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iOS 13 Announced: Dark Mode, New Reminders app, Enhanced Privacy, and more
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Handhelds, Software,
During today's WWDC 2019 keynote, Apple announced iOS 13, the next major release of its major mobile operating system platform.
- iOS 13 is even faster and performance has been tuned across the board. This results in 50% smaller app downloads, 60% smaller app updates, and 2x faster app launching than in iOS 12.
- Dark Mode was announced for iOS 13, a feature that users have been asking for for years. We saw Notes, Messages, News, Music, Photos, and other Apple apps in dark mode.
- Swipe gesture support is added to the keyboard
- New share sheet will offer suggestions when it finds people in photos, and offer people you typically share with.
- Apple Music now supports time-synced lyrics
- New apps - Notes gets a gallery view and shared folders, Safari, Mail
- New Reminders app will recognize what you type, keep smart lists, allows for tagging people, and more
- Maps are being rebuilt from the ground-up, completely rolled out in the US by the end of 2019. Collections allows you to save a bunch of locations in a folder. New Look Around feature brings Street View functionality to Apple Maps. You'll be able to share an up-to-date ETA with friends going forward.
- Privacy: You can now grant apps access to your location just once. Wi-Fi & Bluetooth backdoor tracking is shut off. New Sign In with Apple allows you to sign into Web sites without being tracked the way you are with Facebook and Google sign ins - you can choose what info you provide to an app. If you give them email access, Apple will give them a fake email that forwards to your real email.
- HomeKit: Apple announces HomeKit Secure Video - videos are analyzed in your home instead of in the cloud, using iPad, Apple TV, HomePod, and more.
- Messages: You can share your name and photo in Messages, which lets you control who sees your name and picture.
- New Memoji options let you add eye shadow, lipstick, piercings, teeth, earrings, hair, hats, glasses, AirPods, and more. Memoji Stickers will take your Memoji and add a bunch of expressions that can be used on any device with an A9 processor or later.
- Camera: New High Key Mono portrait lighting effect. You can also move the lights closer or further away from your subject when in Portrait Lighting mode.
- Photos: New photo editing tools in Photos allow you to adjust your pictures in new ways. Apple also says these same effects can be used with videos as well - filters and effects are supported. Browsing large photo libraries is now easier as Apple intelligently hides duplicates, receipts, whiteboards, etc. You can still get to them, but they won't show up right in the main library. Apple will also let you sort by year, month, days, and All Photos, making it really easy to browse the greatest hits of your photo library.
- AirPods: Siri can instantly read you your new messages as they arrive, and you can respond with your voice right away. New Audio Sharing feature allows you to share audio with a friend.
- HomePod: Apple brings Handoff to HomePod. Bring your phone near a HomePod to have it continue your music, phone call, podcast, etc. right where you left off. HomePod will also recognize who's talking and personalize its response, giving it multi-user support, including for apps like Music, Notes, Messages, Reminders, and more.
- CarPlay: Siri will work with third-party apps like Pandora and Waze in the car.
- Siri now sounds a lot more natural with cadence and emphasis, using Neural TTS. The voice is now completely generated in software rather than using clips from a voice actor.
- You'll also be able to sent calls from unknown callers directly to voicemail.
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Apple Card: Apple announces its own credit card with a focus on privacy
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News,
During today's It's Show Time Apple Event, the company announced Apple Card, a brand new credit card that promises to change the way consumers work with credit cards. Apple says it is focusing on simple, instant applications, no fees ever, lower interest rates, and better rewards. In order to sign up, users use the Apple Wallet app in the iPhone, and instantly upon approval they get a digital card that is ready to use in their wallet. You'll be able to track purchases, check balances, make payments, and more right from the app.
As for bonuses, Apple is introducing Daily Cash. You get 3% cash back when buying from Apple (including Apple Store, App Store, etc.,) 2% cash back when you use your Apple Card through Apple Pay, and 1% cash back when you use your physical card (and by the way, the physical Apple Card is forged from titanium!) Daily Cash is instantly accessible to be used for whatever you'd like - pay your balance, buy apps, send the cash to friends, spend it, etc.
Focusing on privacy, “Apple doesn’t know what you bought, where you bought it, and how much you paid for it,” says Jennifer Bailey, VP of Apple Pay. All the spending tracking and other information is stored directly on the device, not Apple’s servers. Apple also says “Goldman Sachs will never sell your data to third parties for marketing and advertising,” either.
