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7,256 'iPhone' stories November 2008 - February 2014
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Introduced in 2007 by Steve Jobs, iPhone is Apple's flagship iOS device and easily its most popular product around the world. The iPhone runs iOS and includes a large collection of mobile apps through the App Store.

iPhone 9to5Mac

Introduced in 2007 by Steve Jobs, iPhone is Apple’s flagship iOS device and easily its most popular product around the world. Software wise, it runs iOS and includes a large collection of mobile apps through the App Store.

Table of contents

Since its introduction, Apple has released at least one new phone every single year. In recent years, that has typically been in the fall. iPhones are sold through multiple retail channels including Apple Stores, cellular stores, Best Buy, and other major electronic retailers. iPhones can be bought with a single up front payment, financed through the iPhone Upgrade Program, or financed through a cellular carrier.

Apple’s smartphone has become much more than just a phone since its debut. The iPhone can act as your primary camera, music player, GPS device, email client, mobile banking system, messaging device, movie player, and much more.

Current Lineup for 2019:

Discontinued Models:

Read below for all of our coverage

Apple sapphire supplier’s projected 2H14 revenues likely indicate fall iPhone launch

Avatar for Mark Gurman Feb 25 2014 - 7:36 am PT
2 Comments
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Apple’s new sapphire crystal component producer GT-Advanced announced its Q4 2013 earnings results yesterday, and in addition to talking about the past quarter, the company shared some details about its future and its well-publicized partnership with Apple.

We previously indicated, based on research into publicly available shipping documents, that we expect Apple and GT-Advanced to be developing sapphire crystal displays for a future iPhone model. The companies are likely to be able to produce over 100 million displays this year…


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Jealous of S5 heart rate monitor? Your iPhone can already measure your heart rate with these apps

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Feb 25 2014 - 6:54 am PT
17 Comments

When Samsung unveiled its new flagship Galaxy S5 yesterday, the big news was the inclusion of a fingerprint scanner and heart rate sensor. The fingerprint scanning of course brings it up to par with Apple’s TouchID functionality, the standout feature and big selling point for the iPhone 5s. The heart rate sensor, however, is something not included in the current iPhone lineup and something Samsung will spend a lot of time marketing as fitness and health wearables like its new smartwatch lineup become big business in 2014. But did you know you can already measure your heart rate on iPhone using the device’s built-in camera?

A number of apps on the App Store, such the “Heart Rate Monitor” app just launched by PlusSports, allow you to accurately measure your heart rate by simply placing your face or fingertip in front of the camera lens. Another app available on the App Store that we’ve tested and works well is Instant Heart Rate. Popular fitness app maker Runtastic also has its own heart rate monitor and pulse tracker app.

The experience of using these apps is almost identical to the S5, which also forces the user to place a finger over a sensor on the back of the device and wait several seconds for a reading.

It’s possible Samsung would tell you that its built-in heart rate sensor is more accurate or feature-filled, but from our tests and reviews from others, the iPhone apps are remarkably accurate.

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Crowdsource update: SunSprite, the solar-powered wearable aimed at geeks

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 25 2014 - 4:44 am PT
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLZ8CGOUg2w]

With all the focus on skin cancer caused by too much exposure to sunlight, you might expect a UV-measurement gadget to be designed to warn you when you’ve spent too long in the sun. But no, the SunSprite has the opposite goal: it’s aimed at those who spend all their time indoors, and don’t get enough time in the sun. Or, to put it more concisely, geeks.

Sunlight plays a role in both mood and sleep patterns. The SunSprite measures exposure to both visible and UV light, and uses LEDs to indicate when you’ve met your daily goal of having spent enough time outside. It also communicates with a companion iPhone app. The retail price is a rather hefty $149, but early bird Indiegogo backers can get one for $89.

A neat thing about it is the same sunlight it measures also powers the device. The low energy requirements of the SunSprite mean that just a few minutes of sunlight provide enough energy to power the gadget for a week.

With some rumors suggesting that the iWatch may incorporate solar panels, perhaps this is one more health-based sensor Apple could include?

