Apple

Rumor: Apple’s A8 chip boasts frequencies of 2.0GHz or more per core

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 29, 2016

Given Apple's past mobile processor patterns, it's fairly safe to assume that the new iPhones and iPads - when they drop this Fall - will feature a new A8 chip, designed by Apple and manufactured by both Samsung and Taiwanese chip foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

We also heard whispers that the A8 chip focuses primarily on power efficiency and thus yields only marginal CPU speed increases. However, if a new report out of China is anything to go by, that may not be the case after all as the new 20-nanometer chip is said to boasts clock frequencies of 2.0GHz or more per core...

Apple caught cutting some iTunes song previews down to 30 seconds

Cody Lee ∙ July 11, 2014

A few years ago, Apple extended song previews in iTunes from 30 seconds to 90 seconds, for tracks longer than two and a half minutes. The move pleased users, as it enabled them to listen to a large chunk of the song before purchasing it.

It appears, however, that Apple has recently changed its policy regarding music samples, reverting some track preview times back to 30 seconds. The change has been reported by several users, on both mobile and desktop versions of iTunes...

New report says mass production of iWatch may not begin until November

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo issued a new note to investors this morning, stating that Apple may have to push mass production of the iWatch back more than a month. The highly revered analyst originally predicted that production for the device would ramp up in September, but due to the complexity of the project, he now believes it could begin as late as November...

Misfit and Beddit launch paper-thin sleep monitoring iOS accessory

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Misfit, which created the sleek Shine fitness tracker, has partnered with Beddit, the maker of sleep-analysis accessories, on the Misfit Beddit Sleep System, an ultra-thin sleep monitoring gadget which works with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

The "paper-thin" strip-like sensor tracks sleep cycles by measuring physiological signals that affect your sleep quality. The data is then wirelessly passed along to the free Misfit for iPhone app over Bluetooth for detailed analysis of a user's heart rate, respiration, movement, snoring and sound...

Wunderlist 3 previewed: fast sync, gorgeous UI and 60+ improvements

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 12, 2018

Berlin, Germany-based 6Wunderkinder, the makers of the popular Wunderlist to-do, task and list management app, is getting ready to release a major new version. The wait for Wunderlist 3 is almost over, developers told me via email.

Filed as "our biggest update ever," Wunderlist 3 brings fast real-time sync engine, top-to-bottom makeover with a beautiful new design and over 60 various improvements to put the fun back into note-taking, task management and list creation and curation...

Sonico launches iTranslate for Mac with voice output, dictionaries, 80+ languages and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2014

German developer Sonico Mobile makes some fairly nice translation apps for the iPhone. Their excellent iTranslate app, available free for the iPhone and iPad, allows you to translate words and text into over 80 languages.

It supports voice input and output for most language pairs, which works much better than you'd think in terms of dialects, gender, speaking rate and other variables affecting translation accuracy.

Sonico is now bringing that same experience to your Mac with the launch of the native iTranslate for Mac app, a free download from the Mac App Store. With over 80 languages supported out of the box and features like voice output, fast text input, romanization and built-in dictionaries, Sonico's software enables the App Store's most popular translator tool on your Mac...

Assassin’s Creed Pirates goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Attention gamers, Apple has just named Ubisoft's popular iOS game Assassin's Creed Pirates its App of the Week for this week. This means that through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the title for both your iPhone and iPad, for free—a sizable savings of $5.

For those unfamiliar with Pirates, it's not your typical Assassin's Creed action-adventure. This ship-based game sees players take on the role of Alonzo Batilla, a young captain who has been tasked with taking on some of the fiercest pirates in the Caribbean Sea...

LinkedIn reboots its Contacts for iPhone app as LinkedIn Connected

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2018

After retiring CardMunch, its standalone iPhone app for scanning business cards, in favor of Evernote’s business card scanning service last month, LinkedIn today rebranded another standalone iOS app - LinkedIn Contacts. The app shall be known henceforth as LinkedIn Connected.

The app has been reimagined and redesigned for a much cleaner appearance.

Aside from the name change, the free download has all the same features like its predecessor, but more advanced than before and with "much more focus on strengthening your relationships"...

Angry Birds Star Wars II goes free, adds 30 new ‘Master Your Destiny’ levels

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2014

Finnish games maker Rovio Mobile, best-known for its Angry Birds franchise, today released a "Master Your Destiny" update adding an additional thirty new levels to Angry Birds Star Wars 2. And for the third time since it launched late last year, Angry Birds Star Wars 2 has switched from paid to free.

What are you waiting for? Grab Angry Birds Star Wars 2 free of charge in the App Store now....

Tempo Smart Calendar 1.4: Reminders, Waze integration, events in natural language and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2018

Available free of charge in the App Store, Tempo 1.4 adds several long-expected features like Waze integration for community-based traffic reports, native support for iOS Reminders, more timely notifications for flights and conference calls, updated contact details on Profile Cards and more.

Perhaps the biggest new feature, Tempo 1.4 now lets you add events in plain English. The app will parse your spoken query and recognize the days of the weeks, time, holidays, repeating events and more. Jump past the fold for the full list of changes...

Apple releases iTunes 11.3, including all-new iTunes Extras for HD movies for Mac and Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2014

Apple has just released a brand new iTunes 11.3 update which enables iTunes Extras for HD movies on Mac computers. Moreover, iTunes 11.3 finally brings back iTunes Extras to the $99 Apple TV media-streaming box after Apple killed support for this useful content-enhancing feature back in 2010.

As if that wasn't enough, the company confirmed that these interactive menus with featurettes, behind-the-scenes videos, director's commentary and other interactive assets will be coming to iOS 8 in Fall...

Minecraft – Pocket Edition 0.9.0 update brings infinite world size and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2014

With nearly sixty million copies sold across all platforms, Mojang's Minecraft is quite a phenomenon. And now, the highly-anticipated update to the game has landed on the App Store.

Now available for $6.99 in the App Store, Minecraft – Pocket Edition version 0.9.0 for the iPhone and iPad vastly enhances the popular blocky sandbox game with the addition of infinite world size, new monsters and caves, a bunch of new blocks to work with, new places to explore and much more...