iPhone

A lot has been made about Apple and Tim Cook’s relationship with President Donald Trump, but the new FCC Chairman in the Trump Administration could finally give you access to that FM radio chip in your smartphone.

As detailed by Recode, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai believes that access to FM radios in smartphones is a public safety issue.

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Taking a screenshot with your iPhone is one of the most basic activities that a new iOS user should become familiar with. In this brief tutorial, we show you how to take a screenshot with your iPhone, and where to find the screenshot once you’ve taken it.
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If there’s one thing worse than damaging your iPhone or iPad by dropping it, it’s when that damage is a cracked screen. While you might be able to ignore a scuff to the casing, you’re going to see cracks in the screen every time you use the device.

Apple appears to be aiming to make screens more resistant to cracking by exploring a method of automatically detecting cracks, asking users to confirm them and then sending diagnostic data to the company to help it understand the type of impacts that cause them …

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Gartner today is out with its latest report concerning the smartphone industry during the fourth quarter of 2016. According to the data, global sales of smartphones to users totaled 432 million units during the quarter, an increase of 7 percent compared to the year before.

Perhaps most notably, Q4 2016 saw Apple leapfrog Samsung to become the number 1 global smartphone vendor….

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TwIM is a new Twitter app for iPhone focused entirely on chatting over Direct Messages. TwIM supports the latest iOS features like SiriKit, 3D Touch, and rich notifications plus other features not supported by Twitter’s official app.

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I’ve always liked the idea of using a battery case, but with a phone like the iPhone 7 Plus, a lack of battery life isn’t a problem that I encounter regularly enough to warrant the extra bulk. I also like the idea of a wallet case to help keep up with my driver’s license and credit cards, but with a phone as large as the iPhone 7 Plus, I find such a setup to be a tad unwieldy.

The folks over at Nomad have come up with a solution that seems to address both of my issues, and depending on your needs, it might be a worthwhile solution for you as well.

The company’s Bi-fold and Slim Leather Wallet give you a place to keep all of your credit cards, identification, and other necessary items in a standalone form factor. In other words, it’s a traditional wallet setup that’s completely independent of your iPhone. But the kicker here is that the Nomad wallets feature an integrated portable battery with a hideaway Lightning cable for charging your iPhone on the fly when you happen to need it.
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[UPDATE: Brazilian Carnival-themed ad included below the fold.]

Apple has published new iPhone 7 Plus video ads that highlight Portrait Mode with the flagship model’s Camera app.

The first video is called Soul Mate and explains how Portrait Mode makes the subject stand out from the background when Blur Effect is applied. While Portrait Mode was first tuned to work best with people’s faces, this video demonstrates the feature on a dog sitting still (which may be the hardest part).

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CarPlay includes a few new features in iOS 10.3 beta including a new way to switch between apps and a welcome improvement to the Music experience. Check out our hands-on video with CarPlay in iOS 10.3 beta below:

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Pokémon Go has elements of AR in its gameplay

Tim Cook really wants people to know that he’s deeply interested in AR. The Apple CEO hypes augmented reality every chance he gets, and he’s doing it in the same way he teased the wrist as an interesting space before the Apple Watch and the living room as stuck in the 70s before tvOS.

During his week-long trip across Europe, Cook went as far as saying he regards AR “as a big idea like the smartphone” in an interview with The Independent.

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In their latest effort to pull customers away from other carriers, Sprint has started offering a new unlimited plan with up to 5 lines for $90/month. This limited time offer from the fourth most used U.S. wireless carrier comes on the heels of T-Mobile simplifying and bundling taxes and fees into their plans. In contrast, last month both AT&T and Verizon made changes to dissuade their customers from continuing on with grandfathered unlimited plans. We’ll break down the fine print of Sprint’s newest offer after the break…

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iPhone 8 concept via @VenyaGeskin1

A new supply chain report from Digitimes claims Apple is shifting iPhone 8 production up earlier than usual for the company. The report also continues to push the rumor that Apple is planning iris scanning technology in the next flagship iPhone.

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In a new NOVA documentary episode that recently aired on PBS, David Pogue hosts and checks out a next generation battery invented by Mike Zimmerman that won’t explode like the Samsung Note 7 (or create a thermal event) even when cut or punctured. The Search for the Super Battery episode is an hour-long look at “the hidden world of energy storage and how it holds the keys to a greener future.”

With the lithium-ion waste fire at Samsung’s SDI battery factory this week, it’s clear the evolution of batteries should not only focus on capacity, function and end-user safety, but should also consider the employees that produce batteries and the waste’s environmental impacts…

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iPhone 8 concept via <a href="https://twitter.com/VenyaGeskin1/status/829419673808732167">@VenyaGeskin1</a>

A new report from Fast Company highlights a few interesting details about this year’s anticipated iPhone release. According to their sources, the price tag for the iPhone 8 could exceed $1,000 which is higher than any option in the current lineup. The report also echoes rumors that the new hardware will feature 3D sensor technology while downplaying talk that the new models could launch earlier this year than expected.

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Last December Ben wrote a thorough opinion piece on the topic of what port we may see in future iPhones and also asked for readers’ feedback. The majority of pollsters shared they believe Apple won’t incorporate USB-C in the iPhone this year, with 30% thinking 2018 could be the year, 19% saying ‘Never,’ and 18% ‘Later.’ However, there was still almost 30% of respondents who voted that the change will happen this year.

Whether Apple decides to stick with Lightning for this year’s devices or not, it will be interesting to see if they include more adapters in the box or expect customers to pay extra to retain compatibility with their computers and accessories. What do you think?

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Apple has been working with India over the past several months on plans to make iPhones in the country, and now it appears a location for manufacturing has been decided: Bengaluru. Formerly called Bangalore, Bengaluru is known as the ‘IT capital of India’ and serves as the home of Apple’s 40,000 square foot iOS app development accelerator office space.

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When Apple refused to compromise iOS security last year and unlock the iPhone 5c belonging to the San Bernardino shooter, the FBI turned to an Israeli mobile forensics firm called Cellebrite to find a way in to the encrypted iPhone. Now Motherboard reports that a hacker has released files allegedly from Cellebrite that demonstrate how cracking tools can’t be kept private.

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The latest iPhone ownership data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners shows the size of the challenge facing Apple in making the iPhone 8 a success.

Its research indicates that well over half of all iPhone owners have the iPhone 6 or later.

Within the installed base, the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus comprise 25 million units, or 19% of the total. The two year-old iPhone 6 and 6 Plus comprise 51 million units, or 38% of the total installed base.

While that’s an impressive past achievement for Apple, with its record holiday season sales a major contributor, it does mean the company is facing a tougher challenge this year …

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United Airlines is the latest company to work with IBM through their MobileFirst partnership with Apple to develop a suite of enterprise iOS apps. IBM says the enterprise iOS apps will be analytics-driven and run on over 50,000 iPhones and iPads used by “front-line employees” of United Airlines.

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With Apple reporting all-time record high iPhone sales and revenue in its earnings call yesterday, IDC’s latest data out today confirms that the company surpassed Samsung to take the top spot in the fourth quarter of last year. That was despite, as IDC notes, a first full year of decline for iPhone with a 7% drop year-over-year for 2016:

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