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iWatch rumors: UV light exposure sensor, August-September release

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 28, 2016

Apple's rumored wearable device, dubbed by the press the iWatch, is said to include a plethora of sensors to help measure not only a user's vital signs and blood oximetry levels but also stuff like the amount of harmful ultraviolet light you've been exposed to - presumably in order to ping you when you’ve had enough - according to a new research note from Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis.

This should help both folks with elevated risk of sunburn and those who are simply concerned about excessive sun exposure. And if you ask Taiwan’s Economic Daily News, Apple has been lining up suppliers for months now and is targeting a third-quarter launch, around the August-September timeframe...

Apple allegedly working on its own baseband chips for 2015 iPhones and iPads

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 8, 2014

As you know, Apple's in-house teams have been designing the engine that drives the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Apple TV devices for years now. However, the company still sources one crucial piece of silicon from a third-party: it buys baseband modems that provide the iPhone and iPad with cellular connectivity from Qualcomm. But even that could soon change, if a new rumor is an indication.

DigiTimes, the hit-and-miss Taiwanese trade publication, is reporting that Apple is planning to form a research and development team to engineer baseband processors for iPhones fully in-house. The move would empower the firm to take an even greater control of its chip destiny.

In years past, Apple acquired several fabless semiconductor makers such as PA Semi and Intrinsity for their talent and technology. Apple now has over a thousand silicon and wireless engineers who design A-series of chips in house by licensing CPU and GPU blueprints from ARM and Imagination Technology, respectively, optimizing their designs for speed, low power consumption and iOS...

Apple poaches VP of Amazon A9′s Search Technology group

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple has made another high-profile hire, having poached Benoit Dupin, Vice President of Amazon A9′s Search Technology group, according to the executive's professional business profile on LinkedIn.

Benoit, who brings over fifteen years of international technology industry experience within a wide range of disciplines, has left Amazon to help Apple improve search features in its own mapping service, sources speculated on Tuesday.

He isn't the first Amazon executive to have left for 1 Infinite Loop. Back in October 2012, Apple hired away another prominent Amazon search technologist, William Stasior, who is now working with the Siri team...

Let’s Talk iOS 023: Bees and basketballs

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated March 20, 2018

Episode 23: We talk about iPhone growth and what the recently revealed slide presentations may indicate about the future of Apple's flagship device. We also chit-chat about the future of the Apple TV, and what the set-top box landscape looks like going forward.

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Camera Plus with AirSnap is a unique camera app for your iPhone and iPad. You can download Camera Plus in the App Store.

15 Coins review: good luck collecting coins in this ultra hard arcade game

Lory Gil ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

I never got into the Flappy Bird phenomenon. I remember hearing groups of people talking about it at a restaurant only days before its untimely demise wondering why something so simple was so popular. I think I have an understanding of that now.

15 Coins is a simple arcade style game that is impossibly difficult. Similar to Flappy Bird, it makes you want to keep playing over and over, no matter how poorly you perform, just to try to get one more coin before you die…

Apple’s latest ‘Your Verse’ story is about iPad in Bollywood

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

You've seen how world-class mountaineers use iPad for their extraordinary climbs and how coaches use the device to help diagnose athletes’ concussions so how about some more testimonials?

You're in for a treat as Apple's just added a new story to the 'Your Verse' microsite highlighting how its popular post-PC device is being used by Bollywood choreographer Feroz Khan to capture inspiration for his passion.

So, what does it take to choreograph a vision in Bollywood?

Read on for the full reveal...

Microsoft’s own CarPlay is predictably called Windows in the car

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 7, 2014

At the annual Build conference in San Francisco last week, software giant Microsoft unveiled its upcoming new platform for automotive, Windows in the car. The software, which appears to have borrowed some ideas from Apple's CarPlay, could succeed Sync, Microsoft's ill-fated in-car solution running on the Windows Embedded Automotive operating system.

