Apple

Netflix brings revamped design to iOS and Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2014

An all-new Netflix experience awaits you in the App Store as the on-demand streaming media giant bumps its iPhone and iPad app to version 6.0.

Featuring a departure from the original user interface you've come to love, the free Netflix 6.0 edition offers little in terms of new features beyond freshening up its appearance and a few minor under-the-hood improvements.

And to go with the revamped iPhone and iPad experience, Netflix started pushing a redesigned channel icon to Apple TV owners' Home screens. Both Apple TV and iOS versions include the same set of feature enhancements...

Adobe unveils Ink stylus, Slide ruler, Lightroom for iPhone and Mix iPad app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 1, 2018

Earlier today, Adobe made a flurry of product announcements and updates, starting with the official unveiling of two long-rumored accessories: the aluminum Ink stylus for iPads running iOS 7.0 or later and the Slide.

Billed as an Ink companion and "a category-defining digital ruler", the Slide wirelessly connects to an iPad and has been designed for precision sketching of straight lines, perfect circles and balanced shapes.

In other Adobe news, the firm has launched Lightroom for iPhone, introduced brand new iPad apps - Mix, Sketch and Line - added major new features across the whole Creative Cloud desktop suite of apps and reshuffled the Creative Cloud tiers by adding a new Photography Plan.

Don't worry, I've distilled the announcements to a couple easily digestible highlights so hit the jump to learn more...

Twitter now supports animated GIFs

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 1, 2017

Twitter, the leading micro-blogging platform, is rolling out native support for animated GIFs to its mobile apps and across the web.

By adding native GIF support to both the web interface on Twitter.com and mobile apps on iOS and Android, the startup has finally jumped on the trendy bus of GIF memes.

Twitter's free iPhone and iPad app wasn't updated at post time though the company said in a tweet that "starting today, you can share and view animated GIFs on Twitter.com, Android and iPhone". As it turns out, no software update will be needed as Twitter has confirmed that GIFs will be supported by its official API...

Google issues iOS 8 fix for Chrome

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2014

Google's free Chrome for iOS browser is one of a few dozen popular iPhone and iPad applications that crash or refuse to work properly on iOS 8. And although the second beta of iOS 8 claims improved compatibility with third-party software such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, Chrome still wouldn't work reliably.

Acknowledging as much, the Internet giant has just issued a minor Chrome for iOS update with stability fixes and "compatibility with new iOS versions"...

Poll: which one’s a better buy – $1,099 iMac or MacBook Air?

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2014

Apple is taking some heat over its $200 cheaper baseline iMac, which released this morning. See, in order to bring the price down to an attractive $1.099, the iPhone maker has sadly skimped on the specs.

This $200 saving translates into half the hard drive storage and a slower Intel CPU/integrated graphics.

Specifically, the entry-level 21.5-incher packs basically the same dual-core 1.4GHz Intel Core i5 processor and integrated Intel HD Graphics 5000 as the MacBook Air family. And with recent MacBook Air price drops, choosing between the all-in-one and one of ultra-portable Airs is anything but trivial.

That's why I've created a quick poll, so we could learn from your opinion. Tell us which one, in your opinion, is a better buy: a $1,099 iMac or a $1,099 MacBook Air...

Apple TV rumored to receive Continuity integration with iOS 8 and Yosemite Macs this Fall

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2014

iOS 8 and Yosemite come with Handoff, a particularly useful feature for completing tasks across multiple devices and seamlessly moving from one device to another. Part of the broader Continuity capability, Handoff relies on proximity sensing via power-sipping Bluetooth 4.0 to detect nearby devices which then broadcast user tasks.

Handoff lets you easily create an intelligent Instant Hotspot on your mobile device, start writing an email on your iPad and continue right where you left off on a Mac, receive and make phone calls and handle text messages on Macs and lots more.

According to one blogger, Apple will be bringing Continuity to its Apple TV media-streaming box when iOS 8 launches this Fall, resulting in a much tighter Apple TV integration with Mac and iOS...

Apple drops Mac mini prices across Europe, too

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2014

Apple is on a roll today. First it announced a $200 cheaper baseline iMac model, then we heard about slight Apple TV discounts across Europe and a lot deeper price cut on refurbished Time Capsule wireless base stations and now comes word that Cook & Co. have dropped prices of Mac mini models across key markets in Europe.

That's right, our fans in Europe can now pick up a Mac mini for anywhere between €30 and €60 less (translates to approximately $40 and $82, respectively), depending on the country and model...

Refurbished previous-generation Time Capsule now just $149

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

I'm a huge fan of Apple's wireless appliances and a longtime Time Capsule user. I have my first Time Capsule model lying around the office somewhere and my wallet still hurts remembering that I paid a whopping $600 for it some five years ago.

If you don't mind jumping on the previous-generation pre-owned hardware, the Refurbished Apple Store has now brought the price of the 2TB/3TB mid-2011 Time Capsule down to $149/$299, respectively...

Asphalt 8: Airborne introduces new Fuel system, extra tank and additional cars

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2014

France-based games maker Gameloft has released a fuel-injected update to its freemium Asphalt 8: Airborne racing game for the iPhone and iPad, its fifth major content update thus far.

Now live in the App Store and labeled with version 1.4, the game offers several new features while ditching the dreaded rental fee for events. Instead, you now enter time-limited events using a brand new Fuel system.

Jump past the fold for full details...

Apple drops Apple TV price to €99 in Europe and £79 in the UK

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2014

Boy, Apple surely seems laser-focused on making its products more price-competitive. Minutes after releasing a $200 cheaper baseline 21.5-inch iMac model, now starting at just $1,099, word comes that its set-top box, the Apple TV which retails for $99 in the United States, has been discounted in the United Kingdom and across the European Union markets....

Apple brings entry-level 21.5-inch iMac down to just $1,099

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2014

Apple's online store went down briefly this morning as the company has refreshed its iMac family of all-in-one desktops. The baseline model now starts at $1,099, a full $200 cheaper over the previous model.

Only the entry-level 21.5-inch iMac has been refreshed with what's apparently a significant specs downgrade.

The $1,099 configuration comes with a low-end 1.4GHz dual-core Intel i5 processor with three megabytes of L3 cache, a 5,400rpm 500GB hard disk drive, 8GB of RAM and integrated Intel HD Graphics 5000...

How to enable Yosemite’s somewhat functional dark mode

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 17, 2014

There were lots of oohs and aahs in response to Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi showing off a new dark UI mode in OS X Yosemite at WWDC two weeks ago. It basically alters the appearance of the menus, sliders, buttons, windows and other UI elements.

The gorgeously subdued look is inspired by the dark appearance of Apple's pro software such as Aperture and Final Cut Pro. In fact, I like it so much that I enthusiastically tweeted right after the keynote that I was very much looking forward to using it on a permanent basis come this Fall.

However, dark mode was notably absent from the first beta of OS X 10.10 and is nowhere to be found in the just-released Beta 2. For a good reason, too, as it's unfinished and very much work in progress so not really ready for prime time yet.

If you're a type of person who can't wait to see it in action, you can enable Yosemite's dark UI using just a simple Terminal command...