Apple

You can now add to-dos to Google’s Calendar app using a new Reminders feature and 3D Touch

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 4, 2017

Google's standalone Calendar app was released in the App Store in March of 2105 and today the software is getting some interesting new features: Reminders, 3D Touch support and a cool Star Wars skin for those who have opted to join either the Dark or Light side of the Force at google.com/starwars. Reminders in Google Calendar make it easier to keep track of your to-dos alongside your events—in one place, no need to juggle between different apps.

Dropbox to nix Mailbox and Carousel apps early next year

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 26, 2019

Cloud storage startup Dropbox made a surprising announcement Monday, saying it will be shutting down Mailbox, the once popular app it acquired in March 2013, as well as Carousel, a photo-management app released in April 2014. Mailbox will be winding down on February 28, 2016 and Carousel is next on the chopping block on March 31, 2016.

This development doesn't surprise me: Mailbox for iOS has been receiving only compatibility updates post-acquisition while Mailbox for Mac hasn't dropped its beta flag since August 2014 debut of the first public beta (its current version number: 0.76).

Samsung reportedly working on Gear S2 smartwatch companion app for iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 7, 2015

Samsung is reportedly working on its very first iOS app, called Gear Manager, that will permit iPhone, iPod touch and iPad owners to use the South Korean firm's latest Gear S2 lineup of smartwatches, SamMobile learned from its sources last week.

While the Gear S2 works with all Android smartphones, not just the ones made by Samsung, it doesn't play well with iOS. Like Apple's own Watch companion app, the Gear Manager is said to include features to set up and customize the device for use.

How to disable password prompts for free iBooks downloads on the Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 7, 2015

Since last year's iOS 8.3 software update iOS devices have had the ability to stop asking for a password when downloading free applications from the App Store. Soon after, that feature found its way into iTunes and iBooks for Mac.

As electronic books are no longer managed through iTunes, disabling password prompts for iBooks Store downloads is now handled in iBooks for Mac. In this post, you will learn how to disable Apple ID password prompts when downloading free electronic books from Apple's iBooks Store, and we'll also show you how you can manage password settings for paid items.

Apple appears to have upped the iTunes Match track limit

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 5, 2015

According to a report by blogger Kirk McElhearn, Apple has increased iTunes Match and iCloud Music Library track limits above the original 25,000 track threshold. This increase, while yet to be officially acknowledged by Apple, has been in the cards since at least summer.

Although Eddy Cue, who serves as Apple's Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, said that the limit would rise to 100,000 around the iOS 9 release, the increase hit an apparent delay, and has just now begun to roll out to users.

OS wars in education: Chromebooks take lead in US classrooms

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 4, 2017

Chromebooks, a family of inexpensive, Internet-dependent notebooks powered by Google's Chrome OS software, have taken the lead in the lucrative education technology market, reports CNBC.

These notebooks accounted for more than half of all classroom devices sold in the third quarter in the US.

According to a Futuresource Consulting survey, that's a huge increase for Chrome OS-driven machines that accounted for just one percent of K-12 sales in 2012.

Apple supplier Sharp about to kick off mass production of energy-saving Super IGZO panels

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Sharp, the ailing Japanese consumer electronics company, is about to start mass production of its Super IGZO panels for mobile devices that will have a higher resolution and consume up to twenty percent less energy than the company's standard IGZO panels, which already use just a fifth as much power as standard liquid crystal displays.

Super IGZO panels will go into mass production in early 2016, according to a report Friday by Nikkei. The panels will be manufactured at Sharp’s Kameyama Plant No.2 located in Mie Prefecture as the ailing company seeks to replace “some unprofitable television panels” on the conveyor belts.

Apple launches carrier billing in Russia with Beeline

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 4, 2015

As it turns out, Apple has finally begun rolling out a new carrier billing option in emerging markets, starting with Russia. TechCrunch reported yesterday that Beeline, a mobile carrier in Russia, has now turned on the ability to make payments in iTunes through their billing system.

Carrier billing joins existing payment methods accepted on the App Store, iTunes Store and iBooks Store and was designed to allow customers to have app and media purchases and Apple Music subscriptions charged to their monthly mobile phone bill, or deducted from their prepaid amount.

Samsung to pay Apple $548 million settlement, but reserves right to seek reimbursement

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 4, 2015

The long-standing Apple vs. Samsung patent dispute has been dragging on for five years now without any meaningful resolution in sight, despite Samsung announcing a settlement payment of $548 million to the iPhone maker today.

According to patent blog FOSS Patents, even though the Galaxy maker will send the payment to Apple by December 14 it's found a loophole that would give it the right to seek reimbursement of all amounts required to be paid as taxes, and then some more.

Rumor: Apple TV 5 with ‘dramatically improved’ CPU and ‘new functions’ due in early-2016

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 4, 2015

The fourth-generation Apple TV has been available for less than two months and already talk is turning to a next-generation model.

A new report by DigiTimes, a hit-and-miss Taiwanese trade publication, cites unnamed supply chain sources as saying that a fifth-generation Apple TV with a brand new CPU and a heat-dissipation solution is entering into trial production in December and volume production in the first quarter of 2016.

Pedometer++ embraces Apple Watch in a big way

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

Pedometer++ is one of the best step-counting apps in the App Store, with its developer David Smith managing to keep it alive with meaningful updates. In fact, Apple's 2013 introduction of a dedicated motion coprocessor in iPhones that tracks movement in a power-friendly manner has helped breathe new life into Pedometer++.

Ever since the watch's April 2015 debut I've been wondering how the app would fit into my fitness routine.

My primary concern at the time was whether or not a dedicated step-counting app made sense given the Apple Watch's robust fitness and motion tracking capabilities.

But as it turns out, a bright future lies ahead of Pedometer++ and today's feature-packed update proves my point. The new version fully embraces the Apple Watch with a comprehensive, fluid and native watchOS 2 app, complications, more accurate data sync than Apple's Health app and more.

Facebook brings photo collages to iPhone app, starts testing Periscope-like video broadcasts

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

Facebook today announced that its main iPhone client in the App Store has been updated with two new features: Live Video and Collages.

Collages, automatically created from the photos and videos taken together, are presented as a moving carousel within the app and on the web.

More important than that, implementing live video broadcasting on Facebook has been prioritized in the wake of the Periscope phenomenon. Starting today, a small percentage of people in the United States can begin testing the live video feature on their iPhones.