Apple is no longer signing the iOS 8.3 software update for all compatible iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices, meaning that users can no longer downgrade to that version using iTunes. Apple is now only signing iOS 8.4 and later.
iPhone, iPad or iPod touch users that have jailbroken their device on iOS 8.3 should not worry about accidentally updating to iOS 8.4, as an untethered jailbreak is available for both software versions courtesy of Chinese tool TaiG.
Tech21 today announced that its Evo Mesh Sport and Evo Elite case lineup for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are now available exclusively through the Apple Store and Apple Online Store. The new Evo Mesh Sport is the first iPhone case to identically match the Apple Watch sport band colors, in blue, green, pink, smokey black and white, while the new Evo Elite has a scratch-resistant aluminum finish.
Both of the new Evo cases for iPhone feature Tech21's impact-absorbing material FlexShock, which is capable of withstanding drops up to 6.6 feet and is both thinner and lighter than many competing cases. The cases also provide full access to all of the iPhone's ports and buttons, with corner and edge encasing and a raised screen bezel for added protection.
The new Evo Elite case can be purchased in space gray, silver and gold for $49 for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, while the new Evo Mesh Sport case is available in blue, green, pink, smokey black and white for $39 for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The new Evo Mesh Sport with matching band colors has yet to become available on the Apple Store in the United States, but some of the new colors have surfaced on the U.K. store.
Showtime today confirmed that its self-titled standalone streaming service will be released today for the Apple TV, allowing viewers to pay for Showtime's exclusive series directly without needing a cable subscription (via Re/code).
First announced just over a month ago, the service will cost those interested $10.99 per month and everyone can sign up for a 30-day free trial to test the experience before subscribing. The service will cost users a few dollars less than HBO NOW's $15 streaming cost, which debuted exclusively on Apple TV earlier in the Spring.
Showtime's launch today comes in a bit ahead of the previously-announced July 12 release date for the standalone service, a date that coincided with the network's big summer premieres of Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex. No doubt giving users a few days to prepare before the summer premieres, those interested should be start seeing the Showtime app on the Apple TV shortly.
Apple Watch sales in the United States appear to have slowed down significantly in June based on new data that research firm Slice Intelligence shared with MarketWatch. Following a steep decline in the days after Apple Watch pre-orders commenced, which is to be expected of any product, daily U.S. sales remained relatively stable through May before experiencing a large drop-off last month as launch momentum begins to wane.
The report claims that Apple is now selling fewer than 20,000 watches per day in the United States, and fewer than 10,000 on certain days, while the logarithmic chart above indicates that sales dipped to as low as 4,000 to 5,000 units per day in late June. The data does not account for sales in Canada, Australia, United Kingdom or the twelve other countries where the Apple Watch is sold outside of the United States.
Slice Intelligence claims that two-thirds of Apple Watches sold to date have been the entry-level Sport model, far outselling the more expensive stainless steel Watch and 18-karat gold Edition models that start at $549 and $10,000 respectively. The research firm estimates that Apple has sold fewer than 2,000 luxury Apple Watch Edition models in the U.S. through June.
Slice Intelligence previously estimated 1 million Apple Watch pre-orders at launch, an average 30,000 Apple Watch sales per day in late May and an estimated 2.8 million total sales as of mid June. The research firm's sales estimates are based on e-receipt data from online shoppers in the United States that opted-in to have their inboxes tracked for email receipts.
Apple has not publicly disclosed any Apple Watch sales figures since the wrist-worn device launched in April, and will be grouping the device under its "Other Products" category, which combines sales of Apple Watch, iPod, Apple TV, Beats Electronics and accessories, in its quarterly fiscal reports. Apple's Q3 FY 2015 results are scheduled to be released on July 21 at 2:00 PM Pacific.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has been named as one of eight new board of trustee members at his alma mater Duke University, where he earned his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business in 1988, the school announced today. Cook began serving his six-year term on July 1 and will assist the governing body in determining Duke University's educational mission and fiscal policies.
Apple has announced that its first retail store in Queens, New York, located at the Queens Center shopping mall in the Elmhurst neighborhood, will have its grand opening on Saturday, July 11 at 10:00 AM local time. The new Apple Store at 90-15 Queens Boulevard will be open between 10:00 AM and 9:30 PM on Monday-Saturday and between 11:00 AM and 8:00 PM on Sunday.
Apple's first retail store in Queens will mark its eighth location in New York City, with six existing locations in Manhattan and one in Staten Island. Apple is also planning to open its first retail store in Brooklyn, having signed a long-term lease for a 20,000 square-foot building at 247 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, although those plans are running behind schedule after the store missed its original April 2015 grand opening target.
