Though this update is a minor one, you’ll want to initiate it as soon as possible. It’s not unheard of that Apple will include minor security updates inside a software update directed at a single model device. Though we’ve got no official suggestion from Apple noting security specifically in this update, fixes for minor bugs have always been a part of software update pushes such as this.

The iPhone 5 has been tipped to be seeing iOS 7 before the end of the year, with the developer conference WWDC 2013 coming up quick. This developer conference, taking place at the Moscone Center in California as in years’ past, will play host to not only a new iteration of Apple’s mobile operating system, but will introduce a new edition of the desktop user interface as well.

With Jony Ive behind the wheel of the UI for Apple’s future here in 2013, users will see what’s been tipped to be a much more flattened-out set of graphics and an overall smoother experience. Have a peek at our Apple hub to follow the company into their developer conference WWDC 2013 June 10th through the 14th – we’ll be there!

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon will approve Samsung and Apple devices separately, as it’s said that Samsung devices will be approved for internal email use, while iOS devices will be approved for other “nonclassified communication” methods. This seems that the Pentagon is dealing the approval with slight caution, which is unsurprising since they’ve relied on BlackBerry for so many years.

The Pentagon isn’t a huge market for Apple or Samsung, but the approval could give both Apple and Samsung permission to boast about the security of their two platforms, which in turn could result in more sales for the two companies. And while the Pentagon isn’t pushing out BlackBerry, we could see a drop in BlackBerry devices being used in the Pentagon.

When Samsung announced its GALAXY S 4 smartphone, it also announced a new security platform called Knox, which is made to secure your sensitive work information, but while also keeping your personal life separate and readily available. The Pentagon could be looking at this as a crucial feature in their approval process.

[via Wall Street Journal]

For those of you running iTunes 11, you will have three options available to you when you’re downloading TV seasons, season passes, and movie bundles. You have the standard download button, which will download the first unseen episode or movie in the series, the Download All button, which lets you download your entire package in one go, or the Later button, which lets you choose when you want to download your files (perfect for those of you who don’t want to lag your fellow housemates with your downloads).

For music box sets, or individual TV show/movie downloads, you will only be given the standard Download button and the Later button. For those of you downloading files on your iOS 6 devices, you will only be given the standard Download button and Later button, even if you purchase an entire season on your device. You should note that in the “complete your season pass or TV season” options, the download button will download the latest episode available, not the episode you left off at.

The new download options aren’t available in every country just yet, mainly in countries that do not have iTunes in the Cloud support, so unfortunately, those users will have to download their files once they complete their transactions. The new Download Later option is a feature that users have been asking for for quite some time. It allows users to download their shows and music at their own convenience.

Of course, some iOS 6.1.3 users can still jailbreak thanks to Redsn0w, but it’s limited to devices running Apple’s older A4 chip and it’s a tethered jailbreak, meaning that you have to plug in your iDevice to your computer every time you reboot it, which can be a pain in the rear end most of the time.

However, if you’re currently on iOS 6.1.2 and are either jailbroken or have plans to jailbreak in the future, don’t update to iOS 6.1.3 — at least for now. Evasi0n team member David Wang (a.k.a. Planetbeing) says that he and the rest of the dev team don’t yet have a fix for the iOS 6.1.3 update, and they aren’t sure if there will ever be one.

Of course, you may be thinking about that pesky lock screen vulnerability that’s present in iOS 6.1.2, and while I do care about security, there’s probably no reason to be worried about it. If someone got a hold of your iPhone, the chances of them knowing that elaborate scheme of swiping and tapping gestures to get past the lock screen are low. Of course, there’s always that chance, but you’d probably have a greater chance of getting struck by lightning if anything. Oh, and another lock screen vulnerability has been discovered in iOS 6.1.3, so you’re screwed either way.

Plus, iOS 6.1.3 doesn’t consist of a lot of new features anyway. Besides the lock screen fix, there are improvements to Apple Maps specifically for Japan. When’s the last time you were in Japan? Have you even been to Japan? Probably not, so it’s safe to say that you don’t need the Japan maps improvements, or any of the other new things in iOS 6.1.3 for that matter. (Japan residents need not apply to this.)

In the end, it’s best to play it safe and stay away from new updates if you’re jailbroken or have plans to jailbreak. Heck, I’m still running iOS 5.1.1 and I’m chugging along just fine like the rest of the iOS crowd. We may eventually see an untethered jailbreak for iOS 6.1.3, but it could be awhile, and if history is any indication, it may be even more difficult to jailbreak iOS 7 than any other version in the past.

The jailbreak comes to us from Redsn0w, and it only applies to iOS devices running an A4 processor. It’s also a tethered-only jailbreak, meaning that you’ll have connect your iOS device to your computer each time you want to boot up your device, which can be a pain sometimes. The jailbreak isn’t compatible with any iPad, including the first-generation iPad (although iOS 6 isn’t even available for this iPad anyway).

Of course, it’s still best to remain on iOS 6.1.2 that way you don’t lose your untethered jailbreak. Plus, there could be a few jailbreak tweaks that you use that may not be compatible with iOS 6.1.3, so it’s always best to wait in that case as well. However, if you accidentally updated to the latest version that rolled out today, there’s still hope with this Redsn0w jailbreak.

This specific jailbreak tweak only works on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and the fourth-generation iPod Touch. You’ll need the Redsn0w software and the iOS 6.0 IPSW file for the jailbreak. From there, it’s just a matter of opening up Redsn0w and installing the various files necessary for the jailbreak. Again, this is a tethered jailbreak, so if you need to reboot, you’ll have to plug in your device to your computer and fire up Redsn0w to get it past the Apple boot-up logo.

[via Redmond Pie]

The lock screen exploit was originally discovered last month, and it allows anyone to bypass the lock screen with a bit of clever swiping and tapping maneuvers. From there, prying eyes can look at your contact list and even your photo library, both of which could contain sensitive information. However, this latest update patches it right up.

The update also patches up some of the exploits used by the Evasi0n iOS 6 jailbreak, so if you plan on jailbreaking your iOS 6 device, may this be a warning not to update to iOS 6.1.3. However, if you’re already jailbroken, then you probably don’t have a lot to worry about, other than the fact you won’t be able to update to the latest version.

