Apple has released the iOS 12.3 update, much of which is focused on a new TV app that the company introduced in its March keynote.
iOS
Sketchy Rumor Claims iOS 13 Support Won’t Include iPhone SE, Others
A new rumor claims that iOS 13 support won’t include the iPhone 6, iPhone SE, and iPhone 5s. But Andrew thinks it’s sketchy.
Apple Earns Money, Services vs. Hardware, and AT&T's Fake 5G with Ken Ray - ACM 511
Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest cohost Ken Ray for a spirited look into Apple’s earnings report. The two also weigh the real meaning behind Apple’s outward emphasis on services and what that means for Apple hardware. They cap the show with a rant about AT&T’s fake 5G. Spoiler: AT&T’s claims of a “5G” network are fake.
Phone Calls Need to Stop Taking Over the Screen
Phone calls on the iPhone take up the entire screen, but Andrew has an alternative solution: What if calls came in like other notifications?
Bloomberg WWDC Leak Highlights: Updated Maps, Health, Apple Watch Audio Books, Reminders, More
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman got the goods on Apple’s WWDC software plans. Highlights include several improvements to Maps that I’m looking forward to. Apple is also improving the Health app, Reminders, adding audio book support to Apple Watch, a standalone app for the Apple Watch App Store on the watch itself, new Watch complications and faces, improved share sheet in iOS, combined Find my Friends and Find My iPhone, improved iMessage, an updated Books app with a reward system, and much more. There’s a ton of information in this piece, and it’s a good read.
Parental Controls, macOS-iOS Merging – TMO Daily Observations 2019-04-29
John Martellaro and Andrew Orr join host Kelly Guimont to discuss parental control apps and the (non) inevitable merge of macOS and iOS.
News+ How the Upcoming USB4 Tech Could Affect iOS Products
In the latest issue of Macworld, Jason Cross writes how USB4 could affect iOS products like the iPad.
Simply put, it makes it easier for its iOS devices, Apple TV, and every other product without an Intel chip inside to support all the features of Thunderbolt 3…a future iPad Pro’s USB-C port could be USB4-compatible and hook up to all sorts of monitors, including the Thunderbolt 3 monitor you may have.
This is part of Andrew’s News+ series, where he shares a magazine every Friday to help people discover good content in Apple News+.
iOS Mouse Support Could Come This Year
Federico Vittici and Steve Troughton-Smith are saying that iOS mouse support could be coming this year as an accessibility feature of iOS 13. Mr. Vittici mentioned it on the Connected podcast, while Mr. Smith confirmed the rumor via Twitter.
https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith/status/1120447708215554049?s=21
I personally don’t see the need for a mouse on a touch-oriented device. But I’m glad it will be optional, instead of a required component of iOS. Edit: 20190425: I take that back. I didn’t think of the scenario where many people can hook up an external monitor to their iPad. In that case, mouse support is perfect.
iOS: How to Control Which Apps Can Access Your Contacts (You Should)
Sometimes an iOS app wants access to your Contacts — for good but sometimes also bad reasons. Here’s how control which apps can read your iOS Contacts. And revoke permission if necessary.
500M iOS Users Affected by Cyberattack via Chrome Bug
Roughly 500 million iOS users have been affected by a cyberattack that takes advantage of an iOS Chrome bug.
The attacks are the work of the eGobbler gang, researchers said, which has a track record of mounting large-scale malvertising attacks ahead of major holiday weekends. Easter is coming up, and the crooks are banking on consumers spending a lot more time than usual browsing the web on their phones.
Another research firm says this attack can also affect Safari users. Be careful this weekend.
iOS 13 Could Include Dark Mode, Smarter Mail, and More
A fresh batch of iOS 13 rumors has dropped this morning, which include dark mode, better multitasking, Mail upgrades, and a lot more.
This Concept Video Reimagines the macOS Desktop
German video editor Thomas Weinreich created a concept video that gets rid of the desktop metaphor on macOS. Replacing it is a user interface similar to what we get with the iPad. Windowed apps are replaced by full screen apps that can be displayed into multi-window Split Views. Like Ben Lovejoy said, it seems like maybe it could be similar to what Apple is thinking of. However, I personally don’t believe the rumors of a macOS/iOS hybrid. Additionally, this concept paradigm doesn’t make sense on Macs that don’t have touchscreens. The macOS desktop metaphor might be aged, but I think it makes sense for devices that use a mouse or trackpad. What do you think?
