Apple

Apple’s 4-inch iPhone refresh to be named ‘iPhone SE’?

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 26, 2016

Forget about the rumored 'iPhone 5SE' name that has been floating around for weeks now, it seems that Apple will call its upcoming four-inch iPhone refresh an 'iPhone SE,' according to 9to5Mac's reliable Mark Gurman (we called it, actually). If true, the planned name change will mark the first iPhone upgrade without a number in its name.

The iPhone SE is expected to replace the existing iPhone 5s and will take its price points, claim Gurman's unnamed sources. These sources also say that “the dropping of the '5' from the name simplifies the iPhone lineup as bringing back an iPhone '5' variant amid the iPhone '6' lifecycle could potentially confuse customers,” reads the report.

tvOS App Store now lists four times more Apple TV apps in Top Paid, Free and Grossing categories

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 26, 2016

In addition to a dozen new categories, including Catalogs and Utilities, that have been added to the App Store on the fourth-generation Apple TV earlier this week, Apple has made another change to the store that should make app discovery easier.

As reported by German blog iTopnews.de, now each Top Charts section available on the tvOS App Store includes 200 apps instead of just 50 like before.

Facebook Live now available in 30 countries, rolling out to more users in the coming weeks

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 26, 2016

Less than ten days after it began a staggered rollout of live video broadcasting capability, Facebook on Friday said the feature is now available to iOS users in thirty markets total.

“We’ll continue to roll this out to more people as well as Pages in countries around the world in the coming weeks,“ the social networking giant has confirmed.

WSJ: iPhone contract manufacturer Foxconn is delaying the signing of Sharp takeover agreement

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 26, 2016

As previously reported, Apple's favorite contract manufacturer Foxconn has made a $6.2 billion bid to acquire the ailing Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp, which has been in the business for a cool 103 years now. Although Sharp’s board has made the decision to accept the offer last Thursday, it seems the acquisition is not a done deal after all.

As reported Friday by The Wall Street Journal, Foxconn is reportedly delaying the signing of the takeover agreement after it had been “surprised” by new information Sharp had disclosed just a day before.

Apple Pay allegedly coming to France by year end

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 26, 2016

According to French outlet Les Echos, Apple will be bringing its mobile payment solution to France, a 66 million people country, by the end of this year. Citing several sources familiar with the matter, the publication reports that a handful of major French banks and financial institutions are in the process of finalizing talks with Apple on supporting Apple Pay by the end of the year, assuming the two parties will come to terms regarding Apple's commission on each transaction.

Rumor: Photos app in iOS 10 and OS X 10.12 should be on par in terms of features with iPhoto

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 7, 2018

A report yesterday by the fairly accurate Japanese blog Mac Otakara claims insider knowledge of an improved Photos app in Apple's upcoming iOS 10 and OS X 10.12 operating system refreshes that, as per sources, should gain new features putting it on par with the discontinued iPhoto app.

Apple was somewhat criticized for its decision to discontinue Aperture and iPhoto in favor of the new Photos app, which took almost a year to gain support for third-party image editing filter and effects on the Mac.

Apple TV App Store gets new categories

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 1, 2018

Apple began adding several new app categories to its Apple TV App Store on Thursday. As noted by Afterpad, the new categories are being rolled out to Apple TV 4 owners at a staggered pace, so they may not be available to everyone just yet.

The new categories include Catalogs and Utilities, and should help ease what has been a pain point for early ATV 4 adopters. Since the device launched last fall, App Store browsing and discovery has been a prominent complaint among users.

iPad Air 3 will be a smaller iPad Pro with Smart Keyboard, Pencil support

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 1, 2018

The rumored iPad Air 3 will actually bear iPad Pro branding when it lands next month, reports 9to5Mac. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the site claims that Apple plans to carry its MacBook Pro strategy over to its Pro tablet line.

"Much like the MacBook Pro comes in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes, the iPad Pro will soon come in 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch variations." The move makes sense, considering that the new iPad is expected to feature most of the Pro's internals.

Apple officially responds to court, asks it to vacate order to help FBI

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 1, 2018

Apple on Thursday filed a motion to vacate the court order demanding it help the FBI break into an iPhone linked to the San Bernardino attacks. The motion (via The Verge) is the company's first legal response to the order, which was handed down by a federal judge last week.

Rhetoric in the filing echoes what we've been hearing from CEO Tim Cook over the past week: Apple refuses to help the FBI break its own security because it sets a dangerous precedent that has major implications. It also offers some insight into the legal stance Apple plans to take.

Telltale’s The Walking Dead: Michonne hits the App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 25, 2016

Telltale Games, a maker of episodic games, today launched The Walking Dead: Michonne on the App Store, Android, Mac and Windows PCs and the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 consoles. A new mini-series, The Walking Dead: Michonne is aimed at both fans who are already familiar with the iconic character Michonne and those who have no prior knowledge of Robert Kirkman's comics, the TV show or Telltale's titles for that matter.

“This story is a separate, standalone experience, which makes it a great place to jump into the franchise with an awesome character,” notes Telltale.

Third-generation Apple TV receives a minor software update

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 25, 2016

Apple is focused on pushing its fourth-generation Apple TV with the Siri Remote and built-in App Store, but that doesn't mean the company has forgotten about owners of the older third-generation Apple TVs.

Thursday, a minor over-the-air Apple TV 7.2.1 software update was released for the $69 third-generation Apple TV.

The firmware update can be applied through the Software Update mechanism in the device's Settings menu.

How to start up your Mac in Internet Recovery Mode

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2024

In addition to the startup volume, which holds a bootable copy of the operating system along with your applications and data, your Mac's disk contains a hidden recovery partition that you can boot from in order to reinstall macOS, perform a quick check of connected disks, and more.

But what if the built-in recovery partition gets damaged, for instance? Enter Internet Recovery Mode (or macOS Recovery over the Internet), an Internet-based version of Recovery Mode found on Macs, which loads recovery tools from Apple's servers.

With Internet Recovery Mode, you can reinstall macOS and troubleshoot issues in the unfortunate scenario of your Mac's startup disk having become corrupted or completely unreadable.

In this tutorial, you'll learn everything about Internet Recovery Mode on Intel-based Macs and Macs with Apple silicon. You'll also see how to use it to your advantage if your disk encounters an issue or the startup drive has been replaced or erased.