iOS 8.0.1 Released, Fixes Bugs, Brings New Problems for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Users

One would say nothing can break Apple like the past few scandals and issues, right? The whole iCloud fiasco, the BendGate and now iOS 8.0.1.

The new version of firmware came out on Wednesday for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad and everyone jumped on the Software Update menu. Unlike the update to iOS 8.0, this time the over-the-air updating worked just fine. This is due to a smaller size of the Delta Update. If you update your device without iTunes expect an update that will only take about two minutes and a download smaller than 80MB.

What's new

The release notes explain the update has some bug fixes and improvements. Among others, Apple has fixed the bug that prevented HealthKit apps to work so all of them should now become available in App Store. They have also addressed an issue with 3rd party keyboards when users were typing passwords. 

Other small fixes are:

• Fixes an issue that prevented some apps from accessing photos from the Photo Library
• Improves the reliability of the Reachability feature on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
• Fixes an issue that could cause unexpected cellular data usage when receiving SMS/MMS messages
• Better support of Ask To Buy for Family Sharing for In-App Purchases
• Fixes an issue where ringtones were sometimes not restored from iCloud backups
• Fixes a bug that prevented uploading photos and videos from Safari

Broken iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus? Here's how to fix it

However, the update seems to break the cellular radio and Touch ID feature on some iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices. Apple has pulled the update an hour and 37 minutes later and released a short comment to Re/Code: “We are actively investigating these reports and will provide information as quickly as we can. In the meantime we have pulled back the iOS 8.0.1 update.” Two hours after the update, the only solution for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users is to restore manually, via iTunes. If you are affected by these issues, back-up your iPhone on iCloud, connect it to the computer via the USB cable, click the Restore button and wait until the phone is restored. At the end the phone will get everything back via iCloud.

Apple is expected to re-release the iOS 8.0.1 update or jump straight to the iOS 8.0.2 just to make sure everyone has updated properly. As usual, a clean install of iOS fixes everything and if you still think your phone is slow just delete everything and start from scratch. make sure to back-up everything before the wipe out.

iOS 8.0.1 worked for some users
Image credits to Apple

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New Phison 256 GB SDXC Memory Card Reaches 95 MB/s

SDXC memory cards are the type that work best in video and photo capture devices, barring CompactFlash ones that aren't as broadly supported. Phison has just launched such a card.

Said newcomer, the 256GB SDXC UHS-I U3, obviously has a capacity of 256 GB. What is not as obvious is the transfer speed. Sure, UHS Speed Class 3 rating means that the card is about as fast as you can hope, but specifics are always more helpful. Fortunately, Phison didn't neglect to provide them. It turns out that the memory card has a read speed (maximum) of 95 MB/s, while the writing speed is of up to 90 MB/s. The PS8210 controller is responsible for the performance, thanks to its dual-channel architecture. Phison used TestMetrix software to run tests.

As you may have already gleamed from the title and subtitle, the newcomer is most suited for high-end consumer and professional photo and video capture devices. Sadly, prices are unknown at the moment. Still, sales should start soon enough, so keep an eye on retailer websites if you're in the market for something like this. In addition to 256 GB, Phison sells 1 TB and 2 TB SDXC memory cards, as well as microSDXC models of (understandably) lower capacity.

Press Release:Phison Electronics Corporation (8299.TWO), a global leader in flash storage, announced today the new 256GB SDXC UHS-I U3 (UHS speed class 3) - The world's fastest 256GB SD card solution. Coupled with the latest 1Ynm MLC, the PS8210 controller provides up to 95MB/s sequential read and 90MB/s sequential write performance based on Phison internal testing with TestMetrix. The extreme speeds make the 256GB SDXC ideal for professional photos and high quality 4K2K videos.
The 2-channel, powerful PS8210 controller delivers a comprehensive SD product line across retail, professional and industrial markets.

