Google is upgrading the quality of aerial imagery for the satellite view that's available in Google Maps and Google Earth services. According to a blog post yesterday, both mapping services now offer crisp high-definition satellite imagery of Earth without clouds captured by Landsat 8, an Earth observation satellite launched on February 11, 2013 in a collaboration between NASA and the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
iPhone
Stay up-to-date on the latest iPhone news and learn new tips and tricks with our comprehensive tutorials. From software updates to new features, we’ve got you covered.
Amazon debuts new Page Flip feature for Kindle apps and devices
Online retail giant Amazon on Tuesday announced a new Page Flip feature for its Kindle lineup of e-readers and mobile apps. Page Flip lets you flip back and forth between pages to reference different parts of the book while you read, without losing track of your current reading position. With Page Flip, you can turn one page at a time or zoom out to a bird’s eye view of your book to quickly choose the page you want.
iOS 10 tidbit: prioritizing App Store downloads with 3D Touch
In addition to using 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to cancel or pause in-progress app downloads, iOS 10 lets you prioritize a single App Store download at the expense of the other ones with 3D Touch. Reddit user “nite_” stumbled upon this feature while restoring his iPhone running a beta of iOS 10 from an iCloud backup, allowing him to prioritize the bulk download of apps with 3D Touch.
New invention paves the way for iPhones that’d optimize UI for left-handed users
The Apple Watch is designed for both left and right-handed use via a switch that prompts it to optimize the watchOS user interface for left-handed users. A similar feature could be headed to future iPhones as the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) a few days ago awarded the firm a patent for “Electronic Devices with Hand Detection Circuitry” that might let a future iPhone detect how it's being held and tweak the Home screen and other aspects of the iOS user interface for left-handed users.
Korea’s watchdog is investigating Apple for possible anti-competitive practices
Reuters reports that Apple is currently under fire in South Korea as the country's antitrust regulator launches an investigation into “some matters”, without disclosing further details. Jeong Jae-chan, the head of the anti-competition body, said during a parliamentary hearing Tuesday that the agency was taking a closer look at Apple's business practices in the country.
According to local media, the agency was reviewing details of Apple's contracts with South Korean wireless carriers earlier this month.
iOS 10 preview: keep yourself well-rested with Bedtime and Wake alarm
In addition to a gorgeous new dark interface, the Clock app on iOS 10 packs i a little-known but useful new feature— Bedtime and Wake alarm. With it, you can set up a regular sleep schedule to receive reminders when it's time to hit the bed and wake up.
By making it easier than ever to create a regular sleep schedule and receive timely bedtime alerts, this feature could help the insomniac types get a good night's sleep. With that in mind, watch our video hands-on and read a detailed preview of the new Bedtime and Wake alarm feature in iOS 10's Clock app.
Twitter introduces searchable #Stickers for your tweet images
Twitter on Monday announced a new feature that will start rolling out soon, searchable #Stickers to adorn your tweet images with. With this feature, users can put multiple stickers on a photo, resize and rotate them and place them anywhere on the image before it's tweeted out.
These rotating sticker sets are categorized and include hundreds of accessories, emoji and props to make your photos more interesting and fun.
“Use them to share what you’re doing or how you’re feeling, to show support for a cause, or to just add some flair,” said Twitter.
iPhone 7 rumor: Home button with haptic feedback, Apple Watch-like Space Black variant
Remember the iPhone 5's Darth Vader-like black appearance? It's still my favorite iPhone colorway even though Apple has since moved to a more subdued Space Gray finish for subsequent models. Mac Otakara, the Japanese publication which claimed the iPhone 7 would come in a new Deep Blue variant, has now backtracked on the report, saying the device would include a Space Black colorway akin to the Apple Watch.
Google-made smartphone designed to take on the iPhone allegedly due this year
Although Google's Android software is on four in five phones sold worldwide, the iPhone remains the king of the hill when it comes to the lucrative premium segment of the handset market. The Telegraph is now reporting that Google will step up smartphone wars with release of its own handset later this year, a move that'd see it compete directly with the iPhone.
A closer look at Differential Privacy in iOS 10 and macOS Sierra
Making Apple services even smarter and more personalized entails processing troves of information because intelligence is driven by big data. The fact that iOS 9's proactive features don't tap into the cloud has served Apple well thus far. But since Google Assistant came to light, people have been wondering if Apple can compete without resorting to raw data collection Google is infamous for.
iOS 10 and macOS Sierra represent Apple's refined approach to privacy, which revolves around new techniques collectively known as Differential Privacy. An en vogue statistical method, Differential Privacy helps Apple deliver smarter services without compromising privacy of their users.
It's a relatively unproven technique with lots of potential which hasn’t been used to boost Apple's services before iOS 10 and macOS Sierra. Here's a closer look at Differential Privacy, how it powers intelligence and proactiveness and why it should serve Apple better than Google's bulk data collection and analysis.
Bvddy, Radar, WalletHub and other apps to check out this weekend
In this week's installment of our Apps of the Week roundup, we've put together a list of unique apps and great games for you to check out over the weekend. Looking for a gym partner or tennis buddy? Bvddy can help. Going on vacation soon? Grab Radar for tips on the best places to visit. Keep reading for the full rundown.
Enjoy the new Unicode 9.0 emojis on iOS right now with a simple workaround
Many of you probably already heard the news that Unicode 9.0 became official this week and that there were going to be 72 new emojis coming soon.
Although Apple is likely to add support for these new emojis in iOS 10 in a future beta or release update, they're not yet available in iOS whatsoever, but in this tutorial, we'll show you how you can still use them without a jailbreak on a completely stock device.