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Additional iPhone 5S spyshots suggest all-new A7 chip

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

MacRumors last week shared a genuinely-looking photograph believed to picture the back of the iPhone 5S. Virtually identical to the current iPhone 5, the image did tell us that Apple's upcoming S-upgrade will sport dual-LED flash for better low-light photos, especially coupled with a rumored twelve-megapixel camera. Today, the publication posted a new high-resolution photo suggesting that the upcoming iPhone revision could run a brand new A7 chip rather than a variant of the existing A6 silicon powering Apple's latest-generation iPhone and iPad...

Infinity Blade II is just a buck until end of June

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

Infinity Blade, an elegiac masterpiece, is still one of the best-looking iPhone and iPad games. So-called system seller, everyone should have this iOS exclusive on their Home screen. If you were mesmerized by how gorgeously smooth Infinity Blade looks (and still shines to this date, courtesy of Unreal engine) but didn't take the plunge due to its high price, don't miss out on this rare discount and pick up Infinity Blade II for just 99 cents, way down from its normal asking price of seven bucks...

Imgur coming to iOS soon, hits Android

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

When Alan Schaaf’s free image sharing service dubbed Imgur went online on February 23, 2009, it was met with genuinely positive feedback from users who'd been longing for an image hosting service that didn't suck.

Though no one expected the San Francisco-based startup to compete with the likes of Flickr, Instagram or other established photo sharing services, it did start picking up considerable steam after users on Reddit and Digg began sharing viral images on Imgur. In response to its rising popularity, the startup has just issued the official Android client and confirmed that iOS version is coming along soon...

Amazon Instant Video iOS app gets personalized recommendations

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

Good news for those how prefer to get their entertainment from Amazon instead iTunes. In a newest update to its Instant Video streaming iOS app, the online retail giant has enabled personalized recommendations for movies and television shows based on your past viewing habits, while enhancing the experience with a handy new navigation bar.

Of course, in order to take advantage of the app you'll need to be subscribed to Amazon's Prime, a $79 a year membership which gives you unlimited access to thousands of titles and over 140,000 videos available from the Amazon Instant Video store, with support for Watchlists, offline viewing and more...

Gartner: tablet shipments to jump 68% in 2013 amid PC slump

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 24, 2013

Research giant Gartner Monday released new figures confirming the growth of tablets and the decline of PCs are set to continue through 2013 and into 2014. However, the numbers point to a changing market for tablets and a potential rescue for ailing PC and laptop demand.

While the overall shipment of PCs, mobile phones and tablets is expected to rise by just 5.9 percent this year, PC shipments of both desktops and notebooks will slide lower by more than ten percent. Worldwide mobile phone shipments should increase a modest 4.3 percent while tablets lead consumer demand for mobility, shipments jumping by 67.9 percent this year, according to the research firm...

Apple reportedly contracts out next-gen mobile chip manufacture to TSMC

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 24, 2013

After a long period of rumor mongering, it would seem that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest independent semiconductor foundry, is finally stealing Apple chip biz from rival Samsung. If a new report out of Taiwan is to be trusted, Apple has cut a long-term deal with TSMC to produce A-series chips for future iPhones, iPods and iPads built on TSMC's 20-nanometer, 16-nanometer and 10-nanometer process technology.

If true, it's the final nail in the coffin in the strained Apple-Samsung technology relationship. And good riddance, too, because Samsung will no longer be able to have a headstart of Apple's future semiconductor solutions...

Baldur’s Gate yanked from the App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 24, 2013

Developer Beamdog did a nice job updating Baldur's Gate, BioWare's classic role-playing game set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, for the Apple platform. Last December, they released Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition on the App Store.

The RPG title contains the original Baldur’s Gate, the Tales From the Sword Coast expansion pack, an additional monk character, a new 'Black Pits' adventure and lost more content.

If you're a fan of the series which has a loyal following, there'll be lots of teeth-gnashing involved in finding that Baldur's Gate games have been pulled from the App Store due to unspecified contractual issues...

Accessory vendor bypasses iOS 7 Lightning check

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

One of the little-known features of iOS 7 that not many people will like is its background check of whether or not a third-party accessory is hooked up to the your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad using a non-certified Lightning cable.

We've know Apple has tightened its MFi program rules (MFi stands for 'Made for iDevice') and iOS 7 seems to be stepping up a cat and mouse game between Apple and non-MFi vendors....

Siri in iOS 7 getting better at pronouncing names

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 24, 2013

Not only is Siri getting a facelift and new features in iOS 7 as Apple continues to focus on improving her usability and the accuracy and reliability of the responses, she's also getting smarter thanks to backend changes which don't require a software update. For example, one of such server-side improvements is the ability to place phone calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to help save lives.

But there's one aspect of Siri that has seen little changes since her inception: inaccurate pronunciation of certain names. But no more. Although not specifically addressed during the WWDC 2013 keynote, it's been discovered that Siri can now initiate a learning process of sorts whenever it has trouble understanding your pronunciation of a person's name...

Facebook reportedly working on Flipboard-style reader for iOS

Cody Lee ∙ June 24, 2013

According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Facebook has been quietly working on a new service for the past year that displays content from users and publishers in a format, tailored for mobile devices, similar to Flipboard.

We've seen a number of new products this year from Zuckerberg's team, as the company continues to try and evolve from being 'just a social networking service.' There was the search graph, then Facebook Home, and now there's Reader...

Interactive maps illustrate iOS, Android and BlackBerry usage around the world

Cody Lee ∙ June 23, 2013

This is kind of interesting. The folks over at Gnip and MapBox have teamed up with ex-Google data guru Eric Fischer to create a series of interactive heat maps that show the usage of iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices around the world.

The data consists of some three billion global, geotagged tweets that have been collected since September of 2011. And the team has converted all of this data into navigable maps in an attempt to illustrate patterns in language and device use...

Withings enters fitness tracking space with new Pulse wearable

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

If there's one market that's really exploded over the last year or two, I'd say it's wearable computers—more specifically fitness trackers. There's already a number of companies in the space, including Nike and Jawbone, and giants like Apple and Samsung are rumored to be joining soon.

And this weekend, veteran iOS accessory-maker Withings officially joined the fray by putting its wearable Pulse tracker up for pre-order. The device, which it showed off at CES earlier this year, can be pocketed, clipped or worn on your wrist and tracked and by a mobile app...