Apple

Apple to start requiring apps to use iOS 8 SDK, offer 64-bit support in February

Cody Lee ∙ October 20, 2014

Apple sent out a notification to developers today, giving them a heads up on a few upcoming changes to its App Store submission policy. Posted in its developer portal, the bulletin says that beginning in February of next year, iOS applications must meet two new requirements.

Starting February 1, 2015, new apps and updates must be built using the iOS 8 SDK (software development kit), and they must include 64-bit support, otherwise they will be rejected. Apple made a similar announcement around this time last year for iOS 7 app optimization.

15 interesting points from today’s earnings call

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple announced its financial results for Q4 2014 this afternoon, and for the most part it beat the Street’s expectations. The company sold 39.3 million iPhones and pulled in $42.1 billion in revenue during the three month period, and iPad sales fell short at just 12.3 million.

We’re just finishing up the conference call, where Tim Cook, CFO Luca Maestri and other members of the executive team have discussed Apple’s performance, and offered some insight into its future. As usual, we’ve rounded up the to 15 most interesting points for you below.

Apple Q4 2014 earnings: 39.3M iPhones, 12.3M iPads, $42.1B revenue

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple has posted its [fiscal] fourth quarter earnings report this afternoon, announcing that it has sold 39.3 million iPhones and 12.3 million iPads. The numbers are just about as expected, with iPhones coming in a little higher than anticipated, and iPads coming in quite a bit lower.

It's been a significant quarter for Apple in terms of announcements, as it unveiled two new iPhones, Apple Pay and Apple Watch. It's worth noting, however, that neither Apple Pay nor Watch were available in September, and the new iPhones were only on sale for the last 10 days.

List of places where you can use Apple Pay

Cody Lee ∙ October 20, 2014

Now that you've got iOS 8.1 installed, and Apple Pay set up, you're probably wondering where you can test out the new service. As we mentioned earlier, the Apple Store app (among others, at this point) has been updated with Apple Pay support, but what about physical stores?

Luckily Apple has you covered, and has posted a list of all the participating retailers that are supporting Apple Pay at launch. It's a decent-sized list, with over 30 national chains mentioned, including various clothing stores, department stores, restaurants and gas stations.

Google Play Newsstand adds iPhone 6 support

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Google Play Newsstand (formerly Google Currents), the search giant's official Flipboard-inspired software for the iPhone and iPad, received a small update Monday bringing native display support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

In addition, the new version features an improved download progress interface for offline content and contains unspecified bug fixes. Google Play Newsstand is available as a free download from the App Store.

TechCrunch reports that the search giant will also update the official Google Play Music client for iOS and Android later today with Songza-style functionality.

As you know, Google purchased Songza earlier this year. Like Apple-owned Beats, the service specializes in finding the right music to fit your mood.

Apple Store app updated with Apple Pay support

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Folks looking to test out the just-launched Apple Pay service, but don't have the option to try it in-store, can download the latest version of the Apple Store app. Apple just posted an update for the digital storefront that adds support for the new one-touch mobile payment service.

Folks who have a compatible Apple Pay device, who have updated to iOS 8.1, can set it up either through the Passbook app or in Settings. Once you have a card on file, apps updated with support for the service will offer Apple Pay as a payment option during the checkout process.

Apple releases iOS 8.1 with Apple Pay, Camera Roll, Text Message Forwarding and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 20, 2014

As promised, Apple on Monday released iOS 8.1 for public consumption. Users who have an older version installed on their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad can now update to the latest software over-the-air, by choosing Software Update under Settings > General.

iOS 8.1 flips the switch on Apple Pay in the United States on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, as well as the newly released iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3.

It also re-enables the missing Camera Roll album in Photos and beta iCloud Photo Library (in beta) while bringing additional Continuity features like Text Message Forwarding between iOS 8 devices and Yosemite Macs and more.

GoodReader gains Touch ID protection, iCloud Drive enhancements, new iPad features and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 20, 2014

Following a recent update which added basic support for iCloud Drive, enabled Handoff and implemented support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screen sizes, Yuri Selukoff's excellent file manager and PDF reader, GoodReader, got updated Monday with a slew of new features and goodies.

Available as a free update to existing users, the new GoodReader 4.6 now lets you protect the app with Touch ID fingerprint authentication, open and annotate documents kept in your iCloud Drive without copying them into the app's private storage and more.

Chinese government apparently collecting iCloud credentials through phishing attacks

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 20, 2014

The Chinese government is reportedly phishing iCloud credentials of millions of people by staging a so-called man-in-the-middle attack which redirects unsuspecting users to a spoofed webpage that appears shockingly similar to the real iCloud.com website, Great Fire reported Monday.

Fooled users who type in their username and password into the fake web form risk exposing their iMessage communications, photos, contacts, reminders, calendars and other personal information associated with their Apple ID to a third-party. The problem is further accentuated by the fact that the popular Chinese browser Qihoo does not warn users that they're visiting a fake website.

Apple reportedly negotiating to cut Beats Music prices by half

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

As Swedish music startup Spotify announced Monday giving family members a 50 percent discount on additional accounts, Apple is reportedly pushing Beats Music, acquired as part of its $3 billion purchase of Beats Electronics, to cut the price of its monthly subscription by half, according to Peter Kafka of Re/code on Monday.

Beats Music, a free download for the iPhone and iPad, currently requires users to pay a subscription fee of ten bucks per month for unlimited streaming of tens of millions of songs from its catalog.

Flickr updated with iOS 8 Share Extension, native iPad interface with unified search and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 20, 2014

Yahoo's Flickr photography service this past weekend issued an update to its iOS app bringing, at last, native interface on iPads, a new Share Extension on iOS 8 so you can post photos to Flickr from any third-party application which support system-wide Share sheets, the ability to access and edit photo details in the mobile app, use unified search across your photos, albums, groups and Flickr photos and more.

Flickr 3.2 is available free in the App Store.

You can now watch Jony Ive’s full Vanity Fair interview online

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Earlier this month, Apple SVP Jony Ive participated in a brilliant on stage interview at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit in San Francisco. The design chief talked about a wide range of topics, including Apple's design process and his thoughts on copycats.

As an executive of one of the most secretive companies in the world, Ive rarely speaks so candidly—especially on stage, so as you can imagine, the event went viral. Well now you can see what all of the commotion was about, as the full interview has been posted online.