Apple

For China, the iPhone location tracking feature is a “national security concern”

Sébastien Page ∙ July 11, 2014

The WSJ is out this morning with a piece based on a report recently broadcasted on the state-run China Central Television, quoting the iPhone location tracking feature as a "national security concern." Nevermind the fact that you can turn off the feature.

As the largest market, one that is greatly untapped, China is a big bet for Apple, and just about any other company. With 6% of the Chinese smartphone market share, Apple is trailing behind the competition, most notably, Samsung, and Xiaomi, but it didn't stop the Chinese broadcaster to make Apple the main target...

Google Maps gains Gmail appointments and search results on map and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

As Apple continues to decrease its dependency on Google for maps in products such as the Find My iPhone service, the Internet giant keeps on adding new features to the native Google Maps iOS app in an effort to widen the gap between its own service and Apple Maps.

Today's version 3.2 update adds a couple new features to Google Maps, starting with a new Explore section acting as your local guide that highlights different places and activities, depending on your location and time of day...

Photoshop Express can now remove blemishes, reduce fog and haze in photos and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 11, 2014

Having received a major update in May adding features like new brushes, a Quick Selection tool and more, the past month or so has marked a relatively quiet period for Adobe's Photoshop Express software for the iPhone and iPad.

But as Apple confirms ceasing development of its Mac photography software, Aperture, Adobe has renewed its commitment to the platform.

First, they're helping Aperture customers migrate to its Lightroom software and now Adobe's made the newly updated Photoshop Express 3.4 even more useful with such additions as blemish removal, a new DeFog tool and more...

Why iWatch may not release before Spring 2015

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 11, 2014

For the past year or so, Apple executives have been teasing new product categories coming in 2014.

“There will be new categories,” Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal back in February, for example. “We’re not ready to talk about it, but we’re working on some really great stuff.” Sadly, six months have already passed without a single major Apple product launch, let alone a new product category.

I'm referring to a mythical iWatch, of course, although Apple is rumored to enter new markets other than smartwatches, such as home automation accessories.

A report earlier today by KGI Securities' pretty reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has hinted that Apple has been forced to push mass production of the iWatch back more than a month. He now expects the device to enter production as late as November.

Assuming Kuo is right, when can we expect iWatches to hit store shelves? Read on...

Rumor: Apple’s A8 chip boasts frequencies of 2.0GHz or more per core

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 29, 2016

Given Apple's past mobile processor patterns, it's fairly safe to assume that the new iPhones and iPads - when they drop this Fall - will feature a new A8 chip, designed by Apple and manufactured by both Samsung and Taiwanese chip foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

We also heard whispers that the A8 chip focuses primarily on power efficiency and thus yields only marginal CPU speed increases. However, if a new report out of China is anything to go by, that may not be the case after all as the new 20-nanometer chip is said to boasts clock frequencies of 2.0GHz or more per core...

Apple caught cutting some iTunes song previews down to 30 seconds

Cody Lee ∙ July 11, 2014

A few years ago, Apple extended song previews in iTunes from 30 seconds to 90 seconds, for tracks longer than two and a half minutes. The move pleased users, as it enabled them to listen to a large chunk of the song before purchasing it.

It appears, however, that Apple has recently changed its policy regarding music samples, reverting some track preview times back to 30 seconds. The change has been reported by several users, on both mobile and desktop versions of iTunes...

New report says mass production of iWatch may not begin until November

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo issued a new note to investors this morning, stating that Apple may have to push mass production of the iWatch back more than a month. The highly revered analyst originally predicted that production for the device would ramp up in September, but due to the complexity of the project, he now believes it could begin as late as November...

Misfit and Beddit launch paper-thin sleep monitoring iOS accessory

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Misfit, which created the sleek Shine fitness tracker, has partnered with Beddit, the maker of sleep-analysis accessories, on the Misfit Beddit Sleep System, an ultra-thin sleep monitoring gadget which works with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

The "paper-thin" strip-like sensor tracks sleep cycles by measuring physiological signals that affect your sleep quality. The data is then wirelessly passed along to the free Misfit for iPhone app over Bluetooth for detailed analysis of a user's heart rate, respiration, movement, snoring and sound...

Wunderlist 3 previewed: fast sync, gorgeous UI and 60+ improvements

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 12, 2018

Berlin, Germany-based 6Wunderkinder, the makers of the popular Wunderlist to-do, task and list management app, is getting ready to release a major new version. The wait for Wunderlist 3 is almost over, developers told me via email.

Filed as "our biggest update ever," Wunderlist 3 brings fast real-time sync engine, top-to-bottom makeover with a beautiful new design and over 60 various improvements to put the fun back into note-taking, task management and list creation and curation...

Sonico launches iTranslate for Mac with voice output, dictionaries, 80+ languages and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2014

German developer Sonico Mobile makes some fairly nice translation apps for the iPhone. Their excellent iTranslate app, available free for the iPhone and iPad, allows you to translate words and text into over 80 languages.

It supports voice input and output for most language pairs, which works much better than you'd think in terms of dialects, gender, speaking rate and other variables affecting translation accuracy.

Sonico is now bringing that same experience to your Mac with the launch of the native iTranslate for Mac app, a free download from the Mac App Store. With over 80 languages supported out of the box and features like voice output, fast text input, romanization and built-in dictionaries, Sonico's software enables the App Store's most popular translator tool on your Mac...

Assassin’s Creed Pirates goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Attention gamers, Apple has just named Ubisoft's popular iOS game Assassin's Creed Pirates its App of the Week for this week. This means that through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the title for both your iPhone and iPad, for free—a sizable savings of $5.

For those unfamiliar with Pirates, it's not your typical Assassin's Creed action-adventure. This ship-based game sees players take on the role of Alonzo Batilla, a young captain who has been tasked with taking on some of the fiercest pirates in the Caribbean Sea...

LinkedIn reboots its Contacts for iPhone app as LinkedIn Connected

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2018

After retiring CardMunch, its standalone iPhone app for scanning business cards, in favor of Evernote’s business card scanning service last month, LinkedIn today rebranded another standalone iOS app - LinkedIn Contacts. The app shall be known henceforth as LinkedIn Connected.

The app has been reimagined and redesigned for a much cleaner appearance.

Aside from the name change, the free download has all the same features like its predecessor, but more advanced than before and with "much more focus on strengthening your relationships"...