News

Bloomberg: Galaxy S8 to beat iPhone 8 to virtual Home button & bezel-free appearance

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 8, 2016

Samsung's next-generation Galaxy smartphone appears to be poised to beat Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 to the punch now that Bloomberg has corroborated much of SamMobile's report saying the Galaxy S8 will be a bezel-free device with a wraparound display featuring an in-screen Home button. The phone should be unveiled in February 2018 and launch in March.

That way, the Samsung device should enjoy a six-month lead over the iPhone 8's expected fall arrival. However, the Korean giant is considering scrapping plans for a dual-camera on the Galaxy S8 due to “higher manufacturing costs”, one of the sources told the news gathering organization.

Lightroom for iOS, Lightroom CC and Adobe Camera Raw pick up new pro-grade features

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 8, 2016

Photoshop maker Adobe today issued a series of updates to Lightroom for iPhone and iPad, Lightroom CC and Adobe Camera Raw, adding several new features for photographers, including refreshed Edit and Capture interfaces, a new info section and a brand new Professional mode.

Lightroom for iPhone and Lightroom for iPad are available free on the App Store. The Lightroom CC 2015.8 update and Adobe Camera Raw 9.8 are available from Adobe.

ChargePoint electric vehicle stations added to Apple Maps with Apple Pay support

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 11, 2024

ChargePoint operates the world’s largest electric vehicle charging network. As of today, ChargePoint's electric vehicle stations in the U.S. can be found through Apple Maps, as reported by 9to5Mac. And because ChargePoint accepts Apple Pay, users can even initiate charging via Apple Maps and complete their payment with a touch of a finger.

ChargePoint locations appear on the map as badges that can be tapped to reveal information like business hours, pricing, whether or not they accept Apple Pay at that particular location and more.

Apple partners with wind turbine maker Goldwind to bring more clean energy to Chinese suppliers

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 8, 2016

In an effort to help bring more clean energy to its Chinese suppliers, Apple and wind turbine maker Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology (also known as Goldwind) have entered into a cooperative joint venture agreement, according to a Hong Kong stock exchange filing spotted by the South China Morning Post newspaper.

Beijing Tianrun New Energy Investment, a Goldwind subsidiary, will transfer its thirty percent stakes in four project firms that will stay subsidiaries under Goldwind for stock exchange purposes.

Starbucks teams up with Pokémon GO as an official partner and adds more Pokéstops and gyms

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 8, 2016

Just yesterday, Niantic announced a partnership with Sprint to bring as many as 10,500 more Pokéstops and gyms to Pokémon GO, and today a similar partnership appears to be expanding to Starbucks coffee shops.

The announcement is a move to give players more flexibility in collecting necessary items to play the game, as well as to battle other players. Starbucks benefits out of the deal because it attracts potential customers to their locations.

Samsung counters Jet Black iPhone 7 with glossy “Black Pearl” Galaxy S7 Edge colorway

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 8, 2016

Confirming recent rumor-mill talk of a glossy black edition of its Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone, Samsung today officially announced a new Black Pearl color option in an attempt to counter what's been reported as high demand for Apple's new Black and Jet Black iPhone 7 models. The new colorway, Samsung said, “radiates quality and luxury” and was designed to be “modern and striking”.

You can now play Super Mario Run in Apple Stores around the world

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 8, 2016

Ahead of its scheduled December 15 debut, Nintendo's upcoming platformer Super Mario Run can now be experienced firsthand in your local Apple Store. That's because the iPhone maker has installed Super Mario Run demo stations at its brick-and-mortar retail locations for pre-release play, as announced during Wednesday evening's “The Tonight Show” starring Jimmy Fallon.

Report: Apple close to striking major partnership with NHL

Cody Lee ∙ December 7, 2016

The National Hockey League has informed teams that it is in late-stage negotiations with Apple over a major partnership, reports TSN. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Canadian sports outlet says the deal could see iPads and other technology come to NHL team benches.

Apparently the League has been in talks with Apple, and competitor Microsoft, for several years, but discussions with the iPhone-maker accelerated after a similar deal with the NBA fell through. The source says this pact could still dissipate, but it's pretty far along for that to happen.

Apple wants to offer rentals for movies that just came out in theaters

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 7, 2016

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is in discussions with Hollywood studios about eventually offering home rentals for new movies two weeks after they've hit the silver screen, but at a price.

New flicks are usually available for purchase on the iTunes Store 90 days after theatrical releases, followed by rentals two to four weeks later.

Movie studios are now said to be discussing rentals two weeks after they open in theaters though encryption is among the concerns in these talks, the article notes.

With T-Mobile’s new Digits service, your number can be used across multiple devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 7, 2016

U.S. wireless carrier today unveiled a new service, called Digits, which aims to uncouple your phone number from your mobile devices and wireless service plans.

According to T-Mobile CEO John Legere, Digits makes it so that you can use your T-Mobile number across multiple devices like smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, desktop PCs and wearable devices.

Digits will also permit you to use multiple T-Mobile numbers on the same device, making it easy to combine your work, home and personal numbers on a single smartphone with calls and texts appearing from the same number.

Win iOS tweaks and themes with #25DayJBGiveaways Christmas countdown

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated January 9, 2017

To celebrate the countdown to Christmas TheJailbreakBusters are running 25 continuous days of giveaways, with prizes consisting of tweaks and themes offered up by various developers and designers within the community.

Currently on Day 7, the iOS advent calendar event has already given away hundreds of freebies, ranging from theme packs such as Splendore by rauseothemes, to the alarm-clock customisation tweak Sleeper by /u/CoBrA2168.

Today's prize is the tweak QuickCenter from noted group iOSCreatix, and entering is as easy as pie.

Sprint partners up with Pokémon GO to add new Pokéstops and Gyms

Anthony Bouchard ∙ December 7, 2016

Sprint is partnering up with Niantic to increase the amount of Pokéstops and gyms that you can access in Pokémon GO.

The goal of the collaboration is to give players more access points to stock up on Pokémon item necessities and to battle other players for experience and team gym domination, but clearly Sprint gets some positive press out of the deal too.