News

Apple could slash prices of next year’s 4.7″ and 5.5″ iPhones with legacy LCD technology

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 23, 2016

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is on a roll this morning with a litany of reports pertaining to Apple's next-generation 2017 iPhone refresh. According to another note issued to clients this morning, a copy of which was obtained by AppleInsider, Kuo says he expects the Cupertino firm to slash prices of both 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhone models next year.

That's because those iPhones are expected to continue using legacy LCD technology. By lowering prices for those models, Apple might potentially regain some of the market share lost to more affordable Android handsets.

iPhone 8 to hit mass production late in the third quarter of 2017

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 23, 2016

In another note issued to clients this morning, a copy of which was obtained by AppleInsider, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says he expects a next-generation iPhone to hit mass production late in the third quarter of next year. The widely rumored premium OLED iPhone model should account for a little more than half of new model shipments, or about fifty to 55 percent.

A 4.7-inch variant of next year's iPhone is projected to account for 30 to 35 percent of orders while its 5.5-inch brethren is expected to account for ten to fifteen percent of iPhone shipments next year.

KGI: iPhone 8 will have all glass casing to support wireless charging

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 23, 2016

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said many times over the past few months that Apple's Tenth Anniversary iPhone due next year will move from the current unibody aluminum industrial design to an all-glass front and back plate sandwiched between a stainless steel frame.

In a new note to clients, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors, Kuo explains that the reason why so-called 'iPhone 8' will switch from metal to glass for its casing is to support advanced wireless charging technologies.

Niantic expands Nearby Pokémon feature as players begin catching Ditto in Pokémon GO

Anthony Bouchard ∙ November 22, 2016

Millions of Pokémon GO players are in for a surprise this week as game developer Niantic is making some big server-side changes to the game.

A limited amount of players in certain regions of the world will be able to see Nearby Pokémon, a feature that has been in experimentation in just San Francisco, California for months.

The news of its expansion comes just a day after the announcement of the in-game Thanksgiving double XP event.

Apple reaches Apple Music deal with Indian ride-hailing firm Ola

Cody Lee ∙ November 22, 2016

Apple is teaming up with Indian ride-hailing firm Ola to push Apple Music, reports the L.A. Times. The outlet says that the deal will result in the company's streaming music service being available as part of Ola's in-car experience.

The platform is called Ola Play, and it already has several high-profile partners including Sony, Qualcomm and Audio Compass. It gives passengers the ability to control their vehicle's climate and entertainment via an in-car tablet.

DirecTV gains Single Sign-On support in iOS 10.2 and tvOS 10.1 betas

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 22, 2016

Single Sign-On, a feature that remembers and uses your cable/satellite logins across compatible video apps for the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV, was originally promised months ago and should finally go live alongside public releases of iOS 10.2 and tvOS 10.1 next month.

As noted by MacRumors, AT&T's DirecTV service is now being listed as a Single Sign-On compatible app alongside the previously listed compatible providers: Dish, Sling TV, Hotwire and GVTC Communications.

Facebook is testing an upcoming Find Wi-Fi feature in the mobile app

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 22, 2016

Facebook appears to be testing a new location-based feature that permits some users to identify free Wi-Fi hotspots through the social network's mobile application for the iPhone and iPad.

As reported by The Next Web, some users, myself included, are now seeing a Find Wi-Fi option in the app's side menu, between the Nearby Places and Nearby Friends options. Tapping it puts up a prompt asking to grant Facebook access to your location so it can find public Wi-Fi hotspots around you.

Is Jony Ive no longer directly involved with iPhone and Mac product design?

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 22, 2016

In an article Tuesday titled “Pundits Believe Apple's Jony Ive No Longer Involved in iPhone, Mac Product Design,” AppleInsider reports that journalist Jason Snell and Daring Fireball's John Gruber speculated on a recent The Talk Show podcast that Ive, who is Apple's Chief Design Officer, may be now more focused on architectural projects like the upcoming Spaceship campus and special initiatives such as Project Titan than industrial designs related to the iPhone, iPad, Mac and other consumer products from Apple.

Developer ports classic FPS shooter Doom onto the new MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar display

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 22, 2016

Developer Adam Bell has successfully ported the classic first-person shooter Doom onto the new MacBook Pro Touch Bar's 2,170-by-60 pixel resolution OLED display complete with 3D graphics, the game's familiar head-up display and trademark sound effects. Doom, of course, runs on everything these days thanks to enthusiasts who port the game onto computing devices that can handle it.

Samsung should release an all-new glossy black version of Galaxy S7 in time for Christmas

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 22, 2016

Samsung is said to copy Apple, again, by adding a new “glossy” color option to the Galaxy S7 lineup next month that sounds a lot like the iPhone 7's Jet Black finish. According to The Korea Herald newspaper yesterday, Samsung is readying to release its own Jet Black Galaxy S7 in December to make up for lost sales stemming from Note 7's discontinuation.

The Korean firm reportedly saw success in recently bringing the Note 7's Coral Blue colorway to the Galaxy S7 lineup, joining the S7's existing glossy Onyx Black color option.

GBA4iOS creator launching new SNES, Game Boy & Nintendo 64 emulator in beta this December

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 22, 2016

Developer Riley Testut, the brains behind a Game Boy emulator for iOS called GBA4iOS, said on Twitter yesterday that he is now focusing his energies on a brand new software designed to emulate the hardware of popular SNES, Game Boy and Nintendo 64 consoles. He's calling it Delta and it's launching this December in beta although a teaser website does not reveal if this will be an app that you'll be able to sideload onto an iOS device without jailbreaking.

Longstanding bug causes iOS devices to crash after playing a maliciously crafted video

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 20, 2023

YouTuber EverythingApplePro has has been sharing a bug in iOS which causes any iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to glitch out after playing a malicious video link in Safari. The device will first slow to a crawl before freezing or crashing altogether, requiring a hard reset. This appears to be a longstanding bug because iPhones and other iOS devices running iOS 5 were found to be affected by the glitch.

As noted on Reddit, the top level domains that are currently hosting the glitchy video are vk.com and testtrial.site90.net.