News

Foldable Samsung tablet/smartphone hybrid aka “smartlet” appears in patent filing

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 4, 2016

Last month, Bloomberg ran a high-profile story about Samsung's alleged initiative, code-named Project Valley, that would bring a pair of fully bendable Galaxy phones to market in early-2017.

Subsequent supply chain reports have since backed the story partially as it became public knowledge that Samsung has allocated north of $7 billion into boosting production of flexible OLED panels.

As Patently Apple noted today, a new patent application sheds more light on the South Korean conglomerate's interest in creating a technology that would allow a smartphone or tablet to fold in half when not in use.

tvOS 10 preview: all-new Remote app with Siri voice control, tilt gaming & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 11, 2018

A software replacement for the physical remote that came in the box with your fourth-generation Apple TV, Apple's entirely overhauled Remote application provides you with the full range of Siri Remote features complete with touch navigation, tilt-based control in games and voice input via Siri.

And in making tedious text entry on tvOS even easier than before, the new app lets you summon the keyboard right from the Lock screen of your iPhone by pressing a notification that automatically gets pushed every time you select a text field on the Apple TV.

Apple launches downloadable iMessage sticker packs for iOS 10

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 2, 2016

Apple on Friday released four sets of sticker packs for iOS 10 that can be downloaded from the App Store and used in the new Messages app that Apple demonstrated at the WWDC 2016 keynote.

Each of the packs are free to download and include animated stickers that behave much like those in Facebook Messenger do when they're sent to the recipient.

NYT music reporter claims Apple won’t be acquiring Tidal after all

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 1, 2016

The Wall Street Journal ran a story yesterday claiming that Apple was in “exploratory talks” to acquire music service Tidal, which rap mogul Jay-Z bought in March 2015 for a reported $56 million.

Ostensibly, Apple's interest in Tidal revolves around its strong ties to artists: since the Jay-Z deal, Tidal has given 19 famous artists small stakes in the firm.

The Journal article cautioned that the current discussions might not result in a deal and now Ben Sisario, a music reporter at The New York Times, cited “two highly placed sources” as saying that Apple won't be buying Tidal anytime soon.

Feast your eyes on nearly-complete iSpaceship in jaw-dropping drone footage

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 1, 2016

YouTubers Duncan Sinfield and Matthew Roberts have both posted their respective 4K aerial shots of the construction progress being made at Apple's Campus 2 site. The main building, also known as iSpaceship due to its seamless circular appearance, looks near-complete.

Featuring jaw-dropping 4K footage captured via a drone, we can clearly see that work on the upcoming stunning headquarters has progressed rapidly in the past few weeks.

Apple responds to Spotify’s “anti-competitive” accusation, talks app rejection

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 1, 2016

Spotify's letter sent earlier this week to Apple’s legal counsel Bruce Sewell and some Congressional staff in Washington, D.C. didn't sit well with Apple's legal team and its top lawyer.

Today, the Cupertino firm issued a response to address claims that it's been using the power of its ecosystem and the app review process as a “weapon” to stifle competition by rejecting the latest Spotify for iOS update, which “caused grave harm to Spotify and its customers”.

Firing back at Spotify in a three-page letter obtained by BuzzFeed News, Apple accused the Swedish streaming-music startup of “resorting to rumors and half-truths”, slammed it for asking for “preferential treatment” and set the record straight on the app rejection.

watchOS 3 tidbit: adjusting how long apps stay active on wrist raise

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 1, 2016

Before watchOS 3, Apple Watch owners had two options at their disposal when it came to waking the device and using apps. In watchOS 2 and earlier, you could adjust how long the Apple Watch display stayed awake when you tap to wake it (15 or 70 seconds) and what you wanted your device to be awoken to.

Prior watchOS versions defaulted to waking up to the current watch face but could optionally be told to return to where you were before the watch went to sleep. In watchOS 3, options for apps have been expanded.

You can now select how long third-party apps show on the Apple Watch screen when you raise your wrist with three additional options at your disposal.

iOS 10 tidbit: managing read receipts on a per-conversation basis

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 4, 2025

iOS 10 has a new hidden switch, called Emergency Bypass, which permits you to override your global Do Not Disturb setting on a per-contact basis. It's especially handy for those times when you wanna enable Messages notifications for a contact that isn't in your Favorites, even if Do Not Disturb is on.

A similar new feature in iOS 10's Messages app makes it easy to enable or disable read receipts, which tell the other person when you've read an incoming text, on a per-conversation basis.

Say hello to Android Nougat

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 1, 2016

When Google officially announced Android N at its annual Google I/O developers conference in May, they ran a contest asking fans to submit their suggestions for the official name of the next major revision to the world's most-used mobile operating system. Yesterday, Google announced they've chosen “Nougat” as the official code-name of Android 7.0.

Facebook shutting down Paper app

Cody Lee ∙ June 30, 2016

Facebook has announced that it is shutting down its newsreader app Paper. The app itself is no longer available for download in the US App Store, and the company says it will cease functioning for existing users at the end of next month.

Introduced in January 2014, Paper received praise for its beautiful design, swipe-based navigation, and exclusion of the typical Facebook noise like ads and game invites. However, it failed to gain much traction among the 1 billion+ users.

Nike names Tim Cook lead independent director

Cody Lee ∙ June 30, 2016

Nike on Thursday announced that it has appointed Tim Cook the lead independent director of its Board. The move is effective immediately, and comes as part of a larger shuffling in which Nike Chairman Phil Knight retires, and is replaced by long time president and CEO Mark Parker.

Spotify accuses Apple of stifling competition after seeing its iOS update rejected

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 30, 2016

Apple is leveraging the power of its ecosystem to harm competition, as well as the fact that it writes the rules governing third-party development and screens apps submitted to App Store editors, said Spotify.

Re/code is reporting that Apple won’t approve a new version of Spotify's music-streaming iOS client because it doesn’t want competition for Apple Music, its own $9.99 per month subscription music service.

“We cannot stand by as Apple uses the App Store approval process as a weapon,” wrote the Swedish startup in a letter sent this week to Apple’s top lawyer Bruce Sewell.