Apple

Air France rolls out Passbook boarding passes

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2013

From the onset, the world's airlines were sold on Apple's Passbook, an iOS feature that debuted as part of iOS 6 launch last Fall. And it's easy to see why. The application keeps your digital boarding passes handy and simplifies checkins with barcodes and other goodies.

Flight and gate changes can be delivered to users' Lock screen in real-time. Additional handy alerts pop up when you're near the gate or when your flight is about to departure.

With the likes of American Airlines, British Airways, Alaska Airlines, Qantas, EasyJet, Delta and many others having deployed Passbook support, small wonder that Air France has now jumped on the bandwagon.

On Tuesday, the French airline has updated its iOS app with support for boarding passes via the Passbook system...

New Apple patents granted, covering multitouch, iPhone 5 and Lightning

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 9, 2016

Among the nearly 40 Apple patents granted today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) are ones covering multi-touch technology, as well as designs for the iPhone 5 and the Lightning connector. The widest-ranging group of patents involves the multi-touch technology for the iPhone 5 and latest iPads and iPods.

Meanwhile, Apple's Senior Vice President of Design, Jonathan Ive, is given lead credit for designing the iPhone 5...

A closer look at App Store in iOS 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 22, 2017

Like all stock apps, the App Store on iOS 7 has been graced with a sprinkle of Jony Ive's magic. Not only does the storefront looks a lot nicer now - gone is the dark-themed look in favor for sleek appearance with lots of white space for easier reading - the app is way smoother and nimbler than on iOS 6.

It also features several enhancements that will appeal to pretty much everyone, from parents and their kids to power users to the likes of Senator John McCain who will love not having to manually update apps on his iPhone. Here's a quick look at all the changes in App Store on iOS 7...

Hidden settings in iOS 7 beta show extra gesture, multitasking and folder options

Cody Lee ∙ June 18, 2013

As folks continue to dig through the first beta of iOS 7 that Apple seeded to developers last week, more details regarding the all-new OS continue to surface. Today, hidden settings have been discovered in the software with new gesture, multitasking and folder options.

The existence of these settings seems to suggest that Apple is testing a couple of unannounced features in the beta, including system-wide gestures like edge swipes and corner swipes, and the ability to both hide pre-installed apps and create folders within folders...

Hands-on with Apple TV 5.4 Beta: iTunes Radio, Conference Room Display, custom subtitles

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 17, 2013

To go along with the recently released iOS 7 Beta 1, Apple has also made a companion Apple TV beta software available for download to its registered developers. The pre-release code enables such new capabilities as iTunes Radio free music streaming, a new Conference Room Display setting and fully customizable subtitles.

The first beta of what would later become the Apple TV 5.4 software update was posted to Apple's portal for developers after last Monday's keynote. The pre-release version is meant to be used for testing AirPlay with third-party iOS apps. As we haven't had a chance to cover it extensively, here's what to expect in terms of features...

Following iOS 7 flattening, Apple changes Jony Ive’s title to SVP, Design

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 17, 2013

This is quite interesting. Just as Apple has taken the wraps off iOS 7 which has undergone a major facelift under the guidance of Apple's Jony Ive, the design guru's official title on the company's Leadership section has been tweaked, going from Senior Vice President of Industrial Design to just Senior Vice President of Design.

The subtle but signifiable change of nomenclature is for sure meant to signal Ive's tremendously important and much broader responsibilities at Apple, that now encompass both hardware and software design across the company...

Eddy Cue talks Steve Jobs, page curls and iBooks launch at e-book hearing

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Eddy Cue once again took the stand today in Apple's ongoing antitrust case with the Department of Justice. The company's SVP of Internet software and services took the stand on Friday to talk about Steve Jobs' involvement in Apple's iBooks project. And this morning, he offered up a few more details.

Cue spoke more candidly on the witness stand today, providing several interesting tidbits about Jobs' participation in Apple's iBooks launch back in 2010. Apparently, the then-CEO had a big hand in the project, doing everything from designing minor UI details to choosing which book to offer for free...

Facebook rumored to step on Vine’s turf with Instagram Video

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 17, 2013

Facebook last week sent out invitations for its June 20 press event snail mail style, down to clean white envelopes. The graphics alludes the social networking giant has been working on "big ideas" and today TechCrunch chimes in to claim knowledge of the event's agenda.

What Facebook apparently has in store is a video sharing feature for the Instagram generation. Rather boldly proclaiming that "Instagram will get video on June 20", the story cites sketchy sources as asserting that the Instagram video service is much like Twitter's Vine, which focuses on short six-second videos...

Forrester: iOS is shoppers’ platform of choice

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Owners of mobile gadgets running on Apple's iOS operating system are more likely to make purchases from their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad and use their iDevices for product research. According to research firm Forrester, iOS owners are nearly one-third, or thirty percent, more likely to make purchases using their smartphone or tablet and fifteen percent more likely to research products, compared to Android users.

Although Apple's software is overwhelmingly chosen by shoppers, 96 percent of e-businesses planned to develop mobile applications for both Android and iOS. However, while companies such as Microsoft and others encourage developers to create apps for their platform, only very large companies intend to stray from the iOS-Android duopoly...

Apple building ‘visually stunning’ Palo Alto store next to Microsoft

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 17, 2013

While most Apple retail locations which grab headlines are in China or New York City, the iPhone maker is working hard to finish work on its flagship store in Palo Alto, California. Unlike other huge glass Apple flagship stores, this one is most known for overwhelming a nearby Microsoft store built just last year to out-do Apple.

Aside from the one-upsmanship between the two rivals, the 12,000-square feet store in the city's Stanford shopping center expected to open in November may have been one of the last decisions made by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. According to a report Monday, Jobs approved the store's design just six months before Tim Cook became CEO...

Skype rolls out Video Messaging

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 17, 2013

Microsoft-owned Skype started testing out Video Messages in mid-February. The new feature is meant to let Skype users send short video snippets to each other up to three minutes long, even when offline. Now out of beta, Skype Video Messaging is available to everyone via a free update to Skype mobile and desktop apps across Windows, Mac, iOS, BlackBerry and Android platforms. Here's a closer look at Skype Video Messaging and how to use this new capability on your devices...

Steve Jobs bio book paperback edition due September 10

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 26, 2017

Walter Isaacson's authorized Steve Jobs bio book arrived on October 24, 2011, shortly following Apple co-founder's passing earlier that month. It quickly outsold popular titles such as Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo and StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath to top Amazon's best-selling list of 2011 in less than two months.

Currently available in a hardcover edition via Amazon and others or digitally on the Kindle Store and Apple's iBookStore, Steve Jobs: A Biography will be available in a paperback form on September 10, with a young Steve on the cover...