Guardian.co.uk reports on BBC announcements about their iPlayer streaming television service, including usage stats. Amongst the announcements, however, is also the tidbit that the BBC will be launching their iPlayer service to be available on Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch devices in "the next few weeks".
There are surprisingly few details about this iPhone version of the BBC's iPlayer. The BBC's iPlayer currently comes in two flavors: a web streaming version as well as a Windows-only downloadable version.
TheRegister.co.uk claims that this means that the BBC will be transcoding their shows from Flash into H.264 video just as Youtube has, and also claims the iPhone iPlayer will be Wi-Fi only and that the BBC has a deal with hotspot provider The Cloud to offer free access to bbc.co.uk and iPlayer. While the "next few week" timeframe corresponds to the scheduled release of the iPhone SDK, it's never explicitly stated that this version of the iPlayer will be a dedicated player. A DigitalSpy.co.uk article even notes that it is possible only "because of the devices' good web support", suggesting it may simply be a specially designed web portal.
Meanwhile, PocketGamer.co.uk posts photos from a Gameloft keynote speech in which an iPhone game is depicted. The image may simply be a mockup, however, rather than an actual peek at an upcoming iPhone game.
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 12:45 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to Financial Times sources. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014.
This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019....
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
