iOS devices refer to any of Apple’s hardware that runs the iOS mobile operating system which include iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Historically, Apple releases a new iOS version once a year, the current version is iOS 10. Here is the complete list of iOS 10 compatible devices.
Apple has released iOS 5 beta 4 to developers in addition to the fourth beta of iTunes 10.5 and the fourth preview of Xcode 4.2. iOS 5 brings over 200 new features to iOS 5 including Notification Center, Newsstand, iMessage, and interface tweaks all around. iTunes 10.5 is required to sync with this beta. Let us know if you find anything!… tips@9to5mac.com
Today’s beta release is significant because it shows that Apple is ramping up the iOS 5 beta releases ahead of the iOS 5 launch this fall. This release includes a number of fixes and also comes over the air, as we just reported. This update coming over the air means Apple is testing their system ahead of the major software upgrade’s public launch. A number of bugs have also been fixed in this release. We have, again, pasted all of the release notes after the break.
We’ve received photos of a purported white iPod touch front panel. Specifically, this panel is the digitizer component, according to the iFixYouri iPhone repair shop. We obviously cannot confirm the legitimacy of these photos but according to iFixYouri, they fall in line with the fourth generation iPod touch’s build. Knowing this, these can either be photos of a scrapped white iPod touch 4 in white or (hopefully) photos of the fifth-generation iPod touch’s front panel in white.
Although we have been hearing some whispers of a new form-factor for the fifth-generation iPod touch, the previously accurate Ming-Chi Kuo has reported that the fifth-generation iPod touch will, in fact, come in white and will feature an overall design that is akin to that of the fourth-generation iPod touch. Additionally, iOS SDK data reveals that the iPod 4,2 (possibly the fifth-gen iPod touch) will be more about internal changes. On that note, we’ll likely see the dual-core A5 processor to move the iPod touch ahead in the growing mobile gaming industry, and maybe some better cameras. More info and a few more high-resolution pictures of the white panel are after the break…
According to Phone Arena, who is well-plugged into the mobile industry, Verizon has started clearing out their iPhone 4 accessory inventory ahead of the fall iPhone 5 launch. The information comes from a trusted Verizon source who says the carrier will begin discounting iPhone 4 accessories. These discounts are obviously a move towards selling out existing inventory ahead of the iPhone 5. Verizon decreasing the iPhone 4 case inventory does not necessarily rule out the iPhone 4 at a cheaper price point when the fifth-gen model launches, according to Phone Arena…
Powermat for iPhone makes charging simple. You put a charging case on you iPhone 4 and set in on the cradle and you are charging your iPhone. That simple.
FOSSPatents reports that the patent trolls over at Lodsys have just upped the ante: they have just sued five more iPhone application makers over their use of in-app-purchases. These five new companies include major game makers like Rovio, the gang behind the widely popular Angry Birds game, Electronic Arts (EA), Atari, Square Enix, and Take-Two-Interactive.
EA was sued over the use of in-app-purchases in their game Sims 3 for iPhone, Atari was sued over their ‘Greatest Hits’ iOS application, Square Enix was sued over Big Hit Baseball for iPhone and Big Hit Baseball for iPad, and Take-Two was sued over their very popular NHL 2K11 for iPhone. These new lawsuits demonstrate that Lodsys is not afraid to attack big names like EA and Rovio, and this trend is seemingly not coming to an end even though Apple has stepped in.
As pointed out by The Loop, Apple’s App Store volume purchase program for businesses has gone live. The program, which is currently exclusive to the United States, allows businesses to easily purchase and distribute applications – with volume-based pricing – to employees. Businesses that are interested can now enroll and you will need the following to get started:
Basic contact information to verify your business
Dun & Bradstreet number (D-U-N-S) number
Corporate credit card or PCard to purchase apps
App Store distribution through this program consists of iTunes redemption codes:
The Volume Purchase Program makes it easy to distribute apps within your organization. When you buy apps in volume or custom B2B apps, you will receive redemption codes for each app. You can control who gets the apps by providing these codes to users via email or an internal website. You can also use third-party Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to manage redemption codes centrally.
A guide with all the instructions is also available from Apple.
Daring Fireball‘s John Gruber today makes note of his complaints about iPad magazines (all valid), including the large files and static page sizes. But he also mentions casually, but apparently factually, that the iPad 3 will have a 2048×1536 Retina Display:
These magazines and newspapers that render each “page” as a static 1024 × 768 image are going to look like utter ass on the iPad 3’s 2048 × 1536 retina display.
Unfortunately, there is no timeframe given to this and with some expecting a Fall upgrade and others putting the release update as far out as next March, we’ll have to wait and see.