Cybersecurity firm Hacking Team experienced a data breach earlier today, resulting in 400 GB of its documents being leaked onto the Internet, reports The Guardian. The documents confirm Hacking Team's ability to infiltrate and monitor jailbroken iPhones on behalf of government law enforcement agencies like the NSA, as noted by Macworld.
Much has been speculated before and after Edward Snowden’s release of a trove of National Security Agency (NSA) documents in 2013 about the capabilities of the United States’ agencies as well as those of allies and enemies. The Hacking Team dump reveals quite a bit more about the routine functions of third-party suppliers into that ecosystem, including specifically enumerated capabilities.
iOS users should therefore take note that the long-running concern that jailbroken iPhones and iPads were susceptible to vulnerabilities that could include access by so-called state actors appears to be confirmed by the data breach.
Hacking Team's software would need to be installed on a jailbroken iPhone, but the firm has the ability to jailbreak and infect a phone with its software via a malware-infected trusted computer the phone is connected to. In the firm's pricing list [PDF, requires Chrome], it's revealed hacking an iOS device costs €50,000 ($55,242) and includes "features" like Skype, WhatsApp and Viber chats, location, contacts and lists of calls. However, this service also includes a prerequisite of a jailbroken iPhone.
Hacking Team uses a legitimate Apple enterprise signing certificate, which is used by corporations to create software that can easily be installed on employee devices, combined with jailbroken iOS devices to bypass iOS app installation protections. Additionally, Hacking Team developed the ability to create a malicious Newsstand app that could capture keystrokes and install monitoring software.
Last year, researchers working independently of each other at Kaspersky Lab and Citizen Lab discovered components of Hacking Team's tools and how they were used by government agencies to steal data from mobile devices, but the full extent of the software hadn't been confirmed until now.
Data breaching software and Apple devices have been in the news before, most famously in last year's celebrity iCloud data breach, where it was discovered that hackers were using ElcomSoft Phone Password Breaker, software intended for government and law agencies, to steal usernames and passwords to access iCloud backups.
While much of the discussion around government agencies and citizen data has revolved around mass collection, Hacking Team's software is designed to attack individual devices rather than a vast network. It's likely that the exploits detailed in Hacking Team's documents will be addressed and patched up in future iOS and Mac software updates.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
With the release of iOS 8.4 and the new built-in Apple Music service, Apple removed Home Sharing for music on iOS devices, a move that many Home Sharing users have been upset about.
It was unclear if Home Sharing for music would be re-added in the future, but according to iTunes chief Eddy Cue, Apple is planning to add Home Sharing to iOS 9. In response to a tweet about the removal of Home Sharing for music, Cue tweeted "We are working to have Home Sharing in iOS 9."
Wording in the release notes for the last iOS 8.4 beta suggested that Home Sharing and Genius Mixes were "not currently available," hinting that the features could return at a later date, and it appears that is indeed Apple's plan.
While Home Sharing for music has been removed in iOS 8.4, the feature is still available for video. Home Sharing for music also remains available on the Mac and the Apple TV. It is unclear when Home Sharing for music will be introduced in iOS 9, but the next beta is expected later this week.
In recent weeks, Apple has been embracing social media, with Eddy Cue answering several questions about Apple Music and related services. Cue also used Twitter to announce Apple's plans to pay artists during the Apple Music free trial after an open letter from Taylor Swift, and he informed users about an upcoming iOS 9 beta seed that will add Apple Music to the new operating system.
Apple is planning to introduce new co-designed packaging for many of the third-party accessories that it sells in its stores, according to retail store information shared by 9to5Mac. Apple has reportedly been working with several third-party accessory manufacturers on packaging design, helping to create a new look for boxes to better fit in with the packaging that's used for Apple's own products.
Companies participating in Apple's revamped packaging efforts include Tech21, Sena, Incase, Mophie, Logitech, and Life Proof. When these products are sold in Apple Stores, they'll be sold with simple, no-frills white boxes with minimal labeling as seen in photos.
According to the memo, the packaging will be mostly white to match the Mac, iPhone, and Apple Watch boxes, while they will also include simpler fonts, new photography, higher-quality materials, and more consistent compatibility labeling. This shift is yet another in a string for third-parties that has included new environmental guidelines and a ban on leveraging early iPhone leaks.
