iPad Air launch experience and unboxing in Australia

Apple’s iPad Air is already on sale in select countries like Australia and New Zealand, which are among the lucky few that greet the new day long before the rest of world. Now that the iPad Air is out in the wild, photos and videos of the launch as well as the first unboxing clips are hitting the Internet. Thanks to Ben Pasternak and Matthew Rogers, who had the #1 slot in line at an Australian Apple Store, we can get a first hand look at the launch experience and an unboxing of the retail model of the tablet. You can check out the video of the launch below and then scroll down a little further for the unboxing. And if you are dying to find out, Apple didn’t pull out any surprises with the iPad Air. It’s packaged in typical iPad fashion with a white box, minimal packaging and tightly wrapped cables. Are you planning on getting an iPad Air today? Let us know in the comments. [Via MacRumors] Continue reading →

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New Apple Remote app icon spotted in App Store

It’s looking inevitable that Apple’s Remote app will be updated in the very near future. For the second time in less than a week, a new iOS 7-inspired icon for the Remote app has been spotted in the wild. The Remote app allows iOS owners to control their Apple TV or iTunes using their iPhone or iPad. Late last week, some iTunes users spotted the new Remote app icon in iTunes version 11.1.2. Now, the new flat-styled icon has made its appearance again. This time the icon landed in the Columbian App Store, says a report in MacRumors. Though we haven’t seen any screenshots from the app, we assume it will be overhauled with a new look and feel that matches the minimalist style os iOS 7. The Remote app is long overdue for an update. It was last updated in January 2013 with a handful of changes that improved the rating of songs and the sorting of podcasts. The Remote app saw a major overhaul about a year ago when version 3.0 brought a new UI that included an expanded view and improved search function. Continue reading →

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Apple pushes its own stock iOS apps and features in App Store search results

Normally, when you search for an app on the App Store, you’d expect the apps in the results to be available on the App Store. But in what seems to be a recent change, Apple has also started showing its preinstalled system apps like Safari and Messages in the search result list. The results for these preinstalled apps are visually very different from the usual results. There are no screenshots, and instead there’s a huge icon with a short description for each app. Apple’s also showing system level features like iCloud and Siri in the results linking to an Apple webpage talking more about them. From MacStories: If you search for common terms like “web”, “SMS”, or “movies” in the iOS 7 App Store you’ll see special search results for Apple apps like Safari, Messages, and iTunes with a large icon, a description, and a link to learn more or open an app (such as Safari). These results appear on the App Store for iOS 7 devices (I wasn’t able to display them on a Mac using iTunes) and, in my tests, they also worked for queries like “browser”, “messages”, “cloud”, “internet”, “Siri”, and “text”. I’ve tried several other queries, but I couldn’t see results for other apps like Reminders, Calendars, Mail, Photos, Music, or Notes. While this might be good for users who haven’t yet discovered features like Siri or iCloud, it might raise some concern amongst third-party developers since Apple may begin to increasingly surface their own apps at the top of search results. Let us know what you think about this new addition to App Store’s search. Do you find it irritating that Apple’s showing you an app/feature that you already might know about in the search results, where you want to look for something new, or are you finding the new results helpful? Continue reading →

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iPad Air launch greeted with long lines worldwide

The thinner, lighter iPad Air, unveiled last week, goes on sale in a number of countries on November 1st, which might be tomorrow in your time zone, but is already today in Asia-Pacific countries. Not surprisingly, the launch of the iPad Air has been greeted with long lines around the world. This year, Apple didn’t take pre-orders for the iPad Air, so lines are expected to be a long longer this time around. That said, Apple will reportedly offer in-store Personal Pickups, that will allow buyers reserve their iPad starting midnight November 1st, who can later pick it up from an Apple Store without waiting in line. You can get the iPad Air shipped to your home too, from Apple’s online store, but it’s not guaranteed you’ll have the device with you on launch day. Here’s a quick look at photos of people waiting for the iPad Air from around the world. Japan Switzerland @IN_TIME_NEWS #iPadAir #AppleStore #Zürich pic.twitter.com/t9oBbo3xjh — Alex Superschweizer (@superschweizer) October 31, 2013 Germany Sven schickt uns ein Bild vom Apple Store Berlin. Das iPad Air kann kommen! pic.twitter.com/dANLZHnd2U — Apfelpage.de (@apfelpage_de) October 31, 2013 Berliner Apple Store Kurfürstendamm pic.twitter.com/HtljoMV4VN — Techniklike (@TechniklikeBlog) October 31, 2013 US There’s still plenty of time left until iPad Air sales open, but that hasn’t stopped people from queuing up. @KFCBarstool people in line for the Apple store a full day before the new iPad comes out: saddest people on earth pic.twitter.com/hFK0D9IvEW — Dave Hanson (@theballisorange) October 31, 2013 There's a line a block long to buy new iPad Air. Why no line to feed the hungry? #societyfallen&cantgetup pic.twitter.com/vM2vqHSZtD — John M. Newhouse (@jmn659) October 31, 2013 Do you plan or are already standing in line for an iPad Air? Post pictures of the line in the comments below. Continue reading →

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iPad Air now available on Apple’s Online Store in Asia Pacific, shipping within 24 hours