We earlier found bits of code which seem to indicate that an upcoming iPad will indeed have double the resolution as the current iPad 2. Expand Expanding Close
Great news for students from Amazon today. You can now save up to 80 percent off the list price of the print textbook by renting Kindle Textbooks on the Kindle or Kindle-compliant devices such as Windows and OS X PCs, iPads, iPhones and BlackBerry, Android and Windows Phone 7 devices. “Tens of thousands of textbooks” are available for rent across those platforms, reads an Amazon page promoting the deal. You can choose a rental length between 30 and 360 days and extend your rental for as little as one day. What’s best, regardless of your chosen rental period, Amazon will charge you only for the exact time you need a book. From Amazon:
Kindle Textbook Rental is a flexible and affordable way to read textbooks. You can rent for the minimum length, typically 30 days, and save up to 80% off the print list price. If you find you need your textbook longer, you can extend your rental by as little as 1 day as many times as you want and just pay for the added days.
You can tell whether a Kindle edition is available for rent in the Textbooks Store section of the Kindle app or from the search bar. The ability to rent textbooks in fair terms is good for students, but it ain’t like they were going to keep them anyway.
[UPDATE July 19, 2011 8:10 Eastern]: The article has been updated with a comment from Samsung included at the bottom. In addition, an Asian Economy story establishing family bonds between the case maker’s CEO and Samsung’s chairman, provided in the comments, has been added.
Apple is suing “the copyist” Samsung because they “imitate the appearance of Apple’s products to capitalize on Apple’s success”. Be that as it may, the similarities between the two tech giant’s gadgets are nothing compared to what other Asian knockoffs are doing for a living. Like Anymode Corp., which is in the business of designing, manufacturing and selling a blatant Smart Cover rip-off, pictured above and below. Conveniently dubbed the Smart Case – obviously because Apple trademarked it – the accessory comes in five pastel color choices. It too can prop a tablet upwards and it folds like Apple’s accessory as well. The Smart Case is designed exclusively for Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 – and not by a coincidence, warns our reader Jun.
Apparently Sang-yong Kim, the Anymode CEO, was “born in Samsung family”. Jun tells us – and you’re free to take it at face value – that the Anymode CEO “is nephew of the Samsung’s chairman Kun-Hee Lee“, the claim we were unable to verify at the time of this writing. UPDATE: ThisAsian Economy article establishes family bonds between Sang-yong Kim and Kun-Hee Lee. The 69-year old chairman of Samsung Electronics stepped down in April 2008 amid the Slush funds scandal, but returned at the group’s helm in March of last year. He is credited for improving the quality of Samsung’s design and products. Anymode is not even attempting to conceal the Samsung link. The company describes itself on a LinkedIn page as…
Without revealing too many new details, The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple and China Mobile are “getting closer” to the seemingly elusive China Mobile iPhone deal. China Mobile is the mainland’s largest carrier with over 600 million subscribers (that’s about the equiv. of the US+European populations). The report also confirms that it was, in fact, Tim Cook who was spotted at China Mobile‘s headquarters in mid-June.
The WSJ also discusses the price of the current iPhone models in context with the average salaries for China households:
The iPhone, which currently sells for between 3,999 and 5,999 yuan without contract, would be a luxury for many Chinese consumers. The average household income in the first half of 2011 was 12,076 yuan, according to China’s national statistics bureau.
With this fact in mind, it makes sense for Apple to build and sell a more economical iPhone. The report is not specific about when this China Mobile iPhone will launch and China Mobile has already confirmed that talks with Apple over carrying the iPhone are ongoing. Be sure to check out the WSJ’s explanation of the “exclusive” in the video above.
You must be quite puzzled with the no-show for native Skype and Facebook apps, in addition to Google+ for iPhone. Indeed, Google as long as three weeks ago said a native Google+ app had been sent to Apple for review. Skype created a confusion by posting a teaser video some 25 days ago, soon removed by the company and re-uploaded by RazorianFly. The clip demonstrates what appears to be Skype video calling running natively on an iPad. As of today, neither program is to be found on the App Store, creating valid suspicious that Apple has been intentionally delaying those particular submissions for competitive reasons – and we know from Steve Jobs public remarks that Apple approves 95 percent of the apps within seven days. Skype is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft and they recently announced video calling integration with Facebook.
9to5Mac reached out to Google seeking clarification about Google+ for iPhone. A spokesperson responded that the search giant has “nothing further to add on our end about the Google+ iPhone app”. The spokesperson added the software is “still coming soon”. Asked if Skype for iPad was still in the process of being reviewed by Apple and whether the company anticipated a launch soon, a Skype representative would only say that “the current version of Skype for iPhone works on the iPad”. They also removed the broken link, telling 9to5Mac it led to the existing Skype for iPhone app even though the URL had the “ipad-for-skype” part in it. Also, as you can see in the above screenshot, the Skype homepage lists “iPad” as one of the platform choices under the Get Skype link. Apple did not respond to our email inquiries about the state of Skype for iPad and Google+ for iPhone apps.
