News

Now that the WWDC and iOS 8 are out of the way it is time for our first 2014 rumor roundup starting with an alleged leak of the iPhone 6 shell. The purported images of the rear casing for Apple's next-generation handset were originally published on Nowhereelse.fr. The photos reveal cutouts for new pill shaped volume buttons and the rumored relocated power button.

Analysts are predicting that Apple will announce a 5.5-inch iPhone alongside the standard 4.7-inch model in late September. If true, it is expected that the power button will be moved to the side of the device to make it easier to access due to its larger form factor.

The big news of last week was the 7-to-1 stock split that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares underwent on Friday after the market closed. All shareholders of record as of market close last Monday, June 2, received an additional six shares. The price per share was $645 at closing on Friday and opened today at the split adjusted price of $92.70.

Shortly after Apple announced an API for Touch ID, Paypal announced that it will incorporate the fingerprint sensor into its mobile apps. This will facilitate fast, secure and convenient mobile payments. According to Business Insider, "Touch ID may also anchor an eventual full-fledged mobile wallet service from Apple itself."

The past week's news revolved entirely around the Worldwide Developers Conference, which kicked off with a keynote presentation on Monday morning. Much of the keynote was devoted to iOS 8, which will be available in the fall, almost certainly with the launch of the iPhone 6 (though they made no mention of the new iPhone during the presentation). Here are some of the notable enhancements of iOS 8:

iOS 8 introduces some big improvements to messaging. In group messaging, individuals can drop out of the conversation or choose a "do not disturb" option. Participants can also share their locations with the group. A new "tap to talk" feature allows you to send brief audio clips which can be heard simply by raising the phone to your ear. You can also view all attachments in a conversation in one place, rather than having to scroll back through the entire conversation.

This week was all about Apple's WWDC keynote, iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. Apple announced that the App Store would be getting a few enhancements including an Explore tab, and that developers will be able to offer app bundles for the first time. The company also previewed its new Health app plus many other upcoming iOS 8 features during the event. With all the focus on iOS 8 it was kind of a slow week for new App Store releases.

Here are this week's most noteworthy App Store and Cydia releases for 06/01/14 to 06/07/14. Apple's Free Game of the Week is Republique. The game will be available for free on the App Store until 06/12/14.

As usual, Apple did not have enough time to discuss every new feature built into iOS 8 during its WWDC keynote on Monday. Some of the new features were quickly displayed on a slide near the end of the presentation, and others are still being discovered every day by users testing the iOS 8 beta. Here's a quick look at some of the smaller but useful improvements coming to your iPhone and iPad this fall.

Up until now the Notes app has been fairly simple, but iOS 8 is going to change all that by introducing rich text editing. This will allow you to bold, italicize, or underline your text when using writing a note in the app. iDownloadblog also claims users will be able to add images to their notes, but their source seems a bit dodgy.