30 percent of iOS users upgraded to iOS 7 in the first 16 hours, according to data from tracking company Mixpanel. As we fanboys love to do, compare with the Carrier-controlled Android ecosystem where you have to go back to last year’s Android 4.1 to find numbers close to that:

9to5Mac readers were of course way ahead of the game … 

9to5Mac was seeing close to the current numbers a full three days ago before iOS7 was released to the general public (Developers, Developers, Developers!) . This is September 15th:

And right now,...

Thanks to limited inventory, Apple will likely sell between 5 million and 6 million iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s models combined during their first weekend of availability. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster expects that number could higher, but constraints on iPhone 5s inventory will limit just how much the company can sell.

The Mac Observer Spin:
If Apple's iPhone 5 inventory is extremely low and sells out during launch weekend the company can say demand is high, but if units are still available come next Monday it's a safe bet the media will rake the company over the coals regardless of how high or low inventory levels were.

Releasing an app is stressful. Once you've got a great idea you need to start development process of getting the art, code, and text in order. And when that's done, and your shiny new app is ready for release, you face the review process which is largely just a waiting game. How many days will you wait to find out if your app has been approved? Good news, now there's a way to find out.

Shiny Development is helping out with ReviewTimes, a site that roughly tracks the average time an app waits for Apple to review it for both the iOS and Mac App Stores. Using crowdsourced data from iOS and Mac developers on Twitter, the site provides an average of how long developers are waiting to get approval.

Developers submit their data by tweeting their latest review time with either #iosreviewtime or #macreviewtime. As of press time the average iOS Store wait time was seven days based on 425 reviews in the past 14 days, while...

Earlier this week, we noted that Apple has begun allowing users on older versions of iOS to download older versions of their previously purchased apps. This feature exists because some iOS users are running hardware that no longer supports newer versions of App Store applications. At launch, this feature was auto-activated for all developers, and these developers were not able to manage what users on older hardware could download. Now, Apple has informed developers that they could manage the availability of their legacy software:

...

Apple made sweeping changes in iOS 7 and left few stones unturned in the core system apps that ship in the OS. Another app that saw some profound changes is the Calendar app, which was the recipeint of a significant visual overhaul.

UI

Gone is the grey-blue look in the iOS 6 version of the Calendar. Replacing it is a bleached white UI that is accented only by the black text, red navigation elements and color markers highlighting important dates. Though striking, it is minimalist to the max and my be jarring to users expecting the color splash that graces the iOS7 homescreen. The layout is easy to figure out with the calendar in the middle and controls at the top and bottom. The top controls allow you to switch from a day view, month view and year view. There's also a search button and a "+" button to add a new event. The bottom lets you jump to the current date, select which calendars to view and and an inbox to view your invitations.

Year, Month and Week...

Before iOS 7 it was rather inconvenient to block a phone number, and there was nothing built into iOS that would allow you do so. If you got phone calls from Telemarketers you can always register your number for free on the National Do Not Call Registry. If you wanted to block specific people, you had to contact your carrier to do so. For example, with AT&T, you can pay $4.99 per month per line to block up to 30 numbers with their Smart Limits. With...

The 64-bit A7 chip used in the iPhone 5s is ‘only’ dual-core, rather than the quad-core most had assumed, according to chip review site AnandTech - and it has the same 1GB RAM as the iPhone 5. But no need to feel short-changed: the review concludes that dual-core is the optimum solution at present, and that real-life performance is better than anything else on the market.

All the benchmarks we’ve seen point to the iPhone 5s being the fastest phone out there by some considerable margin.

In a phone interview with CNET, Anand said:

 The tools that count cores query the [operating...

I wouldn’t normally buy a product like this. But this ad is spot-on perfect. Hits all the right notes. So well done, I had to share. There’s a lesson here on how to sell your product effectively.

KGI analyst Mingchi Kuo has released his estimates for iPhone sales over the launch weekend. The forecast is set at between 6 – 8 million units, accounting  for both the 5c and the 5s. Apple opted not to report preorder sales figures for the 5c, leading some to speculate that demand for the device is weak. Kuo’s guidance does not seem to reflect this as an issue, however.

In 2012, the iPhone 5 shipped 5 million units across its launch weekend. If Apple hit the upper limit of Kuo’s forecast, 8 million units, that would result in sales growth of about 60%.

However, Kuo warns that...

As we suspected when Apple added a warning to a pre-release version of iOS 7 that non-certified cables may not work reliably with iPhones, the launch version is actually blocking some of them from charging the phone. Certified cables contain a chip that allows them to authenticate.

