Apple Seeds OS X Mavericks Developer Preview 4

Apple has seeded the 4th developer preview of OS X Mavericks, and it's available for download right now. The download, which comes in at about 1.27GB for users of OS X Mavericks DP 3, can be found via the Mac App Store app. For those of you not yet running OS X Mavericks, the download would normally be available through the Mac Dev Center, but it's been down as a part of a well publicized security breach.

Older iPhones comprise almost half of Apple’s U.S. handset sales

Apple's iPhone 5 accounts for just over half of the company's smartphone sales, with 48 percent coming from the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, according to new research. That compares to the iPhone 4S which comprised about 75 percent of Apple sales almost a year after launch.

The figures illustrate how a larger portion of Apple's smartphone revenue is being generated by lower-cost iPhone models, a concern for investors heading into Tuesday's third-quarter financial report...

AT&T introduces new 300MB and 2GB data plans

AT&T has introduced two new Mobile Share plans this morning, rounding out its family of Mobile Share rate options it first introduced in the summer of last year. The offerings are designed to allow users to share monthly data allotments across multiple devices.

Previously, the plans started at 1GB of data per month and then jumped straight to 4GB. But today, AT&T announced that it would be adding 300MB and 2GB plans to the mix, giving users that don't require much data a wider selection of options to choose from...

In the aftermath of the Apple deal, HopStop for Windows Phone gets discontinued

Last Friday, Apple confirmed it had snapped up HopStop, the brains behind a transit-navigation app which provides detailed subway, bus, train, taxi, walking and biking directions. The move should complement Apple's troubled mapping solution as the company works toward folding HopStop's high-quality public transit data into its in-house Maps app.

Though an important capability, Apple initially felt content with third-parties tackling the transit navigation puzzle. Be that as it may, it's now come to our attention that the Windows Phone app has rather unceremoniously been pulled following the HopStop acquisition.

File this one under the 'business as usual' drawer: Apple similarly pulled Chomp for Android after acquiring the app discovery engine back in February 2012...

Canary motion detector bolsters up home security while looking stunning

iOS continues to change modern living for the better by improving upon the connected home promise through various innovative app-enabled accessories from third-parties, like the beautiful and smart Nest thermostat, the intelligent Philips light bulbs and clever locks by the likes of Jawbone and Kwikset, to name just a few.

Canary, "the world's first smartphone security device for everyone" by a New York-based startup, promises to beef up your home security by bringing motion detection, push alerts, streaming spycam video and other goodies to your iPhone by way of an IndieGoGo crowd-funded project.

The stylish device, reminiscent of Jony Ive's industrial design work, comes packed with a 720p HD camera, wide angle lens, Wi-Fi connectivity and smart sensors that detect motion, and is easy to set up on your mobile device. I've included a promotional video for your viewing pleasure just after the break...

Nervous Wall Street expects flat June quarter on lack of major product launches

Tuesday is either report card day or judgement day for Apple, depending on your particular doom-and-gloom scenario. The iPhone maker is expected to report a flat mid-summer quarter as investors question whether the best days of the company are behind it.

At the same time, observers see the third quarter as peculiar, given that no new iPhone or iPad has been announced, opening up CEO Tim Cook's leadership to speculation and questions whether the iPhone maker can come back from two consecutive quarters of disappointment...

‘SmartSearch’ places Google results directly within Spotlight

What would it be like to receive instant query results from Google directly from within iOS's stock Spotlight search? A new tweak entitled SmartSearch provides a few clues as to what that might be like. It's far from a perfect execution of the idea, but it's an interesting idea nonetheless. Have a look at our video walkthrough, which shows SmartSearch in action.

How to blur wallpaper when opening a folder

Looking for a way to blur your iPhone's Home screen wallpaper whenever a folder is opened? If so, then check out this brand new tweak from Hashbang Productions. FolderBlur, available on its development repo, is a new release from Hashbang Productions that fills what is obviously a very niche requirement. If you want to take it for a spin, then check out our video walkthrough inside, along with details on adding the development beta repo to your Cydia sources.

Add album art to your iPhone’s wallpaper with ‘HomeArtwork’

HomeArtwork is a newly released jailbreak tweak, which takes the "now playing" album artwork and uses it as wallpaper for the Home screen background. The tweak works with the stock Music app, but I'm also happy to report that it plays nice with streaming services like Spotify. HomeArtwork is a great tweak that allows you to constantly switch up the look of your Home screen wallpaper. Check out our video coverage inside...

High-end smartphone market gone, warns analyst

Welcome to the commoditization of smartphones, or the Emachining of the iPhone. As the handsets move from only the hands of first-adopters to something even your grandma owns, prices are plummeting. It is to the point where one analyst declares the end of the high-end smartphone gold rush.

The average price of a smartphone has fallen nearly $100 in the past year as consumers dismiss talk of 4G and other technical debates, concentrating on just one question: is it good enough and within reach of their wallet...

Apple: dev portal breach hasn’t compromised iTunes accounts or credit cards

You're probably aware by now Apple's portal for its registered developers has been down since noon on Thursday, July 18. The firm on Sunday updated the standard "we'll be back soon" message at the service's landing page to warn the "maintenance will take longer than expected".

Adding fuel to fire, Apple soon after emailed developers with details on what they revealed as a nasty security breach that may have left some private information exposed. Unfortunately, the company stopped short of detailing precisely what information might have been compromised and how.

Be that as it may, the seeming privacy scare has left many scratching their head over the potential unpleasantries that might transpire next. Apple on its part did confirm the breach won't affect consumer iTunes account and said no credit card data had been compromised...

Beat Jony Ive at his own game using this interactive iOS 7 design tool

After June's iOS 7 announcement us bloggers have gotten to become premium design experts. So much ink has been spilt on the new look of Apple's mobile operating system, with observations of armchair analyst, resident critics, the quotidian and alike touching on such topics as Apple's golden ratio, the icons, the flatness, the colors and just about every aspect of the software overhaul one could think of.

And that's perfectly okay. And now, those who insist they could do a better job at revamping iOS 7 can take a crack at it. An amusing tool by Usvsth3m lets you create your own iOS 7 design masterpiece by customizing the iOS 7 icons, wallpapers, fonts (good-bye Helvetica Neue, no?), color scheme, corners, shadows - and even put in their own slogan. Will you give it a go and let your inner designer shine through?