iPhone 5

New Lightning HDMI and VGA adapters, 12W USB charger now on sale

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 29, 2016

Per rumors, Apple yesterday alongside the iPad mini, a revamped iMac, refreshed Mac mini and the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro also took the wraps off some new Lightning accessories that will be of note to people who want to show off their presentations, apps, games and more on devices that accept HDMI or VGA input.

Each adapter commands a steep $49 price and is available now from the online Apple Store, with shipping estimates already slipped to a 2-3 week backorder. Apple also put on sale a more powerful USB iPad charger that now provides twelve watts of power instead of ten, helping with faster charge times...

AT&T activates 4.7M iPhones in Q3, 77 percent of total smartphone sales

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 24, 2012

Carrier AT&T, which had a multi-year exclusivity on iPhone sales in the United States, this morning posted its third-quarter earnings, reporting it activated 4.7 million iPhones, representing more than three out of four smartphones activated on its network during the quarter. The number represents approximately a 178 percent increase over the year-ago quarter, when it activated 2.7 million iPhones.

The company in total activated 6.1 million smartphones in the third quarter. Of the 4.7 million AT&T iPhones, 18 percent went to new customers as the carrier, like everybody else, was struggling to meet pent-up demand from the existing subscribers amid the widely reported iPhone 5 supply constraints, which AT&T said affected its postpaid performance as well...

Apple fires Korean chief ahead of the iPhone 5 launch

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Just days before the iPhone 5 is scheduled to launch in South Korea, Apple fired the chief of its business unit there. According to a report, Dominique Oh, hired only 17 months ago, was canned after supposedly sluggish sales. South Korea is important for Apple, as the Asian nation is home to its chief rival Samsung. Apple confirmed Oh's contract was terminated, but said it could not address speculation on the reasoning behind the company's decision...

Apple leaks: increasingly they are made in China

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 22, 2012

If there is one word that is often used to describe Apple it is "secretive." The Cupertino, California firm is legendary for its corporate tight lips. Increasingly, however, there are few secrets left when it comes to Apple products. A number of insiders are blaming Apple's extensive supply chain and companies outside the US.

"Apple's security practices are targeted at making sure U.S. employees don't leak stuff, but everything comes out of China now," an unnamed employee of the iPhone maker told Ars Technica Monday. This inability to ensure suppliers outside the U.S. share the same regard for product secrecy has led Apple to tighten the screws on employees at home - sometimes with questionable results.

Apple’s Forstall says iPhone 5 keyboard flickering is a software glitch, promises fix

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 22, 2012

If a growing thread on Apple's discussion forum is anything to go by, a bunch of iPhone 5 owners continue to complain about an annoying flickering thing which apparently manifests itself when the software keyboard pops up on the App Store password entry dialog box.

A report out this morning first suggested that an incremental iOS 6.0.1 update, said to have entered testing, will fix this and other issues plaguing the iOS 6 software. iDB has now received another confirmation that a fix is in the works, via an alleged email exchange between a reader and Apple's SVP Scott Forstall who's in charge of the iOS platform...

More headache for Apple and MFi partners as multiple clones of Lightning design emerge

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple has replaced its decade-old 30-pin connector with a brand new 9-pin Lightning plug in its latest round of iPhone and iPod refreshes last month. Per teardown, the new Lightning I/O has also brought with it an authentication chip that along with tightened ‘MFi’ terms is meant to prevent third parties from making unapproved accessories.

Adding insult to injury, it's also been suggested that cracked chips which bypass its authentication functions are now available. Today, BGR posted images of several claimed third party authentication chips for Lightning USB cables.

Of course, the chips are not officially approved by Apple and present an ample opportunity for shady Chinese firms to manufacture Lightning cables, adapters and other accessories that should easily work with Lightning-equipped iOS devices while costing far less than Apple's overpriced alternatives....

Apple to pony up for stricter iPhone 5 quality control

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 22, 2012

Apple will reportedly pay up to "partially absorb costs" related to stricter quality control in iPhone 5 manufacturing, according to Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu. Faced with numerous complaints from early adopters who noticed their handset is far more prone to scratches and nicks which Apple initially attempted to dismiss as "normal" wear and tear, the company is now ready to take a hit on its near-term gross margins to improve production quality of the iPhone 5. Specifically, the analyst projects the iPhone maker's gross margins to be between 40.5 percent and 41.5 percent versus Wall Street's consensus between 42 percent and 43 percent...

FaceTime preview window now reflects aspect ratio of the caller’s device

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

In addition to the big ones in iOS 6 and a host of lesser-known but otherwise welcome enhancements, every now and then a small tweak surfaces, capturing our imagination and delighting us with simplicity. More often than not, these little nuggets clearly prove Apple remains as obsessed with agonizing over every little aspect of its products as it's ever been. For example, the FaceTime preview window where a live video stream of the person you're calling is displayed now indicates their device's aspect ratio...

Test finds that Sprint iPhone 5 has the best call quality

Cody Lee ∙ October 21, 2012

According to Apple, the iPhone 5 has much better call quality than its predecessor thanks to its new wideband audio technology. Unfortunately, no US carrier supports this feature yet.

This means that call quality on your iPhone 5 still greatly depends on your location and who your service provider is. And according to a new report, Sprint is the one to beat in this category...

Apple Stores now carrying iPhone 5 cases

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Accessories for Apple's latest smartphone are extremely hard to find right now. Not only does the iPhone 5 have a different dock connector, but it's also larger than its predecessor, making most cases and add-ons obsolete.

But we have some good news today, at least for the folks looking for a cover to protect their new handset. Reports are coming in this weekend that Apple has started stocking its retail stores with iPhone 5 cases...

Does your iPhone 5 have the time-shifting bug?

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 19, 2012

In what appears to be a repeat of the DST software bug - and we've been here plenty of times before - some owners of Apple's new iPhone 5 report that their handset is showing incorrect time and/or day. Several people on Apple's discussion forum decribe their device as displaying times and dates that are days, even weeks, ahead or behind actual ones. The issue appears to manifest itself on devices that have automatic date and time setting feature enabled. Specifically, owners of a Verizon iPhone 5 appear to be affected the most...

Scuffgate? Here’s your iPhone 5 backplate replacement

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 19, 2012

When it comes to the iPhone 5, yours truly is one to suffer from a severe case of panic disorder stemming from Scuffgate. I, for one, happen to believe that it's real. And even though Scuffgate has definitely been blown way out of proportion, I can't shrug off fear that my iPhone 5 will arrive with nicks and scuffs out-of-the-box or scratch itself if I look at it the wrong way.

As a rule of thumb, I more often than not attempt to mitigate the scuffing issue by opting for white gadgets because scratches from "normal" wear and tear are less visible (by the way, what's your color of choice for Apple gear?). Still, the fact remains that the iPhone 5's anodized aluminum casing is arguably the worst choice from the wear and tear standpoint.

Chances are you too at some point will no longer be able to stand dings and scratches on your brand spanking new iPhone 5. Luckily, there's a solution. Remember those backplate parts that had been leaking in the weeks and months preceding the iPhone 5 announcement? That's right...