According to our source, Apple will indeed be launching a prepaid / lower cost iPhone this year. We are told the handset will retail for no more than $350 without contract. Ready for the really interesting part? It’s entirely possible that the low-cost iPhone will in fact be the iPhone 3GS.
The author theorizes that “there would be an iPhone 4S in addition to the prepaid iPhone 3GS available within the next month to two” in addition to the iPhone 4 which BGR is told Apple will continue to sell…
Apple.Pro points to postings from a Weibo user which claims to have a prototype model of the next-generation iPhone. As you can in the images (above and after the break), the unit appears identical to the iPhone 4. The software running on the device is akin to the iPhone test software that we have seen many times before on test units.
The 5 megapixel device with iOS 4.0 appears to show up as a first-generation iPod touch in iTunes, which is fairly odd. This device, if actually a prototype iPhone 5, might be the N94. The N94 is a next-generation iPhone (prototype in all likelihood) that has been spotted with support for T-Mobile USA bands, an A5 processor, and a 5 megapixel camera.
Fortunenotes that shipping times were stuck at 1-2 weeks from mid-April to July 8, when they were cut to 3-5 days.
Earlier this week, Apple let educational affiliates know that iPads were eligible for Affiliate Development fund, an early sign that supply was caught up with demand (below)
CNET reports that the International Trade Commission has officially ruled that phone maker HTC has violated two of Apple’s patents related to iPhone technologies. This blow to HTC opens the door to a potential ban on imports of HTC products into the United States. Apple initially filed 10 patent violations against HTC, but increased that amount by five earlier this week. HTC obviously does not agree with the ITC ruling and provided the following statement:
HTC will vigorously fight these two remaining patents through an appeal before the ITC commissioners who make the final decision,” said Grace Lei, general counsel for HTC. “This is only one step of many in these legal proceedings.
As we know, Apple and Samsung (and Motorola too) are currently in a similar situation with Apple claiming multiple patent violations against the company. The twist in the Apple and Samsung case is that Samsung is counter-suing by claiming that Apple is violating Samsung’s patents.
There are only a few possibile endings if Apple wins HTC case. Either the two companies settle (with Apple taking home some more of HTC’s money – Microsoft already takes $5/phone and Oracle is looking for some more) or HTC stops selling Android devices. In all likelihood, if the ITC does not agree with HTC’s appeal, the two technology heavy weights will work out some settlement. Cha Ching!
Our friends over at iFixYouri have offered to do some repairs on 9to5mac readers’ iOS devices for free.
9to5mac and iPhone repair company iFixYouri.com are offering to get your broken iPhone, iPod, or iPad repaired for FREE! In order to enter the contest, retweet this post on Twitter with hashtag #HelpiFixYouri and a picture of your broken iDevice for a chance to win. If the story about your broken device requires more than what a tweet can share, send an email off to support@iFixYouri.com or like and share it on their Facebook page.
A winning contestant will be randomly selected each week, for the next month. You are only allowed to enter once and a winner can only win one time. If it is determined that your device is irreparable (and doesn’t start in Blend-Tec condition), iFixYouri and 9to5mac will replace the device with a good working equivalent! (also no iPod shuffles or nanos are eligible)
Apple released iOS 4.3.4 (build 8K2) fixing a PDF exploit which makes possible wireless jailbreaking by visiting the JailbreakMe.com web-tool in mobile Safari. The exploit could also be used to inject and execute any code on iOS devices. The iOS 4.3.4 download is now available through iTunes for the iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad 1 and 2 and third- and fourth-generation iPod touch. Verizon iPhone users will get the same fix via the iOS 4.2.9 update (build 8E501). Contents of the Verizon iPhone firmware update is outlined in this support document (here for iOS 4.3.4 for all other devices).
Here’s something quick and eyebrow-raising to boot this morning. A YouTube guitarist puts an iPhone 4 inside his instrument to capture some rarely seen footage of how the strings oscillate. The awesome effect is further amplified thanks to the way the iPhone 4’s shutter works, he explains in a video description:
I just happened upon this trick when testing what it was like filming from inside my guitar. Note this effect is due to the rolling shutter, which is non-representative of how strings actually vibrate.
In other words, the iPhone 4’s CMOS sensor scans objects diagonally from the top left to the bottom right, producing the interesting effect. Now that we’ve seen it in action, we have a couple of ideas of our own to shoot fast-moving objects to take advantage of the camera shutter effect.
According to Reuters, Apple and Taiwan-based manufacturer TSMC have begun a test production run of A6 processors for future Apple devices. TSMC is yet to be confirmed as the producer of Apple’s A6 chip when it ships sometime in the future, but the decision is said to be “authorized.” The only thing holding back the deal is the potential yield rate of the manufacturing.
