iPhone 6

Chinese carriers booked more than 2 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus reservations in just 6 hours

Though Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus won't officially launch in the Chinese market until later this month, the nation's three mobile carriers have already managed to book more than two million reservations just six hours after opening their queues, according to ITHome and Sina reports [Google Translate] cited by AppleInsider.

What's even more interesting, the vast majority of initial reservations have been 64GB iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models in gold.

Given both models cost nearly $1,000, early demand proves again that colorful jumbo-sized handsets are all the rage in the 1.33 billion people market.

Apple Pay reportedly launching alongside iOS 8.1 on October 20

Apple is planning to debut Apple Pay on the third Monday of the month, reports Bank Innovation. The outlet claims that according to "multiple sources close to Apple," the mobile payment service is scheduled to launch on October 20, alongside iOS 8.1.

On Monday, Apple released the first beta of iOS 8.1 to developers, and hidden settings pertaining to Apple Pay were discovered within the firmware. Bank Innovation says it has learned that this code is there so Apple can test Apple Pay prior to launch.

Modern Combat 5 updated with support for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

Modern Combat 5, meet iPhone 6. Gameloft has just posted an update for the latest edition of its popular first-person shooter franchise, Modern Combat, with support for the larger displays found in Apple's new 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch handsets.

Even casual gamers will immediately notice the difference after updating. Since Modern Combat 5 now supports the higher resolutions of the larger displays, it no longer has to upscale images, meaning graphics appear much cleaner and sharper.

Apple pushing Foxconn to hire aggressively to cope with strong iPhone 6 demand

As Apple's recently released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus continue to face strong demand from fans around the world, the Cupertino firm has reacted by pushing its favorite contract manufacturer, Foxconn, to hire more workers to help assemble the handsets, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported Tuesday.

A large-scale aggressive hiring for Foxconn facilities in Shenzhen and Zhengzhou is currently underway, with sources noting that working on assembly lines is no longer as attractive as before for workers in China.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus launching in China on Friday, October 17

Apple has announced this morning that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will be available in China beginning Friday, October 17. The devices will be launching in the company's online store, as well as its retail stores and various other chains and Authorized Resellers in the country.

Both handsets will support TD-LTE and FDD-LTE, and be offered by China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom across mainland China. Apple says that customers can pre-order the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus from its online store in two weeks, beginning on Tuesday, October 14.

Facebook Messenger and Amazon Kindle apps updated for iPhone 6

Although Apple's new iPhones have been in stores for more than a week now and developers are scrambling to update their apps with native display support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

And while users are still waiting for an iPhone 6 optimized edition of WhatsApp, the social networking giant Facebook has now updated the Messenger iOS app with native iPhone 6 support.

Another important piece of software has also received its iPhone 6-focused refresh today, Amazon's Kindle for the iPhone and iPad. Both Facebook Messenger and Amazon Kindle are available free of charge in the App Store.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus said to launch in China on October 10

Hot on the heels of reports that Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were nearing approval for sale in China, a new report yesterday asserted that the new handsets are now scheduled to hit store shelves in the 1.33 billion people market on Friday, October 10.

According to an internal memo obtained by TechWeb [Google Translate], Apple's retail staff will receive their training material on October 7, giving them three days to familiarize themselves with talking points and features of Apple's flagship phones.

iPhone 6 cases: a look at OtterBox’s lineup

For more than a decade, Apple users have entrusted their precious devices to OtterBox. The company has established itself within the smartphone community as the go-to source for ultimate protection. One of the first to market with extremely high protective capability, it seems other case makers are still trying to play catchup.

iPhone 6 launched last week and so did OtterBox' protective series. Making sure iPhone owners do not leave their new devices open for damage, OtterBox debuted four complete protective case solutions and two screen protectors. Inside, we take a deeper look at the line up.

New iPhones use two accelerometers for better power management

Apple is using two accelerometers in both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Chipworks has discovered in its extensive teardowns of the two handsets. The first is the three-axis BMA280 accelerometer, made by Bosch, and the second is believed to be InvenSense's six-axis MPU-6700.

Why two? Interestingly enough, Chipworks believes that Apple decided to go with two accelerometers to improve power management and overall user experience. The InvenSense is more sensitive, and can do more things, than the Bosch, but it also draws a lot more power.

Consumer Reports: new iPhones ‘not as bendy as believed’

Consumer Reports says the new iPhones "aren't as bendy as believed," after testing both handsets, alongside other top smartphones. Using a three-point flexural test, the outlet found that the iPhone 6 can withstand 70 pounds of pressure before deforming, and the 6 Plus can take up to 90.

That was good enough to beat HTC's One (M8)—which makes this bendgate tweet a bit ironic—but both iPhones still finished well behind the LG G3 and Samsung's Note 3. The bottom line, though, is Consumer Reports says it expects "that any of these phones should stand up to typical use."

Apple offers peek at iPhone stress testing process

Apple invited a handful of reporters to visit its iPhone testing facility in Cupertino on Thursday, to offer a peek at where and how it puts its handsets through the paces. The move comes in response to growing concerns over "bending issues" with the new iPhone 6 Plus, following this YouTube video.

The facility sits a few blocks away from Apple's Cupertino campus, and contains a lot of equipment for testing the strength and durability of the iPhone. Here, engineers for the company put handsets through a variety of tests including torsion (or twisting) and pressure, to make sure they will hold up.

10 things you shouldn’t do to your iPhone 6

With every new iPhone comes a new controversy, and this year is no exception as the "bendability" of iPhone 6 has already been put to the test, clearly proving that when force and pressure are applied to the device, it will actually bend.  What most people would qualify as good old common sense doesn't seem to be the case here, so to avoid any kind of confusion, we've come up with a list of things you shouldn't do to your iPhone 6.