Articles about Apple

In an announcement that is mostly meant to remind us that its new iPhones go on sale on September 25 -- like we did not already know that -- Apple today reveals that iOS 9 has been installed on more than 50 percent of all iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices currently in use.

That is a remarkable achievement, but it is even more impressive that iOS 9 reached this milestone just three days after its release on September 16. Apple says it is the "fastest iOS adoption ever".

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Apple has started a clean-up operation of the Chinese version of its App Store after it was flooded with apps infected with XcodeGhost malware. The problem was not detected by Apple, but a number of security firms who discovered various malicious iPhone and iPad apps littering the Store.

The apps made their way past Apple's usually-rigorous vetting process after developers were tricked into using a counterfeit version of the Xcode tool to create them. The attack has been described as "a pretty big deal" although at this stage there are no reported instances of data theft or attacks on victims.

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That a company behind an ad-blocking tool should defend ad-blocking should hardly come as a surprise, but that is precisely what has happened. Ad blockers have been much talked about since Apple opened up support for them in iOS 9. The now infamous Peace shot to the top of the download charts before it was pulled by its creator.

Now AdBlock Plus has come out in support of Marco Arment who developed something of a guilty conscience after his ad blocking creation proved so popular. Ben Williams from AdBlock Plus says "I really applaud this guy", going on to suggest that whitelisting and the Acceptable Ads feature of AdBlock Plus epitomize the "more nuanced, complex approach" Arment called for.

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On Sept. 16, 2015, Apple released iOS 9, which enables users of iPad and iPhone to disable ads. The company claims the capability improves the overall user experience. As someone covering the tech industry for more than two decades, I perceive it as something else, too: Competitive assault against Google and means of pushing publishers to iOS 9's new News app. There is nothing friendly about Apple's maneuver. It is aggressive and tactical. But does it really matter?

Stated simply: More than 90 percent of Google revenue comes from contextual and search-related advertising. Apple derives about the same figure from selling devices and supporting services. At the same time, mobile is the future of Internet advertising and the battleground where the two meet. The entities' respective mobile platforms, Android and iOS, long ago put the tech titans on a collision course. Conceptually, what Apple can't gain from iPad and iPhone sales, it can take by shaking pillars supporting its rival's business.

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iOS 9 may be just out of the gates, but it is already causing problems. Some people who have made the upgrade are complaining that the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system is laggier than the previous version, but some people have found they are not even able to complete the installation.

Upset users have taken to forums to complain that their iPhones have bricked by iOS 9. Many people found that their phone became stuck on the Slide to Upgrade screen with no obvious way past the roadblock. Apple refers to the symptom as "the Slide to Upgrade screen won't go away after you update to iOS 9", and there is a solution.

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Here at BetaNews we depend on ads to continue creating fabulous content. It is for that reason I have not been supportive of ad blocking on iOS 9 or any other platform. I'd be lying, however, if I said I'd never used such a plugin in the past.

I was quite dismayed, therefore, when the Peace content blocker for Safari rocketed to the top of paid apps on the App Store. This meant consumers were willing to pay to not see ads, but weren't willing to pay for content by viewing those ads -- counter-intuitive. Today, Marco Arment, the creator of Peace, announces he is pulling his popular app from Apple's App Store. Shocking! Apparently, he has a guilty conscience .

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Apple, on Wednesday, released iOS 9, the latest software version of its mobile operating system. The iOS 9 update comes with a number of features including Apple News, a news reader app that works as an RSS feed fetcher. It's an interesting app as it allows immersive visual effects that are not available on any alternative. But if you live outside the US, you might not be able to use the app as it is not available for you yet. But there's a way you can get the app on your iPhone or iPad. Follow the instructions mentioned below.

The trick is very simple. You just have to change your region settings to the United States to make Apple believe you live there. Once done, you should be able to see the News app on your homescreen. Here’s the elaborate guide to get the News app on your Apple device.

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Back in the 90's and early 00's, I was one of those punk kids who drove around with his aftermarket stereo blasting rap music. Yes, I had a subwoofer in my trunk that would shake both my car and my neighbors' houses. While I still love rap music, I have outgrown the obnoxious behavior of forcing my music on others.