There’s a longer video that goes into more detail below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsePn7icDuw]

Review: iQi Mobile makes wireless charging a reality for iPhones, but is it worth the cost?

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Feb 21 2014 - 5:39 am PT
4 Comments

The iQi Mobile is an insert that enables wireless charging for the iPhone. At it’s core, it is a crowdfunded hack. It doesn’t have MFi certification and it looks like a branded DIY project. This is never going to be a mass-market accessory. There’s no need to beat around the bush — this is a geeky toy for people drawn in by the idea of wireless charging. But is it any good?

The iQi Mobile looks like a small matchbox-sized dog tag, with a Lightning connector on one end. The ribbon cable is bendy, but apparently it is a weak point. The accompanying warning notices clearly state that the cable will be damaged if it is bent completely 90° degrees.


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Camera+ iPhone app adds 16×9 widescreen shooting mode, improved filters & editing

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Feb 20 2014 - 12:26 pm PT
3 Comments

The popular Camera+ iPhone app from developers tap tap tap was updated today with a number of new features and improvements. On top of a “a bunch of refinements to The Lab” and photo editing, the app gains a new BOOST feature for setting filters to 200% intensity and widescreen 16×9 shooting mode. The update to version 5.1 also includes a number of bug fixes.

Camera+ for iPhone is available on the App Store now for $1.99.

Full release notes for the update below:

What’s New in Version 5.1

For Camera+ 5.1 we’ve made a bunch of refinements to The Lab, making the best photo editing on a mobile phone even better. We’ve made several usability tweaks to further streamline the whole experience. One slightly hidden, but handy addition is that you can now tap & hold an adjustment to reset it.

We’ve added a new setting so that you can choose whichever section you’d like to begin in when you edit your photos. This is nice if you always want to go straight to The Lab, for instance.

For those times when you want to go more intense with filters, we’ve added a new BOOST feature. You can now bump the intensity up to 200%.

You can take widescreen photos with the new 16×9 shooting mode. Bring out your inner Scorcese. Or Fellini.

Many of you were hitting a pipe too often while flapping, causing you to lose all your photos. That’s now fixed, thankfully.

And we’ve spent a good amount of time fixing bugs for this version. Many were esoteric and only occurred on particular hardware, but we did our very best to try and resolve all known issues for this release. If any of you experience any further issues, please report them to us.

Take 2: The API issue that was causing apps like Day One to not work properly with Camera+ is fixed now. For realsies this time. Thanks to the chaps at Day One for helping us to resolve this.

How app store scammers can make $10,000 a day from a $10 game template

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 20 2014 - 4:23 am PT
10 Comments
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TechCrunch has a fascinating insight into the world of App Store scammers, using the example of a game created from a $10 template that ended up making $10,000 a day.

The piece alleges that the developer of the paid version of Red Bouncing Balls Spikes used a network of around 20,000 fake Apple IDs to buy his own app in order to get it to the top of the charts, an up-front investment of $20k that would be repaid many times over … 
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Square and (RED) team up for special edition card reader to fight AIDS

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Feb 19 2014 - 9:36 am PT
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Mobile payments company Square is teaming up with Bono’s Product RED organization for a special edition credit card reader that benefits charity. Square has become one of the leaders in processing credit card payments on mobile devices with a small credit card reader available for iPhone and iPad as well as point-of-sale software and hardware kits for merchants. The special SQUA(RED) Reader will be available for a $10 donation with 97.25% of the amount going directly to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa. Customers swiping their cards will also get the opportunity to donate through a link on their emailed receipts:

The impact doesn’t end there. When you swipe (RED), your customers can donate right from their emailed receipts to help deliver an AIDS FREE GENERATION. Every swipe can make a difference.

Last year the official (Product) RED Twitter account revealed that Apple’s contributions to the charity had reached $65 million, making it the largest contributor out of all participating companies. Apple currently sells red versions of the iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch, iPad Smart Cover, and iPhone 4S bumper under the (PRODUCT)RED branding and donates a portion of profits to the charity. Most recently, Apple design guru Jony Ive and designer friend Marc Newson teamed up to assemble a one-of-a-kind collection to auction off for the charity.

