Mark Gurman

Update: After less than 24 hours since this post, Apple has removed the DiscoRecorder tethering app from the App Store. The developer forwarded along an automated email that he received. He received no specific explanation from Apple.

Since the App Store’s launch, a few developers have tried creative tactics to enable free and unlimited tethering for iPhone users. Most of these tricks either made their way onto the App Store due to an apparently accidental app acceptance by Apple, or by way of a creativity. Some developers have hid the ability to enable unlimited tethering through “easter eggs.”

Today comes another attempt at hiding tethering from Apple in an App Store app. A new app called DiscoRecorder [$1.99] by Michael Leatherbury offers a series of simple steps to allow unlimited and free tethering (aside from the data package you already pay). The app disguises itself as a simple voice recording tool. Here are the steps to enable tethering:

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Today, Apple has seeded the first beta build of OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.1 to developers. The build number is 12B13 and it is available from the Mac Developer Center web portal. Apple says that the initial 10.8.1 seed has zero known issues. However, Apple asks developers to focus on testing Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange in Mail, PAC Proxies in Safari, SMB, USB, and WiFi and Audio when connected to the Apple Thunderbolt Display.

Earlier this week, Apple informed participants of the AppleSeed program that they would receive the initial Mountain Lion 10.8.1 build soon.

The DMG to perform a delta update from OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.0 is only 38.54MB. The installation itself takes up 36.4MB of space on a Mountain Lion Mac.

According to a reader who installed OS X 10.8.1, Facebook integration is yet to be included. Perhaps Facebook will come as a separate download,like it currently does for developers, or perhaps it will come in a later beta or another version of OS X Mountain Lion altogether. Also, for those wondering, it does not seem like this release has iMessage phone number merging.

Gallery of installation:

We’ve put the full release notes after the break:

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As the launch of the next iPhone approaches, lots of  parts have been leaking out  and we’ve been able to put the pieces together almost like a reverse iFixit teardown. Over the course of the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen internal components and LCD parts making their way into the hands of iOS device parts suppliers. The most notable part leaks this year were the back plates of the new iPhone. We posted the first photos of these in May. Those new parts revealed an all-new thinner enclosure, metal design, smaller dock connector, and various other next-generation iPhone attributes.

Today, a reliable parts source (via 9to5Mac contributor Sonny Dickson) sent us images of new iPhone battery packs that they received. Notably, these new battery packs sport a higher capacity than the packs in previous generations of Apple’s smartphone. This new battery features a capacity of 1440 mAh. That is up from the capacity of 1430 mAh on the iPhone 4S and up from 1420 mAh on the iPhone 4, according to iPhone repair shop iFixYouri, whom examined the battery photos.

More details after the break:

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Earlier this week, we broke the news that Apple’s upcoming version of iOS 6 is fully scalable and aware of taller, larger iPhone displays. The display resolution of 1136 x 640, a resolution we first reported in May that Apple is testing for future iPhones, shows a seemingly perfectly tweaked version of iOS 6. As we revealed earlier, this means five rows of home screen icons and tweaked native app user-interfaces.

We have been playing around more with the iOS simulator, which we tweaked to work on different resolutions, and we noticed some additional notable UI changes for the taller resolution. As we noted several months ago, the 1136 x 640 resolution on the next-generation iPhone will mean that the display comes in just around at a 16:9 proportion, an uncommon resolution for a mobile phone. Because of this, some have wondered how certain user-interface elements would be presented.

Many interface elements that are displayed while using the iPhone in vertical orientation will remain unchanged. The most important element, perhaps, is the iPhone’s keyboard. In portrait/vertical view, the keyboard on the next-generation iPhone will likely not change.

However, in landscape, it will:

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Earlier this week, we broke the news that Apple’s upcoming iOS 6 software for the iPhone is fully aware and capable of running on taller iPhone displays. It just so happens that the latest iOS 6 builds are optimized to express a tweaked, properly displayed new interface when running at a resolution of 640 x 1136. This happens to be the exact resolution that our sources reported Apple is testing for upcoming iOS devices.

iOS specialist Sonny Dickson decided to create some screenshots of what running native applications may be like on the next-generation iPhone – if Apple chooses to roll with the taller, 640 x 1136 screen. Dickson installed some applications into the tweaked iPhone simulator, and the results are interesting. Apps that are already included and optimized for the iOS 6 simulator appear to have tweaked interfaces that fit the taller display. Several more screenshots and all the details are after the break:

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Pulse has been one of the iTunes App Store premier news readers for the past couple of years. The mobile application started its life on the iPad, a device that is reinventing mobile news consumption, and then it was soon re-built for the iPhone, iPod touch, and Android devices.

