Top iOS news of the week: Eye tracking, Chrome Handoff, iPhone big in Asia
Apple patents method to track eye movement for system control
Apple has been granted a patent for tracking eye movement for use in Macs and iOS devices for controlling the systems. The company's method claims to more accurately track the eyes, particularly in the user's peripheral vision.
The patent states that current methods of tracking the eyes for system control are not accurate at the edges of the user's visual field. There are a number of applications should Apple bring this to market. The accessibility application alone would make this a great technology if it works as claimed in the patent application.
Source: Appleinsider
Chrome for iOS updated to support Handoff
The Handoff feature of iOS 8 is useful for owners of multiple iDevices. It allows working with an app on either iOS and OS X and then picking up with the task on another device when in close proximity. It works very well and is a useful feature, but it requires individual apps to specifically support Handoff.
Google updated Chrome for iOS to add this support. With Handoff enabled, it's possible to handoff Chrome activity on one iDevice to another. The implementation takes Handoff to a new level, as the Chrome session once handed over to another device uses the default browser on the recipient device. It is not restricted to a Chrome to Chrome process.
Source: TNW
iPhone sales boost Apple market share in Asia
An analyst reports that iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sales have increased Apple's share in Asia, particularly Japan and Korea. Apple now has over half the share in Japan, already a strong market due to the iPhone.
Significantly, the iPhone has garnered a third of the market in Korea, Samsung's home county. According to the report, this is the first time any smartphone has passed the 20 percent mark in Korea.
Source: Counterpoint
BlackBerry CEO: Force Apple to bring iMessage to BlackBerry
The CEO of BlackBerry made an outrageous statement in a blog post about net neutrality. He believes that it's not sufficient to put pressure on ISPs to promote net netrality, the government should also make companies that operate messaging services open them to other platforms.
Specifically, CEO Chen wants the feds to force Apple to bring iMessage to the BlackBerry. Yes, you read that correctly. It seems BlackBerry can't attract enough customers to its platform, so it wants Apple to help.
Source: 9to5mac