Articles about iPhone

Even though I own an iPhone, I am not an Apple "fanboy". I use both Linux and Windows on the desktop, and embrace most of Google's services. Quite frankly, if Google pulled its offerings from iOS, I would probably switch to Android. In other words, I am deeply entrenched in the search giant's ecosystem.

Today, Google releases a new keyboard for the iPhone. Called "Gboard", it drastically improves the typing experience on Apple's smartphone in many ways, including "Glide Typing", emoji search, and animated GIF search to name a few. If you own an iPhone, stop what you are doing and install it now. Trust me, folks.

Continue reading →

The case of the FBI seeking to force Apple to provide backdoor access to the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone focused attention on security and encryption once again. The agency may have been able to gain access to the phone with help from a third party, but the Indian government has gone one better.

Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has revealed that the government has a tool that can be used to gain access to, among other devices, Apple's iPhone. This is not to say that a tool has been created that bypasses encryption, rather that a method for getting past the lockscreen has been developed.

Continue reading →

Neil Patrick Harris is one cool dude. From playing a boy-doctor on the TV show, Doogie Howser MD, to becoming one of the premier hosts for fancy award shows, the man is undeniably awesome. There are even some rumors that the handsome actor could replace Michael Strahan on Live! with Kelly Ripa, but I digress.

Today, NPH becomes the latest Apple advertisement star. In a video titled "Thank You Speech," the actor shows off the hands-free capabilities of the iPhone 6s.

Continue reading →

The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are arguably the best smartphones on the market, although I am sure many Android and Windows Phone users will disagree with me. Yes, they are expensive, but when it comes to Apple, you often get what you pay for. In other words, you aren't just paying for the sum of the parts, but the overall positive experience.

With that said, you should always protect your investment. Replacing a broken iPhone -- especially if you didn't splurge on Apple Care -- is quite the costly affair. The best way to do this is with a good case. X-Doria's Defense Lux cases for iPhone 6S were pretty rugged, although a bit slippery. A lack of "grip" on the back made the iPhone something fairly easy to drop. Now, the company adds the Defense Lux Impression Cases for iPhone 6 and 6S. With rear dimples, it should alleviate the "slippery" concern of the non-Impression model.

Continue reading →

LG today announced that the US government has certified its G5 and V10 flagship Android smartphones for enterprise and military use. The testing was conducted by the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP), which verifies the compliance of products with the "Common Criteria" international security standard, which is said to be recognized by 25 countries.

Although LG is only boasting about the two aforementioned handsets, NIAP's test results show that G4, its flagship from last year, is also fit for use in enterprise and military sectors, when running Android 6.0 Marshmallow. NIAP's stamp of approval was received on April 14.

Continue reading →

When it comes to business devices, employees can often have a big impact on decision-making. In other words, they can influence IT and executives by expressing a desire for the same type of device they use at home. When Blackberry devices, for instance, fell out of favor with home users, they soon lost their luster in the enterprise too.

iPhone and iPad devices are wildly popular in the enterprise, but not only because employees love them. They are also very secure, thanks to things like touch ID and regular operating system updates. Apple has even partnered with world-class companies, such as IBM, which bolstered the positive perception for iOS. Today, Tim Cook and company announce yet another monumental partnership, this time with SAP.

Continue reading →

Removable phone batteries used to be a very important thing to me. It is one of the reasons, at least initially, I shunned the iPhone for Android smartphones. Over time, however, this became less important, thanks to USB battery packs. Ultimately, I bought an iPhone and couldn't be happier.

The problem with these battery packs, however, is that the cable creates a bit of a mess; it looks unsightly to have a wire dangling from your pocket. Meanwhile, battery cases are often bulky, ruining the svelte nature of the phone. Now, SCOSCHE unveils its MagicMount PowerBank for Android and iPhone. By utilizing magnets, it can be easily affixed to the rear of the phone when needed, and removed when not. The super-short cable will prevent tangling too.

Continue reading →

I love my iPhone 6s, but the battery life often isn’t as good as I would like. On most days I can make it through to the late evening before the device requires charging, but occasionally it needs a bit of a boost before then. The Low Power mode built into iOS 9 comes in handy, but like most people I’d rather just have longer battery life.

While carrying around a power pack saves the day when I’m out and about and away from a charging point, it’s a bit of pain having to lug it around. This is where ThinCharge comes in handy -- it’s a battery pack built into a thin case.

