With less a month to go until Apple unveils its new iPhones and the release date of iOS 7, the iCloud beta site just received a redesign to bring it more in-line with iOS 7’s UI.
Apple has replaced the old iCloud app icons for Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, Reminders, and Find My iPhone with their counterparts from iOS 7. Along with the new icons, Apple has redesigned the UI of each app with the updated look of iOS 7 as well.
In a clever Facebook status update, the App Store posted a picture of a zombie hand, thrusting upward through the dirt. The caption reads, “It’s about time. Guess what game is coming tomorrow?”
That game can only be PopCap’s Plants vs Zombies 2, the highly anticipated sequel to smash hit Plants vs Zombies, a lane-based castle defense game that’s since appeared on every gaming platform known. PvZ2 was supposed to release last month in July, but was delayed here in the U.S.
Tomorrow, then, is the big day, and we’re excited.
Although we expect the iPhone 5S to look a lot like the iPhone 5, there may be one model that won’t be confused with its predecessor — a white and gold one. It’s been the subject of countless rumors in recent months, and this photo, posted to Chinese social networking site Weibo, could prove it’s real.
The low-cost “iPhone 5C” hasn’t been announced yet, but it already feels like we’re pretty familiar with it — mostly because we’ve seen so many pictures of its plastic rear shell. But most of those — the high quality ones, at least — have included the white model.
A new hands-on video that has surfaced today shows off the yellow model in all its glory.
We expect the upcoming iPhone 5S to look a lot like the iPhone 5, so its biggest changes will all be internal. We’re likely to see a faster processor and better graphics, an improved camera, and if we’re really lucky, a fingerprint scanner. This purported iPhone 5S rear shell shows the changes Apple has made to the handset’s design to accommodate the new components.
Foxconn workers in Shenzhen will not report next week until further notice. Photo: Foxconn
Remember how just a few months ago, Foxconn profits were slumping because — as the anti-Apple brigade hysterically shrieked — the iPhone 5 was a dud, and the iPhone’s meteoric rise in popularity was finally done?
Yeah, well, Foxconn just posted a 41 percent year-over-year increase in profit, driven by strong iPhone sales.
I have a few things to say about external iPhone batteries, but we’ll get to that in a second. First, here’s the Jackery battery for the iPhone 5, a backup battery distinguished by being slim, having a nice sleek design, and featuring an absurdly pretentious video promo on the product page.
Wahoo, known for making sports-tracking accessories that hook up to your iPhone and turn it into a bike/running/fitness computer, has finally made a bike mount for your trusty outboard brain. It’s called the PROTKT, and it puts your iPhone up on your handlebars whilst making sure it stays safe.
Apple’s added a lot of Yelp integration into iOS over the past two years, but despite providing copious amounts of reviews for every restaurant in the U.S., the app hasn’t let you actually write a review from your iPhone.
Yelp 7.0 was just pushed to the App Store and now gives users the ability to write reviews from their iPhone. Now you can trash a restaurant’s king salmon tartare on taro chips while waiting for your waitress to bring a check. Not finished with your praise? You can save a draft and publish it later, too.
One of the best things about shooting with the iPhone is that it automatically puts all of your photos on a map. This is even better when you’re traveling, as you can relive the trip with a virtual tour, or use the geolocation data to check where that awesome restaurant was where you got poisoned.
It’s easy. Sadly, the same can’t be said about pictures snapped with a regular camera. But there’s an elegant solution that uses your iPhone, and without worrying about recording and importing GPS tracks.
Brooklyn-based Pyle Audio has been making speakers and other audio paraphernalia for the last 50 years (if you haven’t heard of Pyle, it’s probably because they seem to spend comparatively little time or effort on marketing; just look at their website).
Pyle has a lot going on—home, car and even motorcycyle/bicycle audio are some of the pies the company has its fingers in. The company has also makes a bewildering array of waterproof audio toys, like headphones and Bluetooth speakers. While that’s nothing new, their latest gadget is a little more unusual: The SurfSound-Play is a waterproof phone case equipped with its own mini speaker.
Back when iOS got “multitasking,” it was a matter of pride in my group of geeky friends to be able to double click the home button on their iPhones and then space three or four of their fingers *just* right to tap a bunch of apps’ little red circles to force quit the apps all at once. “Hey,” they’d say, “why settle for force quitting just one at a time?”
I suppose they had a point, as today’s tip is all about “flick quitting” up to three apps at once on the iPhone, provided said iPhone is running iOS 7 beta.
A rumored September 10 iPhone event has been given an all-important “yep” from The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple. It’s the closest we’ll get to an official confirmation before Apple sends out invites to the much-anticipated shindig, which will likely see the iPhone 5S and the plastic low-cost iPhone 5C get their official unveilings.
You don’t have to spend too much time in a public place before you hear the iPhone’s default “tri-tone” alert — it’s everywhere, and everyone knows exactly what it means. But do you know where it came from? You might be surprised to hear that it wasn’t actually composed for the iPhone, but for a 1998 MP3 player for the Mac called SoundJam MP.