As expected, iPad Air is now available on Apple’s Online Store in Asia Pacific region. Apple had unveiled iPad Air at its media event last week. The 5th generation iPad is thinner, lighter, sports an iPad mini-like design and is powered by Apple’s faster A7 chip. The iPad Air currently ships in 24 hours on Apple’s Online store in Australia, China, Japan and Singapore. The shipping estimates for the iPad Air on Apple’s Hong Kong is showing 1-2 weeks. iPad Air goes on sale in the following countries on November 1st, so expect it to be available in the remaining countries at 12:01 am local time on Apple’s Online Store: US, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China (Wi-Fi models only), Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao (Wi-Fi models only), Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK You can also go to Apple retail stores, their carrier’s retail stores or Apple Authorized Resellers at 8:00 am local time to get the iPad Air. Reports indicate that there will be more than enough stock of iPad Air for the launch day. Let us know if you have managed to successfully place an order for your iPad Air. Related: Everything you need to know about the iPad Air Continue reading →

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Apple sends Mac Pro posters to select journalists

At the iPad event last week, Apple announced that its professional desktop, the Mac Pro, will be available at the end of this year for a starting price of $2999. The company this week also sent out a set of Mac Pro posters to select journalists, highlighting its design and structure. Here’s what the text accompanying the posters says: It’s the computer we were insane to build. The one that turns conventional thinking on its head, then kicks the living $#&% out of it. We challenged all our assumptions. Abandoned our preconceptions. And blew away limitation after limitation. This is the new Mac Pro. It’s like no Mac we’ve created before. And we can’t wait to see what you create with it. The posters measure 36 x 25 inches, and were delivered in a black cardboard cylinder. Here are photos of the posters: For more photos of the posters, head over to TidBITS, who were one of the lucky ones to get the posters. In July this year, Apple had similarly sent out posters to journalists celebrating “5 years of the App Store”. Continue reading →

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Twitter for iOS updated with inline photos and Vine videos

Twitter today announced an update to its iOS app with in-line photos, Vine videos and retweet and reply buttons, so as to make the Twitter timeline “more visual” and require minimal taps to interact with tweets. Notably, tweets with images now do not show the image URL at all, but simply show the tweet text with an embedded image. So if you tweet a photo with no text, it’ll simply show up as an image, with nothing else in the call. The update also includes favorite, retweet and reply buttons right on the timeline, so you no longer need to swipe to reveal more options or enter the tweet detail view to perform these actions. Here are the release notes for the update: This update includes enhancements to Tweets in the home timeline. Be a part of the moment. - Tweets with Twitter photos, Vine videos, and other select content now show a preview in your home timeline. Tap the image to reveal the full screen version. Tweet a picture without text, and let the image say it all. Joining the conversation just got easier. You can reply, retweet, favorite, or follow someone straight from a Tweet in your home timeline. If you don’t like these changes, you can turn them off from the in-app Settings’ Image Previews toggle. (The Settings are accessible by tapping the gear icon in the “Me” tab.) Download link: ➤ Twitter for iOS – free Continue reading →

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Will the iPhone 6 have a 1080p Full HD 5-inch display?

One of the most common complaints about the iPhone is the lack of a bigger screen option, but according to multiple rumors, Apple’s next iPhone will feature a larger screen ranging from anywhere between 4.8-inches to 6-inches. Today, a rumor via Japanese news site Macotakara claims that the next iPhone will have a 5-inch display with a 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution, at a pixel density of 440 ppi. The device will reportedly be launched in September next year, contradicting an earlier claim from analyst Gene Munster, who said that Apple will release the new iPhone as soon as next summer. It’s not clear how exactly Apple would handle the transition to the bigger display, but we expect Apple to diversify the iPhone lineup like the iPad and iPod lineup. Apple has already diversified the iPhone lineup with the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, and the company could easily add a bigger screen iPhone to this product line. Earlier this year, a reference to pixel quadrupling was found in iOS, suggesting that Apple has a “super Retina” device in the works, but 440 ppi isn’t an integral multiple of the non-Retina iPhone’s 163ppi pixel density. Would you want an iPhone with a bigger screen? Or you prefer the screen size of the iPhone 5s? Continue reading →

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Google+ for iOS to soon be updated with full-size photo backups and background sync

Google hosted a special Google+ event this morning, and announced an update to the Google+ iOS app with features that bring it on par with its Android counterpart. The features include the ability to upload full-resolution photos to Google+. Previously, photo backups were capped at a certain size, beyond which they were compressed and uploaded. The update will also utilise iOS 7′s new smarter multitasking to upload and sync photos in the background, rather than doing it only when the app was open. Google+ and Dropbox are one of the best ways to auto-backup your photos to the cloud, and with Google+’s background upload, backing up will become even easier. Google hasn’t announced when the update will go live on the App Store, but we’ll let you know what it is available for download. [via Engadget] Continue reading →

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Facebook to update Messenger for iOS with all-new design, phone number integration in coming weeks

