News

iPhone 7 might ship with Lightning EarPods and 3.5mm headphone jack adapter

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 31, 2016

An image of another claimed spec sheet has surfaced on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo, indicating that the iPhone 7 could come with both a Lightning edition of Apple's wired EarPods and a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter in the box. As a result, the iPhone 7 should provide its owners with an appropriate solution for connecting their existing wired headphones to the handset right out of the box, without requiring them to purchase a standalone adapter.

Snapchat’s sweet new update makes a handful of things a tad easier

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 30, 2016

A brand new version of Snapchat is now available in the App Store on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. It's a point update but don't let that fool you as it makes a handful of things a bit easier. For starters, you can now finally preview a person's public Stories without adding them as a friend. Before today, you had to add a contact as your friend to view their Stories so just this nice improvement alone could go a long way toward helping us discover new accounts and content on Snapchat a bit more easily than before.

Where Cards Fall from Alto’s Adventure creators gets its first trailer

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 30, 2016

Back in March, we told you about a promising upcoming game, titled Where Cards Fall—a collaboration between Alto's Adventure developer Snowman and LA-based studio The Game Band. Today, they shared with us their first-ever trailer for the game and it's definitely worth a quick watch.

Even though the video doesn’t reveal much about game mechanics, we can tell from it that Where Cards Fall is going to have atmospheric look to it. The game will task you with building and re-building various structures in different ways using cards and today's trailer shows off some of its eye-candy visuals.

Jessica Alba has boarded “Planet of the Apps” as a mentor and executive producer

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 30, 2016

“Planet of the Apps”, an unscripted television show about apps and their creators co-produced by Apple and Propagate Content’s Ben Silverman and Howard Owens, has added actress/model Jessica Alba to the list of its mentors and advisers, The Variety reports. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Internet personality and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk also joined the project recently, in addition to musician will.i.am.

Faulty speakers and dual-cameras could cause iPhone 7 shortages at launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 30, 2016

Apple's suppliers are ramping up production of iPhone 7 parts ahead of the big reveal on September 7, but some manufacturers have been reportedly experiencing serious defects in the waterproof speaker and dual-camera modules for months now, and are yet to be resolved.

As a result, customers may initially face iPhone 7 shortages at launch as Apple's supply chain deals with low yields, according to a recent report in Nikkei Asian Review. An industry source familiar with the matter did not name any suppliers beyond indicating they're struggling to produce iPhone 7 parts in volume.

Leaked iPhone 7 prototype sticker reaffirms that 32GB is the new 16GB

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 30, 2016

Various leaks published over the past few months by solid sources have strongly indicated that the iPhone 7 would at long last ditch its oft-criticized 16-gigabyte tier, replacing it with a 32-gigabyte SKU as the new entry-level option for buyers. Based on the image of an info sticker of an alleged iPhone 7 prototype obtained from Foxconn, that smartphone leakster The Malignant tweeted out this morning, it would seem that the next iPhone might indeed start out at 32GB.

Report: iPhone’s switch to AMOLED short-lived as Apple looks to adopt Micro-LED screens

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 30, 2016

Apple's Tenth Anniversary iPhone due next year is widely expected to use the superior AMOLED display technology, but only for a short while as the Cupertino company looks to adopt the emerging Micro-LED screens in the long run, according to a report from Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes.

Micro-LEDs waste far less battery power compared to other commercially viable display technologies, making them ideally suited for mobile devices like iPhones and iPads. Traditional TFT LCD panels waste a lot of energy because they require a backlight.

Instagram’s popular Explore tab now recommends Stories from people you could follow

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 30, 2016

Today, Instagram's Explore tab will start showing some users a bar of Stories from accounts they could follow, TechCrunch reported yesterday, saying these algorithmically personalized suggestions will roll out to everyone soon. Stories recommendations are based on who you follow and the topics you care about, making it easy to add someone new to your Home feed’s Stories section.

Papa John’s now lets you order pizzas, drinks and desserts right from your Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 30, 2016

Tuesday, Papa John's launched a brand new application allowing owners of the fourth-generation Apple TV to order pizza from the comfort of their couch, straight from their Apple TV. In becoming the first restaurant to bring food ordering to the Apple TV, Papa John's said that all orders placed using the new app will have an automatic 25 percent discount applied to them. Users must sign into their existing Papa John's account to automatically provide payment information and access their favorite meals.

Rumor: iPhone 7 will also be offered in Darth Vader-like glossy black colorway

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 30, 2016

Japanese blog Mac Otakara was first to report that Apple's upcoming iPhone 7 refresh would include a Space Black Apple Watch-like darker color option replacing the existing Space Gray colorway. Tuesday, Mac Otakara published a pair of photos purportedly showing a claimed iPhone 7 SIM tray in Darth Vader-like glossy black finish said to resemble the exterior of the 2013 Mac Pro. Sources told Mac Otakara that the next iPhone would come in a total of five color choices.

Bloomberg: new Macs and 5K monitor could debut as early as October

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 19, 2018

Apple is working on several upgrades to its Mac product line, reports Bloomberg. Citing sources familiar with the company's plans, the outlet says the refreshed hardware includes new versions of the iMac, MacBook Air, and the oft-rumored MacBook Pro.

Also in the pipeline is a new 5K standalone monitor. Apple, of course, discontinued its Thunderbolt Display earlier this year, after years without an update. This time around, Bloomberg says the Cupertino firm is collaborating with LG to build its monitor.