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.

OpenOnSearch makes Spotlight a little more useful

I don't use Spotlight much. The page, which sits to the left of the main Home screen in iOS, lets you do some really useful things like search for stuff on your device and the web. But honestly, most of the time I forget it's there.

But jailbreak developers are looking to change that. We've seen a number of tweaks designed to enhance the Spotlight page, like SpotEnhancer and SLEnhancerSearch, and today we've got a new one to show you. Here's OpenOnSearch...

LockToggle adds handy settings toggles to your Lock screen

Folks who have yet to find a Lock screen-settings-toggle tweak that suits their needs will be happy to know that another one has been added to the pile this weekend. LockToggle, by developer Haifisch, gives you quick, one-touch access to some of the most common iOS settings, without you having to unlock your device...

Chicago Sun-Times fires photo staff, now training reporters in iPhoneography

You've probably noticed that we have been talking a lot about iPhoneography here on iDB lately. It's a popular topic with a lot of folks. It seems like the better the iPhone's camera gets, the more people are willing to ditch their standalone shooters.

And perhaps there's no better example of that than what's going on right now over at the Chicago Sun-Times. Just a day after it fired its entire photo staff, the newspaper has reportedly begun training its reporters in the basics of iPhone photography...

Pod2g: Apple could open up iOS by releasing alternate firmware for developers

Earlier this week, Tim Cook turned some heads when he told folks at the D11 conference that they could expect Apple to "open up more" in the future, in regards to 3rd party developers. The company, as you well know, currently rules iOS with an iron fist.

Unsurprisingly, Cook's comment has sparked some speculation in the jailbreak community, on what Apple's plans might be for opening up iOS more. And earlier today, Pod2g weighed in, and he thinks it could do it by releasing alternate firmware...

Best Buy $150 trade-in program could net you a free iPhone 5

In another sign that Best Buy could be clearing stock (or simply enticing customers to pick up an Apple handset), CNET reports the retailer will trade-in your working iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S on Sunday for a $150 credit, which can be redeemed against the purchase of a new iPhone. Given that Best Buy normally sells the entry-level iPhone 5 on a two-year contract for $150, the promotion lets you trade-in your old iPhone and purchase Apple's latest and greatest handset without paying a dime - of course, excluding the obligatory carrier activation fee and any applicable sales tax...

Galaxy S4 not hurting ‘resilient’ US iPhone sales

Listening to much of the tech press, you might get the impression Samsung's new Galaxy S4 would further erode Apple's share of the smartphone market. One Wall Street firm ended the week on a contrary note, telling investors iPhone sales in North America "remain resilient" and Samsung's Galaxy S4 is only selling slightly better than its predecessor.

The analyst firm Detwiler Fenton expects Apple will sell a cool thirty million iPhones during the June quarter amid expectation the nine-month-old handset would lose market share to its South Korean rival...

Apple retains mobile ad lead, but Samsung getting more clicks

A mixed-message on the state of mobile advertising is out today. In an announcement expected to hearten both the iOS and Android camps, a UK ad firm reports Apple retains its lead in mobile ad share, while mobile ads rendered on devices by rival Samsung are increasingly being clicked.

Combined, Apple's iPhone and iPod touch account for more than a third of all ad requests handled by the UK-based Adfonic. However, Samsung - with just twelve percent of the mobile ad share - finds the first quarter 2013 click-through-rate on ads served by its Android devices increasingly stronger than Apple...

New pricing tactics is working: iPhone sales in India surge 400 percent

India has become Apple's test bed for emerging markets, with the company rolling out a series of discounts and payment plans in order to entice purchases and improve its market standing in the 1.24 billion people market.

These efforts are paying off as iPhone sales have risen 400 percent over the past four months.

That's a dramatic increase over prior iPhone numbers in India, where sales only reached a meager 70,000 to 80,000 handsets a month. The key to such a notable jump: Apple has "figured out" the Indian market, which until now has viewed the iPhone as out of the reach of most of that nation's consumers...

Apple criticizes TransMedia CEO for saying users are platform-agnostic

We all know the great lengths Apple will go to nurture and preserve its developer ecosystem and user experience on its platform.

One developer, however, has tested Apple's patience by issuing an iPhone app press release that suggests users don't really care which mobile platform they happen to be using.

That drew an interesting response from a representative from Apple Worldwide Developer Relations, who cautioned the comment is at odds not just with Apple's primary marketing messaging, "but the entire reason Apple exists"...

iPad has grown three times faster than iPhone

It's easy to get caught in the trap of assuming the iPhone is Apple's fastest-growing product. Although the iPhone sold more units than the iPad - after all, it's been available since 2007 whereas the iPad debuted three years later - the Apple tablet is growing three times faster than the iPhone.

This is just one of the many interesting factoids from Internet Trends, an annual report on the state of the Internet, mobile and social by Mary Meeker, one of the world's top Internet analysts. Read on for more tidbits...

Change the way you ‘slide to unlock’ with FXOSLock

Are you getting tired of the old 'slide to unlock' bar on your iPhone's Lock screen? Tough. It's been like that since Apple unveiled the original handset back in 2007, and I doubt it's going to be changing it anytime soon.

But the good news is, if your iPhone is jailbroken, Cydia has hundreds of slider replacements to choose from. In fact, a new one just recently hit the store called FXOSLock that completely changes the way the slider looks...

Apple Web OS: a theme that mimics Apple’s online store

If pressed, I would say that I consider myself an Apple fan. I love my iPhone, and my iPad, and I'm typing right now on a MacBook Pro. But even I cringed a bit when I first laid eyes on this new DreamBoard theme called Apple Web OS.

As the title states, Apple Web OS essentially gives your iPhone a complete 'Apple web store' makeover. Instead of icons it has product photos, and instead of pages it has tabs. It's actually very authentic, which can either be a good thing or a bad thing...