iPhone

Stay up-to-date on the latest iPhone news and learn new tips and tricks with our comprehensive tutorials. From software updates to new features, we’ve got you covered.

Lightroom for iOS gains selective brush editing, all-new iPad interface & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 18, 2017

Adobe today updated Lightroom for iPhone and Lightroom for iPad on App Store with some key new features aimed at making editing on the go easier than ever. You can now use a new brush feature to selectively paint in enhancements to any part of your images.

The selective brush option extends to the eraser tool, allowing you to selectively erase both the linear and radial gradients. And if your device has 3D Touch, like iPhone 6s or iPhone 7, you can even vary the effect by just pressing softer or harder as you paint.

iPad Pro users working with an Apple Pencil get the same pressure-sensing to apply more or less of the effect. You'll also notice a new Details tab within the app where you can add the finishing touches to images by controlling noise and enhancing image details.

The in-app camera now supports a new Show Highlight Clipping feature that shows you the over-exposed areas prior to capture, which lets you adjust the exposure or composition in camera. Lightroom for iOS also packs in an improved virtual level via the in-app camera with haptic feedback and support for latest cameras and lenses.

Last but not least, Lightroom for iPad now features a revamped interface, shown top of post, designed for the tablet's larger canvas. According to Adobe, the app makes editing via iPad a serious option as a laptop replacement for any photographer.

Download Lightroom for iPhone and iPad free in App Store.

Chinese analyst does not expect Apple to refresh iPhone SE anytime soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 18, 2017

iPhone SE is fifteen months old now, but don't hold your breath for any kind of hardware refresh to the smallest and most affordable Apple handset. That's according to Chinese analyst Pan Jiutang, who predicted Apple won't be refreshing iPhone SE because he doesn't think there's enough demand for the device since most consumers are looking for bigger phones.

The report should be taken with a grain of salt because Apple is now building “Assembled in India” iPhone SE models that it plans to eventually export. On top of that, the Cupertino tech giant is planning to expand local iPhone manufacturing in India.

In the US alone, more than five percent of the overall mobile phone sales apparently belong to iPhone SE. The 32-gigabyte edition of the device retails for $399 in the United States.

In my opinion, Apple would be wise to keep iPhone SE in its offering for another year or so in order to cater to the needs of people that prefer smaller, inexpensive handsets.

Samsung could re-enter iPhone chip supply chain in 2018

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 18, 2017

Samsung Electronics has not been building Apple-designed mobile chips for iPhone and iPad for almost four years now, but the South Korean conglomerate is rumored to be sharing Apple orders with rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) from next year.

According to a report Tuesday in The Korea Herald, Samsung has invested in a new manufacturing facility for churning out chips fabricated on the more energy efficient seven-nanometer process technology solely for iPhone.

“Samsung plans to complete its own tests for the new chip-making machines soon and seek final approval from Apple for the chip production,” reads the report.

The company reportedly purchased extreme ultra violet lithography machines, the most advanced chip manufacturing equipment in the world, to use in iPhone chip production from 2018. Kwon Oh-hyun, one of Samsung’s three co-CEOs, apparently played a key role in securing the deal during his visit to Apple’s headquarters last month.

“The CEO could persuade Apple’s top brass taking advantage of their close ties on OLED,” said an industry source. Samsung, as you know, is also the sole supplier of OLED panels for the upcoming OLED-based iPhone model.

Rival TSMC also won a supply deal for next year’s iPhone and the reports said Samsung would share some parts of iPhone chip orders next year with TSMC.

Vigor brings useful new features to Home screen app icons

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 18, 2017

The iOS Home screen has always left a lot to be desired. Being nothing more than a wall of app icons, you really can’t get useful information on the Home screen without using a 3D Touch gesture or swiping over to the Today widget page.

A new jailbreak tweak called Vigor by the AtomDevTeam changes that by displaying useful information directly inside your app icons, making it easier to see at a glance.

