Here are some of the top iOS 8.3 enhancements / fixes you need to know:

1. Emoji

Apple has revamped the UI for emoji keyboard and also added more than 300 new emojis. The new additions also bring diversity options such as changing the skin tone of the people emojis. To access the skin tone variations tap and hold the emoji to change the default colour.

Tip: Don’t know what some of the emojis mean? Type them in the Notes app and have Siri speak.

2. Password Settings for App Store

In iOS 8.3 Apple allows you to change how frequently should the App Store prompt you for your Apple ID password. You can set it to always require password or require after 15 minutes of having entered the password.

The next setting is something that I had always wanted to exist in iOS. You can now “finally” turn off the requirement for password for free downloads. Yes, finally!

3. New Siri Languages

Siri can now understand even more languages. The new update adds support for: English (India, New Zealand), Danish (Denmark), Dutch (Netherlands), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian (Russia), Swedish (Sweden), Thai (Thailand), Turkish (Turkey).

4. Tell Siri to call a contact on speakerphone

Ever since I started using Siri while driving I never understood why Apple wouldn’t include support for Siri command, “call on speakerphone”. Well now with iOS 8.3 you do just that. This is another step to keeping all eyes on road and operating your phone hands and eyes free.

5. Fixes. Lots of Fixes.

iOS 8.3 brings many bug fixes so if you ever tried to do something and it failed or did not work reliably you should try doing that again. From issues like iOS 8 preventing autocorrecting “FYI” to WiFi, bluetooth issues and much more. Apple has fixed a lot of issues and even claims to improve performance for app launch, responsiveness and more.

Overall, iOS 8.3 is a highly recommended update for anyone who wants a reliable and stable experience on their iOS device.

Have you upgraded your iPhone or iPad yet? Did you notice any other significant changes? Let us know in the comments section below.

Apple quietly updated it’s online store with a new iPod touch model recently. The new 16GB iPod touch is similar in design to the fifth gen model that was announced in September last year.

The new 16GB iPod touch costs $229 and the price reduction was made possible by getting rid of of the rear camera and the loop wrist strap. The iPod touch still features a front facing HD 1.2MP camera with HD (720p) video recording.

Even though the iPod sales continue to decline year over year, Apple’s iPod still accounts for 70% of the mp3 players sold in the market. The new fifth gen model was made available in 32GB and 64GB variations costing $299 and $399 respectively. Launching a more affordable 16GB model will allow Apple to keep a strong hold in the market and keep competition away.

A teardown of the 16GB model by iFixit revealed that the internal components of the new device are nearly identical to the fifth gen model. With the area for rear camera and loop strap having a small void.

Apple didn’t wait for WWDC to announce the new 16GB iPod touch as it would want the entire focus to be on new OS X and iOS 7.

The 16GB iPod touch is available only in black colour and ships within 24 hours. Are you excited about this launch? Were you waiting for Apple to launch an affordable iPod touch? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

According to a report from Electronista, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will be supplying iOS devices to the United States Department of Defense, replacing all of the 470,000 BlackBerry devices currently in use by employees. Until this year, the DOD handed out a Blackberry to each of its employees for answering emails, business calls etc. However, with Blackberry upheaving its old system with the new Blackberry 10 OS, the DOD can no longer use the older devices.

The DOD also experienced a cut in the funding for the new software as the result of the sequester. Now, they will be replacing the older technology with the purchase of 120,000 iPads, 100,000 iPad minis, 200,000 iPod touches, and 210,000 iPhones.

The iPhones will vary, likely depending on each employee’s usage and need for certain features. According to the report, “more than half are headed to the battlefield, afloat, and to associated support commands. Most of the rest will stay [at the Pentagon].”

Late last year, the U.S government said that RIM (now Blackberry), would no longer have an exclusive contract for smartphone devices. This is great news for Apple, with its products currently being used to run businesses such as Salesforce, by pilots as electronic flight bags, and now the U.S government.

It is not surprising that the DOD is making the move to Apple products, however, it does mean that Apple would need to make sure their iOS devices are extremely secure, especially with soldiers using them overseas.

