Weekly Digest - 2021.23

Weekly Digest - 2021.23

WWDC 2021

This week Apple held a virtual WWDC conference, and here is what was announced:

iOS 15

  • FaceTime got a grid view, blurred backgrounds, and weblink to schedule a FaceTime call that  will work on PC or Android,
  • SharePlay allows to play videos, movies, TV shows,  music, and screen sharing during FaceTime calls,
  • Spatial audio is now supported thought the system,
  • Focus will manage notifications based on their importance and what we are doing at the moment,
  • Live Text allows to search and copy a text from photos,
  • Wallet will support virtual keys allowing opening cars or hotel room from the phone, also it will support virtual personal IDs and driving licenses,
  • Weather app has been rewritten and now has deeper integration with Dark Sky service,
  • Apple Maps got a new design with more detailed information about the roads, for example you can see the road signs, cross walks, and even 3d version od bridges and overpasses,
  • Safari has been redesigned, but most importantly it supports 3rd party extensions,
  • Siri can now work on the device, without internet connection and it's faster than ever.

iPadOS 15

  • New Home screen is now working like on iOS - widgets are now always visible, we can hide apps or even entire pages, and there is App Library
  • Multitasking got easier with new controls,
  • Notes now has a system wide feature called Quick Note that allows to create a quick note from any place in the iOS or iPadOS. Also the collaboration features has been added to notes, including mentions and activity view,
  • Translate support language auto detection and support handwriting.

watchOS 8

  • Mindfulness - the Breathing app has been extended with meditation features,
  • Sleep can track the respiratory rate and show the results in the Health app,
  • Workout app now supports Pilates and Tai Chi,
  • Photos got new tools to make a watch face with a photo look even better,
  • Home app has been completely redesigned,
  • Apps can now take an advantage from Always-On display.

macOS Montgomery

  • Universal control allows to use the same keyboard and mouse to control multiple macs or iPad,
  • Shortcuts from iOS have finally arrived on macOS,
  • FaceTime, Safari, Photos got similar updates to iOS versions.

Image credits: Apple

Weekly Digest - 2020.13

Weekly Digest - 2020.13

Apple's software updates

This week Apple has updated all their operating systems. Here is the list of the most prominent changes:

iOS 13.4

  • iCloud Folder Sharing,
  • Universal Purchase allows to purchase single copy of an app for all user's iPhones, iPods touch, iPads, Macs, and Apple TVs,
  • Revamped toolbar in Mail app,
  • Third-party navigation apps are now supported by the CarPlay Dashboard,
  • 9 new Memoji and Animoji stickers.

iPadOS 13.4

  • Mouse and trackpad support,
  • Shared iPad feature is now available for enterprise users,
  • Also includes all changes from iOS 13.4.

macOS 10.15.4

  • iCloud Folder Sharing,
  • Universal Purchase allows to purchase single copy of an app for all user's iPhones, iPods touch, iPads, Macs, and Apple TVs,
  • Time-synced lyrics for Apple Music, with ability to jump to part of a song by clicking a line in lyrics view,
  • New Parental options.

watchOS 6

  • In-app purchases are now available for ‌‌Apple Watch‌‌ apps,
  • ECG app and Irregular heart rhythm notifications are now available in Chile, New Zealand and Turkey.

tvOS 13.4 & HomePod

  • General bug fixes and improvements.

Disney+ in Western Europe

Disney has launched their streaming service in United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and Austria. Disney says that Disney+ will be available in France in April. Additional Western Europe countries, including Belgium, the Nordics, and Portugal should get access this summer.

Weekly Digest - 2020.11

Weekly Digest - 2020.11

iOS 14,  iPadOS 14, watchOS 7 details leaked

Couple of details leaked about upcoming operating systems and new Apple's products:

iOS

iPadOS

watchOS

  • Sharing watch faces with friends & family,
  • Watch face with tachymeter,
  • Watch face with country flags,
  • Photo watch face could be made not only out of single photos, but entire albums as well,
  • Parental controls,
  • Sleep tracking app,
  • Blood oxygen tracking,
  • WatchOS apps will be no longer be based on extensions.

New MacBooks

According to Ming-Chi Ku, couple of new MacBooks will be released in upcoming months:

  1. 14- inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air with Scissor Keyboards will come in second quarter,
  2. MacBooks with ARM processor will come in late 2020 or early 2021.

Google Pixel 4a

New details regarding upcoming budget phone have surfaced:

  • 5.8-inch (2340 x 1080) display,
  • Snapdragon 730 CPU,
  • 4GB or 6GB of RAM,
  • Hole-punch selfie camera,
  • Single 12-megapixel rear camera,
  • Fingerprint sensor on the back,
  • 3.5mm headphone jack,
  • support for dual-sim in 6GB model,
  • 3080mAh battery,
  • Phone will be available in April starting  at $399.

Coronavirus vs conferences #3

This week another conferences have been affected by coronavirus:

Image credits: the Hacker 34

Weekly digest - 2019.39

Weekly digest - 2019.39

Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha

Xiaomi is not afraid experimenting. Xiaomi Mi Mix series is a perfect example. This time Chinese manufacturer presented new phone from this line - Mi Mix Alpha. This phone is almost entirely made of screen. Display wraps entirely around the device to the point where it meets the camera on the back. Here is the full specification:

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+,
  • 12GB of RAM,
  • 512GB of storage
  • 108-megapixel camera,
  • support for 5G
  • 4050 mAh battery

This phone will be available for about $2800.

This phone is really cool concept. Everyone is so focused on foldable phones, that Xiaomi surprised us with something simpler yet still interesting, and maybe even functional.

OnePlus 7T

OnePlus has presented the budget phone for people who are tired of flagship and expensive devices. Here is the specification

  • 6,55-innch Fluid AMOLED display (2400×1080px)
  • 90Hz screen's refresh rate,
  • Fingerprint reader built into the screen
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+,
  • 8 GB of RAM
  • 128 or 256GB of storage
  • 48-megapixel tripple camera
  • 3800 mAh battery
  • OxygenOS based on Android 10

OnePlus 7T will be available from $599.

Google Play Pass

One week after premiere of Apple Arcade, Google announced their own game service. Google Play Pass will cost $4.99 per month and will give access to 350 games and apps. All games/apps will be free and without any in-app purchases. For now service is available only in US, but Google says that it is planning to extend service to other countries.  

This is interesting move from Google. If the games/apps in the bundle are good then it is win-win scenario for Android users. The only question I have is, how developers are getting paid? So far, Google didn't share any details on that topic.

iOS 13.1 & iPadOS 13.1

This week Apple released iOS 13.1 and iPadOS 13.1. The later is the first official release of the dedicated operating system for tablets. iOS 13.1 has been released in less than a week after the premiere of the new iOS, and is the fastest released major update so far.

iPhone 12 design

According to newest rumors,  next year iPhone will get major redesign. New frame will be  similar to one from iPhone 4. Also, new iPhone will not have notch. All Face Id sensors will be hidden in the upper bezel.

Disney news

There was plenty of news related with Disney. Here is tl;dr:

Image credits: Xiaomi