Apple is improving built-in apps that iOS already has and even bringing new default apps to iOS 9. Every-time the company expands functionality of some of its existing apps or introduces new apps it tends to disrupt the business of some of the third-party apps.
In iOS 9 Apple is all set to introduce News which will bring personalised news stories based on the type of articles you read and the topics you are interested in. Sounds a bit like Flipboard right? Apple will be releasing special set of tools to enable publishers to create content for the News app. This content will include immersive design, interactivity and beautiful typography.
These special print style layouts would be great for editorial and in-dept articles.
The Notes app in iOS 9 is getting a lot of love from Apple. The updated app will allow you to do more than just note taking. It now includes creating a checklist, adding photo, map or a URL to your note. Another addition to the app is the ability to sketch with your finger.
I use Notes app a lot and even though my devices have many third-party apps I’ve always gone back to the default Notes app in iOS. These new features would certainly make Apple’s Notes app a whole lot powerful and iCloud syncing will support all these features between OS X and iOS.
Ever since Apple and Google’s maps licensing ended, the company has been hard at work to improve its mapping solution. Apple Maps were initially criticised for inaccuracies and limited features. In iOS 9 Apple is bringing Transit vier with routes and directors. The new maps app will also include Nearby search to find local businesses from categories such as Food, Shopping, Fun, and more.
Passbook has been renamed to Wallet app in iOS 9. It will not just store credit cards you use but also include reward and loyalty cards. You will be able to use Apple Pay to redeem rewards or apply offer.
Apple has pulled the cord from CarPlay for the new cars that support wireless connection to your iPhone. You can have your iPhone in the pocket never take it out and still access CarPlay. The updated app will also support apps developed by car manufactures so that you can use the car’s features without leaving CarPlay.
With iOS 9 Apple has taken multi-tasking on the iPad to a whole new level. The upcoming software update will support slide over, split view and picture in picture which will utilise the true potential of the iPad. Apple has also improved the QuickType feature introduced in iOS 8.
Slide Over allows you to quickly take action in another app without ever leaving the first one. Split View allows you to have work in two apps simultaneously. Picture in Picture takes any video content and floats in on the screen when you press the home button.
Selecting text, copying and pasting while these tasks have been very easy to do on iOS. However, for getting some serious work done receptively selecting text, copying and pasting involves constantly lifting your finger from the keyboard the tap and hold on the screen to have controls appear on the screen. All this is changing with iOS 9. Two finger tap on the new keyboard in iOS 9 for iPad transforms it into a trackpad allowing you to move the cursor and then use dedicated keys for cut, copy, paste, text formatting and adding attachments.
Siri received a major upgrade in iOS 8 and now with iOS 9 it is getting much better. Apple is allowing Siri to search built-in apps to source answers, deliver results faster and even offering suggestions proactively.
Siri can now offer you quick access to different apps depending on the time of the day and your location. It can automatically create events when it detects invitations in an email and much more.
Apple has made a number of under-the-hood refinements to iOS 9 to make its performance faster and even improve battery life.
One of the biggest hurdles in users upgrading to iOS 8 was the amount of free space the software requested for over-the-air update. In iOS 9 Apple has reduced it by more than 70%. A new developer API called App Thinness will allow the App Store to download assets for the app that match the users screen density.
Security has also been improved in the OS. The devices will now require a six-digit passcode. Two-factor authentication will be required when you sign in from anew browser or on a new device.
iOS 9 brings many features that will enhance users productivity in performing day to day tasks. Intelligence and improved multitasking are certainly some of the best new features in iOS 9.
The public beta will be available in July followed by final release this Fall.
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According to a report from Telecoms.com, Apple is testing LTE network quality on carrier’s that sell the iPhone. Apple is doing this to ensure that its customers are given the data speeds that they are promised when they buy an iPhone with LTE connectivity. Carriers that pass Apple’s quality test, will have the feature enabled on the iPhone 5 for that specific network. This means that, users may have to wait quite some time in certain areas as their carriers are tested or if their carrier does not pass the quality test and does not get LTE enabled right away.
Swisscom launched its LTE network this week although the iPhone 5 was not available as an LTE device at launch. “Apple will provide a software update in due course,” the firm said in a press release.
Carriers normally run tests to make sure that the device would operate on theri network, however, phone manufacturers typically don’t conduct such tests. This shows Apple’s control over the carrier’s and their dedication to making sure customers are satisfied. Due to this quality test, unlocked iPhone 5’s will not operate on networks that are not approved by Apple.
Users with unlocked iPhone 4/4S’ are able to connect to other networks that do not sell the iPhone such as T-Mobile. However, with this new test, Apple has gained complete control over which carriers will be allowed LTE access on the iPhone 5.
{Via iMore}
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A morning does not start off well without my daughter starting the day with 20 minutes of Mickey Mouse Club House so when I received Minnie Bow Maker to review I knew that I had the perfect person to help me review it.
