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.

BetterPhotoCrop keeps the Notification Center grabber from appearing as you crop images

I use the image-cropping tools from my iPhone's Photos app on a daily basis, and I've noticed that I accidentally invoke the Notification Center grabber quite a lot while cropping when I attempt to drag down from the top of the image.

BetterPhotoCrop by iOS developer Andreas Henriksson is a new free jailbreak tweak that moves the cropping interface down enough to prevent the Notification Center grabber from being invoked when you drag down from the top of an image to crop it.

AlternateControls 2 brings an Android-style bottom navigation bar to iOS

Available on a wide variety of Android handsets is the bottom navigation bar, and with a jailbreak tweak called AlternateControls 2 by iOS developer Ian Burns, you can bring this functionality to your iPhone as well.

Once installed, the button to the far left will act as a back button, letting you move backwards between interfaces you’ve visited previously, while the center button acts as a virtual Home button and the button to the far right acts as an App Switcher shortcut.

QuietWhilePlaying prevents notifications from interrupting your music playback

If you have a pet peeve for incoming notifications interrupting your music when you’re trying to sit back and enjoy a song, then installing a new free jailbreak tweak called QuietWhilePlaying (iOS 10) by iOS developer ijapija00 should be next on your to-do list.

This tweak silences the alert sounds and vibrations associated with incoming notifications, no matter which app they're coming from, whenever you’re actively listening to media.

Ambiance lets your Phillips HUE bulbs take full advantage of your jailbroken iPhone

Every so often, a jailbreak tweak emerges that lets you do something out of the ordinary with your iPhone, and a new release called Ambiance by iOS developer Ziph0n is a testament to such tweaks.

Ambience links your jailbroken iPhone and Phillips HUE smart light bulbs together in new and exciting ways, immersing your entire room with color effects based on what you’re doing on your device at a given time.

Apple shares shot on iPhone short “Détour” by Oscar-winning director Michel Gondry

Apple yesterday shared a short “Shot on iPhone” film, titled “Détour”, by French Oscar-winning director Michel Gondry who is known for such independent movies as “The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “The Science of Sleep”.

The eleven-minute video was posted to the Cupertino company's YouTube channels in France and the United Kingdom as part of its focus on producing local video content that can be shared online rather than the more traditional broadcast ads.

The film runs eleven minutes long and features original soundtrack by indie composer Étienne Charry. It follows the adventures of a small tricycle as it sets off along the French roads in search of its young owner, a nice take on the lost-and-found theme.

And here it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrN1ytnQ-Tg

Along with the short film, Apple also shared a series behind-the-sccenes videos, seen below.

The clips show Gondry at work, explaining his approach to shooting films on iPhone and detailing some of the equipment used for “Détour”, which includes a multi-iPhone rig, Lightning-compatible microphones, a BeastGrip professional gimbal system and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuDUqqFzELk

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPdwbvJCqfY

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jYI10yT07c

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXgyX6cc5eE

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIW5qChZJPg

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vInEUWuRq_Q

Gondry won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his work on “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”. The director is scheduled to discuss the film and his career while sharing some of the tips for achieving cinematographic results on Apple's devices in a “Today at Apple” session at Apple March Saint-Germain on June 30.

Samsung to build world’s biggest OLED display manufacturing plant

Samsung is planning to build the world's biggest OLED display manufacturing plant that could kick off volume production in 2019, with a peak yield of between 180,000 and 270,000 OLED display panels per month, according to industry sources.

By comparison, the company's existing “A2” factory currently produces 180,000 units of rigid and flexible OLEDs per month.

Samsung Display, the South Korean conglomerate's display-making arm, will invest more than $1.75 billion just to construct the new plant. The report is relevant to our readers because Samsung Display is believed to be an exclusive provider of OLED panels for iPhone 8.

When operational, the company's new OLED factory, tentatively named “A5”, should have 30 percent higher production capacity than Samsung current biggest factory called “A3”, according to Korean outlet ETNews.

The site added that Samsung began expanding capacity of its upcoming “A3” factory during the second half of 2015 in order to meet Apple's order for a large amount of OLED panels.

According to the report, Samsung Display has secured production capacity of 135,000 OLED panels per month over the next two years, primarily to serve the needs of its two biggest clients: Apple and Samsung Electronics.

iPhone 8 Full Vision Display concept courtesy of iFanr.

Purported iPhone 8 prototype leaks with questionable design

A trio of images published by Benjamin Geskin last night have gotten some folks excited (or worried, depending on your point of view). The photos appear to show an early iPhone 8 prototype, which he says was obtained from an insider.

The device pictured on the images does not have its front-facing FaceTime camera and the speaker integrated into the display, like we're expecting in the final model due this fall.

Instead, there's a “chin” at the top of the display, albeit thinner than on current iPhones.

The images show that the device came in the box with an iPhone 7 screen protector applied to its display. What's more interesting than that is a blue “passport” we can clearly see in the box.

