You knew that the hackers of the world would be anxious to jailbreak their fresh new iPhone 5’s, and the feat’s been accomplished just a day after older hardware running iOS 6 was similarly set free. Grant Paul posted the picture you see above on Twitter, confirming his new, elongated iPhone is, indeed, running Cydia. Unfortunately, the jailbreak isn’t available to the rest of us just yet, but it shouldn’t be long before the masses gain access, too. Vivalaliberté!
Call it a hunch, but we suspect that at least a few of you picked up an iPhone 5 today, or at least made the leap to iOS 6. If you’re in either position, you may be wondering just what apps to feed Apple’s flagship (or that fresh new firmware) once it’s ready to go. We’ve got a quick-hit list of titles that have been updated to take advantage of the tall display and new OS that go beyond Apple’s own work. The biggest upgrades of the lot come from keynote darling CNN as well as Flipboard: both have done more than add extra columns on the iPhone 5, offering an interface you won’t see on any mere 3.5-inch iPhone. Some bread-and-butter apps have made the launch week cut as well, such as Facebook and Twitter.
There’s even more if you’re willing to dig deep. Third-party Twitter client Tweetbot beat the official app to the punch by days, and we’ve likewise spotted updates to Evernote, its rival Remember the Milk and Yelp. We know some apps aren’t fully iPhone 5- or iOS 6-native — Instagram, for example, and most anything from Google — but it’s apparent that the holdouts are increasingly the exception, rather than the rule. Did you catch any other noteworthy apps that received a boost in recent hours? Let fellow owners know in the comments.
Apple’s new baby in the iPhone 5 and iOS 6 has been getting plenty of attention, and with good reason. Aside from a few hiccups with Maps, iOS 6 has been doing extremely well across the board. When it started rolling out as an over the air update earlier this week, Apple users were excited and updating by the millions.
Earlier this week we reported that over 15% of devices had been updated within the first 24 hours, which may sound like a small number, but compared to updates on Android — is actually quite high. Add in the fact that it was just the first day, iOS 6 has been doing exceptionally well.
Today reports are coming out from multiple analytics companies, and reports from TechCrunch state the overall upgrade and adoption rate for iOS 6 is massive. iOS 6 adoption rate is significantly higher than iOS 5, to the tune of around 122% faster. This time around it’s also an over-the-air update, making it a much simpler process for the millions and millions of iOS users.
Finally being able to update OTA and not requiring a cable and iTunes makes this a very simply and easy processor for the masses. If you’re already enjoying iOS 5 you simply can update right on your device. This could be a large part of why the adoption and update rate is seeing such massive numbers — but that isn’t all either. iOS 6 brings tons of fantastic features to everyone. If you sadly can’t get the latest and greatest with a 4-inch screen, you’ll surely want all those new Siri, Passbook, Maps, and other features that makes the iPhone and iOS 6 so excellent. We are also hearing many developers praise the update, saying the transition has been smooth and support for iOS 6 has been easy.
If you haven’t bought the iPhone 5 today or are rocking an older device, have you updated to iOS 6 yet?
Apple recently rolled out the iOS 6 update with a whole host of new features for the iOS users. For instance, iOS 6 replaces Google Maps with Apple’s own Maps and contains a far more improved Siri. Also, it has improved on social media integration by including Facebook in the fold.
Among the new features was also an all new look for the Clock app for iPad. The app now shows off a sleek, new clock design which looks pretty cool. However, it seems that the design didn’t exactly originate with Apple. In fact, the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has alleged that it originally owns the rights to this design and that Apple didn’t seek permission to use it.
Great news for those waiting anxiously at the door for their UPS / FedEx delivery… well, for those awaiting a Verizon iPhone 5, anyway. We’ve already broken down the differences between the trifecta of iPhone 5 models, and it seems that the one VZW is hawking is a real gem for travelers. Aside from handling Verizon’s LTE waves just fine, the nano-SIM slot will also accept cards from any other GSM carrier worldwide. In other words, AT&T nano-SIMs will get you onto its HSPA+ network, and T-Mobile nano-SIMs will play nice as well. If you’re heading overseas, you can pick up a local nano-SIM on arrival and plug it straight in — no unlocking code necessary. To confirm, this even applies to Verizon iPhone 5 units that were purchased under contract. You can hit the video after the break for proof, but heed one word of advice: wait until you find a legitimate nano-SIM to throw in there. It looks as if the cut-and-stuff approach leaves a bit to be desired.
