Apple Media Event September 9, 2015

Posted on September 7, 2015 by JoeSolutions

Apple is planning to hold a media event on Wednesday, September 9 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California.
apple_invite_sept_2015_large

This year’s iPhone-centric event is expected to see the debut of the next-generation iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, which, according to rumors, will include a reinforced body constructed from stronger 7000 Series aluminum, Force Touch, an A9 processor, 2GB RAM, and an improved camera.

Rumors have also suggested Apple will use the event to unveil the next-generation Apple TV, a major update from the existing set-top box. It will include a redesigned chassis with an A8 processor, more storage space, and a touch-based remote control, along with a new software system that includes Siri support and a full App Store.

We’ll also get an update on the launch dates of iOS 9 and watchOS 2, and shortly after the event ends, we may see golden master software releases for the two software updates ahead of their final public launch.

Apple will be live streaming the media event on the web for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and PC users.

[macrumors.com]
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“Unjailbreak” iOS device without Restoring in iTunes

Posted on July 19, 2015 by JoeSolutions

One of the biggest pet peeves with jailbreaking iOS devices was that if a user wanted to get rid of his/her jailbreak, they would have to restore to the latest version of iOS via iTunes.

Not anymore!!

Cydia Impactor is out for jailbroken devices. It lets you restore iOS to stock setup without using Restore functionality in iTunes, without updating iPhone or iPad to latest version of iOS firmware and without losing the ability for the device to jailbreak – all on the same version of iOS.

Cydia-Substrate main

Here’s a step by step guide on to unjailbreak iOS on your jailbroken iPhone, iPad or iPod touch using Cydia Impactor.

Important notes:

  • Cydia Impactor is compatible with iOS 8.4 and 8.3 only.
  • Works with all iPhone, iPad and iPod touch models except iPod touch 6.
  • This is a beta release.

Step 1: On your jailbroken device, launch Cydia and install Cydia Impactor.

cydiaimpactor3

Step 2: Backup all of your data to either iTunes or iCloud.

Step 3: Turn off Find My iPhone from Settings > iCloud > Find My iPhone.

Step 4: Plug-in your device, and make sure it is more than 50% charged.

Step 5: Now launch Cydia Impactor.

Step 6: Tap on ‘delete all data and unjailbreak device’ at the bottom of the screen, followed by tapping on ‘Delete All’.

cydiaimpactor1

Step 7: Unjailbreak process will now begin. Just be patient and wait for the process to complete. This can take time depending on the data on the device and number of jailbreak tweaks installed.

cydiaimpactor2

Once done, the jailbreak, all of the data and all of the settings will be completely removed from the device. It will go back to stock and original setup. You will be greeted with the familiar looking ‘Hello’ welcome screen of iOS from where you can set up your device and Activate it again.

hello screen

If you want to re-jailbreak, you can do so using available jailbreak tools such as TaiG or PP.

[Adapted from Redmonpie]
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New iOS Bug Crashing iPhones Simply by Receiving a Text Message

Posted on May 27, 2015 by JoeSolutions

A new bug has been discovered in the Messages app, allowing a string of characters sent to a person via iMessage or SMS to crash an iPhone and cause the Messages app to crash after being opened. The bug, which requires a specific string of symbols and Arabic characters to be sent, was first noticed on reddit earlier this afternoon and has been spreading around the Internet since then.

Sending the string of characters to an iPhone results in an immediate respring, causing an iPhone to crash and quickly reboot. From there, if the Messages app was opened at a list view, the Messages app crashes automatically when you try to open it. If it was opened to the conversation where you received the message, the app will open, but attempting to go to another conversation causes Messages to crash.

messagescrashingbugMacRumors tested the bug on iPhones running iOS 8.3, but it may also be affecting other versions of iOS.

If you receive one of these messages, there are a few possible fixes that have worked for us and for other people who have encountered the bug. If the Messages app was opened to the conversation with the person who sent the offending message, the Messages app can be reopened to this conversation. Sending a reply message fixes the problem.

If Messages was opened to the conversation list view, the app will crash when you attempt to open it. You can fix this by having someone send you a message or by sending a message to yourself. There are several options for sending a message to yourself, including sending yourself a message via Siri or through the Share sheet in any app.

