Yahoo Mail app updated with better support for Apple’s VoiceOver feature

Yahoo has posted a small but significant update for its iOS Mail client this afternoon, bringing the app to version 2.0.5. Aside from the usual bug fixes and performance improvements, the update brings about deeper VoiceOver support.

This is more of a PSA than an update alert—a lot of folks depend on Apple's VoiceOver feature in iOS to help them navigate about apps, input and read text, and perform other actions. And now they can utilize the feature in Yahoo Mail...

How to automatically submit complex passcodes in iOS 7

One of the downsides to using complex passcodes, outside of the fact that they generally take more time to enter than the standard 4-digit passcode, is that complex passcodes aren't auto-submitted upon entry. Unlike the standard passcode, which automatically unlocks your device upon correct entry, complex passcodes force you to tap the 'Done' button once you're finished typing.

AutoOK7 is an updated version of the original AutoOK tweak that we reviewed several months back, and it serves to eliminate the need to manually submit complex passcodes after typing them. It's not a tweak that will save you loads of time, but as the saying goes, every little second helps. Have a look at our full video walkthrough inside for a demonstration of how it works.

Twitter caught testing major Facebook-like redesign

I'm not big into social networking—Facebook, Path, Instagram, etc.—but I'm a longtime and frequent user of Twitter. I could give you a dozen reasons why I like it, but it comes down to its pool of high-profile users and its in-line streaming design.

That design, however, could be going by the wayside in the not-too-distant future. Twitter has been caught testing a major redesign for user profiles and tweet streams which features larger photos, rearranged tweets, and several other UI changes...

Developers say iOS 7.1 fixes issue impacting location-based apps

It appears that an issue in iOS 7 that disabled the geolocation functions on apps that were force-closed by the user is being corrected in iOS 7.1. Developers say that in the latest iOS 7.1 betas, force-closing an app does not disable its location-aware functions.

This has been a major problem for developers since the launch of iOS 7 last fall—particularly for those who had location-based apps. Some devs have even reported that their App Store ratings have plummeted in the last 6 months due to the technical change...

Good-bye, grainy selfies! Sony tipped as FaceTime camera supplier for 2015 iPhones

Your selfies will receive a significant and much welcomed upgrade next year as Sony - which last week announced plans to unload its computer business and spin off its TV segment - is gearing up to kick off production of front-facing cameras for next-generation iPhones in 2015, if a report from Japanese business site Nikkei is an indication.

The Japanese consumer electronics giant has been making iSight back cameras since the iPhone 4s, with current estimates in the ballpark of a hundred million CMOS sensors a year. It also makes cameras for Samsung and Huawei smartphones.

Therefore, landing that contract would mark a major win for both parties and a huge loss for OmniVision, which currently supplies CMOS sensors for the iPhone's rather unimpressive front-facing camera...

Rdio app updated with in-app playlist editing and reviews

Good news for Rdio users this afternoon. The music streaming service has posted an update for its iOS client, bringing the app to version 2.5.7 and adding a few new features including Playlist Editing and the ability to read and write reviews in-app.

Users can now edit their playlists from any mobile device by adding, removing and rearranging songs, and editing playlist artwork. They can also now write reviews for those playlists, and albums, and read reviews written by other other Rdio users...

How to get rid of low power alerts when your battery dips to 10 or 20 percent

The low power alerts that pop up at the most inopportune times when using your iPhone need to die. At least that's according to developer hiroshit, the creator of a new jailbreak tweak dubbed NoLowPowerAlert.

NoLowPowerAlert is an extremely simple tweak with no options to configure. It allows you to completely disable the low power alerts that pop up on your iOS device when your battery hits 20 or 10 percent of remaining power. Have a look at our walkthrough inside to see how it works in action.

Flappy Bird creator: it’s become ‘an addictive product’ so I killed it

If you can't get enough of Flappy Bird news, the app's creator has come clean on the reasons behind the app's sudden removal. Speaking out for the first time since he pulled his sleeper hit of a game from Apple's App Store and Google's Play store, Vietnam-born Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen said in an exclusive interview with Forbes that he made the decision to kill the game because it has become "an addictive product".

I wish I could kill half as much addictive product of my own! Some have suspected that Flappy Bird got yanked out of the App Store over intellectual property complaints from Nintendo, but the Japanese games took the unusual step of going on the record yesterday to confirm that Mario had no hand in killing Nguyen's game...

iPhone 6 to feature ‘bezel-free’ display, rumor has it

Analysts and high-profile outlets like The Wall Street Journal are expecting not one, but two new iPhones this year, each outfitted with a display significantly larger than the current four-inch iPhone 5/5s/5c. The Japanese magazine Mac Fan claimed in a report last October that the iPhone 6 will be the first phablet on the market optimized for one-hand operation.

A month earlier, analyst Ming Chi-Kuo opined that Apple would want to honor its self-imposed “unwavering principle of one hand use”. But how does one make a five-inch iPhablet optimized for one-hand use? By dropping the side bezels, that's how...

iTunes Inc. would rank #130 on Fortune 500

If Apple's iTunes were a separate company, it would rank 130th on Fortune’s annual list of the Top 500 companies in the United States. It's also half the size of Google's search business! The high-volume, low-margin store raked in an astounding $4.4 billion in revenue during Apple's fiscal 2014 first quarter ended December 28, 2013.

And according to independent analyst Horace Dediu of Asymco, total iTunes revenue in 2013 topped - wait for it - an incredible $23.5 billion. That's an awful lot of money for an online-only content store...

Google to automate production lines at iPhone manufacturer Foxconn with advanced robots

Future iPhones could be built by Google robots as The Wall Street Journal reports that the search monster is working with Apple's favorite contract manufacturer, Foxconn of Taiwan, on automating production lines.

Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou reportedly met with Google's Andy Rubin in Taipei to talk new robotic technologies meant to "speed up robot deployment" at Foxconn plants. The machines would run Google's upcoming robotic operating system for manufacturers. The two men have reportedly been collaborating since last year to carry out Google's vision for robotics.

Eagled-eyed readers will remember that Google's boss Larry Page in March 2013 put former Android head Andy Rubin in charge of a moonshot project to create a new generation of robots...

Apple’s VP of iPad and Mac operations retires

Apple has lost one of its key iPad and Mac executives, Rita Lane, who has retired from the company, according to her public LinkedIn profile highlighted by Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac. Her role at Apple as Vice President of Operations was a significant one.

As such, she was instrumental in helping manage Apple's supply chain and manufacturing for iPads, Macs and Mac accessories. Lane worked under the supervision of Apple's Senior Vice President of Operations, Jeff Williams, who took over from the previous op-chief Tim Cook, now the Apple CEO...