Apple

Will We See Carbon Fiber on Future iDevices?

Cody Lee ∙ April 11, 2011

Apple made some big splashes with their all aluminum MacBook designs a couple of years ago. The original iPhone was even covered in the popular metal. It appears that aluminum is so 2007, as reports are circulating this morning that Apple is looking to go carbon fiber.

It's certainly not anything new, Apple has been rumored to be experimenting with carbon-fiber enclosures for quite some time. Back in 2010, Apple won a patent on improved composite materials that hinted that they were researching the use of carbon-fiber composites in electronic devices. Could we see the light weight material in future Apple products?

Apple Needs to Make an iOS Password Manager

Alex Heath ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Let's be honest, passwords are a pain to remember. Once you start racking up multiple online accounts, it can be difficult to keep track of all your logins.

There are several apps out there that act as password managers. iPassword takes things a step farther by acting as a virtual wallet and storehouse for any and all of your private information.

iOS has needed its own password manager for a long time, and hopefully we'll see a system "Keychain" in iOS 5...

Does Apple Need to Upgrade the iPhone’s Text Input Options?

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 18, 2019

I think most of us would agree that the iPhone keyboard is one of the best soft touch keyboards around. The keys are very responsive and touches are accurate. I also think Apple could stand to modernize a bit. Though their standard keyboard is great, they are falling behind the times when it comes to alternative text input.

While many of Google's Android handsets come with options like Swype preinstalled, Apple customers are left sitting on the bank throwing rocks. Those who have played with Swype know what I'm talking about, the concept is amazing. You just draw a line with your finger from letter to letter of the word you want to type on the virtual keyboard...

Apple Snags Major Gaming PR Executives

Cody Lee ∙ Updated November 16, 2017

It's no secret that Apple sees their iPhone and iPod touch products as gaming devices. Their unique combination of power and portability make them serious contenders in the handheld gaming market. But if you remember back to last fall, major console heavy weight Sony took some shots at Apple in a marketing campaign.

The popular TV ad referred to an iPhone-like device as "not built for big boy games." Well it looks as though Apple is planning something for the gaming community to put some points back up on the board. MCV, an overseas gaming site, reported yesterday that Apple has hired 2 high profile PR executives from the gaming community...

The State of App Piracy and What Can Be Done to Fix It

Alex Heath ∙ Updated November 13, 2019

[iDB does not condone app piracy.]

Have you ever been inside a peddler's mall? It's basically a huge consignment shop where different vendors come and sell their knick knacks under one roof.

People who have items to sell in a peddler's mall pay the mall's owner a percentage of their sales for the rights to sell in the store. People will come to the peddler's mall to see what kind of deals they can find and to barter with the sellers.

In a way, the peddler's mall is a lot like the App Store. And folks, people are shoplifting.

Clorox Employees Prefer the iPhone By a Wide Margin

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 8, 2011

If this isn't telling about the state of the smart phone industry, I don't know what is. It's particularly bad news for the folks at RIM -- the company behind the BlackBerry brand.

Sensing that his employees were unsatisfied with their company issued BlackBerry smartphones, Clorox CIO Ralph Loura decided to give his employees a choice.

They could choose between three different smartphone brands: the iPhone, Android, or Windows Phone 7.

Guess which platform the smart folks at Clorox selected en-masse?

iOS Expected to Trail 30% Behind Android by Next Year

Cody Lee ∙ Updated November 13, 2019

We reported a few days ago on IDC's claims that Windows Mobile OS market share would one day overtake iOS. Now Gartner, a world leader in information technology research, is making similar predictions. But they've got Google's Android OS on top by a long shot.

The numbers are quite staggering. The firm predicts that in 2011, smartphone sales will reach 468 million units worldwide. That would be about a 50% increase from the 300 million units that analysts believe shipped last year. Why is Gartner predicting Apple's smartphone will only snag 19% of that market?

Apple Patent Hints at Possible Hybrid Electronic Paper Display in iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 2, 2018

Patents are extremely interesting. They tend to show what a company's capable of. We generally don't get to see this in consumer products, as they are derived from marketing research and cost effectiveness calculations. But it would certainly be interesting to see all of the crazy ideas that get flung around Cupertino's campus and never hit retail stores.

Luckily, Apple's patent filings give us a glimpse of what they've been working on. Their latest filing, uncovered by Patently Apple, describes a display that can switch between high resolution color and electronic paper for reading books. This would certainly entice iDevice hold-outs that just couldn't ditch their e-reader's ink print...

Apple Exploring Smart Bezels and Indicators for Future iPhones

Cody Lee ∙ April 7, 2011

One of the things Apple is most known for is its innovation. They haven't reinvented the wheel with any of their products, they've just made the wheel sexy and easy to use. Patents are a good resource for information on Apple's past and future innovations. Although patents don't always make it to the assembly line, they do shed some light on what Apple's been working on.

Patently Apple is an expert at keeping up with Apple's latest ideas. After the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPT) makes Apple's patent filings public, Patently Apple posts them on their website with a pretty good break down of all the tech talk. Their latest gossip is on a filing from late 2009 by the Cupertino company, concerning a "Smart Bezel." I know it sounds unusual, but Apple is looking to completely change how we interact with our devices...

Report: iOS 4.3.2 Coming in Two Weeks?

Guest Author ∙ April 7, 2011

It's been less than three weeks since Apple officially released iOS 4.3.1, and now there are already reports coming in that iOS 4.3.2 is just around the corner.

According to Boy Genius Report, Apple is scheduled to release iOS 4.3.2 "within the next two weeks." BGR's source claims that the update will bring a few enhancements, address security issues, and it will also fix several bugs that have affected users.

Apple Orders 12 Petabytes for Cloud-Based iTunes, MobileMe?

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2017

Apple's plans for their MobileMe revamp and cloud-based media services are starting to take shape. Although no official announcement regarding either of the services has been made, we are almost positive we will see them at some point this year.

Apple's been relatively quiet about the purposed functions, but tech blogs are happily churning out rumors and speculation on the upcoming features. The latest gossip is that Apple has ordered as much as 12 Petabytes, which is equal to about 1000 Terabytes, from a global leader in scale-out storage services. What could they be planning?

Apple’s 30-Pin Dock Connector Could be Getting a Huge Upgrade

Alex Heath ∙ April 6, 2011

A new and interesting patent reveals a very interesting possibility for future iDevices. Apple's current proprietary connection technology has been in need of an update for a long time, and technologies like MagSafe have been considered as a replacement.

The current 30-pin connector is present on all of Apple's mobile devices. And, apparently, Apple is looking to upgrade the 30-pin architecture with multiple connection technologies...