iPad

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Apple boosts production of 10.5″ iPad Pro ahead of rumored WWDC reveal

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 23, 2018

Apple has boosted production of a rumored 10.5-inch iPad Pro model ahead of the tablet's supposed reveal at the company's annual pilgrimage for developers next month, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes said Friday.

The device's monthly shipment volume is now expected to grow to 600,000 units in July, up from around 500,000 units currently. The Cupertino company is hoping to achieve annual shipments of the new tablet in excess of five million units in 2017.

The 10.5-inch iPad Pro model reportedly entered mass production in March-April.

Watchers expect demand for the recently launched $329 iPad model “to pick up strongly” starting at the end of the quarter, reaching its peak in the next quarter when the device's monthly shipments could pass four million units in June and July, the market watchers noted.

As for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro model, Apple is expected to update its highest-resolution iOS device at some point this year, with some supply chain sources saying a second-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro model could enter mass production in June.

“Sources from the upstream supply chain noted that Apple's inexpensive 9.7-inch iPad is expected to accelerate Apple's pace on phasing out the iPad mini 4 from the market,” as was rumored earlier this week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knJNtkRyO9E

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Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo gave the 10.5-inch iPad Pro model 70-30 odds of being announced at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference next month.

In a recent note to clients, Kuo wrote that Apple’s engineers were able to squeeze a 10.5-inch display into a form factor similar to the existing 9.7-inch iPad models due to the narrower side bezels on the upcoming tablet.

“The newly designed 10.5-inch iPad Pro will have a similar form factor to the 9.7-inch model, but will feature a larger display thanks to narrow bezels,” said the analyst.

Kuo believes that the overhauled design of the device should help improve the user experience and boost traction in the corporate and commercial sectors.

Apple has reportedly commissioned Foxconn to assemble the 10.5-inch iPad Pro model.

General Interface Solution will be the sole supplier of touch panels for the device.

The same supplier provides 3D Touch components for existing iPhones and is said to have landed orders for the three times pricier 3D Touch parts for the OLED-based iPhone 8 model.

KGI forecast 10.5-inch iPad Pro shipments of five to six million units in fiscal 2017, accounting for fifteen percent of total fiscal 2017 iPad shipments.

Image: 9.7-inch iPad Pro with a 10.5-inch piece of paper overlaid via Dan Provost.

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PresentPage lets you assign a default Control Center card

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 19, 2017

Control Center is one of the most useful interfaces you can use in iOS, as it provides you with quick access to toggles, shortcuts, and music playback options from anywhere.

If you ever find yourself using a specific Control Center card more frequently than the other and prefer the interface wouldn't remember the card you used last, then you’d probably like a new free jailbreak tweak called PresentPage by iOS developer Cole Cabral.

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Things 3 is out with overhauled interface and multiple new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 18, 2017

German developer Cultured Code on Thursday released Things 3, a major new iteration of its powerful personal task manager for iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and Mac. Things 3 brings out a beautiful timeless new design with delightful interactions and animations. Aside from the new look and feel, the refreshed app is packed to the gills with a host of new features.

Released as three separate apps (they've kept the current pricing), Things 3 is Cultured Code's first paid update for existing users since versions 1.0.

Here's what developers had to say about the app's gorgeous new UI:

The all-new Things comes with an all-new design. It's not just how it looks—but also how it works, and how it feels. The interactions are delightful. The animations are smooth. The content is more structured. The concepts are clearer.

Open a to-do and you'll immediately get a sense of how the new apps feel.

Nicely animated transitions expand the selected to-do into an empty white piece of paper. You can add additional details to your to-do, neatly tucked away in the corner until you need them.

“There are no distractions here, it’s just you and your thoughts,” said developers.

The choice is yours: you can create either a simple to-do that looks like text on a piece of paper or opt for a richer to-do which may include additional details such as tags, checklists (a new feature for to-dos in Things 3), a start date, a deadline and so forth.

Speaking of to-dos, Things 3 introduces an all-new Magic Plus Button.

Found in the corner of the screen, you can tap it to quickly add a new to-do or actually drag the button to a particular list in order to generate a to-do in a specific location. Plus, managing to-dos is now way easier than before with expanded support for gestures, like dragging and dropping, swiping, tapping to expand and more.

Seasoned Things users will be delighted to know that developers have implemented one of the most-requested features: time-based reminders. For those to-dos you absolutely cannot miss, adding a reminder will give you peace of mind.

While scheduling a to-do in Jump Start, click Add Reminder and set the time. There are three ways to set the time: manually, using the app's natural language parser (just type “Wed 8pm” or some such, and you're all set) or you can speak to Siri (“Remind me to call Seb at 5am.”)