Car tech and music are still loves of mine, however, albeit it at lower decibels. I have been considering upgrading the stock stereo in my Ford Focus lately (I don't even have Bluetooth), and today Kenwood announces two receivers that pique my interest -- the DDX6902S and DDX6702S. As someone who just ordered an iPhone 6s Plus, these both feature something I desire -- Apple CarPlay.

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Ad-blockers are proving to be extremely popular with the early adopters of iOS 9. Shortly after the operating system's debut, Peace skyrocketed to the top of the paid apps chart on Apple's App Store, taking Minecraft: Pocket Edition's place on the podium, while rival Purify Blocker has risen to fourth place.

Current leader Peace is the work of iOS developer Marco Arment, best known for the popular read-it-later app Instapaper. Since Peace will surely get the attention of many more users, let's take a look at what it has to offer.

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Alex Gibney’s Steve Jobs documentary is available now in some theaters, on Amazon Instant Video and, ironically, on iTunes. It’s a film that purports to figure out what made Steve Jobs tick. And it does a lot, just not that.

I’m not a dispassionate reviewer here. More than a year before Jobs died I tried to hire Alex Gibney to make a Steve Jobs film with me. At that point he suggested I be the director, that he’d coach me ("It’s not that hard", the Oscar-winner claimed.) We talked and met but didn’t come to a deal. Later Gibney decided to do a Jobs film on his own -- this film -- and he came to me for help. We talked and met but again didn’t come to a deal. Nothing is unusual about any of this, but it made me eager to see what kind of movie he would make and how it would compare to the one I originally had in mind.

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Apple has released its first ever Android app. No, there's not an Android version of Safari or anything like that, but a tool designed to simplify the process of switching to iOS. The predictably named Move to iOS will appeal to anyone who was persuaded to switch allegiances by the release of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, or indeed iOS 9.

The app can be used to move contacts, messages, photos and more to a new iPhone or iPad, and is compatible with phones and tablets running Android 4.0 and newer. It works slightly differently to what you may have expected. Rather than uploading data to the cloud, it instead creates a private Wi-Fi network between an Android and iOS device and securely transfers it.

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As an Apple Watch owner I’ve been excitedly awaiting the arrival of the next generation of watchOS for my device. I really like Watch, but it’s currently fairly limited. The updated OS gains support for native apps (you’ll be able to run apps on the Watch not just mirroring them from your iPhone) and there are new communication features, improved Siri functionality and additional faces to look forward to as well.

Unfortunately, while watchOS 2 was set to be made available later today, the discovery of a major bug has scuppered those plans.

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A vulnerability has been discovered in iOS and OS X that could be used to install apps without permission, using AirDrop. The feature exists to provide a way for people to quickly send files from one device to another, but security researcher Mark Dowd has been able to exploit the vulnerability to push apps to iOS even if the user does not accept the file that is AirDropped.

Dowd has reported the vulnerability to Apple, but the company has failed to patch the problem so it still exists in iOS 9. Using a combination of techniques, it is possible to bypass the security screen that asks if an app is to be trusted or not, meaning that a malicious app can be installed without permission or notification.

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The Apple Watch has been with us for a few months now and while there were initial concerns about the battery life, it seems that these fears were unfounded. The ways in which people have ended up using their Apple Watches means that a single charge is enough to get through the day in most cases.

A survey of 1,200 Watch wearers by Wristly found that the overwhelming majority of users reported that their battery lasted a full day. A startling percentage of people (44 percent) said that they did not check battery level at all during the day, and most have fallen into the habit of simply recharging overnight. But what is the biggest battery killer?

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Apple CEO Tim Cook has addressed one of biggest annoyances in the otherwise excellent iPhone. Cook has said that the company is aware that not everybody is a big fan of several stock apps -- more popularly known as junkware, crapware, bloatware -- in the iPhone lineup, and it intends to step back and (almost certainly) give users the ability to remove them.

In a wide-ranging interview with BuzzFeed News, the company's chief executive talked about privacy concerns with the new iPhones, the company's claim of iPad Pro being a desktop replacement, and more importantly, why it doesn't allow users to remove stock apps -- for example, Calculator, Stocks, Tips, Watch -- from their iPhones or iPads.

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