Apple

China Mobile confirms Tim Cook met with chairman during recent visit

Cody Lee ∙ July 31, 2013

Tim Cook was spotted in China again this week, reportedly talking to local carriers about recent less-than-stellar iPhone sales in the area. The CEO was said to have met with China Telecom, the third largest provider in the country.

But today, spokespeople for China Mobile confirmed that Cook also met with chairman Xi Guohua during his visit to discuss "matters of cooperation." China Mobile's the largest carrier in the world, and has yet to ink an iPhone deal...

Google’s Play store passes App Store downloads, Apple rules revenues

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

It may not reach the importance of the 'best-filling' versus 'tastes great' soda debate, but new numbers add fuel to the ongoing question of what's most important in measuring app store supremacy: downloads or revenue. Both those rooting for sheer demand as well as ultimate revenue figures found something to cheer about Wednesday.

Analytics company App Annie is out with second-quarter numbers showing the Android-based Google Play store had ten percent more download's that Apple's iOS App Store. However, Apple - which prides itself on being the Tiffany of technology - raked in 2.3 times the revenue.

The details after the break...

Apple testing non-Retina iPad mini with A6 chip, iOS 7 SDK references suggest

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 31, 2013

Despite Google's recently refreshed Nexus 7 now boasting a Retina-class 1,920-by-1,200 pixel resolution screen (check out Jeff's awesome Nexus 7 vs. iPad mini video showdown), Apple's seven-inch iPad mini by contrast remains stuck with the rather pedestrian 1,024-by-768 pixel screen.

And now, seemingly corroborating a flurry of rumors pointing to a Retina iPad mini upgrade in 2014, references a developer discovered in the iOS 7 SDK suggest Apple has been testing a new iPad mini with a faster A6 chip, but without a Retina display...

NSA’s Internet snooping covers ‘nearly everything’ done online via XKeyscore app

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 31, 2013

The men and women of the U.S. National Security Agency are very interested in your Internet activity. Indeed, a program within the NSA allows intelligence analysts to sift through billions of online records, revealing "nearly everything a typical user does on the Internet."

While Apple has denied it assists the intelligence agency with tracking the Internet use of consumers, the NSA's XKeyscore program can search your emails, chat logs, web history - even your Facebook activity in real time, The Guardian newspaper reports Wednesday...

Samsung’s Galaxy S3 ‘marginally higher’ than Apple’s iPhone 5 in ACSI customer satisfaction

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 31, 2013

Imagine if you received a recommendation proclaiming you were marginally better than your competitors. Well, that's the case with Samsung, which has two smartphones that scored "marginally higher" than the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5 in a new customer sat survey, to use Tim Cook's jargon talk.

Samsung's 14-month-old Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note II each scored 84 out of 100 - a full two points better than the nearly year-old iPhone 5 and the almost two-year-old iPhone 4S. Before you get too carried away with chants of 'yeah two points!'

Let's get to the details...

Apple promotes upcoming no-tax holidays for iDevice shoppers

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Are you a U.S. resident looking for a reason to buy an Apple device, but hate that chunk of change taxes consume? Apple is joining other retailers promoting a "tax-holiday" period aimed at goosing back-to-school sales. Some ten states are now participating in the annual event, usually due August 2-4.

Apple's website now informs consumers it will remove sales tax from items purchased, the timeframe depending on in which state buyers live...

Apple’s multi-sensor patent soups up the iPhone’s camera color and resolution

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 31, 2013

As the iPhone's camera becomes the handset's most-used feature, Apple is increasingly looking for ways to enhance the experience. The latest example comes in a patent granted Tuesday which combines three sensors providing images with improved color saturation and lighting.

According to the patent approved by the U.S. Pantent and Trademark Office, the three-sensor technology described by Apple is part of a trend among smartphone manufacturers adopting multiple image sensors for greater mobile photography...

Camera+ brings effects layering to iPhone, new Hollywood filters and borders

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 10, 2018

My favorite iPhone photography software, taptaptap's Camera+ for the iPhone and iPad, has been updated today with some long-expected improvements. Specifically, the tremendously useful effects layering feature, which was first added to Camera+ for iPad last September, is now at last available on the iPhone. Now the new Camera+ 3.9 for iPhone finally lets me layer two or more effects for unique results, with each layer having its own intensity.

Effects layering is non-destructive (your originals are always preserved) and indispensable for complex touch-ups or creating your own custom effects. In addition to that, both the iPad and iPhone build now comes with a brand new effects pack and contains other improvements, all mentioned right after the jump...

Viber update brings ‘seen’ status, photo doodles, new emoticons and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 31, 2013

The popular cross-platform instant messaging software Viber has been updated to version 3.1, bringing a few noteworthy improvements.

In addition to fun new emoticons and a new 'Seen' status that lets you know when your messages have been seen, Viber version 3.1 features expanded support for the Viber Desktop application on Windows and Mac.

If you have the desktop app on your Mac or Windows PC, you can can now seamlessly transfer a call in progress from your iPhone to your desktop. There are other improvements in this Viber update as well, mentioned right after the break...

Apple launches new iMessage spam reporting tool

Cody Lee ∙ July 30, 2013

A new knowledge base document has appeared on Apple's support site this evening, introducing a new spam reporting tool for iMessage users. The document outlines a way for users to report unwanted messages, or spam, directly to Apple.

The posting comes ahead of the release of iOS 7, which adds a new Contact blocking feature for phone calls and messages. Apple has obviously discovered that spam is a problem for its messaging platform, and it's doing something about it...

Apple warns devs of app review delays following Dev Center outage

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Apple is emailing its registered iOS developers that app approvals may take longer than usual, most likely due to an eight-day-long Dev Center outage having created a backlog of submissions for App Store approval. A few developers reported receiving an email from Apple apologizing for the delay due to the review process requiring "additional time".

Apple started bringing the various Dev Center systems back online six days ago, following an attempted breach which prompted the server-wide security shutdown, in turn stripping developers of access to pre-release documentation, beta code and other development tools...