While Facebook updated its main app with an iOS 7 design more than a month back, its other popular app, Facebook Messenger, hasn’t seen a similar update. As it turns out, Facebook is working on a major redesign for Messenger on iOS and Android with a “flat” look, but its primary feature is to make the app more competitive with the likes of WhatsApp, Kik etc. The update will let you get in touch with not just your Facebook friends, but even those people who aren’t connected with you on Facebook via their phone numbers. This is similar to the way WhatsApp, and a lot of other messaging apps work. As long as people are in your phone book, they’re your “friends”. Of course since this brings your phone number into the picture, the updated Messenger app would ask you to verify your number, associate it with your Facebook account and require you to let the app read your contacts list. The updated app will first rollout to a selected set of users on Android, and will be released on iPhone in the coming weeks. Here are a few screenshots for the updated Facebook Messenger on Android, and Facebook likely will maintain the same look for the iOS version as well. Let us know what you think of the upcoming changes to Facebook’s Messenger app in the comments below. [via The Verge] Continue reading →

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BBM adds 20 million iPhone and Android users in the first week, waitlist removed

BlackBerry has announced that it has added 20 million users since the launch of BBM for iPhone and Android last week. After the initial hiccup in September, BlackBerry finally released its BBM app for iPhone and Android last week. In order to prevent its servers from crashing, BlackBerry had incorporated a virtual wait list. BlackBerry has announced that it has removed the waitlist on Saturday, which means users can now download the app, and start using it immediately rather than trying to use this trick to bypass the waitlist. The BBM app was downloaded 5 million times in the first 8 hours, and has hit the 20 million mark in just one week, which is impressive. With the addition of the 20 million iPhone and Android users, BBM has now crossed 80 million monthly active users. During its first week, BBM was the top free overall app in 35 countries on Google Play and in 107 countries in the App Store and continues to maintain a strong position in key markets such as Canada, the US, the UK, Indonesia and much of the Middle East, to name a few. I was quite surprised by the response to the BBM app. With popular apps such as Whatsapp, I didn’t expect BBM app to do so well. I was also quite impressed at the speed at which the company has rolled out new updates to fix for the iOS 7.0.3 related compatibility issues and issues with the contacts tab & photo sharing. Let me know what you think of the BBM app in the comments. Are you surprised it has crossed the 20 million mark so quickly? [Via BlackBerry blog] Continue reading →

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Never Leave Your Files Behind with Spotdox for DropBox [Deals Hub]

We’ve all had that panicked moment of clicking furiously through the Finder or swiping incessantly on the iPhone in hopes of finding a file that we swear is there. Dropbox has helped cure some of those woes, but it only gives you access to the files you keep in the Dropbox folder. What if you need something else? That’s where Spotdox comes in. This Dropbox add-on gives you remote access to any file on your computer. You can get it on sale now from the iPhone Hacks Deals Hub. Spotdox is the perfect companion app for Dropbox users. It allows you to extend your reach across miles and gain access to your computer and all of it’s files. You can browse for what you need from your home computer. Once you find it, you can then copy the file to your Dropbox account and have access to it right from the Dropbox folder. Spotdox is guaranteed to save you tons of worry the next time you’re in a panic because of a forgotten file. You can get a lifetime subscription to Spotdox from the iPhone Hacks Deals Hub for just $19. That’s a 66% savings off the retails price, and a small price to pay for instant access to all your files at any time, so grab this offer today. Continue reading →

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Get the Portable Charging Station and Cable Rack System [Deals Hubs]

When you’re traveling, it seems like there is no defense against tangled cords. No matter what you do, at some point you will reach into your bag and find a cord in a messy pile wrapped up in itself. This is especially annoying when you need a quick charge. But now you can solve both of those problems at once with the AViiQ Portable Charging Station and Cable Rack System. It’s on sale right now in the iPhone Hacks Deals Hub. Our devices have gotten more and more portable over the years, but they still rely on the tried and true technology of batteries and cords. You don’t have to feel restricted by these wires, though. The AViiQ Portable Charging Station and Cable Rack System can charge four devices at once and keep all of your cords in line so you don’t end up undoing tangled knots for hours on end. Just put your USB charging cables in the cable rack and hook up your devices when needed without any hassle. You can get the AViiQ Portable Charing Station and Cable Rack System on sale from the iPhone Hacks Deals Hub for just $49.99. That’s a 33% savings off the retail price. It’s a great price for a product that will make your life much easier, so grab this offer while you can. Continue reading →

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How to generate strong, secure passwords using Safari iCloud Keychain

A good secure password for any website you visit is long, contains special characters and, most importantly, is unique, so that even if your password is compromised through an attack on that website, all your other website logins remain safe. The problem is, it’s very hard to remember a unique password for each website you visit, but with iCloud Keychain, added in iOS 7.0.3, you don’t need to. iCloud Keychain syncs your passwords across your iOS devices and Macs, and has a handy feature that auto-generates strong and secure passwords so that you don’t have to think of a new one every time you sign-up. Here’s how you generate passwords in Safari using iCloud Keychain: Open Settings, navigate to iCloud > Keychain and make sure iCloud Keychain is enabled. Now open Safari, and visit the site you want to sign-up for. Enter whatever information is needed in the sign-up form, and when you come to the password field, you’ll see a Suggest Password button above the keyboard. Tap on the button, and a popover with the suggested password should appear. If you’re okay with the generated password, tap on Use Suggested Password and it’ll be autofilled for you and synced across all your devices. Since iCloud Keychain works only with Apple devices, if you’re ever on a Windows PC or an Android device, you can see the generated password by opening Settings and navigating to Safari > Passwords and AutoFill > Saved Passwords. Here you’ll see a list of all websites for which you have passwords saved. Tap on the website you want to see the password for, enter your passcode if iOS asks you for it, and you should see the auto-generated password. Note that some websites have chosen to disable password saving, so you won’t be able to use this feature on those websites. iCloud Keychain’s password generate and sync feature is great from a security standpoint, since it’s built into the OS, and lets users have strong and secure passwords without causing inconvenience. Let us know how it goes in the comments. Continue reading →

