Apple has added a new section into the iOS App Store yesterday with a page which will provide information about in-app purchases for users. The new page, which is likely targeted towards the parents of children who use apps with an in-app purchase option, explains the context of in-app purchases and what they can be used for (via AppAdvice). The document also highlights how in-app purchases can be restricted to prevent excessive spending.
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Apple Makes In-App Purchase Rules More Visible
Apple Announces WWDC 2013
Apple has today announced the dates for its popular Worldwide Developers Conference which will take place from June 10-14 at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco. The tickets for the five day event, which will be in high demand, will be made available tomorrow for $1599 per person and will be made available from the WWDC web site at 10am PST, 1pm EST, 6pm GMT. The event will be open to Developers who will likely receive a preview of the next iterations of the iOS and OS X operating system for mobile and desktop Apple devices.
Last year, the tickets for the event took less than 2 hours to sell out and Apple did not give any advance notice of the ticket availability. This year, with one day notice, all registered members of the Apple Developer program will have an equal chance of securing a ticket. The event itself will involve over 100 technical session presented by Apple engineers, demonstrations of novel iOS and OS X features for integration into apps, and presentation of Apple Design awards to showcase excellent and innovative apps.
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Refurbished 7th Generation iPod Nano Now Available At Discount
The newest version of the iPod nano has today been made available in the refurbished Apple Store offering a significant saving of almost 15% on the price of the device. The 7th generation model, which features a new design, Bluetooth connectivity and a 2.5 inch display, is being offered in the refurbished store for $129 for the 16GB model. This represents a saving of $20 on the price for a brand new version which currently retails for $149 on Apple, although some colors are available on Amazon for $140.
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Rumor: iPhone 5S Not Launching In June/July Due To Additional Development
The next generation iPhone 5S will apparently be destined for a launch in September or October of this year, rather than the June launch date which had previously been postulated. According to a new report from Reuters, Apple is spending more time developing the coating for the new fingerprint sensor situated under the Home button on the new device. As such, the development timetable has been pushed back slightly, but there is no detail offered on when the device will now launch
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Rumor: A Picture Of The iPad 5 Rear Panel
An image of what is being described as the rear panel for the unreleased iPad 5 has been published today on the Tactus Blog, apparently showing a device that has a significantly different design compared to the third and fourth generation iPad devices. The picture shows a panel that is narrower in width proportions, likely taking design influences from the iPad mini. The photo appears to back up previous rumors that the next generation iPad would feature a new design with rounded edges and a thinner bezel.
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A New Twitter #Music Service
Following on from confirmations this week that Twitter had purchased the music discovery service We Are Hunted, a new music discovery service has been launched called Twitter #music. The service comes to iOS devices in the form of an app which is available free from the App Store and allows users to utilize trending topics on Twitter to discover new music.
The service gives four mastheads to facilitate new music discovery and playback. These mastheads are termed Popular, Emerging, Suggested and NowPlaying. Both the Suggested and the NowPlaying mastheads give information about what friends are listening to and new artists based upon musicians that are followed by the user. The app itself takes its music from either iTunes, Rdio or Spotify although only Rdio And Spotify offer full track playback i.e. iTunes will only offer previews until a track is purchased.
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Rumor: First Image Of Lower Cost iPhone With Brand New Design Appears
The first image of what is claimed to be the rear panel for the rumored lower cost iPhone has appeared today showing a completely new design for the iPhone. The image, published by Tactus (via MacRumors) shows a white polycarbonate rear panel that has a flat backing and rounded edges. The design looks much like that adopted in the iPad mini, with a read panel that is more square than that found in the initial iPhone 3G design and more rounded than the iPhone 4 through 5. The volume buttons on the side also appear to be elongated like the iPad mini rather than the round buttons on the iPhone 5, and the camera looks to have a flash.
There is no detail offered on the device but the site indicates that the new iPhone could be around 9mm thick, 120mm in height and between 62-65mm in width, indicating a larger size than the iPhone 4 and 4S. The site further suggests that it would be priced at around $300 and go on sale on October 15, in black, white, red, blue and yellow rear panel colors.
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Facebook For iOS Gets Big Update With ‘Chat Heads’
The Facebook app for iOS devices has received a significant update today, adding a new feature that first appeared with the release of the new Facebook Home user interface layer app for Android devices. The Facebook iOS app now includes ‘Chat Heads’ as a launchscreen pop-out for the app meaning that you can touch the right side of the screen and start a new messaging conversation to enable a ‘Chat Head’ on the right side of the screen. The location of the Heads can then customized on the screen, acting as a fast access button for using the Facebook messaging system. The Chat Heads are accompanied by ‘Stickers’, which essentially Emoji pictures that can be included in the messaging.
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Rumor: iPhone 5S Camera To Be A Massive 12 Megapixels
A new report is suggesting that the sensor for the iPhone 5S will be in the region of a massive 12 megapixels, as Apple seeks to improve the imaging system on its latest iPhone. According to Vietnamese site Tinhte.vn, the new 12 megapixel camera in the iPhone 5S will be a significant improvement over the 8 megapixel sensor that is found in the iPhone 5, and will also offer improved shooting over in low-light conditions. The report also suggests that Apple will be bringing HDR video to the iPhone 5S.
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Analyst Says iPhone 5S Will Have Fingerprint Recognition And Better Camera
A further analyst report on the potential upcoming features of the iPhone 5S has appeared and, while providing no information that has not been suggested before, the report seems to reaffirm some of the new feature sets that Apple will be incorporating with the next generation iPhone. The analyst is Brian White from Topeka, and in a new research note, he suggests that the new fingerprint recognition technology will be the key new feature for the iPhone 5S, differentiating it from the iPhone 5.
In addition to this, he also suggests that the iPhone 5S will be launching in the same screen size as the iPhone 5, which is a clarification on his earlier thoughts that the new device could launch in multiple screen sizes. He also suggests that the camera for the device will receive a significant upgrade.
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