We first spotted this in a Reddit post, and have since confirmed. The warning message itself is unchanged, but...

What we're seeing from Apple right now -- and how consumers respond -- will not only determine the company's future, but also shape our love for its products. It all hinges on the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. Hyperbole? No way. Come on, you might be thinking, aren't the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c just incremental updates to the iPhone 5? How can you turn a mild evolutionary release into something so important? Easy. The incremental release of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c represents Apple's core business model.

Just before the new iPhones launch, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Design chief Jony Ive, and Software head Craig Federighi have sat down with Bloomberg Businessweek for a wide-ranging interview. The interview does not reveal any breakthrough new information, but this seems to be the first time that Apple’s leadership has sat down for a joint interview…

The trio, which was in charge of Apple’s major iOS revamp, discuss designing iOS 7, collaboration, the new iPhones, and competition from Google’s Android operating system. First things first, Cook discussed the recent claims that “Apple is doomed:”

Ready to upgrade your phone to either the iPhone 5c or 5s? Well, we’ve got some good news and some bad news.

The bad news? Depending on your carrier, it might be more difficult than ever this year to upgrade your relatively recent iPhone for a brand-spanking-new model. The good news? Depending on how you upgrade this year, transitioning to next year’s new iPhone might be a breeze. It just depends on what you’re willing to pay.

And the neutral-ish news? The fact that Apple has split the iPhone into two product lines will have no bearing on your ability to upgrade to a new phone—there will be no special eligibility requirements for upgrading to the more-expensive 5s. An upgrade, it turns out, is just an upgrade, even if some upgrades are more significant than others. That means you just need to worry about which phone is right for you.

...

The iPhone 3GS sold more than one million units during its first weekend at market. The iPhone 4 sold more than 1.7 million. The iPhone 4S sold more four million, and the iPhone 5 more than five million. But those were all single devices. How many iPhones can Apple sell in a weekend when it’s peddling two new models, not just one?

Tough to gauge, obviously — particularly after last year’s abysmal slate of predictions. But that hasn’t stopped a few folks from trying a little prelaunch weekend entrail reading.

Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster was among the analysts issuing Wednesday research notes hazarding a guess as to how many units of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c Apple can sell between Friday and Monday. He expects Apple to sell between five million and six million iPhones over the weekend. At the...

Apple ships the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s on Friday, and Jeff and Bryan want to know who should buy which phone? They look at the ins and outs of both models, and talk about what kind of users will value the different features each has. They also talk about Apple's new "Plastic Perfected" commercial and the fact that the iBooks app was updated for iOS 7, and it's still skeuomorphic.

It was announced on Wednesday that Apple chairman Art Levinson has joined with Google in an initiative to combat aging and age-related health issues.
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Available today, Just Mobile has unveiled its latest products in mobile charging: the Just Mobile Highway Duo, Just Mobile Highway Max, and Just Mobile AluCable. The Highway Duo and Highway Max feature surge protection, mirco-LED green power light, and coiled cable to connect to your mobile device. The Highway Duo, priced at $40, supports both USB and Lightning (for iPhone) cable, and the Max, priced at $25, accommodates one USB cable. The Just Mobile AluCable provides tangle-free connection for iPhones, iPads and iPods with Lightning connectors. The Apple-certified USB-to-Lightning connector...
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Coupled with the release of iOS 7, MacRumors tips us off to the fact that Apple has quietly increased the size limit for apps (and other types of media files) users can download via a cellular connection. Now, users can use their cellular connection to download files that are as large as 100 MB. The previous size limit was 50 MB, a threshold that was frustrating given that many individual podcast episodes, for example, often check in at slightly more than 50 MB.

Given that countless developers are now intent on rolling out iOS 7-inspired app updates, the timing of the size increase is likely not a coincidence.

Apple increases size limit for cellular downloads to 100 MB originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple...

Apple has quietly released extensions for the Chrome and Firefox desktop browsers for Windows. The extensions allow Windows users to sync their Safari iOS bookmarks across the two browsers. Prior to the Firefox and Chrome extension release, iOS Safari bookmark syncing was limited to Windows Explorer via the iCloud Control Panel 2.1.2 for Windows app.

Users can download the Chrome extension from Google's Chrome web store. According to its release notes:

Keep your Chrome bookmarks up to date with the Safari bookmarks on your iPhone, iPad and Mac.
iCloud stores your website bookmarks, so they are everywhere you go -- on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and PC. So when it comes to your devices, you can...

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world.

You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.

No Flash? Click here to listen.

Subscribe via RSS

Daily Update for September 18, 2013 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 18 Sep 2013 21:15:00 EST. Please see our...

