Apple

Apple TV expands content with new ABC News, AOL On, PBS Kids and Willow channels

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 28, 2017

Apple's media-streaming box has expanded its list of content sources this morning with the addition of both live and on-demand video from ABC News, AOL On, PBS Kids and Willow TV, a sports channel dedicated to international cricket and the Official Broadcaster of Cricket in the United States and Canada.

Integration with ABC News gives Apple TV owners free access to local news, real-time breaking stories and 50 years of historical footage from ABC News' archives, including "This Week in History" and "The Day in Pictures" features.

In addition to the aforementioned new channels, the $99 device has gained a redesigned Flickr app. Read on for the full reveal...

Google-owned Nest takes on Apple’s HomeKit, opens up API for developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 29, 2016

Nest Labs, the Google-owned maker of the popular Nest thermostat and smoke detector, has signaled its intention to open up its technology to third-party developers by launching the Nest Developer Program last September.

Since then, Nest has been building a real-time web API for the Nest Learning Thermostat and today, ahead of Google I/O which starts tomorrow, the program has gone active.

The official API allows the Nest to work with all kinds of devices, from smart light bulbs to various home appliances to fitness bands and even cars. "Connect your Nest to things inside and outside of your home, and we'll get even better at keeping you comfortable and safe," says Google.

Contrary to previous assurances by Nest co-founder and former Apple engineer Tony Fadell, Nest devices will need to share some data with Google so the Internet giant could understand your daily habits and intelligently propose new ways of saving energy around the house...

Mailbox updated with Auto-swipe improvements

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

Dropbox-owned Mailbox has introduced Auto-swipe two and a half months ago with much fanfare. The feature has been designed to learn from your usage patterns, so that the app could help you save time by automating email management to a certain degree.

You Auto-swipe settings are kept in sync across devices thanks to Dropbox integration and now the team is building on top of that with additional improvements.

Now bumped to version 2.0.3, Mailbox includes several enhancements to the Auto-swipe feature, including a quicker way of creating Auto-swipe patterns, Auto-swipe suggestions in email view and more...

Bloomberg: Apple to start production of two larger iPhones next month

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Bloomberg has confirmed a storyline that we have heard for the past several weeks, which is that Apple is preparing to ramp up production of the iPhone 6 in both 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models. The report specifically claims that the manufacturing process will begin in China next month, with both smartphones likely to be announced and made available in September.

It has long been speculated that Apple is working on two larger iPhone models, although some rumors suggested that the 5.5-inch model might be delayed because of difficulties in the manufacturing process. This report provides further confirmation that the 5.5-inch model could in fact be unveiled alongside the 4.7-inch model in the fall. Read ahead for details…

Angela Ahrendts shares advice on starting anew at Apple

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts has had quite the experience since joining the iPhone maker's leadership team last month. Ahrendts has posted a letter on LinkedIn that details her transition to her new role at Apple, following an eight-year tenure as CEO of the luxury fashion brand Burberry. In her memo, she discusses a few insights that allowed her to adapt to the Silicon Valley culture…

Aspyr game sale: Star Wars, Borderlands, Call of Duty, Civilization and more now half price

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2018

Yesterday, my colleague Joe Rossignol's well-received daily App Recap column touched briefly on a few newsworthy discounts on premium Mac games such as SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition, BioShock Infinite and Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Turns out the price drops are actually part of Aspyr's broader promotion, with additional premium titles like Star Wars games, along with Civilization V: Campaign Edition, Borderlands 2 and The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, being offered half price for a limited time.

Your iTunes download links follow right after the break...

Twitter updates iPhone and iPad app with animated GIF support, #WorldCup enhancements

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 1, 2018

Last Wednesday, the micro-blogging platform Twitter started rolling out native support for animated GIFs to its mobile apps for iOS and Android, as well as to its web interface available on Twitter.com.

Initiaily, the free iPhone and iPad app didn't gain the feature at the time of the announcement as the firm needed more time to implement animated GIFs on backend side.

This morning, Twitter version 6.8 has surfaced in the App Store featuring - you guessed right - the ability to upload animated GIFs from your iPhone and iPad and view them rendered inline, right inside your timelines...

Facebook revamps Pages Manager with iOS 7 styling, adds post editing and other refinements

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 23, 2014

Following up on last week's release of its would-be Snapchat killer, Slingshot, and building on notable updates to Paper, Messenger and its main iOS client, the social networking behemoth Facebook today gave its neglected Pages Manager some love.

Now live in the App Store, the new Facebook Pages Manager 4.0 has a streamlined new look and a brand new app icon which feels at home in iOS 7.0 while offering several improvements such as the addition of post editing, better Page's activity and insights, replies with threaded comments and more...

OtterBox launches Resurgence Power Case doubling your iPhone’s battery usage

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 23, 2014

As you know, OtterBox makes a myriad of smartphone cases for a living. The Fort Collins, Colorado based firm is perhaps best known for using military-grade rugged technology that offers exceptional protection for your devices in the harshest of environments.

They produce wallet cases, waterproof cases with Touch ID support (based on their acquisition of fellow case maker LifeProof) and everything in between. Their Defender and Symmetry cases, for instance have received pretty rave reviews.

Today, OtterBox is expanding its family of Power Cases with the addition of a new Resurgence series which combines more than two times the battery power for your device with OtterBox's trusted protection...

Mobile-exclusive Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution 2 arriving July 2

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 23, 2014

Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution 2, a mobile-exclusive sequel to the original Civilization game, is coming early next month to iOS devices, publishing label 2K Games and developer Fireaxis announced Monday.

The game has been designed from the ground up for mobile devices, unlike the current Civilization Revolution which is basically an iOS (and console) port of the 2008 PC original.

Revolution 2 is slated to launch on July 2 and we'll make sure to tell you all about it as soon as it hits the App Store...

Rumor: TSMC building more durable Touch IDs for 2014 iPhones and iPads

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 29, 2017

As we previously told you, analysts have been clamoring for Touch ID on this year's iPhones and iPads ever since the fingerprint scanner made its debut last September on the iPhone 5s.

Furthermore, Apple has officially opened up the sophisticated sensor to third-party developers.

The latest from Apple's component suppliers: an improved, more durable Touch ID manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is headed to the next iPhone and iPad. Augmenting Monday's supply chain rumor, another source published an image just yesterday of what appears to be next-generation iPhone, iPad mini and iPad Air devices outfitted with Touch ID...

Two-character messaging app Yo breaks past one million users

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 23, 2014

Yo, that stupendously simple viral messaging app which lets people exchange ultra-short two-character "Yo" messages, now has over a million users.

The free of charge app, born out of an April Fool's Day joke and released just four days ago as a single-tap zero character communication tool for the iPhone, immediately got featured on the App Store's Top Free charts and is currently sitting at the ninth place...