Apple

iOS 7.1 to bring Siri gender option for UK, Australian English, possibly other languages

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

As Apple gears up to unleash the fourth beta of the upcoming iOS 7.1 firmware update, possibly as early as tomorrow (carriers are already testing it), we've been tipped off about a nice improvement in the current iOS 7.1 Beta 3 release which has apparently escaped our and pretty much everyone else's attention.

Courtesy of the latest iOS 7.1 beta, male and female Siri voice with British English accent are now available on iOS 7.1 Beta 3 device. As the currently available non betas don't offer updated voices for Siri in the UK, this signals Apple is looking to enable Siri's gender option in more languages as the company continues to fine-tune its digital personal assistant...

BGR: Apple seeding iOS 7.1 Beta 4 to devs tomorrow, carriers already testing it

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 20, 2014

After seeding the third beta of iOS 7.1 to its registered developers, the company could release another beta as soon as tomorrow, according to BGR. While BGR's track record is not as stellar as it used to be, the tech blog did accurately predict several iOS 7 betas last summer.

According to the publication, iOS 7.1 Beta 4 will be out tomorrow as Apple continues to squash bugs and fix the remaining hiccups, including keyboard issues and problems with the Contacts app.

iOS 7 Beta 4 is also expected to bring more changes to the Phone interface "and other changes," reads the article...

Google Schemer is no more, download your data until February 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 24, 2017

Another Google service has bitten the dust as the Internet giant is set to shut down the activity recommendation app Schemer come February 7, 2014. The Next Web first noted earlier in the month that Schemer would be laid to rest in the Google graveyard.

A few days later, a Google post has confirmed the news. This past weekend, the search giant has removed the Schemer app from the App Store and has issued an email notice to Schemer customers informing them to download their data until February 7, 2014...

VLC’s iOS 7 makeover: now with Google Drive integration, Dropbox streaming and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 20, 2014

The popular cross-platform desktop media player, VLC by VideoLan, has finally received its iOS 7 makeover in Monday's version 2.2 update. Launching later today in the App Store, VLC for iOS 2.2 includes a number of new features and refinements, and a long list of bug fixes.

Perhaps most notably, you can now stream media stored in your Google Drive and Dropbox. As you'd expect from any iOS 7 app refresh, there are some new multitouch gestures for easier navigation.

VLC has always had a very robust support for non-iOS friendly audio and video file types and today's update is no exception: matter of fact, VLC 2.2 expands on that with support for some new streaming formats and protocols...

Lightroom for iPad is coming, Adobe inadvertently leaks

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 20, 2014

An accidental (or was it?) posting on the Adobe website has revealed that the Photoshop maker is working on a mobile version of its Lightroom photo management software. Adobe released Lightroom 5 for Mac and Windows PCs last summer and has previously shown off an unnamed prototype iPad app at the Photoshop World show in Las Vegas. It looks like Lightroom for iPad will have feature parity with its desktop counterpart...

Rumor: LG Display strikes deal with Apple to exclusively build 1.52-inch OLED iWatch screens

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

It was reported last October that LG Display was close to reaching an agreement with Apple to build tiny OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens for the rumored iWatch. As the original article by The Korea Herald asserted, LG Display would become the second iWatch display supplier, with Taiwan's RiTDisplay acting as the primary supplier and Japan Display a likely candidate as well.

According to a new report Monday by Seoul-based online tech publication Digital Daily, Apple has now selected LG Display as a sole supplier of 1.52-inch panels for the iWatch...

60Hz gets bumped to 3.0, arguably the best TV show tracker for the iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

60Hz is one of those apps that make it easy and fun to keep track of your favorite TV shows and movies. There's certainly no shortage of such software on the App Store as, for example, we previously told you about iTV Show 3, TeeVee 2, Done Not Done, ToDoMovies and a few others.

Like other apps, 60Hz notifies you when your favourite shows are playing and makes it easy to browse TV schedule, find out what others are saying about shows, episodes and movies and lots more.

Suneth and Dineth Mendis of M2D2Apps asked me to take a look at the latest 3.0 update for the iPhone and iPad and I was pleased with the overall changes and enhancements, despite minor UI inconsistencies and one nagging omission. Read on for the full breakdown...

Apple’s focus on wearables apparently includes medical biosensing and iris scanning

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

If a new report by a very reliable blogger is anything to go by, Apple's rumored wearable project is seeking to mainstream medical sensor technology and health biosensing via monitoring your blood chemistry. Evidence proves that earlier this year the company poached two high-profile biosensor experts from medical devices firms.

These people, who joined the iWatch hardware team, bring expertise in mobile medical technologies focused on reading and analyzing blood and glucose levels via a potentially disruptive technology that uses a painless patch which works on the arm and doesn't require a needle.

Apple's interest in blood monitoring through skin is interesting in light of the rumored iWatch wearable device, even more so considering Google's latest initiative - Smart Contact Lenses that measure glucose levels in tears.

Furthermore, the iPhone maker is said to be "actively investigating" iris scanning technology. As we wrote before, Samsung is said to be exploring iris scanning for the upcoming Galaxy S5. This is your TL;DR version, the full analysis and detailed context continues...

New class action suit claims Apple sells customer info

Cody Lee ∙ January 17, 2014

Three men from Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against Apple this week. Adam Christensen, Jeffrey Scolnick and William Farrell claim that they were unlawfully forced to enter their zip code while making purchases at the company's New England retail stores.

The suit contents that this practice is illegal under the Massachusetts Unfair Trade Practices Act, which says you can't compel customers to provide identifiable information. And the men say that Apple isn't just collecting info, it's also selling it to third parties...

Spark Camera is Apple’s Free App Of The Week

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Today is Friday and you know what that means, no? That's right, every Friday a new app goes free in the App Store in Apple's ongoing Free App of the Week promo.

Hopefully, you haven't forgotten about downloading PAC-MAN, last week's Free App of the Week. Those who missed it needn't despair as Apple's new freebie is definitely worth getting excited about.

Spark Camera, a cool iPhone photography app from Ideo (the design shop that created Apple’s first mouse) arrived last October. The program got Lory and the rest of the iDownloadBlog team drooling over its sharp, easy to use interface and great features aimed at creating gorgeous mini montages by stitching together your snippets of a moment in time.

Spark Camera is normally priced at $1.99, but you can now grab it free of charge until next Thursday, courtesy of Apple's Free App of the Week...

T-Mobile to expand ETF offer to switchers from U.S. Cellular and regional carriers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 5, 2017

The nation's Un-carrier, T-Mobile, is just getting started. After its swearing CEO John Legere said at CES that his company will eliminate another customer pain point by paying off switchers' early termination fees, now comes word that the initiative will expand to U.S. Cellular and some regional carriers in the United States.

This means that subscribers flocking to T-Mobile from U.S. Cellular and a dozen other small regional carriers that lock subscribers into long-term contracts will also receive the same ETF treatment as defectors from AT&T, Verizon and Sprint currently enjoy...

Google readying iOS remote desktop app unofficially named Chromoting

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Google officially started work on Chromoting, a remote access technology for its Chrome OS, some four years ago.

Later rechristened to Chrome Remote Desktop, the VNC technology resembles Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection software and is designed to allow folks to access virtual desktops.

An Android Chromoting app has been in the works since last year and now a blogger has discovered evidence in the form of support documentation on the Chromium issue tracker website which indicates that an iOS version is also under development.

Why should you care? Read on...