Epson America today introduced the latest addition to its line of Epson Perfection scanners -- the Epson Perfection V550 Photo. The Perfection V550 delivers 6400 DPI resolution, whether scanning film, slides, negatives, photos, or everyday documents. In addition, the scanner can create enlargements up to 17 x 22, as well as the ability to automatically upload scans directly to Facebook, Picasa and other popular social and cloud services....
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The launch of iOS 7 has seen major apps pushing out updates in order to bring their services in line with the new look of Apple's operating system, with Pandora, Gmail, and Amazon's Kindle App all issuing updates on Wednesday.
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The Skype app for iOS has been pushed out with some significant changes, all for the better. The app now lets you join voice calls from your iDevice. It also claims video and voice call quality improvements. FAQs are now built into the app, and the dial pad has been tweaked.

Skype is a free app, and is not universal, but both the iPhone and iPad versions have been updated. The Skype app requires iOS 5 or greater and is optimized for the iPhone 5.

Skype is one of the most popular communications apps for iOS, and the company claims 250 million users on all platforms worldwide. The app is free unless you want to call landlines, and then you can purchase time as an in-app extra.

...

The first iPhone and iOS 7 reviews are in from news organizations including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The New York Times:

Walter S. Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal recommends iPhone 5s “for anyone looking for a premium, advanced smartphone.” He calls the phone’s Touch ID fingerprint sensor “a potentially game-changing hardware feature” and iOS 7 “a radically new operating system.”

Ed Baig of USA Today looks at both iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. On the iPhone 5s, he writes, “Taken in totality, the features new to the iPhone 5s make what I consider to be the best smartphone on the market even better.” He concludes, “I can strongly recommend either new iPhone but especially the 5s.”

David Pogue of The New York Times posts two stories. In his iOS review he writes, “The structure, layout and features represent some of Apple’s best work.” In his iPhone review, he calls iPhone 5c “a terrific phone,” noting, “The price is right. It will sell like hot cakes...

Earlier today while Doc Rock and I were rockin' the TUAW TV Live show, I noticed a post by our editor-in-chief Victor Agreda, Jr. in which he bemoaned the fact that he could no longer get into list view for his calendar. Doc and I both figured that there had to be a way to do that, so we quickly started punching buttons on our iPhones to see where the list view was hiding. Doc suggested buying Readdle's Calendars5 app to get a list view, but I found the free answer before we told Victor to spend five bucks.

The answer? Click on the search icon in the Calendar app, AKA The Magnifying Glass. It does a "search all" of your calendars and displays the results in a long list. You can also, of course, narrow down the list results by typing in a search criteria like "TUAW TV".

The short video below (which can...

Note: I'll be updating a few times this week as I get my feet wet with iOS 7. Here's the second.

So I walked out of Tekserve and used Maps to find my hotel. I tried out iTunes Radio, but I was in a rush so I didn't have much time to set things up. Luckily Apple has asked some high-profile musicians to create some playlists under the "Featured Stations" section. I was worried I wouldn't know where to find iTunes Radio but the icon is pretty clear in the music player app. Soon I heard Jared Leto softly speaking in my ear, explaining his thinking behind the song choices on his playlist. His California playlist.

Maps is virtually the same as it was before, and I was never given audio prompts for the walking directions I asked for -- which is tradition.

Messages

Another...

If you have a wireless router that is more than 5 years old, you may want to start looking for a new one. I have several friends who have asked me why their brand-new computer seems to have such bad internet performance over WiFi. After some investigation, I found a range of old and outdated wireless routers to be the culprit. The team at Amped Wireless has the perfect solution for you.

Modernizing your Network with Amped Wireless

Amped Wireless offers a high-power dual-band WiFi router dubbed the RTA15. This router is an extremely fast (1 gigabit per second) extended-range connectivity center designed for the home and office. The RTA15 features the latest 802.11ac WiFi technology delivering up...

Apple has initiated an internal high priority alert to support staff indicating that activation server problems and other issues are preventing a large number of customers from activating their iPhones.
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Today Kensington, a mobile accessories company, announced that its Proximo app-enabled accessory, originally for iOS, is now compatible with Android. The Proximo system is designed to assist users in finding one's phone, keys or valuables easily, and ensures that misplacement doesn't occur.The Bluetooth 4.0 fob attaches to a user's keys, while an attachable tag can be used with a phone or other valuable, allowing users to then receive alerts when moving out of range from the other component. Proximo's app dashboard can track up to five items, including a customizable activity proximity meter....
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Although Apple has yet to announce preorder numbers for its iPhone 5c, one of two new iPhones being launched on Friday, one analyst believes the company will likely hit 5 to 6 million combined unit sales this weekend.
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Today, iOS 7 is being unleashed on the world. Since it may take you a wee bit of time to download the new mobile OS since everyone is trying to hit Apple's servers at the same time, Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd and I have decided to devote the entire episode to discussion and demonstrations of the new features of iOS 7.

