Plenty of Apple, iPhone, and iPad news gets released every single day – but we know you’re busy, so we’ve got your back. Here, we’ve picked out some of the most important stories from the past week or so and summarized them for easy digestion. You’re welcome.
Let’s take a quickfire look at some of the most interesting recent headlines of late. As ever, click through to read the full stories if you want to know more!
Apple worked on an iPhone Nano in 2010
Apple was working on an iPhone Nano way back in 2010, it’s emerged. As part of the ongoing Epic v. Apple lawsuit info-dump, The Verge has discovered an emailed meeting agenda from late Apple founder Steve Jobs that makes mention of an “iPhone nano plan”. One of the sub-bullets for that agenda mentions that “Jony” (former lead designer Jony Ive) would “show model (and/or renderings)” of the device. If you’re unfamiliar with Apple’s Nano terminology, it’s the name the company used to attribute to its tiny iPod sub-line. In other words, Apple was thinking about an iPhone Mini line more than a decade before its eventual debut as the iPhone 12 Mini.
Netflix adds Spatial Audio support
Streaming behemoth Netflix has started rolling out support for Apple’s Spatial Audio feature through its iPhone and iPad apps, MacRumors reports. Once updated, a Spatial Audio option will appear in Control Center, and anyone who has a set of AirPods Pro or AirPods Max will be able to enjoy immersive sound whilst Netflix-and-chilling. Apple is shooting for a movie-like experience that fires out directional, all-encompassing audio. Not only that, but the sound profile shifts depending on the positioning of your head in relation to the screen.
Apple had a spy in the jailbreaking community
Apple employed a hacker to inform on his fellow iPhone jailbreakers, claims a new report from Motherboard. For more than a year, Andrey Shumeyko (aka YRH04E or JVHResearch) advertised leaked apps, manuals, and stolen devices for sale on Twitter and Discord channels. At the same time, however, Shumeyko was reporting back to Apple on anyone who traded in stolen iPhone prototypes, as well as Apple employees who leaked information, not to mention any journalists who had contacts within the community. It seems he only revealed his double-agent status when Apple failed to compensate him for his work.
Apple offers iOS 15 Safari revamp opt-out
The rejigged Safari web browser hasn’t been universally popular in iOS 15’s beta releases to date. Apple has evidently picked up on the mixed reception, and has rolled out a series of tweaks and opt-out controls as part of the latest developer beta. Head into Safari’s settings in beta 6, and you’ll find an option to return the URL bar to the top of the screen. Even in its bottom-mounted guise, the formerly floating URL bar now has a solid base with familiar surrounding buttons. There are also options to enable a Tab Bar in landscape view, as well a means to remove website tinting.