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PushPrivacy: Jailbreak Tweak lets you disable Notification previews on Lock screen for any app

PushPrivacy is a relatively new jailbreak tweak developed by Ryan Petrich, developer of popular jailbreak apps and tweaks such as Activator etc. The jailbreak tweak allows you to hide the content of a Notification on the Lock screen to prevent someone from seeing it. While you have the option to hide the content of the Notification by turning off the Show Preview toggle for Mail and Messages, iOS doesn’t provide the option to disable previews for other third-party apps. PushPrivacy addresses this limitation by giving you control to disable preview of the Notification for any app including third-party apps. This can be very useful if you use third-party apps such for email such as Google’s Gmail app. After installing the tweak, you will be able to disable preview of the Notification for an app via the Settings app (Settings > PushPrivacy > Private on Lock Screen). You can watch the video walkthrough of the tweak below: PushPrivacy is available for free, however you need to add Ryan’s repo (http://rpetri.ch/repo/) to Cydia to be able download the tweak. As always, let us know what you think in the comments. Continue reading →

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Apple upsets power users with its simplified versions of iWork apps

Apple updated it iWork apps with a handful of new features that simplifies their UI and makes them easier to use. These new features, though, are not what customers are talking about. A growing number of users are unhappy with the features that have been removed and are expressing their displeasure online. According to a report in Macrumors, customers have taken to Apple support forums to complain about the suite apps, with many targeting Apple’s document editing app Pages. Blogger Pierre Igot summarizes the problem in scathing post in which he calls Pages an “unmitigated disaster.” Igot writes, Apple’s engineers appear to have chosen to keep the emphasis on “simplicity” at the expense of “power”. They have not just neglected to add features to bring the feature set of the application closer to that of a word processor like Microsoft Word. They have actually removed many features for no apparent reason other than to bring the application in line with its iOS counterpart, which is, inevitably, much less powerful. Features missing in Pages include a decrease in the number of available templates, the removal of the ability to export to rtf files and changes in AppleScript support that limit its usage. Are you a Pages or iWork user? Are you upset with the changes Apple made to the iWork apps in its latest revision? [Via Macrumors] Continue reading →

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Original iPad mini in space grey lands in some Apple retail stores

Apple’s iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display may have been the star of the show, but those two devices weren’t the only changes Apple made to its iPad lineup. The company also quietly added a space grey option to its current non-Retina iPad mini. According to a report by 9to5Mac, these new grey units are starting to land in stores. The report claims that some Apple retail stores are now carrying the space grey iPad mini, but its distribution is not nationwide yet. It may take some time for inventory of this new color to build up and hit all the stores in the US. Its coloring matches the iPhone 5s and is a lighter grey than the previous slate color, which it replaces. The grey iPad mini first made its debut on Tuesday when it showed up in Apple’s online store. Apple is selling only the 16GB model in WiFi or WiFi+Cellular. Pricing starts at $299 for the WiFi-only model. This new color adds some splash to the original iPad mini, which is now low on the totem pole. This model is being replaced by the iPad mini with Retina display. This newer model sports an A7 processor and a high-resolution Retina display. Do you plan on snagging the retina model when it lands next month? [Via 9to5Mac] Continue reading →

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Apple selling OS X Lion and Mountain Lion via its online store

Though OS X Mavericks will run on older machines, it may not be a perfect fit. Apple realizes there a lot of folks with older Macs who may not want to upgrade to OS X Mavericks. As a result, the company is still offering both OS X Lion and Mountain Lion in the Mac App Store and now in its online store. The retail versions of Lion and Mountain Lion being sold on Apple’s website are not boxed copies as you would expect. Instead, Apple is selling a promotional code that can be redeemed in the Mac App Store. Once the code has been accepted, the operating system will begin to download immediately. If you find that you need a copy of OS X Lion or Mountain Lion, you can now choose to shop at Apple’s online store and buy it alongside your new iPad. Continue reading →

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Tapbots releases Tweetbot 3 for the iPhone with new iOS 7 design

Tapbots used the launch of iOS 7 to completely overhaul its flagship app, Tweetbot for the iPhone. After months of recoding their app using the new approach in iOS 7, the fruits of their labor are now available in the iOS App Store. The first thing you notice when you launch Tweetbot 3.0 is the new UI. Gone is the heavy, textured design that characterized previous versions of the app. The UI is now crisp and clear with thin fonts, rounded avatars, and animations. Highlighted features of the latest version are as follows: Completely redesigned from the ground up for iOS7. Native Push Notifications. Mute filters lets you block messages from users without unfollowing them. Mute services, hashtags, people, and even keywords (regex included). Sync timeline position, direct message read statuses and mute filters between iPhone, iPad, and the Mac via iCloud or Tweetmarker. Customizable Navigation. The last 2 tabs are customizable and unused tabs are easily accessible. Support for multiple services like Pocket, Instapaper, Readability, CloudApp, Droplr, and more. Save drafts, add locations and POI’s, attach photos/videos, manage your lists, and much more. Tweetbot 3 for the iPhone is available in the iOS App Store for $2.99. Continue reading →

