Virgin Mobile USA becomes iPhone-exclusive carrier, offers a year of unlimited service for $1
Goodness gracious, Virgin Mobile USA has made quite the bold moves today. The cellular service provider has become the world's first iPhone-exclusive carrier. In other words, it will no longer offer Android at all. Crazy, right? This is through a partnership with Apple, and Virgin will offer many versions of the device, including iPhone 6, 6S, 7, and SE.
The craziness doesn't stop there, however, as there is even something much more exciting -- Virgin Mobile USA is offering unlimited talk, text and data for a dollar. No, that is not a typo -- a single buck will get you unlimited everything for up to a year! This is through a new scheme called "Inner Circle."
Screen protector listing shows what the iPhone 8 will look like
The launch of the iPhone 8 is still some way off but -- as with just about every smartphone of note (we're looking at you, OnePlus 5) -- lots of details have slipped out ahead of any official announcement. The latest leak "confirms" what we've long expected: that there's a quite significant redesign coming up.
We have already heard rumors that the iPhone will be near-bezel-less, and we've seen supposed production-line images that show off the front and rear panels. The front panel images showed a weird cut-out at the top of the phone and a new listing on accessory website MobileFun for an "Olixar iPhone 8 Full Cover Tempered Glass Screen Protector" appears to back this up.
Apple introduces Wi-Fi sharing in iOS 11
There are lots of new features in iOS 11 that will make the operating system more usable on iPhones and iPads. Apple has not previewed all of them at WWDC 2017 though, with one of the lesser-known additions being Wi-Fi sharing.
Normally, when you have guests who want to use your Wi-Fi you have to tell them the password so they can connect to the network. However, for iOS 11 users, the Wi-Fi sharing functionality removes this step from the process, letting you wirelessly send the password to their iPhones and iPads. How does it work?
iOS 11 will not support iPhone 5, iPhone 5c and 4th-gen iPad
It looks like iOS 11 will be a great upgrade for iPhone and iPad users, but not everyone will be able to join the party. As usual, Apple has dropped support for older -- yet still popular -- devices, and this time around two iPhones and an iPad are getting the axe.
As you might expect, the devices in question are the oldest iPhones and iPads that can run iOS 10, namely the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c and 4th-generation iPad. All the 32-bit devices, and the last to debut with a 32-bit processor, which means that iOS 11 will be a 64-bit-only affair.
Apple to roll out iPhone screen fixing Horizon Machines to hundreds of third-party repair centers
One of the weak points of the iPhone -- like just about any other smartphone -- is the screen. All it takes is a fall onto a hard surface and you could find yourself in shatter city. Getting a replacement screen is simple enough, but if you head off to an Apple store you could find that you're in for a bit of a wait.
All of this is about to change, as Apple is set to install official screen fixing Horizon Machines in around 400 third party repair centers around the world, including Best Buy in the US. The move will mean that third parties will now be able to repair iPhone screens without voiding warranties.
Apple completely redesigns the App Store, introduces entirely new sections and promotes in-app purchases
Yesterday at WWDC 2017 Apple not only announced details of iOS 11, the company also unveiled a completely redesigned App Store. Central to the entire iOS experience, the change is due to arrive later in the year, and when we say it's a complete redesign, we mean it's a complete redesign.
It goes without saying that Apple refers to the redesign as "beautiful," and the extreme makeover is something that has been a long time coming. But while the look of the store is markedly different to its current incarnation, it is still somewhat familiar. It borrows style ideas from iOS 10's Music and News apps.
Is Apple about to release a file manager for iOS at WWDC?
It's Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) this week, and while we are very unlikely to hear anything about the iPhone 8, there's sure to be plenty of news to come. However, ahead of the start of the conference, it seems that Apple has accidentally let slip its iOS file manager.
A new, largely blank entry in the App Store was spotted by a developer. It shows a new app called, imaginatively enough, Files. The icon is Apple-y in style, would be appropriate for a file manager app, and the listing indicates that iOS 11 and up is needed.
