Apple

Apple requested 4K video content from Sony Pictures in 2013

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple requested 4K video content from Sony Pictures back in 2013, according to recently leaked documents. WikiLeaks on Thursday dumped another 200,000+ documents stemming from last year's staggering Sony hack, and so far at least one Apple-related story has been uncovered.

AppleInsider points to a materials access letter from Culver Digital Distribution, an entity associated with Sony Pictures, that serves as a formal agreement for "testing and/or preparing" 4K film and television content for non-exclusive distribution. And it has Eddy Cue's signature on it.

Catapult puzzler ‘Warhammer: Snotling Fling’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ June 18, 2015

Apple has just named “Warhammer: Snotling Fling” its App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to download the game for both iPhone and iPad for free—a significant savings of $4.

Snotling Fling is essentially an over-the-shoulder take on Angry Birds, set in the Warhammer universe. Players are tasked with slingshotting hapless goblins at enemy soldiers in an attempt to stop Gorbad Ironclaw and save the Realm.

Twitter allegedly entering news curation with Project Lightning

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2015

News curation has shortly become all the rage in the technology and media industries. Facebook sped up your News Feed with quick-loading Instant Article.

Then a new 'Apple News' app followed, a major initiative by Apple to host news articles and employ human editors to surface best content for its uses.

And now, Twitter is reportedly joining the fray and creating a similar concept of its own. They're calling it Project Lightning and, as reported by BuzzFeed's Mat Honan, it should make important news and events follow you across Twitter platforms, not the other way round.

Lead the Rebel Alliance to victory in Star Wars – Heroes Path, now available in App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Based on Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the original Star Wars film, Disney's just-released Star Wars - Heroes Path for the iPhone and iPad challenges players to lead the Rebel Alliance to victory in a series of movie-based puzzles.

The game revisits the original storyline of the Rebel Alliance's quest to blow the Death Star to pieces and beat the Galactic Empire. In Star Wars - Heroes Path, you'll enjoy cartoonish renditions of the movie's iconic characters such as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, RS-D2 and many more.

Rumor: Apple Watch 2 with FaceTime camera and improved Wi-Fi due in 2016

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2015

While the Apple Watch has yet to expand to more markets, Apple is already hard at work on a second-generation model. Reportedly due for release next year, the Apple Watch 2 should elevate your experience with a built-in FaceTime video camera for videoconferencing and improved Wi-Fi features for greater iPhone independence.

Interestingly enough, the device is said to retain the battery life of the original model, at lest according to sources familiar with Apple's plans who spoke with 9to5Mac.

Beats 1, Apple’s 24/7 Internet radio, makes an appearance in iOS betas ahead of June 30 rollout

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2015

Beats 1, Apple's non-stop Internet radio station hosted by celebrity DJs, has made its first appearance in latest betas of iOS 8.4 and iOS 9 which are available to developers.

The Beats 1 interface appears unfinished with many features not active yet or performing erratically. Still, I was able to use the Music app on my iPad running iOS 9 Developer Preview to access a new Radio tab and get to Beats 1. I also browsed a list of stations and even streamed select ones and heard the promotional Beats 1 broadcast.

Here are my screenshots.

Re/code releases full video interview with Apple’s op-chief Jeff Williams

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2015

Jeff Williams, Senior Vice President of Operations at Apple, recently had an interesting chat session with Re/code columnist Walt Mossberg at the annual Code Conference in which he briefly touched on the topic of the rumored Apple car project while offering his take on a wide range of topics such as Apple Watch sales, health, fitness and more.

A recap video was made immediately following the May 27 conference and now the publication has shared full video of the interview.

Apple Watch bands are insanely profitable: $49 Sport band costs Apple just $2.05 to make

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2015

IHS, a technology research firm, has found that Apple is making huge markups on the bands, with an entry-level 38mm fluroelastomer Sport band which retails for $49 costing an estimated $2.05 to make.

It should be noted the figure excludes other related costs such as packaging, shipping, marketing, cost of sale and so forth and “may not capture the full cost of the material Apple uses to make the band,” IHS analyst Kevin Keller told Reuters.

Samsung asks appeals court to reconsider infringement ruling

Cody Lee ∙ June 17, 2015

Samsung on Wednesday asked the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision to uphold a ruling that will cost it $400 million in damages for infringing on Apple's design patents, reports San Jose Mercury News. In a recent court filing, the company asks for a rehearing with a full 12-judge roster, rather than the 3-judge panel the court used last month.

In 2012, a jury ruled that several of Samsung's products infringed on Apple patents, and awarded the iPhone-maker $1 billion in damages. That number has been reduced down to $548 million in various post-trial proceedings, and Samsung is trying to eliminate another big chunk—some $400 million—by getting the verdicts regarding design patent infringement tossed out.

Unicode 8 includes new hot dog, unicorn and burrito emoji

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

On Wednesday, the Unicode Consortium released Unicode 8, the next major update to the Unicode Standard. The Standard defines things like special characters and emoji, which many manufacturers, including Apple, use in their software.

Unicode 8 introduces nearly 8,000 new characters, including letters to support new languages and six new scripts. Perhaps more interesting, to us anyway, is that it also includes 37 new emoji and 5 emoji modifiers for various skin colors.

Nest roundup: home security camera, improved smoke alarm, revamped mobile app and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 17, 2015

Google-owned Nest launched some new home automation gear while refreshing its entire lineup at a media event held in San Francisco this morning. Designed for personal home security, the new Nest Cam is born out of Nest's acquisition of Wi-Fi video streaming camera maker Dropcam.

The $199 camera has a magnetic stand and can capture and stream a 130-degree video in Full HD 1080p resolution so you can keep an eye on your home while at work.

Moreover, it has advanced night vision, Nest Aware-powered activity alerts and boasts some other cool features worth mentioning.

Premium turn-based strategy game starring Lara Croft previewed, hitting iOS later in the year

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

A stylized Tomb Raider game is coming to mobiles as developer Square Enix Montréal announced at E3 Lara Croft GO. Created by the same team that brought you award-winning strategy game Hitman GO, Lara Croft GO is billed as a ground-breaking mobile experience.

The game takes place in a long-forgotten ancient civilization and adopts a turn-based concept with exploration and puzzle solving thrown in for good measure, a recipe which has made Lara Croft, the heroine of the hugely successful Tomb Raider series, such a phenomenon in video games.