Apple

Apple ‘surprised’ by GT Advanced bankruptcy filing, company spokesperson says

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 8, 2014

In its first public comment Wednesday following a totally unepxected bankruptcy filing of its supplier GT Advanced Technology earlier this week, Apple now says it was taken aback by such turn of events while confirming its priority going forward will be preserving jobs at the Mesa, Arizona plant that GT had agreed to run on Apple's behalf.

Company spokesman Chris Gaither said in a written statement to Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and other major outlets that “we are focussed on preserving jobs in Arizona following GT's surprising decision and we will continue to work with state and local officials as we consider our next steps”.

Apple issues invites for October 16 media event: ‘it’s been way too long’

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 8, 2014

Following claims by ReCode's well-informed John Paczkowski that Apple's been prepping to hold an iPad-focused media event on October 16, the Cupertino company on Wednesday morning confirmed the report by issuing invites to select members of the press, The Loop first reported.

Featuring a colorful Apple logo outline adorned by the the tagline “It's been way too long,“ the invite prompts the media to attend the event which begins at 10:00am Pacific / 1pm Eastern at the firm's Town Hall Auditorium in Cupertino, California.

Leaked images show off thinner iPad Air 2 design with Touch ID and no mute switch

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 8, 2014

Vietnamese blog Tinhte.vn on Wednesday leaked [Google Translate] a fresh batch of images showing off what appears to be a noticeably thinner chassis for Apple's upcoming second-generation iPad Air tablet with Touch ID fingerprint scanning.

Curiously enough, the shots show the recessed volume buttons like on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but no mute switch on the side, in turn prompting watchers to speculate that Apple may have ditched the button due to the tablet's thin profile.

Speaking of thinness, the unit pictured on the photos is said to measure just 7 millimeters. By comparison, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are 6.9mm and 7.1mm thin, respectively, and the iPhone 5s measures 7.6mm in depth.

GT Advanced bankruptcy unlikely to affect Apple Watch production

Cody Lee ∙ October 7, 2014

GT Advanced's decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy will not affect supplies of upcoming Apple Watch, says KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo. In a note to investors this morning, the well-connected analyst says that because the device's screen is so small, Apple can turn to other suppliers for sapphire if need be.

Kuo notes that aside from GTAT, Apple is already working with a handful of other sapphire ingot (or cast) suppliers including Hansol and Harbin Aurora Optoelectronics. Because Watch drop-test requirements aren't as stringent as they are for smartphones, general sapphire manufacturing processes are adequate.

Apple reportedly withheld $139 million payment from GT Advanced prior to bankruptcy filing

Cody Lee ∙ October 7, 2014

Apple withheld its final payment of $139 million it was due to make to GT Advanced, reports The Wall Street Journal, ahead of its decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It's not known why the company withheld the money, but it's been speculated GT was not able to meet sapphire yield requirements outlined in its deal.

That deal involved Apple loaning GT Advanced a total of $578 million to help get a large sapphire factory in Arizona up and running. The two companies announced the partnership last fall, which many believed would result in the production of a large amount of sapphire display covers earmarked for Apple's newest iPhone models.

Study finds Siri and other hands-free systems to be very distracting while driving

Cody Lee ∙ October 7, 2014

Despite its good intentions, using Siri while driving is actually quite dangerous, according to a new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. After a series of tests involving 45 drivers completing in-car tasks with various voice control systems, researchers found Apple's digital assistant to be a "high level of mental distraction."

In fact, Siri performed the worst out of all of the various systems they tested, and even resulted in two crashes during the simulator study. The popular assistant was also rated the least intuitive and the most complex, and AAA criticized it for its lack of consistency and flexibility when it came to recognizing voice commands from its drivers.

Google Chrome gains iPhone 6 support, ability to download and open files in Google Drive

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 7, 2014

The Internet giant Google on Tuesday issued a small update to its Chrome for iOS browser, adding better support for the “Retina HD” iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screens.

The free download also enables another interesting feature — the ability to download and open files directly in the Google Drive application, if installed on your device. Finally, this release includes customary bug fixes and stability improvements.

Google Chrome is available free in the App Store.

Apple seeds new iOS 8.1, Apple TV and Xcode betas to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 7, 2014

Merely a week following the first beta of what would become the major iOS 8.1 bug-fix update, the iPhone maker on Tuesday seeded iOS 8.1 Beta 2 to its registered iOS developers, in addition to new Apple TV and Xcode software betas.

According to the Cupertino firm, iOS 8.1 Beta 2 with build number 12B407 (up from the previous iOS 8.1 Beta 1 with build number 12B401) contains bug fixes and stability improvements throughout the system.

It's available as an over-the-air update if you have the first beta installed or standalone through Apple's Dev Center portal for developers.

Square refreshes Cash for iPhone with Bluetooth money transfer ability

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 7, 2014

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's mobile payments startup, Square, on Tuesday issued a nice update to its free Cash for iPhone software which now allows you to transfer money via short-range Bluetooth networking using a new “Nearby Payments” feature.

This is in addition to the ability to send money via text message, email or mobile phone numbers (for free), a feature the startup added to the Cash app in late-August 2014. This release of Cash also features the ability to quickly approve or decline money requests with actionable push notifications and contains other improvements and bug fixes.

Square Cash is a free download from the App Store.

Alternative iOS web browser iCab optimizes for iPhone 6 and iOS 8, 1Password extension and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 7, 2014

iCab Mobile by German developer Alexander Clauss used to be my favorite browser alternative for the iPhone and iPad. Yesterday, Clauss pushed a substantial update bringing out support for Apple's iOS 8 software and the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus “Retina HD” display sizes, along with several improvements such as Bing and Waibo search suggestions, new Bluetooth keyboard features, the ability to use 1Password or Dashlane as external password manager and more.

This update is free for existing users of iCab Mobile.

Amazon updates Instant Video for iOS 8 and iPhone 6, improves playback experience

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 7, 2014

The online retail giant Amazon on Tuesday refreshed its Instant Video iOS client for the iPhone and iPad with iOS 8 compatibility and native support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus display sizes.

Aside from these compatibility fixes, the release adds a pair of enhancements aimed at improving your video-watching experience.

The latest version 2.9 is available free of charge in the App Store, arriving a month following version 2.8 which brought us a brand new search history feature and quick resume capability.

Former Microsoftie releases Talko for iPhone, a new take on unified messaging software

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 4, 2018

Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's former Chief Technical Officer and Chief Software Architect, has released a brand new iPhone application which promises to “give people their voices back,“ as journalist Steven Levy put it in a hands-on post on Medium.

Named Talko, it combines phone calling, text messaging, virtual conferencing and photo sharing into a single app that lets you talk to people, exchange messages, organize conversations with #tags and audio bookmarks, share photos in an Instagram-y fashion and more.

The app is available free in the App Store.