Apple

Scanbot gains new gesture, B&W filter, OCR enhancements and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 25, 2014

Scanbot, the popular PDF and QR code scanner, has received an update bringing the app to version 3.1.1 and introducing a few new features for basic and Pro users alike.

When scanning a document, a brand new black and white filter can be used to achieve more accurate scans that preserve more structure from images. When reading a PDF file, you can now swipe to go back.

Finally, the app now bundles a 'Get Started' document to help get users up to speed and a few nice-to-haves for Pro users listed after the break.

Apple airs new ‘Gamers’ and ‘Reservations’ iPhone 6 ads

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Apple tonight posted two new TV commercials to its YouTube channel showcasing the recently-launched iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The spots are entitled ‘Gamers’ and 'Reservations,' and the first demonstrates the gaming power of the new A8 processor, while the latter shows off the new Continuity feature in iOS 8.

Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and recording artist Justin Timberlake return for both adverts, which are shot in a similar fashion to recent iPhone 6 ads. The camera zooms in on a pair of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets, and the duo provide comedic voiceovers as they demonstrate various phone and iOS features.

New report says deep organizational issues are hampering iCloud progress

Cody Lee ∙ November 24, 2014

A new report is out today claiming that Apple's iCloud ambitions are being stymied by a wealth of organizational issues. Jessica Lessin of The Information spoke with roughly a dozen current and former Apple employees, who say these issues are holding up releases and complicating products.

Lessin uses the work-in-progress iCloud photo project—codenamed Hyperion—as an example. First unveiled in 2011, Steve Jobs' vision for seamless photo-syncing has yet to be fully realized. iCloud Photo Library is a step in the right direction, but it missed the initial iOS 8 release and is still in beta.

Apple offering free Product (RED) gift cards with select purchases on Black Friday

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple today announced its plans for Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when all retailers will be hosting flash sales on many of their products. As usual, the deals aren't as good as other major stores are offering, but they are worth mentioning.

As part of its RED campaign for World AIDS Day, Apple will be giving away free gift cards with the purchase of select products on Friday. The cards can be used on apps, books and other iTunes content, and their values will depend on what you buy.

Five reasons the iPhone 6’s ability to handle 4K video is a big deal

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 24, 2014

While some photography apps in the App Store — such as the $49.99 Vizzywig 8xHD — make shooting film-like 4K footage on an iPhone a reality by taking a series of individual eight-megapixel images in rapid succession, the general public and techies alike are totally unaware that the latest iPhones are actually capable of rendering 4K 3,840-by-2,160 pixel video.

And who could blame them? After all, Apple's been conspicuously mum about it. But as it turns out, the A8 chip ticking inside the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus provides enough oomph to seamlessly handle 4K content playback.

The surprising discovery was made public last week by Softorino (via TUAW), the developers of WALTR, a new Mac app which makes it easy to upload and convert any video or audio file to an iOS-friendly format for native playback on iPhones, iPads, iPods and Apple TVs.

While it makes little sense to render massive 4K videos on the 1,334-by-750 and 1,920-by-1,080 pixel resolution screens of the respective iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones due to inevitable downsampling, the very fact that the A8 processor can handle 4K content is important on many levels.

Watch Chase’s first Apple Pay TV ad featuring Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers band

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

As reported by Ad Age this morning, Chase, one of early launch parters for Apple Pay, will begin airing its very first television commercial highlighting Apple's mobile payment service later today. The ad depicts Fun lead guitarist Jack Antonoff and his indie band the Bleachers relying on Apple Pay to make purchases at several locations while making preparations for a rooftop concert.

The commercial is meant to boost Apple Pay's appeal in small business environments. Businesses using the Chase Paymentech service for payment processing can now tap the bank's Future Proof Terminal to accept Apple Pay payments at the register. Moreover, Chase has released updated SDK tools for developers to implement paying for goods and services in apps with Apple Pay.

$99 iPhone 6 case with VR headset announced

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 16, 2016

Toronto-based Cordon Development Labs is making rounds Monday with the Pinć, a $99 iPhone case which doubles as a Minority Report style virtual headset with spatial interaction, multi-touch hand gestures via a pair of finger tacks and more, effectively expanding your device into an immersive computing experience.

Data from the wireless rings on each hand is combined with camera input from your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus to track hand motion. Cordon Development Labs is working on a software development kit built on the Unity engine so third-party developers will be able to customize and create various types of experiences for the Pinć.

What's it like to interact with the Pinć? Check out promo vids included after the break.

Apple expected to sell 71M iPhones during the holiday quarter

Cody Lee ∙ November 23, 2014

KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo issued a new report to investors today with some adjusted predictions for iPhone sales during the all-important holiday quarter. Buoyed by the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the prominent Apple analyst sees the company selling 71.5 million during the 3-month period.

For some context, Apple sold 51 million iPhones during the year-ago holiday quarter. Kuo believes the iPhone 6 will be the leading cause for the dramatic jump, accounting for 41.6 million iPhone sales—nearly 60%. The 6 Plus, he says, is in a distant second due in large part to supply shortages.

Apple announces RED campaign for World AIDS Day

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

Apple on Sunday night announced its RED campaign for World AIDS Day 2014. For the next two weeks, Apple is devoting a special section of the App Store called "Apps for (RED)," which will feature 25 apps with exclusive new content where all proceeds will go directly to the Global Fund to fight aids.

Additionally, Apple says that it will donate a portion of all sales from both its retail and online stores around the world to the Global Fund from during Friday, November 28 and Monday, December 1. These days are known as 'Black Friday' and 'Cyber Monday,' and are two of the biggest shopping days of the year.

Apple updates GarageBand for iOS with new RED Loop Pack

Cody Lee ∙ November 23, 2014

Apple pushed out an update for the iOS version of GarageBand on Sunday, bringing the popular music-making app to version 2.0.5. The update adds the option to purchase the RED Loop Pack, a limited-time in-app purchase that features an exclusive collection of 300 guitar, bass, synth and drum loops in a variety of genres.

The pack will only be available until December 7, via a $0.99 in-app purchase, but of course once paid for it will be permanently accessible from the GarageBand loop browser. Apple says 100% of the proceeds will go to the RED foundation, a charity that raises money for a global fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Amazon launches Black Friday sale with discounts on Beats, wearables and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

Amazon joined Walmart and others in launching its Black Friday sale early today. The online retailer will be discounting a number of products over the next several days in a mix of limited-time deals, pre-Black Friday, Black Friday and Cyber Monday offerings.

Among the discounts we're seeing on Amazon.com right now include select Beats headphones, which are being discounted by as much as $80 depending on the model, various iOS-connected wearables, and more. We're even seeing some Apple products on sale.

YouTube issues affecting Yosemite’s Safari

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 21, 2014

According to user-submitted posts over at both Apple Support Communities and Google Product forums, an unknown portion of Mac owners who run Yosemite are having issues playing certain YouTube videos, with some getting Safari crashes when attempting to watch a clip.

It seems to affect some, not all, HTML5 videos and does not manifest itself when using the resource-hog Flash Player, causing Safari to fall back to Flash for video delivery.

Other browsers are unaffected by the annoying problem. Neither Apple nor Google have commented on the matter yet. Digging deeper, it would seem the hiccup could be traced to the YouTube backend because HTML5 videos in Google Chrome and other browsers play without a problem.