It's odd to think about, but did you know that the Touch ID sensor on your iPhone makes noise? If you hold an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus up to your ear in a quiet room and touch the Touch ID sensor, then you will hear a very faint clicking sound emitting from the vicinity of the sensor. It's just another weird fact gleaned from the /r/apple this morning.
We receive about 3.5 tons of emails every given day here at iDB, and I have to admit that I don't get past the second sentence of 95% of them before trashing them. Then there is an actual 4.9999% that I actually read and reply to or forward to one of our editors. Finally, there is this 0.0001% of emails that really stand out. They stand out because they are intriguing, well written, funny, or even bizarre, and in some cases, they're all of the above.
This week, we received what I believe to be the best email that ever graced my inbox. It was so entertaining that instead of reading it while standing at my desk, I went downstairs, picked up my iPad mini and read the email from the comfort of my couch. I would lie if I said the idea of pouring myself a glass of Crown Royal didn't cross my mind.
It was so entertaining to me that I wanted to share it with you.
This is pretty interesting. Senior iOS Architect at Honda R&D America Duane Cash is claiming that he has come up with a method of controlling Siri, and subsequently his iPhone, using a brainwave-reading device.
Cash uploaded a video of his project in action yesterday, which he describes as an effort to create a mind-controlled virtual assistant on the iPhone. And what he has so far looks pretty impressive. Check it out...
Raise your hand if you like robots. Ok, now raise your hand if you hate cleaning the fingerprints and debris off of your iPhone and iPad screens. Wouldn't it be cool if there was a product out there that combined these two things?
Believe it or not, there is. Meet the Automee S, a tiny, round, Roomba-like robot that's built to automatically clean the screen of your smartphone or tablet in a matter of minutes. We've got a video of it in action after the fold...
Imagine you are awoken in the middle of the night by someone pounding loudly at your door. It's a man and his girlfriend, and they're upset because someone just stole her iPhone, and the Find My iPhone app led them straight to your house. Now imagine this is a regular occurrence.
Unfortunately for Wayne Dobson, he doesn't have to imagine. Due to a glitch in Sprint's location-tracking services, phone finding apps have been sending owners of missing iPhones and other handsets, as well as police, to Dobson's home in North Las Vegas for the past two years...
What's your take on belt clip cell phone holsters? I used to sell cell phones, and I would cringe every time a customer would buy one. They'd say, "it's just so accessible." I even had one guy show me how much faster it was taking it out of the holster than it was his pocket. Ok.
But what if you want that kind of accessibility, without the fashion faux pas? Then you might be a candidate for this new iPhone quick-draw system. The contraption fits around your arm, and catapults your iPhone from under your sleeve to your hand in milliseconds...
Sometimes it seems like the list of things our iPhones can do is endless. Third-party apps turn our devices into heart monitors, sleep machines, scanners and more.
Apparently, there's even an app that can help you detect cancer. UMSkinCheck for iPhone promises to help you easily detect skin cancer without the need of a trained professional...
While we've seen several watch bands and other accessories made to ensure your iPod nano is with you at all times, we've never seen anything like this. Dave Hurban, of Newfield New Jersey carries his iPod with him via magnets in his arm.
That's right, this Dynasty Tattoo tattoo artist had four powerful magnets implanted into his left arm to hold his late-generation iPod nano in place...
Although Apple has created one of the strongest (likely the strongest) digital content stores in the world, it's far from perfect. The iTunes Store has a number of fundamental problems, including the lack of a proper refund system.
Perhaps no one is more aware of this than Robert Herskowitz. The iTunes user was recently billed twice for the same song — Adam Lambert's "Whataya Want from Me" — and was denied a refund by Apple. So he's suing them...
Define narcissism: excessive or erotic interest in oneself and one's physical appearance. If this sounds like you, or someone you know, you might be interested in this new iPhone app from Dapper Gentlemen.
Ugly Meter uses your handset's front-facing camera to scan (in other words, take a picture of) your face, and then rates your attractiveness on a scale of 1-10 based on a few different data points...
M.I.C gadget passes along an interesting story regarding a recent smuggling bust that took place at the Sha Tau Kok border in Southern China. Chinese officials seized hundreds of iPhones from a woman traveling from Hong Kong to Shenzhen.
The craziest part of this story is how the handsets were being transported. The Customs agents found the iPhones hidden inside 25 ounce solid glass beer bottles. How'd the smugglers manage to pull this off? Watch this video...
Few apps in the App Store can claim to be part of an experiment, but Dream:On can.
Created by self proclaimed "psychologist, author and magician," Professor Richard Wiseman, the app aims to influence a user's dreams once they fall asleep, all through the power of sound.
Whether it works or not, well, we'll just have to see...