Hey folks, we had another exciting night and early morning of news here at SlashGear so below you can find a quick wrap up of everything that mattered to us. I’m sure you’re all happy that today is friday, but there’s one more reason to cheer. It’s iPhone 5 day! Officially. Today the lines are slowly moving along as the masses get their new iPhone 5. Did you get one? Don’t forget to enjoy our iPhone 5 Review.
Hopefully everyone will be able to find their way home, given the iOS 6 maps debacle. Apple’s new Map app has been causing a bit of a stir the past few days. Then last night Nokia took the opportunity to take a few shots at Apple regarding the problem, then Apple issued their own statement. By officially saying Maps was “just getting started,” to forgive the occasional (or frequent) mistake as they continue to work on their Maps. Not to worry though, the lines are still massive across the globe. Then we’ll leave you with one more bit of Apple goodness, with the official iFixit iPhone 5 teardown — showing its juicy LTE innards.
Now on to other news. Looxcie’s new HD cam can stream live HD video, which should be hitting the market soon. Then in NYC Nissan got the thumbs up to be the exclusive taxi vehicle — so expect to see more of them in the future. Speaking of future, are Aliens coming? Curiosity Rover found pyramid-shaped rocks on Mars. Aliens…
And for the last bit of news, it appears that BlackBerry has been having a bit of an outage across 3 continents. Certainly not the best day to have an outage, the day all their owners are envious of the iPhone 5. RIM’s CEO then said only 6% of users experienced the problem. That’s quite a bit of people in the grand scheme of things. Finally, Verizon is now sending out the other latest and greatest mobile OS, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to their Galaxy Nexus users. So enjoy that buttery smooth Android folks.
If you thought the new iPad clock app in iOS 6 looked a little familiar, you’re not alone. The design is a near-exact replica of the iconic Swiss railway clock designed in 1955 by Hans Hilfiker and since licensed for use in Mondaine watches. Not surprisingly, both Swiss railway operator SBB and the Mondaine Group have also noticed the striking similarity, and they say they’re now looking at ways to remedy the situation with Apple. For its part, an SBB spokesperson tells Reuters that “SBB isn’t hurt, but proud that his icon of watch design is being used by a globally active and successful business,” while Mondaine co-owner Andre Bernheim notes that “the app is pretty much identical to our Mondaine watch,” and adds that these “three companies together — Apple, SBB and Mondaine — can together achieve something positive. We’ll see how this all ends up.” Apple has yet to offer a comment on the matter. Jump past the break to compare the two for yourself.
Apple’s iPhone 5 is here, but there are still plenty of people in line. A lot of you might be asking, “Why?” Who better to answer than the people in line themselves? I interviewed some of the first people in line at Toronto’s Eaton Centre flagship Apple retail store, including one guy who has been at the front of the line for three years and counting. Check out why they lined up, what they think of iOS 6, and some candid about iOS 6 Maps from even the most faithful.
Apple has defended its contentious Maps app, arguing that it is “just getting started” with the iOS 6 replacement to Google Maps, and highlighting the fact that it can push out updates incredibly quickly. Excitement around iOS 6 quickly got hung up on how the new Maps app fell short, with users reporting missing locations, along with incorrectly labeled roads, points-of-interest, and even cities. “We launched this new map service knowing that it is a major initiative and we are just getting started with it” Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller told the NYTimes. “We are continuously improving it.”
Apple’s argument is that it can keep tweaking Maps on its servers, with users invisibly getting an improved experience as the service develops. ”As Maps is a cloud-based solution, the more people use it, the better it will get” Muller explains. “We’re also working with developers to integrate some of the amazing transit apps in the App Store into iOS Maps. We appreciate all of the customer feedback and are working hard to make the customer experience even better.”
Although iOS 6 Maps has met with praise for its bundled turn-by-turn navigation, something Google never enabled for Google Maps on iOS before, as well as the visually pleasing “flyover” 3D view option, it’s more fundamental issues that are causing headaches. Some of Apple’s data appears to be out-of-date, meaning businesses now closed or moved are incorrectly included, while satellite data lacks the close-up detail of Google’s service.
Potentially more dangerous are incorrect driving directions, which could lead drivers to attempt the wrong turns or even try to travel the wrong way down a one-way street. It’s possible to report an error in a point-of-interest on the map to Apple from within the Maps app itself.
Apple has not said when users can next expect a significant improvement to the service, though with the iPhone 5 freshly on sale in stores today, we’d guess the company is working fast to polish off the most obvious rough edges.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
