Apple

Instagram launches geostickers in Stories

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 16, 2017

Instagram has aped Snapchat all over again, this time by launching geostickers which I'm sure you know are location-based stickers originally popularized by Snapchat. This cool feature is live in just two cities, for now, but you can bet they'll be aggressively rolling it out in additional markets as rapidly as humanly possible. If you happen to live in Jakarta or New York City, use geofilters to spice up your Instagram Stories with visual accessories representing your present location, down to the neighborhood.

Apple Pay launches in Ireland, coming to Italy and Taiwan soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 7, 2017

Apple Pay has officially expanded to Ireland today for customers of KBC and Ulster Bank, two of the country's big four banking institutions. The service also works with EU's Boon prepay system tied to MasterCard. Irish customers who register their Visa or MasterCard credit or debit cards via the Wallet app can start using the service to pay securely for goods in “tens of thousands” of stores, including Aldi, Boots, Burger King, Harvey Norman and Lidl.

Apple Pay is also supported in compatible apps and on some websites. The Cupertino company has added related Apple Pay details to its regional website in Italy, signaling an imminent launch in the 60 million people market. Also, major banks have recently gained regulatory approval to launch Apple's payments service in Taiwan.

Adobe brings HDR RAW capture to Lightroom for iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 7, 2017

Adobe's mobile Lightroom app is slowly but surely becoming a viable alternative to Google Photos and Apple's Photos app with iCloud Photo Library.

In the most recent update to Lightroom for iPhone and Lightroom for iPad, a dynamic range RAW capture that was previously only possible when shooting with a DSLR or mirrorless camera is now available on latest iOS devices.

Additional improvements in this edition of Lightroom for iOS include 3D Touch support on iPhone 6s/7 series, a Notification Center widget, the ability to export your original images, including DNGs and RAW files, and more.

Save your custom edits and share them as reusable looks via QR codes in latest Snapseed update

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 7, 2017

Google today rolled out another update to its free of charge photography app, Snapseed. In Snapseed 2.16, you can now save your complex edits as reusable looks.

You can apply saved looks to other images with a few taps or share them with friends and other Snapseed users via QR codes. This Snapseed update also lets you apply the Structure filter to individual areas with the Selective tool.

Apple seeds macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 5 to registered developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 13, 2023

Apple on Tuesday seeded a fifth beta of what would become the fourth major update to Sierra. macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 5 (build 16E183b) can be deployed over the air on Macs with a prior beta and an appropriate configuration profile via the Mac App Store's Updates tab. We'll let you know if we find any outward-facing improvements in this beta.

Foxconn and TSMC joining together to bid for Toshiba’s flash memory business

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 7, 2017

Aside from other firms, companies like storage maker Western Digital, iPhone manufacturer Foxconn and Apple mobile chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) have all been named as potential bidders seeking a stake in Toshiba’s memory business.

According to a new report in the Chinese-language Liberty Times, quoted by DigiTimes, Foxconn and TSMC are joining forces in an attempt to acquire a majority stake in Toshiba's NAND flash business. A successful bid by the two Apple suppliers may pose a great challenge to Samsung Electronics' leadership in the flash memory market.

WikiLeaks reveals CIA’s tactics for breaching iPhones, iPads, Windows, smart TVs & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

WikiLeaks today published a cache of 8,761 secret documents detailing tactics the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) relies on for breaching iPhones, iPads, Android smartphones and tablets, Windows PCs and even routers and smart TVs. It's currently unclear if the documents—available to peruse on the group’s website—have serious privacy and security implications. Dubbed “Vault 7”, the leak has been teased on WikiLeaks' Twitter account for a few weeks prior to its release.

WSJ: Sharp investing $878 million into OLED production for future iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 7, 2017

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday morning that Sharp is investing a trillion yen, or about $878 million, into a manufacturing facility solely dedicated to churning out the superior organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panels.

Sharp is owned by iPhone manufacturer Foxconn and the facility is expected to focus exclusively on OLED panel production for future iPhones.

Apple may have removed limitations on its price matching program

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 7, 2017

Apple has a lesser-known program which lets would-be buyers get some of its latest products at a discount. The Cupertino firm used to match up to ten percent off a product's original list price from authorized retailers, under certain conditions, but that ceiling is reportedly no longer in effect, as per an Apple store employee on Reddit.

First sign of macOS 10.13 spotted on Mac App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 7, 2017

Visits from Mac computers identified as running macOS 10.13 have been increasing across iDownloadBlog and various other publications in recent weeks. And now, what looks to be the first public sign of macOS 10.13 has been spotted on Mac App Store, as per Pike's Universum which provided reliable information in the past. Apple will preview the next major versions of macOS, iOS, watchOS and tvOS at its annual developers conference which kicks off with a keynote on June 5.

Apple shares details about WWDC 2017 Scholarships

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 6, 2017

Worldwide Developers Conference will be returning to San Jose and Apple this morning shared details on Scholarships that reward talented students and STEM organization members with the opportunity to attend this year’s conference. Young developers selected for a scholarship will receive a free WWDC17 ticket and lodging. Submissions open March 27.

Steve Jobs originally thought Genius Bar would never work

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 6, 2017

When Apple's former retail chief Ron Johnson presented the idea for tech support stations—dubbed Genius Bar—that would be located inside the company's brick-and-mortar stores, Steve Jobs loathed the concept and thought it would never work.

“I remember the day I came in and told Steve about the Genius Bar idea and he says, ‘That’s so idiotic! It’ll never work!’”, Johnson told Recode.