iPad

From the latest news to the most comprehensive tutorials, learn how to get the most out of your iPad with our step-by-step guides and expert tips.

TextBlade physical multitouch keyboard collapses to just a third of iPhone size

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

If you're in the market for a physical keyboard for your iOS device but can't stand the size of existing offerings, a company called WayTools may just have the most curious answer to your needs.

Bringing a whole new typing experience, their new TextBlade keyboard has the same QWERTY layout you're accustomed to but collapses to a tiny rectangle just a third of the size of an iPhone 6, thank to built-in magnets that snap the individual pieces together.

The eyebrow raising design calls for a set of eight large touch-sensitive keys providing full access to the entire alphabet, and then some more.

Weighing just 1.5 ounces, or 43 grams, the device sports an ultra-low profile half as thick as an iPhone 6. And unlike standard rubber spring keyboards, the TextBlade does not suffer from drag, stretch or wear. Inside, it's immense technology based on six issued patents and more than a dozen patent filings.

Apple TV-compatible AllCast media streaming app now available on iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 13, 2015

Following a beta on Android that first launched more than a year ago, courtesy of CyanogenMod developer Koushik Dutta, the AllCast content streaming app is now available for the iPhone and iPad.

The software allows you to stream online or locally-stored content such as photos, music and videos to your Apple TV, Roku and a number of other set-top boxes and DLNA-compatible devices, including Amazon's Fire TV, Sony's PlayStation console, Microsoft's Xbox and more.

Moreover, the app supports popular online content sources such as Instagram for photos, as well as Dropbox, Google+ and Google Drive, and is compatible with smart TV brands from Samsung, Sony and Panasonic.

CBS News overhauls iOS app, adds 24/7 live streaming video, breaking news alerts and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 12, 2015

CBS News issued a major refresh to its iOS application sporting an overhauled appearance and offering a plethora of new features. CBS News 3.0 brings out, among other enhancements, 24/7 live streaming video, push notifications for breaking news, in-depth coverage for constantly evolving stories, nicely designed photo galleries, a new ‘Quick Read’ feature and much more. The free of charge software is at last being provided as a single universal binary for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Google releases Chrome Remote Desktop app for iOS

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Google released its long-rumored remote desktop app for iOS today. Dubbed Chrome Remote Desktop, it's available now in the App Store for both the iPhone and iPad, allowing you to securely access your computers from either device.

Setup falls in line with other remote desktop applications. You'll obviously need Chrome installed on your computer (PC, Mac and Linux), the desktop client, and the aforementioned iOS app, and then you simply follow the instructions.

Apple seeds iOS 8.2 beta 4 to developers

Cody Lee ∙ January 12, 2015

Apple has this morning seeded the fourth iOS 8.2 beta to developers. The release comes three weeks after the previous iOS 8.2 beta, and follows this morning's discovery that Apple has begun testing early iOS 9 prototype builds.

The new 8.2 beta can be downloaded either over-the-air, or via Apple’s developer portal, by all registered iOS developers. It’s still unknown what new features the firmware will bring, but we do know it'll enable support for WatchKit.

Check out Spirefall, an endless arcade platformer for iOS with a twist

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 1, 2018

The instant I saw Spirefall I fondly remembered Nebulus, a 1987 platform game for the Commodore Amiga and other home computers of the time in which your character must walk all around a cylinder-shaped tower that has ledges on the outside.

Created by Pixel Hunter Games and released by Gameblyr, Spirefall has your character, a cute cat, moving left or right in such a way that it always stays in the centre of the visible screen because the spire turns clockwise or counterclockwise with a convincing sense of depth — again, much like in Nebulus.

IGN names ‘Valiant Hearts: The Great War’ its Free Game of the Month

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 6, 2018

Great news gamers, IGN has named Ubisoft's 'Valiant Hearts: The Great War' its Free Game of the Month for January. The game has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars in the App Store, from thousands of reviews, and it typically retails for $4.99.

For those unfamiliar with the title, Valiant Hearts is a popular puzzle adventure game that offers up an engaging storyline and unique mix of puzzle-explore-action gameplay. It first landed on consoles last summer, and then hit iOS in the fall.

What would you like to see from Apple this year?

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple blogger and Instapaper founder Marco Arment caused an earthquake in the Apple community when he released a blistering article on the current state of Apple's hardware earlier this week. It's not often you see Apple bloggers being critical of the company they're usually so quick to praise.

"We don't need major OS releases every year," Arment wrote. "We don't need each OS release to have a huge list of new features. We need our computers, phones, and tablets to work well first so we can enjoy new features released at a healthy, gradual, sustainable pace."

So that left two questions: Is Arment correct in his theory? What do you want from Apple in 2015?

Piracy on iOS: 60% of Monument Valley installs on iPhone and iPad not paid for

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Even though this particular data point is a few days old now, I think it's highly relevant in light of Apple's glowing App Store stats revealed yesterday.

According to developer Ustwo Games, its award-winning and incredibly successful Monument Valley, an atmospheric puzzle game in which you manipulate impossible architecture inspired by the works of M.C. Escher, has seen a significant chunk of its potential revenue lost to piracy because only 40 percent of the $3.99 game installs on the iPhone and iPad were paid for.

The vast chunk of the remaining sixty percent iOS installs were illegitimate, or to put it bluntly — pirated. On Android, the paid install base is a paltry five percent (you read that right), as a huge hunk of the remaining 95 percent of users opted to steal Monument Vally on Android rather than pay four bucks to enjoy it.

Is the 60 percent piracy rate on iOS a worrying number for Monument Valley developers and a bad sign for Apple's mobile platform? Read on for the full reveal.

The Princess Bride gets official iOS game

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 9, 2015

The official mobile game of The Princess Bride, the 1987 classic fantasy adventure movie adapted from William Goldman's 1973 namesake novel, is now available in the App Store.

Featuring four different games, The Princess Bride lets you experience all the favorite scenes from the film. You'll be wrestling giants, engaging in sword fighting and more, earning awards along the way and unlocking images and sound clips from the movie.

OneDrive gains Document Provider extension, Recycle Bin support, push alerts and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 9, 2015

Microsoft's iOS client for its cloud-storage service, OneDrive, has received a significant update Friday bringing out a Document Provider extension of its own. The Document Provider extension is one of the major new extensibility features in iOS 8. With Document Providers, developers can write apps which expose their custom remote or local storage functionality to the operating system.

What this means for OneDrive fans is that they can now access their files in other apps. To see how this works and learn more about other changes in OneDrive 4.6, jump past the fold.

Apple institutes app price hikes in Europe, Canada and Russia as iPhones get more expensive in Brazil

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 9, 2015

As reported by AppleInsider, Apple has raised minimum prices of iPhone and iPad applications in the App Store in Canada, the United Kingdom, Norway and in the European Union.

As a result of the changes, customers in Canada will now see a minimum app price raised from $0.99 (USD$0.83) to $1.19 (USD$1.01). In the United Kingdom, the new minimum tier has gone up from £0.69 ($1.04) to £0.79 ($1.19) and €0.99 ($1.17) in the European Union, up from €0.89 ($1.05) before.

In addition, smartphones, tablets and other gadgets Apple sells in Brazil saw their prices skyrocketing by an average of 10 percent due to the steady devaluation of the country's currency, real.