In an effort to reengage with its fanbase after its recent badly received redesign, Snapchat is planning to allow users to create augmented reality “Lenses” and share them with the rest of the community.
The debut of creator-made Lenses in the app’s carousel will debut at the end of this month. The Lenses can be made using Snapchat’s Lens Studio application, and Snap will then select the best ones and make them available to the wider 187 million daily user community.
Almost 40 million people now pay to listen to Apple Music. That’s not bad for a service that was met with skepticism when it debuted back in 2015.
Apple Music still faces strong competition from Spotify and Google Play Music, but it’s growing strongly. And all those people putting down $9.99 a month adds significantly to Apple revenue as streaming services have become the top way to listen to music.
Watching golf is famously boring, but the just-announced PGA Tour AR app spices it up a bit. It brings a live, augmented reality view of golf games to iPad and iPhone, putting the tournament in users’ living rooms.
“Tapping into ARKit in iOS 11 allows us to showcase real-time data provided by ShotLink and CDW in a rich, visual way for fans,” said the PGA’s Rick Anderson in a statement. “The PGA Tour takes pride in bringing new technology to the sports world as a way of communicating to a large, diverse audience.”
Fans of Bob’s Burgers rejoice: Loren Bouchard, creator of the long-running animated comedy set in a diner, has signed a deal with Apple to create two seasons of a new series. Central Park will be the first animated showed purchased by the maker of Apple TV.
The action of the musical comedy will revolve around a family of Central Park caretakers whose adventures save not only the park and New York City — but also the world.
Apple users will soon receive operating system updates for phones and tablets, Macs and set-top boxes. Developers today received new beta versions for all these platforms
Anyone from the public who wants to beta test preview versions of iOS 11.3, macOS 10.13.4 or tvOS 11.3 can do so by signing up on Apple’s website. The newest developer versions should be available to public beta testers in a day or so.
Using your iPhone on a poor, weak, or spotty Wi-Fi is not only frustrating. It could also have a detrimental effect on battery life. But there’s a fix, for flaky Wi-Fi at least. You can tell your iPhone to use cellular data to make up the shortfall, giving you smooth internet access, at the expense of some cellular data use. It’s called Wi-Fi Assist, and it could be the answer to all of life’s problems.
Does your husband/wife/boss/presumptuous, spoiled teenage kid send you lists via iMessage or SMS? Do you then spend the whole day flipping to the Messages app and scanning it to see which tasks you’ve done (or groceries you’ve dropped in your cart), and trying to work out what’s still left to do? Then you need to get that list out of the Messages app, and into the Notes app, turning it onto a checklist along the way. And don’t worry. This is so quick and easy, you can do it in a few seconds.
This post is presented by Gorilla Workout.
When most of us buy a gym membership, we imagine having the time and discipline for building muscle or losing weight. Unfortunately, most of us know things usually don’t work out that way.
Nowadays, it’s possible to get a comprehensive workout without a gym, or even any equipment. Bodyweight training has been growing in popularity for years. That’s partly because using your own weight as resistance is economical and effective. But it’s also because smartphones offer a convenient and portable “virtual coach,” thanks to a new class of workout app.
Although people most often use Alexa to ask about the weather or play music, Amazon’s smart assistant is capable of much more, including connecting with friends and family. A convenient Alexa calling feature is now available on a range of tablets, including the iPad. This allows the tablet to make voice or video calls to an Amazon Echo.
All that is required is the Amazon Alexa app for iOS (and giving Alexa access to your list of contacts).
Your iPhone’s dock is ever present. Also ever-present is the translucent ribbon behind the icons. Maybe it’s there to provide visual separation from the wallpaper behind it, but seeing as the rest of your home-screen icons are left to fend for themselves, visibility-wise, then maybe not. Perhaps it’s there to provide a visual separation between the privileged Dock and the rest of the home-screen proletariat?
But if you don’t like this separator, then you’re stuck with it. Or are you? You may not be able to remove the ribbon, but you can hide it.
HomePod’s arrival makes the smart speaker market even more confusing for the average consumer. Amazon and Google are dominating right now, but HomePod’s closest rival is actually the Sonos One.