While iOS device hardware is optimized for convenient news reading, the hardware requires great software to truly create a great news reading experience. Pulse has always fulfilled that with its wonderful and graphical tile-based interface. Users are able to slide their news stories and organize news sources conveniently.

The experience on iOS and Android touchscreen devices has been well-received but Pulse users have been asking for a version of Pulse for computers.

Pulse has come up with a great solution that is not exclusive like a downloadable app. Instead, it is a fully featured web application. Read on for all of the details:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cZ4mdrlWYM&feature=player_embedded]

Today, Google announced that it will roll out a new version of its its Google Search application for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The new version is notable in that it brings Siri and Google Now-like voice search functionality to the App Store app. The Verge is on hand at the announcement, and they note that you can “ask for the weather in a natural way and it will provide results.”

Search Engine Land is also on hand at the event, and they provide some more details. Notably, you can search maps info, theme songs, information about people, and conduct math calculations.

This sounds just like Siri and Google Now, complete with contextual awareness. The app is not out yet: it’s coming in a few days. When it is, it will be available here in iTunes.

Read more at the Official Google Blog.

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDvweiW5ZKQ]

Today, Apple has begun airing a new iPad television commercial. The new ad is similar in style to Apple’s other recent iPad commercials, highlighting applications and how they look on the newest iPad’s Retina display. Today’s covers some major iPad apps such as Square and the iWork suite, but also covers some of the device’s built-in functions like AirPlay, FaceTime, and Twitter integration. Thanks, Matthew! 

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At this point, it seems highly likely that the next-generation of Apple’s iOS devices will carry smaller dock connectors. That new hardware feature has been reported by multiple sources. However, the exact size and amount of pins has been up in the air. TechCrunch said that they confirmed the new connector to be 19 pins, while iLounge recently reported that the connector will be only 8 pins.

However, today, we discovered a possible reference to a 9-pin dock connector in the iOS 6 beta. The reference comes as a new iOS hardware feature called “9Pin,” so we’re assuming this has to do with the dock connector. Obviously, there is no way to be 100% about this.

In fact, it appears that the reference has been present since beta 1. This reference comes in a part of the operating system that details general hardware features in iOS devices. That mean this new 9-pin connector may not only be implemented into the iPhone. This lines up with iMore‘s report that Apple will update all of its iOS devices in September to support the new connector.

The new connector will make an impact on the cases and accessory industry, but it will allow Apple to squeeze in new technologies into its future devices. Of course, this is only a single iOS-based reference, and Apple’s plans for pin-formations could change at any time. Thanks, Hamza!

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Mockup of rumored next-generation iPhone design

With the next-generation iPhone’s announcement and release approaching for next month, one of the most present rumors is a larger, nearly-four inch display. A larger iPhone display has always been at the top of many iPhone user wish-lists, and it appears that the next iPhone will fulfill that.

Back in mid-May, we reported that the next-generation iPhone would feature a taller display that comes in at 3.999 inches diagonally with a resolution of 640 x 1136. At this resolution, Apple would be retaining the current horizontal length of the iPhone display, and only increasing the height.

This taller display information was soon affirmed when we posted the first photos of purported next-generation iPhone parts. These parts demonstrated this taller screen with the same horizontal length. We soon heard from sources that a few of the next-generation iPhones in testing within Apple feature a display that matches the parts.

These next-generation iPhones with taller displays feature a home screen that scales to five rows of icons, according to sources. The current 3.5-inch iPhone displays feature four rows of icons. The user-interfaces of Apple’s included applications were also said to be tweaked to take advantage of the taller screen area.

Today, we have found more proof that Apple is at least testing next-generation iPhone displays that are taller. In fact, iOS 6 is completely scaleable to a taller display. Read on for all of the details and screenshots: 

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Earlier today, Apple released iOS 6 beta 4 that notably drops the Google-backed YouTube application and adds some tweaks. The iOS 6 3D Maps application is one of the highlight features of the upcoming iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch operating system, so we’ve been combing the app for newly supported 3D regions. We’ve found that Apple has added some new incredible 3D views for new major cities both in the U.S. and abroad. Here are the major new 3D cities we’ve found:

United States: Boston, Atlanta, Portland, Phoenix, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas.