Other than that, you have some other small bugfixes and improvements that come with the update, but the lock screen fix and the map improvements in Japan are the big two. However, the Evasi0n patch is also noteworthy for those interested in tapping into their iPhones and iPads, and the dev team behind the jailbreak doesn’t have any plans to support iOS 6.1.3 anytime soon, sadly.

Designer Martin Hajek was the illustrator of these images while NWE‘s Steve Hemmerstoffer helped with the concept design work. What you’ll find here is a collection of influences, starting with the iPod touch and the iPad mini. With both of these devices we’re seeing a bit of a return to round, and though the concept images here don’t show it, we wouldn’t be surprised if a design like this saw more than just black and white.

The biggest deal with this device is the fact that it’s got more of an “edge to edge” display than we’ve ever seen in the real world. Here with some form of what we understand to be next-to-impossible display casing technology, the iPhone 6 sits in a chassis with no border but the metal that holds the front display’s glass down above and below.

You’ll also notice the lack of a home button – a piece of hardware that’s been a staple in every iPhone and iPad to date. Here these forward-thinking minds have decided that, like the touchpad on your MacBook, you’ll be able to push down the bottom bit of the front of your iPhone 6 to get that same home button functionality. Intrepid iOS 6 users will know that a quick visit to Settings – General – Accessibility – AssistiveTouch will bring you the ability to skip the home button altogether on any iOS device you like. Perhaps it’s a pre-cursor to the absence of the button in the hardware as well?

The designers of this device have actually gone ahead and made another break in the way Apple releases mobile devices – or has over the past several years, anyway. They’ve created the iPhone 6, then for an added boost in space, they’ve created the iPhone Plus as well. Though the display sizes don’t much matter here in this completely unofficial concept stage, you may enjoy knowing that they’ve decidedly placed a 4-inch display (just like the iPhone 5) on the iPhone 6, and the iPhone Plus totes a 4.8-inch display.

That means that the iPhone 6 could potentially be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 5 with the absence of a bezel on the right or the left. The larger model then is set to open up a whole new larger window for Apple with a display that’s large enough to take on the more beastly Android devices on the market – along with the absence of a bezel keeping the device small enough not to look absurd when used as a smartphone.

And it’ll all connect perfectly well with the iWatch – or the iCompanion, as it was suggested earlier today by your humble narrator. Have a peek at the timeline below to see more iPhone 6, iPhone 5S, iWatch, and everything in-between. We’re coming up on a rather strange and exciting season for Apple one way or another – stay tuned!

Pod2g, one of the dev team members of Evad3rs (the team responsible for the iOS 6 jailbreak), tweeted the statistics this morning. Jay Freeman (a.k.a. Saurik, the man behind the Cydia jailbreak store) clarified that the 23 million iOS devices jailbroken are only the devices seen on Cydia within the past month.

These are numbers are astronomical no doubt, but there’s always the chance that iOS jailbreakers may go back to the stock version of iOS, and compared to the number of iOS devices sold during just last quarter (a whopping 75 million), 14 million iOS devices jailbroken isn’t that huge of a percentage, considering that number consists of all iOS devices ever sold.

That 14 million figure may not go up much from here on out, mainly since an upcoming iOS update will patch the Evasi0n jailbreak. iOS 6.1.3 is currently in beta mode, and the Evad3rs dev team has confirmed that the new update patches up some of the exploits used to jailbreak the mobile platform, and the team members aren’t sure if they’ll be able to come up with a fix anytime soon.

The Evasi0n jailbreak has fought a good battle so far, surviving both iOS 6.1.1 and iOS 6.1.2, but Evasi0n team member David Wang (a.k.a. Planetbeing) has confirmed that iOS 6.1.3 will block some of the exploits used by the dev team to jailbreak iOS 6 devices. Wang says that his team doesn’t yet have a fix for the update, and isn’t sure if there will be one.

Then again, over seven million iOS devices, and counting, have already been jailbroken under iOS 6.0 and iOS 6.1, so most of the damage has already been done. The jailbreak patch-up in iOS 6.1.3 will mostly just mean that jailbreakers won’t be able to update to this newest version, thus leaving their devices still vulnerable to the lock screen exploit.

Forbes notes that the reason why Apple is taking its time patching up this specific jailbreak is because it poses as a low security risk for Apple. Unlike JailbreakMe, which simply involved heading to a specific website in your mobile browser and hitting go, Evasi0n requires a bit more work that fewer iOS users are willing to try out.

[via Forbes]

This is the third minor update to iOS 6.1 alone in just a few weeks, so it seems Apple is getting better at addressing issues in a quicker and more efficient manner. This latest release was just seeded to developers, and it’s actually the same update as iOS 6.1.1 beta 1, but is being rebranded as iOS 6.1.3 with a few more fixes added on, including the lock screen bug.

The update also includes several enhancements to the Apple Maps application for Japan users that we saw earlier this month. There’s no word on when the official iOS 6.1.3 update will roll out to all users, but it should be fairly soon. There’s also no word on whether or not this new update patches up the evasi0n jailbreak, so stay tuned for that.

The lock screen exploit that iOS 6.1.3 will fix allowed people who got a hold of your phone to bypass the lock screen and gain access to your contact list, as well as any photos stored on your iDevice. While the hack itself takes a bit of practice to learn, anybody could easily learn the trick to get a hold of your contacts.

[via 9to5Mac]

You can use evasi0n to jailbreak any Apple device running 6.1.2, except Apple TV 3. Before doing so, you should prepare properly to make sure nothing goes awry. Check out our handy guide for a list of things you should know, and pay particular attention to the part about updating through iTunes, not OTA.

Grab the newest version of evasi0n from its website; it can be run on Windows XP or higher, OS X 10.5 or higher, and Linux x86/x86_64. Before getting started, remove the passcode on your device if you’re using one to avoid the issues it could cause with the jailbreaking process. The last big step is backing up your data, which is essential if you don’t want to lose anything.

Fire up Evasi0n and click “Jailbreak,” then leave everything alone to make sure you don’t accidentally mess something up. The entire process takes about five minutes, so lean back and listen to your favorite song or refill your beverage. By the time you return to your device, it’ll have likely rebooted and will display a jailbreak icon, which you’ll then need to tap on to finish the process and liberate your Apple device.

