News

Video: iPhone 7 mockups in Gold, Rose Gold and rumored Space Black

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 21, 2016

Many rumors surrounding Apple's upcoming iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus suggest a refined iPhone 6s industrial design with subdued antennal lines on the backside and the usual Gold, Rose Gold and Silver finishes, with at least one source pointing at a possible Apple Watch-like Space Black variant.

Ran Avni of YouTube channel ConceptsiPhone posted an interesting video yesterday, depicting iPhone 7 mockups in Gold, Rose Gold and Space Black to give us an idea what the handset might look like when it launches this fall.

New feature in iOS 10 warns you if liquid is detected in Lightning port

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

It appears that Apple has added a feature in iOS 10 that can detect if there is liquid in your device's Lightning connector. As seen in the above images, posted to Reddit by u/lucioghosty, if liquid is detected, iOS 10 warns you to keep the port clear until it dries.

The alert takes up the full screen, and apparently stays until you either disconnect whatever Lightning is plugged into the port, or you tap the Ignore button. Note that tapping Ignore pops up another warning saying, "this may damage your iPhone."

macOS Sierra Public Beta 2 released to testers

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 20, 2016

In addition to releasing a second public beta of iOS 10, macOS Sierra Public Beta 2 is now also available to those signed on the Apple Beta Software Program.

The third beta of Sierra was seeded to Apple's registered developers two days ago, and now public beta testers can take it for a spin (public beta 2 and developer beta 3 offer the same features).

The update should appear as an over-the-air download via the Software Update mechanism through the Mac App Store's Updates tab on Macs that run the first public beta and are enrolled in Apple's program.

iOS 10 Public Beta 2 now available to testers

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 20, 2016

Two days following the developer-only release of iOS 10 beta 3, Apple today released iOS 10 Public Beta 2 for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The software is now available to public beta testers who are signed on the Apple Beta Software Program.

For those wondering, iOS 10 Public Beta 2 and developer beta 3 offer the same features.

Folks on the first public beta with an appropriate configuration profile installed on their device should see an over-the-air download in Settings → General → Software Update.

Meet Swiftmoji, SwiftKey’s new emoji-predicting keyboard

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

A new emoji-predicting keyboard from Microsoft-owned SwiftKey, called Swiftmoji, launched on the App Store.

Available at no charge on the App Store, it boosts your emoji game by predicting a wall of suggested emojis based on crowdsourced data, the user's own preferences and the actual text written in any of the user's keyboards.

This ability to get perfect emoji predictions based on what you’ve just typed is similar to Apple's much-improved QuickType keyboard on iOS 10.

Popular writing app Scrivener is now available on iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 21, 2018

If you write books, manuals or lengthy manuscripts for a living, chances are you rely on Scrivener for Mac for your work. If so, you'll be delighted to learn that the app's creator, British developer Literature & Latte Ltd., has released Scrivener for iOS following a long period of thorough beta testing. The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch app costs $19.99 and provides the full range of features writers need to create, edit and update their work on the go with full-screen mode on the iPad and other perks.

Deezer music-streaming service is now available to everyone in the United States

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 20, 2016

Music-streaming service Deezer yesterday launched to everyone in the United States. The service, which has 40 million licensed tracks in its library, used to be available in the US via partnerships with Bose and Cricket Wireless, as well as Sonos. Sonos customers who paid $20 a month for Deezer Elite were able to wirelessly stream music from Deezer, but now everyone in the country can sign up for the Deezer Premium+ service on the web ($9.99 per month) or through the mobile app ($12.99 per month).

Apple Pay expands in Hong Kong with support from Amex, Visa and MasterCard

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 20, 2016

Apple Pay expansion in international markets has accelerated lately, with the mobile payment system launching in France yesterday and now, just 24 hours later, in Hong Kong. According to Apple Pay's Hong Kong website, the service is supported at launch by all three major credit card companies: Visa, American Express and MasterCard, with cards issued by Hang Seng Bank, Bank of China (Hong Kong), DBS Bank (Hong Kong), HSBC, Standard Chartered and AmEx.

Apple Store promo: sign up for Apple Pay and get $5/£5 iTunes gift card

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 19, 2016

Apple is running a new promotion in its retail stores in the United States and United Kingdom, treating anyone who'd sign up for Apple Pay this week to a free $5/£5 iTunes gift card, according to MacRumors which first caught wind of this news.

Free money is always appreciated, more so given that iTunes credit can be used for any purchase made in an Apple Store, whether purchasing an accessory, an Apple product or an iTunes/Apple Store gift card.

New Apple invention would employ multi-axis haptic feedback based on device orientation

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 19, 2016

A new patent filing by Apple, which surfaced Tuesday in the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) database, provides yet another indication that Apple's engineers continue work on perfecting haptic feedback in its products. According to the filing, the company has invented a multi-axis haptic feedback solution capable of producing vibrations in different directions, based on whether a user holds the device in portrait or landscape orientation.

Kia to add CarPlay to older vehicles by month-end

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

Kia Motors Corporation, South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor, announced this morning that it will be releasing a free software update that will add support for CarPlay and Android Auto to select cars outfitted with an AVN 4.0 navigation system or the UVO3 dash interface, marking a rare instance in which older vehicles will get access to Apple's in-car infotainment system.