Apple

OS X Yosemite could be unveiled at WWDC on Monday

Cody Lee ∙ May 30, 2014

Apple is continuing to decorate the Moscone Center this afternoon ahead of next week's Worldwide Developers Conference. Earlier today we saw water-covered banners go up for iOS 8, and now we have an image of the inaugural OS X 10.10 banner.

As you can see in the image above, the sign consists of a large X in front of a mountainous background. It's believed this is actually the 'El Capitan' rock formation in Yosemite national park, which would suggest Apple is calling the 10.10 update 'Yosemite.'

Concept imagines how Apple could implement Home screen widgets in iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2014

Ah, the widgets. Among the defining Android features, widgets regularly find themselves on top of many people's wish list for iOS. Apple does not provide iOS widget functionality, though it's a non-issue to folks who are jailbroken thanks to literally hundreds, if not thousands, of widgets in Cydia.

I guess you could go as far as saying widgets are one of the prime allures of jailbreaking. While no one outside Apple can't really tell whether or not the company will ever allow widgets into the App Store, we can always speculate: there's (some) hope for widgets in iOS as Tim Cook alluded to opening up iOS a little bit more for third party developers in the future.

Until that day comes, non-jailbreakers are stuck with a bunch of concepts. Enter Jay Machalani, the brains behind this remarkable concept envisioning widgets in iOS. 'iOS Blocks', as he calls them, resemble Live Tiles in Windows and can be moved around and placed anywhere on the Home screen with a simple gesture...

Watch the full Eddy Cue and Jimmy Iovine interview at Code Conference

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2014

Having originally anticipated sending its online services and software engineering chiefs, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi, to speak at Recode.net's Recode Conference, Apple's changed its mind after announcing the $3 billion Beats buy and has opted to dispatch Beats co-founder and music mogul Jimmy Iovine instead of Craig.

My colleague Cody has published several articles covering the two men's appearance at the conference. Based on a couple video snippets Recode published earlier this week, we've heard that Apple’s best product pipeline in 25 years is coming later in 2014, learned about the latest iTunes stats and gotten amused by Eddy Cue's opinion on the current state of TV (in short, it "sucks").

The interview is now available for streaming straight from Recode and I've included the full video for your viewing pleasure right after the break...

New Japan Apple Store features eco-friendly ‘green’ wall for climate control

Cody Lee ∙ May 30, 2014

Last week, Apple's Lisa Jackson spoke at the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference about the company's efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. She noted that all of its data centers run on renewable energy, and it's working toward a similar goal with its retail stores.

And today we get a glimpse of those efforts with photos of a new Apple Store in Tokyo, Japan. The store, which is expected to open next month, features an eco-friendly design with a curtain of thick vines on at least one wall that will help control the store's climate...

Item printing resurrected in 1Password for iOS, iTunes backups added

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

1Password by AgileBits, one of the finest password management utilities on iOS and OS X, has received an update in the App Store today.

For starters, the new version 4.5.2 brings back the item printing feature after previously being removed. Next, this edition of 1Password adds another syncing option, in addition to Dropbox and iCloud: iTunes.

This allows you to store backups of your passwords, notes, credit cards and other private information as local files that can be accessed and copied to your computer using the iTunes File Sharing feature. You should also experience faster syncing and more reliable performance overall.

1Password for the iPhone and iPad is $17.99 in the App Store...

Apple gets help from Chinese authorities to fight iPhone 6 leaks

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

There has been an abundance of iPhone 6 rumors and leaks over the past several months, ranging from alleged photos of the back cover and backlight panels to 3D printed mockup models and purported cases for the 5.5-inch smartphone. But the leaked information could be coming to a halt, as the well-connected Sonny Dickson tweets that Apple has enlisted the help of 200 security officers in China to catch anyone suspected of selling iPhone 6 accessories…

Broadcast radio stations and locally targeted ads reportedly planned for iTunes Radio

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2014

According to The Information, a technology blog run by the former Wall Street Journal star reporter Jessica Lessin, Apple is about to bring broadcast radio stations to its iTunes Radio service and permit advertisers to target listeners with greater granularity than before.

These latest strides, said to materialize later this year, are believed to be aimed squarely at the likes of Pandora as Apple moves to make its service more competitive versus established Internet radio offerings...

Forbes details Microsoft’s rumored iOS-compatible smartwatch

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

After taking on both Apple's iPad tablet and the ultra-portable MacBook Air notebook with the recently announced Surface Pro 3, the Windows giant Microsoft appears ready to challenge Cupertino on wearables.

Yes, I know Apple has yet to reveal its cards concerning the long-rumored iWatch project, but an exclusive report by Forbes has it that Microsoft is betting heavily on a smartwatch of its own.

In line with the software giant's One Microsoft mantra and its renewed commitment to make its software and services available under every major platform, the gadget will reportedly sync with the iPhone and iPad, as well as with Android and Windows Phone devices...

Apple’s added 43 new iPhone carriers in 7 months

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2014

According to an analyst note by investment firm Wells Fargo Securities Friday, Apple has increased its carrier count and now distributes the iPhone through a total of 323 wireless carriers worldwide.

We know that the iPhone was sold through some 280 carriers as of October so the Cupertino firm has been able to add 43 new carriers in the past seven months.

In contrast with the above figure, the iPhone 5 launched in a hundred countries on 240 different carrier back in September 2012.

And as a basis for further comparison, Apple had 316 carrier partners in mid-April so it's added seven new carriers since...

Photo of alleged iPhone 6 back cover surfaces

Cody Lee ∙ May 29, 2014

While we've seen a number of physical mockups and case leaks for the iPhone 6, we haven't seen very much in the way of actual components. There was the front panel, the tray full of batteries, and this recently-leaked backlight panel, but that's pretty much it.

We're adding another part to the pile tonight, though. Macfixit Australia says it has obtained what is believed to be the back cover of an iPhone 6. The site says that it belongs to a 4.7-inch model—one of two rumored to be released this year—and is silver in color...

Google Play Music adds Downloaded Only filter, playlist editing, Shuffle Artist and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 29, 2014

Google's iOS client for its Play Music service has received a little update today bringing a few useful enhancement to make the experience better and less frictionless. For starters, the new Google Play Music version 1.2.1.1787 has removed a major annoyance: you can now finally edit playlists on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Needless to say, any changes made to a playlist on one device instantly reflect on all your others.

And when sorting through your cloud music library, the app now makes it dead simple to filter only the tracks that you've downloaded to your device for offline listening. There are two other additions, explained after the break.

Google Play Music is free in the App Store...

Apple reportedly in talks with retailers over mobile payment service

Cody Lee ∙ May 29, 2014

According to a new report from 9to5Mac, Apple executives are in discussions with directors from retail chains over a mobile payment service. Citing sources familiar with the project, the site says the talks have taken place over the past few months at 'high profile' retailers.

Apple has long been said to be interested in the mobile payments space, which has several players right now but no clear leader. It's believed the Cupertino company could leverage its 800 million iTunes accounts and iPhone user base to come in and disrupt the market...