To send yourself a message in Siri, tell Siri to “Send a message to myself.” Siri will open up a dialogue where you can give her a quick message like “Fix” that’ll be sent to your iPhone to clear away the malicious message.

Alternatively, you can open an app like Notes, craft a quick note, and use the Share option (the little document with an arrow) to message it to yourself. Sending yourself something though the share sheet of an app opens a new messages window where you can enter your own contact information.

According to a Twitter user who spoke to Apple support, Apple’s engineers are aware of the problem and are working on a fix.

[macrumors.com]
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Ever Wondered Why iPhone’s 1GB of Memory Outperform Android devices with 2-3 GB Memory?

Posted on May 11, 2015 by JoeSolutions

Glyn Williams from Quora gives us one of the best explanations as to why iPhones running on 1GB worth of memory outperform Android devices running up to 3x that memory. 

“Servicing RAM uses power. So more memory = more power consumption.


Android apps using Java, recycle released memory using garbage collection.  


What this diagram shows is that garbage collectors are really awesomely fast if you have a relative memory footprint of 4 or 8.

In other words, you need four or eight times more memory, than you are actually using to be super efficient. But when the memory becomes constrained, that performance goes way down. 

This is why Android devices have all that RAM. 

iOS does not use this style of garbage collection and does not slow down in constrained memory environments. 

So 1GB for iOS results in more performance than 3GB for Android.”


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Dual-Core iPhone 6 Destroys Octa-Core Galaxy S6 In Graphics Performance

Posted on April 2, 2015 by JoeSolutions

According to a newly published set of test results, the Galaxy S6 with its octa-core processor finds itself bullied around by the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus with their dual-core chips and 1GB of RAM when it comes to graphics performance.

The Galaxy S6 is no doubt the best Android smartphone to come out of the Korean camp since a while, both on the design and performance front. The camera is brilliant, and so is the super-sharp Quad-HD display giving the phone a pixel density of 577ppi. However, this overkill of a display is what seems to be dragging down the performance of the phone in graphics intensive tasks.

As AppleInsider notes after conducting a series of performance tests on the Galaxy S6, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are clearly ahead of the super-phone from Samsung. All graphics performance tests based on various benchmarks show the significant hit that the Galaxy S6 is taking despite the fancy spec sheet the Korean giant touts.

iPhones have always been modest in the race to the latest specs, and Android devices are usually marketed and pitched as powerful and monstrous devices with their chunky CPU and GPU cores, RAM, and Quad-HD displays, but rarely has that threatened to out-perform iPhones and iPads.

“Samsung has pushed screen technology ahead of its own processor capabilities, resulting in extremely poor performance in high definition,” and interestingly it’s not just Samsung that has taken a hit from packing in more pixels in the display; “the iPhone 6 Plus resulted in graphics that were in some cases slower at their native resolution than 2013’s iPhone 5s: rendering a challenging OpenGL ES 3.0 3D scene dropped frame rates from 24.4 to 19.2 fps.”

gs6 vs iphone 6 benchmark graphics

The conclusion of the benchmark result is a simple one; as AppleInsider notes, Samsung has made “bad engineering choices,” and has opted to push better displays over key internal hardware, such as the GPU and CPU. And since the screen is bound to push more pixels around, like we mentioned before, the Galaxy S6 falls shorts in terms of performance when compared to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus bundled with Apple’s second-gen 64-bit A8 chip, even though the Korean giant’s new flagship comes packed with 3GB of RAM – 2.6GB user available. The real winner for Apple here is the display, which is sharp enough to give users that indistinguishable pixel experience, and at the same time, keep performance as top-notch as possible. Lastly, Apple has the killer advantage of optimizing its software according to its hardware, giving it the edge over everyone else in the industry.

iPhones and iPads have always been in a league of their own when it comes to mobile gaming, and with the recent Metal technology being deployed in iOS 8, Apple is really pushing the boundaries of mobile graphics. At the end, Apple’s decision to stick to a pixel density that is not exactly overkill will continue to pay off pretty well against the likes of the Galaxy S6 with all its bling.

