iOS 10 wins in a battery life comparison with iOS 11 and iOS 12. Photo: iAppleBytes
A side-by-side test of four iPhones running current and older iOS versions found that the more recent ones drain batteries more quickly.
This result is likely to feed the concerns of people who refuse to upgrade their iPhone’s operating system for fear that doing so will render the device useless.
Some iOS 11 users are having trouble accessing the App Store and Apple Music, according to online reports.
The services have been unusable for over a day for a number of users who are yet to upgrade to the latest software — despite being shown as online on Apple’s System Status page. There is a weird workaround that has proven useful for some, however.
No backsies. Once you go iOS 12 you'll never go back. Photo: Wendelin Jacober/Pexels
Be warned: anyone who upgrades their iPhone or iPad to iOS 12 no longer has the option to downgrade. It’s not possible to go back to any version of iOS 11. Not that there’s much reason to want to.
This isn’t an unusual move. With today’s release of iOS 12.0.1, going to iOS 11 would be two jumps back, and it’s very rare for Apple to allow that.
Are you enjoying iOS 12 yet? Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Almost half of all iPhone and iPad users have already upgraded to iOS 12, according to new data.
It’s an impressive adoption rate for a major upgrade that’s only been officially available for just over two weeks. Its speedy uptake can likely be attributed to its new features and significant performance improvements — especially for older devices.
Virtually every iPhone and iPad runs iOS 11. And they'll soon be able to make the jump to iOS 12. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple has no problem getting operating system upgrades out to its customers. The vast majority of iPhone and iPad users are running the latest iOS version. And all of these people will be able to make the jump to iOS 12 later this month for free.
Contrast that with Apple’s chief rival. Just a small percentage of Android users have a recent version.
Portrait mode never looked so good on iPhone. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
iOS 12 packs a whole host of significant improvements that Apple didn’t get a chance to showcase during its WWDC preview. One of those, according to one developer, is a greatly-enhanced Portrait mode for compatible iPhone models.
The image below highlights the impressive difference between a Portrait photo taken with iOS 11 and another taken with iOS 12.
This car hasn't been disturbed while driving for quite some time. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Apple’s Do Not Disturb While Driving feature has the potential to make you less of a menace on the road. Introduced in iOS 11, Do Not Disturb While Driving automatically switches your iPhone into Do Not Disturb mode when you hop in your car and drive off. While in this mode, iOS suppresses all notifications so you can pay attention to keeping that ton of metal, glass and cupholders from permanently ruining — or ending — the life of a pedestrian or cyclist.
But don’t worry! If you do receive one of those text messages that you previously thought were more important than the lives of your fellow commuters, the sender will get a reply telling them that you’re driving, and that you are now a better person.
All of this is customizable, of course, so let’s see how to set up Do Not Disturb While Driving.
Look at this blank home screen. Just look at it. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
What’s on your main iPad home screen? Is it organized so that you can find your most-used apps quickly? Or have you decided to arrange the icons by color? Or divided up the grid by adding a row of blank spaces? Those are pretty neat ideas, but today I’m going to suggest you do something even more radical. How about keeping your home screen entirely blank? No icons, no folders, nothing. Just the Dock, Spotlight search, and an easier-to-use iPad.
Apple has this week registered new iPads and Macs with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC).
The filings hint that a big refresh could be just around the corner. Recent reports have promised that Apple is preparing a slew of new devices for a late 2018 launch alongside the next-generation iPhone lineup.
There are fresh beta versions of iOS and macOS. But they probably aren't the ones you're waiting for. Photo: Apple
The wait is nearing the end for the next iPhone and Mac operating systems. However, these aren’t the big upgrades announced last month. Instead, iOS 11.4.1 and macOS 10.13.6 will fix bugs in the current versions.
Apple just released the fifth beta version of each of these. The full release can’t be far behind.
iOS 12 and macOS Mojave are all the rage after WWDC 2018, but Apple’s not quite done working on iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra.
Developers received a fresh batch of beta updates this morning, including the second builds of iOS 11.4.1 and macOS 10.13.6, both of which bring a host of bug fixes and under-the-hood improvements.