Sketchy rumor suggests iWatch will have a curved, flexible display; mass production 2nd half of 2014

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 19 2014 - 6:34 am PT
8 Comments
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An unconfirmed report in China Times claims that Taiwan-based touch panel manufacturer TPK will be making flexible displays for the iWatch, with mass production expected in the second half of the year.

The report said the iWatch will come equipped with a flexible AMOLED display and 3D protective glass. The rumors also speculated that the iWatch will use silver nanowire touch screen technology developed by TPK in conjunction with Japan-based Nissha Printing.

Both the flexible AMOLED and silver nanowire suggest a curved display, but it should be noted that the China Times does not have the best of track records … 
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Want to see who’s buying and selling AAPL? SEC filings provide the answer

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 19 2014 - 4:23 am PT
2 Comments

Tables compiled by Whale Wisdom from SEC filings show which hedge funds bought AAPL shares last quarter and which ones sold (via Fortune).

The numbers show that 1,010 funds bought AAPL stock, while 847 sold. Morgan Stanley led the bulls – those buying – with purchases of 1.36M shares. As Fortune observes, this is no surprise given Katy Huberty’s target price of $630 (against a current price of $546 at the time of writing).

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Apple’s market share in China started climbing even before China Mobile deal; Russian sales double

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 19 2014 - 4:05 am PT
1 Comment

Photo: readwrite.com

While smartphone growth is slowing in China, Apple managed to increase its market share from 6 to 7 percent in the final quarter of 2013, even before the China Mobile deal was struck. IDC figures reported by the WSJ show that Apple is now the fifth largest smartphone seller in the country, behind Samsung, Lenovo, Coolpad and Huawei. Xiaomi sits just behind Apple at 6 percent.

Apple’s share is likely to increase significantly in the current quarter, thanks to finally being sold through China’s largest carrier, China Mobile. The carrier has more than 760M subscribers, and analysts have estimated that the deal will generate between 15M and 30M additional iPhone sales in the course of 2014.

iPhone sales in Russia, meantime, doubled to 1.57M units with a total value of $1B, reports Bloomberg. Apple had struggled to persuade Russian carriers to sell the iPhone due to its high price and laws that forbid carriers from discounting up-front prices in return for signing up to lengthy contracts. After selling through electronics stores, however, three Russian carriers resumed selling iPhones within the past few months.

The so-called BRIC markets – Brazil, Russia, India and China – are of huge importance to Apple now that the U.S. and Europe have reached saturation point. While Apple will never compete in market share with the low-end Android handsets available in these markets, there is still significant growth potential at the high end. In an earlier WSJ interview, Tim Cook said:

I look at the mobile phone market as having three kinds of phones: feature phones, smartphones that function as or are used as feature phones, and real smartphones. I do care about the market share of the last category and you want to be relevant.

The importance of the BRIC markets was illustrated when it was revealed that Apple’s Asian sales had outstripped those of Europe even by Q1 of last year. Next quarter’s China numbers are going to make very interesting reading.

Taiwanese report reiterates 4.7 inch and 5.6 inch iPhones incoming, claims larger model will not use iPhone branding

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Feb 19 2014 - 3:02 am PT
23 Comments

A report published in Taiwan’s Economic Daily News, via Mac Otakara, reiterates the flurry of previous reporting that Apple will release two new iPhones this year with larger displays, around 4.7 and 5.6 inches respectively. This has been reported countless times in the past by multiple sources. It also says that Apple is targeting a release in the third-quarter, again unsurprising at this point.

However, the report goes onto say that only the larger of these two phones will feature sapphire-glass. According to this sketchy report, the 4.7 inch model will continue to use Corning’s Gorilla Glass like the current iPhone 5s and 5c.


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Google Translate updated w/ iOS 7 keyboard, additional handwriting language support including Arabic & Hebrew

Avatar for Zac Hall Feb 18 2014 - 12:28 pm PT
2 Comments

Alas, we’re one step closer to an App Store not filled with iOS 6 keyboards. Google released Translate 2.1 today, bringing support for the iOS 7 keyboard released last September to the iPhone and iPad.

