Apple

Contradictory report reveals Apple hasn’t inked China Mobile deal yet

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

After the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday said that anonymous sources claimed Apple and China Mobile have finally inked an iPhone distribution agreement, most outlets, including us, reported it as a fact.

Add on top of that the carrier's Suzhou subsidiary opened a reservation system for the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c and the fact that China Mobile is gearing up to launch its fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) mobile network this month and it's no surprise that everyone bought the WSJ report.

But now, an influential news organization relays words of a China Mobile official who insisted that the deal has not been inked yet...

1Password for Mac gains custom password fields, better search, auto-save and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

AgileBits' 1Password is my favorite program to manage all of my secure notes, passwords, logins, credit card information and other sensitive data.

The developer in mid-October updated the 1Password for iPhone and iPad client with local Wi-Fi sync, improved iCloud support and other tweaks and today a major new version of 1Password for Mac is scheduled to go live in the Mac App Store.

1Password 4.1 for Mac, which has been in beta testing for weeks, includes a host of changes and improvements, like the all-new custom password fields which vastly expands the software's usefulness, an improved search, an auto-save feature and lots more. Go past the fold for the full breakdown...

Razer’s upcoming Kazuyo MFi iPhone game controller leaks

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

With Moga’s upcoming Ace Power iPhone game controller recently shown in leaked photos and Logitech now selling its $99 PowerShell controller, other accessory makers have taken notice and are now working on their own Made for iPhone (MFi) iOS 7 game controllers.

One of them is Razer, a privately-held American accessory maker that specializes in high-performance hardware specifically marketed to gamers. On Friday, Twitter user @evleaks leaked what appeared to be a legitimate press shot of Razer's upcoming iOS 7 game controller called the Kazuyo...

Apple launches iBeacons in retail stores with In-Store Notifications via Apple Store app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Apple has begun rolling out iBeacons in its retail stores, with first iBeacon transmitters being deployed in its 24-hour Fifth Avenue store in New York City. Apple has also rolled out a server-side update allowing its free Apple Store app for the iPhone and iPad to let shoppers elect to receive In-Store Notifications about products and orders, including information such as a customer's upgrade availability and trade-in options.

Approving In-Store Notifications within the Apple Store app requires enabling Bluetooth and the iOS Background App Refresh feature, which allows the system to locate your device and issue product-related information as you check out products inside the store...

iPhone 5s shipping times improve to 1-3 days for many countries

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Good news for folks trying to snag an iPhone 5s in time for the holidays. Shipping times for the popular handset have improved in Apple's web store yet again, and now read 1-3 days in the US, Canada and several other countries.

This applies to all models of the smartphone, meaning all carriers, colors and capacities. So essentially, if you ordered a gold iPhone 5s—which at one point was backordered for more than a month—you'd get it in a couple of days...

Google updates Search iOS app with support for French, German and Japanese

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2013

Google issued a major mid-August update to its free Search app for the iPhone and iPad with new Google Now cards for flights, reservations, package delivery information and more.

And last month, the firm followed up with another sweet update that implemented 'OK Google' hands-free voice control functionality, support for single sign-on, reminders, alerts for delayed flights and upcoming appointments/events and other perks.

This afternoon, the Internet giant pushed a minor update which expands international support to three new languages: French, German and Japanese...

Switching from Android to iPhone? Google now lets you export Gmail and Calendar data

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2013

Google Takeout is a handy service which allows you to download a copy of your data stored within Google products. Unfortunately, not all popular Google products are supported yet. Up until today, for example, two popular Google services used to be notably absent from Takeout: Gmail and Calendar.

As announced in a post over at the official Google blog, users can now export their Calendar data in the iCalendar format and Gmail archive in the MBOX format, both readily acceptable by Apple's OS X/iOS Calendar app and the stock OS X Mail program, respectively.

Google chairman Eric Schmidt recently posted a guide on switching from iPhone to Android so I guess today's news will appeal to Android/Google users looking to switch to the iOS platform...

Instagram issues invites for December 12 ‘share a moment’ media event

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2013

Facebook-owned Instagram is hosting a special media event next Thursday, a week from today. The photography service has unusually opted to send out invites via FedEx, not email. The invitation graphics does not seem to allude to any specific new feature introduction.

The all-white background is adorned with the Instagram logo and a short message which invites select members of the press to "share a moment" on December 12 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, at 10am EST / 7am Pacific Time. That being said, we have a pretty good idea what Instagram might unveil come next Thursday...

Foursquare releases its major iOS 7 overhaul

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Foursquare, the location-based social networking website, has seen the September 18 release of iOS 7 come and go without a matching update to its iOS app on its part.

The company last month issued a fairly significant update that brought out a new recommendations feature which sends you useful location-based information, in real-time, like current specials at a restaurant.

Today's update finally brings Foursquare for iPhone and iPod touch on par with iOS 7 aesthetics. Foursquare is one of those apps that already had light design of sorts, but now it's much prettier and easier on the eyes...

2K Drive gets Mercedes-Benz and other new cars in Euro Car Pack update

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

2K Games in co-operation with Lucid Games released its iOS racing game on the App Store, 2K Drive, back in September. Featuring a number of real world vehicles, more than 25 tracks, over a hundred unique events and impressive graphics and gameplay, 2K Drive arrived as a nice alternative to Electronic Arts' Real Racing 3 and other racing titles available on Apple's platform.

In today's major Euro Car Pack content update, 2K Games has added five new cars to 2K Drive for iPhone and iPad, including the Mercedes-Benz vehicles, as well as new events...

Macs overtake Dells and HPs of this world as most sought-after PCs this holiday season

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2013

As per its annual survey of top consumer electronics that are planned for holiday purchases, Market research firm Parks Associates reported that Mac desktops for the first time have usurped Dell and other competitors such as Hewlett-Packard and Acer as the most sought-after desktop PCs this holiday shopping season.

Back in 2012, Apple was ranked second so this jump in popularity clearly indicates that a lot of people are now digging Apple's latest desktop Mac hardware. Back in 2011, Apple was ranked third in the category.

Not only is the sweet victory a nice testament to Apple's design and engineering prowess, it's humiliating to Dell, the computer maker whose CEO fifteen years ago infamously advised leadership of the then-nearly bankrupt Apple to sell off the company and return the money to shareholders...

Apple patents smart iDevice dock with always-listening Siri capability

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2013

An interesting Apple patent application has surfaced in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database on Thursday. Titled 'Smart dock for activating a voice recognition mode of a portable electronic device,' the filing basically describes a smart dock of sorts for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices with a unique feature giving Apple's Siri digital personal assistant a permanent place in your home, with a cool always-on functionality.

Unlike Motorola's Moto X handset with on-device Google Now feature always in the listening mode and responding to the 'OK Google' phrase, Apple's patent relies on a hardware dock providing the listening functionality, with users being able to set a custom audio prompt that will trigger Siri...