Apple

Display expert explains why Apple Watch sapphire crystal degrades image quality

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 28, 2015

After putting the stainless steel Apple Watch through a barrage of excruciating screen benchmarks, display expert Raymond Soneira of DisplayMate Technologies has determined that its sapphire protection actually degrades image quality.

But it's not Apple's fault, really. Even though sapphire is the second-hardest transparent material after diamond, the substance suffers from a higher reflectance versus a less expensive ion-strengthened glass utilized on the entry-level aluminum Apple Watch Sport as well as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices.

Diamond-testing Apple Watch sapphire screen

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 28, 2015

After quite literally subjecting the Apple Watch Sport’s Ion-X glass to the knife in a recent scratch test video, YouTuber 'Unbox Therapy' is back with another cool test.

This time around, he's evaluating the Apple Watch's sapphire-coated screen with a diamond tester and comparing it to the Apple Watch Sport, LG's G Watch R, the iPhone 6 and a high-end analog watch by Tissot, which uses sapphire for protection.

He came away fairly impressed with Apple's sapphire, concluding it does match those of classic sapphire watches. Sapphire, for those wondering, is the second-hardest transparent substance after diamond. Have a look at the video and tell us what you think in the comment section.

Dropbox launches web commenting system, coming soon to mobile

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 28, 2015

Red-hot cloud-storage startup Dropbox on Tuesday announced a new commenting system which permits anyone to provide some context and give helpful feedback on that shared presentation, photo, movie or other upload of yours.

The new feature is now accessible by everyone after Dropbox for Business early access users have been trying out commenting for the past month.

The ability to comment on shared files includes such perks as Twitter-like @mentions, reply notifications and more. The feature is currently available in Dropbox's web interface and should be accessible from mobile apps “soon”.

How to take a screenshot on Apple Watch

Ankur Thakur ∙ Updated December 13, 2021

If you want to take screenshots of your Apple Watch screen, you must first turn this feature on. Here are the steps to enable screenshots. And after that, we will show you how to take a screenshot on the Apple Watch running any version of watchOS.

Apple planning to rollout Apple Watch to more countries in June

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

During Apple's fiscal second quarter conference call on Monday, Tim Cook conceded that the demand for Apple Watch has been much greater than supply, but the company is working hard to remedy that.

"I think we're in a good position," he said. "And sometime in late June we currently anticipate being in a position where we could begin to sell the Apple Watch in additional countries. That's our current plan."

15 interesting points from Apple’s Q2 2015 earnings call

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple announced its financial results for its fiscal second quarter of 2015 this afternoon, and the numbers are impressive. The company sold 61.2 million iPhones and earned $58 billion in revenue, breaking March quarter records and beating Wall Street expectations.

We just finished up the conference call, where Tim Cook and other executives team discussed Apple’s performance over the three-month period, and offered up some insights into its future. And as usual, we’ve rounded up the 15 most interesting points from the call below.

Apple’s Q2 2015 earnings: 61.2M iPhones, 12.62M iPads, $58.01B revenue

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 11, 2018

Apple has posted its [fiscal] second quarter earnings report for 2015 this afternoon, and they are impressive. The Cupertino company beat Wall Street estimates, recording $58.01 billion in revenue on the back of strong iPhone sales.

More than 61 million iPhones were purchased during the usually-slow, post-holiday second quarter. That's over 4 million above analyst estimates, and it looks like the handset did particularly well in China—up 72% year-over-year.

Facebook Messenger launches video calling

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 27, 2015

Merely a week after flipping the switch on audio calling in the popular WhatsApp service, Facebook today started rolling out video calling to its Messenger app on iOS and across other mobile platforms.

As you know, Messenger already offers people the ability to make voice calls to friends around the world. By enabling cross-platform video calling across the ubiquitous messaging service, which commands 600 million users, the firm has enabled users to engage in face-to-face conversations with their friends and the people they care about, regardless of the platform of their choice.

Real-time rain and lightning alerts launch in Weather Channel for Apple Watch, iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 27, 2015

The Weather Channel today announced bringing new real-time rain and lightning alerts to the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Apple Watch via an updated iOS app. The refreshed mobile software lets you receive the exact alerts for rain, snow and lighting strikes that are relevant to you and based on your location.

In addition, you can now set up fully customizable notifications based on personal preferences so you can receive timely alerts tailored to your preference.

Apple TV gains NBC Sports Live Extra channel

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 27, 2015

Apple's $69 set-top box has gained yet another content source with Monday's addition of the official television channel from NBC Sports Live Extra. It arrived just in time for Saturday's 141st Kentucky Derby and during the first round of the National Hockey League's playoffs.

NBC Sports Live Extra for Apple TV, much like the existing iOS app, delivers “thousands of live sporting events that air on NBC, NBCSN and Golf Channel,” in addition to live video, at no cost.

No cable or satellite subscription is required to enjoy some content, but you'll need to create an account with the NBC Sports in order to take full advantage of its features. Also, NBC Sports Live Extra users may want to provide their cable subscription details in order to enjoy the vast majority of the more than 3,000 live stream events per year.

Apple posts iOS 8.4 beta 2 with new Trending Searches feature on iTunes Radio

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 27, 2015

Apple on Monday seeded iOS 8.4 beta 2, which includes a redesigned Music app experience from the previous beta, to its registered iPhone, iPod touch and iPad developers.

The software carries a build number of 12H4086d and can be applied over-the-air through the Software Update mechanism available in Settings > General, for those who are running the first beta. A standalone installer is available through Apple's portal for developers.

Release notes accompanying the download mention claim “this beta version of iOS contains bug fixes and improvements”. At least one new feature was spotted in this release: trending searches. Now when you're searching for a song on iTunes Radio via the Music app in iOS 8.4 beta 2, it will automatically suggest a list of trending searches.

Unread gains iOS 8 Share sheet, 1Password integration, landscape on iPhone and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 10, 2018

Unread, an RSS client for the iPhone and iPad originally created by Jared Sinclair and later acquired by Supertop, is getting a nice update this morning with several new features and a handful of bug fixes.

Unread, which supports a number of popular feed services, now features a useful Share extension so you can now send links and text from any app easily rather than fiddle with a proprietary sharing menu.

On the iPhone, the app will now reorient its user interface when you turn your device upside down. More importantly, Unread 1.5 for the iPhone and iPad at last supports Readability in the article view, letting you enjoy the full articles without ads, custom layouts, website navigation and other distractions.