Do Not Disturb is a great feature, but it’s always bothered Jeff Butts that he couldn’t allow text or iMessage notifications through. Thanks to the new Emergency Bypass setting in iOS 10, those worries are gone. Let’s check out how it works.
iOS
Perspectives on Blancco's State of Mobile Device Report (iOS & Android)
Recently, Blancco published a report on the performance and health of iPhones and Android smartphones. A key finding was that iPhones are less reliable than Android devices. It created quite a stir, and the report intrigued John, so he asked for a copy of the report and looked into the findings. Here’s what he found.
iOS 10 Spying Possible With iCloud Backups
A scary piece from Motherboard brings to attention a tool for iOS 10 spying. A company called Mobistealth sells a special monitoring tool that can pull data from iCloud backups. And the device doesn’t need to be jailbroken to work.
iOS: Long Press Icons For Safari Shortcuts
You might not know it, but Safari has some hidden shortcuts tucked behind some of the icons. This will let you perform certain actions a little faster. Safari shortcuts will save you plenty of time. Andrew tells us how he discovered these shortcuts by accident.
Stanford's 'Developing iOS 10 Apps with Swift' free on iTunes U
iTunes U pushed a version of Developing iOS 10 Apps with Swift. The free iOS tutorial series from the Stanford School of Engineering has been updated for iOS 10 and the current version of Swift. Reader Rick Allen turned me onto this release, calling it, “a great and free resource,” which seems like a great reason to pass it on. Reviews on iTunes are overwhelmingly good, too. The description says the 14-part course covers UI design, memory management, a model-view-controller paradigm, object-oriented databases, animation, power management, multi-threading, networking, and performance. And it’s free through iTunes U.
iOS: Turn Safari Into a Simple RSS Reader
If you’ve found modern feed readers too cumbersome or full-featured for your use, you might be in the camp that just needs a bare-bones feed reader. Thanks to an often-overlooked feature in Safari for iOS, you’ve already got one. Jeff Butts shows you how to use it in this Quick Tip.
iOS: Use "Vibrate Only" for Specific Event Alerts
This Quick Tip is all about the awesome sound of silence…ahhh. There’s a way that you can have your iPhone vibrate only for certain events (like when an email comes in) while allowing it to chime for others (such as when you get a text). Tired of the beeping and pulsing and dinging? This article’s for you!
iOS 10: How to Make Home Button Touch ID Work Like it Used to
iOS 10 brought a big change to the way the Home Button worked by requiring users to press it, even after your fingerprint has been recognized. But, there’s a feature tucked away under Settings > General > Accessibility that allows you to make your Home Button work like it used to. When this option is turned on, your iPhone or iPad with Touch ID will unlock with just a touch from the lock screen. Here’s how to do it.
WWDC 2017 Set for June 5-9, Moves to San Jose
Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference will run from June 5th through June 9th this year, and is getting a change of venue. For 2017, WWDC will be held at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose instead of Moscone West in San Francisco.
Photon Strike is a Fun Arcade Scroller for iOS
You may known of my penchant for tower defense games, but I also have a not-so-secret love for arcade scrollers. The good news for your time-sucking pleasure is that I found a new one called Photon Strike. It’s a solid vertical scroller for iPhone an iPad (I played on iPad) with good graphics and fast action. In fact, it’s very fast. It’s similar to others in the genre. You have to steer your ship (with your fingers), firing as long as your finger is on the screen. Waves of enemies fly around the screen, and you have to shoot/avoid them. Powerups are available throughout each level, and you get credits for each enemy you destroy for buying upgrades. It’s free to download, but for real-world cash, you can get yourself a whole heap of credits. You can also watch videos for free credits. Every five waves there’s a boss at the end. It’s ad-supported, but the ads go away with any purchase (the ads are not obnoxious). That said, this is the kind of game where I’m happy to pay to unlock ads to directly support the developer.
iOS: Easily Print To PDF Emails In Apple Mail
On iOS there is a hidden feature that lets you print to PDF any email you want. It doesn’t require a third-party app or another email client. You can do it inside Apple Mail with a 3D Touch. Andrew Orr shows you how.
