Apple

Apple Stores turn their logos red in recognition of World AIDS Day

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 1, 2014

Today is World AIDS Day and Apple's brick and mortar and online stores around the world have tinted their logos red in recognition of the event. In addition, Apple’s online stores are promoting (RED) products, including Apple-brand (RED) accessories such as the $200 Beats headphones, the $49 iPod shuffle and more.

Apple has previously said that 100 percent of proceeds from In-App Purchased and downloads of participating iPhone and iPad apps like Angry Birds and Monument Valley will go to the Global Fund through December 7.

Apple recommends you do not jail-break. Really.

Sébastien Page ∙ November 30, 2014

While jailbreaking an iPhone is legal in the US, Apple has always clearly stood against it, warning that it may void your warranty. You can't criticize Apple for this policy because it makes lots of sense. Why would they try to fix an issue if the device is running unauthorized code on it, right?

Reddit user DurianNinja found an interesting paragraph tucked inside Apple's retail store purchase policies that shows what I feel is interesting wording about jailbreaking an iOS device:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser trailer hits iTunes and YouTube, watch it now

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 28, 2014

The official teaser trailer for Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens on Black Friday made its debut on iTunes. Lucas film yesterday tweeted that the trailer will hit iTunes after initially saying that it would only be shown in 30 movie theaters across the U.S. Disney in October 2012 acquired Lucasfilm in a transaction valued at a whopping $4 billion.

The acquisition brought Lucasfilm under Disney's fold and gave the Mickey Mouse house rights to further develop the Star Wars franchise and film new movies in the series in co-operation with George Lucas. The trailer has also hit YouTube and we've embedded it for your viewing pleasure right after the break.

Nintendo files for patent for Game Boy emulation on phones and other devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 28, 2014

As TechCrunch reported this morning, the United States Patent & Trademark Office yesterday published a patent application for “Hand-held Video Game Platform Emulation” that Nintendo filed on June 23, 2014.

The invention describes software emulation of Nintendo's popular mobile game consoles such as the Game Boy family on a variety of mobile devices, including smartphones and in other settings such as seat-back displays in airplanes and trains.

Apple’s Black Friday kicks off with iTunes Gift Card deals on qualifying purchases

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

Apple this morning kicked off its Black Friday sale with $25-$100 (PRODUCT)RED iTunes Gift Cards on qualifying Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV and Beats by Dr. Dre purchases. Once your iTunes Gift Card has been redeemed, you can use your iTunes credit toward any purchase on the iTunes Store, including media and apps.

In addition to donating the proceeds from (RED) apps to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS until December 7, Apple will also automatically donate a portion of retail sales to the Global Fund to support the fight against AIDS.

Apple launches star-studded Beats #SoloSelfie campaign

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

In addition to a new iPhone 6 television commercial featuring Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, Justin Timberlake and voice messaging in iOS 8's Messages app, Apple and Beats (which got snapped up by the iPhone maker for $3 billion earlier this year) kicked off a new #SoloSelfie thingy.

In a nutshell, it's a campaign that promotes the Solo2, ”the world’s best-selling headphone.” Like other Beats campaigns, #SoloSelfie includes more than a dozen celebrities including Kendall, Kylie Jenner, Nicki Minaj, Kenan Thompson and a bunch more who can be seen snapping selfies while wearing the high-end headphones.

Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath hits iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 27, 2014

Oddworld, the popular platform-based action adventure originally released on consoles back in 2005, has been ported to iOS and is now available in the App Store as Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath.

The game puts you in the shoes of a tall, dark and enigmatic figure, a drifter turned bounty hunter simply named Stranger. Your goal: capture outlaws and collect bounties, armed with your trusty double-barreled crossbow that fires insects and small animals.

The iOS port sports a highly detailed graphics engine capable of rendering towns, realistic water effects, lush forests, massive industrial facilities and vast outdoor panoramas in console-grade fidelity.

Apple posts new ‘Voice Text’ iPhone 6 ad

Cody Lee ∙ November 26, 2014

Apple tonight posted a new commercial to its YouTube channel showcasing the recently-launched iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The ad is entitled ‘Voice Text’ and it highlights the new voice messaging feature found on iOS 8 and of course the new iPhones.

Coming just a few days after the last two spots, the ad once again stars Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake. In similar fashion to recent ads, the pair provide comedic voiceovers as they demonstrate the benefits of voice messaging.

Foxconn’s upcoming $2.6 billion plant rumored to produce iPhone sapphire screens

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 10, 2017

Its deal with GT Advanced Technology — which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after failing to ramp up sapphire production in time for the iPhone 6 launch — has collapsed but Apple isn't giving up on the precious gemstone entirely yet.

A report Wednesday by Focus Taiwan alleged that Foxconn's upcoming $2.6 billion facility in central China will be churning out screens for Apple's mobile devices that use synthetic sapphire crystals for increased durability and protection.

Rumor: Apple switching to Samsung-made Apple Watch chips, iPhone 6 battery and flash storage

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 26, 2016

The latest scuttlebutt fresh out of Korea has it that Apple is considering switching to Samsung-made components for the new iPhones and Apple Watch, including iPhone 6 batteries manufactured by Samsung SDI and NAND flash manufactured by Samsung's component making arm.

The story matches up nicely with a BusinessKorea report earlier this month which claimed Apple was considering changing its flash storage provider due to alleged issues with some 128GB iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units.

OneCue adds motion gestures to your Apple TV and lets you control other smart home devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

EyeSight Technologies, a startup which specializes in machine vision, user awareness and gesture based interfaces, launched a very interesting home accessory yesterday, one that highlights a world of possibilities for a next-generation Apple TV.

They're calling it the OneCue and it aims to connect and control your Apple TV, or other media streamers and smart home devices for that matter, using hand gestures akin to Microsoft's Kinect with the Xbox One.

Supporting a plethora of TV sets, cable and satellite boxes, media streamers and AV receiver, the OneCue can turn on multiple smart home devices (i.e. TV, cable box and stere receiver) at the same time with the swipe of a hand or point of a finger.

Vine update brings per-account push alerts

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Twitter-owned Vine, a video service optimized for sharing six-second long looping video clips, on Tuesday received a small update. Bumping the iPhone app to version 3.1, it introduced enhanced push notifications with the ability to choose push alerts on a per-account basis.

Folks who have tons of followers on Vine are frequently inundated with alerts each time someone shares a clip on Vine, revines a vine, comments on it and what not.

There's nothing worse than being overwhelmed and having to cope with unwanted notifications. The team is feeling your pain so they've put together this little feature where you get a notification whenever your favorite contacts post on Vine.