iOS

Apple today released, then quickly pulled, its first update for iOS 8 after customers flooded its support forum with reports that their iPhone 6 and 6 Plus smartphones could no longer connect to a cellular network.

iOS 8.0.1, which was supposed to fix a host of bugs, including several prominent issues that had garnered press -- like one that barred apps relying on Apple's new Healthkit framework -- was released around 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET).

 As another year goes by we see a new iPhone and a new version of iOS to accompany it. We also got a preview of the Apple Watch which will be going on sale next year. Our reviews of both new iPhones will be coming soon, with a look at new iOS features specific to those devices like ApplePay. But with iOS 8 rolling out today to millions of existing iOS users across the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, it's worth taking a look at what Apple is bringing to the users that are already in the iOS ecosystem.

I’ve pretty much become a full-time texter these days, using Apple’s Messages app on my Mac and iPhone to send iMessages (to friends and contacts who use iOS or OS X) as well as regular text messages (to people outside the Apple ecosystem).

iOS 8 brings great new changes to the mobile version of the Messages app, some of which might not be immediately apparent. Here’s a look at the new features and how best to use them.

Third-party keyboards have finally come to iOS 8. If you're tired of the stock Apple keyboard, just head on down to the App Store and check out the quickly growing roster of alternative options.

There's everything from typing, to swiping, to drawing, and you can do it all in style with a million themes and different looks. To give you an idea of what's out there, we're checking out some of the more interesting keyboards for iOS8.

"Huge for developers. Massive for everyone else."

Apple this morning has released OS X 10.10 Yosemite Developer Preview 5.

The new update brings various performance improvements and bug fixes. The previous Developer Preview brought some minor user-interface enhancements and significant speed improvements. Apple also released iOS 8 beta 5.

Information security has never been a more sensitive subject than it is these days, so it’s little surprise that allegations from a security researcher that iOS contains a ‘backdoor’ permitting access to users’ information provoked a strong response from Apple.

A number of undocumented features in iOS have been found to essentially create backdoors for siphoning large amounts of users' personal data from Apple devices.

Jonathan Zdziarski, a researcher who often trains federal and state law enforcement agencies in forensic techniques, revealed the existence of the mostly hidden features. The data-stealing avenues have evolved over the last few years and may have been used by the U.S. National Security Agency to collect data on potential targets, Zdziarski said.

It was just a few months ago that iOS 7.1 was released, bringing in a host of features for iPhone owners. However, if you’re one of the millions if iPhone owners who happen to also enjoy jailbreaking their devices, every Apple update forces you to wait for another jailbreak. The wait is over for the iOS 7.1.1 jailbreak, but some concerns remain about the circumstances behind the jailbreak itself.

Of the many announcements made at Apple’s recent Worldwide Developers Conference, one that did not garner as much attention concerned the pre-installed weather app on the iPhone.

The look, feel and data has been provided to Apple by Yahoo for many years, part of a deal that sends a lot of traffic back to the Internet portal and spurs a multitude of downloads of its own handsome weather app. So attractive, in fact, that the refurbishment of it was much touted by CEO Marissa Mayer and was well received by reviewers and users. The kudos were much deserved.