iOS

Purported iOS 6 beta download links leak ahead of WWDC

An intriguing post from the folks over at WeiPhone.com, a Chinese tech forum, is making the rounds on the internet this morning. The post claims to contain a list of official download links for iOS 6 beta and other unreleased software.

With WWDC starting tomorrow, we definitely expect to see developer betas released sometime in the next 24 hours (happened with iOS 5 last year). But if these links are legitimate, then we're all in for some big surprises...

Why iOS devices are easier to hack and customize than Android ones

I've always tinkered with my devices, regardless of their OS. I remember installing leaked versions of RIM's OS 6 on my old BlackBerry Bold, and rooting my Android handsets to install the latest ROMs.

But out of all of those experiences, I can honestly say that hacking devices, customizing them and installing tweaks, is much easier to do on iOS than it is on any other platform — even the "open" Android...

This is what AirDrop for iOS should look like

If you've ever used a Mac running OS X Lion, then there's a good chance you've played with AirDrop. The drag-and-drop feature allows users to share content between computers on a common Wi-Fi network with understated ease.

It's such a cool feature, in fact, that a lot of folks have wondered when Apple is going to bring it to iOS. Just imagine dragging and dropping files to your iPhone or iPad — it'd be awesome. Especially if it looked anything like this...

Gorgeous iOS concept shows off dynamic icon badges and more

With WWDC coming up on Monday, there's only a few days left to speculate on what new goodies Apple will unveil. We know for sure that iOS 6 is on the menu, but what new features will the update bring?

The consensus seems to be that, other than a number of revamped applications, Apple's mobile OS will remain largely unchanged from its predecessor. But that doesn't mean that we can't dream big...

Guess what, Eric Schmidt: devs still write for iOS first!

So mere four days before the WWDC keynote, Steve Jobs' favorite analytics company posts some peculiar numbers making Google's former CEO Eric Schmidt look ridiculous.

Though Android continues to lead the pack in terms of shipments, the iOS train just keeps on chugging along in terms of loyalty and profitability.

Seven out of ten mobile apps in the first five months of this year were built for Apple's platform, where developers on average earn four times more revenue...

Facebook App Center screenshot surfaces

About a month ago, Facebook announced that it was going to be launching a cross-platform app store encoded entirely in HTML5. Dubbed App Center, the store would contain both third-party titles, as well as Facebook's own creations.

The social network gave the store a tentative release date of "the coming weeks," but we have yet to hear anything else about it. Until today. A screenshot of App Center surfaced this morning, leading folks to believe that a release is near...

LinkedIn privacy scare: 6.5M passwords leak, iOS app scraps meeting notes

Today's a bad, bad day for LinkedIn and a field day for privacy advocates around the world as someone has just managed to leak over 6.5 million hashed and encrypted LinkedIn passwords on a Russian hacker forum.

What are you waiting for, change your LinkedIn password now!

On top of that, the LinkedIn for iOS app, which was recently updated with iPad support, has an opt-in feature that lets you synchronize your iOS calendar to view upcoming events inside the app.

But similar to the unauthorized Path address book access, this feature sends your meeting notes to LinkedIn's servers without you ever knowing it...

Don’t hold your breath for Files.app in iOS 6, here’s why

Geeks have been holding their breath for direct file system access in iOS ever since the original iPhone's debut five years ago.

Unless you jailbreak, your ability to get down and dirty with the file system is limited by Apple's vision that basically boils down to Jobs' mantra that the app is the only file system you'll ever need.

It would be unwise to bet on Apple progressively breaking away from this kind of philosophy with the introduction of iOS 6 come next Monday, no matter how strongly you may feel about the rumored Files.app.

Here's why. And before you jump straight to the comments, bear in mind that this is just one writer's opinion...

Apple rolls out 5.0.2 update for Apple TV

It looks like Apple has just pushed out an update for its Apple TV, bringing the software to version 5.0.2. No details have been posted yet about the new build, numbered 9B830, but we expect Apple's site to be updated shortly.

Owners of second and third generation Apple TVs can download the update over the air by opening up the device's Settings menu and selecting General > Software Update. Full changelog, once Apple posts it, after the break...

And just like that, Google snaps up mobile productivity suite Quickoffice

Whoa, looks like another iOS app developer (not exclusive, though) just ended up engulfed in the Google ecosystem as the search giant announced its acquisition of the popular mobile app productivity maker Quickoffice for an undisclosed sum.

The news arrives just as we learned yesterday of Google's intentions to snap up popular instant messaging maker Meebo for a rumored hundred million dollars...

Poll: do you get all worked up over iOS exclusives going Android?

When social network Path released its Android app following the successful debut on the iPhone, barely anyone paid notice. But when Instagram went Android, it spurred lots of controversy. Even Apple’s marketing boss Phil Schiller stopped using the app because it “jumped the shark” when it went to Android.

The debate over iPhone exclusives going Android really heated up with yesterday’s announcement of Instapaper of Android, Marco Arment’s read-later program which became a huge success on the iOS platform.

Should Apple work harder to secure iOS exclusives, which have been around in the console business for ages? Or perhaps this is nothing to get worked up about? Cast your vote now...