Apple

Apple to stop approving apps that use UDIDs or don’t support iPhone 5

Cody Lee ∙ March 21, 2013

After more than a year of warnings, it looks like Apple's finally putting the kibosh on the use of Unique Device Identifiers. An announcement was posted to the iOS developer portal this afternoon that starting May 1, apps using UDIDs will not be approved.

But that's not all. In addition to the UDID deadline, Apple has also informed developers that after May 1, all new apps and app updates must be built for iOS devices with Retina displays and iPhone apps must support the 4-inch display on iPhone 5...

Jony Ive reportedly pushing ‘flat design’ in iOS as design teams get cozier

Cody Lee ∙ March 21, 2013

Those hoping that Jony Ive's new role as the head of Apple's Human Interface design team will have a sooner-than-later impact on the user interface of its mobile operating system will be happy to hear that this may indeed be the case.

A new report by The Wall Street Journal this afternoon claims that Ive is now sitting in on the human interface team's review sessions to assess new design ideas, and is reportedly pushing for a more "flat design" UI in future iOS releases...

Apple updates Podcasts app with new playback UI, custom stations and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 9, 2016

Apple has updated its largely unpopular Podcasts app this afternoon, bringing it to version 1.2. The update is a fairly significant one, bringing about a number of improvements including iCloud syncing, custom stations and more.

Proponents of a less-skeuomorphic design will be happy to hear that Apple has also dialed down the styling in the app a bit. The new playback window, for example, now features flat icons instead of the bulky tape-like buttons...

iCloud is now completely solar

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 21, 2013

Apple's data farm - which powers the company's cloud-computing efforts - is completely solar. That's the word from the iPhone maker, which Thursday released its annual Environmental Progress report. The progress comes only a year after Apple received a failing grade by Greenpeace International, whose members charged the iPhone maker used coal to power its cloud.

Apple also announced 75 percent of power to its worldwide corporate offices come from renewable sources such as solar, wind and geothermal. That is more than double the sustainable energy of two years ago, when the company announced 35 percent of power in its corporate suites was renewable...

Apple bolsters account security with new two-step verification process

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 2, 2017

It feels like every day we hear a new story about a major internet company like Evernote, Twitter or Facebook getting hacked. And when it happens, user passwords, personal information and uploaded content are all compromised.

With this in mind, it's nice to hear that Apple has given its account security a boost today with a new two-step verification process. The safeguard requires users to verify their identity on a trusted device before making any changes.

Tutorial: How to enable Apple two-step verification

The iPhone tops JD Power’s satisfaction rankings for ninth consecutive study

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

The iPhone 5, Apple's "disappointing" handset upgrade, has helped the iconic brand top the J.D. Power & Associates user satisfaction rankings for smartphones - and for the ninth consecutive time, too!

The iPhone leads JD's semi-annual report on smartphone customer satisfaction with a score of 855 points, an increase by sixteen points and sixty points better than the second-ranked Nokia with a customer satisfaction score of 795.

It's interesting that the Finnish handset maker rose dramatically by 93 points since the last survey.

Samsung is third while Motorola and HTC round up the top five. The average study score is 796 points on a 1,000-point scale, but Apple files as the only handset maker in the world to rise above the average...

Apple patent describes iPhones with cat-like responses

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 21, 2013

Think of how a cat, when dropped, can twist its body to land on its paws. Now think of your iPhone falling. Makes you cringe, just thinking of the finely-crafted case and display biting the sidewalk or floor. Enter Apple, taking a lesson from felines and wrapping it in some futuristic technology for a patent designed to protect your iDevice from falls.

In a patent application entitled "Protective Mechanism for an Electronic Device," the iPhone and iPad maker outlines a series of inventions spanning technology now available to some concepts more Jetson-like...

Chart: how US mobile landscape changed in 7 years

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 21, 2013

Research firm comScore today released a comprehensive report on mobile landscape in the United States and elsewhere and one particular chart stands out as another example of how the smartphone market is a duopoly between iOS and Android, with Apple and Samsung increasingly taking industry's profits at the expense of - well, pretty much every other handset maker out there.

Spanning 2005-2012, the chart paints an accurate picture of platform dynamics when it comes to the competitive market for connected mobile devices...

Survey: better the screen, bigger the paycheck for in-app game sales

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 21, 2013

We ran across an interesting yardstick when measuring how much mobile consumers will spend on in-app purchases: screen quality. No, we're not talking about whether your phone's screen is too covered with smudges and grime to see the "buy" button. Turns out, in-app purchases could be ten times as much, depending on the device screen.

Per one app firm, the connection between screen quality and in-app revenue is most evident with Android handsets, but is totally absent with iPad users...

iPhone 5S said to start shipping in Q3 this year with upgraded camera and processor

Cody Lee ∙ March 21, 2013

Now that Samsung has unveiled its flagship handset for 2013, all eyes are on Apple as the tech world waits to see what it has in store for its next-generation iPhone. The word is it's going to be an 'S' model, meaning it'll likely only feature internal changes.

And a new report out of China this morning reaffirms that theory, claiming that components for the iPhone 5S will start shipping in Q3 of this year. It's believed that the handset will offer an upgraded camera and processor, among other improvements...

Precise renderings depict just how bulkier Galaxy S4 is versus iPhone 5

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Though Samsung's new Galaxy S4 smartphone has just a slightly larger display compared to its predecessor, the 4.8-inch Galaxy S3, its five-inch screen puts in the phablet category, especially compared side-by-side next to Apple's iPhone 5. Because the device won't launch before end of April, we're currently unable to compare their form factors in person.

Enter Martin Hajek, a 3D artist who made a name for himself with painstakingly rendered mockups of Apple's rumored products. The latest from his kitchen: a fresh batch of precise renderings which give us a good idea how the two devices compare size-wise...