Kiran Upadhyay

Apple’s iOS 8 mobile operating system is now rolling out to devices eligible for the update. It’s available both over-the-air, and by plugging your device into iTunes for a wired update, but don’t panic if you can’t see it right away, or if you’re having trouble actually downloading the software: Apple typically stages the rollout of big updates like this one to ease the strain, and there’s going to be tremendous demand on their servers for tat least the next several hours. To prepare for your iOS 8 update, you should definitely plug in and back up, using iCloud if that’s your preferred method, or by syncing to your computer. It might be a good idea to do both if you’re extremely paranoid about losing your data. I’m partial to the “clean slate” approach, where you start fresh and reinstall only the apps you find you need For a wireless update, navigate to ‘Settings,’ then ‘General’ and then ‘Software Update,’ and if it’s available to your device, it should load and prompt you to

Microsoft has built a universal hardware keyboard for the three operating systems that have large global market share: iOS, Android, and Windows. The new piece of metal, called the ‘Universal Mobile Keyboard,’ will be available in October. The device marks the continuance of the company’s cross-platform efforts, but in something of a new way: The keyboard is hardware, made for all, and is not a software iteration of an extant Microsoft product brought to a rival platform. That’s to say it is slightly different to build a keyboard that can pair with an iPad, than it is to bring Office to Android tablets, as the company is also doing. The Bluetooth-capable keyboard can pair with three devices and has a tool to let users quickly switch between their various operating systems. A home key has been included that works across device class. So why in the name of gracious god is Microsoft doing this? The answer is actually pretty simple: If you want to sell Office across every operat

Apple has sold a record number of iPhones during its initial pre-order weekend sales, topping the charts with 4 million units moved between when it kicked off pre-sales early Friday morning and the end of the same day. The store experienced some technical problems owing to volume, but that didn’t stop the 6 Plus from selling out quickly, followed by the iPhone 6 later in the morning. Apple claimed a “record” number of preorders on September 12, before announcing the official total today. That’s twice the number of pre-orders achieved in 24 hours by the iPhone 5 back in 2012, which managed two million pre-orders in its initial day of pre-sales. Apple didn’t publicly release pre-order numbers for the initial day of iPhone 5s and 5c sales last year, but estimates pegged them at somewhere around 2.2 million according to some analyst projections. Apple starts selling the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in its retail stores beginning September 19 at 8 AM local time, and in carrier partner stores p

I'm not here to tell you what music you should be listening to, but I can tell you I haven't really liked an album that U2 has put out since 1991's Achtung Baby. That's why I wasn't really excited when Tim Cook and Bono told me I could download the band's new album, Songs of Innocence, for free on iTunes as part of Apple's big product event yesterday. Thanks but no thanks, fellas. I forgot that the album release even happened within an hour of leaving the Flint Center yesterday, which is why I was surprised to see it show up in my iTunes library all by itself today. I had assumed the album would be something you'd need to opt into, but apparently in its quest to be part of the "biggest album release in history," Apple went ahead and attached it to iTunes accounts by default. It has begun to show up in iTunes libraries automatically, and if you have automatic music downloads enabled on your iPhone, it may have even downloaded without you re

As soon as Apple announced the new, larger iPhones, cries went up, prompted by the sheer size of the new devices. “Will it fit in the pocket of my skinny jeans?” “How will it sit in my small hands?” “Can it double as a cheeseboard?” These valid questions are hard to answer without a tangible representation with which to test. Enter 3D printers. There are several 3D files available for free download from Makerbot’s Thingiverse that should help alleviate the anxiety of the larger iPhones. Simply print the files and then live with the scale models over the coming days. You might find that the larger iPhone 6 isn’t the burden it appears. Remember, select Staples stores and local print shops have been slowly adding 3D printing to their available services. There are also non-working, scale dummy phones available for purchase from Amazon and elsewhere. For around $10, buyers can acquire fake iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus models that look and feel nearly like the real thing. Or, of cour

Editor’s note: Philip Inghelbrecht is a co-founder of Shazam, investor in 8tracks, and a paying Spotify subscriber. Of all industry roller coasters, the music industry must be the wildest. The last 30 years reshaped the business in a way we never could have imagined. Music as a product changed dramatically (e.g. from LPs to MP3s) and the ups and downs in worldwide sales would make the most hardened theme park visitor queasy. Nonetheless, we have yet to experience the biggest switchback on this rollercoaster ride. The clues for what’s around the next turn lie in a sister industry — movies. Let’s start by taking a look at the music industry. According to the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) revenue peaked at $38bn worldwide in 1999, collapsed down to $16 billion (2011), edged up somewhat the year after, only to fall back down again to $15 billion last year (2013). The transition from analogue to digital played an important role in all of this: it m