WWDC 2018: Apple announces iOS 12
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds, Software,
During today's WWDC 2018 keynote, Apple announced the next generation of its mobile software in iOS 12. Here are the biggest points of news for iOS 12:
PERFORMANCE
- Apple is doubling down on performance with the aim of making devices faster and more devices
- iOS 12 will be available on all the same devices that support iOS 11 - this includes devices that shipped back in 2013.
- Apps launch twice as fast on devices running iOS 12 on even the oldest devices
AUGMENTED REALITY
- A major update in iOS 12 is more AR support. Adobe took the stage to introduced simplified tools that will allow developers to create better AR experiences.
- There's a new file format for AR, called USDZ, created in collaboration with Pixar.
- A new app, Measure, will allow you to take measurements in real-time using an iOS device with AR. A demo was shown measuring a suitcase using just an iPhone X.
- Support for shared experiences is announced - multiple users can see the same AR environment in real-time. This allows developers to create worlds that people can all see simultaneously.
- LEGO took the stage to demo a shared AR LEGO app
PHOTOS
- The Photos app gets new updates and features, starting with search. Search Suggestions will highlight things like key moments, places you've taken photos, business names, and events like concerts and sporting events. You can search for multiple terms, like surfing and vacation, to drill down into your library.
- Effect suggestions give you reccomendations to edits you can make to your photos to make them even better.
- Sharing suggestions will find people in your photos and allow you to share them with the folks who are in them. Shared photos are full resolution.
- When you share, the receiver will also be given a suggestion to share photos from the same event with you.
SIRI
- Siri Shortcuts allows you to pull in specific tasks from your apps. An example given was "I lost my keys" to have Siri activate your Tile hardware.
- You can create your own Siri Shortcuts as well, so you can put together your own shortcut phrases.
- A demo was shown using Siri Shortcuts - the user said "travel plans" and got their hotel reservation with an image, address, and check-in time from Siri
- A "Heading Home" shortcut is able to set the home thermostat, play a podcast, send an ETA to a contact, and turn on a HomeKit fan. Very impressive stuff.
APPS
- The News app gets an updated sidebar to make navigation easier
- The Stocks app gets more granular vision to see stock performance. Apple News stories are now integrated into the Stocks app as well, giving you business news on the stocks that you follow.
- The Stocks app now comes to iPad with iOS 12.
- Voice Memos app also comes to iPad with iOS 12, with iCloud support built-in for syncing across devices.
- iBooks becomes Apple Books with a redesigned app.
- In iOS 12, CarPlay will support third-party navigation apps.
DIGITAL HEALTH
- Do Not Disturb is updated to hide notifications at night, and in the morning hides notifications until you specify that you want to see them.
- Do Not Disturb allows you to choose much more granular timeframes rather than just optimized for overnight.
- Notifications can be turned on or off on a per-app basis right from the lock screen
- Notifications can now be grouped by app, topic, or thread. With a swipe, you can dismiss an entire group of notifications.
- A new feature called Screentime offers reports, giving a weekly summary that shows how you used your iOS device. This shows how much time you spend in each app, how often per hour you pick up your phone, and which apps are sending you the most notifications.
- App Limits allows you to set a limited amount of time that you'd like to use specific apps per day.
- Kids get activity reports too, and parents get reports on their own devices of their kids usage. Parents can also create downtime periods and app limits. This is setup through the Family Sharing interfaces.
MESSAGES
- Animoji now support tongue detection for sticking tongues out
- New ghost, koala, tiger, and T-Rex Animoji characters
- Apple announces Memoji, allowing you to create your own customized 3D emoji character that looks like you
- Memoji has a slick creator app to design your character
- The Messages camera now includes effects, filters, stickers, and even Animoji and Memoji right in the camera
FACETIME
- Apple announces Group FaceTime, which allows you to chat with up to 32 simultaneous participants
- You can use both audio or video
- FaceTime is integrated into Messages, allowing you to quickly do a Group FaceTime right from a group chat
- A demo is shown, and as people speak, they become bigger on screen, or you can choose who to bring front and center
- The same effects mentioned above in Messages also applies to the FaceTime camera
Improved performance, new AR experiences, digital health, improved Messages, Group FaceTime, and more. That's iOS 12.
Mega Smartphone Giveaway: Win an iPhone X, Pixel 2, or Galaxy Note 8!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Apple, Smartphones, Features, Handhelds, Videos,
Welcome to our MEGA Smartphone Giveaway! We are giving away three of the best smartphones of 2017 to celebrate the end of the year, and this is your opportunity to walk away with an iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and Google Pixel 2! Here is how it will work:
- The first place winner gets to choose their pick from the 3 smartphones - iPhone X, Note 8, and Pixel 2
- The second place winner gets to choose between the 2 that are left
- The third place winner gets the remaining smartphone (The winner that chooses the iPhone may substitute an iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus instead of the iPhone X if they prefer)
Big shout out to Erica Griffin and David Cogen (The Unlockr) for teaming up with me on this giveaway! Good luck to all! Which phone would you pick if you won? Do the Pixel 2 cameras call your name? Are you all about Face ID with the iPhone X? The stylus of the Galaxy Note 8? Let me know!