The update also expands support for its new handwriting input method to a number of additional languages including Arabic, Esperanto, Gujarati, Hebrew, Javanese, Maltese, Maori, Marathi, Persian, Punjabi, Telugu, and Zulu.

Google first introduced its handwriting input method last September. Google Translate 2.1 is available now on the App Store.
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How big a thing could Touch ID mobile payment be? China alone hit $1.6 trillion last year

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 18 2014 - 5:09 am PT
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With Tim Cook having as good as confirmed that mobile payment via Touch ID is on the way, numbers released by the People’s Bank of China and reported in TechNode provide an insight into just how big the mobile payment market could be. Total mobile payments in China last year hit 9.64 trillion yuan – equivalent to $1.59 trillion.

Mobile transactions on just one of China’s mobile payment services reached 25,000 per minute. While China has a population of 1.3B, contrasted with around 317M in the USA, and many of those in China use a mobile device as their primary Internet connection, it still illustrates what a huge opportunity iPhone-based payments could represent for Apple.

It’s been suggested that Apple’s approach may be to allow payment to be made via iTunes accounts, effectively turning Apple into a bank – a prediction I made last September. Using iTunes as a payment method would mean that customers would not have to hand over card details to retail stores. In the light of recent large scale card compromises at Neiman Marcus (1.1M cards) and Target (2M cards), this may well prove a strong reason for iPhone owners to use the service.

Via TNW

iTunes Connect update brings modernized look, sales breakdowns by category, region and more

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Feb 17 2014 - 3:26 pm PT
4 Comments

Sales data redacted.

Apple today updated the Sales and Trends section of iTunes Connect, giving developers more detailed information about the origin of their apps’ sales as well as a modernized visual style.

The new update answers many of the issues developers have raised in recent years about the opaqueness of the App Store sales process. For instance, developers can now separate out sales by territory, platform, of purchase and category. This means that developers can get a better idea of how customers are finding their apps in the store. In the example above, you can see that the app was mainly found through the ‘Games’ category, with exposure in the ‘Entertainment’ category accounting for only a small fraction of total sales.


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Reports: A8 won’t feature integrated LTE yet, low yield rates pushing Samsung out of the process?

Avatar for Zac Hall Feb 17 2014 - 10:21 am PT
21 Comments
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Image via iFixit

Two new reports out today are offering a bit of early insight into what to expect from Apple’s next A-series SoC, or system on a chip, that powers its iPhone and iPad devices.

The first tidbit from Fudzilla says Apple will once again rely on Qualcomm for LTE chips in the next round of iOS devices rather than an A8 chip with LTE integrated. So what does this mean? It’s probably safe to assume Apple will save a SoC which includes the LTE modem in a future iteration.

Generally, the fewer chips required in a mobile device, the better optimized for battery life the device is. Apple, of course, must strive to engineer battery life parity, if not improvements, as our devices get more powerful each generation.


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Opinion: Why I love Apple products, and am just a tiny bit embarrassed to be seen using them

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 17 2014 - 6:47 am PT
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I love my Apple products. I’ve used Macs since day one. My desk right now has on it my MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iPad Air, Thunderbolt Display and iPhone. Oh, and an Apple Bluetooth keyboard and Magic Trackpad, of course.

My friends are convinced that I’m incapable of leaving the house without my iPad, and I have to confess that the evidence is on their side. My car has an iPhone dock so I can listen to music and podcasts. If I’m on a plane, train or tube, it’s a near-certainty that I’ll be using my iPad or listening to music on my iPhone – or both.

I love Apple hardware design. Sleek, minimalistic, beautiful. There aren’t that many other really attractive laptops out there, and most of the ones that are have essentially copied Apple’s designs … 
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Opening of first Apple Store in Brazil draws large crowds despite high prices

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 17 2014 - 4:00 am PT
6 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-CAut6hkPs]

Around 1,700 people attended the opening of Apple’s first retail store in Brazil, in the popular Village Mall in a suburb of Rio de Janeiro – despite steep import tariffs meaning prices 80 percent higher than in the USA.

As the LA Times observes, a 16GB iPhone 5s sells for the equivalent of $1,174 in Brazil, compared to $649 in the U.S.