Phison 256GB SDXC UHS-I U3
Image credits to Phison

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NVIDIA's New SLI Bridges Get Their Own Green Glow

SLI technology allows you to connect more than one video card from NVIDIA, so that their resources may be pooled together.

It doesn't quite double the potential performance of your system, but it should provide a boost of at least 50% even without game engine, hardware, and driver optimizations. SLI bridges don't exactly have what one might call glamor though. However, NVIDIA felt that even glorified connectors deserved a bit of a makeover. That is what ultimately led to the creation of the newest GeForce GTX SLI LED bridges. Available in 2-way, 2-way spaced, and 3-way spaced configurations, the bridges boast green LEDs that light up the inside of your PC even if you don't have fans with similar adornments.

The new SLI bridges look like something cut out from the door of a vault, all chrome-silver metallic and shining. Alas, the prices of the LED bridges are a bit on the high side, at $29.99 / €29.99 for the 2-way ones (both spaced and unspaced) and $39.99 / €39.99 for the 3-way version. Then again, compared to the prices of the GeForce GTX 770 and higher-end boards (GTX 780, 780 Ti, GTX Titan, Titan Black, and GTX 970/980), it won’t seem like much.

NVIDIA 3-way SLI bridge in action
Image credits to NVIDIA

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ASUS ROG G751 High-End Gaming Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M Incoming

Yesterday ASUS made official two new laptops under its ROG banner, namely the G551 and G771 gaming machines which take advantage of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M/860M.

But ASUS is prepping a more high-end version of the two, which will take advantage of NVIDIA’s latest GPU standard.

A new ASUS ROG premium laptop is in the pipeline

The laptop will be marketed as the G771 and boasts the 17-inch form factor. The laptop is a variant of the multimedia notebook N751 that brings to the table an advanced cooling system that allows the accommodation of powerful equipment underneath the hood. The laptop takes advantage of the brushed aluminum panel characteristic of the ROG lineup and has the logo of the line plastered on top of the lid, as you’d expect. An interesting feature is that the battery is not easily accessible by the user, so it should prove quite difficult to replace. The folks at Notebook Italia managed to track the upcoming G771 and snap a few photos of the device and you can check them out in the gallery below.

You’ll also recognize another hallmark of the ROG series and we’re referring here to the decorations and backlit keyboard with red LEDs. ASUS has added a bunch of function buttons along the top edge of the keyboard, including three programmable buttons, a dedicated key for Steam and one that will prompt the kick start of video recording sessions. Moving on to the raw technical specifications, the new G751 arrives with a 17.3-inch Super IPS display with HD resolution. As for power source, ASUS offers a choice between chips like the quad-core Intel Core i7-4710HQ or i7-4860HQ (from the Haswell family) fitted with up to a massive 32GB of RAM.

The G751 will be one of the first to take advantage of the new Maxwell GPU

Probably one of the most interesting aspects of the G751 is that it takes advantage of the new-gen Maxwell-based GPU, in the form of the GeForce GTX 980M. This is the most high-end option customers can go for, but those of you who don’t need as much can also go for lower options such as the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M. But bear in mind that, according to the recent benchmarks, the GeForce GTX 980M should double the performance of the previous GTX 880M, so you might want to save up for the high-end G751 version. To complete the spec list, we’ll tell you the G751 takes advantage of four USB 3.0, HDMI video output, VGA, Thunderbolt port, SD card reader, Gigabit Ethernet LAN, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, DVD or Blu-Ray optical drive and a 720p webcam.

The ASUS G751 will reportedly go on sale in Europe soon, with pricing starting at a hefty €1499 / $1927. For the time being, we don’t have any information to share with you about the US pricing, but chances are the laptop will be sold for a cheaper rate.

ASUS ROG G751 will be a high-end model

ASUS ROG G751 showing ROG characteristic log

ASUS ROG G751 backlit keyboard

ASUS ROG G751 upside down

ASUS ROG G751 in profile
Images credits to Notebook Italia

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