US consumer electronics chain Best Buy has updated its official iOS app with support for Apple Pay, allowing customers to pay for purchased items using Apple’s mobile payments service. All its US stores will begin accepting Apple Pay later this year, the company said.
“Today’s consumers have many different ways to spend their money and we want to give our customers as many options as possible in how they pay for goods and services at Best Buy,” the company said in a press release. Read more »
Today Instagram announced the latest update for its mobile app for both iOS and Android. The new release should become available by the end of the day in the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store. It sports three brand new filters.
This comes after the Facebook-owned service previously added five new filters back in December of last year. The new entrants this time around are called Lark, Reyes, and Juno. According to Instagram, these are “modern, subtle filters” which brighten and enhance your photos in “refined, beautiful ways”. Read more »
Following the introduction of voice calling a while back, as well as other features such as sending money to friends, Facebook Messenger now supports video calls as well. The new functionality will become available today for people using the Messenger app on iOS and Android.
Video calls only work from a phone to another phone, but they do work even if the person you’re calling is on a different platform – so iOS to Android or Android to iOS, no problem. Read more »
We saw the Apple Watch failing quite miserably when it comes to hiding scratches on its shiny stainless steel body. However, the display is a different thing entirely. The Apple Watch comes with two types of display covers, one is the Ion-X on the Apple Watch Sport and the other is the sapphire crystal on the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition.
Consumer Reports, which is usually at the forefront of every Applegate issue. has run some scratch tests on both versions of the Apple Watch displays. Their findings weren’t all that surprising. Read more »
The Karbon SI is the toughest case for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus by Evutec. The cover is the rugged sibling to the Evutec Karbon S I reviewed back in February.
Evutec makes smartphone and tablet cases using advanced composite materials. The philosophy of the California-based company is to bring high tech and ecology together into into its products. Read more »
Ever picked up an old iPod with a stainless steel back and noticed how the back looks like it was dragged across town? Looks like Apple is using the same stainless steel on the Apple Watch because users have started noticing scratches on it within days of owning it.
Several people are reporting their stainless steel Apple Watch is picking up scratches within days or even hours of using it. The image above is by Michael Kukielka, a.k.a. The DetroitBORG on YouTube, who got scratches on his watch within 24 hours. Read more »
The Apple Watch is officially here! Well technically. In keeping with its promise for an April 24 release date, the high-tech gadget is no longer in a preorder stage, but actually picking up one might still be a problem.
Yet apart from the glaring availability issues Cupertino is facing, the Apple Watch is a reality and we can’t wait to see how it fares in the growing smart wearable market. In this line of thought, we thought it would be only fair to pit it against its most-likely contenders in this week’s poll and ask you, our loyal readers, which device you fancy the most. Read more »
Today is the Apple Watch day – you can officially order it online, while the retail sales will begin in few months. The Watch is on back-order, so you’ll have to wait about two months before it arrives at your doorsteps, but at least you can now place your order, right?
So, you can’t get an Apple Watch soon, unless you bought it from one of the six fashion boutiques scattered around the world. But at least you can warm up with the new promo videos uploaded today. Read more »
Researchers at Skycure have revealed a zero-day security flaw, which when exploited, can allow attackers to repeatedly crash Apple devices running iOS 8. Dubbed No iOS Zone, the vulnerability just requires the device to be within range of a WiFi hotspot, whether connected or not.
The exploit works by manipulating SSL certificates sent to the iOS devices over Wi-Fi, causing apps or possibly the OS itself to crash, making the device unstable and triggering constant reboots. This would effectively render the device useless, something which could wreak havoc at sensitive locations like financial hubs. Read more »
Twitter-owned video social network Vine has updated its iOS app, allowing you to share videos on multiple social networks in one go. “This means you can quickly and easily revine, send posts to your friends via Vine messages (VMs), and share to Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr,” the company said.
So now if you want to share a Vine video with your friends who are scattered across multiple social networks, all you have to do is to go to the new share screen (see image above), mark the services that you want to include, and click the Revine and share button. The feature will soon be available on Android, too. Read more »
The latest version of WhatsApp for iPhone, 2.12.1, has just gone live in the iTunes App Store. Once you install it (or update to it), you’ll get the ability to call your WhatsApp contacts. However, the functionality may not be immediately available for you, even if you do use this iteration of the app. Read more »
Twitter has made changes to its direct message (DM) feature, allowing you to receive private messages from other users, even if you don’t follow them. The feature is available in the form of a new setting, which is turned off by default.
“Previously, if you wanted to send a Direct Message to the ice cream shop down the street about how much you love their salted caramel flavor, you’d have to ask them to follow you first,” the microblogging company said in a blog post. “With today’s changes, the ice cream shop can opt to receive Direct Messages from anyone; so you can privately send your appreciation for the salted caramel without any barriers.” Read more »
Google has announced that YouTube apps running on select devices manufactured in 2012 and earlier will no longer be supported after this month. These devices include Sony TVs & Blu-ray Discs, Panasonic TVs & Blu-ray Discs, older iOS devices, and devices running older versions of Google TV.
“As we upgrade the YouTube Data API to bring more features, we’ll begin shutting down the old version on April 20, 2015. This will result in the current YouTube app not working on certain device models from 2012 and older,” the Mountain View, California-based company said in a blog post. The upgrade also affects the 2nd gen Apple TV. Read more »
It looks like Apple has a version of its ultra-expensive Apple Watch Edition that’s reserved only for high-profile celebrities. The ultra-limited edition of the smartwatch packs a band made of solid gold.
The Cupertino giant has handed out the exclusive gadget to the likes of Beyonce and the fashion guru Karl Lagerfeld. Read more »
For those who grew up watching WWE fights and still think they are awesome, there’s something new coming your way. Take-two Interactive’s publishing label 2K announced a new WWE 2K mobile game for iOS and Android. The new title is now available for $7.99 from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
The Visual Concept team at 2K, along with n-Space have worked on the simulation aspects the wrestling game. Both teams have taken inspiration from the console editions of the same title, and ported it for touchscreen-based mobile devices. Read more »
HTC One E9+ performance benchmarks
Your verdict on Android M, iOS 9 and Watch OS 2.0
HTC One M9+ preview
Oppo R7 battery life test
Hot or Not: Android M, iOS 9 and Watch OS 2.0