Update – The original source of this news published new information stating, “The initial telephone conversation claims that the information obtained “is not from an official DoD source” and notes that the BlackBerry platform is not being dumped.” However, the publication emphasized on the fact that “the report of the purchase order is accurate, but emphasized that the purchase awaits rectification of the government’s financial situation, as previously reported.”

{Via TechCrunch}

Apple appears to be not only synchronizing all of its products, but is also doing so with the accessories for these products. On Thursday, Apple released a shorter 0.5 meter Lightning to USB cable for all of its updated iOS devices, including the current iPhone 5, fifth generation iPod Touch, iPod Nano, iPad mini, and 4th generation iPad.

This is not the first time that Apple is offering users a shorter cable length option, with the company introducing a shorter 0.5 meter Thunderbolt cable just last month. The shorter Lightning to USB cable provides the same function as the longer 1 meter cable, but gives users the option free up clutter in tight spaces behind or near a desk or table.

However, there appears to be no change in price for the shorter cable, coming in at $19, the same price of the 1m length. It likely does not cost Apple anything to produce and ship the shorter cables, making this newer cable length entirely a choice of convenience for users instead of changes in functionality.

Alongside the shortened Lightning to USB cable, Apple also introduced a tweaked version of its current In-Ear Headphones with Mic and Remote. The tweak, like the shortening of the Lightning to USB cable does not change the functionality of the headphones at all, and instead adds the same rounded remote design on the EarPods, which are standard on the iPhone and iPod.

The new remote design, pictured on the left, is slightly more rounded than the previous design and is easier to click. It is also slightly bigger in size and higher up in the headphone cord in order to provide for clearer recordings and calls. The price of the In-Ear Headphones with Mic and Remote remains at $79 and is still a viable option for users who are looking for headphones of slightly better quality than the EarPods. Apple’s 0.5 meter Lightning to USB cable as well as the tweaked In-Ear Headphones with Mic and Remote are now both available for purchase online.

{Via MacRumors}

With new features such as Graph Search coming to Facebook, it appears that the social networking site is looking to challenge search giant, Google. Facebook is now beginning to add new features all around, including Voice Calling to the site’s iOS Messenger app. Voice Calling through the Facebook iOS Messenger app is currently available in both the US and in Canada.

According to The Verge, the Voice Calling feature was previously limited to Canada but is now being opened up to users in the United States. The feature arrived as an update in early January, and appears to be similar to Google’s Voice feature.

What this means is that if you live in the US, you can now call other Facebook users for free over Wi-Fi or using your phone’s data connection while you’re on the go. When you call someone, a push notification appears on their screen that says “Ellis Hamburger is calling,” for example. The feature is especially critical for people with bad cell service at work or at home, and for those who want to conserve cell phone minutes. It’s also a huge step for Facebook — which with a single feature emerges as one of the largest communities of VoIP users in the world. Yes, competitors Viber, Vonage, and Skype have had the feature for some time, but all have much smaller user bases.

With Voice Calling, Facebook has an upper edge over Google, particularly because of its existing user base, and because it is a social networking site as opposed to Google’s email and search service. It is also competing with other services such as Skype. Facebook Messenger will now allow the already popular iPod touch to become a calling device for teenagers, particularly because the device is targeted towards that age-group.

Voice calling can be accessed by opening the Facebook Messenger application, opening up a chat with a friend, and click the ‘i’ button. After the page appears, a button should say “Free Call”, which will then connect the two users to a voice call. Not all Facebook users are currently able to use the feature as it is slowly rolling out across the United States. Facebook Messenger is currently available as a free app on the iOS App Store [Direct Link].

{Image via Mashable}

Apple released several beta versions of iOS 6.1 to developers and is now set to release it to the public. The company was reportedly testing a new beta of 6.1, the Golden Master version, which usually remains unchanged with the public release. According to German site, iFun, Apple is going to release the GM version to developers very soon.

The site cited a ‘reliable source’ and also mentioned that the update had gone through “extensive internal testing”. It is no surprise that Apple is now being extremely thorough with its iOS updates, after the ousting of iOS chief Scott Forstall who led failed projects such as Siri and Maps.

The final version of iOS 6.1 is slated for release next Friday or the following Monday, although there will not be many end user features included in the update. iOS 6.1 will include features for developers to include new features into their applications to integrate iOS Maps, as well as fixes for boarding passes in Passbook and changes in Safari. Users will see some changes in Siri, most notably the ability to purchase Fandango tickets via voice command and a feature that asks security questions when setting up a new device.

