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Join iDB for tomorrow’s iPad event

Cody Lee ∙ October 15, 2014

The iPad event is now just 18 hours away, and we can't wait to see what announcements Apple has in store. A thinner, more powerful iPad Air 2 with Touch ID and a higher resolution display, refreshed iPad mini, and a 4K 27-inch iMac are just a few things rumored to be on the menu.

Apple has confirmed that it will be streaming the festivities to its website and various iOS devices, but for those who won’t be able to watch the keynote live, iDB has you covered. We will be here all day, providing coverage of all announcements made before, during and after the event.

AT&T stops offering Beats Music subscriptions to customers

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

AT&T is no longer in the business of selling Beats Music subscriptions, reports MacRumors. The site spoke with an employee for the carrier who said he's been instructed to stop offering the service to customers as a monthly plan add-on.

Additionally, AT&T has pulled all references to Beats Music from its website, and no longer offers the option to sign up for the service when selecting a new phone plan. Beats Music has also removed "Subcribe with AT&T" from its website.

Apple to stop selling Fitbit products in stores

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 10, 2017

Apple may soon stop selling Fitbit device in its retail stores, according to Recode. The outlet says that its source gave no meaningful reason for why it's decided to pull the products, but it may have something to do with its upcoming Apple Watch.

Introduced at last month's media event, the Apple Watch is billed as a device capable of handling a number of smartphone tasks, as well as tracking and analyzing various health and fitness data. This would put it in direct competition with Fitbit.

Christian Bale in talks to play Steve Jobs in upcoming Sony biopic

Cody Lee ∙ October 15, 2014

Christian Bale may be playing Steve Jobs in Sony's highly anticipated biopic of the Apple co-founder, reports Variety. Citing sources familiar with the project, the outlet says it can confirm that the Oscar-winning actor is currently in talks for the part.

Perhaps best recognized for playing Bruce Wayne in the popular Dark Knight trilogy, Bale has taken on a variety of roles over the years. He's well known in the industry for his ability to alter both his appearance and accent to better portray characters.

Google roundup: Android Lollipop, Nexus 6 phone, Nexus 9 tablet and Nexus Play streamer

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 15, 2014

With less than 24 hours left until Apple's “It's been way too long” iPad and Mac media event, the Internet giant Google in a pre-emptive strike Wednesday officially unveiled the next major version of its mobile operating system, Android 5.0, along with the newest Nexus-branded hardware devices: a Motorola-made smartphone, a HTC-made tablet and an Asus-built game console and media streamer.

“A sweet new take on Android,” Android Lollipop is actually the Android L software the search giant teased at its Google I/O conference back in the summer. Containing over 5,000 new APIs for developers, Lollipop has been designed to be flexible to support all screen sizes and devices while taking Android's customization to the next level.

Facebook app updated with support for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 21, 2014

Facebook pushed out an update for its iOS client this afternoon, bringing the app to version 16.0. The social network doesn't say what changes were made, but it does now say "optimized for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus" in the description.

This is great news for folks with one of Apple's newer handsets, as their larger displays really highlight non-updated apps with stretched UI and fuzzy graphics. Facebook was one of the few remaining high profile apps without iPhone 6 support.

iOS 8 User Guide inadvertently confirms ‘iPad Air 2’ and ‘iPad mini 3’ with Touch ID and Burst mode

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 15, 2014

An inadvertent (or is it?) slip-up on Apple’s iBooks Store on Wednesday all but confirmed that tomorrow's media event will in fact serve as a launchpad for a pair of iPad refreshes: a second-generation iPad Air and third-generation iPad mini. Furthermore, the images suggest Touch ID fingerprint scanning for both new tablets, in addition to Burst camera mode for the regular-size iPad.

These revelations were made public via iTunes screenshots for the iOS 8 iPad User Guide that can be downloaded to iBooks, as first discovered by the prolific Apple blogger Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac.

YouTube app updated for larger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screens

Sébastien Page ∙ October 15, 2014

Google's YouTube app for iOS has just been updated to support the larger screen sizes of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. This update, which brings the app to version 2.13, also brings along a few bug fixes and stability improvements.

YouTube's app is one of Google most popular iOS apps to have been recently updated. Gmail and Chrome were also updated in the past couple of weeks to support iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

HBO relents, says standalone HBO Go subscription streaming service launching in 2015

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 10, 2017

Cable cutters, rejoice! HBO has relented and will go forward with plans to enable a standalone streaming service in 2015, Re/code reported Wednesday.

Though details are scarce, the forthcoming service will allow people to watch HBO's original programming, TV shows, movies, documentaries and more, but without pay TV subscription.

According to HBO CEO Richard Plepler speaking at Time Warner Inc.’s investor day meeting on Wednesday, the company is indeed planning to launch a “standalone, over-the-top” subscription offering at some point next year. The disruptive move couldn't be overstated as it's going to be a major blow to the complacent American cable industry.

Rumor: Apple switching to laser-cut logo with “shine at the edges” across all 2015 products

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 15, 2014

In spite of both The Wall Street Journal and Re/code’s reliable John Paczkowski cautioning against a Retina refresh for Apple's MacBook Air at tomorrow's event, the hit-and-miss DigiTimes on Wednesday quoted Taiwanese suppliers as saying that small-volume shipments have already begun.

More interesting than that, sources asserted that the Cupertino firm is planning a major switch to using laser cutting and some advanced embedded technologies to make the Apple logo on products “3D-like and shine at the edges”.

This is allegedly a large-scale effort as all Apple products reportedly are going to feature the new logo in 2015, ”starting with the next-generation iMac”. As a reminder, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks the next iMac with a 5K Retina screen will be unveiled at tomorrow's event, among other goodies.

Microsoft optimizes Skype for iPhone 6 screens

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

As promised, software maker Microsoft has just issued an update to Skype for the iPhone and iPod touch adding native display support for the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screen sizes, the team announced in a blog post Wednesday morning.

As a result, you'll see more of your recent chats and messages in conversation view on Apple's new smartphones because iOS 8 doesn't have to compensate for the lack of iPhone 6 support by blowing up the interface to fill up the whole screen.

Skype for iPhone 5.6, available free in the App Store, also adds presence indicators to your Recent list and number of contacts and time zones information on contact profiles.

Jump past the fold for other features in this maintenance Skype update.

Rovio releases Angry Birds Transformers globally

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Following its soft-launch in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Finland on September 25, Rovio's Angry Birds Transformers is now available globally as a free-to-play download for the iPhone and iPad, the Finnish mobile games maker announced Wednesday morning.

Featuring cars, trucks, tanks and planes and a plethora of heroes and villains with unique attacks and abilities, the movie tie-in challenges your Autobirds (I chuckled) to save Piggy Island from the crazed robots on a mission to nuke it out of orbit.