While Home screen widgets came to iPad first, the release of iOS 14 offered iPhone users much more flexibility in widget placement. A concept designer showed what iPadOS 15 could look like with the same flexibility.
Microsoft unveiled a faster version of the Surface Pro X on Thursday. This updated tablet/laptop has an improved version of the Arm-based processor that debuted in the original last autumn. Performance of first-generation model didn’t impress reviewers or power users. Hence the new iteration.
The Surface Pro X competes head-to-head with Apple’s iPad Pro line. Both even use similar processors.
Apple is working on a solution for the biggest drawback of folding displays. The first generation of foldable handsets made by rival companies develop a crease where the screen bends, but Apple engineers want to put a bendable display that includes a self-healing material in a folding iPhone.
Smart Selection in iPadOS 14 can be amazingly useful for anyone who takes notes with their iPad. This new feature lets you handwrite some words, then turn them into text at any point later on.
Here’s how it works.
The drawback to virtual reality gaming on an iPhone is it requires players to look at the world through their handset’s screen. Rather than try to escape that limitation, the new VR game HoloVista embraces it.
The player takes on the role of a character who’s also looking at the world through their iPhone. But what they’re seeing is a strange mansion they’ve been asked to photograph.
Windows support is coming to Luna Display. This tiny accessory can already turn an iPad into a Mac’s second screen, and a new version with the ability to do the same for PCs is in development.
Apple seeded a second beta of iOS 14.2 to everyone on Wednesday, along with the iPad equivalent. It brings plenty of fun new emoji like ninja, the transgender symbol and a certain Italian hand gesture. And beta testers get Shazam music recognition integrated into the Control Center.
But anyone hoping to get an iPhone 12 in October might want to skip this beta.
A 12.9-inch iPads Pro is reportedly set to become Apple’s first device with a Mini LED screen. It’ll supposedly be followed by a MacBook with the improved display technology in the second half of the year.
Rather than traditional batteries, a future iPhone or Mac might be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. Apple on Monday received a patent for a fuel cell that might be used in future devices. The goal is a device that can go days or weeks without needing to be refueled.
App Clips, a signature feature of iOS 14, lets you quickly run a lightweight version of an application without actually installing it. If that capability leaves you scratching your head about what, exactly, App Clips would be good for, a hot new game demo shows the appeal of this powerful feature.
Simply visit the webpage for Phoenix 2 using Safari on a device running iOS 14 or iPadOS 14. Then tap on the big Play button, and start gaming. The process takes less than 10 seconds, and you’re in the game. (Note: It does not work if you are running Safari in Private Browsing mode.)
If you decide you’re not interested, just close the demo and it’s gone. There’s nothing to uninstall because Phoenix 2 was never on your iPhone or iPad. It was just an App Clip.
Scribble handwriting recognition in iPadOS 14 is a more complex system than many might realize. Identifying letters and words goes beyond simply examining what someone has written. The iPad uses machine learning to recognize the writer’s intent through how they write, according to Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of software engineering.
Roku players will soon support AirPlay 2, Apple’s wireless video streaming technology. This will allow an iPhone, iPad or Mac user to share content directly to a supported Roku device.
In addition, Roku announced a new iOS app, and upcoming support for Apple’s home automation system.
The new emoji set to appear in 2021 will help you express relief or confusion. Or show that your heart’s afire, or that it’s mending.
Those might seem fairly ordinary, but there is something extremely odd about the the list of upcoming emoji: It’s very short. The group responsible for coming up with new emoji picked just seven new designs to debut next year. The reason is simple: COVID-19.
Mac users can update their computer on Thursday with macOS Catalina 10.15.7. It’s important for anyone who’s noticed their computer not connecting to Wi-Fi like it ought to. There are no new features.
This might be the last Catalina version before the big macOS Big Sur upgrade gets introduced.
Amazon on Thursday unveiled a cloud gaming service that can play console-quality games on mobile devices and a range of other computers. Unlike rival streaming services from Google and Microsoft, Amazon Luna will be available on iPhone and iPad. It’s also coming to Mac.
Apple released a bug-fix update to iOS 14 on Thursday. iOS 14.0.1 removes a number of problems — most notably, a bug that prevented users from permanently picking a new default email app and web browser. And iPad users get iPadOS 14.0.1 with the same fixes.
There are also bug fix updates out for Final Cut Pro and some of Apple’s other media-production applications for Mac.
The new iPad 8 is only a “speed bump” version of the seventh-generation model, but it certainly offers a noticeable increase in performance. Benchmarks show this recently released tablet is about twice as fast as its predecessor.
Over 30% of iPhones are running iOS 14 exactly a week after the release, according to data from an analytics company. That’s a 50% faster adoption rate than iOS 13 a year ago.
Minix Neo Storage Plus handles two jobs. It’s a multiport USB-C adapter, adding USB-A, HDMI and Ethernet to Mac or iPad. And this accessory is also an SSD, bringing 480GB of storage.
We tested all the features of this multifunction hub. Here’s how it stands up to real-world use.
The iPhone 12 will debut at a special event on October13, multiple sources claimed on Wednesday. The release date will reportedly come shortly thereafter.
Cupertino is widely expected to introduce its next-generation handset in October, with only the date remaining a mystery. According to several sources, there’ll be an Apple event the second Tuesday of that month to take the wraps off.
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing unexpected consequences, including a sudden sharp rise in tablet sales, according to a market-research firm. Specifically, there’s significantly increased demand for large tablets with removable keyboards that can function as laptops.
iPadOS 14 brings handwriting recognition to Apple tablets, at long last. The new system is called Scribble, and it’s easy to use, fast and flexible.
Here’s how to enter text on your iPad with Scribble.
Apple TV+ on Tuesday unveiled High Desert, an upcoming half-hour comedy series to star Patricia Arquette, winner of several Academy, Golden Globe and Emmy awards.
Fellow comedian Ben Stiller will direct the first episode. Both Arquette and Stiller will serve as executive producers, too.
The top three applications on the App Store right now all focus on iOS 14 widgets. They let users create custom Home screen widgets that aren’t tied to other applications.
Apple’s latest operating system adds these mini-apps, and a small selection of them come built into iOS 14. Plus, many third-party applications like browsers and email apps recently released widgets.
But applications whose entire focus is adding useful widgets to the iPhone Home screen quickly found plenty of users. Here are some of the most popular ones available now.
Apple Watch Series 6 adds a sensor for blood-oxygen levels, but that doesn’t make it thicker. A teardown of this new wearable shows how Apple actually managed to make it a bit slimmer than its predecessors.
Plus, it turns out the device is relatively repairable. More so than an iPhone.