Besides Apple already testing production of their next-generation processor, the most interesting part is that Apple will apparently move their custom chip production away from Samsung. Samsung is the company behind the manufacturing of the A5 dual-core processor that is found in the iPad 2. This A5 chip will also likely power the fifth-generation iPhone that is due in September of this year.
Apple’s A6 processor will likely debut in 2012 alongside a 3rd generation iPad. Apple’s past history has shown that the iPad is the first device to feature a new-generation of custom processors. The iPhone and iPod touch typically follow up months later with the same chip, usually custom designed for the smaller, more mobile form factor. Another possibility is that Apple will beef up the processor in the iPad, with the rumored ‘iPad HD’ in September.
The second-generation Apple tablet and the arrival of a CDMA version of iPhone 4 on the Verizon Wireless network together worked like magic to re-new interest in the iOS platform. Despite what a few disgruntled developers may tell you, Apple’s iOS is by far and large the go-to platform for both budding and veteran mobile app developers. This is a summary of a new survey by Flurry, Steve Jobs’ favorite analytics company. The above chart shows more new projects started on iOS than on Android:
Studying the chart, it’s readily apparent that Android has lost developer support to iOS. Specifically, Android new project starts have dropped from 36% in Q1 to 28% in Q2. Overall, total Flurry iOS and Android new project starts grew from 9,100 in Q1 to 10,200 in Q2. Of note, this drop in Android developer support represents the second quarter-over-over slide, which follows a year of significant, steady growth for the Google-built OS. Over the course of 2010, Android developer support had climbed steadily each quarter, peaking at 39% in Q4 2010.
We’re taking this one with a healthy dose of skepticism (and so should you) and purely for the sake of the discussion. Straight from Chinese-language site Sohu.com comes a story of an iPhone 5 delay blamed on the A5 chip overheating. If machine translation is to be believed, that’s why Apple pushed back the next iPhone launch from the usual June-July timeframe into the late August-early September timeframe. The story has it that Apple’s silicon team is facing difficulties keeping the dual-core A5 chip cool in the iPhone’s tiny enclosure where space and battery are at premium.
This has led the company to postpone the iPhone 5 launch for an unspecified period of time, but quite possibly into 2012. And there you have it, the iPhone 5 – described as a major, “revolutionary” upgrade – won’t arrive “soon”. The story also mentions that Apple will be transitioning to a 28-nanometer manufacturing process with the A6 chip, apparently due next year. The A5 chip that goes into iPad 2 is manufactured on Samsung’s 45-nanometer process and is almost twice the size of the iPhone 4’s A4 processor. If there’s any substance to this story, what then (if anything) will Apple release come this Fall?
Taiwanese Apple-focused forum Apple.pro has leaked what appears to be an iPad 3 part, pictured below. The machine-translated description mentions a part labeled “821-1259-06” which looks a lot like a dock connector with the accompanying ribbon cable attached to it. The ribbon cable itself makes a 90-degree turn whereas it was straight on iPad 1 and 2. This in itself indicates some design changes of the next iPad’s internals. For comparison, the iPad 2’s dock connector is labeled “821-1180-A”, the site observes.
It’s interesting that “821-1259-06” is a white plug, unlike the black connector found on both black and white iPad 2 (the original iPad’s dock connector was white, however) . This has led the site to speculate that the next iPad might arrive in black and white flavors and with matching dock connectors. The component is said to be sourced from Apple’s “internal inventory” and leaked by an unnamed source.
In anticipation of a launch of the Photovine service which was announced Tuesday, Google has just released a free invite-only Photovine for iOS app on the App Store and posted the cutesy teaser (see below) on the official Photovine page. Beginning today, people can request an invite on the site, which is needed to take advantage of an iOS app. You’re advised to hurry up because invitations for Google’s recently launched products have been in high demand (Google+, anyone?). By the way, don’t you find it weird they would feature an iPhone 4 app on both the website and in the video clip rather than a Nexus S?
For those uninitiated, Photovine is Google’s attempt at social photo sharing that takes clues from Flickr, Facebook photos, Picasa and other services. “Photovine is a fun way to learn more about your friends, meet new people and share your world like never before”, says the official blurb. You begin creating a vine by taking a photo and creating a new caption. Other people will see your vine and join in by adding their own photo, showing their own take on the caption. Google explains:
A vine is like a constantly growing family of photos connected through a common caption created by you, your friends, and people all over the world. Some examples of vines could be: “What Weekends Are Made Of”, “Secret Stuffed Animal”, “Party People”, or, “Love of My Life”. As people add photos to vines, they tell their own stories about the moments, images, and ideas that define our lives in a way that’s social, creative, and fun.
