Steffen Reich

I'm an Apple enthusiast by all measures, but that does not keep me from calling a spade a spade when it's needed. Living in Melbourne, Australia. Follow me on Twitter @melbsteve !

How to quickly create fun GIFs in iMessage using the Tumblr app

The other day I made a rare visit to my iMessage App Store. Amongst a multitude of others, Tumblr, an App that never fully struck a chord with me, had add an iMessage app to my ‘Manage’ tab, silently begging for me to take it for a spin. I sighed and flicked the switch on, not knowing what to expect from the extension - and have not looked back since.

Why Apple should be more bullish on Virtual Reality

2016 will unquestionably be remembered as the year Virtual Reality made a meaningful entrance to the tech world. Granted, there were murmurings and early adaptations long before, but with the staggered release of Oculus Rift in March, the HTC Vive in April, or the new Samsung Gear VR in August, Virtual Reality (of varying degrees) appears to have accomplished the shift from nascent tech-demo material to becoming a more legitimate contender for a share of your wallet.

On October 13, Playstation joined the fray, releasing the arguably most consistent and yet affordable VR experience with Playstation VR. If early numbers and reviews are anything to go by, this could be the product to help the technology cross the consumer chasm once and for all and attract mainstream interest.

Get your green thumb on with Flower Power by Parrot

Flower Power, an iOS app that promises to help you get the best out of your favorite indoor or outdoor plant, has undergone a major face lift this August. The app, developed by Parrot SA has been around since 2013, but both looks and functions have been overhauled in-depth recently. While the app is and has always been free, it requires a hefty upfront investment for the wireless plant monitor itself to supply the app with critical data. So let’s posit you want your beloved indoor plant to live up to its maximum potential - Should you pounce for it?

How to receive a notification when your friends are leaving or arriving at a set location

Apple’s Find My Friends app has been much maligned over the years and for many served as a great example that Apple does bloatware just as well as the competition. With the arrival of iOS 10 and the ability to delete the stock apps some users might find pesky, Find My Friends certainly must be a contender for the title of most frequently trashed app on the Home screen.

This comes in spite of the fact that, over time, Find My Friends has actually inherited some redeemable qualities: next to a useful widget, one feature in particular has enjoyed little to no exposure, even though there are compelling real life use cases for it.

Apple Pay arrives in New Zealand, faces uphill battle as large banks continue to attempt lock out

New Zealand has just joined the ranks of Apple Pay enabled countries on Wednesday, following suit after neighbouring Australia finally introduced the service in May through ANZ Banking Group.

The foray was met with great customer praise in May, when ANZ became the first major bank in the region that decided to buck the trend of openly colluding with rival banks in an effort to prevent Apple Pay from hitting the shores. While Kiwis will undoubtedly be eager to embrace the technology, implementation is not likely to gather significant momentum until the same large players barring Apple Pay from the Australian market (most notably Commonwealth Bank, National Australian Bank, Westpac) come to an agreement over the cut Apple makes with every micro transaction and join ANZ in rolling out the service in both countries.