Apple

iPhone 6s rumors: supplier hints at 7000 Series aluminum body, TSMC building A9 chips

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

A new rumor from Asia suggests that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), one of the world's largest semiconductor foundries, is ready to kick off mass production of Apple's in-house designed 'A9' mobile processor for the new iPhones, tentatively called an 'iPhone 6s' and 'iPhone 6s Plus'.

At the same time, another rumor from Apple's supply chain has reaffirmed that 2015 iPhones will have a chassis made from 7000 Series aluminum, a custom alloy the Cupertino firm originally developed for the Apple Watch Sport.

Creators of Bastion release Transistor for iOS, a premium sci-fi action RPG like no other

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 11, 2015

Every once in a while, a high-quality role-playing game which appeals to the masses comes along. This time around, the name of such a game is Transistor, a premium science fiction action RPG for the iPhone and iPad created by Supergiant Games, the team behind Bastion.

Featuring the vibrant presentation and deep combat system it's known for, Transistor utilizes an isometric point of view where you control the character Red as she travels through a series of locations, battling enemies in both real-time combat and a frozen turn-based planning mode.

Angry Birds Fight! arrives worldwide: challenge others to real-time puzzle battles

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 1, 2018

For those wondering, Rovio Mobile isn't done with its Angry Birds franchise yet. Quite the contrary, the Espoo, Finland headquartered developer, publisher and distributor of video games is now known as Rovio Entertainment Ltd. to reflect its broadened scope on entertainment in general.

Thursday, Rovio added another Angry Birds game to its roster. Called Angry Birds Fight! and releasing worldwide today following a recent soft-launch in Japan, it's basically a match-3 frenzy that challenges you to join some pretty crazy real-time battles of strategic, bird swapping agility with other players.

djay 2 introduces Force Touch trackpad support, automatic transitions on Apple Watch and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

German developer Algoriddim has refreshed its award-winning mixing and scratching application for DJs with support for force-sensing technology on Mac notebooks outfitted with Force Touch trackpad, tighter Apple Watch integration and many other perks mentioned below. In addition, djay 2 for iPhone and djay 2 for Mac both received support for the Reloop Beatpad 2 MIDI controller.

iOS 9 code hints at iPhones with a supercharged FaceTime camera

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 10, 2015

Developer Hamza Sood has discovered some rather interesting code strings in the iOS 9 software development kit (SDK) potentially pointing to an impressive front-facing camera upgrade on future iPhone models.

While the iPhone has become the de facto the most popular camera in the world, many Android handsets have far better cameras out the front for taking selfies. But that could change soon as code strings point to a future FaceTime camera upgrade delivering video-shooting capabilities in full HD 1080p resolution, Slow-Mo video capture at 240 frames per second and more.

Flaw in Mail for iPhone and iPad can be used to hijack your iCloud password

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 10, 2015

A serious bug in Apple's stock Mail application for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad permits attackers to fool users into providing their iCloud credentials.

Such phishing attacks can be devastating as iCloud increasingly becomes home for our digital life in the Apple universe, including our photo libraries, notes, contacts and other personal data.

The scam takes advantage of an exploit in the Mail application that makes it easy to deliver convincing-looking pop-ups resembling iCloud password prompts through a simple email message, The Register reported Wednesday.

While such emails look like they're coming from a real company, they're spoofed and once an unsuspecting user opens them on their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad running iOS 8.3, the operating system will execute malicious HTML content embedded inside.

Spotify grows to 75 million active users and 20 million paid subscribers globally

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

Spotify has a lot to lose should Apple Music catch on with music lovers. Following Monday's WWDC 2015 keynote which saw, amongst other things, the announcement of Apple's ten bucks per month on-demand music subscription service, Spotify has felt compelled to share the latest stats to reinforce its position as the world's leading streaming music provider.

As of May of this year, the Swedish startup had more than 75 million active users, of which more than 20 million are on one Spotify's paid Premium tiers.

Dreaded Wi-Fi and networking issues are a thing of the past in iOS 9 and El Capitan

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 10, 2015

It's no secret Mac users are always more or less complaining about various Wi-Fi problems.

But if Apple's support forums and the Interwebs are an indication, the level of annoyance with the networking stack in Apple's desktop and mobile operating systems has seemingly skyrocketed following the release of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite in the fall of last year.

Indeed, my MacBook Air running Yosemite drops Wi-Fi connection several times per day and takes about thirty seconds to re-connect to my home Wi-Fi after waking from sleep. Before Yosemite, I would be online literally as soon as I opened the lid.

Having installed El Capitan on my MacBook Air yesterday along with iOS 9 on my iPad Air, I'm happy to report that the vast majority of Wi-Fi problems plaguing users have become a thing of the past, here's why.

New El Capitan features Apple didn’t talk about during WWDC 2015 keynote

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 10, 2015

Monday's WWDC 2015 keynote talk was a jam-packed day of announcements that included iOS 9, OS X El Capitan, watchOS 2, Apple Music, the News app and updates to Apple Pay, so much so that Tim Cook had to immediately cut to the chase and skip his opening round of business updates (“Everything is going fine”, he joked).

There just wasn't enough time to talk about every little enhancement and nice-to-have so Apple execs focused on big ones that make for great headlines while relegating a bunch of platform updates, that mostly matter to developers anyway, to a single slide.

My colleague Cody already compiled an interesting list of nearly three-dozen features in iOS 9 that Apple didn't talk about during the keynote. If you've found his post compelling, you may be interested in my list of technological improvements in OS X El Capitan that Apple didn't show on stage.

Apple confirms it’s collecting street-level imagery for “future Maps updates”

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 10, 2015

Remember those secretive vans that were spotted driving around the country for quite a few months now?

It's been previously confirmed that the vehicles were registered to a third-party commissioned by Apple, prompting all kinds of speculative remarks.

Wednesday, Apple put an end to speculation by publishing a new section on its webpage dedicated to Apple Maps which confirms that the vehicles are collecting data for future Apple Maps updates.

Not only would collected data improve the accuracy of Apple's mapping service, but the wording clearly implies that a Google Street View-like feature is in tow for Apple Maps.

GM announces CarPlay support for 2016 Cadillac models

Cody Lee ∙ June 9, 2015

General Motors announced today that 2016 model year products from its luxury car division Cadillac will feature enhanced connectivity and control thanks to the addition of CarPlay and Android Auto. The move is part of a broader enhancement to CUE, Cadillac's infotainment/user experience portal.

GM says that CarPlay will debut in all 2016 Cadillac models that feature CUE's 8-in multitouch screen expect the SRX Crossover vehicle. Production on 2016 models will begin this summer, except for the SRX, which is moving to an all-new generation in early 2016. Android Auto will debut in late 2016.

WWDC 2015 keynote posted to iTunes as a downloadable high-definition video podcast

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 9, 2015

Following promotional footage for Apple Music that the Cupertino company posted to its YouTube channel along with the inspirational 'App Effect' video, the entire keynote presentation has now been uploaded to iTunes and made available to everyone in the form of a video podcast.

In case you haven't had a chance to sit through the whole keynote talk yesterday, you can now download the video to your Mac, iPhone, iPod touch or iPad and watch it on your own time.