In a flurry of software updates released today, Apple hasn't forgotten about the Apple Watch. The new watchOS 2.1 software update is available for your watch, bringing out new language support and bug fixes to improve your experience.
Available through the companion Watch app on your iPhone, the 57.1-megabyte download introduces an expanded support for system languages, adds support for right-to-left user interface, Siri dictation in Arabic and more.
Following an extensive testing, Apple on Tuesday released OS X 10.11.2 (build number 15C50), the second major update to El Capitan, for public consumption. In addition to improving the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac, OS X 10.11.2 improves iCloud Photo Sharing for Live Photos, as well as the reliability of Wi-Fi networking, Handoff and AirDrop.
Moreover, the software update includes fixes for Bluetooth devices disconnecting on a whim, the Mail app deleting messages in an offline Exchange account and problems with importing photos from an iPhone to a Mac using a USB cable.
Citing sources with knowledge of the plans, 9to5Mac is reporting that Apple is planning a media event in March of next year to unveil a second-generation Apple Watch, with the possible announcement of a rumored four-inch iPhone refresh in tow as well.
If true, the company would start shipping the second-generation watch in April, a year following the original model's debut in April of 2015.
Pixelmator, one of the best Photoshop alternatives on any platform, has received a nice little update in the Mac App Store this morning. Bumped to version 3.4.1, the refreshed app brings half a dozen new features and refinements and packs in nearly two dozen bug fixes and stability improvements, including faster and more responsive performance on 2011 Macs with Intel's HD 3000 graphics cards.
MacPaw, a fresh, independent developer behind the versatile and powerful CleanMyMac application, today unleashed a major update to CleanMyDrive.
CleanMyDrive is a free-of-charge Mac utility designed to help reclaim free disk space by cleaning the junk from your internal hard drives and external storage devices such as USB thumb drives, SSDs and more
The new and much improved CleanMyDrive 2 app boasts a completely redesigned user interface that lets you check disk stats, drag-and-drop files directly to any drive, automatically clean disks after hitting the Eject button and more.
With it, cleaning hidden junk that's been clogging up your drives is easy and fun.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has joined the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, an initiative dedicated to transforming lives for people with cerebral palsy through research, innovation and collaboration.
In an interesting video message posted to the foundation's website, Cook can be seen conversing with Siri as he invites people to 'just say hi' to those whose lives have been affected with cerebral palsy.
Sony today released a brand new iPhone application in the App Store, PlayStation Messages. Conceived as a messaging app for fans of the PlayStation console, the software provides messaging capabilities that used to be part of the official PlayStation app, including availability and presence indicators, group chats with up to a hundred players, rich media in messages such as photos, voice, stickers, attachments and more.
Apple on Tuesday released its very first battery pack, dubbed the Smart Battery Case and designed for the iPhone 6s and the previous-generation iPhone 6.
The $99 accessory provides device protection and offers even longer battery life: up to 25 hours of talk time, eighteen hours of Internet use on LTE (ten hours without the case) and twenty hours of video playback versus eleven hours provided by the iPhone 6s.
The built-in battery rests on the backside, beneath the credit card-sized protruding bulge. Passthrough and crossover designs permit users to connect Lightning accessories whilst the case is in use and let the case charge itself and the iPhone at the same time.
This accessory joins Apple's existing lineup of $35 Silicone Cases for the iPhone 6s and the recently launched $49 iPhone Lightning Dock and is available starting today from the Apple Online Store and Apple retail stores.
Happy app removal day! After Dropbox announced plans to wind down its ill-fated Mailbox and Carousel apps, Facebook just pulled a Dropbox by confirming it, too, is shutting down a few apps of its own that have failed to gain much traction with users: Slingshot, Riff and Rooms.
In addition, the company will be closing down the Creative Labs shop, an initiative formed in January 2014 with the noble goal of giving its teams creative freedom to conceive and build apps outside the core Facebook experience.
Google's standalone Calendar app was released in the App Store in March of 2105 and today the software is getting some interesting new features: Reminders, 3D Touch support and a cool Star Wars skin for those who have opted to join either the Dark or Light side of the Force at google.com/starwars. Reminders in Google Calendar make it easier to keep track of your to-dos alongside your events—in one place, no need to juggle between different apps.
Cloud storage startup Dropbox made a surprising announcement Monday, saying it will be shutting down Mailbox, the once popular app it acquired in March 2013, as well as Carousel, a photo-management app released in April 2014. Mailbox will be winding down on February 28, 2016 and Carousel is next on the chopping block on March 31, 2016.
This development doesn't surprise me: Mailbox for iOS has been receiving only compatibility updates post-acquisition while Mailbox for Mac hasn't dropped its beta flag since August 2014 debut of the first public beta (its current version number: 0.76).
Samsung is reportedly working on its very first iOS app, called Gear Manager, that will permit iPhone, iPod touch and iPad owners to use the South Korean firm's latest Gear S2 lineup of smartwatches, SamMobile learned from its sources last week.
While the Gear S2 works with all Android smartphones, not just the ones made by Samsung, it doesn't play well with iOS. Like Apple's own Watch companion app, the Gear Manager is said to include features to set up and customize the device for use.