Continue reading →

One of my favorite places to shop is Kohl's. Now, I have many reasons, but primarily, I like its selection of affordable "Big and Tall" clothing. Yes, I'm a fat guy. Most of my wardrobe is bought there, including, quite often, my sneakers too. Heck, they even sell wonderful home goods, such as towels, coffee makers, and picture frames to name a few. It is a great "one-stop-shop".

An annoying thing about the Kohl's shopping experience, however, is carrying two cards for the retailer. You see, the company offers a charge card --  which is often required for the discounts -- plus a loyalty card for building rewards. I've often wondered why they do not just combine them. Starting today, thanks to Apple Pay, you can leave both cards at home, and get the benefits with just your iPhone.

Continue reading →

Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller has taken to Twitter to set the record straight about the nomenclature of the company's product names. Specifically, he takes umbrage with just sticking an 's' onto the end of product names to pluralize them.

Yep -- iPhones is, apparently, not a word. Someone might need to speak with Tim Cook to get him on the same page though, as he doesn't seem to have seen the memo.

Continue reading →

Apple had been hoping that the FBI would come clean about how it managed to gain access to the San Bernardino iPhone, but that's just not going to happen. The agency managed to crack the iPhone 5C at the center of the case after getting help from a third party rather than Apple.

But now the FBI has confirmed that it doesn't really know how the cracking tool works. Or, more precisely, it did not buy the rights to the technical details of the tool. After a very public battle with Apple, the FBI ultimately resorted to getting help from elsewhere, and there had been fears that the method would be classified -- now it seems it will remain secret simply because the FBI doesn't understand the tool it used.

Continue reading →

Listening to Apple's fiscal second quarter 2016 earnings conference call yesterday was like attending a funeral—where the eulogy is for someone whom you know has gone to Hell. There's no way to sugarcoat that the good days are over and an eternity of burning flesh awaits. I kid you not. Haul over to iTunes and download the replay. You'll feel the grim reaper looking over your shoulder while CEO Tim Cook talks as joyfully about Apple's performance as a man granted last words before the gallows.

And I wonder why? So what that Apple reported its first revenue decline in 13 years, or that iPhone sales fell for the first time ever, or that Q3 guidance is a few billion short of Wall Street consensus? This friggin' company still mints money, and that ain't changing anytime soon. Revenue reached $50.6 billion—more than Alphabet and Microsoft combined, with $9.8 billion to spare. Apple's $10.5 billion net income exceeds that of both companies. Oh, and iPhone generated more revenue ($32.86 billion) than either competitor's total sales. Apple ended the quarter with a $232 billion cash horde. And we get a wake, not a celebration?

Continue reading →

The spotlight shines on the world's most-valuable company this fine Tuesday, as Apple revealed results for fiscal second quarter 2016. Wall Street expected the first revenue growth decline in more than a decade and iPhone's first-ever sales retraction . Is the sky finally falling? Eh, not yet. But the sun slowly sets over the vast smartphone empire.

Ahead of today's earnings announcement, Wall Street consensus put revenue down 10.4 percent year over year to $51.97 billion, with earnings per share down 14.2 percent to $2. Apple actual: $50.557 billion sales, $10.5 billion net income, and $1.90 EPS. Three months ago, the company told the Street to expect between $50 billion and $53 billion in sales. You read the numbers correctly: Apple uncharacteristically missed the Street's targets and came in on the low end of its own guidance.

Continue reading →

When it came to the San Bernardino iPhone, Apple was ready to dig in its heels and refuse to help the FBI to gain access to the encrypted contents. As it turns out, the company needn’t have bothered shouting as a third party helped instead. Now the same thing has happened with another iPhone.

This time around, the Justice Department had been looking for help accessing an iPhone at the center of a drugs case in New York. But now federal prosecutors have said they no longer need Apple’s help as they have managed to get by the lockscreen.

Continue reading →

Apple has announced to developers that, starting June 1, all watchOS apps submitted for inclusion in the App Store must be native apps based on watchOS 2 SDK. What this means in practice is that Apple Watch apps must function without an iPhone.

This is something that has plagued wearables from other manufacturers -- including Samsung -- and the new rules will almost certainly go down well with consumers. Ultimately this should lead to an improvement in the quality of Apple Watch apps, as developers will be forced to build in more functionality.

Continue reading →