Apple's new head of retail, Angela Ahrendts, has been working to revamp the Apple Store experience in recent months, streamlining the purchasing process and reimagining both product discovery and customer-employee interactions. The packaging redesign is part of a larger effort to overhaul Apple's in-store accessory lineup, limiting the number of products that are sold for a more refined look.
News of the revamped packaging was first shared by Mac Otakara [Google Translate] in June, and a sneak preview of what the accessory sections of Apple's retail stores might look like can be seen at the company's Upper East Side store in New York.
Apple's Upper East Side store, image via Mark Lennihan, Associated Press
Apple Store accessory sections are expected to begin seeing changes starting next week, which is when the new packaging will be introduced.
San Antonio Spurs player Matt Bonner recently revealed in an interview with Concord Monitor (via Yahoo) that he suffered from tennis elbow during the 2014-2015 NBA season, a condition that he theorized was caused by Apple's larger-screened iPhones and led to a lower-than-normal 3-point shot success rate.
"Everybody is going to find this hilarious, but here's my theory on how I got it," he said. "When the new iPhone came out it was way bigger than the last one, and I think because I got that new phone it was a strain to use it, you have to stretch further to hit the buttons, and I honestly think that's how I ended up developing it."
According to Bonner, his two-and-a-half months of tennis elbow made it so painful for him to shoot that he'd "almost be cringing" before catching the ball. He spoke to a Spurs strength and conditioning coach, who reported suffering from a similar injury after spending time playing a game on a larger-screened iPhone.
Tennis elbow is attributed to any activity involving the repetitive use of the muscles in the forearm, causing muscles and tendons to be damaged from excessive use and leading to pain and inflammation in the elbow. A quick Google search suggests that tennis elbow caused by iPhone is not a common condition, but a few others have complained about similar iPhone-related stress injuries over the years.
It's not entirely clear if Bonner was making a tongue-in-cheek joke when he gave the tidbit of info to the Concord Monitor, but at 6'10" tall, it's a bit difficult to believe he would have trouble using the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus or the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, even one-handed. As iMore points out, there's likely another cause for his elbow issues.
We've been waiting for the fourth-generation Apple TV for at least two years now, and we've been teased with vague comments, leaks from the supply chain, and analyst predictions for several years running. We thought we’d get a look at it this year at the Worldwide Developers Conference, but Apple was still not ready to show it off.
Until we get a whole new model with, hopefully, a brand new look to the operating system, we have to stick with what we've got. The number of media channels is not getting any smaller, with Apple adding new content on a regular basis. For example, Apple recently added NatGeo TV. Content options are great, but sifting through dozens of channels can be a pain sometimes.
If you're tired of scrolling through the nearly seven dozen channels looking for the ones you use most, you can hide everything you don’t want to access, making it much easier to get to the content you want. We've got a quick tutorial to show you how.
A purported schematic for the so-called "iPhone 6s" obtained by Engadget Japan (via BGR) reveals that the next-generation smartphone could have a thickness of 7.1mm, a slight increase or equal to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which measure 6.9mm and 7.1mm respectively. The schematic also suggests that the "iPhone 6s" will still have a home button, while all other buttons and ports remain unchanged.
The slight 0.2mm increase in thickness could be the result of Apple adding pressure-sensing Force Touch technology to the next iPhone, enabling the smartphone's display to distinguish between a light tap and firmer press and complete different actions accordingly. The "iPhone 6s" is also rumored to adopt 7000 Series aluminum, which could possibly contribute to marginally different dimensions.
The schematic is consistent with leaked photos of the "iPhone 6s" rear shell, which confirm that the handset will have only minor design changes. In particular, the Lightning connector, speakers, microphones, headphone jack, volume rocker, mute button, sleep/wake button, SIM card slot, antenna lines and cutout for the rear-facing camera and LED flash are all identical to the iPhone 6.
The lack of exterior design changes on the "iPhone 6s" is unsurprising given that "S" model iPhones have historically looked almost identical to the iPhone released one year prior. The iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5S, for example, each had virtually the same design as the iPhone 3G, iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 respectively. Instead, the focus of the "iPhone 6s" will likely be on internal improvements.
Leaked photos of the "iPhone 6s" logic board reveal that the smartphone will likely feature Qualcomm’s MDM9635M chip, capable of theoretical LTE download speeds up to 300 Mbps, double the max speed of 150 Mbps in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The next iPhone is also rumored to feature an A9 processor with 2GB of RAM, an updated NFC chip for Apple Pay and an improved 12-megapixel rear-facing camera.