For the uninitiated, iPhone prototypes are accompanied by this passport document at all times, for quality assurance and control testing.

According to Australian leakster Sonny Dickson:

Each component or product that is tested they document in the page. The person writes their initials next to it and any notes about it passing or failing or any other comments. It makes its way through each test and person. It then is finally sent with its 'passport' from China to Apple.

That being said, we're still unsure if the device shown on Geskin's image is in fact one of the ten iPhone 8 prototypes Apple has reportedly tested this year or simply a dummy unit created based on rumors, but we're posting it here for the sake of discussion.

So, what do you say?

Is this a real iPhone 8 prototype? And if so, does it represent the device we're going to see this fall or one of the designs that Apple has ultimately abandoned?

Let us know by posting a comment below.

NFCWriter tweak unlocks your iPhone NFC capabilities

At the beginning of May, iOS developer Limneos started tinkering with the iPhone’s NFC chip to allow it talk to third-party NFC tags and accessories that Apple has never allowed its system to talk to before.

At the time, it was just a work in progress and a proof of concept, but Limneos has officially released a new jailbreak tweak in Cydia dubbed NFCWriter that unlocks the full potential of your NFC chip for everyone. It's the first time that the chip has been hacked to this extent, and it opens a whole new realm of possibilities.

Lysithea X brings iOS 11-esque Lock screen music controls to iOS 10

In case you haven’t seen it yet, iOS 11 comes with a redesigned Now Playing Lock screen interface. It’s sleeker and takes up less space so you can manage your music playback and see missed notifications in the same place more easily.

Now, a new jailbreak tweak called Lysithea X by iOS developer ijapija00 brings this iOS 11 Now Playing Lock screen interface to jailbroken iOS 10 devices.

SwitcherControls merges the App Switcher and Control Center interfaces into one

If you want a more powerful App Switcher, then perhaps a good place to start is with a new jailbreak tweak called SwitcherControls by iOS developer DGh0st.

Immediately reminiscent of the multi-center feature from a prior jailbreak tweak release known as Auxo 3, SwitcherControls combines both the App Switcher and Control Center interfaces into one, yielding what you see above.

How to stop iCloud Photo Library from eating into your iPhone’s cellular data plan

iCloud Photo Library is an optional feature on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac that uploads every photo and video you take or import to iCloud and keeps everything synchronized across all your Apple gear. I've been using it for years and it really “just works”.

On iOS 10 and earlier, Photos syncs with iCloud each time your device connects to Wi-Fi and the battery is charged. On iOS 11 and later, Photos can also use your iPhone's cellular data connection to sync and update the image library.

Do you take many photos on the go? Are you on a metered rather than an unlimited plan? Then you don't need me to tell you that you must ensure you're not wasting huge amounts of cellular data to this feature.

Here's how to stop the Photos app from eating into your iPhone's cellular data plan.

Before we get to it, keep in mind the following:

iOS 10 and earlier—Your Photos library syncs with iCloud each time your device connects to Wi-Fi and the battery is charged. iOS 11 or later—You decide if Photos syncs with iCloud via cellular or Wi-Fi only.

In other words, you should double-check that cellular updates for iCloud Photo Library are turned off only if you're on iOS 11 or later. Folks on older iOS editions needn't do that because Photos syncs with iCloud only when their iPhone is connected to power and Wi-Fi.

How to stop iCloud Photo Library on iPhone from using cellular data

12-megapixel images and 4K videos captured on your iPhone take up quite a bit of storage space. For most people, there's no point allowing iOS to gobble up cellular data just to keep the image library synchronized with iCloud at all times.

Thankfully, you can prevent this from happening, and here's how:

1) Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or cellular iPad.

2) Tap Photos in the list.

3) Tap Cellular Data.

4) Slide the button labeled Cellular Data to the OFF position.

This device will no longer use your carrier's cellular data for updating the Photos library. Any changes to your image library will automatically upload to iCloud as soon as the device connects to power and Wi-Fi.

TIP: If you really need Photos to be in perfect sync with iCloud at all times, even on the go, via cellular and Wi-Fi, be sure to slide the toggle labeled Unlimited Updates to the ON position.

The feature's description says “unlimited updates may cause you to excess your quota“.

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Instagram launches stickers for Independence Day and Canada Day

Instagram during the weekend launched stickers in its mobile app for iPhone and iPad which are dedicated to the 4th of July holiday and Canada Day celebrations across North America.

Instagram users in the United States can celebrate Independence Day by posting a Story adorned with one of the stickers in the app's new star-spangled sticker pack, ranging from backyard BBQs to fireworks at night.

Canadians get a sticker to celebrate Canada Day, available in both English and French.

The sticker was designed by Jenn Kitagawa, a multidisciplinary artist and illustrator who grew up in the prairies of Alberta and currently lives in Toronto.

Instagram is available at no charge on App Store.