[via Redmond Pie]

According to German website iPhone-Ticker, Apple is preparing to release iOS 6.1.2 sometime early next week to address the bugs and other issues that they said they would be fixing, but the German site is claiming that the update will land sometime before February 21, according to the information it has received from various carriers.

While we’re taking this with a grain of salt, it certainly makes sense that Apple is planning to push out a quick update soon, and iPhone-Ticker even ended up accurately predicting the launch of iOS 6.1.1 through its same sources earlier this month. So if the same holds true, we should be seeing yet another small update head our way next week.

Perhaps the bug that got the most attention was the lockscreen vulnerability that, with a few clever tap moves, allows breachers access to the owner’s contacts and any personal information that the owner has for each contact. Plus, by editing a contact and changing the contact’s picture, you can access all of the owner’s photos in their library.

[via 9to5Mac]

The exploit doesn’t appear to allow you to access the home screen, but rather just the contacts list and the photo library on the device. The process is fairly complicated, so it’s not something that you could just easily do on accident. It involves quite a few steps that require to access the emergency call section, put the device in stand-by mode a couple of times, and overall just good timing to eventually get access to the phone.

The hack will allow perpetrators to view or modify contacts, check voicemail, and look through photos by attempting to add a photo to a contact when editing them. Again, you won’t be able to access the homescreen or any other apps, so it’s not completely exploited, but getting a hold of contacts’ personal information could be all that it takes.

Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen glitches like this on iOS. iOS 4.1 back in 2010 suffered a similar fate, where users could bypass the lockscreen in order to access contacts, as well as email and even text messages. Of course, that exploit was eventually fixed in iOS 4.2, so it this latest one should be all patched up in the next iOS update, but who knows when that’ll be for sure.

[via Gizmodo]

If you’re wondering if your iPhone has an upgrade available, you’ve only to go to your settings and head to “Software Update”. From there you’ll find either an update available to you or a wait in front of you. Don’t fret if nothing is up for you right this minute as the upgrade has just begun to roll out this afternoon – no worries!

This update also comes just days (or hours, in some cases) after a set of warnings and/or messages urging users to skip the iOS 6.1 upgrade were released by carriers like Vodafone. Also in the mix was (and is) evasi0n 1.1, a rather popular jailbreak system that works with iOS 6.0 and 6.1 specifically. Now we get to see if this update breaks that break and that team has to break it all over again.

Meanwhile it appeared that iOS 6.1.1 started to be released back on the 6th of this month, so we’re not long for a wide release without a doubt. Have a peek at the timeline below for additional iOS news from this past week and keep up to date on your devices – update and upgrade daily!

Thanks for the tip, Jake!

Speaking with Forbes, Freeman says that this most recent jailbreak has brought in “insanely more new traffic” for Cydia than the past jailbreak releases, including those for iOS 5. According to Freeman, The breakdown of these seven million iOS devices includes 5.15 million iPhones, 1.35 million iPads, and 400,000 iPod Touches.

Of course, the increase in jailbreak traffic could be due to the fact that there are more iOS devices out in the wild, but Freeman says that Evasi0n’s popularity also stems from the fact that it’s taken a lot longer for a jailbreak to come to iOS 6, further intriguing users to want to jailbreak more so than before.

Case in point: It took hackers 136 days to crack the iPhone 5, while it took just 98 days for the iPhone 4S, 38 days for the iPhone 4, and only 14 days for the iPhone 3GS. Freeman says that hunger for a jailbreak for many iPhone 5 users was intense. Sadly, though, this upward trend of a longer wait in between jailbreaks might keep increasing as Apple spends more time and effort to increase the security of their firmware.

[via Forbes]

Included with the list of improvements to Maps in Japan include improved pronunciation of roads, optimized directions, added labels for intersections, interchanges, etc., updated icons for public buildings like fire stations and hospitals, more 3D buildings around Tokyo, and a few color tweaks within the app.

So, it looks like most the major improvements in the update are only applicable to Japanese users, with possibly some very minor bugfixes that could benefit all iOS users. Plus, the update could include a security block for the recent Evasi0n jailbreak, but that is yet to be discovered in this first beta.

Of course, Evad3rs team member MuscleNerd urges users who used the iOS 6.1 jailbreak to stay away from iOS 6.1.1 for the time being, even though it’s not known whether or not the update patches the Evasi0n exploit. It’s better to be safe than sorry at this point. Other than, it doesn’t seem like a big update, and it’s probably one that many iOS users won’t notice in the long run.

[via 9to5Mac]

Developer pod2g posted up some traffic statistics of evasi0n.com, the website hosting the iOS 6 jailbreak, and the numbers are staggering. As of earlier today, the website has seen almost three million unique visitors, with page views exceeding 17.3 million. These figures don’t even include yesterday’s or today’s statistics, which we guarantee are even more staggering.

Of course, after jailbreaking, users pretty much had no where to go since Cydia was slowing down due to the surge of users downloading various tweaks. Many users would get errors in the app and weren’t able to browse or download tweaks. Jay Freeman, the man behind Cydia, says that he saw a peak of 14,000 hits per second, which is definitely unfathomable.

However, it’ll only be a matter of time before order comes to chaos, so if you’re still trying to get into the Cydia store, you’ll have to be patient. Of course, no one knows exactly when things will start to settle down, but we’re guessing that within the next few days when the initial rush dies down, you’ll be able to dive in finally.

There’s a few things you’ll need before you get started. You obviously should have done most of the pre-jailbreak work already, but if not, be sure to read our guide on how to prepare for the jailbreak. You’ll need a computer running at least Windows XP, OS X 10.5, or Linux x86/x86_64. Luckily, the jailbreak will work with both iOS 6.0 and iOS 6.1, so no need to upgrade to iOS 6.1 if you haven’t already.

You’ll also want to disable your passcode lock if you have one, as the dev team has warned that can interfere with the jailbreaking process. Once you’re ready, head on over the Evasi0n website to download the necessary files that you need. The website does a good job directing you to all the files that you need.

Make sure to be patient while the jailbreak process is running. The dev team says it should only take about five minutes, but they insist that you don’t open up iTunes or Xcode while the process is running. The best thing to do is to just not touch your computer at all until the end of the jailbreaking process.