Apple normally releases two to three betas prior to releasing iOS updates to the public, and considering that three betas have already come to fruition, this may be the last and final release. The iOS 6.1 update, upon public release will be compatible with the iPhone 5/4S/4/3GS as well as the second, third and fourth generation iPad, iPad mini, and the fourth and fifth generation iPod touch.

{Via AppleInsider}

Apple continues to acquire more trademarks to build its empire of clever names for its products. The most recent, the name for Apple’s ‘Lightning’ connector was reportedly acquired from American motorcycle manufacturer, Harley-Davidson. Patent site Patently Apple initially noted that a filing with the European Union showed the ‘Lightning’ name belonging to H-D Michigan, Inc., the holding company for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle company.

According to AppleInsider, Harley-Davidson owned the rights to the ‘Lightning’ name for a number of products, including: television sets, games, computer game programs, eyeglasses, and eyeglass frames, as well as motorcycle electrical parts, protective helmets and turn signals. Apple was also reportedly given a ‘partial transfer’ of the trademark, meaning that HarleyDavidson still reserves the right to use the name with motorcycle related products. Harley-Davidson has possession of the trademark until 2013, meaning that Apple will continue to acquire the naming rights until the trademark expires.

Apple’s Lightning connector replaces the popular 30 pin connector on older iOS devices, which were widely available in third party chains, and were essentially found in every household. As sales of the iPhone 5, iPod Nano, iPod Touch, and iPad (all of which have the new connector), the charger will be readily available in more places and from more retailers.

Apple has updated their online store with a teaser page for a “One-Day shopping event” for Black Friday. Black Friday is on, November 23rd, the day after Thanksgiving and Apple generally tends to give discounts on many of its products, including Mac, iPad, and iPod.

The Black Friday sales online and in-stores marks the start of the holiday shopping for both Apple and other retailers that offer steep discounts on many of their products. This kicks off nationwide holiday sales through the first week of January.

The one-day Apple shopping event is Friday, 23 November.

Get ready to give. Shop online or visit your favourite Apple Retail Store.
We’ll help you make the most of the day, no matter how you shop.

Apple also offers these discounts internationally, both online and in stores as a way to boost sales by offering reasonable discounts. Last year, in the US and other countries, Apple offered the following discounts:

iPad 2 – $41 to $61 Off
iPod nano – $11 off
iPod Touch – $21 to $41 off
MacBook Air – $101 off
MacBook Pro – $101 off
iMac – $101 off

It is unclear how much Apple will be discounting this year, with the addition of the iPad mini and new iMac lineup.

{Via MacRumors}

Apple Inc. (AAPL) has officially begun its sales for the holiday season, introducing this year’s Holiday Gift guide. AAPL creates a Holiday Guide every year, and rounds up a list of products and accessories from both Apple and other companies that would make good gifts for the holidays.

The company updated its online store with the new 2012 Holiday Gift Guide, putting the iPad mini at the top of the list under “iPad Gifts”, likely because of its lower cost, which would be perfect for parents looking to spend less this holiday season. Other products in the holiday gift guide include the iPhone 5, iPod touch, iPod nano, full-size iPad, Apple TV, and MacBook Air.

All of these products were upgraded at different times in the year, the first time in over 2 years that all of the company’s product were refreshed with a new model, including the full sized iPads record two refreshes in one year. Apple is just beginning to introduce deals for the holiday season, as the company will also reduced prices for its lineup for Black Friday on November 23rd.

Last year, Apple offered $101 off of all of its Mac products, except the Mac mini, as well as $41-$61 off on the iPad, over $21 off of the iPod touch, and $11 off of the iPod nano.

Apple will likely do the same price discounts for this year’s lineup, but may not include the iPad mini as part of the iPad discounts because of its lower than average cost.

{Via MacRumors}

Late last week, Apple released iOS 6.0.1 to the users of the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, adding a few new features and fixing a number of bugs. On Friday, the Cupertino company posted a iOS 6.0.1 update for the new 4th generation iPad and the iPad mini, which are expected to be released in the coming weeks. Apple promised to launch the devices in the United States in “Mid-November” and is releasing the iOS update prior to the release.

