As further evidence to the authenticity of GearLive's leaked iPhone 1.1.3 firmware photos and videos that were leaked over the weekend, Hrmph.com dug up a patent application that was published in August of last year that clearly shows Apple describing how one might allow rearrangement of icons on a mobile device, and specifically describes varying the positions (wobbling) of the icons to indicate that the icons may be moved by the user.
Hrmpf compiled an animated gif demonstrating this wobbling effect, which looks identical to the 1.1.3 demo video. While it's certainly possible the images/video could simply be based on this patent application, it was not widely publicized at the time, and the description of wobbling icons is only obvious in retrospect.
One interesting description of the original patent application is that Apple suggested that icon movement could be elastic, allowing users to "throw" icons into the indended location.
Upon breaking contact with the touch-sensitive display, the respective icon may resume varying its position. In some embodiments, the respective icon can be thrown, so that the final position of the respective icon is different from the point at which the icon is released. In this embodiment, the final position can depend on a variety of factors, such as the speed of the throw, the parameters used in a simulated equation of motion for the throw (e.g., coefficient of friction), and/or the presence of a lay out grid with simulated attractive forces.
The leaked version of the firmware does not have this capability according to GearLive. The iPhone is currently at firmware version 1.1.2, and there's been no indication when 1.1.3 might be released.
Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
Anker's Black Friday/Cyber Week event is entering its final days this weekend, and it's still offering up to 60 percent off sitewide. There are also a few "mystery boxes" that can include hundreds of dollars in savings, if you're willing to risk not knowing what you're buying ahead of time. All of these sales will end on December 3. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker. When you...
Thursday November 30, 2023 9:00 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Earlier this month, Apple announced that it will finally support RCS in the Messages app on the iPhone starting later next year. This change will result in several improvements to the messaging experience between iPhones and Android devices. RCS will become the new default standard for messaging between iPhones and Android devices, but these conversations will still have green bubbles like...
Apple employees are back to work following a Thanksgiving break, and that means this week saw a number of new operating system updates for both public release and beta testing. This week also saw some misinformation about Apple's new NameDrop feature making the rounds, while Apple and Goldman Sachs appear to be on the verge of a break-up in their Apple Card and savings account partnership,...
Tuesday December 5, 2023 1:57 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Meta has revealed plans to end Instagram users' ability to chat with Facebook accounts later this month, rolling back a feature that it introduced over three years ago. In September 2020, Meta (then Facebook) announced it was merging its Facebook Messenger service with Instagram direct messaging, allowing Instagram users to chat with Facebook users and vice versa using the same platform....
Apple's work on implementing 6G cellular connectivity on its devices appears to be ramping up, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Apple is increasingly turning its attention to 6G, even amid its widely reported difficulties developing a custom 5G cellular modem. In 2021, the first highly specific Apple job...
