Apple has, without too much fanfare, decided to cut down its iPhone returns policy from 30 days to just 14, meaning that new purchasers now have only a two-week grace period after which they can no longer change their mind. The move is part of a wider play aimed at offering a more coherent, uniform returns policy across the company's range of products, while also tying in with similar systems offered by mobile carriers.
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The WhatsApp for Android client is susceptible to malicious intrusion thanks to the way conversations are both stored and encrypted, a security expert has discovered. The bug opens up the potential for stored chats to be accessed via other apps, and even though the problem is, if anything, largely attributable to the way that Android is constructed rather than just being a WhatsApp issue, the apparent ease in which conversations can be gotten hold of and decrypted will no doubt leave users of the app feeling rather disconcerted.
Apple is toying with the idea of handing its iTunes Radio streaming audio service its very own app, which the company hopes will help boost adoption rates. Launched alongside iOS 7, the number of users subscribing to iTunes Radio has been modest, but considering the leverage that Apple has in the form of the iTunes Music Store - which boasts one of the broadest libraries of digital songs and albums with over 26 million - the company reportedly has a more proactive strategy in the offing.
Ookla's Speedtest.net app for iPhone, a popular choice for folks looking to keep tabs on data speed and performance, has just been updated to version 3.2, bringing with it - among other things - optimization for the iPad. The newly-universal app, which is used by millions worldwide, also offers landscape mode for users of the Apple tablet, and we've got the full run-down of the new features coming right up.
The iDevice community is still adjusting to the new iOS 7.1 software, and although the recently-dropped update isn't a landmark release by any stretch of the imagination, it's still the most significant bump that Apple has made since iOS 7.0 arrived back in September. As well as the more notable enhancements made to features like Siri and iTunes Radio - allied to the introduction of CarPlay - there have been several other minor tweaks applied, but in addition, there have also been one or two teething problems. Some iPhone 5s users, for example, have encountered troubles in using Touch ID, and if you're one of them, we've got a little tutorial to help you overcome them.
Thanks to the closed-source nature of Apple's iOS, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users must make do with the stock keyboard, and although it has improved to a degree over the years, it is, without a doubt, still streets behind the likes of SwiftKey and Swype. The only way these more advanced keyboards have managed sneak onto stock iOS is through standalone apps like SwiftKey Note and Hipjot, but now, the developer of the latter has made the intuitive typing interface available to those running jailbroken devices.
In the ongoing patent dispute between Apple and Samsung, it has now emerged that the Cupertino-based company has demanded, in front of a jury, that its Korean competitor stumps up the almighty sum of $40 per infringing device. The total, which Apple has arrived at by highlighting five separate patents per device (around $8 a pop), would equate to an eye-watering total sum, and even FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller - a guy that tends to see these matters from Apple's side - seems to think this is a step too far.
If you've been having some troubles with the iOS 7 auto-brightness feature, then you'll be relieved to learn that you're not alone. As many users have discovered, the back light of display doesn't always properly adjust, but if you were wondering if there was a way to fix this nagging issue, then check the remedial tutorial below.
What with it only being the middle of March, and with no new iPhone anticipated until the fall, it shouldn't be too surprising that rumors and reports regarding the Cupertino company’s next big thing are both plentiful and conflicting. But one common theme is that the so-called iPhone 6 - which could offer two different sizing configurations - will be larger than the current iPhone 5s, and with the likes of Reuters and Bloomberg having corroborated this notion, it's no wonder the blogosphere has gotten itself into something of a tizzy. Today, Mac Otakara has jumped into the debate, suggesting that the two new devices will integrate design elements of both the iPhone 5c and sixth-gen iPod nano.
In bringing forth its in-house Maps app along with iOS 6 - a decision that saw Google Maps ousted from the native roster - Apple oversaw what was considered to be one of the greatest tech fails of 2012. But having shaken up its iOS software development team and made a host of improvements, Maps is finally starting to look like a navigation service that folks can rely upon. 9to5Mac has word that with iOS 8, continuing the enhancement of Maps is high on the priority list, with public transport directions services being the main implementation, and beyond that, the Cupertino is also toying with the idea of integrating indoor mapping into Maps.