The same Strategy Analytics report notes that Apple is now the largest mobile phone manufacturer in the United States, having taken that honor from Samsung this past quarter for the first time ever. This includes both smartphones and feature phones, not just smartphones – it includes Samsung’s whole smartphone lineup while Apple only sells smartphones in the iPhone across the board.

According to the data presented by Net Market Share on this past month’s traffic (and for many months before that), iOS dominates the web by a large margin. Net Applications’ data suggests that in January of 2013, iOS had 60.56% of the smartphone and tablet market while Android sat much lower on the list with 24.51%, Android having peaked in November of 2012 with 28.02%. You’ll notice there also that iOS had a bit of hump in growth back in the middle of the summer in 2012 and appears to be evening out after a dip near November.

Meanwhile the folks at NPD have shown that the iPhone continues to be the top selling smartphone in the USA with the iPhone 5 model keeping the #1 spot through 2013. NPD’s Mobile Phone Track for Q4 2012 in the USA shows Apple taking 39% of the market while Samsung works with 30%, this study showing market share for the top smartphone manufacturers in the USA.

Top selling mobile phones in the USA listed by NPD this past quarter show the iPhone 5 in first place, the Samsung Galaxy S III in second, the iPhone 4S and 4 in third and fourth place, and the Samsung Galaxy S II in fifth. The NPD team also made clear that iPhone sales have been increasing drastically, with comparisons between Q4 and Q3 of 2012 showing iPhone 4S unit sales to have increased 43 percent and iPhone 4 unit sales to have increased a whopping 79 percent.

With Apple’s most recent report racking up more than 75 million iOS device sold in the holiday quarter, the Apple mobile sector seems to be doing quite well. With approximately 10 devices sold every second this past quarter, Apple continues to remain quite confident in their cut of the pie.

First off, make sure your iOS device is compatible with the iOS 6.1 jailbreak before you go any further. By this point, you might already know, but if not, a majority of iOS devices will be compatible. The ones that won’t be supported are the iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, first- through third-generation iPod Touch, first-generation iPad, and the third-generation Apple TV.

If you’re still running iOS 5.1 and are jailbroken, it’s a good idea to make sure all of your Cydia tweaks are compatible with iOS 6.1 before you upgrade. Open up the Cydia app and start listing out the tweaks that you use, skimming through each tweak’s description to see if it’s compatible with iOS 6.1. Most of the time, the developer will mention some sort of warning if it’s not compatible.

Once you know which tweaks will and won’t work, decide at that point whether or not it’s worth it to upgrade, and be sure to keep in mind if iOS 6’s new features are also worth it. If any of the new features introduced in iOS 6 aren’t personally pleasing to you, it might be a good idea to just stick with iOS 5.1 anyway if you have an older iOS device.

If you’ve made it this far, then we’re assuming you’re ready to upgrade to iOS 6.1 and jailbreak your device. Go ahead and update through iTunes — DO NOT update OTA. One of the dev team members confirmed that the OTA iOS 6.1 update will have some issues with jailbreaking. Once you’re updated, you’ll then want to make sure you have an up-to-date backup using iCloud or iTunes. Not only will this backup save your butt when the jailbreak goes wrong, but it’ll also be useful when you need to restore apps and settings back to your device after you jailbreak. You’ll also want a backup of all your Cydia packages if you’re currently jailbroken, for which OpenBackup is perfect for this. Make sure you backup these Cydia tweaks before you upgrade to iOS 6.1, because you’ll lose your jailbreak once you update.

Once the iOS 6.1 jailbreak hits, you’ll then want to decide whether to do a clean jailbreak install, or jailbreak your device while keeping all your apps and settings intact. A fresh install will be quicker, and it’s a great way to start with a clean slate if you have a ton of clutter, but you can also use those backups to restore apps, settings, and Cydia tweaks. On the other hand, jailbreaking with your apps and settings intact takes longer, but you won’t need to restore any backups if everything goes smoothly. Be sure to decide which route you want to go before you start the process.

The Evad3rs dev team plans to release the iOS 6.1 untethered jailbreak sometime on Sunday. We’re not sure what time exactly the jailbreak will become available, but we’ll make an announcement when the time comes. You can head to the dev team’s website now and read through the FAQ and other notices they have posted. Hopefully, we’ll see the jailbreak earlier in the day before the Super Bowl, that way we can enjoy the game with our brand-new jailbroken devices, but we’ll simply have to wait and see. However, thanks to your preparations, you’ll be ready to go right away.

Per the official website, a Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux version of the jailbreak will be available. Mac OS X must be at least version 10.5, while Windows need to be at least XP. It will be compatible with all iPad/iPad mini, iPod Touch, and iPhone models that are running iOS 6.0 to iOS 6.1. The entire jailbreaking process is said to take about 5 minutes, and the only requirement – aside from the OS – is a USB data cable.

Once the GUI is completed, the next step will be moving the jailbreaking software into a private beta, where it will be tested for issues. This is the result of the collective evad3rs, which is composed of hackers known by the handles pod2g, pimskeks, planetbeing, and musclenerd. They have a Twitter account up now under @evad3rs.

Others who have worked on the project or otherwise have had involvement includes @chronicdevteam and @iphone_dev, which are thanked on the website for providing support, @Surenix who created designs for both evasi0n and evad3rs, and @phoenixdev for providing research. Little else is known at the moment. We’ll be keeping an eye on this and will let you know when it goes live.

[via iDownload Blog]

As The Register notes, two of the stranger fixes have involved heat and/or cooling of the device – and this isn’t the first nor will it be the last time in this post that we warn you: these fixes are done of your own accord, and SlashGear does not assume any responsibility for you destroying or otherwise changing the way your iPhone functions (or stops functioning). That said, you may very well have wi-fi again very soon – have at it!

The first of these fixes includes blasting your iPhone 5 with a hairdryer. You’ll be heating up the area directly below the lens of the camera on the back of the device while you avoid the area on the phone that includes the battery, that being basically the whole right side of the phone. The right side of the phone is in this case the side of the Apple logo with the bite taken out of it. If you heat up your battery, it will expand and break.

