Apple

FitPort wants to be your health & fitness dashboard

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2014

I briefly touched upon FitPort in my article about HealthKit apps. The app debuted today as the App Store's first HealthKit-enabled application following yesterday's iOS 8.0.2 software update that fixed a bug in iOS 8.0 which prevented HealthKit apps from functioning properly.

Created by Flask, FitPort isn't yet another daily activity, health and fitness tracker, but a wannabe replacement for Apple's stock Health app in iOS 8.

Having spent an hour or so playing with it, I can safely conclude that FitPort deserves your attention so let me discuss it in greater detail.

iPhone 6 reportedly nearing approval for sale in China

Cody Lee ∙ September 26, 2014

Apple is in the final stages of securing regulatory approval for the iPhone 6 in China, reports Tenacent, meaning it could soon go on sale in the country. It's a major market for the Cupertino firm, as it contains two of the largest carriers in the world.

The news outlet quoted China's Ministry of Industry and Information technology as saying "it's just a matter of time" before regulators complete the approval process for Apple's new handsets, which have already gone on sale in several countries.

Just Dance Now uses your iOS device as a motion controller

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2014

App Store games that use your iPhone as a motion controller are few and far between. Aside from the interesting Motion Tennis and the quite addictive Dance Party, both produced by Rolocule Games, I haven't played any other game that would AirPlay action through the Apple TV and turn my iOS device into a Wii-like controller.

That's why I was so excited about Ubisoft's Just Dance Now, a new take on the world's #1 rhythm-based dance game in which you're challenged to use an iPhone as your motion controller. Just Dance Now is available on a freemium basis so In-App Purchases are unavoidable. Jump past the fold for the full reveal.

Apple no longer signing iOS 7.1.2, closing the downgrade window

Cody Lee ∙ September 26, 2014

Apple has finally ceased signing iOS 7.1.2 today, notes hacker iH8sn0w, more than a week after releasing iOS 8 . This means that you can no longer downgrade to the older firmware from iOS 8.x, or upgrade to it from older versions.

This is a big deal for jailbreakers, as 7.1.2 is the latest firmware that can be jailbroken, and there won't be one on iOS 8 for the foreseeable future. But it also affects average users too, as those not happy with iOS 8 can no longer revert.

MyFitnessPal brings its data to iOS 8’s Health app in latest update

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2014

As Apple earlier this morning began approving HealthKit-powered apps following yesterday's release of the iOS 8.0.2 software update, makers of health and fitness software, life-tracking programs and food intake tracking apps are now releasing updates adding HealthKit compatibility.

Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker, a free of charge iPhone and iPad app by MyFitnessPal, has been bumped to version 5.6.6, for example.

Taking advantage of Apple’s HealthKit in iOS 8 which makes it easy for supported health and fitness apps to work together and share data through the stock Health app, the refreshed MyFitnessPal app now lets you add your meal summaries and sync your weight with HealthKit, as well as add excercices from other HealthKit-enabled apps to your diary.

Poll: are you having second thoughts about buying iPhone 6 Plus over #Bendgate?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Are you concerned over Bendgate following this YouTube video? Responding to the controversy that blew up on social media before taking the world by storm, Apple said it'd received complaints from nine customers over the supposed iPhone 6 Plus bending.

The company even took select members of the press on a tour of its facility just a a few blocks away from the Cupertino campus, where it torture-tested 15,000 iPhone 6 and 15,000 iPhone 6 Plus handsets.

I think Bendgate is a non-issue, but I could be wrong. One thing is certain: the meme won't go away if I choose to ignore it. That said, it doesn't surprise me at all that some fans are now questioning Apple's “just works” mantra, especially in light of other snafus in the form of the iOS 8.0.1 update gone terrible wrong, Apple's U2 “gift”, Celebgate and iCloud security.

After reading about these PR disasters, some folks may be thinking twice about buying the iPhone 6 Plus. Are you among that group or did you brush off Bendgate as a non-issue?

GoodReader updated for iOS 8 with iCloud Drive and Handoff, native iPhone 6 and 6 Plus support

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2014

GoodReader, a robust PDF reader for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, has received an update Friday bringing out support for a pair of distinct new features in iOS 8: Handoff and iCloud Drive.

Handoff lets you continue reading on an iPad right where you left off on an iPhone or iPod touch, and vice versa. Moreover, if you run iOS 8 and have upgraded to iCloud Drive, GoodReader can now import documents stored in it.

And because the app now uses iOS 8’s standard iCloud Drive picker, you can easily access other online storage services that have advertised their Document Provider extension system-wide, such as Dropbox.

Apple readying a fix for Bash vulnerability, ‘vast majority’ of Mac users unaffected

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2014

A fix for a new kind of exploit recently discovered in the Bash command shell used in multiple versions of Unix is underway, Apple confirmed Friday, adding that the “vast majority” of Mac users are unaffected because OS X is "safe by default" from the so-called 'Shell Shock' attacks.

"The vast majority of OS X users are not at risk to recently reported Bash vulnerabilities," an Apple spokesperson said in a statement quoted by The Verge.

The vulnerability was documented and publicized Thursday by security researchers at RedHat and gained prominences after security expert Robert Graham called it “as big as the Heartbleed bug,” referring to a nasty vulnerability discovered earlier in the year in the OpenSSL software commonly used by nearly two-thirds of servers powering the Internet.

Following iOS 8.0.2 release, Apple starts approving HealthKit apps

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2014

Friday, first HealthKit-enabled applications began appearing on the App Store following the iOS 8.0.2 release which, among other improvements, contains a fix for a bug which has prevented HealthKit apps from being approved in the first place.

As first spotted by 9to5Mac this morning, fitness and health related applications for the iPhone and iPad are now being approved with HealthKit compatibility following yesterday’s iOS 8.0.2 release.

Post-it debuts iPhone app for scanning physical sticky notes

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2014

3M Company made a fortune with its popular Post-it series of trademark yellow paper notes that attach to documents and other surfaces. Now, there’s an app for that.

Released Friday, Post-it Plus for the iPhone and iPad makes it easy to convert the physical square notes into their digital representation by scanning them using your iOS device’s camera.

Once in your iPhone, digital notes can be organized, arranged into groups, shared with everyone and accessed in other apps like PowerPoint, Excel, Dropbox and plenty more using the “Open In...” option.

Apple offers peek at iPhone stress testing process

Cody Lee ∙ September 25, 2014

Apple invited a handful of reporters to visit its iPhone testing facility in Cupertino on Thursday, to offer a peek at where and how it puts its handsets through the paces. The move comes in response to growing concerns over "bending issues" with the new iPhone 6 Plus, following this YouTube video.

The facility sits a few blocks away from Apple's Cupertino campus, and contains a lot of equipment for testing the strength and durability of the iPhone. Here, engineers for the company put handsets through a variety of tests including torsion (or twisting) and pressure, to make sure they will hold up.

FBI director says he’s ‘very concerned’ about new privacy features in iOS 8

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

The FBI is very concerned with the new privacy features Apple is touting in iOS 8, the organization's director James Comey told The Huffington Post on Thursday. In particular, he's concerned the company is marketing something "expressly to allow people to place themselves above the law."

Comey's remarks follow Apple's move last week to be more transparent and informative about its user privacy policies. In a new webpage on the topic, the Cupertino firm said it no longer stores encryption keys for devices running iOS 8, meaning it can't bypass pass codes—even under subpoena.