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Fantastical 2 gets All Overdue Reminders icon badge and improved geofencing

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Flexibits released the major new Fantastical 2 version a month ago and already the team has followed up with new features such as additional icon badge options and notifications sounds, available to existing users at no cost by way of a free software update. But why stop there? Exactly!

Available now in the App Store as a free update, the new Fantastical version 2.0.2 expands on its feature set by adding a new option for the icon badge while improving the accuracy and reliability of geofence handling, tweaking the invitees section so it appears larger on smaller devices and more. Jump past the fold for additional tidbits...

Microsoft doubles down on iPad bashing with a pair of new Surface ads

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 26, 2013

In what's now become a recurring theme, Windows maker Microsoft just fired the latest salvo of television commercials that predictably portray Apple's iPad as a lesser tablet. Posted on the official Surface blog, a pair of holiday-themed advertisements highlight one hardware and one software feature of the Microsoft tablet: a built-in kickstand and multi-account support.

The Redmond giant doesn't shy away from mentioning the iPad brand name in the videos. "Free apps on the iPad don’t offer the same hands-free technology," says the voiceover in the first ad that highlights a Food & Drink app which come preloaded with Windows 8.1. The other ad lambasts Apple's device because it "doesn’t allow for multiple accounts and does not have the ability to monitor usage"...

Honda details Siri Eyes Free integration for 2013-2014 Accord and Acura models

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 9, 2017

Along with many fellow car vendors, Honda back in January 2013 promised to roll out certain Accord and Acura models with integrated support for Apple’s Eyes Free.

In a blog post today, the Japanese car maker announced that Siri Eyes Free integration is available on the 2013-2014 Honda Accord and 2013 Acura RDX and ILX vehicles as a dealer-installed accessory.

As you know, Siri Eyes Free is a voice-activated system which allows drivers to interact with Siri on an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad using their voice, without ever taking their hands off the steering wheel. It also helps minimize distractions by keeping an iOS device's screen from lighting up.

With Siri Eyes Free, you can send, receive and read messages, set reminders and alarms, check the weather, stock quotes, sports scores, showtimes and other info and even use turn-by-turn navigation, all through the power of Siri's spoken commands...

New Apple retail boss Angela Ahrendts: ‘it’s all about people’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Angela Ahrendts, the outgoing chief executive officer of Burberry Group Plc and Apple's incoming head of Retail and online Apple Stores, has penned a rather interesting little post over at LinkedIn. The article deals with following one's gut instinct and hints at what we might expect from her after she joins Apple a few months from today.

Titled 'Why a Successful Transition is a Great Legacy,' it outlines the challenges of transitioning to a new leadership and details her intuitive approach to the decision-making process that had gone into weighing Apple's and Burberry's offers to join their respective executive ranks...

How PrimeSense’s 3D sensing technology could improve Apple Maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple recently dropped a cool $350 million on the PrimeSense acqui-hire. An Apple spokeswoman has officially confirmed the deal last week, but refused to discuss her employer's purpose or plans (as is the company's wont). Unless you've been sleeping under a rock for the past few years, you must be familiar with PrimeSense, a Tel Aviv-based startup that licenses its 3D sensing hardware designs and chips to third-parties.

Perhaps the most famous PrimeSense licensee: Microsoft, whose Kinect motion-sensing system for the Xbox console is powered by PrimeSense.

For the sake of completeness, the much-improved Kinect that ships with the new Xbox One uses Microsoft's own 3D sensing technology, not PrimeSense's. Be that as it may, the PrimeSense deal has prompted a swirl of speculation among the Apple punditry. Some folks think Apple snapped up the Israeli startup for its rumored television set, others mention iPhones and iPads.

One well-informed source warns all of the speculated uses are too obvious and off mark. Instead, Apple needs PrimeSense to bolster up its Maps, the source insists...