It’s in a similar price range, it’s about the same size, and both speakers focus on sound quality above everything else. I’ve now spent over three weeks with both the HomePod and the Sonos One to help you figure out which one you should buy.
Check out our comparison video below.
Apple Maps can now help you find a healthier and more environmentally-friendly ride. A new partnership with Ito World allows you to locate bike sharing stations in more than 175 cities across 36 countries. Simple search “bike sharing” now to get going.
Apple is moving into magazine distribution by acquiring Texture, a digital subscription service that grants users unlimited access to their favorite titles for a single $9.99 monthly fee.
The service, which could be thought of as Apple Music for magazines, covers 200 top magazines. These can be read either in their complete form or via curated articles.
A new Apple Watch band can detect dangerous levels of potassium in your blood without the use of needles.
KardiaBand takes an electrocardiogram, then uses a specially designed algorithm to identify abnormal patterns. AliveCor says its Apple Watch band can detect hyperkalemia with 94 percent accuracy. Such a diagnosis usually would require invasive blood tests
Rihanna is the first female artist to surpass 2 billion streams on Apple Music, according to a tweet sent out by Cupertino.
It’s not clear whether the quick stat refers to just Rihanna’s solo songs or includes other artists’ tracks on which she appeared. However, it’s a big achievement — and proof positive of just how big Apple Music is getting.
Reading is the key to a broader, sharper mind. It’s also the key to success for countless innovators and entrepreneurs with voracious reading habits, no less than Elon Musk and Bill Gates. So if you want to make a difference in the world and in your life, reading more is square one.
Fortnite Battle Royale has landed on mobile! You can now sign up for early access to the game on iPhone and iPad. If you’re lucky enough to get an invite, you’ll also receive codes for your friends.
WhatsApp’s latest update give users more time to delete accidental messages after they’ve been sent.
Its message deletion feature, introduced last October, previously gave us just seven minutes to undo a potential mess. Now the “delete for everyone” option is available for just over an hour.
Like a whole lot of folks, I’m a massive fan of Westworld, the HBO TV series which depicts a wild west-themed amusement park, staffed by futuristic robots.
A new game, coming to iOS, promises to bring that same experience to our pockets. No, it doesn’t let you play as a guest, living out your wildest gunslinger fantasies — but instead takes the form of a simulation game, in which you’re tasked with running the park. Check out the intriguing (if ambiguous) trailer below.
Apple is prepping a new entry-level 13-inch MacBook that will debut in the second quarter of 2018. It will reportedly set users back around the same price as the MacBook Air, which would peg it at about $999.
While the report leaves a bit of flexibility by saying that it could be this price “or slightly higher,” this suggests that users could get a price cut versus the $1,299 12-inch MacBook.
A brilliant minimalist settler simulation with added monsters is just of one of our picks for this week’s “Awesome Apps of the Week.”
In addition, we’ve got a great new version of The Sims for mobile, and two Google apps which have received big updates. Check out our selections below.
It’s not like you can ever find the app you’re looking for on your various home screens anyway, so why not do something fancy with those icons instead? Like, making your home screen an expression of your inner chakra, man. In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, we’ll show you some amazing tweaks for your home screen.
You’ll find that story and more in this issue. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.
When we launched our mouth-watering iPhone X giveaway, we knew people would jump at the chance to win Apple’s newest flagship device. And we were right — it sure seems like a lot of people would like to get a $1,000 smartphone for free.
After a flurry of entries, we can at last announce the lucky winner. Drumroll, please….
In just 24 hours, Apple went from being ho-hum in charisma to number one in brand intimacy.
What sounds like fickle middle school popularity are actual rankings based on research, data and scientific surveys of, well, fickle people.
Apple ended its workweek ranked first for brand intimacy among millennials, according to a report MBLM, a marketing firm that specializes in helping brands form said connection. Apple as a brand must have worked hard on itself over the last year because it beat out Netflix, which was tops among millennials last year.
Smart speaker sales have exploded, with 47 million Americans now using one, up from about zero two years ago. And Apple fans are leading the trend — they’re 22 percent more likely than Android users to own a smart speaker.