Microsoft Planner now available for Android
Nearly two weeks after introducing the iPhone app, Microsoft officially announces the availability of Planner on Android. The tool was released a year ago to help teams using Office 365 better manage and collaborate on projects.
Microsoft says that Planner is available to Office 365 subscribers on the Business Essentials, Business Premium, Enterprise E1 to E5 and Education plans.
Live Chat With Friends brings private chats to Facebook Live
Facebook understands the importance of video on its platform, particularly live video. Facebook Live has proved to be an incredibly popular component of the social network and now the company is introducing new ways to connect with friends through the service.
Known as Live Chat With Friends, the new feature makes it possible to chat privately with friends during live broadcasts. The company is also rolling out another new feature called Live With. This "lets you invite a friend into your live video so you can hang out together, even if you’re not in the same place."
Apple and Nokia end all litigation as they sign patent license and business cooperation agreement
Apple is dropping its lawsuit against Nokia. The iPhone manufacturer and the Finnish company reached an agreement to not only bring the intellectual property dispute to an end, but also to start a multi-year patent license.
Described as a "meaningful agreement", details of the new arrangement are confidential, at least for the time being, but Apple does shed a little light on what's going to be happening moving forward. Apple will receive network infrastructure product and services from Nokia, and the company will also resume carrying the Withings health products Nokia bought.
Microsoft Planner now available for iPhone
Office 365 officially received a project management tool, called Planner, in June 2016, but it is not until today that Microsoft introduces an accompanying mobile app. And the platform of choice for the first Microsoft Planner app is iOS.
When Microsoft publicly launched Planner, the software giant said that there will be apps available for Windows and Android devices too, but there is no announcement regarding the support for the other two platforms. Hopefully, that will happen at some point in the near future.
Siri gets competition as Google Assistant heads to the Apple iPhone
Yes, the rumors were true (as they so often are when it comes to Google) -- the search giant announced at its I/O developer conference today that its personal assistant is coming to the iPhone.
As you might expect (and as is the case with Microsoft’s Cortana), you won’t be able to replace Siri with Google Assistant, instead you’ll need to summon it through a dedicated app. That’s not the only downside.
Apple's iPhone 6s is the most popular smartphone in the world
Apple may not sell as many smartphones as Samsung, but its iPhones consistently rank at the top of the sales charts, typically edging their Galaxy S rivals by a healthy margin. So, it should not come as a surprise that it is an iPhone that is the most popular smartphone in the world as well.
ScientiaMobile, which recently released a report that crowns the Galaxy S7 as the most popular Samsung-made smartphone in the world, today expands its scope and announces that the title for the most popular smartphone in the world belongs to the iPhone 6s.
Qualcomm wants to ban US iPhone imports because Apple's not paying licensing royalties
Apple and Qualcomm are not on the best of terms. The iPhone maker has sued Qualcomm for overcharging on royalties, demanding $1bn in compensation. The chip maker, in return, has sued Apple for making its modems worse in the iPhone 7 to match the performance of similar Intel cellular radios.
And now Qualcomm wants to take things to the next level, as it considers asking the International Trade Commission to ban iPhone imports in the US. If the ITC agrees, that would potentially lead to billions and billions of lost sales for Apple and affect its plans for the launch of the new iPhone.
iPhone sales continue to fall ahead of iPhone 8 launch
Yesterday we debated whether interest in the Apple Watch is falling, but Tim Cook says that sales have doubled over the last year. This is an easy claim to make when you don’t reveal the actual sales figures, but the story is definitely less rosy when we look at the iPhone. For the second quarter ever, sales of Apple's smartphone fell.
This was not only a drop in sales, but an unexpected one. While analysts had been predicting sales in the region of 52.27 million, the reality is that the company shipped just 50.2 million in the quarter ending April 1, 2017. It might not seem like a big difference, but the sustained fall in sales saw Apple's stock to follow suit to the tune of 1.5 percent.
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