Microsoft's largest partner for Sync, Ford, in February announced plans to stop producing Sync-equipped vehicles. Seeing where things were heading, coupled with weak support from car manufacturers, probably played an important factor in the decision to come up with a connected car software of the future, from scratch...

Samsung’s #1 priority for 2012: beat Apple

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 7, 2014

A treasure trove of internal documents have been leaking out of Apple's second California trial against the Galaxy maker Samsung.

Not only has the confidential material given us an unprecedented look into the firm's development process for the iPhone and Steve Jobs's wish list for the Apple TV (apps, something called 'magic wand' and more), it's also provided us with valuable insight into Apple's marketing survey explaining why the iPhone's growth has been slowing and another internal research highlighting the most often requested features by early iPhone 5 adopters.

And now, a new set of internal Samsung documents proves the South Korean conglomerate has been pretty much obsessed with crushing Apple in the marketplace, so much so that it devoted all of its energies throughout 2012 to one goal: beating Apple.

The presentation entitled '2011 Summary & Lessons Learned / 2012 Business Forecast' made it clear to Samsung's managers that beating Apple was their #1 priority for 2012. "Everything must be in context of beating Apple," reads the memo.

The document offers an insight into Samsung's thought process, marketing tactics and how it went about containing the iPhone threat by pouring billions into advertising, playing ball with carriers and carpet-bombing the market with countless variants of devices with different screen sizes and price points...

How to add classic wallpapers to iOS 7

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 7, 2014

Perhaps I'm in the minority on this one, but I definitely don't miss any of the old stock wallpaper that was bundled with iOS versions lesser than iOS 7. The old wallpaper feels antiquated, especially when mated with the modern look of iOS 7.

But maybe I'm one of the few that feels this way, because there's a jailbreak release that allows users to get that old pre-iOS 7 wallpaper back on their device. Entitled ClassicWallpapers, this recently released jailbreak tweak brings Apple's old wallpaper out of retirement. Have a look at our full video walkthrough after the jump.

Persistent search bar and swiping improvements added to Vimeo’s iOS app

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 7, 2014

Back in February, the video sharing service Vimeo added support for the handy swiping gesture to its free iOS app.

You can swipe right to reveal options to share a video, like it or add it to your Watch Later list. Swiping left marks a video for download so it can be accessible on your device without an Internet connection.

Today's update, now available in the App Store, removes the Watch Later option when you swipe from left to right, leaving only sharing and liking options in the menu. But don't worry, Watch Later is now available when you swipe from right to left. As a bonus, the app now adds a clip to your Watch Later list and marks it for download at the same time.

Vimeo version 4.0.10 also includes a new persistent search bar at the top, but more on this after the break...

How to quickly kill background apps in iOS 7

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 7, 2014

Clear Background Apps is a recently released, and extremely simple, jailbreak tweak that's available on Cydia. It lets users quickly kill all apps using a button found at the top of the iOS 7 App Switcher.

If you're looking for a quick method for easily getting rid of all running apps on your device, it doesn't get much simpler than Clear Background Apps. We've taken it for a brief test drive inside; check past the break to see how it works.

Amazon Instant Video gets overhauled with iOS 7 styling

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 7, 2014

Amazon on Monday issued a new version of its Instant Video for iOS app. Available free in the App Store, the new Amazon Instant Video version 2.5 now finally features a brand new user interface on the iPhone and iPad which honors Apple's human interface guidelines for iOS 7 development.

Released initially for the iPad in August 2012 and later updated with iPhone UI, the app picked up support for background AirPlay wireless streaming to the Apple TV back in September 2013.

If you live in the Amazon cloud, Instant Video for iOS is your gateway to the world of Hollywood entertainment available on Amazon's video service. Today's facelift arrives after the online retail giant announced (and started selling on the same day) its own set-top box last week, the $99 Fire TV that does voice and runs games.

Read on to learn more...