32-bit iPhone and iPad Apps Are on Death Row
Apple’s look-forward philosophy means 64-bit iPhone and iPad apps are the future and 32-bit apps are fading into the past. That means the day is coming where 32-bit apps that haven’t been updated to 64-bit will stop working, and if you don’t have a replacement app ready to go you’ll be out of luck.
You Scratch Your Head, I’ll Scratch Mine – Mac Geek Gab 643
Cool Stuff Found kicks off this week’s show, with email clients, Wi-Fi Widget(s), combo iPhone/Watch chargers, disk utilities and much, much more. Then, after a few additional tips from you, dear listeners, it’s time for your questions. Topics this week include comparing local vs. Cloud storage for things like your music, videos and documents; memory interleaving and when to use it; solving corrupt user accounts that won’t login; and solving the issues with web pages that are slow to load. Press play and enjoy!
How to Get Info on Your iCloud Devices
This Quick Tip is about how you can look within your iCloud settings to get information about every device you’ve signed into. This is helpful if, for example, your iPhone has been stolen, and you need to find out what its serial number is without having it right in front of you. We’ll tell you how to find this with iOS, macOS, and your Web browser!
Setting Your Default Calendar Across macOS and iOS Devices
This Quick Tip is not just about configuring which calendar is set as the default on your devices, but why you should check to see which specific accounts are set to sync calendars, too. Getting everything cleaned up and organized is the name of the game!
The iOS Chrome Browser Is Now Open Source
After several years of switching the code, Google made the iOS Chrome browser open source. For the past several years the Chrome team has been updating the code in order to bring it under the Chromium Project. Since iOS browsers must use Apple’s WebKit rendering engine, the app had to support that as well as Google’s Blink engine.
Making iPhones in the US, APFS Comes to iOS 10.3 - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-26
There’s pressure for Apple to bring iPhone production into the United States, but is it practical? Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at what it would take for Apple to set up an iPhone factory in the states, plus they dive into Apple’s APFS system that’s coming to iOS 10.3 and eventually macOS, too.
The Goodies in iOS 10.3, Net Neutrality on the Chopping Block - ACM 395
iOS 10.3 is out in beta, and it has some fun new goodies. Bryan and Jeff look at what they think is most interesting. Net Neutrality is also on the chopping block, one of those situations where politics and technology intersect in annoying ways.
iOS 10.3 for iPhone and iPad Adds Find My AirPods Feature
If you’re worried about losing your fancy new AirPods, Apple has your back—or your ear. iOS 10.3, which was released as a beta to developers on Tuesday, includes a newFind My AirPods feature to help you track down your wayward wireless earpods.
Direct Developer App Store Feedback Is Coming To iOS 10.3
Apple is bringing a more direct form of developer feedback to the iOS and Mac App Stores. Starting in iOS 10.3, which is currently in beta, developers will be able to respond to reviews in the App Store.
Apple releases iOS 10.2.1 and watchOS 3.1.3 with Security Updates
Apple released iOS 10.2.1 Monday, as well as watchOS 3.1.3. The patch notes for both updates say they include, “bug fixes and improves the security” of your devices. There are no other features or improvements specified.
Apple's OS Strategy, Netflix on the TV App - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-20
It’s time for Apple to rethink it’s operating system strategy, according to TMO’s own John Martellaro. John, along with Dave Hamilton, join Jeff Gamet today to talk about how Apple could look at its mobile and desktop operating systems in the future, plus they share their thoughts on Netflix’s feeble showing in the TV app.
Apple Releases New Design Resources for iOS Developers
Today Apple shared some free design resources for iOS developers with an update to its iOS Human Interface Guidelines (via 9to5Mac). The resources include UI and template materials to make it easier to design iOS apps. Apple says the design resources are “comprehensive and accurately depict the full range of UIKit controls, views and glyphs available to developers using the iOS SDK.” The files are available in Sketch and Photoshop formats. This is a change from the Sketch-only files in the past. Interestingly, both light and dark UI elements are given. It adds a small amount of fuel to the fire for a rumored Dark Mode.
State of the App Store, Net Neutrality - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-19
How we use iPhone apps and Apple’s App Store has changed over the years, so today John Martellaro and Kelly Guimont join Jeff Gamet to look at the impact that’s had on their app choices. They also share their thoughts on the possibility of the end of net neutrality in the U.S.