While it's technically true in every ecosystem, it's particularly egregious in Apple's: staying productive is typically defined by the products we use. It's why folks who watched the MacBook Pro evolve into something far less "pro" were so adamant Apple was losing touch. Removing features in a device that's meant to get a lot of work done isn't a great move.
Apple typically kicks things off for an upcoming software update with a developer beta. Soon after that, a public beta arrives to broaden the testing phase. And sure enough, that's what we have today.
Apple has an incoming update to iOS, with iOS 15.4, and it adds a few noteworthy elements to the mobile operating system. Unsurprisingly, one of the biggest changes is the ability to use Face ID to unlock an iPhone while wearing a mask, without requiring the additional use of an Apple Watch. And now there's even better news.
Way back in the day, somewhere around the 2016 mark, Apple reached a major milestone: 1 billion active devices globally. And if the quarterly earnings tell us anything on a regular basis, Apple has been steadily adding to those numbers. Which is why it's not surprising to hear the company's getting closer and closer to another milestone.
It's that time of year again. No, not a day when Apple announces new products and/or services. It's Earnings Day, which means we get to find out just how much Apple managed to rake in over the last few months. Hint: it's a lot.
Earlier today, Apple seeded the first betas of iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 to developers. Unlike the previous update, this one actually has some new features mixed in. Which means it's time to take a quick look at what's new in the upcoming software update.
In light of the ongoing pandemic, facial recognition used for biometric security on devices like the iPhone can be a bit of a pain point for everyday users. Apple has tried to work around the issue of mask wearing, but for folks without an Apple Watch it doesn't do a lot of good. But, finally, Apple has figured out another option.
Earlier this week, Apple officially released the iOS 15.3 update out into the wild, along with a few others. But the company isn't slowing down anytime soon. So today, Apple has moved right along with the seeding of yet another update for its major platforms.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has been slowly building up to a reality where its popular messaging app, Messenger, offers up end-to-end encryption. It has been testing the feature in some capacity since at least 2016. And the feature does exist in Messenger to some degree, but a wide rollout for all users has been a waiting game for quite some time. That's changing today, though.
While iCloud services are currently experiencing some issues across various tools, Apple does have some good news to share. Directly to some developers, at least. In this case, it's related to iCloud sync, and the fact it hasn't been working so well for some third-party apps. But it looks like a fix is incoming.
Apple has been working on the next update for iOS, and its other platforms, for a bit of time now. The beta process for iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3 wasn't as long as some have been in the past, but, considering the fact it doesn't appear the new software updates feature a variety of new features, that is to be expected. Still, the wait is now over.
All things considered, iCloud is a pretty solid service. It works more often than it doesn't, at least. However, it has been a pretty rough month for Apple's cloud services in the beginning of 2022. And it looks like January isn't going to close out without another issue cropping up.