Let’s Talk iOS 049: Apple’s rough week

Episode 49: We discuss the so-called "bendgate" controversy, and Apple's embarrassing release of iOS 8.0.1. We also chit-chat about rumors of Retina-enabled iMacs, the future of Beats Music, and our thoughts on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus after more than a week's worth of usage.

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Sponsor: This episode of LTiOS is brought to you by Thinkful, a service that will teach you how to code iOS apps. For 10% off, go to www.thinkful.com/ios

References to Touch ID iPad and settings for Apple Pay found in iOS 8.1 beta

References to new iPad models with Touch ID support and a settings page for Apple Pay have been discovered hidden in the just-released beta of iOS 8.1. Developer Hamza Sood posted the evidence on Twitter this evening, in the form of three screenshot images.

The first two images, which you can see above, show a new Passbook pane in the Settings app for setting up Apple Pay, as well as a Privacy Policy page for the new mobile payment service. In the page, Apple outlines what user data it collects, and what it does with it.

All iCloud services currently down for some users [updated]

If you're having issues with some, or all, of your iCloud services you're not alone. It appears that several of Apple's iCloud services are down for a number of users. We've seen numerous complaints of it on Twitter, and Apple has updated its System Status page to reflect the outages.

A few of us here at iDB are experiencing iCloud issues—I specifically am receiving pop up warnings on both my Mac and iPhone saying that my iCloud password is incorrect for various applications. Others have reported that they are unable to access iCloud.com, or iCloud backups.

Apple releases first beta of iOS 8.1 to developers

Apple has seeded the first beta of iOS 8.1 to developers this afternoon, with build number 12B401. The release comes just a few days after the company posted iOS 8.0.2, and just a few hours after reports surfaced claiming that multiple iOS 8 updates were in the works.

We’re currently installing the beta and will be updating this post with any changes we find. If you find any changes from previous versions, be sure to email us at tips@idownloadblog.com or leave a comment below, preferably with a screenshot of the change or addition.

Apple issues update to patch ‘Shellshock’ Bash bug in OS X

Apple on Monday delivered the promised update to patch the 'Shellshock' Bash bug in OS X. You can download the update manually here, otherwise it should be popping up in the Updates tab of the Mac App Store shortly.

The security flaw was uncovered by security researchers last week and sent much of the Internet into a panic. Affecting the bash command shell in UNIX, the exploit allows for hackers to remotely execute malicious code.

iOS 8 bug in ‘Reset All Settings’ feature deletes iCloud Drive files

A new bug has been discovered in iOS 8 that will indadvertedly delete iCloud Drive documents. MacRumors reports that selecting the 'Reset All Settings' option from the Reset menu in the Settings app of iOS 8 will erase iWork-related files in iCloud Drive.

The issue here is that when the 'Reset All Settings' option is selected, users are specifically told that "no data or media will be deleted." But that doesn't seem to be the case with iOS 8, as MacRumors says it has confirmed the process is also deleting select files.

Facebook Messenger and Amazon Kindle apps updated for iPhone 6

Although Apple's new iPhones have been in stores for more than a week now and developers are scrambling to update their apps with native display support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

And while users are still waiting for an iPhone 6 optimized edition of WhatsApp, the social networking giant Facebook has now updated the Messenger iOS app with native iPhone 6 support.

Another important piece of software has also received its iPhone 6-focused refresh today, Amazon's Kindle for the iPhone and iPad. Both Facebook Messenger and Amazon Kindle are available free of charge in the App Store.

Jawbone launches all-new HealthKit-enabled Up software, no fitness band required

San Francisco, California headquartered wearable products company Jawbone on Monday released a brand new Up software for the iPhone in the App Store (not to be confused with the firm's existing Up app).

Announced earlier in the month, the app features iOS 8 HealthKit integration, personalized fitness advice and other features, but without requiring Jawbone's UP or UP24 fitness band.

The app lets you share Up's food, fitness and sleep tracking data with iOS 8’s Health app, and vice versa. Jawbone has opened up its platform to third-party development so more than a hundred health and fitness applications and accessories for the iPhone and iPad now integrate with Up, with or without HealthKit, including Strava Running & Cycling, Wello, IFTTT, RunKeeper and MyFitnessPal.

Microsoft takes on Apple TV and Chromecast with $60 HDMI streaming stick

Although dated last week, it's relevant so I thought I should share it with you guys. Windows maker Microsoft has introduced an interesting dongle which connects to an external display, projector, monitor or other HDMI-driven display device so you can stream content wirelessly from your phone, tablet or PC.

Much like Apple's AirPlay technology and the $99 Apple TV media-streaming box, Microsoft's $60 HDMI dongle makes it easy to enjoy games and media on your big screen HD TV, no cables needed.

The $59.99 accessory goes on sale next month at Best Buy locations in the U. S.

Apple poaches NFC and mobile payments expert away from Visa to expand Apple Pay in Europe

Apple has hired Mary Carol Harris, former Director of Mobile at Visa Europe to help bring the NFC-based Apple Pay mobile payments system to Europe, PaymentEye reported Monday.

She's been with Visa since 2008 and previously headed up NFC at Telefónica, Spain's leading multinational by market cap and one of the largest private telecommunications company in the world.

Introduced alongside new iPhones earlier this month, Apple's mobile payments solution is scheduled to debut in the United States on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in October, and on the Apple Watch early next year, extending the service to over 200 million owners of the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s devices worldwide.

Harris has fourteen year experience in digital and mobile payments, including NFC technology utilized by the Apple Pay. Harris's LinkedIn profile lists her an employee of Apple Europe.

Words for Evil is both an RPG and a word game combined

Two of the things I like about a fantasy role-playing games (RPG) are looting and killing. Those are basically the best parts. Some games have even condensed their mechanics down to just those two features. What if there were a game that let you loot and kill, but you had to spell words in order to do so?

Words for Evil is just that. This iPad game combines the battle tactics of a good old-fashioned RPG with Boggle-style word finding mechanics. Find words to attack your enemy. If you are too slow, you’ll spell your own death.

Apple Watch is headed to Paris for Fashion Week

Apple has teamed up with Colette, the famous Parisian boutique, on a promotional event involving a “one day only experience” on September 30 from 11:00am to 7:00pm local time at the at fashion retailer's gallery on rue Saint-Honoré in Paris, French blog Macplus reported Monday [Google Translate].

At the same time, members of the company's industrial design team are headed to Paris Fashion Week, vaguely indicating that the company's wearable device, the Apple Watch, could play a role at the semi-annual clothing trade show.