Apple

Claimed protective case mold hints how massive iPad Pro might be

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 29, 2015

Aside from an alleged manufacturing mold and Ming-Chi Kuo's prediction of a creative stylus accessory for Apple's purported pro tablet, it's been a few weeks now without a newsworthy iPad Pro rumor in sight. Courtesy of the French blog NowhereElse.fr on Thursday, we now have a better idea of the large form-factor iPad's massiveness.

The publication has ostensibly managed to get hold of a manufacturing mold for an assumed iPad Pro protective case said to have been designed according to the genuine device dimensions. For context: rumors have mentioned two possible screen sizes for the iPad Pro, twelve inches and 12.9 inches. I've included the photo right after the break so check it out and feel free to chime in with your thoughts in comments.

Annual Back to School promo launches in New Zealand and Australia with $25-$100 gift cards

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 29, 2015

Apple's annual Back to School promotion launched today in Australia and New Zealand, as noted by 9to5Mac. Unlike last year when the promo included iTunes gift cards, this time around Apple Store gift cards are being offered to university students, students accepted to a university and parents buying for a university student.

A qualifying Mac, iPad or iPhone purchased is required.

The sale runs from January 30 through March 19.

Apple also becomes China’s #1 luxury gift provider

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 29, 2015

In addition to becoming the top smartphone seller in China (based on the 70 percent annual sales uptick in Greater China), Apple is now the top luxury gift provider in the country, knocking Hermès off the top spot, Reuters reported Thursday.

This is interesting because Hermès is a French manufacturer that was established back in 1837 and today specializes in a plethora of luxury products, ranging from leather and lifestyle accessories to perfumery and other luxury goods.

SoundCloud for iPad finally gets its facelift, but drops the audio recording feature

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 29, 2015

SoundCloud, an online audio distribution platform hailing from Berlin, Germany, has finally refreshed its user interface on iPads, following a major revamp on the iPhone and iPod touch side last summer.

And just like the iPhone revamp, the more visual iPad experience with an emphasis on album art in the new SoundCloud 3.7.1 comes with a major disappointment as the audio recording feature has now been killed.

Scanbot updated with reminders, endless scanning and 1Password integration

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 29, 2015

Scanbot, the popular document scanner and QR reader that Apple listed among its Best Apps in 2014, has received an update which allows you to add smart reminders and tasks via iOS Reminders and Evernote to your scanned documents, with alerts delivered via Push Notifications to the Lock screen.

Secondly, Scanbot 3.5.1 brings out support for the login and password management app 1Password, making possible adding cloud services to Scanbot using data stored in 1Password. And thirdly, developers have implemented endless scanning by removing any limitations in terms of the amount of pages you can scan, allowing you to literally scan full books now.

China’s ludicrous new cybersecurity rules aimed at Western companies could hurt Apple

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

The Chinese government has adopted new cybersecurity rules targeted at Western technology companies that are bound to give firms like Apple a major headache.

According to The New York Times on Thursday, the new rules require vendors that sell computer equipment to Chinese banks to turn over secret source code.

The Chinese government also requires that Western technology providers submit to “invasive audits” and even build backdoors into hardware and software. As a result, the Apples, Dells and HPs of this world are going to need to jump through more hoops to do business in China.

Apple ties Samsung for the world’s top smartphone maker crown

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 29, 2016

Driven by phenomenal iPhone sales during the holiday quarter, Apple has now tied Samsung for the title of the world's top smartphone maker. According to latest numbers from research firm Strategy Analytics relayed by Bloomberg, both companies sold about 74.5 million smartphones during the fourth quarter of last year.

Both companies took an equal 19.6 percent market share in the global market for smartphones. Motorola owner Lenovo was a distant third with a 6.5 percent share, followed by Chinese vendor Huawei, which took a 5.7 percent share. Lenovo and Huawei shipper about 24 million smartphones each.

Microsoft releases native Outlook app for iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Microsoft on Thursday released the official Outlook email client in the App Store (not to be confused with the native Outlook Web App for the iPhone). Optimized for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, the iOS 8-only app is based on Microsoft's $200 million purchase of the popular mobile email app Acompli.

Featuring a built-in calendar, comprehensive search features, gesture-based interface akin to Dropbox-owned Mailbox and support for popular cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft's own OneDrive service, it brings together the core tools you need to get things done in one sweet package.

Samsung Galaxy S6 won’t be using Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chip due to overheating

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 4, 2016

News broke today that Samsung's upcoming flagship, the fabled Galaxy S6, won't be using Qualcomm's new mobile system-on-a-chip, the Snapdragon 810.

As Re/code noted, the revelation came indirectly, via Qualcomm's earnings call today, as the firm had to tell investors “a large customer's flagship device” won't be shipping with the Snapdragon 810 inside.

Lost business has forced Qualcomm to cut its outlook for the fiscal year slightly. The semiconductor maker did not say which client, and why, has dropped the Snapdragon 810.

However, a week ago Bloomberg learned that Samsung had opted to drop the 810 from its upcoming flagship due to overheating problems.

Microsoft just made OneDrive totally awesome

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Wednesday, Microsoft rolled out an all-new version of its OneDrive sync client for the Mac while bringing out a plethora of really cool features on the web and releasing a revamped iOS app.

The iOS client now supports OneDrive for Business accounts so basically your work and life can now be on all your Apple devices in a single app.

Not only does the redesigned iPhone and iPad app look nicer, it also lets you search photos by tags and create gorgeous albums. It even recognizes text in photos and PDFs and integrates with the popular password-management software 1Password and LastPass.

Marissa Mayer wants to make Yahoo default search engine in Safari

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Embattled CEO Marisa Mayer just bought herself some more air cover by spinning off Yahoo's 15 percent stake in Alibaba into a new public company. But Mayer is still under pressure to boost Yahoo's core biz which has been eroding steadily. Now, MacRumors passes along a transcript of Yahoo's conference call when Mayer praised Apple's Safari browser as the premier search platform.

She called fans of the Apple web browser “among the most lucrative users in the world” and expressed interest in Yahoo becoming the default search engine in Safari.

Facebook’s Paper app now supports sharing from iOS Favorites album and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Facebook's Paper for iPhone app has been refreshed today with improved performance as well as faster way of sharing photos, in addition to fixing a few issues “you’ve let us know about.”

When sharing photos, your Camera Roll items are now organized by date. Even better, the app now supports the new Favorites album introduced in iOS 8 which collates the images you've favorited by tapping on the heart icon in the iOS Photos app.