WhatsApp on Thursday revealed significant improvements to voice messaging across Android and iOS. The update adds the ability to change the speed of audio playback, pause and resume recording, and more.
It also allows voice message playback to continue when users back out of a conversation to catch up with another. Users can look forward to seeing the changes “in the coming weeks,” WhatsApp said.
Apple this week revealed slightly more relaxed rules for Dutch dating apps that will make it easier for them to offer third-party payment options. It comes after months of fighting with Dutch regulators over new app laws.
One thing Cupertino won’t give up, however, is its 27% commission.
Apple on Wednesday confirmed a significant change to its App Store policy that finally allows “reader” apps like Netflix and Spotify to link to their own websites for things like creating and managing accounts.
Until now, including an external link for this kind of purpose was prohibited, and would have resulted in App Store expulsion. That meant a poor user experience for a whole bunch of popular services on iPhone and iPad.
That’s finally changing, but of course, Apple plans to make it as complicated as possible for developers to enjoy it.
Rather than letting existing financial companies handle all its payment processing, Apple wants to bring some of it in-house, according to an unconfirmed report. And the Mac-maker would also like to take on a range of other related services itself.
The goal is to reduce the amount of money Apple has to pay outside companies for financial services.
YouTube TV subscribers with an iPhone or iPad can now watch shows in a small window while another app is open. The feature is rolling out now.
However, picture-in-picture support is not yet available for all mobile users of the YouTube application, as has been promised.
In the middle of last year, Apple and Facebook parent company Meta Platforms gave customer data to hackers. They enticed the companies by pretending to be law enforcement officials, three people with knowledge of the matter said.
In the latest installment of a series in which Apple showcases artists and professionals using its devices, Chicago-based lettering artist Belinda Kou explained how an iPad Air diverted her from studies in biopsychology to an art career.
iFixit showed people the interior of the new Apple Studio Display next to a partially disassembled iMac and asked them to pick which is which. You can play along at home by looking at the image above.
Most people got it wrong. Apple’s latest external monitor (on the left) is packed with features, and that’s reflected in its surprisingly complex internal design.
iFixit put the device through a full teardown and found that many of the most important components of the new external monitor showed up in previous Apple devices.
If weather apps were judged solely on snarky attitude, there would be one clear favorite: Carrot Weather. But even judged by factors like tracking the weather and variety of features, it’s a darned good app. And now, with a major update released Wednesday “to celebrate the triumphant return of allergy season,” it’s even better.
An in-screen fingerprint scanner won’t be part of any iPhone for at least three years, according to a trusted analyst. That raises the strong possibility that Touch ID will never again be part of Apple’s flagship smartphones — despite occasional rumors to the contrary.
Apple may have abandoned the idea after a recent improvement to Face ID.
We’ve written about storing a Mac mini in an upright rather than a flat position to save space. It’s OK to do if the machine’s intake and exhaust vents are not blocked. But what about using your Mac mini as a stand for a display, as in today’s featured computer setup?
It’s not necessarily quite as cut-and-dried as the upright mini question. Whether it’s totally fine or a little risky depends a little more on the specific Mac mini and the kind of monitor you use.
When Apple TV+ put out its first, brief trailer in February for its upcoming metaphysical-horror-thiller Shining Girls, it looked disturbing and disorienting. Now the streaming service has put out the first full trailer for the show, which stars Elisabeth Moss and premieres April 29.
If anything, Shining Girls looks even more unsettling — but almost to the point of absurdity.
German audio powerhouse Sennheiser rolled out its Ambeo operating system for Ambeo soundbars Tuesday, adding AirPlay 2 support and more. The company also distributed a major software update to its Smart Control app, adding new features.
iPhone and iPad users should manually install the latest iOS and iPadOS updates if they want to get their hands on Apple’s newest features and improvements as quickly as possible, according to one Cupertino chief.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, confirmed that automatic software updates don’t drop until one to four weeks after the company makes them available to manual updaters.
