Apple

Apple to devs: send us your Mavericks apps

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 15, 2013

Apple has begun sending email notices asking its registered Mac developers to submit their OS X Mavericks-optimized apps. The timing of the communique is especially eyebrow-raising given the October 22 media event invites went out today as "we still have a lot to cover".

Jumping ahead of oneself, one might conclude this signals an imminent Mavericks release. In reality, it'd clearly make more sense to release Mavericks alongside the refreshed Mac notebooks.

For what it's worth, a source that stepped forward this morning has pinpointed an October 24 or 25 release date for the upcoming Haswell-based MacBook Pros...

Apple asks Launch Center Pro dev to remove undocumented URLs

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

It's funny because it seems like every time we mention the app 'Launch Center Pro'—it received a big 2.0 update last week—and what it does, people ask: "how is it able to do a lot of what it does without infringing on Apple's guidelines?"

Well as it turns out, it can't. According to Contrast developer David Barnard, Apple called the team to let them know that Launch Center Pro is using 'undocumented app URLs,' and has asked that it remove them for at least 7 iOS apps...

Nike+ Running iOS app gets photo sharing and auto-pause

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 15, 2013

Nike's popular fitness and running app for the iPhone, named Nike+ Running, has received an interesting little update bringing with it the ability to take and share photos before, during or after your workouts so your friends can keep you going with likes and cheers. For those wondering what's the big deal with photo sharing, let me just spell it out: seamless implementation.

Having been a user for quite some time, I've always hated having to pause my run manually in order to, say, catch a quick break or answer an important phone call. Not anymore - the new Nike+ Running version 4.4 is clever enough to automatically pause and resume when it detects I stopped running or resumed my workout. More tidbits follow...

Google Maps iOS app gets route and traffic overview, faster access to navigation

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 15, 2013

After adding Waze incident reports to the mobile Google Maps app on the iPhone and iPad, the search Goliath today issued a minor update adding a few new features which expand on the application's capabilities. In addition to some housekeeping and a pair of new Middle East languages, Google Maps has brought out improvements to navigation that will help plan your next trip or make real-time decisions based on traffic conditions, especially when you’re driving...

Final Fantasy VII iOS release could be ‘years away,’ says Square Enix

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 24, 2017

Square Enix director Takashi Tokita recently confirmed to the gaming blog Kotaku that Final Fantasy VI will be hitting iOS and Android this winter.

Though the exec dropped hints about Final Fantasy VII being considered for mobile, he was quick to stress that no definite decision has been reached yet.

It seems now that a mobile Final Fantasy VII edition may be "years away" due to space limitations. I have the full story right after the break...

Tim Cook issues email to troops commenting on Apple’s new SVP of Retail

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 15, 2013

In a surprising late-night press release, Apple said it's finally found its new retail chief. In case you missed it, soon-to-be-former CEO of clothing retailer Burberry will be joining the iPhone maker as its new SVP of Retail, responsible for both Apple's online and offline stores and retail operations across the world.

Today, CEO Tim Cook issued a memo to Apple employees explaining why Angela - after John Browett's much maligned and short stint as Ron Johnson's replacement - is "the best person in the world for this role"...

Apple sends out invites for October 22 iPad event: ‘we still have a lot to cover’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

The Wall Street Journal-owned technology blog, AllThingsD, reported last week that Apple's next media event will take place on October 22, that's next Tuesday. Sure enough, the company just sent out invites for the October 22 event to select members of the press. The invitation-only press conference will be held at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco and will begin at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT, John Paczkowski of AllThingsD first reported and The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple subsequently confirmed.

The invite graphics features a close up of the Apple logo set against the white background and a bunch of colorful apple leaves. "We still have a lot to cover," reads the tagline...

Sparrow gets iOS 7 style icon, but no UI refresh

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

Sparrow, the Google-owned email client for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, has seen very little changes in the features department since the Internet giant acquired the startup in the summer of 2012.

Matter of fact, the search monster has passed on the opportunity to update Sparrow following the September 18 iOS 7 launch with the new visual appearance.

That said, today's minor refresh leaves a lot to be desired. Aside from the redesigned flat app icon, Sparrow version 1.3.5 contains no new features and it still has the same old user interface that doesn't take advantage of the new iOS 7 visual appearance...

Angry Birds Go! arriving December 11, here’s new gameplay video

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Angry Birds maker back in June teased its upcoming Angry Birds-themed kart racing game. Named Angry Birds Go, the game will be set on a 3D Piggy Island and include tons of characters with unique special powers and a fully rendered 3D world.

Then in August, the Finnish developer released more information, revealing the title will be a tie in with energy drinks maker Red Bull.

On Tuesday, Rovio gave us a release date and published a gameplay video which shows off game mechanics while revealing a bunch of bird and pig characters from the Angry Birds series. I've included the video and a few additional tidbits right after the break...

Speculation mounts over availability dates for new iPads, MacBook Pros and Mac Pro

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Apple has kicked off its blockbuster Fall with September's double iPhone launch and followed-up by updating the iMac family with Intel's fourth-generation Haswell chips, 8GB of RAM standard across all models, faster graphics and ultra-fast PCIe flash storage and other goodies.

Now, our attention has already turned to other products in Apple's 2013 pipeline. AllThingsD last week claimed Apple will hold an iPad media event on October 22 and today a pretty reliable French blog has published availability dates for the upcoming new iPads, as well as updated MacBook Pro notebooks and the next-generation Mac Pro...

SnapHack for iPhone lets anyone save your incriminating Snapchats permanently

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Your online privacy is an elastic concept. No, I'm not referring to the NSA eavesdropping on your online communications or breaking into your iPhone or harvesting your online address books. Let's talk about Snapchat for a minute.

A quick backgrounder for the uninitiated: developed by Stanford University students, Snapchat is a handy photo messaging application that exploded in popularity soon after people realized they can send their photos to a controlled list of recipients and set a time limit for how long they can view them.

After the cut-off time, the snaps are automatically deleted from both the recipient's device and Snapchat's servers. As a bonus, Snapchat features a built-in mechanism that informs the other side when you screenshot their snaps. Now, you can imagine why Snapchat blew up in no time as some folks predominantly use the application to expose their body parts and share their candid shots.

A new iPhone app called SnapHack changes all that by bypassing Snapchat's screenshot notifications and pulling unopened content from Snapchat's servers. Plus, the company behind Snapchat yesterday detailed law enforcement requests. Jump past the fold for the full breakdown...

Apple serves blog with takedown notice over posting iTunes Radio contract

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 15, 2013

Most of Apple's legal actions happen with other multi-billion tech firms. But sometime, the Cupertino, California company likes to scare to scare the pants off small fry. Take for example Digital Music News (DMN), which Sunday yielded to demands by Apple, removing a copy of an iTunes Radio contract.

The contract, first published by DMN in June, showed how Apple "forced sub-standard terms" on independent music publishers. Apple claimed publication of the contract violated copyright laws, a claim one law professor described as "a jerk move."

Was Apple protecting copyrights or again using legal muscle to manage its corporate image?