Weekend news roundup: All the best Apple news from last week

As we close out one week and kick off another, let’s take a moment to look back at the attention-grabbing headlines from the past seven days. Some of the news you may recall, some may be new to you, but all the topics below are worthy of a second mention. below are worthy of a mention. Internal Google document reveals stark differences between Android before and after the iPhone When Google acquired Android in 2005, its aim was to launch a BlackBerry-style Java phone with a hardware keyboard, and not full touch screen devices like the iPhone. An internal Google document detailing the requirements for v1.0 of Android further highlights the stark differences between Android before and after the iPhone. Windows Phone 8.1 adds support for Apple’s Passbook Passes Microsoft announced Windows Phone 8.1 earlier this month at a developer conference, and the update is rolling out to developers starting today. The update brings a lot of features to Windows Phone devices, but one feature that went unnoticed was native support for Apple’s Passbook Passes. Alleged iPhone 6 front panel has a 5.1-inch screen with 16:9 aspect ratio A closer look at the alleged iPhone 6 front panel photo from earlier today has revealed that the display could be 5.07-inch or nearly 5.1-inches diagonally, and not 4.7-inches as we had reported. New Patented Technology from Apple Brings Accurate Positioning Indoors A new patent demonstrating accurate indoor positioning was granted to Apple on Tuesday, which could potentially bring indoor navigation to the iPhone in the relatively near future. The patent, which uses GPS, existing Wi-Fi infrastructure, and “onboard location databases,” will provide accurate indoor positioning in “nearly any environment.” Alleged iPhone 6 case with repositioned Power button, iPhone 5c-like Volume buttons French website Nowwhereelse.fr has published photos of yet another case, which their source claims are for the iPhone 6. The case features slightly rounded edges, which is in line with rumors we’ve heard so far. The case also has a cut out for the power button along the upper right hand side of the case. Marissa Mayer plans to persuade Apple to make Yahoo! the default iOS Search engine Re/code reports that Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer is working on two internal projects to improve company’s mobile search engine and monetization platform so that she can convince Apple to replace Google, and make Yahoo the default search engine on mobile Safari on the iPhone and iPad. Auxo 2 now available for iPad [Updated] Auxo 2, one of the best jailbreak tweaks for iOS 7 has just been updated to add support for iPad. Auxo 2 is an awesome replacement for the app switcher that has been completely re-imagined for iOS 7, and comes with a number of new features such as Quick Switcher, Multi-Center, Hot Corners and more. New GoogolPlex Siri Extension Makes Apple’s Voice Assistant Far More Powerful Apple’s Siri voice assistant is great, but it’s simply limited and incapable in comparison the likes of Google Now (and now, Microsoft’s Cortana). Four college kids from the University of Pennsylvania have hacked together a solution for this called GoogolPlex, which extends Siri functionality to do things like control a Nest thermostat, Philips Hue lights, and more. New iWatch concept imagines Siri, Healthbook, Maps running on a circular display Apple is widely expected to enter the hot wearables space with the launch of its iWatch smartwatch later this year. We’ve seen plenty of concepts that try to imagine what this new product might look like, but we haven’t seen many concepts with a round display. Warning: Malware discovered on Jailbroken iOS devices which steals Apple ID and passwords Security researcher Stefan Esser a.k.a i0n1c has reported a serious security issue for jailbreakers. A malware called “Unflod Baby Panda” has been discovered on jaibroken iOS devices that is sending Apple ID and password to servers based in China. iPad sales could decline in Q2 2014, iPhones to see a slight increase Analysts are reportedly pegging the iPad sales to come down a bit in Q2 2014, while the iPhones are expected to make up for it with a slight increase. They are expecting a decline in the sales of the iPad by 0.7% compared to Q2 2013. iPhone 6 renders based on case leaks show edge-to-edge design, larger screen and more Concept artist Martin Hajek has published new renderings of the iPhone 6 based on recent case leaks that show a thin, edge-to-edge design with repositioned power buttons and a 4.7 inch screen. Continue reading →

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