iOS 8’s battery shaming is a double-edged sword

Oliver Haslam ∙ September 24, 2014

As is always the case every time a new iPhone is released, or a major iteration of its software pops up on Apple's servers, the planet goes into meltdown about battery life. It's almost as predictable as Apple's iPhone release schedule, and it's getting old.

I was already pondering how Apple's newly released iOS 8 was performing for people when I read iMore's post covering its new battery shaming feature. Rene does a great job explaining how iOS 8 monitors app usage and then plots out a percentage of the battery drain that app has caused. The reasons for that drain are plenty, and the important thing to remember is that they're not all bad.

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Sunrise Calendar adds Trello support, RSVP to invitation by swiping on the notification and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Wednesday morning, Sunrise Calendar received its iOS 8 focused update bringing out new capabilities to the already feature-packed cross-platform app.

These include support for the free web-based project management service Trello and the ability to RSVP to invitation notifications by swiping on the notification directly (requires iOS 8).

With support for Trello, Sunrise now lets you see all the cards with a due date and introduces a new option to filter for cards that are assigned to you.

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Poll: has iOS 8.0.1 update broken Cellular + Touch ID for you?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

If you have just updated your trusty iPhone to the just-released iOS 8.0.1, chances are you may have ended up with a device that can't connect to the cellular network (shows No Service in the status bar) or read fingerprint data through the Touch ID sensor on the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. As you could imagine, social media is awash with complaints from disgruntled users who are venting their frustration over the cellular and Touch ID issues.

At any rate, your best bet is to steer away from this update until Apple address the situation and releases a fix. Not everyone is affected, of course, but keep in mind we have no real indication as to how widespread those issues are because Apple, at the moment, isn't talking much.

That's why we're asking you, our readers, to tell us whether iOS 8.0.1 has broken cellular connectivity and Touch ID for you.

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Expert says Touch ID has improved with iPhone 6, but is still vulnerable to hack

Cody Lee ∙ September 24, 2014

Touch ID in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has improved, but it's still vulnerable to attack according to Lookout Mobile Security researcher Marc Rogers. Rogers says that the same fake fingerprint hack he used to bypass Touch ID on the iPhone 5s works flawlessly on the new handsets.

The improvement comes in the form of better accuracy, thanks to its higher resolution scanner, which Rogers has found makes it harder to clone fingerprints. But, he says, Apple has done nothing to tighten up Touch ID's security in the iPhone 6, leaving the door open for determined hackers.

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Don’t update to iOS 8.0.1

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 15, 2023

Warning: we are noticing that after installing iOS 8.0.1, our iPhones are showing 'no service' and Touch ID no longer works. We've confirmed this with several readers as well, so until we know more, we recommend holding off on the update. Video below.

Apple has released iOS 8.0.1 to the public this morning. The update comes exactly one week after the official iOS 8 release, and includes a myriad of bug fixes pertaining to third-party keyboards, the Reachability feature for newer iPhones, and uploading content in Safari.

Another notable item in the 8.0.1 change log is that the bug that prevented HealthKit-enabled apps from entering the App Store has been remedied. Apple says that it will now start approving HealthKit apps, meaning it shouldn't be too long before they start popping up.

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Amazon revamps Goodreads app, adds friend updates, improved shelving and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Goodreads, the popular social cataloging service owned by Amazon, on Wednesday pushed a major 3.0 update to its iPhone and iPad application.

Now with a revamped user interface and several new features such as friend updates, improved shelving, a handy reading progress indicator and streamlined navigation, the app gives reading aficionados greater flexibility in terms of content discovery and exploring their favorite books.

Goodreads boasts more than 20 million members who have added an enormous 570 million books to their shelves. The app is available free of charge in the App Store.

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iPhone 6 and 6 Plus beat all smartphones in reputable camera benchmark

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

The improved rear camera on both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has scored Apple a major victory over its biggest rivals in exhaustive smartphone camera benchmarks published Wednesday by the reputable camera and lens experts at DxOMark.

Achieving an impressive rating of 82 out of 100, both new iPhones have managed to beat Apple's chief competitors in the smartphone space.

Not only does this include the usual suspects like Samsung's flagship Galaxy S5 smartphone, which scored 79 out of 100, and the previous Galaxy S4 (75/100), but also other quality devices such as Sony's Xperia Z1 (76/100), Z2 (29/100) and Z3 (79/100) and yes — even the 41-megapixel sensor featured on the Nokia 808 PureView (77/100).

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Entertainment and Sky Movies monthly passes now available to Apple TV users in UK

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 24, 2014

Owners of the Apple TV media-streaming box in the United Kingdom can now take advantage of both Entertainment Month Pass and Sky Movies Month Pass via an expanded NOW TV channel by UK home entertainment and communications provider Sky, technology website Engadget reported and Sky confirmed Wednesday.

These two new options are in addition to the existing £9.99 (US$16.5) Sky Sports day pass which launched on NOW TV in December 2013.

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Twitterrific gains 1Password integration via in-app browser and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 24, 2014

Twitterrific by Iconfactory, a third-party Twitter client for the iPhone and iPad, has received an update Tuesday evening enabling extension support for AgileBits’ 1Password via Twitterrific's in-app browser, in addition to taking advantage of the bigger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screens.

This version also includes more than a dozen bug fixes, improvements and enhancements. The 8.6-megabyte download is available free of charge in the App Store, with advanced features locked behind several In-App Purchases.

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Apple likely readying Photos app for iCloud.com

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 24, 2014

Apple is most likely developing a Photos web app for iCloud.com to support desktop viewing of photos backed up in iCloud Photo Library using any computer with a standard-compliant web browser, according to a screenshot and other evidence discovered Wednesday in an Apple support document by Benjamin Mayo of 9to5Mac.

Furthermore, error messages from iCloud.com shown when trying to access the beta.iCloud.com/#photos URL strongly indicate there's a Photos app in development for iCloud's interface on the web.

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