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Apple allows upgrading illegal and trial copies of iLife, iWork apps for free in OS X Mavericks

At the iPad event earlier this week, Apple announced new versions of iWork and iLife, which it would give away for free with new devices or to existing owners. It appears that Apple is knowingly being very lax in determining which users are eligible for a free upgrade, as even users with pirated or trial copies of old iWork, Aperture or iLife apps have been able to upgrade to the latest version via the Mac App Store. MacTrast spoke to someone inside of Apple’s software engineering team, who had this to say about the update process: It’s no coincidence that Apple’s support site doesn’t have downloads for the new Aperture, iWork, and iLife updates. They aren’t in our Software Update system either – and there’s a good reason for that. With Mavericks, we have changed the way we distribute updates for legacy versions of our apps Rather than maintain separate updates for these in addition to the Mac App Store versions of each app, Apple has decided to eliminate their legacy software update system for apps entirely. Instead, when Mavericks discovers legacy apps installed on your Mac, it provisions them as a Mac App Store purchase using your Apple ID. It saves us a lot of time, effort, and bandwidth. After the provision is complete, it will appear in your Mac App Store history as though you have purchased the Mac App Store version of the app. While we are aware that this enables piracy of our apps for unethical users, Apple has never taken a strong stance or action against piracy in the past. We like to believe that our users are honest, even if that belief is in vain. Since money from software contributes very little relative to the company’s total revenues, it would make sense that Apple doesn’t invest a lot of efforts into validating license keys for older versions at the risk of letting a few people upgrade through improper means. Continue reading →

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Adobe Flash Player runs in a sandboxed environment in Safari on OS X Mavericks

Adobe Flash Player, a browser plugin that is used on a lot of websites, is a very common target for malware and remote code execution exploits. To prevent such exploits from taking over your entire system, the Flash plugin runs in a sandboxed environment on Chrome, Firefox, and with OS X Mavericks, it is sandboxed in Safari too. From Adobe’s blog: Over the last few years, Adobe has protected our Flash Player customers through a technique known as sandboxing. Thus far, we have worked with Google, Microsoft and Mozilla on deploying sandboxes for their respective browsers. Most recently, we have worked with Apple to protect Safari users on OS X. With this week’s release of Safari in OS X Mavericks, Flash Player will now be protected by an OS X App Sandbox. Safari’s sandbox limits Flash plugin’s read and write capabilities only to locations where it’s absolutely needed. Other security measures include limited connections to local devices, processes and (unneeded) network connectivity. Safari on OS X Mavericks also lets you disable animated Flash banner ads as a part of a new “Power Saver” mode. While Apple and Adobe haven’t been on great terms when it comes to Flash, Adobe notes that it has worked with Apple’s security team on the snadboxed Flash plugin. You can upgrade to OS X Mavericks for free from the Mac App Store. Continue reading →

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BBM for iPhone update fixes crashing issue on iOS 7.0.3

That was quick! BlackBerry has just released an update for BBM for iPhone to fix the compatibility related issues reported in iOS 7.0.3. The update also brings features such as Contact Categories, list sorting and filtering in BBM Groups and performance improvements. Here’s what’s new in BBM 1.0.2: Contact categories List Sorting and filtering in BBM Groups Performance improvements Bug fixes If the app hasn’t been automatically updated, you can download the update via the Updates tab in the App Store app or use this iTunes link. Let us know if it has fixed the crashing issues in the comments below. Continue reading →

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What’s New in iOS 7.0.3 [Video Walkthrough]

Apple released iOS 7.0.3 yesterday, which includes number of bug fixes and improvements. Here’s a video walkthrough of some of the new features and improvements in iOS 7.0.3 such as: Enhancement of the Reduce Motion setting to minimize both motion and animation Ability to search the web and Wikipedia from Spotlight search The Bold Text setting now also change dial pad text Lock screen now delays display of “slide to unlock” when Touch ID is in use Minor change in text color for Notifications on the lock screen iOS 7.0.3 also adds the iCloud Keychain and password generator features for Safari, which we’ll cover in a separate post along with a video walkthrough. In addition to the changes mentioned above, iOS 7.0.3 also includes the following bug fixes: Fixes an issue where iMessage failed to send for some users Fixes a bug that could prevent iMessage from activating Improves system stability when using iWork apps Fixes an accelerometer calibration issue Addresses an issue that could cause Siri and VoiceOver to use a lower quality voice Fixes a bug that could allow someone to bypass the Lock screen passcode Fixes an issue that could cause VoiceOver input to be too sensitive Fixes an issue that could cause supervised devices to become un-supervised when updating software If you were facing the issues mentioned above, let us know if iOS 7.0.3 has fixed them. Continue reading →

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Microsoft executive slams the iPad and Apple’s iWork apps

