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How to use “Hey Siri” without being connected to power

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

"Hey Siri" is a new feature in iOS 8 that makes it possible to invoke Siri using only your voice. It's nice for those moments when your hands are full or when your iPhone is across the room.

The only downside to "Hey Siri" is that your iPhone must be connected to a power source in order to use it. This restriction was placed there to save your iPhone's battery life.

But, there is a way to use Hey Siri without being connected to a power source. It's not as handy as using it while connected to power, but it's a nice workaround for those situations where you need hands-free control.

AT&T forced to pay $105 million over bogus billing

Cody Lee ∙ October 8, 2014

The US government has just handed AT&T a significant fine for allowing third party companies to stealthily tack on their charges to customer phone bills for things like spam SMS text messages. The announcement was made on Wednesday in a joint press conference by the FCC and FTC, who say this is the largest "cramming" settlement in history.

In total, AT&T will pay out $105 million to settle the case—$80 million is earmarked for the FTC, which it will use to set up a reimbursement program, $5 million will go to the FCC, and $20 million will go to individual states. Additionally, the carrier has been ordered to begin proactively informing subscribers if extra fees are going on their accounts.

HTC launches iPhone-compatible Wi-Fi camera and ultimate selfie phone with dual 13MP shooter

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Wednesday, Taiwanese handset maker HTC at its 'Double Exposure' media event in New York City unveiled an iPhone-compatible waterproof Wi-Fi camera and the Desire Eye, a brand new handset with a 5.2-inch full HD (1,920-by-1,080 pixels) screen and BoomSound dual front-facing stereo speakers.

More than anything, however, the Desire Eye is aimed at improving the quality of users' selfies by putting a powerful 13-megapixel sensor on both the front and back side.

That's right, you get dual-color LED flash and wide angle lenses on each side. As a bonus, the Android-driven device is water and dust proof.

You can now protect your OneDrive with Touch ID

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 8, 2014

Windows and Office maker Microsoft on Wednesday pushed a small but important update to OneDrive, its cloud storage client for the iPhone and iPad. The refreshed application enables users to lock content in the app using Touch ID-based fingerprint verification on the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

The new OneDrive 4.5.1, a free 12.7-megabyte download from the App Store, also takes full advantage of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, lets you sort files and folders and includes bug fixes and stability improvements.

Fitbit currently has no plans to integrate with iOS 8 Health app

Cody Lee ∙ October 8, 2014

It looks like Fitbit won't be sharing data with the new iOS 8 Health app anytime soon. Responding to a question in support forums, a representative for the company said that it "currently has no plans to integrate with HealthKit."

The rep adds that HealthKit is an interesting new platform that Fitbit will be watching as it matures, as it looks for opportunities to improve the user experience. "But at the moment," he says, it's working on "other exciting projects."

Updated for iPhone 6: Pocket, PDF Expert 5, Calendars 5, Scanner Pro and Printer Pro

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Readdle's stable of iOS productivity apps — PDF Expert 5, Calendars 5, Printer Pro and Scanner Pro — along with Pocket's read-it-later iOS app — have received their respective updates Wednesday enabling native support for the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus display sizes.

PDF Expert's support for the new iPhone screen sizes arrives ten days after its developer, Ukraine-based Readdle, issued an update turning on iCloud Drive storage support and Touch ID fingerprint-based authentication.

In addition to an optimized layout for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus, Pocket 5.6.1 includes performance improvements and a fix for the Instant Sync push feature on iOS 8 devices. More than twelve million people use Pocket to easily save articles, videos and other piece of content for consumption later.

The app also has an awesome iOS 8 Extension so you can send content to Pocket in any iPhone and iPad application which uses Apple's multi-purpose Share sheet, including Safari.

700,000 UDIDs of jailbreak tweaks pirates leaked

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

A list of 700,000 UDIDs of devices used to install cracked tweaks from a pirate repo have been leaked online a few days ago. The list of leaked UDIDs, which was apparently compiled several months ago, is available as a text file, and a Twitter account was specially created to tweet one UDID every few minutes to somewhat expose the pirates.

Besides trying to shame the pirates by exposing their UDIDs, this move doesn't represent much risk for the users whose Unique Device Identifier was leaked as it can hardly be tied to any personal information that could identify a user.

DigiTimes: 12″ Retina MacBook Air in limited production now

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 8, 2014

Apple's rumored MacBook Air with a twelve-inch Retina screen has allegedly entered limited production, according to sources with Apple's supply chain Wednesday morning who spoke to DigiTimes, a Taiwanese trade publication.

Apple has reportedly commissioned contract manufacturer Quanta Computer to start building the ultra-thin notebook in small volumes in October, with output expected to increase gradually beginning November.

Apple is holding a media event next Thursday so a Retina MacBook Air could be on tap along with new iPads, a (possibly) refreshed Apple TV hardware and what not.

Apple ‘surprised’ by GT Advanced bankruptcy filing, company spokesperson says

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 8, 2014

In its first public comment Wednesday following a totally unepxected bankruptcy filing of its supplier GT Advanced Technology earlier this week, Apple now says it was taken aback by such turn of events while confirming its priority going forward will be preserving jobs at the Mesa, Arizona plant that GT had agreed to run on Apple's behalf.

Company spokesman Chris Gaither said in a written statement to Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and other major outlets that “we are focussed on preserving jobs in Arizona following GT's surprising decision and we will continue to work with state and local officials as we consider our next steps”.

October 16 event wallpapers: “it’s been way too long”

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

As with all Apple event invitations, we rush to provide you with a way to celebrate on your own device! Almost right on cue, we were able to receive wallpapers from our consistent iDB reader, Jason Zigrino. The imagery is extremely simple in this invitation, unlike some other more developed invites. The term "It's been way too long" will certainly keep some armchair analysts awake at night pondering over its hidden meaning.

We are fairly certain the event will contain new iPads and some second device, which leaves people guessing Apple TV, new MacBooks, iMacs, or maybe retina iMacs. Currently, the guessing game is available for anyone to play, as the invitation leaves everything open for interpretation.

Apple issues invites for October 16 media event: ‘it’s been way too long’

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 8, 2014

Following claims by ReCode's well-informed John Paczkowski that Apple's been prepping to hold an iPad-focused media event on October 16, the Cupertino company on Wednesday morning confirmed the report by issuing invites to select members of the press, The Loop first reported.

Featuring a colorful Apple logo outline adorned by the the tagline “It's been way too long,“ the invite prompts the media to attend the event which begins at 10:00am Pacific / 1pm Eastern at the firm's Town Hall Auditorium in Cupertino, California.

Latest iOS 8 beta enables HomeKit on Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 8, 2014

The latest Apple TV Software Beta 2 which was seeded to developers yesterday alongside new iOS 8.1, Xcode and Yosemite betas enables support for HomeKit on the $99 media-streaming box, as first reported by AppleInsider.

In addition to HomeKit, the software includes support for Family Sharing and contains functions allowing developers to test AirPlay functionality with their iOS apps. Although HomeKit functionality was spotted in earlier Apple TV betas, Apple has removed the feature last month without an explanation.