You don’t need to buy the new Apple Watch Series 4 to get one of this year’s coolest new features on it.
As part of the watchOS 5 update released earlier this week, Apple introduced a new Walkie-Talkie app that lets you chat back-and-forth with other Apple Watch owners. The Walkie-Walkie app works no matter the distance between you and your friend. And it’s so easy to use, it might become your favorite new way to communicate.
Apple’s new video shows exactly how to use it.
Back in 1979, the original Sony Walkman had an odd feature. If you pressed an orange button on the end, a built-in mic would connect to the user’s headphones, letting the person hear what was going on in the outside world. This may be the first case of technology being used to mitigate the bad manners surrounding personal audio.
Now, in iOS 12, this type of feature is back — and way more useful than it was in music’s greatest-ever decade. Live Listen is a new iOS 12 feature that pipes live audio from the iPhone’s mic directly to your AirPods. Why? Well, it’s an accessibility feature, but it can be used for much more.
Apple’s next-generation wearable launches Friday, so the first batch of Apple Watch Series 4 reviews appeared today. The experts with early access sound quite positive about this device.
They like the new display and the faster performance. The new ECG heart monitor function can’t yet be tested, however.
In iOS 12 and macOS Mojave, Safari gets solid improvements that will win you back from Chrome — especially if you value your privacy. But while safeguarding your security on the web fuels many of Safari’s great new features, there’s much more goodness to anticipate on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Let’s take a look at the Mac and iOS versions of the Apple web browser.
iPhone X owners that pre-ordered the new iPhone XS might be in for some disappointment when they try to slap their old case on the new iPhone.
Even though the dimensions of the iPhone XS are practically identical to the iPhone X, it appears that Apple has made a very small change to the camera bump in the back that could make some old cases incompatible.
Travel photographer Austin Mann, among the first to get an iPhone XS for testing, expected to be underwhelmed before his shoot in Zanzibar off the east coast of Africa.
However, the upgrades to the camera left him impressed, saying “I’ve never worked with a camera that can balance light like this – not even close.”
Users of 3-D Touch-capable iPhones, and of iPads in general, have long been able to use the devices’ fantastic trackpad mode. It’s a great way to quickly move the keyboard’s insert point (aka cursor) precisely where you want it — and it just got even better.
In iOS 12, this neat trick comes to all iPhones, even those without 3-D Touch. Bonus tip: The update also makes it even easier to use trackpad mode on your iPad.
There are some things Apple never tells us about its iOS devices, so we have to wait until they go on sale and find out more for ourselves. But thanks to one regulator, we now know some important details about the new iPhone lineup.
Here are the battery sizes and RAM capacities of iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.
Apple clearly had some sense that its 6.1-inch LCD iPhone XR would be big, since it gave it the main event spot in last week’s Apple media event.
But it may have been surprised by just how big it is, since a new report suggests that Apple is revising the ratio of its total iPhone orders for December — so that the iPhone XR makes up more than 50 percent of its handsets manufactured.
iOS 12 adds the ability to share passwords via AirDrop, which is super-duper useful. Maybe you want to send your Netflix password to your spouse so you can watch a movie on his iPad, or maybe you need to share the password you just created for the local grocery delivery service.
In short, any situation in which you previously used a service like 1Password or Dashlane to show your password in large type so somebody else could copy it, you can now use AirDrop instead. Here’s how.
One of the Apple Watch Series 4’s massive new features is its electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG) heart rate monitor.
The device is capable of monitoring irregular heart rhythms and reportedly using this to identify potential episodes of atrial fibrillation, a.k.a. AFib. As exciting as the FDA-cleared technology sounds, however, some have expressed their concerns about the tech. A new report cites several concerns — including about Apple’s usual levels of hyperbole.
Thanks to technology, anyone can become a designer and manufacturer without leaving the garage or office. 3D printing, CNC machines, CAD — these are the tools of today’s DIY makers.
If that all sounds interesting, but you’re not quite sure what any of it means, this bundle of e-books is for you.
