Apple

Alexa comes to the iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 16, 2017

Siri competitor Alexa has come to the world's most popular smartphone via an incoming update for Amazon's shopping app for iPhone and iPad. The release marks the first time Amazon's personal assistant has supported non-Alexa hardware.

Just tap the mic in the app's search bar to ask Alexa questions, get weather updates, shop and search items, order and track products, play music, use Alexa Skills and Smart Home features, and much more.

By sneaking Alexa into its iPhone app, Amazon's made it possible for Apple customers to experience its Siri rival in full glory without needing to buy an Echo speaker.

Next-generation Apple TV running tvOS 11 spotted in usage logs

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 16, 2017

An unreleased model of the Apple TV set-top box running tvOS 11, the next major revision to the device's operating system, has appeared in developer logs, as first spotted by co-founder and programmer at Firi Games, a Dutch studio that creates games for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. A device carrying the “AppleTV 6,2” identifier reportedly uses an IP address suggesting it's being tested in Cupertino.

Seventh betas of iOS 10.3 and macOS Sierra 10.12.4 now available

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 16, 2017

Apple on Thursday seeded seventh betas of what would become the third major software update to iOS 10 and the fourth major update to macOS Sierra 10.12.4. Members of the Apple Developer Program can now install iOS 10.3 beta 7 (build 14E5277a) and macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 7 (build 16E191a) over the air, via the Software Update mechanism, on devices with a special configuration profile that's available through Apple's portal for developers.

St. Patrick’s Day stickers launch on Instagram

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 16, 2017

Yesterday was the Saint Patrick’s Day, a cultural and religious celebration held on the traditional death date of Saint Patrick who was the foremost patron saint of Ireland. To celebrate the festivities, Instagram has added a handful of themed stickers which you can plaster all over the photos and videos in your Stories. They’re available in the United States, Ireland, Australia and the United Kingdom through the weekend so go ahead and dazzle your followers with St. Patrick’s Day-themed Stories.

New report says iPhone 8 has a slightly curved display at the edges below 2.5D cover glass

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 16, 2017

Nikkei Asian Review yesterday shot down predictions by IHS Markit analyst Wayne Lam and DisplayMate expert Dr. Raymond Soneira who said Apple's 5.8-inch iPhone 8 will use a flat rather than a curved display. However, MacRumors has allegedly confirmed with multiple people familiar with the matter that the phone will indeed come outfitted with a mostly flat AMOLED display.

The device's display will reportedly feature slightly curved left and right edges in order to conform with the layer of 2.5D glass that covers the screen.

Spotify may reportedly restrict biggest new music releases to paid users

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

The Financial Times is reporting that the leading music-streaming service, Spotify, which recently passed 50 million subscribers, may restrict biggest new music releases to paid users as it renegotiates contracts with record labels.

The Swedish company is looking to potentially decrease the amount of royalties paid to content holders as it readies a long-rumored initial public offering, said people familiar with the situation.

3D satellite imagery and related details for Apple Park go live on Apple Maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 16, 2017

Apple Maps has gained satellite imagery (though not necessarily up to date) for Apple's upcoming 175-acre campus, called Apple Park and opening next month. The massive headquarters, currently under construction in Cupertino, now show 3D Flyover imagery along with descriptions and geolocation tags in Apple Maps, 9to5Mac discovered.

Apple could launch 32GB “iPhone 6 (2017)” in Europe next week

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2017

A new 32GB version of iPhone 6 in Gold has been quietly available at one online carrier in China since late February, and since March 10 prominently in Taiwan as the cheapest iPhone ever offered on the Taiwan Mobile network. As per a local blog, the 32GB “limited-edition” iPhone 6 in Space Gray will launch as soon as next week in Belarus—a 9.5 million people landlocked country in Eastern Europe bordered by Russia, among other neighboring countries.

Sources say the phone will go on sale via i-Store, priced at the equivalent of $522 (999 Belarusian rubles). For context, i-Store is an Apple Premium Reseller located in Minsk, the country's capital and the most populous city with 2+ million people.

This cool iOS 11 concept would bring more power to your iPhone’s Lock screen

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2017

Various iPhone 8 and iOS 11 concepts have been proliferating lately, with app developer Matt Birchler jumping on the bandwagon with mockups of his own. We're liking some of the smart ideas presented in his batch of thoughtfully done renderings that envision a much more useful Lock screen on iOS 11.

Going beyond simple things like checking the date and time, launching the camera, accessing your favorite widgets and seeing notifications that have arrived since your last unlock, Birchler is proposing a Lock screen with Apple Watch-like complications, user-selectable app shortcuts, alert bundles, smart notifications that could be augmented further with optional location information and so forth.

9.7″ iPad Pro 2 with A10X Fusion chip could launch next week

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2017

A second-generation iPad Pro model with a screen measuring 9.7 inches diagonally could launch as early as next week, according to a new report Wednesday by reliable Japanese blog Mac Otakara. The publication's sources describe the forthcoming device as a modest upgrade over the current 9.7-inch iPad Pro, which released in March 2016 following the September 2015 introduction of the original 12.9-inch iPad Pro model.

Facebook kicks off global rollout of Snapchat-like Stories feature in its mainland app

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2017

Facebook has infamously ripped off Snapchat’s Stories feature wholesale with auto-vanishing slideshows on Instagram and WhatsApp, in addition to the similar recently introduced feature on Messenger, called Messenger Day. The social networking behemoth was recently caught testing Snapchat-like Stories feature in its mobile app. According to TechCrunch, the company has now begun a staggered rollout of Facebook Stories to all users worldwide.

iPhone 8 may have (slightly) curved screen after all

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2017

Contradicting a recent report, Japanese outlet Nikkei Asian Review wrote Wednesday that Apple's rumored 5.8-inch iPhone will have a display based on active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) technology that's slightly curved on the sides, but not as curved as Samsung's Galaxy series.

A source familiar with the handset's design said the curve of the iPhone 8 screen will be “gentler” than the screen curvature of Samsung's Edge handsets because of the challenges of making curved glass covers to match screens.