Seriously. Go look. Depending on your iCloud setting, U2’s latest album might be sitting in the Music app, ready to play. Otherwise, the album is most likely still shown, available to download from iCloud from your iPhone, iPad, or iTunes app. Worse yet, it’s rather difficult to rid your phone and iTunes account of the album. Yesterday at the iPhone 6 launch event, Bono and Tim Cook jointly unleashed this scourge on the iTunes world by daintily touching the tips of their fingers. Seriously, it was awkward. Cook called the album release the largest in history — something that’s easily obtainable when you push it to millions and millions of devices. Now, Songs of Innocence is everywhere, seemingly on nearly every iPhone and iPod and iTunes account. I, for one, do not want this on my iPhone, but there is little that can be done. Sadly you cannot totally purge the songs from your iTunes account. You can only hide the songs from the local iTunes account, but they will continue to l

During its iPhone 6 launch event this morning, Apple announced the Apple Watch, its first foray into the world of wearable tech. It’s a smartwatch with inductive charging, a square face, sapphire glass, swappable bands, a heartbeat sensor and a rotating digital crown. Users will be able to choose between six different straps, including a sport band, a leather loop, a classic leather buckle and a stainless steel strap that is easily adjustable. The watch will come in two different sizes and three different collections: Watch, Watch Sport and Watch Edition. Unsurprisingly, the Apple Watch will only work in conjunction with an iPhone, but you will need a relatively recent model, starting with the iPhone 5. “We love to make new products that improve people’s lives. We love to make things that allow our users to make things that they could never have imagined,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said today. “We think it will redefine what people expect from its category.” He called it “the next ch

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus represent Apple’s new flagship products, and they’re a big change from what came before: The 4.7-inch 6 has a new, Retina HD resolution display, and smooth, rounded edges and a smooth transition between the actual glass protecting the screen and the rest of the casing. It also has an improved camera, and what might be its most exciting super-power: Apple Pay, which uses NFC tech to let the device authorize payments quickly using Touch ID as an authentication step. The 6 Plus has all that, plus optical image stabilization and an even bigger battery. iPhone 6 In the hand, the iPhone 6 definitely feels noticeably larger, but what’s remarkable is that it doesn’t feel significantly bulky. The rounded sides and thin, lightweight chassis kind of harken back to older devices, in fact, like the iPhone 3GS and earlier, but the more premium materials used here add another dimension of quality. Reaching across the device to tap the top corner isn’t uncomfortable, de

If you purchased the iPhone 5 early in its life and your battery seems to need charging more often than usual, pay attention: Apple has just announced an iPhone 5 battery replacement program for phones that "may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently." The affected phones were all sold in the first few months of the iPhone 5's life, between September of 2012 and January of 2013. Apple's program page, linked above, will tell you if your phone is eligible based on its serial number, which can be found in iOS' Settings app under the "About" subheading. Affected users will need to take their phone to an Apple service provider, an Apple Retail Store, or make arrangements with Apple's phone support technicians. Before taking your phone in for repair, Apple recommends that you back your data up using iCloud or iTunes, turn off the Find My iPhone service, and reset the phone to its factory default settings. The

Apple has revealed (with plenty of notice for once) that it will live stream the event it’s holding next week on September 9 at 10 AM PT. That means users will be able to tune in on their devices, so long as they can run Safari 5.1.10 or later on desktop or Safari on iOS 6 or later. Apple TV owners with second- or third-generation devices will also be able to get in on the action. Typically, Apple has been providing live video feeds of its events alongside the invitations for select members of the press and tech community to attend in-person. This means people can watch along as the announcements are made. As usual, however, Apple requires a specific setup to be able to participate, which favors users that already own either a Mac, an iOS device or an Apple TV. Anyone else, as well as those who can’t exactly justify watching a live video feed in the middle of the day, can tune in to our liveblog right here at the same time. For those keeping track, we expect the reveal of the new

Apple’s new spaceship-style campus is one of the last things on the company’s mind right now, with the iPhone launch looming just over the horizon. However, that hasn’t stopped some curious folks from peeking around over at the construction site. YouTuber jmcminn has captured video on a GoPro Hero 3+ using a Phantom 2 drone, and the end result shows us the foundation of this building for the first time. Earlier shots of the construction site were pretty much just pictures of crop circles in the dirt. This video not only takes a look at the circular building structure, but shows just how big the campus is in relation to the neighboring buildings. Apple has been planning this new campus for a long time, with the city of Cupertino giving the company permission to get started back in 2012. Of course, compared to the mockups we saw back in November, the video can be a bit of a let down. But it’s Labor Day weekend, which gives you a bit more time to use your imagination.