New panels from AU Optronics may hint at upcoming 4K Apple displays

Cody Lee ∙ November 26, 2013

The new Mac Pro, which Apple first introduced at WWDC, is capable of driving up to 3 4K displays simultaneously. This is something the company has mentioned several times, leading to speculation that it has a 4K-flavored display on the way.

Although such a product hasn't materialized yet, some new evidence has surfaced this week that could indicate it's still on the way. Apparently, Apple supplier AUO is currently making 27-inch and 33-inch 4K thunderbolt-compatible display panels...

Japan’s NTT DoCoMo to land iPad Air real soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

NTT DoCoMo, Japan's top wireless carrier with about sixty million subscribers, accounts for more than half of that country's market for cell phones. Apple products - the iPhone in particular - are tremendously popular with the Japanese so fans will be delighted to learn that NTT will soon open sales for Apple's new iPad Air.

The confirmation came via a senior DoCoMo executive who said in Tokyo that his company will start carrying the iPad Air "in the not-too-distant future". I guess you could say the development's been in the cards ever since Apple announced an iPhone distribution agreement with the carrier in September...

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas coming to iOS in December with MFi controller support

Cody Lee ∙ November 26, 2013

Great news gamers! Rockstar announced this morning that it is working on a port for its popular Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas title, and it will be landing on iOS (and Android) in December. Additionally, it will support new MFi controllers.

Rockstar has already published a handful of GTA games in the App Store, but this one will be particularly sweet. First released for consoles in 2004, San Andreas won numerous 'Game of the Year' awards and sold over 27.5 million copies...

App Store search now corrects for small typos and misspelled queries

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 26, 2013

Apple is tweaking the App Store's search algorithm pretty much all the time so people have an easier time finding a needle in a haystack.

Three months ago, Apple deployed an improved algorithm for iTunes and App Store rankings, boosting the relevancy of search results up a notch.

And back in the summer, the iPhone maker gave the App Store storefront on iPads a new lefthand bar for easy alphabetical sorting of your Purchased items.

It's now come to light that Apple's team has once again made the App Store search better by automatically correcting for your mistakes and other misspellings. That's right, you no longer have to type in the exact app name when searching as the App Store will now list apps with fairly similar names...

iPhone 5s availability reaches 90 percent, now shipping in 3-5 days

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 6, 2013

Apple's flagship iPhone 5s used to be in short supply at both the company's own and carrier-owned retail outlets in the United States as suppliers struggled to meet high demand for the device. The prime reason affecting the handset's availability is Apple manufacturing partners' inability to ramp up production of the sensitive and sophisticated Touch ID fingerprint sensor that no one put inside the Home button before (this is also why the new iPads lack Touch ID).

Indicating improved yields, it would now seem that most of Apple's U.S. Apple Stores now have the device in stock, with one estimate finding that 90 percent of iPhone 5s models are now available in both Apple and carrier stores...

Let’s Talk iOS 004: Working in a onesie

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Episode 004: Sebastien, Cody, and Jeff talk about what it's like to work from home and write about iOS all day, Sebastien's Oceanhorn addiction, favorite Google Reader Replacements, exciting ideas for the future of Touch ID, iPhone 6 rumors and more. Unfortunately, we experienced some technical difficulties with this week's episode, so the sound quality is significantly beneath our standard sound. This should be fixed going forward. Thank you for tuning in.

Digital scrapbook app Ember coming to iPhone and iPad in December

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Ember, a digital scrapbook app from the Clear to-do app's creator Realmac Software, arrived back in July as a rather pricey $49.99 Mac App Store download. Despite its punishing price tag, I wrote that Ember struck me as an Evernote replacement I’ve long been yearning for. The team has since added a few new features such as Smart Drawing, Colours and iCloud sync, while squashing dozens of bugs.

And now, they've confirmed that the iOS version will be available in December. This is great news as I can now introduce Ember into my daily workflow, hopefully being able to jot down notes, create journals and manage my notebooks on whatever device I happen to be using, be it a Mac, iPad, iPhone or iPod touch...