Apple

Major changes reportedly coming to AppleCare this fall

Cody Lee ∙ May 11, 2013

Apple reportedly held a town hall session with its employees this week to discuss some significant changes coming to its AppleCare warranty service. The new policies are expected to start rolling out in the US 'very soon,' and international shortly after.

So what's going to be different? According to the report, one of the biggest changes has to do with how Apple Store employees handle iPhone repairs. Apparently, staff have been told that they will be doing a lot more in-store repairs, and less exchanges...

New iOS 7 concept depicts Zen-like simplicity

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 10, 2013

Another day, another iOS 7 concept. In an attempt to depict what Jony Ive-ified, flattened user interface in iOS 7 might look like, digital agency Simply Zesty created this elaborate concept.

The video focuses on a clean look UI and pictures Lock screen widgets, a revamped Notification Center as well as a beautiful new Windows Phone 'Metro'-fied stock apps like Calendar, Music, Siri and Camera.

I love the cleaner Notification Center with animated widgets. If that's the future of iOS 7, then I'm very much looking forward to it...

Apple orders messaging app ‘Line’ to remove paid virtual gifts

Cody Lee ∙ May 10, 2013

Apple's app approval team has seemingly been on a warpath lately, pulling popular titles like AppGratis from the App Store without much warning or explanation. It's clear that the company is in the process of revamping some of its policies.

Case in point, LINE, a popular free messaging app, was forced by Apple to remove one of its key features today. Per company orders, the developers had to eliminate the ability for its users to purchase and send sticker sets as gifts to friends...

Microsoft can’t convince Apple to update iTunes for Windows 8 Metro devices

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

Remember all the back-and-forth between Apple and Microsoft before tablets? We heard echoes of that earlier this week when the software giant announced Apple's iTunes app won't be available for Windows 8 Metro tablet users any time soon. Although iTunes continues to be available as a Windows 8 Desktop mode app, the lack of a Metro edition leaves owners of Windows tablets in the cold. Even worse is that owners of the Surface RT tablet - which by the way runs only Microsoft apps - will be stuck with just Redmond's Music app...

Amazon Cloud Drive Photos app now available

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 13, 2022

Folks who keep their music, photos, documents and other stuff stored in the Amazon cloud are aware of the online retailer's dedicated iOS software aptly named Cloud Player which can stream songs from your cloud locker to your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

Although Amazon has yet to release the official Cloud Drive app for Apple's mobile platform (it's available on OS X), today it inched toward that goal by releasing a brand new photo management application for iOS.

As the name suggests, the Amazon Cloud Drive Photos application lets you browse image files stored in your Amazon cloud storage, download individual images to your iPhone or iPad, upload on-device images to keep them securely backed up in the cloud and more...

iPhone passcode security prompts law enforcement requests

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Apparently, the law enforcement community needs to hire a few 13-year-olds able to crack the passcode on Apple's iPhone. There is such demand to help unlocking iPhones that one federal agency had to wait nearly two months for Apple, which even manages a waiting list, to unlock the smartphone. One "flaw" in Apple's otherwise tight mobile security could worry privacy advocates: the company reportedly does not inform iPhone owners when it bypasses the device's security measures...

PayPal hopes the next iPhone will obsolete passwords, once and for all

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2017

In a tell-tale sign that passwords had had their day in the sun, PayPal CISO Michael Barrett took the stage at Interpo today to spell doom for existing verification methods, predicting that more robust authentication protocols based on an open standard will replace passwords. While two-step verification can bolster account security - Apple recently enabled it for Apple ID accounts - PayPal alludes that secure authentication technologies said to make their way into Apple's next iPhone may announce the impending end of passwords...

2-step Apple ID verification rolls out in more countries

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 2, 2017

Following a major security vulnerability that let attackers reset your Apple ID password using only your email address and date of birth, Apple responded in March by fixing the iForgot hole and bolstering Apple ID account security with an optional new two-step verification process for Apple ID accounts in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand.

Today, the company has started to roll out the feature to nearly a dozen additional countries, including Canada, Russia and Brazil...

Take to the skies with Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 30, 2020

One of the world's most successful and critically acclaimed interactive entertainment designers, Sid Meier has long become a household name in the world of gaming. A long list of Sid Meier-branded games includes such hit titles as Pirates, Silent Service, Railroad Tycoon and Civilization, to name but a few. Some of the games Sid designed have been adapted for Apple's iOS devices, like Civilization Revolution (free, $2.99).

The latest title, Sid Meier's Ace Patrol, has just landed on the App Store. This turn-based flight combat simulator doesn't just carry Sid's stamp of approval, the legendary designer actually conceived and designed the game himself.

Sid Meier's Ace Patrol is exclusive to Apple's iOS devices and publisher 2K Games released it as a free to play download with in-app purchases...

Google suffers setback preventing Apple from obtaining Android documentation

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 10, 2013

Earlier this week, we told you about Apple's complaint over Google's resistance to hand over parts of the Android source code documentation. Apple’s request is part of its ongoing California patent fight against Samsung. Bloomberg now reports that U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal ordered the Internet giant to disclose within two days what terms it’s using to find documents Apple has requested.

Despite Google's insistence that the collection of such information would be "too burdensome," the court also ordered that the search monster tell Apple "which Google employees those documents came from"...

14-year-old discovers iPads can be dangerous to heart patients

Cody Lee ∙ May 10, 2013

As Apple has proven in its TV ads, you can use a number of words to describe its products. But I imagine it never thought that one of those words would be "dangerous." According to new research, though, that's exactly what the iPad is for certain heart patients.

A 14 year-old has discovered that the tiny magnets inside Apple's tablet, used for Smart Covers, can inadvertently shut off a heart patient's implanted defibrillator–a battery-powered electrical impulse generator— if near their chest for an extended period of time...

Popular Apple blog ‘The Loop’ launches bi-monthly iOS magazine on Newsstand

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

I'm a big fan of veteran Apple blogger Jim Dalrymple and his insightful, unapologetic writing over at The Loop, where he's Editor-In-Chief. You could say Jim is something of a personal hero to me, at least when it comes to blogging about Apple.

While people who follow @jdalrymple on Twitter know him as 'The Beard', Jim's an Apple journalist's favorite go-to source whenever a major rumor needs confirming.

With his deep connections at Apple, he occasionally lends his aura of credibility to unconfirmed stories with a single 'yep.' And his proverbial 'nope' is well-regarded for shooting wacko reports by major outlets.

And now, putting all that expertise, experience and passion to work, Jim has launched a digital magazine for the iPhone, iPod and iPad devices on Apple's Newsstand...