Apple

WSJ: Apple testing 13-inch iPad, larger iPhones

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Apple and its suppliers are testing larger screens for iPhones and tablets, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal. The outlet claims the Cupertino company has asked its Asian partners for a wide range of screen sizes for prototype devices.

In recent months, Apple has requested smartphone screens larger than 4 inches—the size of the displays on its current iPhone and iPod, as well as screen designs for a new tablet device that is said to measure slightly less than 13 inches diagonally...

Apple developer site hacked, some info may have been exposed

Cody Lee ∙ July 21, 2013

On Friday, we noted that Apple's developer center—where it hosts downloads, documentation and other resources—had been down for a record 48 hours. Well here it is Sunday, and the dev portal appears to still be out of commission.

At first, the company was mum on the outage, saying only that it was sorry that "maintenance was taking longer than expected," and that it would make up for the lost time. But today, it broke the silence, announcing it has been hacked...

Screen recording app xRec hits App Store, works on non-jailbroken devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Capturing a video of whatever is on the screen of your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad in real-time normally requires a jailbroken device and one of useful Cydia apps such as ScreenRecorder or Display Recorder by Ryan Petrich.

Official App Store solutions are unfortunately far and few between. And even when such an app does slip past the App Store approval team, it's only briefly.

Tapping iOS video recording APIs, xRec by developer Akın Öğünç lets you easily capture contents of your iDevice's screen, without having to jailbreak or cheat by hooking up your device to a computer to use a desktop screen capture software instead...

Apple Store app to be redesigned with free iTunes content in iPhone sales push

Cody Lee ∙ July 20, 2013

Apple will release a new version of its Apple Store application for the iPhone and iPod touch next week, according to a new report. The update will include a redesigned interface and a handful of new features, including free downloadable iTunes content.

The move is said to be part of Tim Cook's goal to sell more iPhones direct from Apple's direct sales channels. Apparently, the plan is to get the app installed on as many device's as possible so that more people are exposed to the company's choice products...

Apple comments on two day-long developer center outage

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

If you've tried logging in to Apple's dev center over the past few days, but were unsuccessful, you weren't alone. The portal, which is where the company stores downloads, documentation and other resources for developers, has been down for 48 hours.

This isn't your typical 'maintenance' downtime, as those only usually last a couple of minutes—or at worst, a few hours. And as you can imagine, developers are starting to get frustrated with the service, which Apple charges a $99 subscription fee for...

US government gets approval to continue tracking phone records

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 3, 2017

In June, an order granted by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to the FBI leaked, revealing that Verizon was handing over millions of private telephone records to the US government. Of course, we later found out that it wasn't just Verizon giving up user data.

As you may have known, that court order was set to expire today, meaning that the government would no longer be authorized to collect such records. But according to the office of the Director of National Intelligence, FISA has just renewed its authorization...

Hires closeups indicate plastic iPhone may borrow logic board design from iPhone 5

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 19, 2013

The sheer amount of would-be budget iPhone shells and supposed parts coming out from Asia has gotten out of hand.

Case in point: a small electronics company Techdy just recently posted several photographs that purportedly picture the chassis of Apple’s long rumored less-pricey iPhone.

These shots made rounds on the web until someone exposed them for what they are: a publicity stunt. Indeed, all of a sudden Techdy started selling an Android handset that looks like Apple's rumored budget iPhone. This is precisely why iDB passes on dozens of tips we receive on a daily basis and instead selectively tells you about the most interesting "leaks".

Today's nugget fits that description perfectly. Not only does a new set of photos reveal what appears to be some sort of an iPhone shell next to the iPhone 5, they do so in intricate detail unlike most prior leaks. We have high-resolution closeups just after the break...

Samsung and Apple renew settlement talks, but no deal yet

Cody Lee ∙ July 19, 2013

Apple and Samsung have reportedly renewed settlement talks, in an effort to put an end to their ongoing, global litigation. Since 2011, the two tech giants have been involved in countless patent lawsuits, in over 10 countries.

Word of their resumed resolution efforts comes by way of The Wall Street Journal. Citing people familiar with the matter, the outlet says the two even came close to an agreement in February, but things have since cooled off...

Google to take Apple’s iPhone head on: August 1 Moto X media event is a go

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 19, 2013

Several big media reporters and technology blog editors confirmed receiving invitations from Google concerning the long awaited Moto X announcement.

The invitation-only event will be held in New York City on August 1, cunningly a few weeks ahead of Apple's rumored iPhone and iPad refresh.

The "Moto X" tagline on the invite leaves no room for ambiguity. The teaser graphics even shows Motorola's actual Android flagship in black and white, down to its distinctive curved top ridge. At any rate, this will be a watershed moment for the struggling handset maker.

The upcoming super phone, as Google CEO Larry Page likes to call it, is thought to feature an always-on assistant, a staggering 4,000mAh battery, a ten-megapixel camera and either a 4.3-inch of five-inch screen...

iTunes Radio, right on cue as streaming dollars replace download dollars

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

You don't get anywhere in consumer tech by being tone-deaf to trends. Apple's decision to get into digital music downloads just as sales of CDs slowed is just an example. Now comes evidence the iTunes Music Store owner is on the leading edge of the latest trend to hit: streaming replacing music downloads.

Apple's upcoming ad-supported iTunes Radio will appear as the number of digital songs sold have been slowing for some time while the number of tunes being streamed across the Internet is skyrocketing lately. Through the first half of 2013, 682 million digital songs were sold, a 2.3 percent drop from the 698 million in 2012.

By comparison, the number of songs streamed has risen 24 percent, according to industry watchers...

Google shamelessly lifts Apple’s patent illustration

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

I was shocked learning about the extent of Google's copying this morning. Apparently one of Google's patent filings with The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) uses a familiar-looking illustration to depict a generic computer.

Let me jut say it: Google's drawing is an exact replica of an illustration accompanying an older Apple patent filing. You'd have thought with all the commotion surrounding Google's plagiarism and Samsung ripping off Apple wholesale that the search giant should know better...

Forgetting about Surface disaster, Microsoft’s ad people take another jab at iPad

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 19, 2013

Microsoft just doesn't skip a beat when it comes to its fantasy that the Surface rivals Apple's iPad. Never mind the software giant had to reduce prices on its tablet because no one is buying the device. Never mind Thursday the company took a $900M writedown on those cheaper Surfaces that no one wants.

To mark all the features the Surface has (which no one except paid actors apparently want), the Redmond-based Windows giant has released another sneering ad pitting its tablet against Apple's. This is what lesser-known brands quite often do as they strive to piggy-back on the popularity of the Apple brand...