SurpriseSelfie brings new security options to the Photos app

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 18, 2017

When you let someone hold your iPhone to look at a picture or two in your Camera Roll, do you ever get the voice of reason in your head that says, “I hope they don’t swipe into the rest of my photos?”

If you do, then you might want to try a new jailbreak tweak called SurpriseSelfie by iOS developer Frozen Penguin. This tweak provides management options for locking people out of the rest of your photos or to impose consequences if they try.

Change the primary color of the Facebook app with FacebookUICustomizer

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 18, 2017

Facebook uses its signature blue color throughout its mobile app. This particular shade of blue stands out most in the thick navigation bar at the top of the app, but smaller elements throughout the app inherit this color too, such as the selected tab icon at the bottom of the app.

If you’re in the mood to change the blue accents of your Facebook app to another color, then you’re in luck. A new free jailbreak tweak called FacebookUICustomizer by iOS developer Wylliam Altman lets you paint the app any color you want.

As iPhone 8 delay rumors persist, Samsung gearing up to launch Note 8 soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 17, 2017

Samsung's decision last year to launch its super-sized though ill-fated Note 7 smartphone earlier than usual backfired big time, but this time around the South Korean chaebol is betting that launching a next-generation Note ahead of iPhone 8 will steal Apple's thunder.

The head of Samsung's mobile division, Koh Dong-jin, confirmed to partners last Friday that a Note 8 event in New York has been scheduled for August 23, The Bell reported.

The executive apparently told local news outlets that the next Note will hit shelves overseas, including the US and UK in September, followed by an October release in other nations.

A recent report said iPhone 8 supply may not ramp up until November, with the iterative iPhone 7s/Plus models possibly facing production delays of their own.

On the other hand, The Investor said a Samsung executive would only confirm the month of August, not a concrete date. According to DigiTimes, Koh refuted market speculation of Galaxy S8 sales falling short of those for its predecessor since launch.

Cumulative Galaxy S8 sales, he said, are 15 percent higher than those of Galaxy S7 compared on the same number of selling days thus far. As for the Note family, shipments of these products totaled 2.3 million units in South Korea since their debut in 2011, he revealed.

Smartphone leakster Evan Blass speculated that Note 8 should feature the same edge-to-edge 6.2-inch OLED screen with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio as Galaxy S8 Plus.

Other rumored features should include Samsung's signature S Pen stylus, virtual assistant Bixby, a rear dual-camera system positioned horizontally and comprised of two 12-megapixel sensors, a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and more.

It should cost slightly over $900 in the US and be offered in in black, blue and gold.

Reuters was first to report a month ago that the Note brand would continue with an eighth-generation device due for an announcement in August.

Here are some of new emoji coming to iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch later this year

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 17, 2017

Celebrating World Emoji Day on July 17, Apple on Monday previewed some of the new emoji coming to iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and Apple Watch later this year.

They include a woman with a headscarf, a bearded person and breastfeeding, as well as various new food items such as sandwich and coconut.

“More animals and mythical creatures like T-Rex, zebra, zombie and Elf are a fun way to describe situations and new star-struck and exploding head smiley faces make any message more fun,” said Apple.

The aforementioned emoji are coming to iOS, macOS and watchOS later this year as part of the 56 new emoji recently unveiled by the Unicode Consortium.

Emojipedia provides the complete list of new Unicode 10 emoji.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hIJLOgdSZo

Emoji on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV are part of the Apple Color Emoji font.

Also in celebration of World Emoji Day, App Store will be highlighting apps to create or do fun things with emoji. iTunes Movies is already featuring emoji in place of select movie titles. The new emoji should be delivered via point updates to iOS 11, macOS High Sierra and watchOS 4.

Former Apple creative director: “The pipeline that Steve Jobs started is over”

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 17, 2017

Hugh Dubberly, a former Apple creative director and former member of Samsung’s global design advisory board, was cited in The Wall Street Journal's write-up Monday as saying that the pipeline that Steve Jobs started is now over. “It’s not so much that Samsung has gotten better, but Apple has fundamentally changed,” he added.

