Apple

SwiftKey note-taking iPhone app leaks, shows off custom auto-correct keyboard with predictions

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 23, 2014

TouchType is behind the popular SwiftKey software keyboard for Android phones and the company previously went on the record expressing hope that Apple would allow third-party software keyboard development for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

"The keyboard is the thing that needs work more than anything on that platform," TouchType's marketing chief Joe Braidwood said last summer.

For the record, Tim Cook did promise that his company would open iOS up more for third-party developers. While the stock iOS keyboard is still off limits, TouchType is now incorporating its popular SwiftKey keyboard technology into an upcoming new note-taking iOS app, SwiftKey Note...

Haswell-based Mac mini refresh underway in late-February

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 23, 2014

Apple's Mac mini is way overdue for a specs bump - it's now been a whopping 458 days since the $599 desktop received its last hardware refresh, bringing faster processors and other updated internals.

According to a Belgian retailer’s online storefront, Apple's most affordable Mac desktop is about to be updated with the latest Intel Haswell Core i5 and Core i7 processors.

This information has been corroborated by at least one source who was able to confirm that the Mac mini refresh tidbit came from “reliable sources”...

iPhone 5s owners guzzling up 20 percent more data than iPhone 5 users

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

A new research report from JDSU has revealed that owners of the iPhone 5s are gobbling up 20 percent more data compared to people who own an iPhone 5. This means that for every five megabytes (or gigabytes) of cellular data consumed by an iPhone 5 owner, an additional megabyte (or gigabyte) gets guzzled up by an iPhone 5s owner.

In fact, looking at the list of top ten devices that downloaded most data in 2013, Apple's iOS gadgets took six slots. I'm guessing Tim Cook is smiling as we speak for this survey is another sign of Apple's devices getting far more actual use compared to Android-driven handsets, Android's lead in terms of sheer volume notwithstanding...

Pixelmator 3.1 brings photo printing, Mac Pro GPU acceleration and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

Pixelmator is my favorite Photoshop replacement and today's 3.1 update code-named Marble brings a new Order Prints feature, full support for the Mac Pro and its dual-GPUs, including 16-bits per channel color image support, a few new effects, a number of improvements for Layer Styles, Type Tool and selections and a whole bunch of other minor refinements and bug fixes. The update is free for those who've purchased the app, a $29.99 download from the Mac App Store...

Analyst: iPhone 6 design locked down, specs include 4.8″ screen, 802.11ac Wi-Fi

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 23, 2014

Apple has apparently decided on the design of its next iPhone and specifications are said to include a 4.8-inch display, according to an analyst with Cowen and Company who must have been following our non-scientific poll which had the majority of respondents opt for a 4.7-inch form factor.

The phone should additionally include the latest 802.11ac networking, also known as Gigabit Wi-Fi, for three times greater wireless transfer speeds. Apple currently supports Gigabit Wi-Fi in the recently refreshed AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule wireless appliances and across its Mac Pro, MacBook and iMac families...

Foxconn managers arrested for allegedly accepting bribes

Cody Lee ∙ January 23, 2014

According to a new report, Taiwan police officers have arrested around a dozen managers at Foxconn on suspicion of soliciting several million in bribes from iPhone parts suppliers. Vendors reportedly had to pay 2.5% in kickbacks and other off-the-books fees to secure orders.

The group of arrested employees includes some pretty high-level Foxconn executives like Deng Zhixian, director general for Foxconn's committee of surface mount technology, and retired senior vice president Liao Wancheng, who police think was the mastermind of the scheme...

Sunrise Calendar criticized over request for iCloud credentials

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 31, 2017

We're big fans of the Sunrise Calendar app here at iDB. We named it one of our Apps of the Week in October of last year, and it has a permanent spot on our list of Best iPhone apps. It's a great-looking, full-featured alternative to Apple's stock Calendar.

But Sunrise has been taking a lot of heat lately for one of its newer features: iCloud support. You see, in order for you to add your iCloud account, the app requires you to enter your Apple ID and password. And some people see this as a huge security risk...

Apple says it has fix coming for random crashes in iOS 7

Cody Lee ∙ January 22, 2014

If you've ever listened to an episode of iDB's Let's Talk iOS podcast, you know that many of us struggle with how buggy iOS 7 is. We've noted on multiple occasions that some of us see our iPhones and iPads crash more than once per day, which is pathetic.

But there may be light at the end of this dark tunnel. Mashable has received an official comment from an Apple spokesperson that Apple is aware of a problem, which the site refers to as the "white/black screen of death," and it has a fix coming a future update...

Cable companies sue Apple’s ‘Rockstar Consortium’ over patent conspiracy

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Three years ago a consortium consisting of Apple, Microsoft, BlackBerry and several other tech giants purchased thousands of patents from communications expert Nortel. They have since tried using the patents to sue a number of other companies, with little success.

Well this week the group, aptly-named the Rockstar Consortium, got a taste of its own medicine. Five US cable companies, including Charter Communications and others, filed a lawsuit against the shell corporation for engaging in what it calls an illegal patent conspiracy...

OptimizeMe wants to be your only life logging app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

Readers who frequent this blog may have figured by now that I'm a big fan of health and fitness apps for my iPhone. I'm especially fond of logging programs that tap Apple's M7 motion coprocessor which lets my iPhone 5s record up to a week's worth of motion data with a minimal impact on the battery.

The problem is, the M7 folder on my Home screen is packed to the gills with apps.

I use one app to track my steps taken and calories burned, another app to take care of my gym training, yet another program to monitor my sleeping habits... Then there are apps that track my entertainment activities such as movies and TV shows watched, programs that recognize places and track my activities with GPS - you get the idea.

Wouldn't it be nice if there was one app to rule them all? Enter OptimizeMe by German-developer OptimizeMe GmbH, now available free in the App Store...

Pocket gains background AirPlay streaming and multitasking

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 22, 2014

Users of the popular read-later application Pocket (formerly Read It Later) are saving more than two million videos each week and now you can enjoy all those clips on your big screen TV thanks to newly-implemented support for AirPlay background video streaming in Pocket 5.0.2.

Now available free in the App Store, Pocket 5.0.2 also fixes an issue with sharing links to Facebook and another one pertaining to the Pocket bookmarklet, which should now work correctly when installed in Google's Chrome browser...

Icahn says Apple board is ‘working against shareholders’ then buys $500M more shares

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 22, 2014

Greedy activist investor Carl Icahn has escalated his anti-Apple rhetoric on Wednesday after recently filing a proposal to put his aggressive stock buyback proposal up for a vote. Apple responded by confirming that any changes to its own corporate stock buyback program will be discussed in the “first part of calendar 2014,” likely at the upcoming shareholder meeting in February.

Be that as it may, Icahn now feels the Apple board is "doing great disservice to shareholders" by refusing to boost the company's buyback markedly, according to a tweet today. An in-depth letter will follow soon, the shark investor ominously announced.

At the same time, Icahn announced buying an additional half a billion dollars worth of shares, pushing his stake in the iPhone maker to north of a respectable $3 billion. He called the latest investment a "no brainer"...