News

George Hotz’s $1,000 kit will transform your car into a self-driving one

George Hotz aka “GeoHot” is one of the pioneers of the early jailbreak scene. In December 2015, Bloomberg Businessweek ran a lengthy profile focused on Hotz's new project: a self-driving car kit. He's since secured funding for the project, Forbes reported, and now the kit that promises to transform your car into a self-driving vehicle for just $1,000 seems to be becoming a reality, as The Verge reports.

If Apple brought dark mode and Split View multitasking to iPhone 7

I've been a huge fan of OS X's dark theme which debuted with the release of OS X Yosemite back in October 2014. I also like to multitask on my iPad using OS 9's new Split View and Slide Over modes because they definitely increase productivity for me. But how cool would it be if Apple brought Split View to the iPhone 7 and OS X's dark mode to iOS 10?

A detailed conceptual renderings, created by Brazilian magazine iHelpBR imagine precisely this future playing out.

Apple releases eight new ‘Shot on iPhone’ ads

Apple today posted a total of eight new commercials to its YouTube channel, each running fifteen seconds long and highlighting cherry-picked camera work by iPhone photographers from around the globe.

The ads showcase the various video capture features of the iPhone's camera, including Slo-Mo. One of the photographers actually shot his video on an airplane flight between Miami and Curaçao.

Instagram’s new iOS extension finally lets you share without needing to launch the app

It's hard to tell from release notes alone, which only mention bug fixes and performance improvements, but Instagram's version 8.2 update that went live this morning on the App Store packs in a much improved Share sheet extension.

Long overdue, the new extension finally lets you upload photos and videos directly to the service, without needing to open the app at all.

Xbox One is getting Cortana soon

Microsoft's personal digital assistant Cortana is coming to the Xbox One console with an forthcoming software update for the console, the Windows giant revealed this morning. Cortona is currently available on Windows as an integrated feature and on iOS and Android devices as a standalone app.

Cortana for Xbox One will let players find new games, see what their friends are doing, start a party, perform common tasks and even turn on the console with their voice.

Microsoft rolls out Planner to all eligible Office 365 customers worldwide

Microsoft today said that its new productivity and teamwork app, called Planner, is now rolling out to all eligible Office 365 customers worldwide. “Beginning today, Planner will start rolling out to all eligible tenants,” said the Windows giant.

“We expect the rollout to be complete in the next several weeks.” Companion Planner apps for iOS, Android and Windows are currently being worked on and should release later this year.

Mark Gurman shares more details about upcoming WWDC announcements, new iPhones, and more

While in between two jobs, reporter Mark Gurman appeared on the latest episode of The Jay & Farhad Show podcast, where he shared more details about what we might see at WWDC this year, including new iOS features and design tweaks. Gurman also revealed more information about this year and next year's iPhone models.

While most of Gurman details were already known or rumored for a while, he did also offer information about features we hadn't heard of until now.

Get ready for WWDC 2016 with official Apple TV app

Just ahead of WWDC 2016, which kicks of with a keynote presentation on Monday, June 13, at 10am, Apple issues a timely refresh to its official WWDC app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

The refreshed app has an all-new dark interface and now runs on the fourth-generation Apple TV so you can watch WWDC action from the comfort of your couch.

Instagram’s new algorithm that rearranges your feed is now live

In mid-March 2016, Facebook-owned Instagram said it would soon tweak its algorithm to surface posts you care about at the top of your feed. Since then, the company has been testing the improved algorithm with a very small subset of its 400 million monthly active users. Starting today, this feature is available to all Instagram users without needing to update the mobile app, the company reported.

Apple poaches Dr. Rajiv Kumar, a pediatric endocrinologist from Stanford Children’s Health

In yet another sign of its commitment to advancing health-related services across its platforms, Apple has quietly poached Dr. Rajiv Kumar, a pediatric endocrinologist from Stanford Children's Health, Fast Company has learned. Kumar specializes in treating kids with diabetes.

Additionally, he also is the creator of a HealthKit-enabled diabetes monitoring system for young patients at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University. Lucile CEO Christopher Dawes has confirmed to the publication that Kumar left for Apple.

Yahoo Sports, now playing on your Apple TV

Yahoo on Friday launched its Sports app for the fourth-generation Apple TV, bringing its highly popular sports property to the big screen, for free. A bonus for those who’ve cut the cord, Yahoo Sports for Apple TV brings a highly personalized experience to viewers, including news, highlights and live games.