According to MacRumors, pre-orders of the device are expected to start being delivered as early as November 16th. The 6.0.1 update comes with Build 10A8426, however, it is unclear exactly what it will change or fix on the device. Apple posted the iOS 6.0 software update prior to the release of the WiFi models of the 4th gen iPad and the iPad mini on November 2nd.

The new downloads posted by Apple are:

iPad mini
– iPad2,6
– iPad2,7

Fourth-generation iPad
– iPad3,5
– iPad3,6

Normally, following the release of a new device, Apple’s iOS devices tend to have a number of bugs that surface. As a result, Apple is continuing to release updates to patch these bugs as quickly as possible.

Apple released an iOS 6.1 beta to developers recently, and features that are expected to be in the new update are now being shown off online. One of these new features in iOS 6.1 is the ability to purchase movie tickets through Siri. Apple is bringing movie ticket purchases to Siri, allowing users to simply tell Siri to book them tickets for a specific showtime, as Siri can already look up the showtimes and the movie theatre that it is located in.

Developers testing 6.1 on their iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch say that the feature operates on Fandango and Siri describes the commands in the information menu. A user can simply ask Siri to buy any number of tickets for any movie. Siri will then bring up local movie theatres that are playing the movie.

You can also manually go through each window, first choosing a movie theatre, then a movie, time etc. The feature is currently available only in the United States and not all theatres are supported. Supported theatres have a tiny movie tickets icon that tells the user which one they can buy tickets from. With this new feature, Siri has become more useful and is now more interactive with some of the features introduced with iOS 6.

{Via 9to5Mac}

Apple released iOS 6 to the public on September 19th and since then has not released an update to the popular mobile software, currently operating on the full sized iPad, new iPad mini, iPhone, and iPod Touch. On Thursday, Apple seeded iOS 6.1 beta to developers with a number of new features, including features allowing developers to integrate iOS Maps into their applications, as well as fixes for boarding passes in Passbook as well as changes in Safari.

The update also carries a number of bug fixes across the lineup of iOS devices, including one in Maps, where there is now a large button allowing for users to report problems to Apple. The iOS 6.1 beta has a build number of 10B5095f, and is available for developers to download on the Apple Developers Page.

It is unclear when Apple will release iOS 6.1 to the public or what other new features and bug fixes will be included in the update, but Apple will likely roundup a number of other bug fixes and test them on developers before releasing to the public.

{Via MacRumors}

Apple’s new Passbook feature, introduced with the latest iOS 6 is compatible with a host of apps on the Apple App Store, and is capable of storing boarding passes, gift cards, tickets, and even prescription, putting them all in one place for easy access.

Upon release of the new Passbook app on iPhones and iPod touches, the only airlines that supported the feature were Lufthansa and American Airlines, which allowed users to store and scan their boarding passes directly on their devices. Late last week, Air Canada released an update to their iPhone app, adding electronic boarding passes through Passbook, as well as support for the iPhone 5.

Customers who check-in on mobile.aircanada.com, aircanada.com or at and airport kiosk and access their Electronic Boarding Pass with a supported device (iPhone or iPod touch on iOS 6) will receive the Passbook version of the Electronic Boarding Pass. The Passbook version works just like our existing Electronic Boarding Pass and will allow customers to identify themselves at airport kiosks, check-in counters, enable them to pass through security and board their flights.

Air Canada has also mentioned that they have Passbook enhancements planned for 2013, which will likely further integrate the Air Canada iPhone app features into Passbook. As more airlines adopt the Passbook format of their electronic boarding passes, as well as other companies including their services through Passbook, it is becoming increasingly simpler for users to use their iPhone and iPod for mobile payments. If Passbook becomes a major feature of the iPhone, it is also very likely that NFC would become a possibility, and perhaps even the arrival of credit and debit cards on the iPhone.

{Via iMore — Image Credit: iPhoneInCanada}

It’s only been 6 months since the introduction of the third generation iPad, and Apple has already introduced a new version of it. On Tuesday, alongside the announcement of the iPad mini, Apple introduced the refreshed iPad, calling it the 4th gen iPad instead.