To join in to watch the live feed and participate in the chat, just click here or click that image you see at the top of this post. You'll join us on the AOL On Network. If you can't watch the entire show today, come back to this page within 24 hours to see the video below or visit http://tuaw.com/tuawtvlive to see the latest show. Past shows are also available on the TUAW YouTube channel.

TUAW TV...

It’s finally here.

On Wednesday, Apple released iOS 7.0 and iOS 7.0.1 (depending on your iOS device), the long-anticipated new version of its operating system for its iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices. The new operating system, which weighs in as a several hundred to a 1.33 gigabyte download, offers the following fixes and changes:

- Control Center: Control Center gives you quick access to the controls and apps you always seem to need right this second. Just swipe up from any screen — including the Lock screen — to do things like switch to Airplane mode, turn Wi-Fi on or off, or adjust the brightness of your display. You can even shine a light on things with a new flashlight. Never has one swipe given you so much control.

- Notification Center: Notification Center lets you know about new mail, missed...

In previous versions of iOS, Spotlight -- Apple's search utility -- has always been available by going to the first home screen, then swiping right. In iOS 7, Spotlight is now available on every home screen. Here are two short videos to show you how to use Spotlight in iOS 7, and also how to change the order of search results.

To access Spotlight, simply swipe down on your home screen. Some sites have been mentioning that you need to be in the top row of apps or folders before beginning the swipe -- that's untrue, as you can be anywhere on the screen to begin the swipe. Here's the video (which can be resized to full screen, by the way):

Once you've swiped, Spotlight quickly fades into view. Type in your search phrase, and Spotlight provides a list of all eligible apps, contacts, music, podcasts, mail, events, messages, videos, audiobooks, notes, voice memos and reminders...

One of the biggest features in iOS 7 is the introduction of iTunes Radio, Apple's own personal take on streaming radio. Modeled slightly after Pandora, iTunes Radio enables users to create their own personalized music stations based on their existing tastes. On top of that, iTunes Radio also comes with a number of pre-set and featured stations encompassing a whole range of genres.

Like Pandora, you can indicate which songs you like and dislike, and over time, the musical selections chosen by iTunes Radio will more closely mirror your musical proclivities as the software "learns" your tastes.

Now one of the great things about services like Pandora and iTunes Radio is that it provides a gateway for folks to discover great new music. While Pandora relies upon what it likes to call the "music genome project" to select which songs a user hears next, Apple is reportedly employing the talents of music experts to ensure an enjoyable...

"We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas." - Steve Jobs, 1994

That quote may be almost two decades old now and the man who spoke it may no longer be with us, but with today's release of iOS 7 it's clear that Apple still very much believes in it. There are a ton of fantastic features in iOS 7 that have never been included in an iOS release before, but that doesn't make them original. In fact, there are several third-party apps that already do a lot of what makes iOS 7 so special, but by snatching those ideas and making them its own, Apple's own product becomes better -- and the ground beneath these apps begins to shrink.

Camera vs. Camera+

Camera+ is one of my all-time favorite iPhone apps, and I've been using it for years now. That said, with each new release of iOS, the gap between the functionality of Camera+ (...

Another day, another operating system, another Apple ad. Today's ad features the iPhone 5c and jauntily demonstrates how the colors of the iPhone 5c, the Apple-designed "holy case," and iOS 7 are all in sync in terms of the use of color. It's fun, it's bouncy, and it's embedded below.

Interestingly, you can see the actual song used in the ad -- Norwegian electronica duo Lemaitre's 1:18 -- visible in the Music app at about the 30 second mark.

New Apple ad: "Designed Together" originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 18 Sep 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple released iOS 7 today and along with it came a horde of updated apps that are ready for iOS 7. Some simply have a fresh coat of paint to match the flat design of iOS, while others add significant features under the hood. We will keep a running list of apps that are updated as the day goes on. Enjoy iOS 7 and all the newness it brings with it!

Screens 3 [iOS Universal; Category: Utilities; $19.99] Leave your computer behind and travel light! Screens is a beautiful, yet powerful Screen Sharing and VNC client that lets you connect back to your Mac, Windows or Linux PC from the comfort of your living room, the corner coffee shop or anywhere in the world.

