Apple

Amazon updates Kindle for iOS with in-app support for Audible content

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Amazon today issued a nice little update to its Kindle iOS app to make it easier to enjoy Audible content.

Previously, listening to Audible audio books required opening a separate apps, but the new Kindle version 4.3 for the iPhone and iPad now includes support for Audible content.

As a result, you can listen to Kindle books enriched with their respective audio companions right within the Kindle app itself.

Audible, for those unfamiliar with it, is owned by Amazon. Your changelog and additional information can be found right after the break...

Apple clamping down on music downloading apps, ones incentivizing ad watching and social sharing

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple appears to have been cracking down on iOS apps which enable users to download music and software making it possible to download other file types from file-sharing networks.

But that's not all, as the Cupertino firm is seemingly asking developers to stop with the practice of incentivizing people to watch in-game ads and share promotional messages on social networks in exchange for in-game coins, virtual items, etc.

Although iOS 8 has relaxed the rules pertaining to third-party development by providing APIs to extend system functionality and create custom keyboards, custom actions in Share sheets, photo and video editing extensions for the Photos app and more, it's obvious that Apple wants to bring order to its App Store and is now prohibiting iPhone and iPad applications that promote apps by other developers...

Costco preparing to begin selling iPhones and iPads

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

According to a new report from MacRumors, Costco has reached a new agreement with Apple that will see it eventually carrying iPhones, iPads and other products. The warehouse club chain used to sell iPods, but quit offering them in late 2010 when it and Apple parted ways.

The news comes by way of an internal email sent to employees of Costco's Wireless Advocates division, informing them of the new partnership. The memo only mentions iPhones and cellular iPads, but Wi-Fi only iPad Air and iPod models have popped up in stores' inventories...

Hidden icons in iOS 8 show Apple’s working on car-finding feature

Cody Lee ∙ June 10, 2014

Last fall it was reported that Apple was working on a new feature for its Maps application that could assist users in finding their car. Using the iPhone's M7 chip, it was said the app could register the location of a parked vehicle, and then help its owner return to that spot at a later time.

The expectation was that this car-finding feature would turn up in iOS 8, but WWDC came and went with no mention of the functionality. It still could make its way into the public release of the software though, as new evidence shows Apple has indeed been working on such a feature...

Apple tells the FDA that it feels morally obligated to improve health devices

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

We know that Apple was in a health-oriented talk with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last December, but the specifics of that discussion were not revealed until this morning. Three months after filing a Freedom of Information Act request, Apple Toolbox has received an official response from the FDA about what it talked about with the world's most valuable tech corporation. Read ahead for highlights from the conversation…

This is Skype’s upcoming iPhone facelift

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 27, 2016

Microsoft-owned Skype is putting finishing touches on a major new version of its free iPhone messaging and VoIP calling software. The software giant has just announced some of the new features making their way to the upcoming 5.0 iPhone release soon and boy are we excited.

The sleeker UI is only part of the story because Skype 5.0 focuses on speed. In fact, in redesigning the app developers have rewritten much of the code with iOS in mind.

As a result, Skype 5.0 for iPhone is up to five times faster than before. Additional tidbits and a cool promo video can be found right after the jump...

How iOS 8 defeats Wi-Fi location tracking in stores, malls and elsewhere

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 9, 2014

In a move designed to appease privacy watchers and further protect your privacy, Apple has made it that much harder for pesky marketeers to identify your device (and consequentially you as a user) or track your location as you go about your business. As discovered by Swiss programmer Frederic Jacobs, iOS 8 randomizes your device's MAC address while scanning for networks.

A MAC address serves as a unique identifier assigned to network interfaces for communications on the physical network segment. By randomizing your device's MAC address each time it scans for nearby Wi-Fi hotspots, iOS 8 effectively disguises any trace of the real device. Here's hoping this becomes an industry standard. Jump past the fold to learn more about this nifty feature...

Video: time-lapse photography in iOS 8

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 9, 2014

The world's top camera on Flickr will get a lot better when iOS 8 drops this Fall. As Apple executives outlined during the WWDC keynote talk, the stock Camera application in iOS 8 introduces a new shooting mode: time-lapse photography.

This lets you leave your iPhone automatically taking pictures every few seconds over a predetermined amount of time. iOS 8 then stitches the individual frames together to form gorgeous time-lapse videos.

Time-lapse photography is great for shooting changes that occur over longer periods of time, such as the clouds moving across the sky, skyscrapers being built, blossoming flowers, sunset/sunrise scenes and more. Here's an example time-lapse video shot using an iPhone 5s running a beta of iOS 8...

SteelSeries announces large-format Stratus XL iOS gaming controller

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this January, the Stratus wireless iOS gaming controller by SteelSeries has joined the likes of Logitech's PowerShell, Moga's AcePower, Razer's Kazuyo/Junglecat and C.T.R.L.i by Mad Catz, to name a few.

Monday, the firm announced a larger-format version of the Stratus, the Stratus XL. The console-style gaming controller works with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices and comes with a pressure-sensitive D-pad, dual-analog sticks, a set of four action buttons and four shoulder buttons (two pressure-sensitive top shoulder buttons and two analog trigger bottom shoulder buttons)...

AAPL splits 7 to 1

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 9, 2014

As promised during Apple's most recent earnings call, the Cupertino, California headquartered consumer electronics powerhouse is set to open on Monday at $92.22 a share as the company puts forth its plan to split stock, its fourth stock split to date.

All common stock owners will receive six additional shares for each share in existence. As a result, the value of each individual share will drop accordingly, but the value of their total holdings will not. Read on for the full reveal...

Personnel issues and internal politics blamed for lack of iOS 8 Maps announcements at WWDC

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 9, 2014

Mark Gurman has established himself as the most reliable Apple blogger out there so we were confused seeing his sources fail him so badly in predicting announcements Apple should've made at WWDC.

For instance, he called for new hardware at WWDC, but Apple's developers conference focused - rather predictably, I should add - on software.

Gurman also said Apple would give OS X a larger presence at the five-day event whereas the company didn't discriminate between iOS 8 and Yosemite.

Most importantly, he made several claims concerning Apple taking iOS 8 Maps to the next level by adding public transit directions, a car finding feature, more points of interests, better labels and so forth. In reality, the Cupertino firm only briefly mentioned that it's updated iOS 8 Maps in China with vector graphics. So, what's going on here?

WSJ profile describes Dr. Dre as a perfectionist, compares him to Steve Jobs

Cody Lee ∙ June 7, 2014

The Wall Street Journal has written a profile on Beats co-founder Dr. Dre titled "Apple's New Beat: What Steve Jobs and Dr. Dre have in Common." That headline may sound blasphemous to die-hard Apple fans, but the comparisons they draw are interesting.

Though Jimmy Iovine has done most of the talking since Apple acquired his Beats Electronics last month, Dr. Dre played an equally important role in the company's success. He's a workaholic and a perfectionist, with a disdain for deadlines and marketing research...