News

Dutch court rules Apple cannot replace broken iOS gadgets with refurbished or remanufactured ones

A judge in the Subdistrict Court of Amsterdam has ruled that Apple cannot replace broken iPhone, iPad or iPod touch devices with refurbished or remanufactured units, Dutch outlet Tweakers reported Tuesday. That ruling arrived after a similar decision in December 2016 forced the Cupertino giant to replace a Danish man’s broken iPhone with a new unit rather than a refurbished model that he was entitled to in accordance with local law.

Pangu allegedly demo iOS 10.3.1 jailbreak

Images have surfaced on Chinese blogging site Weibo which appear to show a working jailbreak for Apple's current firmware, iOS 10.3.1. Whilst details are extremely thin on the ground at present, they appear to be genuine and are an encouraging sight for jailbreakers everywhere.

Remember: Demonstrating a jailbreak is not the same as committing to release a jailbreak. Many tools use exploits the teams wish to keep for research purposes. Jailbreaks are sometimes demonstrated with no intention of release.

Super Mario Run gains Game Center achievements, new buildings & other perks

Nintendo just issued a second major update to Super Mario Run for iPhone following the game's App Store inception in December 2016. Version 2.1 includes several enhancements and perks, such as official support for Game Center achievements (finally!), the ability to use your bespoke Miitomo character as your in-game player icon, new buildings including the 8-bit Bowser Statue, Bullet Bill Statue and Bob-omb Statue, plus additional changes and improvements.

These are key iPhone 8 production issues plaguing Apple and its suppliers

Corroborating yesterday's report by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Asian outlet Nikkei said Tuesday that customers may in fact be unable to get their hands on Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 until late October or November at the earliest.

According to industry sources, volume production of so-called Tenth Anniversary iPhone has hit a snag as suppliers struggle to perfect key components including curved OLED panels, wireless charging components and miniaturized printed circuit boards, among other parts.

Google Photos gains AirPlay support

Google's dedicated Photos app for iPhone and iPad was updated on App Store today with the ability to enjoy your photos and videos through the Apple TV media streamer with AirPlay. Aside from the ability to beam photos and videos wirelessly to your telly, Google Photos for iOS 2.14.0, a free download from App Store, also includes unspecified performance improvements.

Apple to cut affiliate commission on apps and in-app content to 2.5 percent

As first noted by Contrast founder David Barnard, Apple just slashed the affiliate commission on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac apps and In-App Purchases from the previous seven percent rate down to 2.5 percent globally.

“Beginning May 1, 2017, commissions for all apps and in-app content will be reduced from seven percent to 2.5 percent globally,” Apple told iTunes Affiliate Program members via email.

All other iTunes content types, including music, movies, electronic books and TV subscriptions, shall remain at the current seven percent commission rate in all markets.

“We will also continue to pay affiliate commissions on Apple Music memberships so there are many ways to earn commissions with the program,” reads Apple's message.

Apple's Affiliate Resources webpage has received a facelift with optimized navigation, a new Getting Started guide on becoming an affiliate partner, an updated Program Overview section providing information on the commission raters, reporting, creating links and more.

Source: David Barnard on Twitter via MacRumors

Fourth betas of iOS 10.3.2, macOS Sierra 10.12.5, watchOS 3.2.2 & tvOS 10.2.1 now available

Apple on Monday issued fourth betas of what would become maintenance and bug-fix updates to its four major software platforms: iOS, macOS Sierra, watchOS and tvOS. Members of the Apple Developer Program can now deploy iOS 10.3.2 beta 4 (build 14F5086a), macOS Sierra 10.12.5 beta 4 (build 16F67a), watchOS 3.2.2 beta 4 (build 14V5485a) and tvOS 10.2.1 beta 4 (build 14W5583a) through the Software Update mechanism.

Apple Maps launches transit directions for Paris

Apple has added transit options to its Maps app for the city of Paris, TechCrunch reported Monday. Customers can now use Apple Maps on their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and Apple Watch to calculate itineraries using the available public transportation options which include subway, RER and busses lines, among others.

Samsung likely to set up 7G flexible OLED factory

Samsung's display-making arm is likely to set up a seventh-generation manufacturing plant in South Korea solely dedicated to flexible OLED panel production, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported this morning citing UBI Research. Samsung Display produces more than 90 percent of all OLED panels for smartphones and tablets. The company is expected to churn out OLED panels for iPhone 8 on an exclusive basis until rivals Sharp, LG Display and Japan Display join the mix in 2018 and 2019.

iPhone 8 dummy indicates Touch ID embedded in OLED display

Aside from publishing a purported drawing of iPhone 8's logic board this morning that's “only 70 percent accurate,” Benjamin Gasket this past week shared photos of a dummy CNC iPhone model obtained from a Foxconn source. Of note, it features a single cutout for a vertically aligned dual-camera system with no other cutouts on the backside.

This might indicate that Touch ID could be embedded into iPhone 8's OLED display, as previously suggested. As others have underscored, Benjamin Gasket's Twitter account may not be the most reliable source of Apple leaks so take this report with a big pinch of salt.

iPhone 8 could boast L-shaped battery and True Tone display, retain Lightning connector

Purported drawings of iPhone 8's logic board showing internal component layout leaked on the web Monday. The images indicate that Apple's upcoming flagship won't adopt USB-C after because the good ol' Lightning port can be seen at the bottom of the device. Other things we can infer from the images, allegedly obtained from a Foxconn source, include an L-shaped battery, a display with True Tone capability similar to that on the 9.7-inch iPad Pro and more.