The 4th generation iPad has been updated with the new Lightning connector currently on the iPhone 5, 4th gen iPod touch, and the new iPad mini as well as a new A6X processor as previously predicted, and FaceTime HD.

Until now, the FaceTime camera on the iPad was the same basic VGA camera that shipped on the iPhone 4, 4S and iPad 2. According to Phil Schiller, SVP of Product Marketing, the 4th generation iPad has expanded LTE support for more carriers around the world as well as faster WiFi speeds, twice as fast as on the third generation iPad.

Pricing for the 4th generation iPad remains the same $499/$599/$699 for the same 16GB/32GB/64GB capacities. WiFi+Cellular versions of the 4th generation iPad also remain the same, coming in at $629/$729/$829 for 16GB/32GB/64GB respectively. The 4th generation iPad will be available in stores and online for sale on November 2nd and is currently available for Pre-Order.

During Apple’s September 12th media event, the Cupertino company announced the iPhone 5 and alongside of it, an all new 5th generation iPod touch 5G and iPod nano. On Tuesday, customers who pre-ordered the new lineup of iPods received word that their new purchases has shipped and will arrive in about a week. Many customers have reported that their iPods are shipping directly from China for the orders that were placed on or around September 14th. They are expected to arrive as early as next Monday.

Last month, the company promised that the new iPod touch 5G and iPod nano would ship in October and has stuck by that promise, beginning the process fairly early this month. Apple’s new iPod touch brings the larger 4 inch screen from the iPhone 5 over to the iPod, and also features the new Lightning connector, a 1.2MP FaceTime camera and a 5 MP iSight camera.

The iPod nano features a larger Multi-Touch screen, Bluetooth connectivity, and even a home button. Apple has not put up the iPod displays in the Apple Store, but will likely begin setting them up as more and more customers receive their devices and the company gets more orders. Currently, Apple Retail Stores are still selling the 4th gen iPod touch and 6th generation iPod nano.

{Via AppleInsider}

Apple has begun rolling out iOS 6 software download for supported iOS devices. The sixth major release of iOS was announced at this years WWDC keynote event, the update brings in some new features, many enhancements and new API’s for app developers.

The highlight feature of iOS 6 is Apple designed Maps app. Since the original iPhone launch in 2007  Apple had licensed Google Maps to be used in iPhone and all other iOS devices however, with growing differences between Google and Apple and the Cupertino, Calif. based company decided to build its own solution. Maps in iOS 6 brings 3D Maps to iPhone, iPod touch and iPad with a unique feature called Flyover, that offers ariel view of the supported locations.

Apple has also updated Siri for iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad 3 and iPod touch 5G to support sports, restaurants and movie related searches. Siri continues to remain in beta and availability of features varies from country to country.

After Twitter was deeply integrated in iOS 5, Apple has finally added Facebook in iOS 6. This allows you to post status updates from Notification Center, share webpage, post photos and even allow single sign on for all apps for ease of use.

One of the exciting new features is Share Photo Streams which can be used if you share photos with friends and family from the Photos app. This makes sharing, commenting and liking photos extremely easy and now you can avoid sending emails with large attachments and view inline comments.

Passbook introduces a new way of managing your tickets, boarding pass, coupons and more. This app updates the loyalty cards, check in timing for your flight and even has location based alerts. We are expecting to see many retailers and airlines to start supporting Passbook fairly soon.

Other enhancements include, FaceTime over cellular for iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPad 3. The phone app has also been improved to support sending canned messages when declining a call, Mail now supports VIP list and easy flagging. Safari adds iCloud tabs, offline reading and full screen browsing.

iOS 6 download has been released and should be appearing via over-the-air update for iOS 5 devices. You can also update your device by connecting your device to iTunes via USB cable. It’s advisable to backup your device either using iCloud or manual iTunes sync before beginning the software update.

Have you already downloaded iOS 6 software update? What are your thoughts on the new features and changes? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Here’s the complete changelog of iOS 6:

During Apple’s keynote event on Wednesday, the company confirmed iOS 6 release date for Wednesday, September 19th. With that, they also released the Golden Master (GM) version of iOS 6 to developers on Thursday, essentially finalizing the new software update for iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, 5, Fourth and fifth gen iPod touch, iPad 2 and 3.