This heating fix requires that you heat up the area below the lens on the camera on the back of the device for a while (no time specified) and allow it to cool back down completely before you begin using the device once more. The image you see above is a replica of one posted in the Apple support forums by a user by the name of Ibrahim, showing the yellow area as the area you want to heat (with more caution than you can possibly muster) and the red marking the area you want to avoid completely.

The other major fix for the device is simply wrapping your iPhone in a towel and putting it in the freezer. While there’s a much smaller chance in that case that your device will be busted than it would with the heat, there’s still some caution to be had – don’t expect an immediate fix, and do so at your own risk. This isn’t magic, and physical “fixes” for gadgets are often less helpful than they are full of breaking action.

Sound like a good couple of fixes to you? Both are dangerous enough that you’ll probably want to avoid using them and wait for a real fix from Apple. The major point here is that wifi, while some people end up skipping using it at this point altogether, is still a beast of a component for your modern smart devices, and it’s not going away any time soon – wireless forever!

For the jailbreak that’s out now, only older pre-A5 iOS devices are supported. This includes the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and the 4th-generation iPod Touch. To get jailbroken on iOS 6.1, you’ll need ISPW files of both iOS 6.1 and iOS 6, as well as a copy of Redsn0w, which works on OS X and Windows. From there it’s just a matter of importing the ISPW files and jailbreaking. Direct links to these downloads are available on Redmond Pie‘s website linked below.

After you’re jailbroken, you’ll have to be plugged in to your computer if you ever need to restart your iOS device. Redsn0w has a section in its app that allows you to quickly do this. However, keep in mind that an untethered jailbreak is ready, and it will likely be released on February 3, so we’d recommend waiting just a few days to get the complete package.

An untethered jailbreak for iOS 6 has actually been working for awhile, but since developers didn’t want Apple to quickly patch up the exploit in iOS 6.1, the devs waited until the iOS update was out, which is why we’re hearing about an iOS 6.1 jailbreak all of a sudden. Come Sunday, we’ll hopefully see a complete untethered jailbreak for all devices, something we haven’t seen iOS 5.1.

[via Redmond Pie]

The iOS 6.1 software upgrade includes a new button that will allow you to reset your Advertising Identifier and includes a set of bug fixes as well. This update will be coming straight to your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad today (or rather soon) and will be available at the touch of a button. Once you see your upgrade alert, you’ll have only to download the required software (107 MB in all) then hit install. A real simple process is what this is all about.

This software upgrade will be necessary for future apps, though as it has been in the past, it’ll likely be quite a while before any developer requires you use this ultra-newest upgrade to run them with ease. This upgrade is being pushed starting today, January 28th, 2013, and is wholly different from the iOS 6.0.1 update that came across back on the first of November, 2012.

Let us know if you’ve found anything wild and crazy happening when you’ve installed iOS 6.1 to your Apple mobile device once you’ve done it, and head to our massive Apple hub for more information on all your favorite Apple products through the future. Also note that this software update will not be working with device that were not able to work with iOS 6.0, and we’ve not heard any word on trouble with anyone using a device that already had iOS 6.0 onboard thus far. Load it up!

The find was attached to a file that included several System Partitions with 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128GB on the list – gotta catch em all! This wouldn’t be too much of an explosive find if it weren’t in iOS 6 and inside OS X instead, but there it is – never before has there been an iOS-toting Apple machine with that much storage in its guts. According to 9to5mac, this version of the iPad may just be coming out in a variety of non-market releases.

In this case, that insight points toward an internal release for high-up Apple employees alone, government agencies, and other oddities. While such a massive amount of internal storage would be fantastic to have as the average consumer, the price point Apple would have to place it as would be too restrictive for sales to be worth production. The three storage size model tags out at the moment are “GOOD”, “BETTER”, and “BEST”, this largest version is appearing as “ULTIMATE” – ultimately less than realistic for you and I.

Meanwhile we’re getting pumped up for the iPad 5, whatever that’ll end up being at it’s reveal and release later this year. Rumors have only just begun to flow around the iPad 5 and its innards, with the release date being the first thing we’re aiming to nail down – and it looks like Autumn at the moment. Have a peek at the timeline below for more iPad 4/5 action than you can handle and check the massive Apple hub through the future!

[via CNET]

Two points were spoken of more than once in the earnings call this week, one of them the fact that this was a record-breaking quarter for Apple in the amount of mobile devices they sold (running iOS) and the overall revenue they generated. The other was the notion that they’d have sold much, much more if they had the supply chain support they needed, especially in regards to the iMac and the iPad mini. Besides dismissing supply chain rumors, Cook also spoke about how well Apple was doing, and how prolific they are right this minute (and into the future).

“Apple is in one of the most prolific periods of innovation in its history. We rely on the same spirit and drive that brought the original Mac and other revolutionary products like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad into the world.” – Tim Cook

Over the past year, Apple has released two new iPads (one of them the iPad mini), refreshed iMacs, Retina MacBook Pros, and the iPhone 5, not to mention new versions of both of their operating systems (mobile and desktop) as well as their full family of in-house developed apps. Apple continues to sell an increasing number of devices each year, so we must (in a basic way, at least) assume that they’re going to continue to push the envelope using their current blueprint for success.

We may very well see revised versions of everything all over again, with upgrades to the internals of every product that sold monumentally well last year and refreshes of the products that didn’t. The iPhone will likely stay the same size, as will most of the products you see on the shelves today – this year’s boosts will more than likely be included in the casings of 2012. The technology will improve and change in 2013 for Apple, the industrial design may well stay largely the same.

Then if we keep seeing Apple succeed with devices that sell extremely well (like we have for many moons), what’s to stop them from continuing their upward climb? The manufacturers that are responsible for creating the hardware that makes up the products Apple designs and sells. If Apple continues down the path they’re on now, they very well may be set to start diving into their own manufacturing as some of their top competitors do – and it may be the best way for them to continue rocketing forward past 2013. As it stands, the cards are turning as we speak.

As far as usage goes, Cook didn’t get into specifics, instead only saying that Maps usage is much higher than it was before the launch of iOS 6. It would seem that more and more users are willing to give Maps a chance as we move forward, with Cook promising that more improvements to the service will come as we work our way through 2013. Google has since launched an iOS version of its own Maps service, giving Apple more of a reason to strive to continually improve its own offering. Competition, as they say, is only a good thing for consumers.

