United States Senator John Thune (R–S.D.), chairman of the Commerce Committee, has sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook seeking, among other things, clarification on how his company has decided to throttle performance of iPhones with worn-out batteries in iOS 10.2.1 and later.
Apple has slashed its iPhone battery replacement service fee to $29 from $79 after admitting to slowing down older models with worn-out batteries, but those looking to take advantage of the offer should know that the discounted pricing is limited to one repair per device.
Camera+, my favorite iPhone photography app, was updated this morning on App Store with new features putting more RAW power at your fingertips while adding support for Peek and Pop gestures in the app on 3D Touch-enabled devices like the iPhone 6s/7 series. Building on the previous update which enabled RAW shooting and editing, the new Camera+ version 9.1 includes new RAW options for saving and exporting images at the best possible quality.
Last week, I whined about Google dragging its feet when it comes to implementing support for important iOS features, like 3D Touch, in apps such as Gmail. Other iPhone and iPad apps from Google have been more aggressive in adopting 3D Touch features, including Maps. In the latest update, Google Maps was bumped to version 4.28 and now allows users who have an iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus to press places on the map to get quicker access to popular actions.
Google today refreshed its mobile Gmail app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch on App Store, adding very limited 3D Touch support nearly a year and a half after Apple first brought pressure sensing to iPhone's display with the September 2015 release of iPhone 6s.
Owners of the iPhone 6s/7 series can now press Gmail's icon to quickly compose a message, but that's about it. Thank you, Google, but seriously?
In my view, Google doesn't really have a clue how to properly build 3D Touch gestures into Gmail in a manner that would save users time and boost their productivity.
The app still lacks Peek and Pop gestures., but we'll get those next year, right?
Lots of people are fans of haptic feedback, and now that most of the latest iPhones have that sleek taptic engine instead of a clunky vibration motor, those haptic responses are even better to feel than ever.
A new free jailbreak tweak called TapticPasscodeButtons brings that satisfying haptic feedback to the passcode buttons on your Lock screen, and it taps into the power of the taptic engine we previously mentioned in order to do it.
Google today updated Chrome for iPhone and iPad on App Store with a pair of new features. The first allows you to scan a QR code or barcode by selecting a new Scan QR Code option in the shortcuts menu after pressing the app's Home screen icon with 3D Touch on iPhone 6s/7 series. On older devices without 3D Touch, search for “QR” in iOS's Spotlight feature to reveal a shortcut to the browser's new barcode-scanning function.
According to a rumor by Japanese blog Mac Otakara, Apple may extend its iPhone 6s battery replacement program to iPhone 6 following reports from iPhone 6 owners who claim to have been plagued with the same issues as their iPhone 6s counterparts.
UPDATE: an unnamed source inside Apple corporate told AppleInsider that there are no immediate plans to offer a battery exchange program for iPhone 6 devices. “We constantly evaluate service statistics,” said the source. “There are no plans or grounds for a wide iPhone 6 battery exchange program at this time.”
Apple has clarified in a new support document on its Chinese website that random shutdowns that have been plaguing some customers may affect more iPhone 6s models than previously thought, saying a software update may fix the issue on units outside of iPhone 6s devices which were manufactured between September and October 2015 and for which it's offering a free battery replacement program.
As first noted by Gizmodo, Apple wrote it needed additional diagnostic data to determine the exact cause of the problem.
Two weeks ago, Apple issued a global battery replacement program to address a problem where some iPhone 6s handsets manufactured between September and October 2015 may unexpectedly shut down (see if your phone is eligible for a free battery via Apple's web tool).
While the company originally did not say why these devices are shutting down when the battery indicator drops below the 30 percent mark, MacRumors points us to a message posted in a support document on Apple's website in China which blames the problem on a manufacturing issue.
After launching a repair program two weeks ago for iPhone 6s devices experiencing unexpected shutdowns due to a faulty battery, Apple has now updated its support document with a web tool that lets you check if your iPhone 6s is eligible for a free battery, MacRumors reported Thursday. You only need to enter your device's serial number to see if you're eligible for a battery replacement service.
Google today issue a small update to its dedicated search app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Bumped to version 20.3, the free of charge app has gained the ability to preview Google Now cards with 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
Just press a card within the app to peek at its contents, then swipe up to access additional options or press harder to open the card in fullscreen mode.