iOS

Beats 1, Apple’s 24/7 Internet radio, makes an appearance in iOS betas ahead of June 30 rollout

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2015

Beats 1, Apple's non-stop Internet radio station hosted by celebrity DJs, has made its first appearance in latest betas of iOS 8.4 and iOS 9 which are available to developers.

The Beats 1 interface appears unfinished with many features not active yet or performing erratically. Still, I was able to use the Music app on my iPad running iOS 9 Developer Preview to access a new Radio tab and get to Beats 1. I also browsed a list of stations and even streamed select ones and heard the promotional Beats 1 broadcast.

Here are my screenshots.

Major security flaws leave iOS and OS X vulnerable to wide ranging password theft

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 17, 2015

Your confidential information ranging from web passwords in Chrome and other browsers to app passwords to banking credentials stored and synced between devices though Apple's iCloud Keychain service—even data you thought was stored safely in password managers like 1Password and LastPass—can be easily compromised due to a trio of major vulnerabilities discovered in Apple's desktop and mobile operating systems.

As discovered by a team of researchers at Indiana University, Georgia Tech and China's Peking University and reported by The Register, Keychain's access control lists, URL schemes and OS X's app containers contain flaws creating serious attack vectors.

Apple hiring a team of professional journalists to run Apple News service and curate content

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 16, 2015

Apple News, a brand new Flipboard-like app set to debut when iOS 9 launches this fall, will be run by a team of professional journalists who are currently being hired by Apple, The Financial Times learned Tuesday.

It's part of a broader push by the company to personalize the content it delivers to users of its devices, according to a recent job ad seeking successful candidates that would “identify and deliver the best in breaking national, global and local news”.

More importantly, the move indicates Apple is more interested in doing curated distribution for the News service than rely on algorithms like Google News does.

Hidden ‘iPad Pro’ like keyboard in iOS 9 scales to larger screen sizes with additional keys

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 15, 2015

In addition to an all-new predictive touch technology and two times better touch-to-display latency in iOS 9, another clue of a rumored 'iPad Pro' comes in the form of a hidden software keyboard in iOS 9.

As discovered by iOS developer Steve Troughton Smith, it was designed to cater to bigger screen sizes with a wider key appearance, some new keys and a brand new row of symbols that are normally invoked with specific keystroke combinations.

iOS 9 introduces predictive touch technology that should be crucial for rumored Apple stylus

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 15, 2015

Coincidentally or not, iOS 9 has introduced a trio of notable enhancements in the multi-touch department that could be viewed as laying the groundwork for a rumored Apple-branded stylus thought to arrive later this year alongside a larger twelve-something-inch 'iPad Pro' model.

As one of the WWDC 2015 session videos details, the Cocoa Touch framework in iOS 9 has gained brand new predictive touch capabilities. Not only that, but iOS 9 now has a drawing engine and features vastly improved multi-touch performance, a significant boon for apps that let you draw with your finger or a stylus.

iMessage crashing bug fixed in iOS 8.4 beta 4

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 11, 2015

An annoying bug that crashes your iPhone after a specific string of symbols and Arabic characters is received through iMessage or SMS from another party has been fixed in iOS 8.4 beta 4, as first reported by Italian blog HDBlog.it. The beta software was seeded to registered Apple developers two days ago. The iMessage crashing bug is tied to how iOS banner notifications process Unicode text.

Apple has offered a temporary bandaid solution of sorts until a proper fix is delivered. iDownloadBlog has posted a few potential fixes of its own, too. That being said, the iOS 8.4 software update will squash this pesky bug for everyone when it arrives on June 30.

iOS 9 Maps gives traffic avoidance warnings, transit coverage in Canada better than anticipated

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 11, 2015

Following Monday's announcement that Maps will gain Transit directions and other new features when iOS 9 launches this fall, some folks are reporting that the feature actually works in even more cities than Apple has said, as discovered by MacRumors.

Not only that but navigating with Maps provides en route traffic and construction warnings, including voice turn-by-turn suggestions for alternate routes, according to information shared with AppleInsider.

iOS 9 code hints at iPhones with a supercharged FaceTime camera

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 10, 2015

Developer Hamza Sood has discovered some rather interesting code strings in the iOS 9 software development kit (SDK) potentially pointing to an impressive front-facing camera upgrade on future iPhone models.

While the iPhone has become the de facto the most popular camera in the world, many Android handsets have far better cameras out the front for taking selfies. But that could change soon as code strings point to a future FaceTime camera upgrade delivering video-shooting capabilities in full HD 1080p resolution, Slow-Mo video capture at 240 frames per second and more.

Dreaded Wi-Fi and networking issues are a thing of the past in iOS 9 and El Capitan

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 10, 2015

It's no secret Mac users are always more or less complaining about various Wi-Fi problems.

But if Apple's support forums and the Interwebs are an indication, the level of annoyance with the networking stack in Apple's desktop and mobile operating systems has seemingly skyrocketed following the release of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite in the fall of last year.

Indeed, my MacBook Air running Yosemite drops Wi-Fi connection several times per day and takes about thirty seconds to re-connect to my home Wi-Fi after waking from sleep. Before Yosemite, I would be online literally as soon as I opened the lid.

Having installed El Capitan on my MacBook Air yesterday along with iOS 9 on my iPad Air, I'm happy to report that the vast majority of Wi-Fi problems plaguing users have become a thing of the past, here's why.

WWDC 2015 keynote posted to iTunes as a downloadable high-definition video podcast

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 9, 2015

Following promotional footage for Apple Music that the Cupertino company posted to its YouTube channel along with the inspirational 'App Effect' video, the entire keynote presentation has now been uploaded to iTunes and made available to everyone in the form of a video podcast.

In case you haven't had a chance to sit through the whole keynote talk yesterday, you can now download the video to your Mac, iPhone, iPod touch or iPad and watch it on your own time.

Apple reveals new ‘Move to iOS’ app for Android switchers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 2, 2017

To make life easier for people looking to switch to an iPhone and iOS 9 over from an Android device, Apple will be providing a dedicated iPhone and iPad application called 'Move to iOS'.

Yet to be released in the App Store, Move to iOS was designed to simplify the process of transferring user data securely from an Android phone or tablet to a new iPhone or iPad.

HomeKit in iOS 9 supports new sensors and devices, can remotely control your home via iCloud

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 8, 2015

HomeKit, Apple's platform for the connected home that was unveiled last summer, is beginning to pick up support from some well-established names in smart home appliances.

Last week, several vendors brought out some compelling HomeKit-certified home automation devices ahead of the Worldwide Developers Conference. And now, HomeKit is going to get a lot smarter with support for new types of home automation systems and improved remote management of your home.