Cook also pointed to the fact that Apple has been constantly making improvements to Maps since iOS 6 launched. We heard during the call that Apple has some impressive stuff in the pipeline, so perhaps that includes more features for Maps? We’ll just have to wait and find out, but at least we know that Apple will keep working on it as 2013 marches on.

Apple had a record-breaking quarter in terms of iPhone and iPad sales, thanks in large part to the new iPhone 5 and iPad mini. With those releases and the positive consumer reaction, there’s even more reason for Apple to always be improving its app offerings. Stay tuned, because 2013 might just prove to be a pretty big year for Apple as far as software is concerned.

If you have a handful of apps that you want to hide, you could just put them in an “Unused” folder and call it a day, but why not use the Newsstand app anyway in order to kill two birds with one stone? This trick allows you to store any app you want inside Newsstand, and it allows for an infinite number of apps, as opposed to regular folders. Here’s how to do it:

This trick requires near-perfect timing, so if you’re not quick, you may have trouble getting it right. First, move the Newsstand folder/app to the second page of your home screen, and any apps you want in the Newsstand to the third page. Stay on the third page while you do this next step: Press the home button, and then immediately tap and hold an app you want to move.

Continue holding until your iPhone goes back to the home screen. Once that occurs, release your finger and immediately swipe to the second page. Wiggle mode should now be activated if the trick worked. Then, you just tap on the Newsstand folder to open it, and then press the home botton to close it. The app you initially tapped and held on should now be in the Newsstand folder.

Again, it does take a little bit of practice to do it correctly, so it may take a few tries. You don’t need to be extremely fast or anything, but you’ll at least need to be quick on your feet. This trick also applies to creating folders within folders. There are some caveats, though. Rebooting your iOS device will remove all of the apps from the Newsstand folder, and you also can’t remove the apps from the Newsstand folder without rebooting. Try this at their own risk, and make it quick because Apple may do away with the oddity as soon as they realize it’s there.

[via iDownload Blog]

Today, Apple has told everyone that a fix is incoming, and that it’ll be here on January 7. Apple’s support page doesn’t say exactly why January 7 is the date the feature will be fixed, but regardless, it looks like users will have another five days to wait before Do Not Disturb is functioning properly. In the meantime, we’re told to simply turn Do Not Disturb on and off manually.

That shouldn’t be much of a problem considering toggling Do Not Disturb is a pretty easy thing to do, but the issue here is remembering to do so. It’s easy to ignore your phone when you aren’t getting any calls, messages, or alerts, so we imagine quite a few users will forget to switch off Do Not Disturb while we’re waiting for the feature to fix itself.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about iOS features going haywire when the switch to a new year occurs. It seems that every new year, iOS suffers some kind of problem, but in the grand scheme of things, it could be a whole lot worse than Do Not Disturb failing to turn itself off at the scheduled time. Did this little bug cause some headaches for you on New Year’s Day, or don’t you typically use the Do Not Disturb feature?

Unlike Apple’s stock app switcher, Auxo shows you live previews of apps you have running, and you can use swipe gestures to close apps individually or multiple apps at once. The tweak also comes with an enhanced music player that gives you basic controls and even the ability to view album artwork. There are also toggles for various settings, like WiFi and Airplane Mode.

However, the tweak only works with iOS 6 devices currently, but the team behind Auxo have promised that a version for iOS 5 will be released next week. The tweak is also iPhone-only right now, but an iPad version is coming in early 2013, which will be particularly great for viewing the live app tiles on the iPad’s larger screen. We’re looking forward to seeing how that looks.

Sadly, we’re still waiting on an iOS 6 jailbreak that works on all compatible devices, let alone an untethered option, which is what most users are waiting for. So, Auxo probably won’t see a lot of action until an iOS 5 version becomes available, and we can only imagine what kind of attention the tweak wil get once it’s available on most iOS devices.

The two websites seem to be interlinked with each other, and OpenAnyPhone.com has a banner at the top for iPhoneJailbreakUnlock.org. Either way, both sites are charging a one-time fee of $28 to “jailbreak” your iOS 6 device. All you have to do is pay by credit card or even PayPal and you’ll be on your way…on your way to scamville.

Unlike OpenAnyPhone.com, iPhoneJailbreakUnlock.org says that they don’t support the iPhone 5, but all previous generations are eligible. The site notes that the hack will “jailbreak” your iPhone, as well as “unlock it. Plus, they claim that the process is “fully reversible” and the package comes with “lifetime updates.”

Obviously, steer clear from this one, and only follow the official dev teams for updates on jailbreaks. Many people learned that the hard way last week, when Dream JB, the man behind the iOS 6 untethered jailbreak with the same name, convinced thousands of people that it was real, and taught them a valuable lesson to only trust reputable and known developers.

The data from MoPub, which supports 12,000 apps and monitors one billion ad impressions every day, does conflict with another report from mobile ad network Chitika, which saw just a 0.2% increase in iOS 6 users within the first 36 hours of Google Maps becoming available. However, MoPub seems to include a wider set of data than Chitika and which was taken over a longer period of time.

Furthermore, a lot of users might have been waiting until the weekend to update to iOS 6, since MoPub’s inclusion of weekend data seems to have contributed significantly to the increase in adoption, which makes sense, due to users having more free time over the weekend to conduct a major update on their smartphone.

This is a big win for both Google and Apple, as it shows that a lot of iPhone users downloaded Google Maps, and tons more users updated to iOS 6 at the same time, which Apple naturally wants in the long run, since they want as many users as possible on its latest operating system. With Google’s mapping solution now taking some of the pressure off, it seems a lot of iOS users are upgrading to iOS 6 with little regrets.

[via TechCrunch]

Both China Unicom and China Telecom have begun offering the iPhone 5 with options galore for sizes, black or white color combinations, and WCDMA or CDMA depending on the second word in the carrier’s name. You’re able to buy a subsidized iPhone 5 on many carriers throughout the planet today while contract-less machines begin at ¥5,288 (approximately $850 USD) in China. NOTE: See our full iPhone 5 review if you’re still on the fence for a purchase!