Watch the promotional video for Things 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R6o5t0VK_A

Things 3 now supports headings to break up complex projects into sections.

And with the app's Magic Plus Button, you can create and place headings in new projects like a pro. The app's cleaner design extends to your Today and Upcoming sections which now combine calendar events and to-dos into one unified view with a timeline at the top, giving an outline of your schedule.

A new This Evening section is your at-a-glance overview of any to-dos that you won’t get to until later in the day, like things you can only do when you get home. The This Evening section is a handy way to keep these to-dos separate from the rest, in their own discrete list.

And to help you find a needle in the haystack, Things 3 now includes a Quick Find feature.

Just pull down on any list to reveal search, which can now find content across the entire app. Quick Find also includes handy shortcuts to your to-dos, lists, tags and more.

Type Travel, another new feature in Things 3, lets you navigation to any project, area or to-do in the app. On iPad, you can now swipe away the sidebar and focus on just the current list you’re working on, both in portrait and landscape orientations.

On your Mac, Things now has a Slim Mode which cuts out distractions so you can focus on the task at hand. To enter this mode, collapse the sidebar with a two-finger swipe. Slim Mode is especially great when you’re working in macOS's Split View multitasking mode.

You can even open multiple windows in Slim Mode and drag and drop items between them.

https://culturedcode.cachefly.net/things/videos/2017-05-03-allnewthings-when/video.mp4

Developers have completely rewritten core layers of the apps, which are now shared between macOS and iOS for increased reliability. The Apple Watch app has been updated as well (it now shows checklists and headings), there's a new structure for Areas in the iOS app and you can now import data from Wunderlist or OmniFocus into Things 3.

And with TouchBar support, owners of the new MacBook Pro can take advantage of convenient access to the app's most-used commands.

Things is fully integrated with all the latest iOS technologies: Apple Watch, Calendars, Siri, Reminders, Today Widget, Quick Actions, Action Extension, Handoff and Notifications.

The apps all stay updated via Things Cloud, which is the push sync service that Cultured Code custom-built for the app. Unfortunately, iCloud syncing is not supported in Things.

For the complete overview of what's new in the app, visit the official Things website.

Things 3 for iPhone and Apple Watch is $9.99 on App Store.

Things 3 for iPad is $19.99 on App Store.

Things 3 for Mac is $49.99 on Mac App Store.

To celebrate the launch of Things 3, all apps are 20 percent off until next Thursday, May 25.

A 14-day trial of Things for Mac is available via the Cultured Code website.

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Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow coming to iOS, will contain some entirely new episodes

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 18, 2017

Game developers FoxNext Games and Jam City (via its game studio TinyCo) announced today that Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow for iPhone and iPad will arrive sometime in early summer.

The new game will blend simulation, combat, galactic exploration and choose-your-own-adventure mechanics together to bring the escapades of the Planet Express crew to life. In his February interview with USA Today, Matt Goering said that the game will contain some entirely new episodes of the show.

“Oh, you guys wanna do a game? That’s fine,” he said. “But we’re gonna sneak some more Futurama episodes in there on whatever device people are gonna be using.”

The game features two main settings: New New York, which focuses on simulation and character progression gameplay, and Space Adventures, in which players explore and battle their way through planets, nebulas and other weird stuff across the Futurama universe.

Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow is being developed in partnership with Futurama and The Simpsons creator Matt Groening and his Curiosity Company, along with executive producer David X. Cohen and original Futurama writers.

“Jam City is working with the writers, animators, and cast to produce even more original animation that will have fans waving their tentacles in the air,” according to developers.

The official teaser trailer embedded below is the first new animation from the Futurama universe since the show's original TV run ended in 2013.

“I'm proud to say that Futurama lives! In mobile-video-game teaser trailer form, anyway,” said the series' creator Matt Groening. “If you squint, it's kind of like a little episode!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2Izx4MQCwQ

“Working on this new Futurama animation has been a thrilling adventure,” said David X. Cohen.

“I finally understand how Neil Armstrong must have felt when he first landed on the lunar surface, watched some funny cartoons on the control screen, and did whatever else was on his schedule that day,” he added, jokingly.

In the New New York setting, your main focus will be on rescuing characters, collecting special items and materials, expanding your characters' capabilities by leveling them up and crafting ability-defining character outfits and tackling story-driven quests.

According to developers, events that occur in New New York will often move the game's overarching narrative forward, by allowing players to assemble a crew of their favorite Futurama characters and take to the stars for Space Adventures.

“While traversing the depths of space, players will fight alien enemies in retro arcade-style combat, rendered in beautiful 16-bit graphics, and explore strange lands in which their choices determine their fate,” they said.

Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow will arrive sometime in early summer to iPhone, iPad, Android and Amazon devices. More information on the game will be released in the near future and we'll be making sure to keep you in the loop.

You can pre-register at youwillplayfuturama.com to receive a special in-game gift when you start playing. More original Futurama animation is coming too, so stay tuned.

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Tim Cook talks assistive technologies with Accessibility evangelists

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 18, 2017

Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down with three YouTubers who are Accessibility evangelists to discuss the importance of the assistive technologies built into the company's iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS platforms.

James Rath, a legally blind filmmaker; Tatiana Lee, a model, actress and lifestyle blogger; and Rikki Poynter, a North Carolina-based writer and deaf awareness activist, all published their video interviews with Apple's chief on their respective YouTube channels on Wednesday.

James Rath interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXy8KcONTSs

Rikki Poynter interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6_iOVSavdE

Cook explained to Poyter what Apple is all about when it comes to Accessibility:

Apple is founded on giving people power to create things, to do things that they couldn't do without those tools. And we've always viewed accessibility as a human right. And so just like human rights are for everyone, we want our products to be accessible for everyone.

He added that accessibility should be a basic human right:

It's a basic core value of Apple. We don't make products for a particular group of people. We make products for everybody.

We feel very strongly that everyone deserves an equal opportunity and equal access. So we don't look at this thing from a return on investment point of view—I've been asked that before. The answer is no, I've never looked at that. We don't care about that.

A lot of these Accessibility features, everyone can use. With HomeKit, I use HomeKit every day and control my house with my voice.

“It’s a basic core value of Apple,” said Cook.

Tatiana Lee interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58ZZFUDIM0g

Lee's whole video was shot with her iPhone 7 and edited using Apple's new app Clips.

Cook did the interviews to honor Global Accessibility Awareness Day, an initiative that promotes inclusion when it comes to creating products, content and experiences for everyone.

The company is currently highlighting apps on App Store that implement Accessibility features.

Lastly, Apple posted seven inspiring videos showcasing how people with disabilities are using assistive technologies built into iPhone, iPad and Mac. For the full overview of the extensive assistive features built into Apple products, check out its dedicated Accessibility webpage.

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IconCert lets you know when your Yalu certificate expires

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 18, 2017

The Yalu iOS 10 jailbreak, just like the iOS 9.3.3 jailbreak before it, is a semi-untethered jailbreak. This means you must re-sign the jailbreak app after 7 days with Cydia Impactor in order to keep your jailbreak app functioning after a reboot.

A new free jailbreak tweak called IconCert by iOS developer faz helps you keep better track of your Yalu app’s signing status so you can take the proper action to re-sign it accordingly.

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Add the Dock to the Today view with this handy tweak

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 18, 2017

The Dock is a special part of the Home screen that houses your favorite apps and appears on all pages except for the Today page, which is where your widgets appear. On the other hand, if you wanted to change that, you officially can.

A new free jailbreak tweak dubbed ViewDockOnTodayView by CydiaGeek allows the Dock appear on the Today page with all of your widgets and in addition to all of your regular Home screen pages.

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Google Home is gaining hands-free calling, Apple Music streaming via Bluetooth & visual responses via iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 17, 2017

Google's AI-powered speaker, called Home, is getting new features announced earlier today during the keynote address at the company's annual conference for developers. Soon, Home owners will be able to stream songs from Apple Music and other apps running on their iPhone, iPad, Mac or Android device via Bluetooth.

Hands-free calling

And with hands-free calling, customers will be able ask Assistant running on the device to place calls to mobile phones or landlines in the US or Canada for free.

Even better, there’ll be no setup and no need for a phone or additional app.

Visual responses

Yet another upcoming enhancement, called visual responses, will let the smart speaker put responses to queries on a supported display, including your iPhone's.

That's right, you’ll be able to see Assistant answers on the biggest screen in your house, whether you're asking “What's on YouTube TV right now?” or “What's on my calendar today?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpnxTXILS4s

Getting visual responses from Home's Assistant on a TV will be even easier with Chromecast.

Bluetooth streaming

Google is adding Bluetooth support to let Home users enjoy more music, movies and TV shows in apps running on Bluetooth-enabled smartphones, tablets and computers, like Apple Music.

Soundcloud, Deezer and Spotify’s free music offering are coming soon to Home as well. On the video front, they've already added Netflix, and have more partners on the way like HBO NOW, CBS All Access and HGTV.

Reminders, additional countries

You can now use your Home speaker to schedule new calendar appointments and create reminders (support for adding reminders is coming soon). “Since it’s the same Google Assistant across devices, you’ll be able to get a reminder at home or on the go,” said the firm.