As Apple inches closer to its news event on September 9, there has been growing speculation that mobile payments will be a part of the action. Apple, the reports say, will add NFC technology to the iPhone 6, and it will debut a mobile wallet-style service that could include integrations with American Express, Visa and MasterCard and possibly PayPal to enable physical, in-store payments using the smartphone. The reports of Apple finally making the mobile payments jump seem to have redoubled this year, boosted by positive payment comments from Apple CEO Tim Cook himself. If the reports are accurate, a mobile payments service from Apple would have been a long time in the making, coming after years of speculation involving potential acquisitions; lots of patents; a steadily growing pile of consumer credit card data from its (likely over) 800 million iTunes accounts; and as a counterbalance to moves from would-be competitors. It also could not come at a better time, considering

Whether you’ve ever built an iOS app or not, you’ve probably heard tales of how frustrating it can be to get Apple’s stamp of approval. But why does Apple reject apps? What are the big mistakes that most developers make? In the first release of what looks to be something Apple intends to update regularly, the company has published a running Top 10 list of the most common reasons apps get rejected. Here’s the list as published when the page first launched Alas, two of the biggest “reasons” seem like fuzzy catch-alls: number one is “More information needed”. Maybe your app’s description is weak. Maybe you forgot to include a link for a support page. Whatever the case, Apple expects some information that you didn’t provide. Number three, “Did not comply with terms in the Developer Program License Agreement”, is equally broad. The other 8, though, are pretty specific. The biggest, specificly-defined issue? Bugs. At the time of publishing, the top 10 reasons account for ne

Apple has a new patent granted by the USPTO today (via AppleInsider) that describes various control mechanisms that could be used with flexible displays, to replace components such as physical buttons with more durable and resilient alternatives, and to create alternate means for detecting sound output, providing haptic feedback and even performing other tricks like making it easier to open a MacBook lid. The Apple patent describes various ways to use a flexible display for various input methods at length, pointing out ways that you can put flexible display material over actuators to create new buttons on-demand. It also provides methods for overlaying them on existing button features found in the iPhone, like the Home button, effectively providing access to it while still protecting it and providing a continuous surface for the user. Using the flexible display over top of the buttons and switches has another benefit – it allows Apple to potentially extend screen space, making i

Apple has sent out invites to a special event it’s holding on September 9, where we will almost certainly get our first official look at the next iPhone. The invites follow a previous report from Re/code pegging Tuesday, September 9 as the date, and the event’s timing is consistent with the launch of the iPhone dating back to to the iPhone 4S, when Apple began releasing new versions of its smartphone in the fall instead of in the early summer. The event will almost definitely see the introduction of one, if not two new iPhone models. Scuttlebutt is that we’ll see at least a 4.7-inch iOS-powered smartphone and maybe one larger 5.5 inch model introduced by Apple at the event. Though only one might launch a few weeks after, with the larger version shipping later. Apple has been reportedly gearing up to provide sapphire-based displays in at least some of these devices, which could offer benefits in terms of durability and resistance to scratches and shattering. This event is a b

If you purchased the iPhone 5 early in its life and your battery seems to need charging more often than usual, pay attention: Apple has just announced an iPhone 5 battery replacement program for phones that "may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently." The affected phones were all sold in the first few months of the iPhone 5's life, between September of 2012 and January of 2013. Apple's program page, linked above, will tell you if your phone is eligible based on its serial number, which can be found in iOS' Settings app under the "About" subheading. Affected users will need to take their phone to an Apple service provider, an Apple Retail Store, or make arrangements with Apple's phone support technicians. Before taking your phone in for repair, Apple recommends that you back your data up using iCloud or iTunes, turn off the Find My iPhone service, and reset the phone to its factory default settings. The

Apple has created an iPhone 5 battery replacement program after it released a statement saying that it had discovered a “very small percentage” of units “may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently.” This iPhone 5 battery replacement program is the second to arrive. Late last year, Apple had a replacement program for iPhone 5s units with battery life issues. Apple says the affected iPhone 5 units were sold between the month of it’s launch, September 2012, and January 2013. The support site features a tool to check if your serial number belongs to a faulty iPhone 5. The replacement program is available at Apple Retail Stores, Authorized Apple Service Providers, and via AppleCare, in the US and China first. Those outside those countries will have to wait till August 29th. As per us usual, you’re advised to backup you data, Turn off Find my iPhone, and Erase all Content and Settings before arriving to get the battery replaced. If you had

Apple introduced its set-top digital media player in 2007, and it’s currently on its third generation of hardware. Not a lot seem to have changed since the svelte streaming box was first introduced – so can we really recommend purchasing it in 2014? The Apple TV costs $99 and goes head to head with the likes of similarly priced products like the Roku 3 ($99), the slightly more interactive Amazon Fire TV ($99) and in many ways Google’s far cheaper Chromecast ($35). In addition to delivering online and networked content from your PC or Mac, the Apple TV is the company’s flagship AirPlay receiver. Wireless streaming, movies for rent and deep integration with the Apple ecosystem – what’s not to like about the Apple TV? We’ll tell you in this review, and then we’ll give it away to one lucky reader. Introducing the Apple TV This is the first revision of the third generation of Apple TV hardware running iOS 7.1.2, but not as you know it. It’s a hundred dollar media streamer that pro