iOS

I’ve noted before that HomeKit presence detection is extremely unreliable for me, relying as it does on Location Services.

GPS location can be less than 100% reliable in cities anyway, as signals are either blocked by tall buildings or bounce off them. There’s then an additional complication for those of us who live in apartment blocks …

Motif is a popular photo book printing service from the company responsible for printing Apple’s photo books in the past. The Motif app for iOS was updated today with major changes to its interface, including an Express Project Creation mode, revamped photo browser, and more.

We got the first iOS themes last year, when Apple brought a system-wide Dark Mode to the iPhone as part of iOS 13. But the way that iPhone users have been taking advantage of widgets and shortcuts in iOS 14 to completely transform the look of their devices suggests that there is demand for more system-wide iOS themes.

Indeed, one app designed to help users create customized widgets shot to the top of the App Store charts …

There are a variety of unique ways to harness the power of the Shortcuts app, which has gained immense popularity since iOS 14 was released last week. Now Federico Viticci at MacStories has put together a new WallCreator shortcut that enables creating custom iPhone and iPad wallpapers with gradients and solid colors.

Since the Files app was released with iOS 11, it’s become a staple of how I use the iPhone and iPad. I don’t think it gets enough credit for helping bridge the gap between macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. Between the ability to access all my iCloud Drive documents on top of integration with Google Drive, it’s one of the most used apps on my iPhone and iPad.

Update: As of right now, iOS 13.7 is only available to developers. We will update this post if that changes today. Initially, iOS 13.7 appeared to be rolling out to all users, but we’ve since confirmed that it is a beta release for now.

Apple is releasing iOS 13.7 to developers today with a key focus on expanding the COVID-19 Exposure Notification API. According to Apple, this update will allow users opt-in to COVID-19 Exposure Notifications without the need to download an app from your local public health authority.

Apple today has released iOS 14 beta 6 and iPadOS 14 beta 6 to developers. This release comes one week after iOS 14 beta 5 was released to developers and public beta users, signaling a shift from the two-week release cycle to weekly releases. Read on for a roundup of what’s new.

Apple today will release the fifth betas of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 to developers. Today’s release of iOS 14 beta 5 comes two weeks after the release of beta 4, which included features such as new TV app widgets, support for the COVID-19 Exposure Notification API, and more.

Update: iOS 14 beta 5 is now available to developers.

Apple today will release the fourth betas of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 to developers. Today’s release of iOS 14 beta 4 comes two weeks after the release of beta 3, which included new features such as new Clock app widgets, Apple Music changes, and more. Today’s update will continue to make refinements to iOS 14 for iPhone and iPad users.

Update: iOS 14 beta is now rolling out to registered developers.

In honor of World Emoji Day tomorrow, Apple has previewed the new emojis coming to iPhones, iPads, and Macs later this year. As detailed by Emojipedia, new emoji coming this fall include a ninja, a boomerang, a coin, and more.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple officially announced its new Car Key feature at WWDC 2020 last month, teasing that BMW drivers would be the first people able to use it. Now, the BMW Connected app for iPhone and Apple Watch has been updated with support for Car Key.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple today is releasing the third developer beta of iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6. This comes as beta testing of iOS 14 continues separately, with iOS 13.6 likely being released to the general public sooner rather than later. [Update: Public beta 3 released too.]

Expand
Expanding
Close

Facebook is slowly but surely beginning its public rollout of Dark Mode support on iPhone and iPad. A handful of users have noticed a new Dark Mode setting in the Facebook app, and the company has confirmed that the feature is rolling out.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple is rolling out the second developer betas of iOS 13.6 and iPadOS 13.6 today. Included in the updates are additional controls to manage software updates going forward, including having updates automatically download and install.

Expand
Expanding
Close