Apple

Apple Pay now accepts Amazon’s Visa Rewards card

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 24, 2014

In just two short days following Amazon's confirmation that it's been working to enable its Chasse-issued Amazon.com Rewards Visa co-branded card for use on Apple Pay, users can now load that card in Apple's mobile payments software, according to TechCrunch and reports on MacRumors forums, Reddit, Twitter and other social media channels on Friday.

Apple Pay users should now be able to add their Visa Rewards card in Apple Pay, either by entering the card details manually or snapping a picture of their card with the iPhone's camera. Twitter reports prove that doing so puts the correct card image with the Amazon logo in the Passbook application.

In celebration of 10th anniversary, Rockstar puts Grand Theft Auto games on sale

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 24, 2014

Rockstar Games is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Grand Theft Auto, the famous action-adventure video game franchise originally created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. And to mark the occasion, Rockstar has put the wildly popular Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City games on sale in the App Store.

This is a great limited-time opportunity to save as much as seven bucks on all three open-world action-adventure games.

Facebook takes on Reddit with anonymous posting app, Rooms for iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

Facebook on Thursday unveiled a brand new iPhone application. Called Rooms and available free of charge in the App Store, it's a flashback of sorts to the Internet bulletin boards which used to be all the rage in the 1980s. It's essentially that anonymous Facebook sharing app that the The New York Times reported on earlier this month.

A Facebook Creative Labs project, Rooms lets you create places for the things you're passionate about.

It's fairly straightforward: just pick your favorite topic, customize the look and feel of your room and share with others. Others can join your rooms either through private invitations or by posting a public link.

If that sounds familiar, it's because Room is a lot like Reddit. “It's perfect for the things you love and interests that make you unique,” said the social networking giant.

iHeartRadio gains iOS 8 Today widget and CarPlay support

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 23, 2014

Thursday, an enhanced version 5.3 of iHeartRadio became available for download in the App Store.

The refreshed application brings out a nice Today widget allowing you to play your recent stations from the Notification Center in iOS 8. You should also appreciate its built-in support for Apple's in-car entertainment system dubbed CarPlay, so you can now listen to iHeart Radio in CarPlay-enabled vehicles.

The updated app can be grabbed for free in the App Store.

Nike CEO discusses collaboration with Apple on fitness wearables

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Even though he stopped short of offering any specifics, Nike CEO Mark Parker in an interview Thursday with Bloomberg's Stephanie Ruhle kinda confirmed that partnering with Apple on things “we couldn’t do independently” is ”part of our plan”.

The iPhone maker recently hired a pair of engineers from Nike’s FuelBand team.

These hirings came after the media reported that Nike was significantly downsizing its wearables team and refocusing its strategy. Two months ago, the California firm made more high-profile hires as Ben Shaffer, Nike’s design director for wearables, and the widely recognized fitness expert and key Nike FuelBand developer, Jay Blahnik, both joined the Apple team.

Now Director of Fitness, Health Technologies at Apple, Blahnik can be seen explaining the benefits of Apple Watch in Apple's Health and Fitness promotional video.

Tumblr for iOS gains 2-factor authentication, new video player and commenting features

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 23, 2014

Since Yahoo's $1.1 billion acquisition of the popular blogging platform Tumblr in May of 2013, the Internet giant has been consistently adding new features and enhancements to Tumblr's nicely done iPhone and iPad application.

In its latest update Thursday, Tumblr has picked up three useful features. Firstly, you can now use Tumblr's two-factor authentication to log in securely into the app. Prior versions required you to visit Tumblr's web interface in order to create an app-specific code for use with the app.

Now the process has been simplified as Tumblr's two-factor implementation now supports code creation via authenticator apps such as Authly or Google's own Authenticator for iOS. If you're not using authenticator apps, Tumblr can instead text you a code to your mobile phone number.

The other two features are explained right after the break

Tumblr is available free in the App Store.

Confirmed: Christian Bale to play Steve Jobs in Sony’s upcoming biopic

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 23, 2014

Christian Bale has been officially confirmed as the leading star in Sony's upcoming movie adaptation of Walter Isaacson’s bestselling 2011 biography of Apple's late co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs.

The English actor, 40 years old, will play Steve Jobs, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin made it clear during an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Emily Chang for an upcoming edition of Studio 1.0.

Bale was chosen as “the best actor on the board in a certain age range,” Sorkin said, adding he's ”gonna crush it” and that “there isn’t a scene or a frame that he’s not in”.

“He has more words to say in this movie than most people have in three movies combined,” he quipped.

NHL 2K hits the App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

2K Games on Thursday released NHL 2K for the iPhone and iPad, a successor to its previous hockey game which can no longer be found in the App Store. Unlike rival Electronic Arts's sports-themed freemium games, NHL 2K is a paid download that will run you eight bucks a pop for the privilege of playing the full game that doesn't limit your gameplay or constantly ask for cash.

Featuring iOS controller support, live roster updates, the My Career mode where you control one player and earn skill points to build up ratings over multiple seasons, turn-based multiplayer penalty shootout using Game Center, in addition to a fast-paced arcade style 3-on-3 mode, this one's feature packed and well poised to storm the App Store charts.

Pixelmator for iPad is here

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 23, 2014

Announced at Apple's iPad media event earlier this month, Pixelmator for iPad launched on Thursday at a special introductory price of $4.99. Originally a Mac app, this incredible Photoshop replacement, built exclusively for the Apple tablet, has all of the hallmarks of its Mac counterpart.

The app's been especially optimized to take advantage of the power provided by the Apple-designed A8X processor ticking inside the new iPad Air 2, though it runs plenty smoothly on A7 devices like the iPad mini 2 and the original iPad Air.

The range of features and capabilities that have been ported over from the Mac edition is astounding and I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that this is one hell of an image editing application that fans of mobile photography and productivity have been craving for since the iPad's inception.

Apple defeats $94 million patent infringement suit

Cody Lee ∙ October 23, 2014

Apple on Wednesday defeated a civil suit put forth by GPNE, a non-practicing patent holding company in Honolulu, that was seeking nearly $100 million in damages. The company alleged that three iPhone and iPad models infringed on its pager technology patents.

A jury in the US District Court of San Jose disagreed, and rejected all of patent infringement claims. Apple applauded the verdict, calling GPNE a "patent troll," a term given to companies who acquire patents for the sole purpose of collecting licensing and lawsuit fees.

Tim Cook stops by Foxconn iPhone factory during China trip

Cody Lee ∙ October 23, 2014

Tim Cook paid a visit to Foxconn's iPhone manufacturing plant in Zhengzhou today, one of what could be many stops during his China trip. The Apple CEO tweeted out "Great to meet talented like Zhang Fan, who helps make iPhone 6 in Zhengzhou," along with a photo.

Cook's face is a familiar one at many Asian supplier factories, thanks to his long tenure as Apple's operations chief and the company's recent commitment to comply with Fair Labor Associations guidelines. In fact, he visited the Zhengzhou plant as recently as spring 2012.

Apple Pay glitch causing some Bank of America users to be double charged

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

There is a glitch in Apple Pay that is causing some Bank of America customers to be charged twice for purchases, reports Bloomberg. A number of BOA card holders have come forward saying that they are seeing duplicate charges on their statements for Apple Pay-related transactions.

While some teething issues are expected with any new service launch—particularly on Apple Pay's—this has proven to be a serious problem. Customers affected by the glitch found themselves stuck between Apple and Bank of America customer service, with both sides passing the buck.