Apple

Apple hires head software engineer from Atlas Wearables, likely to work on the iWatch

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple is believed to have an interesting pipeline of new products planned for the second half of this year, including new Macs, iPhones and its first wearable device. It has been speculated over the past several months that the company is gearing up to launch the so-called "iWatch" in the fall, a smart watch that will double as a health and fitness tracker for managing your heart rate, calories, blood glucose levels and more…

Apple’s official Podcasts app crashing for several users [updated]

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated July 1, 2014

There are widespread reports this afternoon that claim Apple's official Podcasts app is crashing for several users upon launch. The app does temporarily open, but then immediately closes and returns to the Home screen in a matter of seconds. The issue appears to be affecting devices running both iOS 7.1.1 and iOS 8 beta, according to multiple tweets and other reports.

A significant number of users have turned to the Apple Support Communities to voice their concerns about the problem, with complaints ranging from the app crashing to multiple icons and album artwork. The crashing issue appears to have been affecting users since at least 2:00 PM Pacific, when the first reports began to appear on Twitter and elsewhere…

128GB option could be exclusive to 5.5” iPhone 6

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 26, 2014

Exclusivity appears to be the name of the game concerning Apple's rumored 5.5-inch handset. Thus far, we've learned that Tim Cook & Co. could distinguish Apple's first phablet-class device with several exclusive features.

These would presumably include (other than display size) optical image stabilization, an ultra-sharp screen at 2K resolution and multiple new sensors for measuring air pressure, temperature and humidity.

You can now put 128GB of storage on your list of 5.5-inch iPhone 6 exclusives...

Apple Stores now selling T-Mobile iPhones, $50 discounts available for a limited time

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Either an exclusivity window with other carriers has passed or Apple needed some time to figure out how to sell and activate devices with Uncarrier service, but the wait is over - you can now waltz inside an Apple Store and safely buy and activate an iPhone on T-Mobile's prepaid service.

To sweeten the deal, Apple and T-Mobile are treating customers who buy an iPhone with a prepaid T-Mobile plan to a cool $50 discount, for a limited time. Moreover, folks buying an iPhone with T-Mobile's Simple Choice plan will receive a $50 iTunes gift card...

Google unveils Gmail API: your email apps are about to get a lot faster and smarter

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 26, 2014

If you ever set up a Gmail account over IMAP in a third-part client like Mailbox, you're painfully aware that the experience is nowhere near Gmail's web app on desktop.

It's not Google's fault - Gmail's support for IMAP is rather smooth. To put it bluntly, IMAP just wasn't designed with all of Gmail's advanced features in mind.

For starters, typical operations over IMAP are noticeably slower compared to Gmail. Worse, IMAP does not support full searching of Gmail accounts and important features specific to Gmail - such as starring or archiving - frequently behave erratically over IMAP.

Realizing it doesn't want developers to be bogged down by IMAP's limitations, Google today at its I/O conference released the first beta of the official Gmail API.

It's a pretty big deal and here's why...

Monty Python comes to iOS with John Cleese voiced The Ministry of Silly Walks

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 26, 2014

Our US audiences may not necessarily be fond of Monty Python, a British surreal comedy group best known for Monty Python's Flying Circus, a hilarious television sketch show broadcast by the BBC from 1969 to 1974.

Even if you've never followed the show, chances are you've encountered some of the popular and widely quoted sketches on YouTube. Some have even gone to become cultural phenomenons in their own right. Take the "Spam" show, for example, which led to the coining of the term email spam.

My fav sketch is "The Ministry of Silly Walks" and much to my delight, it's now been turned into its own iOS game, now available in the App Store...

Refurbished iPod touch now starts at just $149

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 26, 2014

Apple today discounted the entire iPod touch lineup by a cool fifty bucks while at the same time supplanting the entry-level model with sixteen gigabytes of storage with a slightly improved variant.

Not only is the baseline model now cheaper, it puts back a rear-facing five-megapixel iSight camera while introducing six color finishes available across the rest of the lineup.

Lower prices across the board ($199/$249/$299) have prompted Apple to slash prices on the fifth-generation iPod touch refurbs accordingly, now starting at $149 for the just-replaced 16GB model...

Motorola shows off Android Wear on Moto 360

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Among the flurry of announcements yesterday, Android Wear files as the most exciting and talked-about aspect of the Google I/O 2014 keynote.

To help jumpstart Google's platform for wearables, both LG’s G Watch and Samsung’s new Gear Live started selling through Google's Play store yesterday.

Google also said that Motorola’s Moto 360, announced back in March, will launch later this summer with Android Wear. Motorola has now posted a nice video for those who couldn't attend Google's two-day conference for developers.

It gives a sneak peek at some of the cool features of Android Wear running on premium hardware so give it a quick watch (pun intended) and share your impressions with fellow readers down in the comments...

Opera Mini for iOS gets a surprise overhaul loaded with cool new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

For the first time since 2012, the Opera browser by Norway-based Opera Software has received a substantial update cleaning up the UI dramatically.

In a nutshell, Opera has dropped the dark theme in favor of a light appearance. I'm liking it a lot: not only is the new look a lot easier on the eyes, navigating and enjoying web content is now more pleasurable than ever before.

In addition to the updated design, the new Opera Mini version 8.0 brings out several new features, including a new data compression mode, user interface themes to customize the browser's look, a new way to discover what's trending and a built-in QR code reader...

Gameloft’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier is Apple’s new Free App of the Week

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 12, 2018

Every Thursday, Apple features another app or game as the App Store's Free App of the Week. This time around, Apple's editorial team has chosen Gameloft's Captain America: The Winter Soldier game for the iPhone and iPad, regularly a $2.99 value.

Released three months ago, this movie tie-in has you playing as Captain America who must lead his S.H.I.E.L.D. Strike Team as they struggle to contain a massive attack on the World by several nefarious crime organizations.

The game boasts interestingly cartoonish artwork style and doesn't disappoint in terms of pure action: there are plentiful combos to master though it's not all about fighting either as you'll need to use your tactical skills to combat threats and lead your Strike Team wisely...

Apple said to be working on hardware products for the connected home

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

As the smartphone, tablet and personal computer markets become increasingly saturated, Apple is said to be planning to expand its foray into the home. A new report, citing unnamed sources, claims that the iPhone maker has assembled a team to work on different hardware products for the home that would be closely integrated with Apple's existing lineup of devices…

SoundCloud for iPhone receives stunning facelift, removes Record feature

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 2, 2017

Berlin-based SoundCloud is a popular service to upload, record, promote and share originally-created sounds and they've long had a decent iOS app on the App Store. Today, the company has issued a major iPhone-focused redesign that focuses on much simplified one-thumb navigation through the use of gestures to seek and skip tracks.

The new SoundCloud for iPhone version 3.0 also brings the ability to open another user’s profile straight from a track or playlist and includes other enhancements, detailed after the break...