For cellular customers in the United States, it’s time for good news again, as the US Senate has just passed a bill that makes unlocking of cellular phone devices legal again, preceded by the passing of a similar bill back in February this year by the House of Representatives.
Apple's next-generation iPhone won’t be officially announced until September, but that doesn't stop the rumor mill from going into overdrive early. We won't know exactly what the Apple has in store for us until the covers are removed from the device, but if you simply can't contain your excitement and are happy to base your decisions purely on speculation then you can already purchase a working clone of the "iPhone 6", designed and manufactured entirely from the leaked designs and components over the last few months.
Touch ID has proven an immensely successful feature within the iPhone 5s, and although the technology has remained exclusive to the current flagship since it rolled out back in September, Apple is expected to be treating the iPad line-up to the fingerprint-scanning tech later on this year. With the iPhone 6 slated for a September release, though, all eyes are on the next-gen handset, and today, we've an up-close look at the tweaked Touch ID component that'll apparently grace the forthcoming device.
Apple's addition of quick replies to iOS 8's Messages is the kind of feature that iPhone users have been begging for, but it is capable of doing much more. Wouldn't it be great if you could also send quick replies to messages that come in from other apps, and other social services? The mind immediately turns to the ever popular WhatsApp messaging client, and with good reason.
Apple has today struck a deal with IBM that will see devices like the iPhone and iPad build a stronger presence in the enterprise market, with IBM's obvious clout among business helping to seal what will no doubt be a mutually beneficial deal. Announced today by means of a press release, IBM will take the opportunity to integrate its own pool of services and solutions into these Apple-made devices before selling the tailored experience on to specific, pin-pointed businesses and industries.
The iTunes App Store is awash with great apps, but while most of us would love to simply download them all, we'd soon rack up a bill amounting to a small fortune. This is why, we try our utmost to present you guys with the best deals and freebies on a daily basis, and below, we've got another ten great apps gone free over at the App Store.
Snapchat has just added a cool new feature allowing users to add location-specific filters to snaps before sending them out. The image and video-sharing IM service, which has a popular following among college-age users, has seen its user base soar in recent times, and having added IM-like chat features in a large update earlier on in the year, has now baked in a geofiltering service as an extension of those traditional, Instagram-esque overlays it recently rolled out.
It's a fair assessment to make that Apple's Passbook feature hasn't been adopted by consumers with the kind of enthusiasm that the early hype suggested, but with NFC said to be arriving with the iPhone 6, the voucher / pass / wallet service could soon become a staple part of iOS users' diets. The Cupertino's move to launch iTunes Pass in Japan is certainly indicative of a more concerted push with Passbook, and as of today, Japanese consumers will be able to top up their iTunes credit via Passbook at Apple's brick-and-mortar retail outlets.
We've covered plenty of great app deals here, but on this occasion, we've a special treat. For instead of four, five or six apps gone free, we've got a sizeable haul of nine, and if your home screen is looking a little scant, check the details below!
Even though Apple makes every new iOS device considerably better than the last and, by some miracle, thinner and lighter than the preceding model, one common quibble that consumers have is in the waning battery life. Even though the likes of the iPhone and iPad excel in most departments, battery retention is not one of them, and as such, users are often left with a well-built, stylish, and feature-rich device that won't power up. Apparently, though, Tim Cook's company is joining forces with Intelligent Energy in a collaborative effort that may see iDevices, as well as other products like the MacBook, keep going for up to a week by embedding fuel cells into them.