In the days and weeks after its launch last April, one of the biggest curiosities surrounding the Apple Watch was its tolerance to water. Thanks to a few initial tests -- from showers to high dive pools -- we now know that the Apple Watch is indeed a bit more waterproof than Apple promises, and with that in mind a few London-based iOS developers have created the "World's first swim app on the Apple Watch," and put it through its paces in a new video.
Having designed a similar app for the Pebble, Ted Bradley and his team decided to take that idea -- a lapping, time, and heart rate monitoring swim app -- and transplant it onto the Apple Watch. The developers put each smartwatch to the same test, swimming four full lengths of the London Aquatic Centre's 50 meter pool. The test proved successful, with the Apple Watch mirroring the Pebble's results of a four lap, 200 meter swim. Apple's smartwatch even continued to measure heart rate successfully, raising from an initial 88bpm to 138bpm immediately after the test finished.
The only downside for the app is that the Apple Watch experiences a tiny bit of lag when waking it up to check out lap times, the developers explaining that only when the screen is awake can the app run through the data samples collected from the swim and take a few seconds to parse through the information and display it on screen. Elsewhere, the swimming data isn't locked into the app, all of the workout and heart rate information getting delivered to HealthKit like any other workout and adding to a user's daily exercise and move goals.
We really hope that Apple see the demand for an official, fully waterproofed Apple Watch. Once that is available, we’ll be able to ship a fully featured swimming app. In the mean time, it would be great to see swimming become a first class citizen in the Apple Health and Activities apps. Running and cycling both have their own distance graphs you can view in the dashboard whilst for swimming you have to drill down to individual workouts.
Although you can’t swim with the Apple Watch, many people swim with other devices as well as logging their swim workouts manually on other apps. If there is a future ambition for Apple Health/HealthKit, Apple Watch, the new Activity app and ResearchKit to all tie up and tell the narrative that "Apple user's live longer healthier lives", then recording all fitness activity, including swimming, is a must.
The full blog post, where Bradley goes into detail about everything from his inspiration for creating the swim app to architectural challenges the team faced in creating it, is definitely worth a read.
Apple has separated its three time-based categories into separate apps on Apple Watch. This allows you to quickly access the specific feature of the timer, alarm, and stopwatch you want with just a few taps.
While most of it is self-explanatory, we've got some tips for how to get the most out of each of these apps so they work the way you want, when you want.
The Timer app on Apple watch makes it possible for you to set a timer right from your wrist so you don't have to search out your iPhone to activate or even turn off the alert when time is up.
Tap the Timer app icon on Apple Watch to open it. Then rotate the Digital Crown to adjust the time. When ready, tap the Start button.
You can switch between a timer that goes from zero to 12 hours and a timer that goes from zero to 24 hours by firmly pressing the display screen.
In late June, it was revealed that Apple had rounded up celebrity partners to host radio shows on its Beats 1 programming schedule, including Elton John, Pharrell and Dr. Dre. Today, the company announced that Dre's show, The Pharmacy, will premiere Saturday, July 4 at 3 PM PST and will broadcast every week thereafter at the same time.
The hour-long show will be co-hosted by Dre and Eddie Francis and feature recording artists Wyann Vaughn and DJ Pooh with music from DJ Jus Incredible, according to Billboard. Apple debuted the premiere date with a trailer for the program on Twitter.
Additionally, Apple Music today exclusively debuted the new music video for Eminem's latest single, "Phenomenal", promoting the event with a tease on the service's Instagram. The 7-minute video, which is referred to as a "music film" by Apple, features cameos from actors John Malkovich and Randall Park, Dr. Dre and both the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch. Previously, Eminem was the subject of the first Beats 1 guest interview with DJ Zane Lowe.
The Cupertino company has been trying to secure a wealth of exclusive content for Apple Music in hopes of luring customers to its service rather than competing music streaming services. Most recently, Pharrell's new single "Freedom" has been exclusive to the service as well as Dre's album The Chronic. It's likely Apple will continue to leverage its music industry contacts for future exclusives in the coming weeks and months.In January, WayTools announced the TextBlade, a compact, collapsible keyboard for iOS devices and Macs that's quite unlike anything else that's available on the market. It replaces a full keyboard with eight large smart keys that take advantage of multilayering, giving users access to a complete set of keys and commands on a keyboard that fits into a pocket.
WayTools began accepting pre-orders for the TextBlade at that time, garnering a huge amount of interest from people who were excited about the promise of a better mobile keyboard. The company initially planned to ship in February, but as customers who pre-ordered know, the TextBlade has yet to ship, having faced unforeseen production problems that led to a series of design tweaks.