The premise of Minnie Bow Maker was ideal too, my daughter already enjoys building cookies, cupcakes, popsicle and many other items on her iPod touch so making bows should be just what mouse ordered!
The first thing to be noted is that Minnie Bow Maker is much more than just a bow making app, it’s also a storybook, fashion show and photography app and they all compliment each other beautifully.
Beautiful is how the app looks too, the full Disney polish has been applied to this app with high quality graphics, all the appropriate voice acting and music that children know and love. They will feel perfectly at home in Minnie Bow Maker and that’s even before they’ve started!
The first of three options is Story Mode where you can join either Daisy, Millie and Melody or Cuckoo-Loca along with Minnie and help design a bow for the disney characters. You can read along with the sub-titles or just listened to the voice acted dialog as you have to make a bow for the different characters for a special event.
The story mode doesn’t take long to play though but it’s a nice compliment to the main bow making part of the game and it also lends itself to the Big Bow Show part of the game as its the creations that you’ve created during story mode that can be viewed during the Bow Show.
Making the bows themselves is a three step process, first you choose your material, then the color and then a pattern before finally choosing the style of bow that you wish to make. At that point you get to drag the material to the bow making machine before turning the handle to see your creation drop out.
You then get a chance to select who should wear your bow, you can choose Minnie of course and place the bow atop her head which is cute, however it’s more fun to add the bow to a photo of someone by either selecting a picture from your camera roll or by taking a picture. You can then resize and position the bow to display on the picture. Both options allow you to output the results to either your camera roll or out via email for all to see!
The only downside to the app, although only noticed by me and not my children, was the sluggishness of the app which was running on my iPhone 4S.
If you’ve got a young daughter who’s into her cartoon Disney characters then she’ll certainly enjoy this, although even though it’s a universal app the $3.99 price tag puts it on the expensive side compared to other iOS apps that could entertain your children.
[rating: 4/5]What we like
What to know
Late last month, Apple introduced a standalone Podcasts app, pulling the service out of the Music app on iOS and building a new UI around it. However, soon after release, it became apparent that the app was ridden with numerous bugs as with any introduction of a new user interface or application.
On Wednesday, the Cupertino company addressed these issues with an update to the Podcasts application. Aside from performance and stability improvements, the app has also gained the following:
Apple continues to remove smaller services built into iTunes and give them their own standalone applications and user interfaces. The app is currently offered as a free download on the App Store {iTunes Link} for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
{via The Verge}
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On Monday, Apple released iOS 5.1.1, the latest iOS update since 5.1 which brought a number of bug fixes and battery life fix for the iPhone 4S. The latest free software update is only an incremental upgrade and as expected, brings a number of bug fixes and performance enhancements for the iPhone, iPad, and the iPod touch. The exact details of the update from the Apple website are as follows:
This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:
- Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut
- Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks
- Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances
- Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List
- Fixes an issue where ‘Unable to purchase’ alert could be displayed after successful purchase
For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222
Perhaps one of the biggest bugs in iOS that was fixed by this update was the bug that prevented the iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks, which could cause either the user to experience very slow data speeds or would force them to shut off 3G and turn it back on in order to bring the network back up.
It’s interesting to note that Apple picks up on minor bugs in iOS and pushes out fixes as quickly as they do. This is likely why iOS is one of more stable mobile operating systems out on the market, tightly controlled by Apple’s ecosystem and managed very well. iOS 5.1.1 is now available and can be downloaded via iTunes or the OTA (Over The Air) feature on all iOS devices running iOS 5 or later.
{via iMore}
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Rumors of Apple’s iPad 3 have been swirling for quite some time now, from speculations on design, camera improvements, and performance boosts from an A6 chip. However, on Monday, an image published by 9to5Mac showed what was claimed to be two iPad home buttons. One was that of the current iPad 2, and the other was claimed to be that of an iPad 3, expected for release early next year.
The ‘iPad 3’ home button is visibly smaller than that of the iPad 2 and highlights a smaller icon on the face. While this may be a small cosmetic tweak by Apple, it is very likely that Apple may be looking to do away with the home button altogether or may be planning a smaller bezel of some sorts. Rumors of a 7” iPad also emerged this past weekend, and it could be in connection with these images.
Steve Jobs, prior to his resigning from CEO out rightly stated that a 7” iPad is too small, and 10” is the standard for a comfortable experience. If Apple is going to minimize the iPad in some form, the home button is definitely a great indication to gauge future screen and bezel sizes. The iPad 3 is expected to be announced sometime early next year, between the months of February and April, much like the announcement of the original iPad an iPad 2.
What do you think this means? Would you be interested in purchasing a 7” iPad?
{via MacRumors}
]]> https://touchreviews.net/ipad-3-home-button-parts-circulating-china-photo/feed/ 2Touch Reviews compared the loading screens of 6 Popular/Best Twitter Apps to find out which one is the fastest!
Twitter Apps Compared: Tweetie, TwitterFon Pro, SimplyTweet, Twittelator Pro, Twitterrific, TweetDeck
Watch this Video and find out which one is the fastest!
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