On Tuesday, Apple announced updates to its iWork and iLife apps for iOS and OS X. They also dropped the price on the apps, offering them for free with the purchase of a new device. Needless to say, this new price tag has caught the attention of its competitors like Microsoft, which reacted strongly to the announcement in a post on Microsoft’s TechNet blog. Frank Shaw, Corporate Vice President of Communications at Microsoft slams iWork, calling the suite a set of “struggling, lightweight productivity apps.” He claims the price drop is “hardly that surprising or significant a move” because “iWork has never gotten much traction, and was already priced like an afterthought.” He educates the attendees at Apple’s October special event by pointing a series of facts that extol the virtues of the Surface and Surface 2 tablet. “• The Surface and Surface 2 are less expensive than the iPad 2 and iPad Air respectively, and yet offer more storage, both onboard and in the cloud. • … come with full versions of Office 2013, including Outlook, not non-standard, non-cross-platform, imitation apps that can’t share docs with the rest of the world. • … offer additional native productivity enhancing capabilities like kickstands, USB ports, SD card slots and multiple keyboard options. • … include interfaces for opening multiple windows, either side by side or layered to fit the way most people actually work.” He ends the rant by concluding that Apple and others “are waking up to the fact that we’ve built a better solution for people everywhere.” [Via TechNet] Continue reading →

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This is the most convincing iPhone 5s knock-off you’ll ever see [Video]

Goophone, a Chinese phone company, is well-known for making iPhone clones, complete with identical software interfaces, and the company doesn’t disappoint with the Goophone i5S. The Goophone i5S rips off not just the iPhone 5s’ external body, but even the iOS 7 software interface. It comes in gold, gray and white, and even has the metallic ring around the home button (without the Touch ID sensor of course). It runs an Android variant that has been heavily customised to look like iOS 7, and we were quite surprised by the smoothness of the copied interface, as seen in the video below: Here are the full specifications of the Goophone: - 4-inch QHD display, 960*540 pixel - 1.2GHz MTK MT6572 dual-core processor - Super slim aluminium body - 5MP rear camera with LED flash light - 1GB RAM and 16GB storage - Android OS, with Google Play store If you’re interested in buying one, you can go to the Goophone website, and buy the i5S for $199. [via Unwired View] Continue reading →

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Get Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for iPad [Deals Hub]

Star Wars is a cultural phenomenon, but unfortunately it still isn’t totally socially acceptable to dress up as a Jedi for daily tasks. It’s an unjust world, but it’s the one we live in. If you still have the urge to live out your Star Wars fantasies, hop into the world of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The classic role playing game is available on iPad, and you can get it on sale right now from the iPhone Hacks Deals Hub. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic made its debut back in 2003, but the fun that you experienced way back when is still present as ever in the iPad port. Brought to life on your touch screen and able to travel with you anywhere, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic lets you step into the shoes of a Jedi and live in the vibrant and exciting world of Star Wars. There’s tons to be done and plenty of adventure to be had, and it all will fit comfortably on your tablet. You can get Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on sale from the iPhone Hacks Deals Hub for just $4.99. That’s a 50% savings off the retail price, and you get to experience one of the best games of the past decade. Take advantage of this offer while you can! Continue reading →

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Roundup of all news and announcements from iPad event

Apple made quite a few iPad, Mac, iOS and Mac apps related announcements at its eagerly anticipated media event yesterday. Here’s a round up of all the news and announcements from yesterday to ensure you don’t miss any of them. New iPads Apple announces Thinner, Lighter iPad Air with all-new design, A7 chip and M7 coprocessor Apple announces Retina iPad mini with A7 chip starting at $399 iPad Air goes on sale November 1, Retina iPad mini to be available later in November Apple slashes original iPad mini price to $299, iPad 2 stays at same price of $399 Apple announces new Smart Case and Smart Cover for iPad Air and Retina iPad mini iPad Air Tech Specs iPad mini with Retina Display: Tech Specs Gallery of official iPad Air images Gallery of official Retina iPad mini images iPad Air vs. iPad 4: Tech Specs iPad mini with Retina Display vs. Original iPad mini: Tech Specs Roundup of iPad Air first impressions and hands-on videos Roundup of iPad mini first impressions and hands-on videos The Retina Display side-effect: New iPad mini thicker and heavier than original iPad mini Macs Apple announces new MacBook Pro models with Intel’s latest processors, available today for $1299 Apple confirms the new Mac Pro will be available by December for $2999 OS X Mavericks available starting today for free OS X Mavericks now available in the Mac App Store OS X Server for Mavericks now available in the Mac App Store Apps Apple updates its iWork apps for iOS 7 and OS X, available today Apple updates its iLife apps for iOS and OS X Mavericks iWork and iLife apps are now available in the Mac App Store and iOS App Store Apple updates Podcasts, Find My iPhone and iTunes Movie Trailers for iOS 7 Aperture updated to version 3.5, with iCloud Photo Sharing, Maps integration and more Others Liveblog: Apple iPad Event Apple releases iOS 7.0.3 with iCloud keychain, accelerometer and iMessage fixes Jailbreakers: Avoid today’s iOS 7.0.3 update Users getting “OS X Mavericks failed to download” Apple releases iTunes 11.1.2 with support for OS X Mavericks October Special Event video now available for replay on Apple’s website Downloading of previous app versions coming to the Mac App Store Please share your thoughts about the news and announcements from yesterday’s event in the comments below. Continue reading →