Canada: Toronto.

Europe: Lyon, France; Birmingham, UK; Manchester, UK.

Previous iOS 6 releases, beginning with the beta 1 release in mid-June, include several other cities: Los Angeles, San Diego, Memphis, Denver, Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco and the Bay Area, Las Vegas, Sydney, Melbourne, Chicago, Miami, Seattle, and Sacramento. Apple’s iOS 6 3D mapping technology was inherited with the company’s 2011 acqusition of a company called C3 Technologies. C3 also produced 3D data for London, Barcelona, Milan, Prague, Toronto, Venice, Oslo, and Vienna so perhaps we will see those cities added soon.

See our full gallery of the new 3D cities after the break: 

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Earlier today, Apple released its fourth beta of iOS 6 beta 4. The biggest change of note, which we broke the news on earlier, is the lack of a YouTube player in the new build. YouTube is a Google-built product, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe that Apple removed the app, just like they dropped Google Maps in favor of their own 3D mapping database. While that’s the biggest thing of note, there are some other new features and enhancements. Find those all after the break.

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iOS 6 beta 4 has removed the YouTube application that existed on iOS since the first version in 2007. We’re not entirely sure what to make of this, but this could have to do with Apple trying to break away from dependence on Google services. iOS 6 drops Google Maps in favor of Apple’s own 3D Maps program. We’re looking into this. Of course, this just could be a bug or an error for this beta. YouTube is gone from the iPhone and iPad, but it is still present on the Apple TV (below).

After we broke this major news, Apple confirmed to The Verge that YouTube is gone from iOS 6. Google is apparently building its own app.

Our license to include the YouTube app in iOS has ended, customers can use YouTube in the Safari browser and Google is working on a new YouTube app to be on the App Store.

A YouTube rep told us:

We are working with Apple to ensure we have the best possible YouTube experience for iOS users.

Also, the ability to upload video to YouTube from iOS 6 beta 4 is still present.

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Three weeks after it released iOS 6 beta 3, Apple has unleashed a fourth beta of the next-generation version of iOS to developers. The new beta is currently available as an over-the-air update to those running iOS 6 beta 3, and the new version should has also hit Apple’s iOS Developer Center.

The build number is 10A5376e. An updated Xcode beta and Apple TV iOS 6 beta has also been released.

It is unclear what changes this new beta holds, but they likely revolve around bug fixes and performance enhancements. We’ll be going through this new beta and we will update with anything new that we find. If you find anything new, you can tip us at tips@9to5mac.com.

Get nomming kids…tasty bits await.

— Jake Behrens (@Behrens) August 6, 2012

iOS 6 is expected to be release around mid-to-late September with the next-generation iPhone expected to be released on September 21st. A media event to introduce the new iPhone and final iOS 6 details is expected to take place on Wednesday, September 12th.

iOS 6 is launching to the public this fall, and it is a major release with over 200 new features. Some new features include an all-new Maps application with an Apple backend and 3D Flyover, Facebook integration, improved Siri, enhanced Phone features, improved Safari, improved Mail, and iCloud enhancements such as Shared Photo Streams.

Release notes after the break:

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Over the past couple of years, Apple has been taking steps to overhaul its retail operations and customer experience with the iPad. From iPads for employees equipped with RetailMe and Concierge software to manage store operations, to iPads loaded up with software for the Genius Bar, to iPads with “Smart Sign” software sitting beside every product display in the store, Apple has overhauled its retail stores with the iPad.

AT&T, Apple’s first carrier partner, is planning to take these cues from Apple Retail in order to overhaul the way its stores work as well. Currently, all AT&T stores are equipped with inefficient counter areas where employees work behind outdated computers.

These computers run software called OPUS that functions as the point of sale system as well as allowing employees to check inventory levels, news from corporate, customer upgrade information, and more.

But that is all about to change, according to sources.

AT&T has already started to take steps away from the counter – in certain markets – by deploying iPhones and tablets with stripped-down versions of OPUS. These iPhones are basic in their functionality, allowing employees to only conduct simple tasks like accepting payments for accessories and basic account management.

However, in the next two years, according to sources, AT&T plans to completely rid its stores of computers and counters, moving completely over to the iPad with a feature-complete version of OPUS. Read on for all of the details:

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