Apple

Report claims Apple bought magazine platform Prss

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Apple may have acquired the magazine platform Prss (pronounced ‘press’) for an undisclosed amount, according to an unverified report filed Tuesday by Dutch publication iCulture.nl [Google Translate] and corroborated by TechCrunch.

Citing a source knowledgeable with the situation, the article claims that several Prss employees are now working for Apple. An Apple spokesperson responded with the usual boilerplate message.

“Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” the company representative told TechCrunch.

Prss is a browser-based collaborative tool that allows anyone to create and publish their own magazine on Apple’s Newsstand, no programming skills required whatsoever.

How iOS 8 Time-lapse video capture works

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 23, 2014

iOS 8′s new Time-lapse video capture mode is a lot smarter than it sounds on first blush. Instead of taking individual images at predetermined intervals, it instead snaps photos at “dynamically selected intervals,” according to Apple's website.

But what exactly does this mean?

As discovered by Dan Provost of Studio Neat, this under appreciated iOS 8 feature doubles the speed of the Time-lapse and takes half as many pictures per second as the recording duration doubles.

This ensures that any Time-lapse you capture ends up being between 20 and 40 seconds long, “an ideal shareable length,” Provost writes. It's just one of the many ways the power of iOS 8 software makes you a better photographer.

Apple rumored to unveil rebranded Beats Music service in February

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 20, 2018

Following up on yesterday's news that Apple is looking to sunset the Beats Music brand, Recode reports today that Apple has picked a timeframe for when it wants to unveil the new service. The site says it hopes to make the introduction sometime in early February, possibly time to the Grammy Awards.

Recode's John Paczkowski hedges on the claim, calling it "a guess backed up by some industry scuttlebutt," but given his track record in predicting Apple's plans, we'd be crazy not to pay attention. The one thing he hasn't heard, however, is what the company plans on calling the new subscription service.

FXNOW channel added to Apple TV, sans The Simpsons archive

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 23, 2014

Announced back in July, FX’s on-demand service dubbed FXNOW is now officially available as a brand new channel to owners of Apple's $99 Apple TV media-streaming box in the United States, Juli Clover of MacRumors first reported Tuesday.

Though the channel does offer a variety of content from the FX, FXX and FXM networks, including episodes of The Strain and Sons of Anarchy, the rumored Simpsons archive is nowhere to be found in today's release of the FXNOW Apple TV channel.

EA Sports releases FIFA 15 Ultimate Team for iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

EA Sports, formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts but now a brand that creates and develops sports video games, on Tuesday released FIFA 15 Ultimate Team as a freemium download in the App Store.

Coming in at a massive 1.06 gigabytes, this iPhone and iPad game features authentic football action backed by Electronic Arts' massive marketing budget and whiz-bang campaign, with licensed player and team names, motion-captured animations and other goodies.

Microsoft to update Skype for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus next month

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 23, 2014

Software giant Microsoft, which owns and runs the Skype service, will unleash an update next month that will optimize the popular VoIP platform for the bigger 4.7-inch screen on the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus's 5.5-inch display, according to a Skype spokesperson Tuesday.

“We’re currently working on an update to Skype for iPhone that scales for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus screen sizes, which we plan to release in the next month,” said Skype.

The company wouldn't reveal if the new version will take full advantage of the larger canvas or simply blow up the user interface on 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 devices.

iOS 8.0.1 said to bring fixes for bugs in keyboard, Safari, Phone and more

Cody Lee ∙ September 23, 2014

Apple has provided carrier partners with a pre-release version of iOS 8.0.1, reports MacRumors. This means that, barring any major issues, the public release shouldn't be far behind, and it sounds like it's going to include a number of bug fixes.

According to the site, iOS 8.0.1 will address the bug in mobile Safari that causes some videos not to play, and one that prevents Passbook passes from being shared over AirDrop. It will also address an issue with installing VPN profiles, and more.

Nearly half of iOS devices in the wild run iOS 8

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 15, 2023

Less than a week following its September 17 release, Apple's new iOS 8 mobile software is installed on 46 percent of all active iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices in the wild that have accessed the App Store recently, reveals a dashboard on the Apple Developers website.

At the same time, the number of devices running the iOS 7 software has dropped to 49 percent as of September 21, with older iOS versions grabbing a meager five percent share.

Apple posts two new iPhone 6 ads: “Cameras” and “Huge”

Cody Lee ∙ September 22, 2014

Apple has posted two new iPhone 6 ads to its YouTube channel. The commercials are titled "Cameras" and "Huge," and they highlight some of the benefits of the updated cameras and larger displays found on the recently-launched handsets.

The two videos are very much inline with the spots we saw during the iPhone 6 event, in that they feature voice overs done by celebrities Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon running down various new features of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Report claims iPad Air 2 to launch in October, new iPad mini in early 2015

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

Apple is planning to unveil a new iPad Air next month, according to a new report from the Commercial Times. The Taiwanese news outlet says that the refreshed tablet is entering mass production this month, and will be ready to ship by mid-October.

Interestingly enough, the site claims that the next iPad mini may not launch alongside the new Air. Instead, it says the second-gen Retina iPad mini could be delayed until early 2015, meaning it could land around the same time as the rumored iPad Pro.

Apple said to be working with GT Advanced on “super sapphire” screens

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple and GT are continuing their work to strengthen sapphire, according to a new report from Wall Street Forensics. The site says the pair are hoping to reduce the material's "fundamental flaw of cracking," as well as improve its reflective properties.

On September 18th, the US Patent and Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that covers new processes to both aid in the strengthening of sapphire, and cut manufacturing costs—a major point of contention with sapphire critics.

Track your iPhone 6 and 6 Plus availability live via this stock-checking web app

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 22, 2014

From the same team that brought you the iPhone 5s stock-tracker app last year in the form of the Stock5S.com website comes a new web app which allows prospective iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus buyers to check availability information across 21 countries where the handsets are officially available for order or pre-order.

Found at iStockNow.com, the website covers as many as thirty-five retail spots, mostly in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and France. The information is refreshed daily and additional shops and countries are coming soon.