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Apple releases iTunes 11.1.2 with support for OS X Mavericks

Shortly after updating its iPad product lineup and releasing OS X Mavericks, Apple has updated iTunes to version 11.1.2. The update includes support for the newly released OS X Mavericks, support for Hebrew and Arabic languages, and improvements to performance and stability. The previous iTunes update added a number of features like iOS 7 support, iTunes Radio and Podcast stations. You can install the update from Software Update, but Apple is still showing download links for the older version on its website. We’ll update this post with direct download links for Mac and Windows once they’re available. Continue reading →

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Downloading of previous app versions coming to the Mac App Store

Just like it did with iOS 7, Apple is now allowing Mac developers to offer “last compatible” versions of an app in the Mac App Store, says a report in Macrumors. This makes it possible for developers to keep upgrading their software to the latest version of OS X, while still allowing those with older machines to download the last version of the software that was compatible with their hardware. Apple sent out the following notice to Mac developers notifying them of this change: Users who have already purchased your Mac app are now able to download previous versions, allowing them to use your app with Macs that may no longer be supported by OS X Mavericks. If you do not want previous versions of your app to be available for download as a previous purchase, for example due to a usability or legal issue, you can manage their availability in the Rights and Pricing section of the Manage Your Apps module on iTunes Connect. To exclude a specific version, click “Manage iCloud download settings for this app.” For more information on managing previous versions, see the iTunes Connect Developer Guide or contact us. This is good news for both Mac owners and developers. Mac owners who own older machines can be perfectly content staying with their vintage hardware, while developers can offer older versions of app to keep their legacy customers happy. [Via Macrumors] Continue reading →

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Gallery of official Retina iPad mini images

After months of speculation, the rumored iPad Mini 2, aka the iPad Mini with Retina Display, is now officially official. Apple unveiled the device during a press event held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California. Now that the event is over, Apple has updated its product pages with high-resolution images of the latest iPad mini tablet. The latest iPad Mini looks almost identical to its predecessor. It has the same overall shape and size as the original iPad mini, but it is slightly thicker (0.3mm) and heavier (23g). The most noticeable difference is the Retina display, which will improve the appearance of text, games and more. You can check out the new Retina iPad mini in the images embedded below. [Via Apple] Continue reading →

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Apple releases iOS 7.0.3 with iCloud keychain, accelerometer fixes

Apple today released a minor update to iOS 7, iOS 7.0.3 which restores iCloud Keychain and fixes a number of bugs. The update is available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The update is available OTA. Launch the Settings app, and navigate to General > Software Update to download and install the update. The update fixes numerous bugs, including the nasty motion sensor inaccuracy on the iPhone 5s, and iCloud Keychain, which was removed in iOS 7 GM. We’ll update the post with direct download links as soon as they’re available. Let us know how it goes in the comments and if you’ve discovered any other changes. Developing… Continue reading →

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Apple slashes original iPad mini price to $299, iPad 2 stays at same price of $399

At a media event today, Apple updated its iPad product lineup with the new fifth-generation iPad, called the iPad Air, and the second-generation iPad mini with Retina display. It also announced a price cut to the original iPad mini, with the device now starting at $299. The original iPad mini’s price has been slashed to $299 for the Wi-Fi model and $429 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. This is great for customers as well as Apple, since it lowers the entry point to the iPad, and hence widens the addressable market. Strangely, instead of dropping the price of the iPad 4, Apple has discontinued the model, and has chosen to keep the iPad 2 alive at the same $399 price for the Wi-Fi version, and $529 for Wi-Fi+Cellular. This is really disappointing, since the iPad 4, with its Retina display, would have been killer at its lower-price point. Tell us what you think about Apple’s pricing strategy in the comments below. (Keep in mind that the company has increased the price of the next-generation iPad mini to $399.) Continue reading →

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Get Free High Speed 4G from FreedomPop Hot Spot [Deals Hub]

Remember when you upgraded to a 4G LTE phone and felt the speed of the connection for the first time? It’s an awesome experience, breezing through web pages and downloading things with ease. Sometimes it’s not as easy to get a full connection in some spots–places where you’d love to have it. You can have just that when you get the 4G LTE HotSpot from FreedomPop. It’s on sale now in the iPhone Hacks Deals Hub. FreedomPop wants to give you access to a high speed 4G LTE connection that you will be able to use for free for an entire year. The Freedom Spot MiFi allows you to take blazing fast internet with you anywhere you go. Connect up to ten devices to the Freedom Spot MiFi at once and enjoy speeds of up to 25mbps. You’ll get 2GB of 4G LTE data transferring for free for the first month, then 500MB after that–still for free! With the free year of FreedomPop Premier, any data you don’t use will roll over to the next month for a full year as well. You can get the FreedomPop Freedom Spot MiFi 4G LTE HotSpot, a full month of 2GB of data transfer, and a year of FreedomPop Premier all for just $199. That’s a 40% savings off the retail price, so grab this offer while you can! Continue reading →

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Apple hints at iWork for iCloud update in “Just a few short hours” ahead of today’s event

