Apple

Imgur for iOS gains search and revamped interface

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 2, 2015

After relaunching its iOS app and introducing an all-new interface in the Android client three months ago, Imgur today announced a major revamp of its iPhone and iPod touch application, a free download in the App Store.

For starters, the app has at last gained a Search feature so you can search for specific viral posts on the service. The app's grid view has been redesigned to show bigger thumbnails, push notifications have been improved and profile screens revamped for a more pleasing appearance.

iPhone 7 rumored to switch back to using glass-on-glass screen technology

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 2, 2015

Unhappy with the in-cell screen process used in production of iPhone displays which is plagued with lower touch sensitivity on screen edges, Apple is reportedly considering a return to glass-on-glass (G/G) touchscreen panels for an 'iPhone 7,' a technology it ditched with the release of the iPhone 5 in the fall of 2012.

According to a somewhat sketchy report published Wednesday by DigiTimes, Apple is currently sampling glass-on-glass touch samples for 2016 iPhones.

If true, the iPhone 7—or whatever a 2016 iPhone ends up being named—will feature better touch accuracy, improved Multi-Touch performance and better touch detection on screen edges. In addition, glass-on-glass technology would permit the company to develop a bezel-free iPhone and support 4K resolutions.

Android Wear for iOS found incompatible with Apple’s HealthKit

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 2, 2015

Google's Android Wear for iPhone software debuted earlier this week and while we suspected ahead of its release it might not offer tight integration with iOS like the Apple Watch does, I don't think many people expected it to be incompatible with HealthKit, Apple’s platform for developers of health and fitness apps.

Sadly, that's exactly what transpired here.

As discovered by BuzzFeed, the decision to make Android Wear incompatible with HealthKit was entirely Google's as the search company wants iOS users who own Android Wear devices to log their steps and physical activity through its own Google Fit dashboard.

Apple adds yet another former Tesla engineer to Project Titan team

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple has hired yet another former Tesla engineer for its growing Project Titan team, reports MacRumors. The site points to the LinkedIn profile of Hal Ockerse, which shows he was an engineering manager at the electric car company before joining Apple in August as a "software engineer."

Ockerse's profile doesn't offer any details about his new position, but he's likely working on Apple's "Titan" electric car project. At Tesla, he worked on hardware architecture and advanced driver assistance system components, such as hi-res cameras, radars, LiDAR and engine control units.

Instagram Direct rolls out threaded messaging and sending feed content privately

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 24, 2017

Tuesday, Facebook-owned Instagram launched some notable improvements for its private-messaging feature, called Instagram Direct.

Available in Instagram's 7.5 update, a free download in the App Store, Instagram Direct now supports threaded conversations and allows you to pick a photo from a user's feed to send to a friend or group privately as a Direct message.

Review: ReBoard keyboard boosts your productivity and cuts down on app switching

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2015

The biggest thing about iOS 8 for me is a productivity boost stemming from new technologies such as pervasive inter-app communications, third-party actions in system-wide Share sheets and more. But for all the good work Apple's done from a productivity standpoint, iOS (version 9 included) still has some way to go before it's capable to exceed multitasking features on Microsoft's Surface tablets or Samsung's Note phablet, for example.

ReBoard, a new software keyboard for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad created by India's independent developer Gursimranjeet Singh, puts useful actions for performing common tasks and all sorts of look ups right into the keyboard itself so you won't need to switch back and forth between apps like an animal.

By embedding useful third-party shortcuts within the context of the keyboard, ReBoard can save you a lot of time and boost your productivity.

Have you checked out Google’s new playful logo yet?

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2015

As part of its massive restructuring effort, the Internet giant Google on Tuesday showed off its brand new logo. While the Mountain View company has refined its logo multiple times over the past seventeen years, today's announcement marks the biggest visual change to Google's brand identity thus far.

The new logo reflects the fact that people now interact with Google across many different platforms, apps and devices, the company argues.

Check out the new logo and identity family and tell us in comments how you liked them.

Twitterrific for iOS improves accessibility, tag autocompletion, muting, translation and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2015

Twitterrific, The Iconfactory's freemium Twitter client for the iPhone and iPad, was refreshed in the App Store this morning with a bevy of enhancements, including improvements to username and hash tag autocompletion, a feature introduced in Twitterrific's previous update.

Among other changes, this edition of Twitterrific includes some new quick actions, support for quoted tweets in muffle and muting rules and much more.

Former Apple Music lead Ian Rogers joins French luxury multinational LVMH

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2016

Following his resignation from Apple, a move said to have left his colleagues scratching their head, former Apple Music executive and Beats 1 director Ian Rogers has joined LVMH, a French luxury goods conglomerate headquartered in Paris, Re/code said on Tuesday.

This is especially interesting considering Apple itself poached executives from LVMH, including the sales director for watch brand TAG Heuer in July 2014, Heuer Patrick Pruniaux.

Bing for iPhone picks up Interests and News, gains private searching, Apple Watch app and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2016

Microsoft's Bing for iPhone app was updated last evening with several new features such as Bing Interests, Bing News, a private searching mode, the Popular Now section on your Apple Watch and other enhancements.

I typically use Google's native search app on my iPhone, but Bing saw some rather interesting improvements in recent months. In my personal opinion, Microsoft's search-based app is better designed than Google's with richer descriptions and prettier images.

More importunely, Bing's popular searches feature produces way more relevant results than Google, at least for me.

Samsung unveils Gear S2 smartwatch lineup with up to 3 days of battery life

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

After teasing its new Gear smartwatch ahead of Apple's upcoming media event, South Korea-based Samsung last evening formally announced a second-generation Gear S family. The Galaxy Gear S2, as it's called, augments the round display of its predecessor with a rotating bezel for navigating the user interface.

The internals have been refreshed, too, so the Gear S2 has NFC. While it has less storage space than the Apple Watch's 8GB, the Gear S2 uses a stronger battery that Samsung claims runs up to three days on a single charge.

Apple Pay transaction limit in UK raises to £30

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2015

When Apple Pay launched in the United Kingdom in mid-July, it was limited to transactions up to £20 without entering in a PIN number or signature, a cap imposed on almost all contactless payments in the country. Tuesday, the cap rose to £30 per touchless payment without entering a PIN number or providing your signature.

As noted by The Verge, the new £30 cap is applied to all contactless payments in the United Kingdom, including those made via contactless cards that work without any other authentication.