Apple

Should You Update to iOS 9 on Your iPhone 4s?

Still have an iPhone 4s? iOS 9 is a bitter pill to swallow. Although you can technically download the new operating system if you so desire, you’ll miss out on some of the best features and speed improvements on iOS 9. Bumsville. The 4s is the first phone deemed lucky enough by Apple to survive…

iPad Mini 4 Teardown: Literally Just a Smaller iPad Air 2

The new iPad Mini 4 was a footnote at Apple’s recent event, and for good reason: the little tablet really is just Apple’s year-old iPad, with a slightly smaller display. The good folks at iFixit took the Mini 4 apart piece by loving piece to see what’s new. Although things look pretty much identical on…

Why Apple Decided to Block Ads on the Same Day It Started Pushing a News App

Well that’s quite a coincidence. The very same day Apple turned its News app into a mandatory blob on your home screen, it also rolled out ad blocking capabilities in iOS 9. The day after iOS 9’s release, over ten percent of iOS users have already downloaded iOS 9, according to Paddle Analytics. That means…

Our Favorite Android, iOS, and Windows Phone Apps of the Week

It’s that day of the week again—the day when we post all the new apps worth checking out. This time around we’re highlighting Apple’s Android release (which has seen some major trolling), an app for iOS that’s all about helping you spend less time on your phone, and an alarm for Windows Phone that goes…

The Latest Steve Jobs Trailer Tackles the Origin of Technology’s Bad Boy Genius

Steve Jobs is shaping up to be one hell of a biopic! Here’s the latest look at Micahel Fassbender doing his very best megalomaniacal technologist. The new trailer is tense. While the last trailer spent some time exposing us to Seth Rogan’s portrayal of Steve Wozniak, this second trailer is focused almost exclusively in Jobs…

23 Things You Can Do in iOS 9 That You Couldn’t Do in iOS 8

It may have come to your attention that there’s a fresh version of iOS in town. But aside from a font change, what’s different about this new edition of Apple’s mobile OS? To help you navigate around iOS 9, we’ve listed all the tricks that it can do that were beyond the capabilities of iOS…

On the heels of iOS 9 comes an update for iTunes, too. That’s not too exciting, apart from the fact that it enables two-factor authentication. Which you should definitely use.

How to get rid of that gross lowercase keyboard on your iPhone in iOS 9

When I saw that all the letters on all the tiny buttons on the new iOS 9 keyboard were set to lowercase by default, my eyes almost fell out of their sockets and were like this close to smear sliding down my iPhone’s screen and splatting on the ground. That lowercase keyboard just looks wrong.…

Apple News Is Better Than Newsstand, But That’s Not Saying Much

Well iOS 9 is here and it’s the most minor major—or maybe the most major minor—upgrade to the Apple’s mobile software in recent memory. But there are a few brand spanking new apps to talk about, and one of the big ones is Apple News. Before going to much further, let’s state that whatever shortcomings…

Go Download iOS 9 Right Now

It’s finally here, the full, stable version of Apple’s newest mobile operating system, and you can download it right now. Why should you even bother, you ask? Well, it may not be a huge visual overall, but it’s got enough little tweaks to make it worthwhile. The biggest one is battery. The iPhone can be…

The Best Hidden Changes in iOS 9, in GIFs

The latest version of Apple’s mobile OS launched to much fanfare and showy new features. Side-by-side multitasking! A creepily efficient digital assistant! But the longer I use iOS 9, the more I’m noticing the tiny changes that make everything just a little bit better. https://gizmodo.com/ios-9-smarts-security-and-a-better-siri-1709837924 The most noticeable change is to the fast app-changer. Double-tap…

Even though watchOS 2 got the green light to launch today with iOS 9, that’s not going to happen thanks to a software bug. Apple gave TechCrunch a statement saying the bug was significant enough to put the watchOS update on hold, but that it would be released shortly. iOS 9 is still go to…

Tim Cook Explains How He Decided to Come Out

Tim Cook appeared on Stephen Colbert’s new Late Show last night, and Colbert roasted Apple’s CEO with his usual charm. The clip above is one of the more serious exchanges from the segment. Colbert asks Cook about the company’s evolving social agenda, and specifically about how Cook updated the company’s position with regards to charity—he…

iOS 9: Everything You Need To Know

iOS 9 is arriving today. But what we saw on stage at Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference this spring was more than just a yearly update to Apple’s mobile OS. It’s a glimpse at how Apple’s operating systems are being unified as it builds out new devices and platforms. iOS has never mattered more. Hello,…

Apple TV Games Will Have to Work With the Siri Remote

Apple’s upcoming set-top boxes will support third-party controllers for gaming, which is good news for anyone (everyone) who doesn’t like gaming with a touchpad. But that still doesn’t mean you should expect hardcore games from your Apple TV. In the App Programming Guide for tvOS, Apple outlines requirements for game developers — including, unfortunately, a…

VLC Is Bringing Its Video Magic to the Apple TV

Here’s some good news for anyone planning to buy an Apple TV: VLC, the company behind the best video player for OS X and Windows (and arguable iOS) will be supporting Apple’s new set-top box. https://gizmodo.com/the-new-apple-tv-is-an-app-powered-fun-machine-1729461839 In a blog post, the VLC team has announced its plans to bring the video-playing software that we know…

RIP HopStop, a Gift to the Directionally Challenged 

Apple is shutting down HopStop in October, even though the transit mapping app provides more international coverage and features than Apple Maps’ range. It is a loss to users who still rely on HopStop daily, like me. Apple acquired HopStop in 2013. The mapping service was founded in 2005, and in the early days seemed…

New iPhone Specs Confirmed, 2GB of RAM On-Board

While Apple showed off most everything about the new iPhones last week, it didn’t tell us about one thing: how much RAM is crammed inside the new phones. Thanks to some clever sleuthing in Xcode, we now know the numbers. 2GB is the obvious upgrade from the 1GB found in the 6. It’s not going…

How the Middle Finger Emoji Finally Got the Thumbs Up

“Screw you Apple, where the goddamn hell is my middle finger emoji?” can soon be conveyed in far fewer characters, thanks to the middle finger emoji that’s coming to your iPhone. But why did it take so long? Here’s how those middle fingers—and all emoji—make their way to your screens. As you might have seen…

Which iPhone 6S Should I Buy? A Guide

Earlier this week, Apple announced the new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, and tonight’s the night to put your money down. So what the hell should you do? Should you get the Plus? Is one carrier better than the other? We’ve got your buyer’s guide right here. First off, some logistics If you want one…