[Source: Redmond pie]

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March 9, 2015 Apple Event Roundup

Posted on March 11, 2015 by JoeSolutions

If you missed Apple’s event on Monday, here’s a brief summary of what happened. Alternatively, you could click here and download and watch the entire keynote.

apple-watch

Apple Watch

We learned a lot about the Apple Watch. The jury is still out on how useful it will be, but it certainly gets points for being “cool.”

In one demo, Apple’s Kevin Lynch demonstrated how the Apple Watch can be used as a hotel room key to bypass the hotel check-in counter. The built-in speaker and microphone make the Apple Watch a dream come true for Dick Tracy fans that remember his wristwatch radio.

With the Apple Watch Sport starting at $349, the Apple Watch starting at $549 and the Apple Watch Edition starting at $10,000, there seems to be something for everyone.

Apple TV

Apple announced a big partnership with Time Warner’s (NYSE: TWX) HBO to bring HBO content to the Apple TV through a new streaming service called HBO Now. At $14.99 per month, the streaming service is a direct attack against Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), and I believe this move to be one of the most under-appreciated announcements of the day.

HBO Now will debut in April ahead of the new season of “Game of Thrones” and will, for now, only be available through Apple TV and iOS devices. Meanwhile, Apple TV will now be sold for $69 – down from $99.

ResearchKit

ResearchKit is a new way for medical researchers to tap into the user base and capabilities of the iPhone. The concept is simple: Apple will allow medical researchers to develop apps that use the iPhone’s various sensors to aid in medical research. A video featuring medical researchers included quotes such as:

  • “Methods for conducting medical research haven’t really changed in decades.”
  • “We can now engage unprecedented numbers of people.”
  • “It is going to change research for every condition that’s out there.”

Considering the rumors that Apple has been hiring medical device and other medical experts, ResearchKit doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Health is clearly an area of focus for the future of Apple, and this platform seems to be a very worthy application of Apple’s carefully polished technology.

Mac

According to Apple, Mac has outgrown the rest of the laptop industry in each of the last 10 years. Last year alone, MacBook sales grew by 20% while the industry shrank.

So obviously Apple would avoid trying to fix something that wasn’t broken, right?

Wrong.

Sure, Apple’s old MacBook is an award-winning laptop that is adored by consumers. But the new MacBooks announced today are incredible – and an incredible upgrade from the previous generation.

The new MacBook features what Apple calls the most advanced keyboard ever, plus a pressure-sensitive TrackPad for additional navigation features. What’s more, the new MacBook weighs just 2 pounds and is just 13.1 millimeters thick. It looks like a smaller, sleeker version of the popular MacBook Air.

Meanwhile, the new MacBook requires no fan because of its efficiency upgrades, making it completely silent.

At a reasonable and familiar starting price of $1,299, I expect this new MacBook to be wildly popular.

[adapted from Jay Taylor]

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A Jailbreak Tweak Can Permanently Brick Your iPhone Or iPad

Posted on February 17, 2015 by JoeSolutions

DON’T INSTALL TWEAKS FROM UNTRUSTED REPOSITORIES!

Here’s why:

Jailbreak iPhone

As jailbreaking iOS devices has gotten easier over the years, the likelihood of bricking them in the process has reduced. But don’t think your device is safe once jailbreaking is complete. One developer has discovered an exploit that can brick iPhones and iPads permanently.

Redditor arcticsn0w has created a proof-of-concept tweak called KilliOS that, once installed, prevents your iOS device from ever booting up again. It’s irreversible, so if it happens to make its way onto your iPhone or iPad, there is no going back.

What’s worrying is that the exploit is based on a recent bootcolor-changing jailbreak tweak from dayt0n that alters a device’s VRAM. While arcticsn0w doesn’t intend to break devices with his code, he has made it available to prove how dangerous it can be.

“It is an empty package which messes with NVRAM values in the postinst script, and then forces a reboot,” arcticsn0w explains in his original Reddit post. “Installing this package will instantly kill your device.”