The iOS video player is pretty full-featured, although most of its advanced tracks are hidden. Today we’ll take a quick look at what it can do, including how to control the entire app from a hardware keyboard.
PDF Viewer uses iOS 11's Files browser to do its work. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
A month or so back I was searching for a PDF app that would use the native Files browser on the iPad, but add features not available in Files app’s built-in PDF viewer. The result of that search was PDF Viewer, an app that is almost impossible to find on Google, but which is simple enough to be perfect for many people.
This is probably the last iOS 11 update. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
It’s only been a day since Apple released iOS 11.4 to the public, but the first beta for its successor is already here.
No, we’re not talking about iOS 12 beta 1 — which should come out next week. Apple dropped a surprise batch of beta builds today in the form of iOS 11.4.1, macOS 10.13.6, tvOS 11.4.1 and watchOS 4.3.1. The updates bring a bunch of bug fixes to all of Apple’s platform ahead of the grand unveiling of iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 at WWDC 2018.
Memorial Day weekend is still kicking (it’s a long one), so we’re still turning out can’t-miss deals on tools and tech. This go-round, we’ve got a palm-size drone, a master class in Photoshop, an awesome Apple Watch charging dock, and lots more.
Everything is massively discounted — by as much as 97 percent!
This text message will crash your iPhone. Photo: EverythingApplePro
Another Unicode text bug has been discovered in iOS, which will repeatedly crash Apple’s Messages app by overloading its memory.
The “black dot” message contains an emoji like ⚫, although it’s not actually the emoji which causes the message to crash the app. The bug affects iOS 11.3 and the current iOS 11.4 beta seeds. A similar message recently did the rounds on Android. As of yet, Apple has yet to release a fix.
Suggested apps are a great Dock feature, but you can still switch them off. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
I love the new iOS 11 Dock. Do you love the new iOS 11 Dock? I bet you totally dig it. But maybe we love it a little too much, and end up jamming it so full of apps that every icon becomes too small to tap. If that’s the case, then you might appreciate this tip. Did you know that you can remove the three-app section on the right side of the dock? The one where iOS automatically shows apps it thinks you might want to use right now?
This course teaches iOS app development through hands-on exercises and lessons. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
There are something like 3 million apps in the App Store on any given day. So there’s plenty of evidence that almost anybody can make an app, including you. It just takes understanding the basics.
No, not this kind of spotlight. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
If you use Spotlight to find stuff on your iPhone or iPad, you’ll be familiar with the mess of results you get when you search. Maybe you’re searching for a note or an email about that really important thing, only the actual results you want are buried under a heap of nonsense from twitter, from YouTube, from all the Ebay classifieds you’ve viewed, and so on.
The good news is, you can trim these results, eliminating the noise you don’t need. The even better news is that recent versions of iOS do this is a much more elegant way.
Apple is cracking down on leaks. Photo: Duncan Sinfield
Apple issued a stern warning to employees this week about leaking confidential information to the media.
In a leaked memo detailing Apple’s efforts to stop leaks, the company says it caught 29 leakers in 2017. Of those caught, 12 were arrested. Apple told employees they are “getting played” by journalists and bloggers that approach them with flattery in exchange for information.
A pop-up in iOS 11.3 gives Apple's commitment to privacy. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple is giving developers new tools that will allow iPhone and iPad users to download and delete any personal information being stored in iCloud.
Developers received word of the new tools today which were created in order to help developers comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation that goes into effect this May. The new laws mean developers will be forced to comply anytime a customer requests to access manage, restrict or delete personal data.
The iPad has an amazing split-screen mode. It’s called Split View, and it lets you use two apps side-by-side. On certain iPads, you can even float a third app over the top. Split View lets you drag and drop text, pictures, links and almost anything else between apps, just like on a Mac or PC. It’s also super-easy to use. Let’s see how.
Get hands on education in developing apps for iOS 11, by building working apps. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Learning to build apps is obviously one of today’s hottest skills. But one does not simply walk into a software development job. So you’re going to want some guidance.