News

2017 Porsche Panamera will have CarPlay integration

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 29, 2016

Apple's infotainment system will be integrated natively into a 2017 edition of Panamera from Porsche, the German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars. The car maker announced this morning that the 2017 Panamera luxury sedan has CarPlay support via a built-in 12.3-inch touchscreen.

In addition to CarPlay, the vehicle will support a new version of Porsche's own Communication Management system with navigation, a voice control system with support for natural language parsing, Porsche Connect and more.

Check out Euro 2016 Easter egg surprise hidden on Apple’s website

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 29, 2016

Apple hid a nice Easter egg surprise on its website for fans of soccer who are currently following the 2016 UEFA European Championship. Apple websites in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe now sport an updated Choose Your Country selector with Euro 2016 country groups and schedules.

As reported on by Dutch blog iCulture, the Cupertino firm even temporarily added a few new countries that it does not have regional websites for—like Albania, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Ukraine and Wales—to ensure that the groups and bracket are filled out properly.

Evernote just raised its prices

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 29, 2016

I stopped using Evernote more than a year ago because Apple's much-improved Notes fulfills all of my note-taking needs. That said, I understand that some folks still prefer Evernote because it's cross-platform and has advanced features like geotagging and uploading lots of data.

In announcing the price hike on its paid subscription plans, Evernote said the move would permit its developers to add even more features for power users.

Furthermore, customers who are on Evernote's Basic plan will no longer be permitted to use the service on more than two devices at the same time.

Analysts corroborate claim of alleged iPhone 7 Force Touch Home button

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 29, 2016

Cowen and Company analysts have corroborated an unconfirmed story which two days ago reiterated prior reports that the next iPhone would sport a Home button with haptic feedback to simulate a click, using the same approach as Force Touch on the Apple Watch.

Citing “field checks” to back up its research and projections, the analysts were quoted by Business Insider as saying that this new Home button will sit flush with the rest of the iPhone 7. They also expect the device will lack a headphone jack and will be waterproof, as previous rumors have suggested.

Facebook posts Save and Share extensions for Chrome, revamps Like button on mobile

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Having launched at the annual F8 conference for developers, Facebook's Save button is now available for public consumption in the form of a new Save to Facebook extension for the Google Chrome browser. As a bonus, an official new Share to Facebook extension with more capabilities is now also available for free in the Chrome Web Store.

Taking dead aim at Pocket, the new Save to Facebook extension makes it simple for Chrome users to tuck articles away on Facebook to read later on. According to the social networking firm, more than 300 million people use the Save feature every month.

Google Maps and Earth gain high-resolution imagery from Landsat 8 satellite

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 28, 2016

Google is upgrading the quality of aerial imagery for the satellite view that's available in Google Maps and Google Earth services. According to a blog post yesterday, both mapping services now offer crisp high-definition satellite imagery of Earth without clouds captured by Landsat 8, an Earth observation satellite launched on February 11, 2013 in a collaboration between NASA and the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

New Chinese regulations would have Apple track App Store users and developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 7, 2017

After ordering an iPhone 6 sales ban over alleged copyright infringement and shuttering the iBooks Store and iTunes Movies, Chinese regulators are now applying increased pressure on foreign technology companies doing business in the world's most populous market of 1.35 billion people.

According to Bloomberg, firms like Apple that operate app stores in the country will be forced to track the identities of users and developers with real-name registration in case they violate the country's stringent censorship laws.

Amazon debuts new Page Flip feature for Kindle apps and devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 28, 2016

Online retail giant Amazon on Tuesday announced a new Page Flip feature for its Kindle lineup of e-readers and mobile apps. Page Flip lets you flip back and forth between pages to reference different parts of the book while you read, without losing track of your current reading position. With Page Flip, you can turn one page at a time or zoom out to a bird’s eye view of your book to quickly choose the page you want.

iOS 10 tidbit: prioritizing App Store downloads with 3D Touch

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 28, 2016

In addition to using 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to cancel or pause in-progress app downloads, iOS 10 lets you prioritize a single App Store download at the expense of the other ones with 3D Touch. Reddit user “nite_” stumbled upon this feature while restoring his iPhone running a beta of iOS 10 from an iCloud backup, allowing him to prioritize the bulk download of apps with 3D Touch.

New invention paves the way for iPhones that’d optimize UI for left-handed users

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 28, 2016

The Apple Watch is designed for both left and right-handed use via a switch that prompts it to optimize the watchOS user interface for left-handed users. A similar feature could be headed to future iPhones as the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) a few days ago awarded the firm a patent for “Electronic Devices with Hand Detection Circuitry” that might let a future iPhone detect how it's being held and tweak the Home screen and other aspects of the iOS user interface for left-handed users.

Apple to reveal June quarter numbers on July 26

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 28, 2016

Apple will talk sales, revenue, profitability, the cost of doing business and other financial metrics pertaining to its third fiscal quarter, which translates into the second calendar quarter of this year, on July 26, according to an announcement posted on the Apple Investor webpage.

A conference call in which the company will discuss the latest quarterly results with investors and Wall Street analysts is scheduled for Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern.

Korea’s watchdog is investigating Apple for possible anti-competitive practices

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 28, 2016

Reuters reports that Apple is currently under fire in South Korea as the country's antitrust regulator launches an investigation into “some matters”, without disclosing further details. Jeong Jae-chan, the head of the anti-competition body, said during a parliamentary hearing Tuesday that the agency was taking a closer look at Apple's business practices in the country.

According to local media, the agency was reviewing details of Apple's contracts with South Korean wireless carriers earlier this month.