Keeping your devices and info secure this holiday season (and win a trip!)
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Editorial, Features, Handhelds, Software,
With the holiday season in full swing, it’s easy to forget about the importance of privacy and security in this world of endless digital devices. More and more of our electronics are constantly connected to the Internet through cloud services, providing more and more entry points into our homes for those with nefarious intentions. McAfee reached out to me with some tips on staying secure when using different devices, and they’re good enough to be shared, as they just might help you avoid a privacy-related disaster. Additionally, McAfee is running a sweepstakes where the grand prize winner will receive a trip for two to Iceland. More details on that at the end of this article.
Click to continue reading Keeping your devices and info secure this holiday season (and win a trip!)
iPhone 7 Plus & Google Pixel XL Giveaway!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Apple, Smartphones, Google, Handhelds,
We are giving away two of the hottest smartphones on the planet right now - the iPhone 7 Plus and the Google Pixel XL! Each winner will get to choose whether they would like a 128GB iPhone 7 Plus, or a 128GB Google Pixel XL, and each winner will also get to choose the color that they'd like to receive. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay up on all the latest tech reviews and gadget giveaways!
Big shout out to Candid for sponsorsing this giveaway - be sure to check out the video I did on Candid and their anonymous social networking app down below.
Enter to win using the Gleam widget below, and good luck to all who enter!
iPhone 7 Plus / Google Pixel Giveaway!
iOS 10 will be released on September 14th
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds, Software,
During today's iPhone 7 event, Apple announced that iOS 10 will join watchOS 3 by rolling out to users on September 14th. Apple's latest mobile OS packs a bunch of new features to look forward to, including a more intelligent Siri, much more useful Lock screen, tosn of improvements to iMessage, Apple Music refinements, a new home automation app, and more.
Also coming along in iOS 10 is an overhauled Maps app that pulls in appointments and locations from your email, copy/paste history, calendar, and more.
Get ready to download the new hotness with iOS 10 on September 14th!
Los Angeles Judge Orders Defendant to Unlock iPhone with Fingerprint
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News,
The Apple encryption battles continues! Despite Apple coming up on top when the FBI and the DoJ’s petition to unlock the infamous Bernardino iPhone was withdrawn, a new brouhaha has commenced. A court order has been filed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Rosenberg mandating that Los Angeles defendant, Paytsar Bkjchadzhyan, unlock her iPhone by placing her finger on the Touch ID’s home button.
Click to continue reading Los Angeles Judge Orders Defendant to Unlock iPhone with Fingerprint
Read More 
| LA Times
iPhone SE: An iPhone 6S in an iPhone 5 body for $399
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds,
During its Let Us Loop You In event, Apple announced the new iPhone SE. Citing the demand from iPhone owners who don't want a larger display than what was offered on the iPhone 5 series of devices, the iPhone SE maintains the 4-inch display that was found on the iPhone 5 and 5S, but upgrades everything under the hood. It's powered by the far more capable Apple A9 and M9 chips, which are found in the current iPhone 6S flagships. The camera is also brought over from the latest models, giving the iPhone SE an upgraded 12 megapixel camera which supports Live Photos and shoots in 4K. Apple Pay support is also onboard, as is 802.11ac Wi-Fi and "Hey Siri" hands-free control. All-in-all Apple says the new iPhone SE is twice as fast as the iPhone 5S that it replaces.
The iPhone SE starts at $399 for the 16GB model, which makes it the cheapest iPhone ever. If you need more storage than that 16GB, there's also a 64GB model for $499. You can order ir starting on March 24.
Read More | iPhone SE
Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes Is a Surprisingly Great Mobile Game
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Portable/Mobile, Reviews, Role Playing Games,
Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, a role-playing game released for mobile platforms last fall, initially struck me as a game I could skip without a second thought. It had the appearance of a cheap cash-in meant to capitalize on the launch of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Although I'm not generally not the sort of person to write off a game for being free-to-play (some of my favorite games don't cost a dime to start playing), there's something about the combination of that business model, mobile, and a major franchise that made me assume it was not worth so much as a download.
I was wrong.
Click to continue reading Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes Is a Surprisingly Great Mobile Game