Apple’s iOS 6 preview page mentions that the update is coming soon and the company gave an extensive preview of the software running on the new iPod touch 5G and the iPhone 5 during the music event. The sixth major release for iOS devices is aimed at introducing some new native apps such as Apple’s new Maps app, Passbook and other features are basically enhancements to existing features. With this release Apple has moved to completely get rid of it’s reliance on Google’s maps app and to provide it’s own turn-by-turn directions.

Some main features of iOS 6 include an entirely new Maps application with turn by turn navigation and FlyOver, a Passbook app for storing bank cards, boardpasses, Siri enhancements, and Facebook integration. iOS 6 will be available as a free download for users although not all features will work on all of the devices. iOS 6 will ship on the new iPhone 5 and the 5th generation iPod touch 5G.

{Via MacRumors}

During Apple Inc. (AAPL) September 12th media event, the company introduced the new iPhone 5, an all new iPod nano and the latest 5th generation iPod touch. The 5th gen iPod touch has an all new metal back plate, made of the same anodized aluminum as the new iPhone 5 and the current MacBook lineup. The new touch also has the same new 4 inch screen on the iPhone 5, and is only 6.1mm thin and weighs only 88 grams. Other features include:

– new Lightning connector for charging and data transfer
– updated speaker
– a significantly improved 5 megapixel iSight camera with flash
– faster A5 chip
– can play 40 hours music and gets 8 hours of video playback
– Siri for iPod Touch
– 1080P video and AirPlay mirroring
– Has button for attaching strap
– Comes in five different colors for the first time
– iPhoto for iPod Touch

Apple will still be selling the fourth-gen iPod touch at the same base price of $199 for a 16GB and will be selling the new 5th generation iPod touch for $299 for a 32GB model. The new iPod touch will be shipping in October alongside the new 7th generation iPod nano and the iPod shuffle.

Are you thinking of getting one of these? Do you think it is worth the price?

A morning does not start off well without my daughter starting the day with 20 minutes of Mickey Mouse Club House so when I received Minnie Bow Maker to review I knew that I had the perfect person to help me review it.

The premise of Minnie Bow Maker was ideal too, my daughter already enjoys building cookies, cupcakes, popsicle and many other items on her iPod touch so making bows should be just what mouse ordered!

The first thing to be noted is that Minnie Bow Maker is much more than just a bow making app, it’s also a storybook, fashion show and photography app and they all compliment each other beautifully.

Beautiful is how the app looks too, the full Disney polish has been applied to this app with high quality graphics, all the appropriate voice acting and music that children know and love. They will feel perfectly at home in Minnie Bow Maker and that’s even before they’ve started!

The first of three options is Story Mode where you can join either Daisy, Millie and Melody or Cuckoo-Loca along with Minnie and help design a bow for the disney characters. You can read along with the sub-titles or just listened to the voice acted dialog as you have to make a bow for the different characters for a special event.

The story mode doesn’t take long to play though but it’s a nice compliment to the main bow making part of the game and it also lends itself to the Big Bow Show part of the game as its the creations that you’ve created during story mode that can be viewed during the Bow Show.

Making the bows themselves is a three step process, first you choose your material, then the color and then a pattern before finally choosing the style of bow that you wish to make. At that point you get to drag the material to the bow making machine before turning the handle to see your creation drop out.

You then get a chance to select who should wear your bow, you can choose Minnie of course and place the bow atop her head which is cute, however it’s more fun to add the bow to a photo of someone by either selecting a picture from your camera roll or by taking a picture. You can then resize and position the bow to display on the picture. Both options allow you to output the results to either your camera roll or out via email for all to see!

The only downside to the app, although only noticed by me and not my children, was the sluggishness of the app which was running on my iPhone 4S.

If you’ve got a young daughter who’s into her cartoon Disney characters then she’ll certainly enjoy this, although even though it’s a universal app the $3.99 price tag puts it on the expensive side compared to other iOS apps that could entertain your children.

What we like

• Quality Disney franchiase
• Easy to create bows
• Appeals to young children

What to know

• Sluggish performance

Apple recently released iOS 6 Beta 4 to developers, adding several new features in settings and to existing apps. Following the release, the developer community began to notice a major change in the update, noting that the dedicated YouTube app on iOS was no longer included.