While smartphone innovation in general has stalled due to market saturation and other factors as game-changing technologies continue to give way to incremental changes, the article suggests that Samsung has out-designed Apple with its Galaxy S8.

The smartphone war is shifting to how a phone looks and feels, reads the article.

Samsung design chief M.H. Lee was cited as saying:

Companies used to design phones to show off their technology. Now the focus is on designing a product that can be a buddy to the person, inseparable to them. Smartphone design is not just artwork that expresses what you want but a process of making things people around the world can actually use.

Charles L. Mauro, president of MauroNewMedia, a product-design research firm that has done consulting work for Apple and Samsung, said smartphone aesthetics now account for about half a consumer’s purchase decision versus just seven percent of purchases in an older survey.

An excerpt from the article:

Samsung's Galaxy S8 is nudging the bar higher as Apple seeks to impress with its 10th anniversary iPhone this fall. For Apple to outdo Samsung on design, analysts said, it would need a new distinguishing feature, like a fingerprint sensor beneath the display rather than a physical Home button.

Consumer Reports ranked the Galaxy S handset the top phone for the second straight year, praising features like Galaxy S8's industrial design, battery life and camera quality.

Galaxy S8 sales hit one million units in South Korea in half the time it took for its predecessor to hit that milestone. On the other hand, it saw significantly lower global sales during its first two months of availability than the Galaxy S7 model during the same period last year.

WhatsApp gains chat pinning, comprehensive file sharing & more in latest update

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 17, 2017

As part of a broader set of capabilities recently teased for the Facebook-owned WhatsApp messaging platform, the app has now gained a trio of new features in the latest update. WhatsApp version 2.17.40 for iOS brings a chat pinning feature, multi-format file sharing and other improvements.

With the pinning feature, you can make it so your favorite chats remain at the top of the list, so you can quickly find them. To use this feature, just swipe right on a chat in the conversation list, then tap a Pin or Unpin option.

The app has also expanded the file sharing feature, which now allows you to share any type of file with one or more recipients. To send files of any type, open a chat, tap the plus icon at the bottom then choose the Document option.

In the popup menu, select your favorite storage provider like iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive and so forth (any app that includes an iOS Document Provider extension should be available from the menu).

And lastly, when you receive multiple photos the app now lets you tap and hold on the group of photos to quickly forward or delete all of them in one fell swoop.

Download WhatsApp for iPhone, iPad and iPod for free from App Store.

All three new iPhones reportedly yet to start mass production

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 17, 2017

A report Monday in Chinese-language Economic Daily News, cited by DigiTimes, alleged that all three new iPhones are yet to start mass production, with production of the highly anticipated OLED-based iPhone 8 model scheduled to kick off between November and December.

The flagship phone would apparently be shipping only in small volumes initially.

As for the iterative LCD-based 4.7-inch iPhone 7s and 5.5-inch iPhone 7s Plus updates, both these models should enter volume production in August, or between one and two months later than the normal mass production schedules of new iPhone devices in previous years.

The upcoming phones are facing production delays because yield rates at Apple's contract manufacturers Foxconn and Pegatron have not yet reached levels that warrant mass production. Foxconn has reportedly secured about 95 percent of orders for the OLED iPhone model and small orders for the iPhone 7s series.

PEgatron will produce 65 percent of the 4.7-inch iPhone 7s models and “a small portion” of the OLED-based iPhone while Wistron will produce mainly the 5.5-inch iPhone 7s Plus model.

Photo: iPhone 8 concept via iFanr.

Jailbreak tweaks of the week: ControlCenterXI, GIFRoll & more…

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 16, 2017

The jailbreak community has been a bit slower than usual lately, but that's not to say things have gone stale. Great projects are under development that haven't been released just yet. Without spoiling those, however, we'll talk first about those that have been released already.

In this roundup, we'll discuss all of the jailbreak tweaks that were released throughout the past work week, starting with our favorites and finishing up with the rest afterward.