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iOS 8 now powers 87 percent of active devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 2, 2015

After struggling to gain a single percentage point over a four-week period, the adoption rate of iOS 8 now appears to have accelerated as iOS 8 now powers 87 percent of the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices in the wild, as measured by the App Store on Monday, August 31, 2015.

That growth came at the expense of iOS 7, which has gone from powering thirteen percent of iOS devices two weeks ago to accounting for twelve percent of hardware in active use.

A month ago, iOS 8 adoption sat at 85 percent and iOS 7 comprised thirteen percent of iOS gadgets in the wild. Pre-iOS hardware continues to scrape out a mere two percent.

Imgur for iOS gains search and revamped interface

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 2, 2015

After relaunching its iOS app and introducing an all-new interface in the Android client three months ago, Imgur today announced a major revamp of its iPhone and iPod touch application, a free download in the App Store.

For starters, the app has at last gained a Search feature so you can search for specific viral posts on the service. The app's grid view has been redesigned to show bigger thumbnails, push notifications have been improved and profile screens revamped for a more pleasing appearance.

iPhone 7 rumored to switch back to using glass-on-glass screen technology

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 2, 2015

Unhappy with the in-cell screen process used in production of iPhone displays which is plagued with lower touch sensitivity on screen edges, Apple is reportedly considering a return to glass-on-glass (G/G) touchscreen panels for an 'iPhone 7,' a technology it ditched with the release of the iPhone 5 in the fall of 2012.

According to a somewhat sketchy report published Wednesday by DigiTimes, Apple is currently sampling glass-on-glass touch samples for 2016 iPhones.

If true, the iPhone 7—or whatever a 2016 iPhone ends up being named—will feature better touch accuracy, improved Multi-Touch performance and better touch detection on screen edges. In addition, glass-on-glass technology would permit the company to develop a bezel-free iPhone and support 4K resolutions.

Instagram Direct rolls out threaded messaging and sending feed content privately

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 24, 2017

Tuesday, Facebook-owned Instagram launched some notable improvements for its private-messaging feature, called Instagram Direct.

Available in Instagram's 7.5 update, a free download in the App Store, Instagram Direct now supports threaded conversations and allows you to pick a photo from a user's feed to send to a friend or group privately as a Direct message.

Review: ReBoard keyboard boosts your productivity and cuts down on app switching

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2015

The biggest thing about iOS 8 for me is a productivity boost stemming from new technologies such as pervasive inter-app communications, third-party actions in system-wide Share sheets and more. But for all the good work Apple's done from a productivity standpoint, iOS (version 9 included) still has some way to go before it's capable to exceed multitasking features on Microsoft's Surface tablets or Samsung's Note phablet, for example.

ReBoard, a new software keyboard for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad created by India's independent developer Gursimranjeet Singh, puts useful actions for performing common tasks and all sorts of look ups right into the keyboard itself so you won't need to switch back and forth between apps like an animal.

By embedding useful third-party shortcuts within the context of the keyboard, ReBoard can save you a lot of time and boost your productivity.

Twitterrific for iOS improves accessibility, tag autocompletion, muting, translation and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2015

Twitterrific, The Iconfactory's freemium Twitter client for the iPhone and iPad, was refreshed in the App Store this morning with a bevy of enhancements, including improvements to username and hash tag autocompletion, a feature introduced in Twitterrific's previous update.

Among other changes, this edition of Twitterrific includes some new quick actions, support for quoted tweets in muffle and muting rules and much more.

Bing for iPhone picks up Interests and News, gains private searching, Apple Watch app and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2016

Microsoft's Bing for iPhone app was updated last evening with several new features such as Bing Interests, Bing News, a private searching mode, the Popular Now section on your Apple Watch and other enhancements.

I typically use Google's native search app on my iPhone, but Bing saw some rather interesting improvements in recent months. In my personal opinion, Microsoft's search-based app is better designed than Google's with richer descriptions and prettier images.

More importunely, Bing's popular searches feature produces way more relevant results than Google, at least for me.

Apple TV’s NFL Now channel revamped, rebranded and enriched with Game Pass subscriptions

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 31, 2015

Right on cue, the official NFL channel on the Apple TV got updated with support for Game Pass subscriptions, as first noted by MacRumors. The new Game Pass service has replaced NFL's Game Rewind. With Game Pass, sports fans can subscribe to premium NFL content directly on their Apple TV set-top box.

Game Pass subscriptions are also available through the NFL Mobile app on the iPhone and the iPad. In addition to supporting Game Pass on the Apple TV, the updated NFL Now channel has been rebranded as just NFL.

Apple and Cisco form partnership to ‘deliver fast lane’ for iOS enterprise users

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 31, 2015

In a press release issued Monday, Apple announced a partnership with network giant Cisco designed to deliver “fast lane” for iOS enterprise users. The initiative strives to optimize Cisco networks for iOS devices and apps and integrate the iPhone with Cisco enterprise environments.

The goal is to “provide unique collaboration” opportunities to enterprise customers on the iPhone and iPad.

Google+ Collections are now available within Google’s native application for iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 31, 2015

Google+ Collections are now available within the just-updated Google+ app for the iPhone and iPad, which also contains performance improvements and bug fixes.

Introduced back in May of this year, Collections is basically a feature of Google+ that allows you to group your posts around shared interests and passions. After going live in the official Google+ app for Android and on the web, Google+ Collections can now be browsed on your iPhone and iPad.

Nomad launches iPhone car charger with 3,000 mAh battery, USB C and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Nomad, makers of beautiful accessories for Apple's mobile gadgets, today announced a new car charger for the iPhone and other gadgets that offers some novel features normally not found in car chargers.

Billed as “the first battery pack designed for your car,” the Nomad Roadtrip integrates a 3,000 mAh battery and provides both the standard USB port and USB-C for charging the latest devices.

Meerkat now supports YES/NO polls, showing photos to watchers and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 1, 2018

Meerkat, the popular live video streaming software that competes with Twitter-owned Periscope, today issued a nice little update to its iOS application in the App Store.

With version number bumped to 1.5.4, this edition of Meerkat includes a few enhancements like a revamped feed and the ability to show your watchers photos from your Camera roll.

Perhaps most crucially, Meerkat now includes a polling feature which allows anyone to ask their watchers simple YES/NO questions about anything, as they're broadcasting.