Apple

Store and watch the latest news stories offline with Hyper News

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated May 7, 2018

If you have ever travelled on a metro line you know what it’s like to whiz from one station to the next, always holding out for the next patch of reception somewhere between the constant outages afflicting your iPhone. Most times, the internet will cut out in the least opportune moments, like on your commute home when you slump in your seat and want to mindlessly gaze at moving images on your phone.

To weather the crisis of poor connection, Hyper News functions as a pocket of pre-downloaded news clips to fall back on whenever your data leaves you hanging.

In a spell of news apps being tested at iDB, Hyper News stands out for its utter simplicity and the concerted effort to occupy a unique space in the news realm. Here are the ins and outs to know about Hyper News.

New fitness-focused Apple Watch ad challenges you to close your Activity rings

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 14, 2017

Apple's official YouTube channel was refreshed Saturday with a new advertisement for Apple Watch Series 2, challenging viewers to close their Activity rings by moving more, having some exercise and standing up every 50 minutes for a bit. The firm also shared three new ads for AirPods today, highlighting such features as Siri integration, seamless Bluetooth pairing on Apple gadgets via the W1 chip and more.

Apple shares new AirPods ads showcasing Siri, seamless Bluetooth pairing & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 14, 2017

Apple on Saturday shared four brief television commercials for AirPods on its official YouTube channel, running fifteen seconds long each. The videos showcase some of the key user features of the wireless earphones, like accessing Siri with a double-tap and seamless Bluetooth pairing on Apple gear made possible by the firm's in-house designed wireless chip, dubbed the W1. Watch the new ads and let us know how you like them in comments.

In addition to the company's first-ever AirPods ads, they also released a new fitness-focused Apple Watch advertisement which challenges you to close those Activity rings.

How to share your iPhone and Apple Watch Activity Rings and workouts with your friends

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 29, 2024

Find out how to use Activity Sharing on your iPhone and Apple Watch to share your daily Activity rings with your family, friends, trainer, or coach. You can use this to compete with them for motivation, or let them track your daily activity progress.

LG teases big 5.7″ screen, smaller body, waterproof design & more for upcoming G6 flagship

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 13, 2017

LG Electronics is teasing an upcoming G6 flagship smartphone in a new 45-second teaser video posted to its YouTube channel yesterday.

Listing some of the things people apparently want in an ideal smartphone, the clip seems to tease a minimum-bezel 5.7-inch waterproof phone (you'll recall that Apple's iPhone 8 is rumored to feature increased IP68-rated water resistance).

Although it does not specifically mention G6, the clip asks you to “imagine how your wishes will come to life” before hinting it’ll all happen in February, when G6 is expected to be formally announced at Mobile World Congress.

iPhone 8 rumored to feature increased IP68 water resistance like Samsung’s Galaxy S7

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 13, 2017

iPhone 7 files as Apple's first smartphone with IP67-rated dust and water resistance, but the next iPhone should be even more water resistant.

According to The Korea Herald on Friday, unnamed industry sources in the know have stepped forward saying iPhone 8 will feature the IP68 rating protection.

iPhone 8's improved water resistance is “part of drastic upgrades” marking the 10th anniversary of the device, sources told the Korean newspaper.

iPhone processor supplier TSMC hints it might build chips in America

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 13, 2017

As we reported this morning, iPhone manufacturer Foxconn and its Japanese subsidiary Sharp are considering setting up an $8 billion LCD panel production plant in the United States. According to another report, semiconductor maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) has also expressed interest in taking advantage of business-friendly incentives proposed by incoming U.S. President Trump.

As a reminder, TSMC currently churns out Apple-designed silicon for latest iOS devices and is also said to have landed a lucrative contract to build next-generation A11 chips for future Phones and iPads.

Appeals court reopens Apple vs. Samsung case over iPhone’s patented design

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 13, 2017

Believe it or not, the longstanding Apple vs. Samsung patent spat over iPhone's iconic design is now in its sixth year. During that time, Samsung was found guilty of infringing upon Apple's patented smartphone design, including iPhone's rectangular front face with rounded metal edges and a grid of colorful icons on a black screen.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reopened that lawsuit yesterday after a recommendation from the U.S. Supreme Court to determine how much Samsung should pay the Cupertino firm over copying iPhone's look and feel, according to court documents uncovered by Law360.com.

WhatsApp has a backdoor that allows snooping on end-to-end encrypted messages [updated]

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 13, 2017

In 2016, WhatsApp finally enabled complete end-to-end encryption for both chats and video calls to ensure that no one but the intended recipient can decipher contents of their communications. Unfortunately, it's come to light that WhatsApp's system has been plagued by a major vulnerability which was discovered by Tobias Boelter, a cryptography and security researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.

In an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian, Boelter said the backdoor could let Facebook read end-to-end encrypted content, meaning the social network could be complied with court orders to make decrypted messages available to law enforcement and other government agencies

UPDATE: We've received a response from WhatsApp regarding the alleged backdoor.

Apple suppliers Foxconn and Sharp could build $8 billion LCD plant in USA

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 13, 2017

Apple's key suppliers—iPhone assembler Foxconn and its Japanese subsidiary Sharp—say that rumored plans calling for establishing an LCD manufacturing plant in the United States are “still on the table”. Company officials made that comment in response to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's “Make in America” call, Japanese outlet Nikkei reported Friday.

An unnamed Sharp executive told Nikkei that such a decision must be made “carefully”.

Chrome 56 adds support for FLAC codec, “Not Secure” HTTP warning, web Bluetooth & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 13, 2017

Chrome 56 for Mac and other platforms has entered Google's beta channel. When released to the general public, the browser will bring native support for the FLAC audio codec within the browser and other perks. This should come in handy because macOS does not support the FLAC file format out of the box so users often must use a third-party converter or video player to play these files. With Chrome 56, Mac users will be able to play FLAC-encoded audio files embedded in web pages or local files drag and dropped onto the browser window.

US appeals court rules Apple can be sued for monopolizing app market

Cody Lee ∙ January 13, 2017

iPhone app purchasers may sue Apple over allegations that it has monopolized the mobile app market by not allowing users to purchase them outside the App Store, reports Reuters. The decision comes from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and it revives a long-standing lawsuit regarding Apple's iPhone app practices.

In 2012, a group of iPhone users filed to sue Apple, saying its App Store exclusivity was anticompetitive. Apple responded to the suit, saying that users purchase apps from developers, and it merely rents out the space. A lower court sided with the Cupertino company, and threw the case out, but today's decision reverses the order.