Year: 2016

Guy who predicted iRing motion controller calls for 40% thinner Apple Watch 2 due at WWDC

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 8, 2016

Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White, who is currently touring component makers in China, wrote in a note to clients Friday, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors, that Apple will unveil a forty percent thinner second-generation Apple Watch at WWDC this summer, its annual pilgrimage for developers.

“We walked away with the sense that the Apple Watch refresh will not occur in September with the iPhone 7,” reads White's analysis.

Instead, it's “more likely” to occur within the next 2-3 months and “thus we believe an unveiling at WWDC in June makes sense”. Oh, and they also “believe” that the Apple Watch 2 “could be” twenty to as much as forty percent thinner than the current one.

It certainly doesn't take a genius to figure out that the next Apple Watch is going to be thinner than the first model.

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Google is considering making Apple’s Swift a “first class” language for Android

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 8, 2016

Google is considering making Apple's Swift a “first class” language for Android development, The Next Web learned from unnamed sources. Facebook and Uber are also said to potentially make Swift “more central” to their operations.

Representatives for Google, Facebook and Uber were recently at a meeting in London to discus Swift possibilities. Swift couldn't have received a bigger endorsement than that, which is saying a lot about Apple's effort to produce a modern programming language not only for iOS and OS X development, but for the web as well.

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Facebook planning to add customer service chatbots and live chat to Messenger

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 8, 2016

Facebook is working hard to turn its Messenger app into a platform for doing all sorts of useful things beyond mere message exchange between friends.

According to a report Friday by TechCrunch, the company is planning on enabling developers to add customer service chatbots and live chat functionality to Messenger and has already introduced Live Chat APIs for Messenger.

A presentation give to select Messenger chatbot developers mentions something called “Structure Messages”, which are basically automated responses that may include a title, image, a description, a URL and calls to action such as visiting a website, viewing an e-commerce order or making a restaurant reservation.

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Apple barred from using the term Split View in India over alleged trademark infringement

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 8, 2016

iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan have brought out several new multitasking modes on compatible iPads and Macs, including a split-screen feature referred to as Split View. That term is now under fire by the Delhi High Court which has ordered Apple to stop actively using and marketing Split View in India over an alleged trademark infringement.

The infringement claim was filed by a company called Vyooh, a Microsoft vendor, which owns the trademark for the name ‘SplitView’, reports The Indian Times.

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Check out redesigned account pages on Apple’s Developer Center portal

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 8, 2016

Apple's Developer Center portal has received a facelift last evening with reports of much revamped account pages. The redesigned account section on Dev Center has at last adopted a more user friendly two-column layout, with links to the most important account-related sections now conveniently provided in the lefthand column.

The navigation column is divided in two sections: Program Resources and Additional Resources. In your Program Resources, you'll find such sections as Overview, Membership, iTunes Connect, CloudKit Dashboard, Code-Level Support and Certificates, IDs & Profiles.

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Focus on what’s good in your life with the Five Minute Journal app

Sébastien Page ∙ April 8, 2016

The Five Minute Journal app description claims it to be the simplest and most effective way to become happier in five minutes a day. Having used the physical journal for several months, I can definitely witness some positive changes in my life, which are ultimately making me happier. Now with the release of the iPhone app, I can bring my journal with me on the go, and I don't even have to remember to bring my pen along

But what's the Five Minute Journal about anyway?

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Spotting the signs of a fake Apple Lightning cable

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated June 26, 2018

Whenever you buy a new iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, it'll come with a Lightning to USB cable that you will use to charge and sync your device. On the other hand, you have to be careful when you buy these cables separately, especially online, because you could end up with a counterfeit cable.

A counterfeit is a cable that tries to look just like Apple's OEM Lightning to USB cable, even though it isn't. Using these cables could have an adverse effect on your device, so we'll show you how to spot the differences between a counterfeit and genuine Lightning to USB cable in this piece.

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Microsoft’s Hub Keyboard now available on iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Microsoft's Hub Keyboard is now available for the iPhone. No, it's not the Windows Phone keyboard that's being ported to Apple's handset. It's an iOS version of the Hub Keyboard that landed on Android in February.

Like other third-party software keyboards, Hub can be easily installed on your device once downloaded. Just navigate to Settings > General > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard, and select Hub from the subsequent list.

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First betas of iOS 9.3.2 and OS X 10.11.5 now available to public testers

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple today seed the first betas of upcoming iOS and OS X updates to public testers. Folks in the Beta Software Program can now install iOS 9.3.2 via OTA on their iOS devices, and OS X 10.11.5 via the App Store Software Update mechanism.

These are the same betas that Apple pushed out to developers yesterday, along with updates for watchOS and tvOS. They arrive two weeks after the public releases of iOS 9.3 and OS X 10.11.4, which brought about several user-facing changes.

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GarageBand for Mac updated with Music Memos support, new Apple Loops and more

Cody Lee ∙ April 7, 2016

Apple on Thursday pushed out an update for GarageBand for Mac, bringing the software to version 10.1.1. The release brings about several improvements, including improved compatibility with GarageBand for iOS and Live Loops projects.

The update also brings about support for Logic Remote on the iPhone and iPad Pro, 2,600 new Apple Loops and sounds, and support for Music Memos—the app Apple released earlier this year to help musicians and songwriters capture ideas.

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