KilliOS is supposed to serve as a warning to jailbreakers; it is meant to demonstrate that unknown tweaks from untrusted sources could quite easily render your iPhone or iPad completely unusable. If you don’t always use safe repos, then, this should be an eye-opener for you.

RedmondPie reports that arcticsn0w never intended for KilliOS to be malicious, but rather to prove what malicious code can do. He did make it available to download via his own repo initially, but he quickly pulled it and made the source code available via GitHub instead.

The hope is that other developers will be able to use that source code to create a patch that can prevent KilliOS and similar packages from doing permanent damage to iOS devices. One Redditor has already created a “quick fix” that will prevent certain scripts from bricking your device, but it doesn’t yet block KilliOS.

Jailbreaking doesn’t have to be unsafe; if you stick to trusted repositories — those provided by default in Cydia — you shouldn’t have to worry about malicious code like this. But if you add untrusted repos manually and download unrecognized packages, you’re asking for trouble.

[via Redmond Pie]

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iOS 8.1.2 Safe For Jailbreakers

Posted on December 10, 2014 by JoeSolutions

Apple pushed iOS 8.1.2 last night citing fixes for issues relating to purchased ringtones disappearing. While this usually means bad news for jailbreakers, we can confirm that iOS 8.1.2 does not break the kernel exploit that allows for an untethered jailbreak and TaiG has been updated to v1.2.0 to support iOS 8.1.2

You can download Taig from here and enjoy the latest update for iOS with all the jailbreak perks!

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Why Are iOS OTA Updates Small In Size But Require ~10 Times Free Storage To Install?

Posted on October 21, 2014 by JoeSolutions

ios 8 features Why iOS updates look small in size but require more than 10x storage capacity

A few weeks back Reddit user “kapits” asked a fairly interesting question regarding iOS 8 updates and the storage required to install them.

Why iOS update is 75MB but requires 1.5GB to install?

The answer came from Reddit user, “StarManta”, who gave a pretty good explanation:

Because that 75 MB contains 3kb of changes to make to this 1MB file, and 2kb of changes to make to this 2MB file, etc etc. When it installs, it has to load the original file, duplicate it, apply the changes, and then return the file to its original place and delete the original.

So why don’t they just do this one file at a time, instead of doing them all at once? I am guessing this has to do with safety. If you do it one file at a time and the process gets interrupted, you can end up with a half-applied update and completely bricked phone. On the other hand, if you store all the modified files until the last second, there is a much smaller chance of the process being interrupted at a crucial point, and he phone can more easily fall back to its previous functional state.

So there you have it. Apple heavily compresses installation files to dramatically reduce the chances of your phone being bricked in the event something goes wrong. Is it a pain? Sure. Especially if you have to delete a bunch of stuff. But would you rather have a bricked phone? Probably not.

Hopefully Apple can find a middle ground in the future that prevents their devices from being bricked but doesn’t require so much storage to install. 16GB owners aren’t too happy right now.

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How To Watch Apple’s iPad Event Live

Posted on October 16, 2014 by JoeSolutions

Apple's October 16 iPad event

Apple’s October 16 event where is it is widely expected to unveil iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, Retina iMac starts in less than 12 hours from now.

The good news is that Apple has announced that it will be live streaming the event.

If you want to watch the event here’s how you can live streaming the event:

Apple TV:

If you have Apple TV 3 or Apple TV 2 with Apple TV software 5.0.2 or later, then you should see an “Apple Events” channel with the October 16 ‘It’s been way too long’ logo on the main menu to watch the event live on your television. Note, Apple hasn’t added the channel yet, but it should go live soon.

Mac:

If plan to watch it on your Mac, then launch Safari browser and point it to the following url: http://www.apple.com/live/ [Please note it won’t on other browsers.]

iPad, iPhone or iPod touch:

If you plan to watch it on an iOS device, then point mobile Safari to the same URL – http://www.apple.com/live/

PC

Unfortunately, the live stream works only on Apple devices. You can’t watch the live stream of the event on your PC, Linux or Android devices. It won’t work on Safari for Windows. .

What time will the event start:

The event is set to kick off at 10:00 am PT. Check our post to find out when Apple’s September 9 event will start in your time zone.

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