The YouTube app has been a part of iOS since 2007 and was introduced alongside the iPod touch. The latest beta arrived as an OTA update at first, followed by release online in the Developer Center. As with all betas in the past, the latest version, with Build 10A5376e arrives just three weeks after the last Build 10A5355d.

Developers have noticed several changes in the update, including a new “Wi-Fi Plus Cellular” feature in Settings which allows the iPhone to fall back on cellular data when WiFi does not work properly. Other features include an update to the Passbook app, giving it a dedicated section in the App Store and displaying apps compatible with Passbook. A new “Bluetooth Sharing” feature also allows users to determine which devices can share data via Bluetooth.

With all of these updated features, as well as the removal of YouTube, Apple appears to be cleansing iOS of technology from other companies. Apple commented on the removal of the YouTube app to The Verge, saying the following:

Our license to include the YouTube app in iOS has ended, customers can use YouTube in the Safari browser and Google is working on a new YouTube app to be on the App Store.

YouTube also commented on the removal:

We are working with Apple to make sure we have the best possible YouTube experience for iOS users.

Google’s presence in iOS is now very limited and will be transferred to individual apps on the App Store as opposed to being integrated into the OS itself. This first began when Apple replaced Google with Baidu as the default search engine, followed by the removal of Google Maps in iOS, and now the removal of YouTube. iOS 6 is expected to be released later this Fall in the September / October timeframe alongside the next generation iPhone 5.

{via MacRumors}

Apple’s next generation iPhone 5 has been rumored to be released this fall, more specifically during the September/ October timeframe. On Monday, iMore reported that September 12th was likely the day of announcement for the release date of iPhone 5, and perhaps even an iPad Mini and new 5th gen iPod touch. Following iMore’s report, major news sources have confirmed that this date is likely the day that Apple’s special media event will be held. AllThingsD was the one of the first to confirm that the announcement would be that week.

Apple hasn’t yet officially announced the fall event at which it is expected to debut the next iteration of the iPhone, but it’s definitely planning one.

iMore was first to report that the company has scheduled a special event for Wednesday, September 12, and now we’ve confirmed it as well. Sources tell AllThingsD that Apple is currently planning an event for that week. And while we haven’t yet confirmed its focus, history suggests it will indeed be the new iPhone.

With iMore’s initial report, followed by confirmation from AllThingsD, other sources including The Verge and The Loop confirmed the date of the week of the date. The Verge discussed the date and why it is likely accurate, saying the following:

The rumor cycle this time around for the next iPhone has been a bit unusual — multiple leaks have all depicted the exact same components — but it looks like we’ll be seeing what Apple has up its sleeves come Wednesday, September 12th. Our own sources have confirmed that date, and multiple websites have similar reports as well.

Following these announcements, Reuters, Bloomberg and NYTimes also followed up with their own reports, confirming that September 12th is most likely the announcement date of the next generation iPhone 5. Apple’s next gen iPhone is expected to be accompanied by an iPad Mini, possibly an iPod touch and the public release of iOS 6.

Hulu Plus, the popular streaming television service was introduced a little more than two years ago, making primetime television shows from popular US channels available for streaming on a number of mobile devices, including game systems and Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

On Tuesday, the streaming giant brought their service over to the Apple TV, for users to stream on their HDTV. Hulu made an official announcement of the arrival of the service on the Apple TV on their Hulu Blog.

Keeping up with the latest episode of Family Guy, MasterChef and New Girl on Hulu Plus just got a little easier. And my living room just got a whole lot happier.

Hulu Plus arrives on Apple TV today.

Hulu Plus is available for $7.99 / month subscription and requires an account for use on the Apple TV. It has numerous categories for movies and TV shows such as popular, favorite, and recent which can be navigated with the physical Apple TV remote or the Apple Remote app.

For those of you who are new to the service, Hulu Plus is the only online premium video subscription that streams current and classic TV programming on demand from hundreds of content partners, including top broadcast networks ABC, NBC, FOX, The CW and Univision. Hulu Plus subscribers can watch on any enabled devices for $7.99/month with limited advertising. For many popular shows on our service, Hulu Plus offers every episode of the current season.

Hulu Plus on Apple TV is currently only available in the United States and is subscription based with limited ads.