Meanwhile in Taiwan the unsubsidized iPhone 5 will cost you right around $750 USD (NT$21,900) and subsidized prices are available throughout the country on carriers such as Chunghwa Telecom. The photo you see of the lines in Taipei, Beijing, and more below come from Engadget China, Sina Tech, and Weibo.

If you’re in one of the following countries, let us know how your iPhone 5 experience is going! We’re also to be found at @SlashGear on Twitter if you’d like to contact us there – stay safe in the snow if you’re near it!

Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Grenada, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.

Additional countries getting the iPhone 5 in stores on the 21st of December include: Barbados, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Egypt, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St.Vincent & the Grenadines, Tunisia, Uganda, and Vietnam.

Search

Searching for the location we’re headed to here has points going to Google for putting the Minneapolis airport (the closest airport to us at the time) up on top of the search list while Apple suggested we look through every airport in their collection, no matter the distance. If we searched “Minneapolis Airport” of course both apps brought up the correct location first. It’s extremely important that Google’s solution is location aware in this search piece of the puzzle, without a doubt.

Saying “I want to go to there”

Of course if you want to head to the Airport after you’ve searched for it, a classic Liz Lemon command should do it, right? As the iPhone works with Apple’s Maps solution with Siri, actually commanding Siri to bring us to the Airport had the correct airport on the list right up near the top of the list – tap it and you’re on your way. This is just about the simplest process in the book, and Apple certainly gets points for the simplicity factor in attaining a voice-commanded request.

Unfortunately even if we open up the official Google search app (basically the Apple equivalent of Google Now for Android) we can’t get to Google Maps directly as Siri does with Apple Maps – instead we’re directed to a site that says Google’s Mobile version of maps (in this case meaning in-browser) isn’t ready for action quite yet.

Alternate Routes

It’s possible in both the Google Maps and Apple Maps to choose alternate routes depending on where you’re going. The first display you get when heading out in a Google Maps is a list of routes listing the amount of time it’ll take, “via” the largest road, a note about traffic (heavy, light, etc), and the physical distance you’ll be traveling. With Apple Maps you get suggested routes on the birds-eye-view map with tags on them that say “Route 1″, “Route 2″, and more – when you tap on each of them, the amount of time they’ll take for you as well as the physical distance is shown in the status bar above the map.

If you tap “show traffic” while you’re viewing your alternate routes in Apple Maps, you can see red dotted lines where heavy traffic exists, but these markers are hidden under the large blue lines that are your routes – so you won’t be able to see if there’s traffic there either way. Google’s method for giving you options in your routes here gets points for transparency and ease of use.

Driving

Actually traversing your chosen route is largely the same on both platforms, believe it or not, with the big differences being in the before and after portion of this puzzle. If I, Chris Burns, had to choose which version looked more aesthetically pleasing, I’d certainly choose the flattened modern look of Google Maps over the third dimension skeuomorphisms present in Apple’s approach. Google’s visuals also offer a bit more detailed information about the turns that are coming up while Apple simplifies a bit more than is necessary at this juncture in the process.

The accuracy of each of the map ecosystems is really up to you – its your area that you’re going to be navigating, and if you’ve used one or the other and found it to be less than pleasing, we suggest giving the alternative a try.

Wrap-up

This is just one of many tests we could perform on and with these map apps. A third alternative you really should be considering is Telenav’s Scout – a rather graphically intense version of all this with controls and details precise and excellent from top to bottom – with that app you’ll be getting a whole different game, all about navigation and exploration at once.

Remember that both Apple Maps and Google Maps are free apps, with the former being installed on your iOS 6 device right out of the box and working with Siri and the latter being based on Google’s approach, integrated with your Google account. We recommend you give both for a whirl, just for kicks.

What we’ve got here is a Google Maps that allows spoken-aloud turn-by-turn directions for your iPhone (and other iDevices if you wish) as well as taking the full experience as it exists on Android on over to Apple’s products. The user interface is stripped down to the bone, leaving as much room for the actual displayed map as possible as you travel through your city in your own car, on public transport, or on foot.

Open the app – the completely free app, mind you – and you’ll see a familiar Google Maps vision sitting directly on top of you. If you’re at Perkins, you’ll see that location in just about as basic an aesthetic vision as possible, with roads, buildings, and landmarks marked. You need to activate your GPS on your device to make this happen, of course, and once you’re in, you’re ready to navigate the earth.

You have several choices for how you’re going to view the area around you (or anywhere on the planet that Google has mapped) including Traffit, Public Transit (not always available everywhere, same for traffic), and Satellite – this last option shows you a view from Google’s satellite photos taken of basically everywhere on our globe. You also have a link out to Google Earth, the app Google has to show you more 3D action on the fly of buildings and landscape in the areas they’ve mapped out thus far.

Near the top of your display you’ll see a Search Bar that brings you instant results once you start typing addresses or names of businesses, and results are broken up into instant results and “nearby from your history.” This nearby section shows a history of results you’ve worked with based on your physical location – different results if you’re at home, work, halfway to Siberia.

Tapping the current location button in the lower left-hand corner of the screen brings you back into your current place of existence facing the direction you’re facing at the moment, tapping it again shows your location with everything correct compass-wise. There’s a shortcut to recent locations you’d like to navigate to on the right of the search bar and all the way on the right of the search bar you’ve got a little person icon.

This little person icon links you in to your profile and the ability to set Home and Work locations – you’ll remember this feature from SCOUT by Telenav, another GPS-centric mapping app that also offers free turn-by-turn directions as well as a top-notch user interface that really pops!

Inside your settings you’ll also see the ability to edit your Home and Work locations, see your Maps history (and delete entries, if you wish), and a place to send Feedback. You can also Shake to Send Feedback – this being rather convenient if you’re extremely lost and want to complain about it really, really easily. There’s also a Tutorials section that allows you to see the gestures you can use to show all of the features in the app.

Turn-by-turn directions are as accurate as they’ve ever been with Google Maps and match the accuracy of the platform on all devices – on your desktop the same as on your Android phone. You can preview the directions you want to take, step by step, you can display your directions as a step-by-step guide without turn-by-turn if you’re wanting to go back in time, and you can adjust for each of the separate means of transport Google Maps supports.