As of today, I'm able to provide an update, following multiple conversations with WayTools' CEO Mark Knighton, where we walked through the delays and went over some of the new features that have been added to the TextBlade since January. WayTools will be publishing an in-depth blog post that goes into even more detail on the problems the company faced with production, and I'll update this post to add a direct link as soon as it's live.
Before launching pre-orders, WayTools did production runs and quality tests on the TextBlade and the parts ready to go, but transitioning from testing runs to mass production can expose unforeseen issues. With mass production, a product that might have been assembled by a small team is now put together in parts by a huge number of workers and if the production process isn't streamlined to the minutest detail, you're not always going to get a consistent product.
Back in January, we shared a video of an iPhone 6 that went into space, protected by an iPhone case constructed by Urban Armor Gear. The iPhone 6 came out unscathed, so when Urban Armor Gear offered us the chance to get our hands on a few of its cases to check out for a review, we agreed.
Urban Armor Gear's line of cases are definitely unique, with an industrial-looking armored shell and an impact resistant inner core. Cases are available for several devices, but we checked out the company's Rogue Folio for the iPad Air 2, its Rogue Folio for the iPhone 6 Plus, and its Navigator case for the iPhone 6 Plus.
The same goes for the Rogue Folio for the iPhone. It offers all-around protection, leaves the buttons easy to press, and holds credit cards, but the design of the folio is bulky, covers the camera, and feels downright sloppy.
The company's line of non-folio iPhone cases, which all have a different name based on color, are thin and light, and for the protection they offer, they don't add a lot of bulk to the iPhone. Ports are left open, buttons are easy to press, and a screen protector keeps the display safe. There's also a lip around the phone to prevent the display from touching a surface like a desk when facedown.
Urban Armor Gear's standard iPhone cases can be purchased from the company's website for $39.95, and are available in white, blue, orange, black, pink, and clear. The company's folio cases for the iPhone and iPad are available in red and black and can be purchased for $39.95 and $49.95, respectively.
Note: MacRumors received no compensation for this review.
Even though most developers work their hardest to ensure that the programs you download onto your Mac run smoothly, sometimes, things go wrong. One issue that may arise is an app using an exorbitant amount of energy or memory, causing your Mac to overheat or suffer severe battery drain.
Sometimes, simply closing an app doesn't do the trick. For example, if a program includes a helper tool, that tool may be the culprit. Closing the program may not solve the problem.
We've got a troubleshooting guide for finding out which apps are using the most percentage of processes on your computer.
If you experience a fast drain on your MacBook's battery, it may be caused by certain programs running in the background. While you may have intended to run something like Spotify, it is possible that you have a program open that you didn't know about.
You can quickly check to see which apps are using a significant amount of energy by left clicking on the battery icon in the upper right corner of your laptop's tool bar. From the dropdown list, wait a few seconds until your Mac finishes collecting power usage information. Any apps that are using a lot of energy will be listed.
You can then find the app by searching in Finder and quit the program. Or, you can right click on the app to open Activity Monitor.
Priority Notifications, visual intelligence for iPhone 15 Pro, new emoji, and more.
Apple Intelligence is what Apple is calling its artificial intelligence feature set. Here's everything we know.
Image Playground is Apple's dedicated image creation app that can build cartoon-like pictures based on text descriptions.
If you're experiencing issues with iPhone Mirroring, follow these steps to get it working again.
Apple's annual developer conference where it will unveil iOS 19, macOS 16, and more.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7, new Apple Intelligence features, and more.
Apple's next-generation iPhone models with a new "Air" or "Slim" model replacing the current Plus model.
2 days ago by Tim Hardwick
2 days ago by Tim Hardwick
4 days ago by Tim Hardwick
4 days ago by Tim Hardwick
4 days ago by Tim Hardwick
Priority Notifications, visual intelligence for iPhone 15 Pro, new emoji, and more.
Apple Intelligence is what Apple is calling its artificial intelligence feature set. Here's everything we know.
Image Playground is Apple's dedicated image creation app that can build cartoon-like pictures based on text descriptions.
If you're experiencing issues with iPhone Mirroring, follow these steps to get it working again.
Apple's annual developer conference where it will unveil iOS 19, macOS 16, and more.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7, new Apple Intelligence features, and more.
Apple's next-generation iPhone models with a new "Air" or "Slim" model replacing the current Plus model.
2 days ago by Tim Hardwick
2 days ago by Tim Hardwick
4 days ago by Tim Hardwick
4 days ago by Tim Hardwick
4 days ago by Tim Hardwick