Apple

Apple confirms ‘FREAK Attack’ patch for iOS and OS X due next week

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 4, 2015

A new exploit dubbed ‘FREAK Attack’ — which stands for “Factoring attack on RSA-EXPORT Keys” — that takes advantage of a security flaw dating back to the 1990s will be patched soon by Apple.

As we speak, the iPhone maker is readying a fix in iOS and OS X that will be available in software updates next week, a spokesperson for the Cupertino firm told iMore.

Plagued by this security flaw, users of Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android devices are at risk when visiting vulnerable websites that downgrade a secure HTTPS connection to a weaker encryption method.

Waze is rolling out AMBER alerts in US

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 4, 2015

Waze, a popular crowdsourced GPS, maps and traffic service, announced on Wednesday that it's rolling out AMBER alerts in the United States.

Realized through a partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the move brings AMBER alerts to Waze users when a child in their area has been abducted or gone missing.

Facebook’s forgotten Slingshot app introduces Explore section

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 29, 2018

Following a major version 2.0 update last December and another one that added swiping between back and front cameras, things have been quiet on the Slingshot front.

But Wednesday, the Facebook-owned disappear messaging app has received another update bringing out a new Explore section in an effort to increase usage time.

Slingshot is available free in the App Store.

Poll: do you use Reduce Motion feature in iOS?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

Soon after Apple thoroughly revamped its mobile operating system back in September 2013, power users started to complain about iOS's sleek visual effects standing in the way of usability. The main point of contention for many people seemed to be whether or not iOS ignores user input while the animation is running, resulting in the seemingly slower navigation.

Another common complaint was that those dizzying slam-cuts affected people with motion sickness. Addressing both complaints, Apple's made it possible to disable motion by flipping the Reduce Motion switch to ON in Settings > Accessibility > Reduce Motion.

Today's poll seeks to determine whether you navigate your iOS devices with full UI animations, as enabled by default, or with reduced motion effects in order to make the operating system seem more responsive.

Google brings Material Design to Contacts on the web

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2016

Material Design, Google's cross platform, responsive design system for mobile, desktop and the web, has now been applied to Google Contacts on the web.

Now available as a preview, the revamped Google Contacts can be checked out by visiting contacts.google.com/preview in your desktop web browser, the search firm said Tuesday.

Apple’s retail sales strategy for Apple Watch revealed

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Ahead of next week's Apple Watch event, Apple has begun training its retail employees on how to position the new device to customers. In a new report this afternoon, 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman shares 3 key points from their training including key features, iPhone compatibility and style.

According to selling guidelines provided to Gurman, Apple wants its employees to find out 3 things about their customers when trying to sell the Apple Watch: what do they already know about the device, is their iPhone compatible, and are they looking for a casual or formal watch.

iOS 8 adoption rate edges toward 75 percent

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2018

Based on Apple's official data shared at its portal for developers, iOS 8 is now running on 75 percent of iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices, as measured by the App Store on March 3, 2015, good for a two percentage-point increase.

Two weeks ago, Apple's mobile operating system was adopted by 73 percent of active device owners, representing a tiny one percentage point increase from the 72 percent mark recorded a month ago.

Unity 5 game engine launches with iOS Metal and 64-bit support and other improvements

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 3, 2015

Following its mid-2014 announcement and a beta release last October, the latest edition of the Unity graphics engine by Unity Technoologies is now available for download.

The all-new Unity 5, released at the 2015 Game Developers Conference, features upgraded animation and physics, a new lighting system, new audio options and many other improvements designed to make mobile games more gorgeous and shiny than ever before.

On the Apple side of things, Unity 5 offers support for 64-bit computing and Metal, Apple's high-performance graphics framework aimed at game developers which can speed up graphics by a factor of ten compared to OpenGL.

Apple to make ‘a large number’ of day-to-day security guards full-time employees

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 3, 2015

Following the outcry in Silicon Valley regarding the treatment of part-time employees, and in general people who work for technology companies, Apple is now moving to “dramatically expand” its in-house security team by giving contracted workers the same benefits as other employees, as per Mercury News Tuesday.

A company spokesperson confirmed to the paper that Apple has now decided to hire the majority of its day-to-day security staff in Silicon Valley as full-time workers, following a yearlong review.

SXSW GO updated with iBeacon notifications and other new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 3, 2015

The official mobile app of South by Southwest (SXSW), a set of film, interactive and music festivals and conferences that take place annually in mid-March in Austin, Texas, has been refreshed with a few new features.

Among them is an enhanced experience allowing your device to receive iBeacon notifications to see what's going on around you and who else is there. This year's show will feature the world’s largest deployment of iBeacons.

Google allegedly working on an iPhone app that’ll bring iOS compatibility to Android Wear

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 3, 2015

Google is ostensibly working on an iPhone app that will bring iOS compatibility to all Android Wear-driven smartwatches on the market. Google's Android-powered software platform for wearable devices launched a year ago without official support for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Mac devices. Word of a possible solution came Tuesday via 01Net and was passed along to us by French blog iPhon.fr.

Whichever way you look at it, making Android Wear compatible with the iPhone could help extend the market for Android-driven wearable devices to include Apple users, too.

About 720,000 Android Wear smartwatches were shipped in 2014, according to Canalys, the research firm. Various analysts estimate Apple's Watch could sell about ten or more million devices in 2015.

Mortal Kombat X is hitting iOS this April

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 3, 2015

More than two decades following its 1992 debut on the the Genesis, SNES and arcades, Mortal Kombat, a video game franchise developed by Midway Games' Chicago studio, is about to go mobile with the impending release of Mortal Kombat X for iOS and Android, as first noted by Eurogamer.

Developed by NetherRealm Studios, the game will be published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, which acquired the Mortal Kombat development team in 2011 and now owns the rights of the series.