iPhone

Stay up-to-date on the latest iPhone news and learn new tips and tricks with our comprehensive tutorials. From software updates to new features, we’ve got you covered.

Rdio ushers in iPhone 6 and CarPlay support, interactive alerts and more in major iOS 8 update

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

Following a recent overhaul with new features, free streaming in more than two dozen countries and other perks, Rdio, the popular Internet service, on Thursday pushed a major iOS 8 focused update.

Following in the footsteps of rival Spotify which two weeks ago added support for CarPlay, Apple's in-car iPhone entertainment system, Rdio has now jumped on the automotive bandwagon, too.

In addition to music playback and navigating your favorites and playlists from the built-in display in CarPlay-enabled cars, Rdio 3.0.4 has a handy new control to adjust streaming quality (should prove indispensable to those concerned about cellular data usage).

Moreover, this update adds support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screen sizes, iOS 8's Interactive Notifications (you can play music and follow other users directly from an alert) plus other nice-to-haves mentioned after the jump.

Instagram’s iPhone 6 refresh is out

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 16, 2014

One of the most popular mobile applications and the de facto leading platform for mobile photography, Facebook-owned Instagram, has at last been optimized with native display support for Apple's latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones.Instagram 6.1.3 is now available in the App Store and lists no other changes in iTunes release notes accompanying the 15.9-megabyte download.

Facebook app updated with support for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 21, 2014

Facebook pushed out an update for its iOS client this afternoon, bringing the app to version 16.0. The social network doesn't say what changes were made, but it does now say "optimized for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus" in the description.

This is great news for folks with one of Apple's newer handsets, as their larger displays really highlight non-updated apps with stretched UI and fuzzy graphics. Facebook was one of the few remaining high profile apps without iPhone 6 support.

Microsoft optimizes Skype for iPhone 6 screens

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

As promised, software maker Microsoft has just issued an update to Skype for the iPhone and iPod touch adding native display support for the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screen sizes, the team announced in a blog post Wednesday morning.

As a result, you'll see more of your recent chats and messages in conversation view on Apple's new smartphones because iOS 8 doesn't have to compensate for the lack of iPhone 6 support by blowing up the interface to fill up the whole screen.

Skype for iPhone 5.6, available free in the App Store, also adds presence indicators to your Recent list and number of contacts and time zones information on contact profiles.

Jump past the fold for other features in this maintenance Skype update.

Rovio releases Angry Birds Transformers globally

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Following its soft-launch in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Finland on September 25, Rovio's Angry Birds Transformers is now available globally as a free-to-play download for the iPhone and iPad, the Finnish mobile games maker announced Wednesday morning.

Featuring cars, trucks, tanks and planes and a plethora of heroes and villains with unique attacks and abilities, the movie tie-in challenges your Autobirds (I chuckled) to save Piggy Island from the crazed robots on a mission to nuke it out of orbit.

Microsoft launches Skype Qik, its own ephemeral video messaging app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

Tuesday, software giant Microsoft launched a brand new ephemeral messaging app, Skype Qik, in a bid to take on the likes of Snapchat and other applications in the increasingly crowded ephemeral messaging space.

“Imagine if you could reinvent the Skype experience, taking into account how messaging, selfies and app culture have changed the way we communicate,” reads the blurb.

The free of charge iPhone app is based on Microsoft's $100 million acquisition of the mobile video provider Qik three years ago. Microsoft retired the original Qik app soon after, clearing the way for a re-introduction of the reimagined Qik software for iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

As the name suggests, Skype Qik is being promoted through the Skype brand, itself owned by Microsoft. Matter of fact, Qik runs alongside Skype to provide an ongoing form of video chat allowing you to share laughs, and chat with groups of friends.

Stop what you’re doing and grab Cycloramic for iPhone 6, free for a very limited time

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 13, 2014

Chances are you've heard about Cycloramic, a stupendously amazing iPhone photography software which allows you to capture stunning, accessory-free 360-degree video using custom vibration patterns in your device and an Apple power adapter.

If you haven't taken the plunge yet, please don't pass on this opportunity as Cycloramic has just gone free for the first time ever.

A $1.99 saving, only the iPhone 6 edition of the app is free, and for “a very limited time”, according to developer Egos Ventures. The iPhone 5/5s version, which hasn't been discounted and is available for $1.99 a pop, relies on the handset's squared base and the vibration motor to spin the device around its axis.

Mailbox optimized for iPhone 6 screens, Mac beta client now available to everyone

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

Fans of the popular Mailbox email client, rejoice! A compatibility update became available Monday, bringing native display support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus that lets you see more of your emails rather than be limited by a blown-up interface.

Mailbox 2.3.1, a free download, also brings the ability to customize your swipes further and includes a pair of fixes, one resolving issues with rendering of some emails and the other squashing a bug affecting delivery of Push Notification for new messages in iOS 8.

Jonathan Mann’s new song has lyrics written by an iPhone, using iOS 8’s autocomplete feature

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Jonathan Mann, a musician, songwriter and unabashed Apple fan, has been churning out one song a day for nearly six years straight.

You may remember his iPhone Antenna song, posted to YouTube on the eve of the Antennagate presser.

Apple actually used it to open the event and Steve Jobs even danced to it. The song-a-day man also created a Siri duet not long after the iPhone 4s was released and another one to wish Siri a happy birthday.

He's back today with an entirely different experiment that somehow manages to sound catchy and listenable, which is remarkable given the meaningless lyrics were actually written by an iPhone using iOS 8's autocomplete function.

Poll: how often do you use Reachability?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

So I've finally managed to snag an iPhone 6 Plus this past weekend and boy does that 5.5-inch form factor take some getting used to.

Just ahead of the official announcement I, along with many other bloggers, was wondering whether a bigger iPhone might force Apple to rather unceremoniously abandon its unwavering principle of one-handed use.

Fortunately, Apple's smart engineers soothed our collective fears by creating a smart software feature dubbed Reachability, which lets you double tap the Touch ID button to slide the top half of the screen to the bottom half so you can reach touch targets in iOS positioned at the top, like Safari's address bar.

I've been loving Reachability a lot and using it on a daily basis. How about you?

Apple announces iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus expansion in 36 more countries

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 13, 2014

Apple announced in a media release Monday that its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets are coming to an additional 36 countries and territories across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa by the end of October.

Both new handsets will be available in a total of 69 countries and territories by the end of the month as Apple reiterated it's self-imposed goal to deliver the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in more than 115 countries by the end of the year, calling it “our fastest iPhone rollout ever”.