We first told you the store was planned all the way back in 2012, learning the the approximate opening date in October last year. Apple began teasing the opening last month before announcing the opening date.

To avoid the high tariffs imposed on imported goods, Apple has been working with Foxconn since 2011 to set up manufacturing or assembly plants in the country.

Review: Anker IQ 40W 5-port smart USB adapter is the last power source you’ll ever need

Avatar for Seth Weintraub Feb 15 2014 - 2:26 pm PT
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As our families grow, so do our device charging needs. Where we just used to need 2 USB ports to charge our iPhones, we now have iPads, cameras, Bluetooth speakers, portable flashlight/batteries and even a few Android devices laying around that constantly need to be chargers. Our excellent 2-port ZaggSparq just couldn’t handle all of the stuff anymore. Time to step up to something more substantial.

We’d heard great things about the new Anker IQ 40W 5V / 8A 5-Port Family-Size USB power supply. In fact, at Amazon where it can be nabbed on sale for $26, it gets almost exclusive 4 and 5 star ratings.

Anker hooked me up with a unit to test out at CES and I’ve relied on it since to keep our house full of devices charged. What’s particularly impressive about this one is that it has 40W of power to distribute through the 5 USB ports (a 25W one is a few bucks less). Anker’s new IQ does one better by recognizing high power requirements in devices like iPads, other tablets and even HPs new Chromebook and giving those devices the full 2-3 Amps of power they need to get charged quickly. Anker explains it thusly:

Not all USB ports are equal. Where past USB ports were hard-wired to exclusively charge iOS OR Android, we’re introducing Smart Port technology to create a truly universal charger. Dynamically adjusting to any device’s unique maximum charging speed, the Smart Port takes the brainwork out of compatibility.Just plug in and it’ll do the rest.

Were the reviews right? Was this the end to my USB charging woes?


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BlackBerry Messenger for iOS adds voice calls, one-touch file-sharing and more

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 14 2014 - 4:54 am PT
1 Comment

Version 2.0 of BBM for iOS app now allows free voice calls to BBM contacts, as well as a range of other new features that include one-touch file-sharing, Dropbox integration, location-sharing, 50-person BBM groups and interest channels.

Today, we’re excited to be adding those great new features and more to BBM that users on iPhone, Android and BlackBerry** can enjoy. When the update becomes available later today, these new features will give you more ways to chat and share than ever before on BBM.

Voice calling is supported on both wifi and mobile data. Note that while voice calls don’t incur any direct charges, as with other forms of VoIP calling you’ll eat into any data allowance you have.

Full details of the new features from the BlackBerry blog below … 
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Opinion & poll: Will the iWatch be the key to a healthier, fitter you?

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 13 2014 - 6:45 am PT
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The gadgetization of fitness has been a significant trend over the course of the past year. The wrists of anyone even vaguely into sports or exercise were suddenly adorned with the Nike Fuel Band, and our Facebook feeds full of RunKeeper and Strava reports of just how far our friends had jogged and cycled.

It seems pretty clear by this point that the iWatch will, when it appears, have a major focus on health and fitness. We don’t yet know exactly what it will measure, but I argued in an earlier opinion piece that it’s likely to measure more than any one of the devices currently available.

Will the old adage of ‘What gets measured gets managed’ apply, with all this data leading us to exercise more, eat more healthily and generally up our game fitness-wise? Or will it be a novelty that quickly wears off, with owners reverting to life as usual within a few weeks … ? 
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2014 to be a big year for wearables, with 17M devices expected to be sold

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Feb 13 2014 - 5:09 am PT
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Market analyst Canalys reports that 1.6M fitness bands and smartwatches combined were sold in the second half of last year, and is predicting that more than 17M devices will be sold this year, driven largely by forecast sales of 8M smartwatches.

Though currently a relatively small market serving fitness enthusiasts, wearable bands represent a massive opportunity in the medical and wellness segment. 2014 will be the year that wearables become a key consumer technology, as the smart band segment is estimated to reach 8 million annual shipments. Canalys estimates that this number will grow to over 23 million units by 2015, and over 45 million by 2017 … 
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