Apple on Wednesday revealed a new Supplier Employee Development Fund that will offer $50 million to expand access to learning and skills development.
The fund includes new partnerships with leading right advocates, universities, and nonprofits, Apple said. Cupertino will also focus on working alongside supply chain partners to “amplify worker voice” and support rights programs.
Apple faces an incredibly pricey lawsuit in the Netherlands, where the company is accused of “market dominance,” “anti-competitive practices,” and overcharging App Store users for apps and in-app subscriptions.
The Consumer Competition Claims Foundation believes Apple has been able to charge “excessively high prices” by excluding all competition and then abusing its “monopoly position.” It says damages could total $5.5 billion.
There may soon be yet another streaming service to add to your roster. The National Football League is said to be considering a platform of its own, dubbed NFL+, that will stream live games to smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
NFL+ could also provide access to radio, podcasts and team content, according to a new report, which claims teams were briefed on the plans at the annual NFL owners’ meeting that recently took place in Palm Beach, Florida.
Facebook Messenger? Meta Messenger? Just Messenger? We don’t know what it’s supposed to be called these days. But we do know it just added a bunch of useful, Slack-like shortcuts that help you get things done faster.
You can use them to silently deliver messages without notifications, to find the perfect GIF, to send payments and more — all without having to fiddle around inside menus. And Meta says even more are coming later this year.
The first computer built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak is the Apple-1, right? Not quite. Turns out before that was the “Apple Computer A.”
Unfortunately, the actual Apple prototype with that name was not found. But pictures of it from 1976 were. And they show details of this handmade Apple prototype.
An iPhone reported missing or stolen to an industry database can not be repaired at an Apple Store, according to a new company policy.
This means that people need to be careful who they buy from. If they get a deal on a device that turns out to be stolen, they might not able to get it fixed.
One of the impressive features of the growing number of moderately priced, high-quality earbuds on the market is just how long playback lasts between charges. That’s in part because the case where you store them also charges them. But Audio-Technica just rolled out a new set of earbuds that really moves the needle on battery life.
The company’s new ATH-CKS50TW Solid Bass Truly Wireless Earbuds claim up to 20 hours of continuous playback on a single charge, or 50 hours counting the case’s charge. All that, plus the new buds feature low latency and active noise-cancellation (ANC).
Moment added to its lineup of MagSafe-compatible accessories for iPhone Tuesday with three new products and two product updates. The marquee event is the rollout of the Mobile Filmmaker Cage to enhance your iPhone video shooting.
The cage co-stars with the new Moment Strap Anywhere Mount and the new Stick-on Adapter, which can help mount your smartphone in a variety of situations.
Apple TV+ got lucky with timing of the April 8 debut of Friday Night Baseball. The live sports show will start with the much-anticipated New York Mets debut of three-time Cy Young winner and eight-time All-Star Max Scherzer in a matchup with All-Star Juan Soto and the Washington Nationals.
That game will be followed by the Houston Astros versus the Los Angeles Angels. These weekly doubleheaders are free to watch and available to anyone with internet access (in eight countries to start). And they’re only on Apple TV+, with no subscription required (for a limited time).
Apple Watch Series 7 owners are suffering more charging problems just two months after earlier issues were eliminated. Some owners report that fast charging is broken after installing the latest watchOS 8.5 update.
Faster charging is one of Apple Watch Series 7’s biggest selling points. Top-ups are supposed to be around 33% quicker than on previous models — but only if you’re using the right charging accessories.
I’ve misplaced my AirPods case. It’s in my house … somewhere. Fortunately, I can use the Find My app to locate it, as though it were a lost AirPod or AirTag.
Ha, ha, ha! No, I can’t. AirPods cases don’t offer Find My support. Just as the feature is missing from far too many other Apple accessories.
This needs to change. Find My is amazing, but limited by not being on devices that need it.
Update: In autumn 2022, Apple built Find My support into AirPods Pro 2, a sign that the tracking system might be coming to more peripherals.