Meet voice actress Susan Bennett, the original voice of Siri

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

The mystique of Siri, Apple's "personal assistant" for iOS, has been the mysterious female voice. Able to speak directions to your favorite pizza parlor as well as carry on witty banter with celebrities, finding the voice behind your iPhone has become the holy grail for love-struck geeks everywhere. Now comes a middle-aged Atlanta mom who claims she's the original voice behind Siri, providing a peak behind the world of talking machines.

Susan Bennett, a mom from Sandy Springs, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, never wanted the spotlight. Her voice has been used to give life to machines ranging from the an ATM to a voice announcing directions inside the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International airport. Now she is speaking out about her role as the most famous unknown voice heard by millions of people...

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Security researchers detail new Touch ID and iOS 7 workarounds

Cody Lee ∙ October 4, 2013

Security Research Labs, a group of Berlin-based security researchers, have uncovered a bug in the new iPhone that it claims will enable hackers to overcome a safeguard allowing users to remotely wipe stolen or lost phones.

More specifically, the team has discovered a method for bypassing the handset's security features. It starts with activating Airplane mode, which gives potential criminals time to create fake fingerprints and reset passwords....

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Amazon said to be launching Apple TV competitor before the holidays

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Amazon is readying an Apple TV competitor, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The set-top box will offer access to the company's Instant Video and other streaming services.

Reportedly codenamed "Cinnamon," the device is said to be very similar in design and functionality to a Roku box. And Amazon is believed to be looking to launch it sometime before the holidays...

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Best Buy offering $50 gift card with iPhone 5c purchase

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Best Buy has begun offering Apple's newly-released iPhone 5c at a bit of a discount this weekend, trimming $50 off the handset's price tag—which starts at $99 with a two-year contract.

The offer features a $50 Best Buy gift card, which you will get at the time of purchase of any iPhone 5c. That goes for any carrier the retailer does business with, and any configuration...

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SlowCam brings slow motion video recording to every iOS device

Lory Gil ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

When Apple announced that the iPhone 5s came with slow motion video capture, I was immediately envious of everyone that would be upgrading this year. Slow motion video is almost as awesome as high-speed video.

SlowCam – Realtime Slow motion Video Camera is a video app that turns my green envy into gold. With it, you don’t need a brand new iPhone in order to create slow motion videos. All you need is iOS 7…

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Apple seeds OS X Mavericks Golden Master to developers

Cody Lee ∙ October 3, 2013

Folks anxious for Apple to release OS X Mavericks to the public will be happy to hear that the final beta version of the next generation OS was sent out to Mac developers this evening.

Apple labeled the release 'GM,' also known as Golden Master, which essentially means that this is the same build that users will see. It also usually means that a launch isn't too far behind...

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Some users complaining of inaccurate iPhone 5s sensors

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Heads up iPhone 5s owners: have you noticed that your Compass app readings are a little bit off? Don't worry, you're not alone. It seems a number of users are complaining of inaccurate sensors on Apple's latest handset.

More specifically, users have noticed that both their compass and inclinometers on their 5s devices are consistently off by a noticeable margin. The latter appears to be incorrect by 2 degrees, while the former is off by 8-10...

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Apple releases iTunes 11.1.1 with bug fixes, stability improvements

Cody Lee ∙ October 3, 2013

Apple has released a Supplemental Update to OS X 10.8.5. The release fixes an issue with the FaceTime HD camera on late-model MacBook Airs, a bug that caused external drives to be ejected, and other problems.

Additionally, Apple has also seeded a new version of iTunes this afternoon, bringing the app to version 11.1.1. The update doesn't offer up any new features, but it does bring about bug fixes and stability improvements...

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Instagram will introduce photo and video ads in the next couple months

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

For those who've been following Instagram for a while, it will hardly come as a surprise that the company today announced it will start delivering ads into the feed of US users in the next couple of months.

Instagram, which was acquired by Facebook over a year ago, has yet to turn a profit. This new decision to start displaying ads on mobile devices might exactly be what the company needs to become profitable, even if it means alienating a few users in the process...

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Apex is now available on Cydia. Here’s why you should buy it

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 3, 2013

One of the best jailbreak tweaks to touch down in some time is now available for purchase on the Cydia Store. I'm referring to Apex, the new jailbreak tweak collaboration from A3tweaks.

Apex is an innovative new release that allows you to group sets of app icons together, and reveal each individual app using a swipe up or swipe down gesture. This means that you can have what appears to be a single app on your Home screen, when in all actuality, it's hiding up to four additional apps.

Apex is a great way to get by without using folders. It allows you to quickly group items together, and launch them just as fast using intuitive gesture commands. Have a look inside at our full video walkthrough, as I explain why this is a must have jailbreak release for you.

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Apple acquires personal assistant app Cue

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Apple has apparently acquired another personal assistant company. It's called Cue, and it's the startup firm behind the personal assistant app for iPhone, of the same name, which shut down earlier this week.

The company, formerly known as Greplin, was a Y Combinator  alumnus, announced to its users on Tuesday that the service would be shutting down, and that premium users would receive a prorated refund...

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