy 2GB of RAM. Coincidentally, the 2GB of RAM is also a first for any iOS device.

Needless to say, the iPad Air 2 is a beast on paper, but it's no mere paper tiger. This thing screams, and the first benchmarks posted on MacRumors comparing it to previous iOS devices are proving that point.

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Another official Pokemon game has landed in the App Store

Cody Lee ∙ October 21, 2014

The Pokemon Company today released its second official game for iOS called Camp Pokemon. Aimed at kids between 6 and 8 years of age, the title takes place on an immersive island filled with various mini games that teach players what it takes to become a Pokemon trainer.

Completing each of these activities will net players a pin, which they can view later in their Pin Book, allowing them to track their progress. They can also collect stickers, which can then be used to decorate photos taken with either iPhone or iPad cameras from within the game.

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IMDb app adds box office info, movie tech specs and a couple other features

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 21, 2014

Amazon-owned IMDb, the world’s largest collection of movie, TV and celebrity information, has a nicely done iPhone and iPad application available for free in the App Store that has just gotten a whole lot better in the latest version 4.5 release.

For starters, the software at last provides a bunch of useful technical specifications for movies such as the original aspect ratio, color, audio, runtime and what not.

Next, movie pages now include box office information giving you yet another indication of the movie's popularity — that's in addition to the previous data like review scores. Note that U.S. box office result data was previously available only via the app's Popular Charts feature.

If you want to write a plot for an obscure movie that lacks descriptions, or maybe add interesting trivia to a television show, you can now do so directly in the mobile app, without visiting IMDb's interface on the web.

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Be choosy, Apple Pay is limited to 8 credit cards at any one time

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

I generally keep a lot of credit cards, because I like to play the loyalty frequent flier bonus miles game. I've been able to take some amazing trips for next to nothing over the years as a result.

But telling you about my global travels isn't the purpose of this post. The point of this post is to highlight a limit you'll encounter if you add enough cards to Apple Pay.

It appears that Apple Pay limits its users to only eight credit and/or debit cards per device. I ran into this limit as I was adding as many of my credit cards into Passbook as I could. It's nowhere near a deal breaker, but this is somewhat disappointing for me...

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You can now stream every episode of The Simpsons to iPhone and iPad

Cody Lee ∙ October 21, 2014

In line with expectations, FX has activated the Simpsons World portal in its FX Now application this afternoon. Authenticated users get access to a deep catalog of content, including, for the first time ever, on-demand access to all 552 episodes of The Simpsons television show.

Simpsons World will be available on various platforms, such as the FXNOW app for iPhone, iPad, Android, Xbox, Apple TV, and of course SimpsonsWorld.com. At the time of this writing, the portal was not showing up on Apple TV, but it did appear within the iOS FX Now app.

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Apple updates iTunes Connect app with iPhone 6, Touch ID support

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

Apple has this afternoon pushed out an update for its iTunes Connect app for iOS. The app offers registered iTunes developers a handful of management tools, including the ability to access sales data for their apps and e-books, for their iPhones and iPads.

Today's update brings the app to version 3.0.1, and while Apple suggests that it's a minor one, it adds support for some significant new features. The app now utilizes iOS 8 sign-in with Touch ID, and it supports the larger displays of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

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Following iCloud phishing attempts, Apple issues browser security support doc

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 21, 2014

Following a report Monday by Great Fire alleging that the government in China attempted to compromise the security of Apple's users by redirecting local traffic to a fake iCloud.com login webpage, Apple on Tuesday confirmed it was aware of the phishing attempts and ensured its servers had not been compromised, according to a CNBC report.

The company also took additional steps in the form of a new support document which teaches unsuspecting users how to verify that their web browser is in fact securely connected to the genuine iCloud.com login page.

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Apple said to be planning holiday launch for Apple Pay loyalty program

Cody Lee ∙ October 21, 2014

Apple is hoping to launch its rumored Apple Pay loyalty rewards program in time for the holiday season, reports Bank Innovation. The program was initially thought to be part of Apple Pay 2.0, expected in the fall of 2015, but new reports claim Apple pushed up the time table.

How the program will work is still unknown, but Bank Innovation says it will likely utilize Apple's iBeacon tech. It offers an example that includes the Apple Pay user receiving a push notification while in a clothing store that reads: "hey if you buy this now, you can get this for free."

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