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Analyst: budget iPhone won’t have Retina display

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 22, 2013

Apple's rumored less-expensive iPhone aimed at emerging markets won't just shave costs by having a polycarbonate body instead of Unibody aluminum design, it is bound to have a standard-resolution screen rather than Apple's Retina display, like other iDevices. That's at least what one analyst wrote in a note to clients Friday, based on the often unreliable supply chain checks.

He's also calling for a June or July launch for both the budget iPhone and the iPhone 5S (a specs upgrade to the iPhone 5), which is the time frame that was mentioned previously in a few other recent reports...

EU scrutinizing Apple’s ‘unusually strict’ iPhone contracts with carrier

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 22, 2013

The cost of selling the iPhone is anything but cheap - just ask Sprint. Because Apple makes the iconic smartphone which helps sell pricey wireless contracts, carriers typically agree to Apple's way of doing biz that entail committing to large-volume iPhone purchases costing billions of dollars in upfront payments.

Sprint, America's third-largest carrier, for example, bought an astounding $15.5 billion worth of iPhones to be sold over the course of four years. The New York Times reported Thursday that European Union regulators are taking a closer look at Apple's iPhone distribution agreements with European carriers, who remark that these contracts are "unusually strict" and assert that Apple's behavior could be viewed as anticompetitive...

Mailbox fills 1 million reservations, releases ‘shake to undo’ update

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 12, 2018

The folks at Mailbox have had a pretty good week. Not only were they acquired by Dropbox—to the tune of what some are reporting to be $100 million in cash and stock—last Friday, but they just filled their 1 millionth reservation.

To celebrate, the team has released the first update for the popular email client since it was released to the public back in February. The update brings the app to version 1.1, and includes a new 'shake to undo' feature, and more...

Apple to stop approving apps that use UDIDs or don’t support iPhone 5

Cody Lee ∙ March 21, 2013

After more than a year of warnings, it looks like Apple's finally putting the kibosh on the use of Unique Device Identifiers. An announcement was posted to the iOS developer portal this afternoon that starting May 1, apps using UDIDs will not be approved.

But that's not all. In addition to the UDID deadline, Apple has also informed developers that after May 1, all new apps and app updates must be built for iOS devices with Retina displays and iPhone apps must support the 4-inch display on iPhone 5...

Jony Ive reportedly pushing ‘flat design’ in iOS as design teams get cozier

Cody Lee ∙ March 21, 2013

Those hoping that Jony Ive's new role as the head of Apple's Human Interface design team will have a sooner-than-later impact on the user interface of its mobile operating system will be happy to hear that this may indeed be the case.

A new report by The Wall Street Journal this afternoon claims that Ive is now sitting in on the human interface team's review sessions to assess new design ideas, and is reportedly pushing for a more "flat design" UI in future iOS releases...

Does Apple really hate jailbreakers?

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

The cat and mouse between Apple and the jailbreak community has been going on for about 6 years now. Every time a new jailbreak tool is released, taking advantage of some holes in Apple's tight mobile operating system, you can bet your shirt that Apple will be quick at patching those holes with a software update.

Sometimes those software updates are released faster than others. For example, it took Apple 43 days to patch a series of vulnerabilities that allowed iOS 6 users to jailbreak their devices using evasi0n. In comparison, it took Apple only nine days to fix the bugs that were exploited by JailbreakMe 3.0.

The time difference can be easily explained by the fact that exploits like those used by JailbreakMe represent a much a higher security threat to iOS users than those used in evasi0n. Remember, JailbreakMe could be run directly from the device's browser, thus exposing virtually every single iOS 4.3.3 user at the time to security risks. In comparison, evasi0n requires you to plug the device to a computer via USB. Clearly, the security threats is much lower with evasi0n.

This being said, every time Apple releases a software update that patches vulnerabilities used in a jailbreak, some enthusiastic jailbreakers are always quick at calling Apple names and accusing the company to actively fight the jailbreak community. "Apple hates jailbreakers. They just released a software update to kill the jailbreak," you can often read every time an iOS update that patches a jailbreak is released. But is that really the truth? Does Apple really hate the jailbreak community or is it trying to protect the safety of its most popular operating system?

Apple updates Podcasts app with new playback UI, custom stations and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 9, 2016

Apple has updated its largely unpopular Podcasts app this afternoon, bringing it to version 1.2. The update is a fairly significant one, bringing about a number of improvements including iCloud syncing, custom stations and more.

Proponents of a less-skeuomorphic design will be happy to hear that Apple has also dialed down the styling in the app a bit. The new playback window, for example, now features flat icons instead of the bulky tape-like buttons...

iCloud is now completely solar

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 21, 2013

Apple's data farm - which powers the company's cloud-computing efforts - is completely solar. That's the word from the iPhone maker, which Thursday released its annual Environmental Progress report. The progress comes only a year after Apple received a failing grade by Greenpeace International, whose members charged the iPhone maker used coal to power its cloud.

Apple also announced 75 percent of power to its worldwide corporate offices come from renewable sources such as solar, wind and geothermal. That is more than double the sustainable energy of two years ago, when the company announced 35 percent of power in its corporate suites was renewable...

Apple bolsters account security with new two-step verification process

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 2, 2017

It feels like every day we hear a new story about a major internet company like Evernote, Twitter or Facebook getting hacked. And when it happens, user passwords, personal information and uploaded content are all compromised.

With this in mind, it's nice to hear that Apple has given its account security a boost today with a new two-step verification process. The safeguard requires users to verify their identity on a trusted device before making any changes.

Tutorial: How to enable Apple two-step verification

The iPhone tops JD Power’s satisfaction rankings for ninth consecutive study

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

The iPhone 5, Apple's "disappointing" handset upgrade, has helped the iconic brand top the J.D. Power & Associates user satisfaction rankings for smartphones - and for the ninth consecutive time, too!

The iPhone leads JD's semi-annual report on smartphone customer satisfaction with a score of 855 points, an increase by sixteen points and sixty points better than the second-ranked Nokia with a customer satisfaction score of 795.

It's interesting that the Finnish handset maker rose dramatically by 93 points since the last survey.

Samsung is third while Motorola and HTC round up the top five. The average study score is 796 points on a 1,000-point scale, but Apple files as the only handset maker in the world to rise above the average...

Apple patent describes iPhones with cat-like responses

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 21, 2013

Think of how a cat, when dropped, can twist its body to land on its paws. Now think of your iPhone falling. Makes you cringe, just thinking of the finely-crafted case and display biting the sidewalk or floor. Enter Apple, taking a lesson from felines and wrapping it in some futuristic technology for a patent designed to protect your iDevice from falls.

In a patent application entitled "Protective Mechanism for an Electronic Device," the iPhone and iPad maker outlines a series of inventions spanning technology now available to some concepts more Jetson-like...