Apple

PayPal finally adds Touch ID protection to iPhone payment app

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 27, 2015

PayPal's official iPhone app in the App Store has at last received support for Touch ID authentication, nearly two years following Apple's debut of fingerprint scanning with the iPhone 5s's fall 2013 introduction.

As a daily PayPal user, it was annoying that the mobile app would ask me to provide my PayPal password on each run. Now that Touch ID has come to the rescue, this option, once enabled in settings, lets me authorize app access easily and securely with my fingerprint.

This is what Touch ID was created for, to protect sensitive personal information like online banking, PayPal transactions and so forth. I wish PayPal supported Touch ID much sooner but it's better late than never, I guess.

Fleksy Keyboard introduces Imoji stickers, smart suggestions for GIFs and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 9, 2018

Fleksy, the powerful iOS 8 keyboard which lets you use gestures, GIFs and emoji, has increased its functionality in the latest update issued today.

Now the app features an integrated Sticker keyboard in partnership with Imoji, taking visual communication beyond animated GIFs. You can easily browse, search and send Imoji stickers directly in Fleksy: just tap a sticker to copy it, then paste it in a message.

To add a sticker to your favorites, double tap it from the keyboard. You can access your recently used stickers, browse endless collections of reactions, check out what's trending and more.

Kindle update adds new font and a number of readability enhancements

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 27, 2015

Amazon's Kindle for iOS app received an update this morning adding new features for “faster reading, less eye strain.”

Kindle 4.9 for the iPhone and iPad now includes larger font sizes, in addition to an exclusive new font that was specifically crafted for prolonged reading on digital screens.

The application now does hyphenation and has smoother word spacing, with layouts that dynamically adapt drop caps, text and images as you change fonts and adjust font sizes.

Apple Maps Transit service to offer limited support for US, Canada, Europe and China at launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 26, 2015

Transit directions, along with a trip-planning feature and indoor maps, is rumored to be a cornerstone feature of Apple Maps in iOS 9. According to 9to5Mac on Tuesday, transit directions in Apple Maps are set to launch in approximately a half-dozen cities across the United States, Canada and Europe, with more to be added at a later stage.

In fact, as AppleInsider first reported three days ago, Apple's mapping service in China is better than Apple Maps in Europe or the United States.

iOS 8 adoption rate stays flat, iOS 7 continues to lose ground

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2018

According to Apple's dashboard for developers based on App Store access data, iOS 8 adoption rate has remained flat at 82 percent of iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices. By comparison, two weeks ago iOS 8 was found to power 82 percent of iOS gadgets.

As iOS 7 continues to lose ground, it's lost a single percentage point compared with the seventeen percent mark two weeks ago. The latest stats arrive ahead of Apple's iOS 9 preview due next month at the annual summer conference for developers in San Francisco.

Apple turning to Chinese suppliers for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus batteries

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 26, 2015

Tuesday, a fresh new report claimed Apple's been seeking additional battery providers for upcoming new iPhones, presumed to be marketed as ‘iPhone 6s’ and ‘iPhone 6s Plus’.

Apple is now sourcing more batteries for iOS devices from Chinese suppliers which have caught up with their Taiwanese competitors in terms of sufficient battery core supply and production capacity.

The award-winning ‘Sky Guide’ is free right now within the Apple Store app

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Those of you who enjoy app deals will be interested to know that Sky Guide is available for free right now. Apple is currently offering promo codes for the award-winning star-gazer, which typically costs $1.99, within its Apple Store app.

For those who aren't familiar with it, Sky Guide is a star and constellation guide that automatically aligns itself when you hold your device up to the sky. There may be many apps like it, but none of them are more beautiful or easy to use.

Apple patents hybrid ‘Fusion’ keyboard with gestures, forceful pressure and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 26, 2015

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Tuesday awarded Apple a patent for a hybrid multitouch keyboard that would incorporate touch-sensitive mechanical keys with two-position mechanical switches for activating tasks at different levels of pressure.

Titled ‘Fusion keyboard’, the U.S. Patent No. 9,041,652 explores a touch sensitive mechanical keyboard for detecting touch events and key depressions.

Apple seeds OS X 10.10.4 beta 4 to developers, public testers

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple on Tuesday seeded the fourth beta of the upcoming OS X Yosemite 10.10.4 software to both developers and public testers. The update, labeled build 14E26a, is available through the Update tab in the Mac App Store, and the Dev Center for all registered Mac developers.

OS X 10.10.4 has been in testing since mid-April, and we have yet to see it bring about any significant user-facing changes or new features. It appears that the release will be more of a maintenance update, as Apple attempts to iron out remaining bugs and other known issues.

iOS 9 tidbits: Force Touch support, updated keyboard designs, iMessage enhancements & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 26, 2015

iOS 9, the next major iteration of Apple's mobile operating system powering the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, reportedly has built-in support for Force Touch technology which debuted on the Apple Watch, suggesting the possibility of pressure-sensitive screens on the next iPhone and iPad.

According to a new report by 9to5Mac, the operating system also features support for Apple Pay in Canada, has improved software keyboard with new designs and enhances iMessage by enabling read receipts for group chat threads and on a per-contact basis.

Next iPhone could be even thinner and lighter thanks to smaller LED backlighting chips

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 26, 2015

In its never-ending quest of engineering ever thinner and lighter devices, Apple is said to use smaller LED backlighting chips that could, at least theoretically, make the next iPhone(s)—you guessed right— smaller and lighter.

Citing a TrendForce report, DigiTimes said Tuesday that next-generation ‘iPhone 6s’ and ‘iPhone 6s Plus’ will adopt smaller LED chips for the display's backlight unit. The new chips reportedly measure three mm wide, 0.85mm tall and 0.4mm deep versus the 3.0mm x 0.85mm x 0.6mm chips used in the present-generation iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices.

Cortana is coming to iOS with Windows 10 Phone Companion app, Microsoft confirms

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 26, 2015

Microsoft Cortana, the software giant's Siri-like personal digital assistant available on Windows Phone and Windows 10 mobile and desktop platforms, will expand later this year to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices, as well as Android smartphones and tablets.

The company officially confirmed the news in a blog post this morning, basically corroborating an earlier March report by Reuters which claimed Cortana would hit non-Microsoft mobile platforms this fall.