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Hyundai confirms CarPlay functionality on all-new 2015 Sonatas

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 28, 2017

Japanese car maker Hyundai today officially confirmed that CarPlay functionality will be available in its upcoming 2015 Sonata vehicles. CarPlay launch partners include Volvo, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz, but many other manufacturers have pledged to support Apple's in-car system later this year, Hyundai being one of them.

The new version of the mid-size Sonata sedan was unveiled at the New York International Auto Show earlier today with premium design, a stiffer body structure, improved ride quality, a quieter cabin and "class-above safety features."

It's slated to hit dealerships early this summer...

Instagram and Facebook stepping up fight against spammers

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 16, 2014

Facebook-owned Instagram has responded to complaints from users who have noticed a sharp increase in the number of fake accounts and followers that are spamming them. If you fire up Instagram's free iPhone app and hit the Following button, you'll see a message about changes in followers.

"We've removed deactivated and spam accounts," the message reads. "Your list of followers and people you follow may have changed" as a result.

This is a welcomed albeit way overdue change.

I've been a frequent victim of spammers on Instagram. Some of these guys are really smart in how they get on your Following list with the ultimate goal of populating your feed with spammy posts often disguised as so-called viral images and videos...

Amazon combines Cloud Drive and Kindle documents, giving you 10GB combined free storage

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 16, 2014

If you own a Kindle, check your Amazon Cloud Drive: you should now have ten gigabytes of cloud-based storage, twice as much as before.

On Wednesday, Amazon emailed its Kindle customers to let them know their Kindle documents had been integrated with their Cloud Drive, resulting in a combined ten gigs of free Amazon Cloud Drive storage.

The welcomed change applies to Kindle customers only, who can now use their combined account to store not only Kindle documents, but photos, videos and other file types as well...

Apple launches 8GB iPhone 5c in 14 new markets

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple last month released a cheaper iPhone 5c with just eight gigabytes of storage to address mid-tier markets where, in its own words, "LTE is becoming more established." The handset was initially available in only five markets: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia and China.

Starting today, customers in an additional fourteen countries around the world can buy the 8GB iPhone 5c, bringing the number of regions where the smaller capacity handset is available to nineteen countries...

For Samsung, Steve Jobs’ death was ‘the best opportunity’ to unleash anti-iPhone ad blitz

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 16, 2014

Apple's second California trial against Samsung over smartphone patents has given us an unprecedented insight into Samsung's obsession with beating Apple and Apple's worries over losing the cool factor to Samsung due to the snarky ads that ridiculed the iPhone as an outdated and dull phone.

As you know, Samsung's campaign headlined under the 'The Next Big Thing' tagline went viral in September of 2012, thanks to a particularily scathing ad that ridiculed folks who'd wait in line for an iPhone 5.

The commercials were meant to counter the iPhone 5 "tsunami," as Samsung execs put it, and have managed to enrage Apple's marketing boss Phil Schiller so much that he proposed in an email to CEO Tim Cook that the firm fire its longtime ad agency.

According to a highly confidential email exchange between Samsung execs, we now know that the South Korean firm saw Steve Jobs's death as the “best opportunity to attack the iPhone” and tarnish the Apple brand...

Fandango app updated with new design, new rating system and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 9, 2018

Whether you use it or not, the Fandango Movies app for iOS is a fairly big deal. Not only does it offer up movie info and trailers, but it also facilitates theater ticket purchases. In fact, you can start the process with Siri, as Fandango is deeply integrated into the assistant.

Anyway, the app got a major makeover this morning, with the release of Fandango 6.0. You'll notice the visual changes right away—particularly in movie pages, theater lists—as well as the all-new ratings system, spotlight carousel, and a number of other enhancements...

Let’s Talk Jailbreak 53: WWJC interviews with Surenix, Ryan Petrich, and pod2g

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Episode 53: We went to JailbreakCon to talk to some of the mainstays of the jailbreak community. Inside, we talk to Surenix, Ryan Petrich, and pod2g about any and all things related to jailbreaking. You'll learn about the development and design process of Auki from Surenix, Ryan Petrich's mindset when it comes to developing new tweaks, and pod2g talks about the inner-workings of the evad3rs jailbreak dream team. pod2g also answers the question that we've all been wanting to hear—will they release an iOS 7.1 jailbreak? Listen and subscribe to hear all of the answers.

On Apple’s transition to larger-screened iPhones…

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 15, 2014

We've seen our fair share of the supposedly leaked technical drawings, front panel parts, third-party cases and manufacturing molds concerning Apple's next iPhone, but what about bigger-screened apps?

A form factor change will probably yield a higher screen resolution so developers will need to optimize apps for 4.7 and 5.5-inch canvases. The larger 5.5-inch iPhone reportedly got delayed over production issues so we'll sharpen our focus on the 4.7 incher.

Now, current iPhones rock 640-by-1,136 screens, resulting in a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch (ppi). Should the next iPhone come outfitted with a larger 4.7-inch screen at the same 326ppi, its resolution is going to increase to about 756-by-1,344 pixels.

Quickly, do the math in your head: that's 40 percent more pixels for the apps and content you care about. Sweet, no?

I have a few smart mockups and some thoughts to share with you on what apps could look like on a larger-screened iPhone 6 and what Apple can do to weather this transition...

Apple seeds OS X 10.9.3 build 13D43 to developers

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Apple has seeded another beta for OS X 10.9.3 to registered Mac developers this afternoon. The update comes one week after the sixth beta of 10.9.3 was released, which brought about few notable changes.

The new beta build is available to registered Mac developers through the Software Update tab in the Mac App Store, or as a complete download via the Mac section of Apple’s online developer portal…

Real Racing 3 updated with new ‘open wheel’ vehicles, expanded roster and more

Cody Lee ∙ April 15, 2014

Hot on the heels of its major Aston Martin update last month, the folks at EA have posted another new version of its popular Real Racing 3 game today that brings about new 'open wheel' vehicles, an expanded roster and more.

The new vehicles fall under the new 'Open Wheelers' category, and include classics such as the Caterham Seven 620R, Ariel Atom 3.5 and Atom V8. The 2014 Porsche 911 RSR and Hyundai Veloster Turbo have also been added...

Tech companies ask court to keep Steve Jobs’ personality out of hiring trial

Cody Lee ∙ April 15, 2014

Although the patent battle with Samsung is far from over in northern California, Apple's legal team has to start preparing for another high profile trial coming up next month. The iPad-maker, along with Google and others, is being sued over no-hire agreements in Silicon Valley.

This week, those companies in a joint court filing asked that witnesses in the upcoming suit not be allowed to offer evidence that Steve Jobs was "a bully." Emails regarding the case are fine, but excerpts from the Isaacson bio and other sources should be barred from admission...

Apple patent ditches GPS for Wi-Fi to better determine location indoors

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Apple has been granted a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday that will help its Maps app better track your location indoors.

The patent describes a technology that temporarily ditches the GPS sensor, and uses Wi-Fi access points, location databases, and other sensors to determine your location where the GPS sensor may not be as accurate, Apple Insider first reported.