Ever since iOS 11, your iPhone and iPad have been able to detect a QR code in the camera frame, and pop up a banner at the top of the screen to open the link embedded within it. This is a great way to quickly extract a URL from a billboard, or from a particular nerdy lost-cat poster stapled to a utility pole.
Now, iOS 12 brings a dedicated QR-scanning shortcut that you can invoke right from your iPhone’s lock screen. Let’s see how to scan QR codes in iOS 12.
The new Nintendo Switch Online service has finally made its big debut. To give Switch players an even bigger reason to subscribe, Nintendo is adding official voice chat support to more of its own titles.
The latest update to the Nintendo Switch Online app for iOS adds chat support for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Tennis Aces, and more.
Weeks after a report stating that it is in a “death spiral,” productivity app Evernote has reportedly laid off 15 percent of its workforce — amounting 54 people in total.
The news was shared with employees by CEO Chris O’Neill at at an “all hands” meeting this week. He told staff that the move is intended to make the company, “operate more efficiently” and to focus its efforts on new initiatives, while streamlining certain functions.
Be sure to avoid Apple’s latest iOS 12.1 beta if a shiny new iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max will be turning up at your door on Friday.
Updating too early could just cost you all your precious data!
Apple has now transferred all €14.3 billion it has been ordered to pay Ireland for back taxes. The cash will stay in an escrow fund while Ireland tries to convince the EU that Apple should get its money back.
This is part of an on-going saga with the EU accusing Ireland of being a tax haven, and Apple caught in the middle.
The September Apple event came and went without any mention of the iPad Pro models that had been the stars of so many rumors. But there’s still hope! Buried deep in the just-released iOS 12.1 beta 1 is a clear reference to an iPad on the docket for this fall.
So be patient. The redesigned tablets we’ve heard so much about could be coming soon.
iOS 12 doesn’t really have any huge new standout features. It’s more a collection of really solid improvements to iOS 11. It sounds odd to say that my favorite new feature is Do Not Disturb during Bedtime, but it’s made a big difference in how I use my iPhone.
Likewise with today’s Pro Tip. iOS markup for screenshots, PDFs and Photos was already good, but new options for the pen tools make it great.
With the release of iOS 12 earlier this week, Apple made broad sweeping improvements to the OS. Unfortunately, the update also came with a small bug for fitness zealots sporting a cabinet full of limited edition Activity challenge badges. If that just described your Apple Watch badge collection, you can cool your cycling shorts, everything will be ok.
Even if you never make a voice memo, you might be interested in Apple’s updated Voice Memos app. Powerful new features in iOS 12 make it much more than just a way to record voice snippets.
In fact, in iOS 12, Voice Memos morphs into a full-fledged audio recorder and audio editing app. As such, it’s useful for people recording interviews, and for musicians working on ideas. Let’s take a look around.
The new camera sensors on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max could be worth a $1000 upgrade all their own.
Early reviews of the new cameras are overwhelmingly positive. Even though we already knew Apple made the pixels larger and the sensor bigger, we now have a better idea of the crazy engineering that went into making it the best iPhone camera ever.
Apple Maps is no longer the only option for navigation through Apple’s CarPlay system now that iOS 12 is out.
With an update released today for Google Maps, CarPlay users can now choose between Google Maps and Apple Maps. And more third-party apps are on the way.
In iOS 11 and earlier, importing photos from a camera to your iPad photo library was always a bit clunky. You plugged the SD card in using the Lightning SD card reader, or hooked up the camera to a USB adapter, and then the Photos import took over your entire screen.
Also, all the images you imported wound up dumped right into your main photo library, leaving you to manually select them later if you wanted to add them to albums.
In iOS 12, Apple improved all of this. Let’s take a look at the great new photo import features in iOS 12.
The 2018 iPhones aren’t even out yet and we already have our first rumor about next year’s models. If you’re hoping for big changes in the 2019 iPhones, better temper your expectations. It seems the next-generation of Apple handsets will include displays the same size size as this year’s iPhone XS and XS Max.
But there reportedly will be one significant difference. One that many people will like.