{via iMore}

The release date of iPhone 5 and iPad Mini has been the cause of speculation for several months now. Multiple news sources and rumor sites have found images, mockups, and even parts of iPhone 5 and iPad mini. According to a report from iMore, Apple’s next generation iPhone 5, new iPod nano, and all new 7.85 inch iPad mini are all going to be announced during special media event on September 12th.

The iPad mini will be announced at the same September 12 event, as will the new iPod nano. We haven’t heard a release date for the iPad mini yet, but it could be the same as the iPhone 5. It seems likely the new iPod touch will make an appearance on September 12 as well, though we haven’t heard any specific information about that yet either.

The report also mentions that following the announcement on the 12th, Apple will likely release the iPhone 5 for sale on September 21st. Apple announced the iPhone 4S on October 4th last year, and released it on October 14th leading to speculation that the company may do the same again and release the iPhone a couple of weeks after announcement.

Although in reports, the next generation iPhone is referred to as “iPhone 5”, it is also very likely that Apple will simply call it “the new iPhone”, much like “the new iPad”, released several months ago. The report also notes that the 7.85” iPad and even iPod touch 5th gen is slated for announcement that day, although details on the 5th gen iPod touch are not confirmed. The iPad mini was entirely rumor based initially, a number of credible reports from NYTimes and WSJ have essentially suggested that there is indeed such a device in existence.

The sixth generation iPhone is expected to have a taller 4-inch screen, high speed LTE networking, a smaller dock connector and unibody construction. iMore has a proven track record with release dates, correctly reporting the launch date for the iPad 3 and the pre-order date for the iPhone 4S.

{via MacRumors}

Late last month, Apple introduced a standalone Podcasts app, pulling the service out of the Music app on iOS and building a new UI around it. However, soon after release, it became apparent that the app was ridden with numerous bugs as with any introduction of a new user interface or application.

On Wednesday, the Cupertino company addressed these issues with an update to the Podcasts application. Aside from performance and stability improvements, the app has also gained the following:

• Ability to remember custom playback speeds when flipping through new episodes
• Badges in Podcast library to identify number of unplayed episodes
• Fixes issue causing “Subscribe” button to defect and not operate properly
• More reliable artwork for “Top Stations”
• Miscellaneous bug fixes

Apple continues to remove smaller services built into iTunes and give them their own standalone applications and user interfaces. The app is currently offered as a free download on the App Store {iTunes Link} for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

{via The Verge}

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has reported on upcoming 5th gen iPod touch and iPod nano models, and revealed details on the design and internals of the devices. Earlier this week, Kuo also revealed details about the iPad Mini, mentioning that this smaller iPad, along with a tweaked full sized iPad would be released following the announcement of the iPhone 5.

Kuo claims that Apple will likely release the iPhone 5 sometime early on in the September-October timeframe, leaving time for the company to release a tweaked iPad, and the smaller “iPad Mini”. With component shortages and a short sale time, Kuo believes that the unit sales will only be slightly higher than the second quarter.

iPhone 5 to debut in September. But due to in-cell touch panel and casing yield rate limits, ability to offset older models’ shipments decrease will be moderate.

In his report, Kuo went on to estimate that Apple will sell 1.8 million units during the period of its introduction, and will surpass the estimated 13 million units of the full sized iPad in the fourth quarter. The iPad Mini is reportedly going to debut in late September, following an increase in production in August.

Aside from the iPad Mini, Kuo also notes that the full sized iPad will be tweaked, most likely on the internals to reduce cost and adjust thermal issues. Kuo’s claims confirm a report earlier in the year from Digitimes, which suggested that an upcoming iPad refresh would include a thinner enclosure, IGZO display, and technology to address heat dissipation.

Many of the claims addressed by Kuo about the iPad Mini, iPad, iPhone and iPods appear to confirm previous rumors on the web for several weeks. It is very likely that Apple will release an iPhone 5 this fall, followed by a tweaked full sized iPad and even an iPad Mini. However, the finite details about the release remain unknown, such as the IGZO display and thinner profile. The iPad Mini and tweaked iPad are expected during the September/October timeframe, the same time frame for the next generation iPhone and the public release of iOS 6.

{via MacRumors — Image Credit: CiccareseDesign}