The rumor mill is starting to kick into full gear when it comes to Apple’s plans for the iPhone lineup in 2013. Over the weekend, it was reported that Apple would be holding an iPhone event on September 10th, and the company is widely expected to unveil not one, but two new models: the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. The 5S will be the successor to the flagship iPhone 5 and sport upgraded specs, while the 5C will have a plastic back and come in multiple colors.
When it comes to the iPhone 5S, this year’s upgrade could be pretty predictable—A7 chip, better cameras, etc. But then there’s the bet that Apple will do something radically different with the hardware and add a fingerprint sensor. Now the 5S could feature a redesigned home button made of sapphire. And we can’t forget about the iPhone 5C…
Smartphone technology gives us a whole lot to have at our fingertips in terms of innovation. Things like being able to scan things using the phone’s camera (which Prizmo 2 takes advantage of) and being able to use it as an all-in-one inbox with an app like Drafts demonstrate how more productive our iPhones can help us be.
But this particular Kickstarter success story has me very intrigued.
It’s called Hone, and it uses your iPhone (along with other iOS devices) and allows you to locate valuables that you may have misplaced.
Decorations outside of the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco for last year's iPhone 5 event
Apple will hold its next iPhone event on Tuesday, September 10th, according to AllThingsD, a site that has a spotless track record when it comes to predicting these dates. Last year’s event for the iPhone 5 was held on Wednesday, September 12th.
Gone are the days when you absolutely needed a scanner to deal with document scanning. With the emergence of smartphones, we’ve seen a ton of new applications hit the market that allow you to do things that were unheard of before. Scanning documents is one of those things – and Prizmo 2 is just one of the apps that gives you that ability.
If you don’t have an app that handles scanning right from your phone, then now would be the time to take advantage of the pricing at Cult of Mac Deals. Because Prizmo 2 is only $24.99 during this limited time offer.
I love my pets, I do. I have two stubborn, cute, snorty little pugs and I consider them part of the family. That’s why I sort of snorted myself when I saw the IndieGogo project page for Petzila, an odd little videoconferencing gadget that purports to let you connect to your pampered pooch via the magic of the internet and your iPhone.
The Petzila lets you see and talk to your doggy friend, and even dispense a treat with a tap on your iPhone screen. How fun is that? It’s odd, is what it is, and while I’m sure my pugs would love a magical treat from the new box on the wall, I doubt they’d know what to do with the disembodied sound of my voice coming from the speaker on the thing.
Well, that’s not true. They’d probably end up doing what they do when I stick my head out the window to call them in. They’ll look around, not see me, and then ignore the heck out of me.
Apple names a new and noteworthy app each week as its App of the Week. This week, it’s Simplebot’s Rise Alarm Clock, a universal alarm clock that’s getting quite a bit of buzz in the tech sector.
Let’s face it, alarm clocks are a dime nickel a dozen, so it’s ironic to see one hit the top spot on the App Store. The app evokes another big buzz app, Clear: it’s well-designed, looks great, and works with simple swipes and taps; what’s not to love?
The Roku iOS app got another update today. In addition to the previous “Play on Roku” feature which let users stream music and static images to the set top media box, the company has now added the ability to stream video directly from the iOS app as well.
In a market that includes Apple TV and Google’s nascent Chromecast technology, Roku is making some positive steps to stay relevant.
Apple is in the early stages of building a new R&D facility in Taiwan which will house an engineering development team to work on the next-generation iPhone, according to internal communications from Apple viewed by VR Zone.
Right now, the facility is just in the recruiting phase of the process, but rather than advertising the job listings, Apple has chosen to hunt for candidates via word of mouth alone. Apple is looking to hire a number of experienced and junior level engineers who will work out of Taipei on next-gen tech for the iPhone and report directly to the Apple spaceship in Cupertino.
Rdio announced this morning that it is launching a new personalized radio station feature to take on Pandora and iTunes Radio. The new radio station feature, dubbed You FM, combines users’ listening history with track voting, Facebook likes, Twitter follows and more to give each user an individualized experience.
Users can tune stations towards familiar or adventurous sounds or pivot it based on your favorite tracks. The new stations feature is available now on the App Store, Google Play and the web.
Social networks have trained us to share all the superfluous details of ourselves, but a new app called Leftover Swap is trying to take things to the next level by allowing users to share leftover scraps of meals with one another.
Hungry, but too cheap to buy a $0.99 hot dog down the street? With LeftoverSwap you can just pull up a map of discarded meals in your area, make a selection, and then go pick it up from your neighbor.
If you’re a hobbyist who wants to get really creative with your animation or are a budding animator who wants to make waves with your work online, then this award-winning piece of software might give you the upper hand in either case. And by “award-winning,” I mean that this app won Macworld/iWorld 2013 Best of Show. Having spent time on the exhibit floor at Moscone during that event, I saw a ton of great apps so (while I haven’t tested this app out) winning that award gives it some serious credibility.