News+: What Kind of an iPad Homescreen Redesign Will iOS 13 Bring?
Writing for the Macworld magazine, Jason Snell shares some ideas for a rumored iPad homescreen redesign in iOS 13.
After more than a decade using more or less the same old app-launching interface Apple introduced with the original iPhone, it takes some effort to imagine how Apple could reinvent the concept of a home screen for the iPad. But reader, I’ve managed to make that effort. Here’s a look at some directions I hope Apple will go, assuming Gurman’s sources are right, when we first see this feature this summer.
One: I cannot wait for WWDC this year to see what iOS 13 brings. I hope the rumors are true that it will be an iPad-heavy release like iOS 11.
Two: This is the first of an occasional magazine article I’ll share as one of our Linked Teasers. Just a way to help people find cool content in Apple News+.
Tentative List: Apple Devices Not Supported in iOS 13
iLounge writes: “According to The verifier, it is rumored that the company will reportedly drop support for several iPhones including iPads.” This article has the list. The bad news? None of the previous iPad minis (1-4) make the cut.
Updated Apple Devices Display 'Not Secure' in Safari
If you’ve updated to iOS 12.2 and/or macOS 14.4, you’ve probably seen a ‘Not Secure’ message in the Safari address bar. OSXDaily explains.
By seeing the ‘Not Secure” Safari message on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac you are simply being informed by Safari that the website or webpage being visited is using HTTP rather than HTTPS, or perhaps that HTTPS is misconfigured at some technical level.
Ironically, as the article points out OSXDaily is itself not secure.
What Dark Mode Apps Could Look Like in iOS 13
Rumors of a dark mode for iOS refuse to die. Andrew certainly isn’t the first to do this, but just for fun he created dark mode apps.
iOS 12.2 Fixes 51 Security Vulnerabilities
iOS 12.2 patches 51 security vulnerabilities, which is a huge incentive to update if nothing else announced yesterday was enticing.
The list of patches covers a wide variety of bugs an adversary could potentially manipulate to obtain effects like denial-of-service, privilege escalation, and information disclosure to gaining root privileges, overwriting arbitrary files, or executing code of the attacker’s choice.
iOS 12.2, macOS 14.4 Coming Later Today
Apple’s special event today was focused mainly on services, but we’ll also be getting iOS 12.2 and macOS 14.4 today.
Augmented Reality, Practical Robots, and Modern Cabling, with John Kheit - ACM 505
Bryan Chaffin and John Kheit don their futurist caps and look for the killer app in Augmented Reality. Spoiler: they have different ideas on what form it might take. They also explore the near-term future of practical robots, starting with today’s vacuumbots. They cap the show looking at the slow pace of progress when it comes to modern cabling. Let’s get that Cat 8 and 40 GB/s throughput!
iOS 12.2 Improves Audio Message Quality
In the latest iOS 12.2 beta Apple has improved audio message quality by switching to a different codec for files.
Details on the improvement in audio quality were shared on Twitter this morning, and we confirmed the change on our own devices. Apple previously used the .AMR file format for its audio messages, but in the beta, has swapped over to .CAF.
The Opus codec, coming in a 24000 Hz, is a big increase from the old AMR codec at 8000 Hz. Opus is used by other messaging services like WhatsApp, Telegram, and WebRTC.
iOS: Enable Do Not Disturb to Block Spam Calls
iOS has a feature called Do Not Disturb that can help block spam calls and robocalls.
Apple Confirms March 25 Event: It's Show Time
Apple confirms its March 25 event at the Steve Jobs Theater with the tag line: “It’s show time.” We expect to see software and services.
iOS 12.2 Beta 5 Now Available
Apple released the fifth developer beta of of iOS 12.2, as well as watchOS 5.2, tvOS 12.2, and macOS 10.14.4 Monday. 9to5 Mac took a look at what we’ve seen in the beta versions released so far and what else is new. iOS 12.2 features focussed on Apple Home smart TV support, and also included Animoji, and the release of Apple News in Canada.
iOS 12.2 and the related software updates largely focus on supporting smart TVs that work with Apple’s Home app. Other changes include new Animoji characters includuing the new shark, owl, giraffe, and warthog options — plus a few more changes. iOS 12.2 beta 2 also includes changes to the AirPlay icon in Control Center plus AT&T ‘5G E’ in certain markets on certain iPhones and iPads.
Facebook Messenger on iOS Gets Dark Mode
The latest version of Facebook Messenger for iOS now has Dark Mode, but you don’t switch it on in the way you might expect.