Apple Confirms iOS 5 Battery Issues, Releases iOS 5.0.1 to Developers With Fix

Since Apple released iOS 5 and its latest handset with the new software pre-installed to the public, customers have been complaining about poor battery life. It appears that something in the iOS update has directly affected battery performance.

Other than a few rumors of its engineers contacting customers regarding their complaints, Apple has been relatively silent on the matter… until now. AllThingsD has just received an official statement from the company confirming the problem…

“A small number of customers have reported lower than expected battery life on iOS 5 devices. We have found a few bugs that are affecting battery life and we will release a software update to address those in a few weeks.”

Apple certainly seems to be taking the issue seriously, as it’s already seeded a 5.0.1 update to developers. The new software contains fixes for the reported battery bugs, as well as for other components, including iCloud and Siri Dictation.

As aforementioned, the 5.0.1 update is only available to developers at this point. Apple likely wants to make sure it does the trick before releasing it to the masses. If you can’t wait for the public release, iDB found that this trick really helps improve battery life on iOS 5.

[Via: idownloadblog]

Why The iPhone 4 Siri Port Hasn’t Been Released Yet

It’s the hot button topic on the internet right now, but nobody really knows the answer to the burning question: where is the hack that will get Siri working on an iPhone 4?

We’ve seen video of it working thanks to chpwn and Steve Troughton-Smith, but the pair has been reluctant to make the hack available to us, the non-paying public.

In a blog post today, chpwn has sought to clear things up by explaining why the port hasn’t been made publicly available, and as we suspected, it all comes down to copyright…

In order to get Siri to work on an iPhone 4 right now, the files required need to be extracted either from an iPhone 4S or its firmware.

The issue there is quite obvious. If you already own an iPhone 4S, then the chances are you aren’t that bothered about making it work with your older hardware. If you don’t own one, you’re left fishing around in the IPSW file Apple provides. That isn’t quite as easy as it sounds.

Apple’s IPSWs are encrypted, and hackers do not currently have the decryption keys required to pull out all of the necessary Siri goodness.

This is where things start to become illegal. Hackers cannot share Siri’s code with people that do not own an iPhone 4S without breaking copyright law.

“..the firmware files are distributed encrypted, and we do not yet have the decryption key to access the Siri files inside of the iPhone 4S firmware file.

Just from that, you currently must already own an iPhone 4S to install Siri on it without a blatant copyright violation. But even that’s not all: if you do all of that, there’s still a few more reasons why Siri won’t just work.”

This all leaves us at something of a stalemate. Until the decryption keys are found for Apple’s IPSW files, Siri will not be made available to the public.

Even if that does happen, there are still technical reasons why Siri won’t just work on your iPhone 4, but neither Troughton-Smith nor chpwn are willing to go too far into that situation for fear of tipping their hat.

What this all boils down to is rather simple. Right now, and for the foreseeable future, if you want to use Siri, you need an iPhone 4S.

[Via: idownloadblog]

Did You Notice These Design Changes In iOS 5?

                     iOS4                             iOS5                                   iOS4                                iOS5

If you are an obsessive user interface jerk, you may have noticed the slight design changes in iOS 5. They are almost invisible but they are there, from two-pixel position adjustments to transparency changes in the badges' shadows.

Right: iOS 4. Left: iOS 5. See if you can spot more of them. 

                      iOS4                             iOS5                                   iOS4                                iOS5

  iOS4                             iOS5                                   iOS4                                iOS5

 [Via: Gizmodo & Stam Design]

Apple iTV gets mocked up

You know the non-existant “iTV” that Steve Jobs hinted about in the Walter Isaacson Bio? Yeah, it is already getting “mocked up” by one of our favorite artists Guilherme M. Schasiepen on Flickr. Check the gallery below.

And 360 of view >here<

[Via: 9to5mac]

"iPhone for Steve" Rear Panel for iPhone 4/4S

A 19-year-old Apple fan from Hong Kong has created a very special mod for the iPhone that places Steve Jobs inside the Apple logo on the back of the device. During the initial shock of Steve’s passing, a designer created a graphic of the Apple logo with Steve Jobs’ silhouette embedded in the logo itself.

That image became the inspiration for a very unique iPhone mod that is now available for purchase online…

For $23.90(Rm72), you can buy this back plate for your iPhone 4/4S and literally turn it into the iPhone 4-Steve. The panel is available in black and white and installation steps are provided. It’s worth noting that your iPhone will be slightly thicker after installing the mod, so know that most of your cases and similar accessories probably won’t fit anymore.

If you want to buy this mod, you had better act fast. Stock is limited. There’s also no telling how long it will take before Apple’s team of lawyers file a cease and desist against the guy that made the mod. We think that Apple should let the mod be—it’s a beautiful tribute to Steve.

What do you think of this iPhone mod? Will you be buying one?

[Via: idownloadblog & M.I.C Gadget]