At WWDC in June, Apple introduced iWork for iCloud, a web based version of Apple’s productivity tools, Numbers, Pages and Keynote, that run in a browser. Although iWork for iCloud was open to everyone, it was in beta, and Apple plans to bring it out of beta at today’s event, as hinted in a banner on iCloud.com. The banner on the Pages for iCloud website says: We’re updating Pages for for iCloud! In just a few short hours, you’ll be able to create and edit documents, and enjoy great new features. There are similar banners on the Numbers and Keynote for iCloud websites as well. Apple says these features for Pages for iCloud are currently unsupported, and the company plans to add them soon, possibly in today’s final release: Sending a link to a document Version history Editing charts and tables Support for additional browsers Printing Apart from these features, it’s likely that Apple will apply the iOS 7 design language to iWork for iCloud, to maintain uniformity with other iCloud portals, which have already been updated with the new look. Notably, iWork for iCloud will be free to all iCloud users, and will not only be available on Mac, but on Windows as well. [via MacRumors] Continue reading →

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Owl City founder helped create the new sounds in iOS 7

Apple’s iOS 7 is filled with lots of eye candy as well as a handful of new system sounds. These new ringtones, text tones and alerts are the creative product of Owl City founder and singer Adam Young. This link between Owl City and iOS 7 was revealed on Adam Young’s Discography page, which listed Apple as the artist and “Sounds for iOS 7″ as the label. It’s not clear how many sounds in iOS 7 were created by Young, but apparently he played some sort of role in the creation of this part of iOS 7. After being spotted on Young’s page and reported by the tech press, the reference to Apple was promptly removed by Young. As pointed out by 9to5Mac, even before this link was discovered, customers put two and two together and noticed the resemblances between the sounds in iOS 7 and the music of Owl City. [Via 9to5Mac and Adam Young] Continue reading →

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BlackBerry Messenger for iPhone will be available today, but you’ll have to wait in a line

BlackBerry has announced that BBM for iPhone will be available on the App Store “in the next few hours.” The company had released its messaging app last month on the App Store, but pulled it quickly because a pre-release BBM for Android build leaked, which caused server issues. From BlackBerry’s blog: I am thrilled to tell you that we are about to officially resume our rollout of BBM for Android and iPhone customers around the globe! In the next few hours, people will start seeing BBM in Google Play, the App Store and in select Samsung App Stores – where it will be free to download. Sadly, even a company of BlackBerry’s scale seems to not be well-prepared to handle the surge in traffic to BBM servers as a result of the rollout. Although BBM for iPhone will go live on the App Store, users will have to enter a queue to reserve a spot, just like Mailbox: To help manage this unprecedented pent up demand for BBM, we are implementing a simple line-up system to ensure a smooth roll out. Here’s how it is going to work… Download BBM – the easiest way is to visit BBM.com from your Android or iPhone browser* Once you install the app, open it, and enter your email address to hold your spot in line We will email you as soon as you reach the front of the line and can start using BBM If you’ve already signed up on BBM.com, you can skip the line and start using BBM as soon as it’s available. We’ll let you know as soon as BBM for iPhone goes live on the App Store. Till then, let us know in the comments if you plan to install it. Continue reading →

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Charge Your iOS Device from Across the Room with 10 Ft. Cord [Deals Hub]

When the time comes that you have to charge your iOS device, you have to live with a very restricted range of motion. You can only go as far as the cord will allow you to if you need to use your iPhone or iPad while it’s getting its battery filled. That’s not a problem when you have the 10 foot Lightning cord that will allow you to still move around and not be limited to sitting by the wall outlet just to use your device. You can get the cord on sale right now in the iPhone Hacks Deals Hub. The 10 foot Lightning cord makes sure you don’t have to sacrifice convenience as you charge your iOS device. It’s ready to charge any of the latest Apple products, and plugs in via USB to your computer or a wall adapter. Do everything you would with your standard Apple-provided charging cord, including transferring music and data, syncing information, and of course charging your device. You can get the 10 foot Lightning cord on sale in the iPhone Hacks Deals Hub for just $13.99. That’s a 51% savings off the retail price. That’s an offer you can’t beat for this great accessory, so grab this deal while you Continue reading →

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Apple airs first iPhone 5s TV ad

Apple has just aired the first iPhone 5s ad during the NFL games. Apple didn’t advertise the flagship iPhone 5s on television since its launch, and has instead focused all its marketing on the cheaper iPhone 5c. The ad is quite similar to iPhone 5c ad “Plastic Perfected” and seems like the shortened version of the iPhone 5s introductory video. The ad highlights the gold color, and the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Earlier in the week, Apple had also started running print ads, showing a close up of a gold iPhone 5s’ Touch ID sensor. Check out the ad below and let us know what you think in the comments. [via The Verge] Continue reading →

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Tip: How to view Messages timestamp in iOS 7

The Messages app in iOS 7 has been redesigned to go with the overall “flat” look of the OS, and although the design is largely a “reskin”, it does have some new features, many of which aren’t easily discoverable. One of the neat features is the ability to view timestamps for each message. To see the time each message was sent, follow these simple steps: Open the Messages app, and tap on a conversation. You’ll see that the timestamps here are for a collection of messages. Now if you pull the screen from the right to left, you’ll see see a timestamp against message. As you let go, the chat bubbles will go back to their original position, hiding the timestamps. While this feature isn’t easily discoverable, it’s quite well implemented, since it’s easy to access, and avoids crowding the entire Messages interface. Continue reading →

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