Apple

Poll: has iOS 8.0.1 update broken Cellular + Touch ID for you?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

If you have just updated your trusty iPhone to the just-released iOS 8.0.1, chances are you may have ended up with a device that can't connect to the cellular network (shows No Service in the status bar) or read fingerprint data through the Touch ID sensor on the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. As you could imagine, social media is awash with complaints from disgruntled users who are venting their frustration over the cellular and Touch ID issues.

At any rate, your best bet is to steer away from this update until Apple address the situation and releases a fix. Not everyone is affected, of course, but keep in mind we have no real indication as to how widespread those issues are because Apple, at the moment, isn't talking much.

That's why we're asking you, our readers, to tell us whether iOS 8.0.1 has broken cellular connectivity and Touch ID for you.

Read More

Expert says Touch ID has improved with iPhone 6, but is still vulnerable to hack

Cody Lee ∙ September 24, 2014

Touch ID in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has improved, but it's still vulnerable to attack according to Lookout Mobile Security researcher Marc Rogers. Rogers says that the same fake fingerprint hack he used to bypass Touch ID on the iPhone 5s works flawlessly on the new handsets.

The improvement comes in the form of better accuracy, thanks to its higher resolution scanner, which Rogers has found makes it harder to clone fingerprints. But, he says, Apple has done nothing to tighten up Touch ID's security in the iPhone 6, leaving the door open for determined hackers.

Read More

Amazon revamps Goodreads app, adds friend updates, improved shelving and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Goodreads, the popular social cataloging service owned by Amazon, on Wednesday pushed a major 3.0 update to its iPhone and iPad application.

Now with a revamped user interface and several new features such as friend updates, improved shelving, a handy reading progress indicator and streamlined navigation, the app gives reading aficionados greater flexibility in terms of content discovery and exploring their favorite books.

Goodreads boasts more than 20 million members who have added an enormous 570 million books to their shelves. The app is available free of charge in the App Store.

Read More

iPhone 6 and 6 Plus beat all smartphones in reputable camera benchmark

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

The improved rear camera on both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has scored Apple a major victory over its biggest rivals in exhaustive smartphone camera benchmarks published Wednesday by the reputable camera and lens experts at DxOMark.

Achieving an impressive rating of 82 out of 100, both new iPhones have managed to beat Apple's chief competitors in the smartphone space.

Not only does this include the usual suspects like Samsung's flagship Galaxy S5 smartphone, which scored 79 out of 100, and the previous Galaxy S4 (75/100), but also other quality devices such as Sony's Xperia Z1 (76/100), Z2 (29/100) and Z3 (79/100) and yes — even the 41-megapixel sensor featured on the Nokia 808 PureView (77/100).

Read More

Entertainment and Sky Movies monthly passes now available to Apple TV users in UK

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 24, 2014

Owners of the Apple TV media-streaming box in the United Kingdom can now take advantage of both Entertainment Month Pass and Sky Movies Month Pass via an expanded NOW TV channel by UK home entertainment and communications provider Sky, technology website Engadget reported and Sky confirmed Wednesday.

These two new options are in addition to the existing £9.99 (US$16.5) Sky Sports day pass which launched on NOW TV in December 2013.

Read More

Twitterrific gains 1Password integration via in-app browser and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 24, 2014

Twitterrific by Iconfactory, a third-party Twitter client for the iPhone and iPad, has received an update Tuesday evening enabling extension support for AgileBits’ 1Password via Twitterrific's in-app browser, in addition to taking advantage of the bigger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screens.

This version also includes more than a dozen bug fixes, improvements and enhancements. The 8.6-megabyte download is available free of charge in the App Store, with advanced features locked behind several In-App Purchases.

Read More

Apple likely readying Photos app for iCloud.com

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 24, 2014

Apple is most likely developing a Photos web app for iCloud.com to support desktop viewing of photos backed up in iCloud Photo Library using any computer with a standard-compliant web browser, according to a screenshot and other evidence discovered Wednesday in an Apple support document by Benjamin Mayo of 9to5Mac.

Furthermore, error messages from iCloud.com shown when trying to access the beta.iCloud.com/#photos URL strongly indicate there's a Photos app in development for iCloud's interface on the web.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More