Google provided this brief explanation for proactive notifications:

Conversations can take place in many different ways. Sometimes your Assistant should be the one to start it—so over the next few months, we’re bringing proactive notifications to Google Home.

Google Home is currently available in a few markets, but that's about to change later this year as they expand it to new places, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Japan.

Assistant updates

Hands-free calling, adding reminders, Bluetooth streaming and visual responses will all be enabled for Google Home users in the coming months via a free firmware update.

Google Home is powered by Google Assistant (now available as a dedicated iPhone app).

Speaking of Assistant, the AI-powered helper will be rolling out to eligible Android phones in Brazilian Portuguese, French, German and Japanese. By the end of the year, Assistant will support Italian, Korean and Spanish.

Starting today, developers can build conversational apps for the Google Assistant on phones. As a result, you’ll soon be able to not only get help and answers from Google, but also from third party services.

The company currently has 70+ smart home partners backing Assistant across Google Home, Android phones and iPhone, including August locks, TP-Link, Honeywell, Logitech and LG.

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Google Photos launching automatically curated albums, photo books & sharing suggestions

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 17, 2017

During today's keynote address at Google's annual I/O conference for developers, the company announced a trio of smart features powered by machine learning intelligence.

For starters, the app now automatically curates albums for the user.

Even better, Google Photos provides suggestions when sharing photos with others. As a bonus, there's now an Apple Photos-like feature for ordering printed photo books from within the app.

But first, check out the new features for yourself in Google's video embedded below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN_7r0mFf5Y

Sharing suggestions

Photos now uses Google's machine learning technology to remind you when it's time to share some photos. The app automatically select the right photos and even suggest who you should send them to based on who was in the photos.

All that's left for you to do is review the choices the app's made on your behalf before hitting that Send button. People you're sharing with will see all your photos and get a reminder to add theirs too. Your sharing activities are collated in the app's new Sharing tab.

This feature will be rolling out on Android, iOS and web in the coming weeks.

Automatically curated albums

Google Photos can now automatically share relevant photos with specific people. Say you took a bunch of photos of your kids: Photos may offer to automatically share them with your wife.

Called Shared Libraries, it lets you give a person access to your full photo library.

Don't worry, you can easily choose to limit sharing by having the app include just the photos of certain people or the images taken from a certain date forward. When the other person shares their library with you, you can automatically save their photos to your own library.

Shared Libraries will be rolling out on iOS, Android and web in the coming weeks.

Photo Books

Like with Apple Photos or services like Shutterfly, you can now order a printed coffee table book comprised of your best photographs without ever leaving the app. Simply select the images you'd like to fill your album with and Google's machine learning algorithm will pick the best shots, removing duplicates and poor quality images.

When placing your order, choose between a high-quality twenty-page softcover book for ten bucks a piece or a hardcover variant for twice as much. Your photo book will be delivered to that special person in your life in the mail.

This feature is rolling out today in the US on web, and on Android and iOS next week.

“We’ll bring photo books to more countries soon,” said the search giant.

Another feature that's coming soon to Photos: personalized suggestions for photo books (i.e. your trip to the Grand Canyon, time with family during the holidays, your puppy and so forth). Machine learning powers features in other Google apps, including smart replies in Gmail for iOS and the newly launched Assistant for iPhone app.

Grab Google Photos for free from App Store.

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Gmail for iOS now uses machine learning to provide smart replies

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 17, 2017

Google on Wednesday launched an updated version of the mobile Gmail app for iOS and Android, bringing out a handy new Smart Reply feature based on the company's machine learning technology. Like with canned responses in Apple's own Messages app, Gmail analyzes the contents of your emails to provide up to three canned responses based on what it thinks the sender is asking in their original message.

Smart Replies may include simple “Yes” and “No” responses. If the sender is asking whether to meet on Wednesday or Friday, Gmail may provide a bit more complex replies such as “Let's do Wednesday”, “Friday works for me” or “Either day works for me”.

Once you’ve selected one, you can send it immediately or edit your response starting with the Smart Reply text. By utilizing machine learning, the Smart Reply feature produces better responses the more you use it. “If you're more of a 'thanks!' than a 'thanks.' person, we'll suggest the response that's, well, more you,” says Google.

To learn about the smarts behind Smart Reply, check out the Google Research Blog.

Smart Reply will roll out globally in English first, with Spanish following in the coming weeks. Additional languages for Smart Replies will be added soon, Google has promised.

According to the search monster, the machine learning-assisted Smart Reply feature already drives twelve percent of replies in its Inbox email app.

Aside from Smart Replies in the Gmail app, today's keynote address at Google's annual I/O conference for developers saw the release of the official Google Assistant app for iOS.

Gmail for iOS is available at no charge from App Store.

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