Apple released iOS 7.1 beta 2 earlier today. Here we take a look at all the changes in iOS 7.1 beta 2 as well as first impressions of the new seed after a few hours of use.
Tim Cook and Apple's executive team are always keen to wax lyrical about how many apps have passed through the App Store over the last five years. The majority of the company's media events heavily feature slides featuring the number of available third-party applications available and the amount of revenue that has been paid out to the developers who create and publish those apps. In the relatively short lifespan of the App Store, Apple has managed to hit, and go beyond some pretty impressive milestones. Recent data from AppsFire suggests that Apple have hit yet another notable goal by now having over one million apps live in the U.S. App Store alone.
Apple's Siri voice-recognition technology might not yet have made waves among the iOS-using community, but the implementation first seen with the iPhone 4s back in 2011 shows no sign of disappearing. We've already seen how the likes of Honda and General Motors announce plans to include the Siri Eyes Free technology into upcoming production cars, and now, a new patent filing from Apple suggest that it too is ready to take Siri to the next level. Published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday, the filing outlines a speaker dock system that includes Siri integration, which would be interacted with via the in-built speaker system.
Apple applies, and is granted, it's fair share of patents. As with any large technology company, the iPhone maker isn't shy about asking for a patent on anything and everything it comes up with that it thinks might be of use later on, which means that just because there's a patent application for something, it isn't guaranteed to make it into a shipping product.
Apple has never been shy about supporting charities, which is why a glance through the iPad and iPhone accessories lists on the Apple Store will reveal one or two Product (RED) versions of cases and covers. The company has also been known to turn its stores red, and for the third year running selected Apple Stores in various countries have had their iconic glowing Apple logo turned red in support of World AIDS Day.
Black Friday deals are upon us as you read this, and it’s the ideal time of the year to get a bargain on your coveted products. While almost everything gets a discount this Friday (and for a few days to come), it’s quite a fact that Apple’s offerings are some of the most sought after ones. Now, the good thing is that the fruit company, in keeping up with the Thanksgiving tradition, puts their products out on discount almost every year, but at the same time, they don’t do it much for newer products (especially the new iPhones). Still, there are deals that you’ll be happy to score, and we’re listing down some of the best ones in town.
This week, in the unlikely case that you weren't already aware, is Black Friday week, and the deals and special offers will be running from most of the major retail outlets. In technology terms, it's a great time to go shopping in preparation for the holiday season, particularly since many of these price-cuts don't occur at any other time of year. Apple is a prime of example of a company that seldom alters its price structure except for on Black Friday, and those holding out on an Apple purchase in hope of making some savings later on this week will be pleased to learn that the Cupertino outfit has just announced the details.
Rumors have been floating around for months, and Apple has now confirmed what was already pretty much a certainty - Apple has bought PrimeSense, the company behind the motion and depth detection technology that made the Xbox 360's Kinect accessory possible. It's worth nothing though that the recently released Xbox One's Kinect is based on Microsoft's own in-house cameras and software, rather than something built by PrimeSense.
Just when you thought the patent litigation saga between Apple and Samsung was beginning to dwindle into obscurity it has returned with a vengeance. The discontent between the two companies may not have been hitting public headlines as much in recent months, but it has still been simmering away nicely in the background with legal teams from both entities doing their best to represent their sides. In a ruling that has been passed down today, the United States Court of Appeals has ruled that Apple can have yet another stab at trying to get certain offending Samsung smartphones banned from sale.
Apple has shown an increased desire over the last 12 months to highlight the fact that a lot more of their design and manufacturing processes is taking place in the United States. The company's "Designed by Apple in California" slogan is playing an increasingly important role during media events, with Tim Cook and his executive team keen to drill home that products like the new Mac Pro will be manufactured in the US. If today's reports regarding the future of the iPhone and iPad processors turn out to be true then it could mean that upstate New York could be the production home of Apple's chips in the very near future.