Scratch - Your Quick-Input...

The Android version of BlackBerry Messenger will go live on Saturday, September 21st, followed by an iOS release on Sunday, BlackBerry has confirmed. The launches may be timed to coincide with a rumored Friday event in Jakarta, Indonesia. Regardless, the apps will mark the first time BBM has expanded beyond BlackBerry devices....
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Alongside the launch of iOS 7, Apple has raised the limit for an application file size that could be downloaded over a cellular network via the App Store. The new limit is 100MB, and that is double the previous limit of 50MB (via MacRumors). Back in 2008, the App Store launched with a 10MB cap, but as iOS devices gained new features such as 3G, LTE, and Retina Displays, Apple has been raising the limits. It seems likely that the limit was raised due to the influx of new app designs that Apple is expecting to be rolled out in the coming weeks. 

...

Facebook is launching an iOS app update today that includes a new menu at the bottom of the app for enhanced navigation, along with design elements inspired by Apple's just released iOS 7.
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When you ask an Apple fan why they use the company's products, you're often going to hear "because they just work" as a response. But those people are loyalists -- how satisfied are general Mac users? It turns out Apple has been at the top of the customer satisfaction charts for the last 10 years. That information comes from the American Customer Satisfaction Index's annual rankings for customer satisfaction of personal computers.

Apple's score for 2013 was 87, compared to a score of 80 for Hewlett-Packard, 79 for both personal computers and Dell and 78 for Toshiba. Scores are based on a number of factors, including customer expectations, perceived quality of products and perceived value. Apple's score increased 1.2 percent from the 2012 survey results.

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The wave of iOS 7 redesigns continued apace Wednesday afternoon, as Pocket, Nike+, and Google's Chrome browser were all updated with tweaked interfaces in line with Apple's fresh new mobile operating system.
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Facebook announced on its blog today that it’s rolling out a new update for iOS 7 (alongside just about every other developer today) that brings a brand new iOS 7 style design to the app. On top of a lighter color palette and the new iOS 7 translucent top bar, you’ll also now be able to “swipe from left to right to get back to News Feed” after tapping a story.

There are some other tweaks included in the update as well. The iPhone app, for example, now includes a new tab style menu along the bottom of the screen. The new menu design is something Facebook has actually been testing with many users in recent months, although...

Companies that depend on Mobile Device Management (MDM) software to secure iPhones and iPads will find they have far more app control with those devices running the new iOS 7, companies say.

MDM technology is what many corporations depend on for mobile security, and providers say users of their products will find that the latest version of iOS, available Wednesday, shows Apple making a strong push toward app-centric security.

This is a significant change from previous versions of the mobile operating system, which focused more on controlling hardware-centric components, such as the camera, the Bluetooth wireless system and the GPS, said Chandra Sekar, director of product marketing for Citrix. Apple has recognized that enterprises today want more control over the applications running on the device.

“What Apple is doing is recognizing that need from an enterprise standpoint and providing MDM APIs that better allow vendors to take advantage of the operating...

As planned, Apple has released iOS 7 via iTunes and as an over-the-air update. The firmware gives iOS a radically new look, and adds numerous features, such as Control Center, AirDrop, Activation Lock, iTunes Radio, and a new multitasking motif. To install the OS, people must be using at least an iPhone 4, iPad 2, or fifth-generation iPod touch....
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A new television advertisement touting the tight integration of Apple's iPhone 5c and iOS 7 has been posted to the company's official YouTube account.
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Multitasking functionality in iOS was first introduced alongside the release of the iPhone 4 back in 2010. Since then, multitasking on iOS has largely remained the same.

In iOS 7, Apple has completely retooled the way multitasking (or switching between apps if we want to be a tad more precise) works. While beckoning the app switcher in iOS 7 remains the same -- a quick double tap on the home button -- the entire implementation has been completely retooled. Whether or not you're a fan of Apple's arching aesthetic changes in iOS 7, it's readily apparent that multitasking in iOS 7 is more useful, intuitive and eye-catching than ever.

Switching between applications

Again, you can get started by simply double tapping the home button. Right away, you're presented with Apple's new app-switching layout.

As evident from the photo below, Apple has made app switching a much more engaging and immersive experience. In place of an icon grid located at...

Apple pushed a new ad to their YouTube channel today showing off the design similarities between iOS 7 and the soon-to-be-released iPhone 5c. The ad is colorful and animated, much like iOS 7 itself, and features various parts of the hardware and software merging and morphing to show that they were designed with each other in mind. Oh, and if you like the song on this ad, you can get it on iTunes right here.

A...