Basically this is easily one of the most deceptively simple-looking navigation apps available for the iOS platform today, packing the power and reliability of Google Maps for the masses. You’ll want to take note that Google has had a “Navigation is in Beta” note on their Navigation piece to this puzzle for several years, be it on Android, here on iOS, or elsewhere, so it’s not perfect: but it’s close!

The Google Maps app for iOS reached #1 in the iTunes App Store in less than 12 hours – and with more than 8,000 reviews up already before its first full day on the market, it might be time for you to check it out.

Dream says that the “entire series [of] events was planned from start to finish.” He initially mentioned a December 22 release date for the jailbreak, but released it early on the 12th because he claimed he didn’t want to wait any longer, and wanted to prove to the world that the supposed jailbreak was real. However, he actually planned to release it sooner than the 22nd all along, although he wasn’t sure what day exactly.

He says that he “would not have been able to keep the community’s attention” if he waited until the 22nd — the experiment was starting to “fall apart” and “professionals were starting to analyse everything.” Dream notes that it was then time to release the fake jailbreak on the 12th, as he felt that he “would make the most impact on [his] viewers and followers.”

Dream says that he created the social experiment “due to articles popping up on reputable jailbreak blogs and sources regarding a recent string of frauds and fakes. So many people are falling into fake jailbreak traps and getting scammed out of their money.” He says he wanted to teach a valuable lesson to users and hackers alike, that you should only follow the reputable dev team members for jailbreak updates, and that other fakers out there in the world should be warned.

“Is what I did controversial? Absolutely. But in order to make a splash in the scene you have to be drastic. As more and more followed me on Twitter, the word of my “jailbreak” started to spread around some non reputable news sources, and slowly started to trickle into more reputable news sources.”

He notes that his website received almost 700,000 unique visitors from the time his experiment started, to the time that he released the fake jailbreak. His Twitter account, which has since been deleted, got more than 20,000 followers in less than a week. Dream says that if he “can save even 10%” of those visitors and followers, he’s happy with what he did. It was a “harsh lesson for many right now, but it will be appreciated further on down the line.”

So when will a real untethered iOS 6 jailbreak arrive? According to reputable iOS hackers, don’t count on one. Stefan Esser (better known as i0n1c) says that an untethered jailbreak for iOS 6 isn’t coming anytime soon. Even if an iOS 6 untethered jailbreak was discovered, Esser believes that the hacker will hold the exploits until Apple releases the iOS 6.1 firmware update.

Dream ended up uploading a video of the jailbreak process earlier in the evening, and at the end, it shows the Cydia app on the homescreen, suggesting that the jailbreak was successful. However, a lot of other iOS hackers have noted that the video is, indeed, edited and fake. A keen eye spotted that the time on the device changes erratically throughout the video, suggesting that the video was spliced together. Watch the video below to see for yourself.

After the Rick-roll, Dream teaches us all a valuable lesson, and to only “follow the dev team members for true and meaningful updates in the JB world.” He also sends out a message to all of the other iOS jailbreak hoaxers and says, “Let this be a lesson to all current and future jailbreak fakers.” This probably won’t stop future fakers, but it definitely will make excited iOS 6 users slow down and think rationally about whether a jailbreak is real or not.

Dream says that the project was meant to be social experiment. He mentions that over 20,000 people followed him on Twitter in less than a week, and his website ended up getting over 300,000 unique visitors. He continually insists that anyone interested in jailbreak happenings should only follow the official dev team members, and he also says that the experiment was simply “exactly as it was named. Simply just a dream.”

However, what’s mysterious about this whole thing is that the jailbreak won’t come from the iPhone-Dev Team, which has been the go-to hacker team for iOS jailbreaks in the past. Instead, it comes from this new guy, Dream JB. While we’ve never heard of this guy before, it seems he’s legit from what we’ve seen — his website lists an FAQ and he also provides a support email address, as well as a Twitter account for public relations efforts.

For those who are extremely skeptical of this, Dream JB has promised that he’ll post up a video sometime tomorrow proving that the untethered iOS 6 jailbreak is real. Dream JB says that the video “will be a single-take shot of the entire jailbreak process, including a restart and usage of the device to prove it is untethered.”

Obviously, we’re still a little skeptical, of course, but we’re excited to see the video once it goes live tomorrow, and we’ll be sure to post it up here on SlashGear for you to watch as well. We’ve heard that this could be a trollish effort, since the world supposedly ends on the 21st, and the jailbreak would be posted on the 22nd as a joke of sorts, but we’re prone to believe that it’s slightly more legit than that. Stay tuned!

With this release, Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition is now on PC and iPad, two of the four platforms Beamdog has announced for the game. It was scheduled to launch on Mac OS X alongside the iPad version, but last we heard, the OS X version was still in Apple’s certification process. The game will also be coming to Android tablets (including the Nexus 7) at a later, yet-unannounced date.

Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition is actually $10 cheaper on iPad than it is on PC, but that’s because two of the three added characters have become in-app purchases for the iPad release. Looking at the game’s App Store listing, those characters cost $2.99 each, so it seems like you’ll still come out paying less if you buy the iPad version and all of the in-app purchases. Cross-platform play is coming to the iPad version eventually, which means you’ll be able to play multiplayer games with those playing on PC, Mac, and Android.

For the moment, Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition is only compatible with iPads that have been updated to iOS 6. Trent Oster tweeted today that the team still needs to work on the iOS 5.1 version for the original iPad, but that the game will be updated when that’s finished. For everyone else with an iPad running iOS 6, you can snag Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition from the App Store right now for $9.99 [download link].

“Due to the discontinuation of the Google Local Search service, TomTom has decided to remove the feature” the company said of the update. “You can still search for locations using TomTom Places. Alternatively you can search Google in your browser and use the Copied Address feature to plan routes to these locations.”

TomTom Places is the company’s own driving-centric database of search results, bringing up POIs including gas stations, markets, restaurants, and more. It’s included in the app, along with live traffic updates and lifetime map updates.

The app is priced at $59.99 for the US and Canada version [iTunes link], while the UK and Ireland version is £39.99. TomTom recommends using iTunes to install the update, as there’s the possibility that you could lose your settings and saved locations otherwise.