Articles about iPhone

While I was a bit old for the Harry Potter books when they first came out (so I thought at the time), I did enjoy the films. As someone who is extraordinarily average, I can understand the allure of a character like Harry, who goes from nothing to greatness.

Reading the series has been on my to-do list for quite some time now, as many people tell me it is not a children's-only affair. Today, Apple announces that it is enhancing the Harry Potter books on iBooks only. If you own a Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, you can experience the stories all over again, or for the first time, in the best way possible.

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If you're a Twitter user, you undoubtedly love it. If you're not, you probably either hate it, or find it confusing. Today Twitter launches Moments in a bid to make itself more appealing to beginners by helping to provide a gentle step up into the crazy world of tweets, and by bringing context to timelines.

Times they are a-changing at Twitter with Jack Dorsey now the fulltime CEO, and the prospect of curated content from reputable sources could be what is needed to take things to the next level. Part of the problem with Twitter is the sheer volume of content that is out there -- and it is generated very quickly; for newbies, it can be completely overwhelming. Moments is an attempt to cut through the crap and present news and stories in a meaningful and accessible way.

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For the curious-minded, iFixit is an essential resource. The hardware teardowns on the site have become legendary, revealing the innards of the latest and greatest phones and tablets better than anyone else. Two recent iFixit teardowns have had interesting results.

Following the release of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, analysis of the internals suggested that the handsets would be more waterproof than previous models -- not something Apple has shouted about. But the outcome of the Apple TV and Siri Remote teardowns were rather less pleasing for the site: they resulted in the iFixit app being pulled from the App Store. By Apple.

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While much of the attention was focused on the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P at Google's event today, these were far from being the only announcements. Last year, the original Chromecast took the world of media streaming by storm, introducing a low-cost entry point into streaming, and now Google has two new Chromecast devices to show off.

The new-look Chromecast has something of a different appearance to the first generation. This time around, the device is circular and features a short, flexible HDMI cable rather than the rigid design from last year -- this should make the dongle easier to plug into TVs with restricted space. There's also a new product in the form of Chromecast Audio which can be used to stream music to just about any set of speakers.

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I can't confirm Bloomberg's report that the the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department allegedly are beginning a joint investigation into Google's Android licensing agreements. But I can explain what it means. Striping to the bones, from an antitrust perspective, there are two pivot points: Monopoly position and exclusive contracts. Then there is the broader regulatory agenda: Correcting (or preventing future) consumer harm.

Globally, Android is unquestionably a monopoly in the market for smartphones. However, its dominance in the United States is comparably muted by competition from iPhone. Based on smartphone subscribers, Android's share was 51.4 percent for the three months ending July 31, 2015, according to comScore. iOS ranked second with 44.2 percent. By cell phone manufacturer, Apple leads the market, with the same share, followed by Samsung (27.3 percent). Android is leading but declining—down 0.8 points, while iOS is up 1.1 points, from April to July.

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Fake Apple stores selling genuine Apple products are popping up around China like mushrooms after the rain.

According to a Reuters report, Apple only has one official store in Shenzhen and five authorized dealers in the area, but China’s southern boomtown has more than 30 stores selling these products.

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Having to enter a password to unlock your Mac is recommended practice, as it helps keep your private data safe. But it is also annoying, especially if you are the security conscious type, who uses a longer, more complex password. So what can you do to make things easy, without exposing your Mac?

Well, if you have an iPhone or iPad that is equipped with Touch ID, or even an Apple Watch, you should take a look at MacLock. It lets you use your fingerprint to unlock your Mac. Here's how it works.

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One of the key features of iOS 9 -- and one of the reasons 16GB iPhones were not killed -- is app slicing. This innocuous-sounding feature reduces the amount of space apps take up on iPhones and iPads... or at least it does when it is working.

At the moment Apple has a problem with iCloud which is preventing app slicing from working correctly. The feature works by only downloading the components of an app that are needed to perform specific tasks on a particular device, but at the moment regular, universal apps are delivered by default.

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As has become the norm after a new iOS launch, Apple has been keen to crow about the high adoption rate for iOS 9. The company recently claimed that in just three days, more than half of iPhones, iPads and iPod touches had iOS 9 installed. Seems a little high? You're not alone in feeling that way. Has Apple massaged the figures about iOS adoption rates?

While there are many reasons to make the upgrade to iOS 9, the 50 percent figure is not in line with measurements from other sources. It's fair to say that only Apple has access to the real raw data, but Crittercism suggests that on the measurement date of 19 September used by Apple, adoption of iOS 9 was possibly less than half of what's been claimed.

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Has this ever happened to you? You go to charge your iPhone or Android device and your cable has fallen behind your desk or dresser. You then have to get on your knees and reach behind the furniture to try and fish it out. It is totally annoying and inconvenient -- especially when you just want to get to bed.

Well, Griffin wants to end this maddening experience. Its Guide Cable Management System will keep everything in place, meaning you never have to search behind your furniture for a fallen cable again. Hallelujah.

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You might think it would be hard to get overly excited about a keyboard. I understand, I felt the same. But then I tried out the iClever Portable Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard and my opinion changed. I've used various portable/mini keyboards before and they have been -- almost without exception -- utterly awful.

The iClever Portable Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard gets off to a great start; it has a lot of things in its favor. The metal construction gives it a solid, robust feel and a great semi-industrial look. The aluminum has neatly curved edges, but at the same time it feels wonderfully brutalist. The real killer feature, however, is the foldability of the peripheral which means beautifully sizable keys are available for typing on.

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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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