July 2017
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iOS and Apple news
iOS 11 preview: Find and delete storage hogging iMessage chats.
The new iPad Pro 10.5'' Apple pays off its future of computing promise, writes TechCrunch in their review.
The iPad Pro 10.5'' is a typing champ, writes Macworld.
Why I chose the new 12.9'' iPad Pro, writes AppleWorld.
They continue: `This is an amazing iPad. It pays off years of setup in ways that come home when you see how well iOS 11 works.Last year, Apple's Tim Cook said that `we believe that iPad is the perfect expression of the future of computing.' This year, that claim seems more ideologically sound than ever. This iPad is Apple's ‘swing away’ moment. It executes on the years of insistence that the iPad is the future of light work computers. But that moment is only telegraphed, shadowed, until you see it through the lens of iOS 11. Science fiction for has decades displayed tablets as the future of mid-range computing. With the iPad Pro, especially when it's armed with iOS 11, its beginning to feel possible to see Apple in this world. The iPad is a full-fledged computer, and you can argue against it but you’re going to increasingly sound like a contrarian.'
Virgin Mobile announced that is the first iPhone-only carrier and makes a tempting offer. Buy an iPhone and get six months of unlimited talk, text and data on Virgin Mobile's nationwide network for only $1 when you join the `Inner Circle.' Additionally, customers who sign up by Monday, July 31 will receive a promotional offer of 12 months of service for just $1. After the promotional $1 service period of six or 12 months, Inner Circle customers will transition to one of the mobile industry’s best values: $50 per month for unlimited talk, text and data at up to 4G LTE speeds. iPhone and the Inner Circle offer are available to pre-order now at VirginMobile.com.
Additionally, Virgin Mobile offers to Inner Circle members for a limited time: A). A round-trip companion ticket to the United Kingdom on Virgin Atlantic, B). One night’s stay at Virgin Hotels, C). $170 savings on an introductory offer to Virgin Wines club, D). Up to 20-percent off flights on Virgin America, E). 20-percent off on the Virgin Sport San Francisco Festival of Fitness (Oct. 13-15)
[ RUMOR ] Newly leaked iPhone 8 body shows camera might be vertical on the next iPhone. (Some people refer to it as iPhone 8 but this is speculation of course.)
A thief forgot about `Find my iPhone' app, reports Mashable. This was at a festival, where the thief was taking people's iPhones. He had about 100 in his backpack but people tracked him, told the police and he was easily apprehended.
Bernie points us to car news: Alpine's latest receiver brings wireless CarPlay to all, reports Autoblog. The key here is that it's wireless, while other companies offer wired solutions.
iPhone at 10
It's easy to look back at iPhone and believe that it was inevitable. However, consider the bet that Steve Jobs did not decline, writes tech blogger Kontra. Nothing was easy at the time. He asks, would you take the bet Jobs did in 2005? This is an excellent appreciation of the challenges.
The iPhone ushered changes that have been as momentous as those of the Ford Model T. or those of electricity, telegraph, radio or TV., writes Asymco.
Watch how iPhone changed the world, reports Re/Code.
Three stunning numbers reveal how huge Apple's iPhone business has become, reports the Street.
An original iPhone listed on eBay for $4,000 at the end of June, and $19,500 as a brand new one.
The silliest quotes about the iPhone, from the early days, compiled by MacDailyNews.
iOS apps & widgets
Memorado is a brain training app. They claim to improve your memory and focus by scientifically based training. The app is free with in-app purchases.
iExplorer is an iPhone `manager' for your Mac or PC. It transfers music, messages, photos, and more. Olga has used it to keep a readable backup of iOS devices she has configured for friends who need help with iOS.
Consider using the native Notes app as a widget in your Today view. It gives a nice shortcut to scribbling with your finger.
The Apple Design Awards were announced last month by Apple. These are the apps that stood out in a very crowded field. Olga recommends Bear, a competitor to Evernote.
Photography
A reminder about : iCloud Photo Library vs. Photostream, Apple describes the key differences.
And another article about iCloud Photo vs. Photostream: Yes, if you delete photos from iCloud Photo Library, they are deleted everywhere That's because iCloud Photo Library is both a cloud storage AND a sync policy across your devices.
The wonderful app Paper continues to be free and ad-free. However, for those who want to help support its continued development, they offer the optional `Paper Patron' membership. This gives fans the option to subscribe at $6 every six months, and you can easily cancel any time. Patrons get new features and also have the chance to help influence the future design and development. The latest new feature is Copy and paste of any portion of a page to another page. Take a look to see how this works.
Affinity Photo has been released for iPad. Affinity Photo is a must-have editor for iPad Pro users says 9to5Mac in their review.
tips & tricks
Have you ever wondered what the `pay phone' icon in the status bar of your iPhone is? It's a TTY symbol. Did you know iPhone supports TTY? Yes it does.
Traveling? Consider getting a VPN service, even if you don't use one normally. There are many good examples, Olga suggests considering Cloak or TunnelBear.
If you are traveling, consider how you plan to use your iPhone for calls, texts, and for data while you are not within a WiFi network. Find out what your carrier offers. Consider getting a prepaid SIM card (before your trp or after you arrive at your destination).
For Verizon users, Olga highly recommends using Travel Pass while traveling. It's $10/day, but only for days when you use it. It offers unlimited data and calls from your regular phone number.
It's a good idea to check and verify that your iPhone and ipad has the correct `me' card with your info. Here is how to change it, if you need to.
Here are 8 Safari tips for iOS that are worth knowing.
Olga offers an additional tip: when you choose `search' (following the last tip above), you can scroll down to the bottom for the shortcut to Search the Web.
Tips on buying and selling
Are you looking for used iPhones and where they might be functional at LTE speeds? Apple has all the info on models and LTE speeds around the world. This is an excellent resource.
Olga reports that an excellent place to buy and sell (gently) used iPhones and iPads is Swappa. The benefits are: easy listing, free to post, easy to search, 3rd part checks of IMEI, guarantees, and you get much more is you sell via Swappa compared to Gazelle, or Amazon, or Apple.
When you are considering buying used iPhones or iPads, or even preparing your sale(s), you will probably need to look up details and specs of the older devices. Olga highly recommends MacTracker, a free app for macOS or iOS that gives you all the historical data. This is a wonderful app.
gadgets & accessories
For iPad Pro users, Curt points us to PaperLike which got started as an IndieGoGo project.
The Mophie Powerstation is an external battery for iPads, iPhones. It can power up to 2 devices simultaneously and has huge battery capacity while being very slender.
Mophie offers several other battery models.
Ring 2 is the 2nd generation of the video doorbell that connects to your iPhone. It includes a rechargeable battery pack and they have upgraded the video to 1080p. Also, they offer interchangeable faceplates. ZDNet reviews it and concludes that it's a worthy upgrade, especially the Pro version, due to superior motion detection and video quality.
Glif is a new iPhone tripod adapter and and a handle for your iPhone. Take a look at their video. (It's by the same team that made the Astronaut stylus a few years ago.) It should be part of every smartphone photographer's kit, writes MacWorld in their review. Olga just received hers and showed at our meeting.
watch
[ RUMOR ] Reportedly, Tim Cook is testing continuous glucose monitoring on an Apple Watch. This is not confirmed, but we know that Apple has ben aiming to do this.
This would be the hole grail of functionality for the watch, as MacDailyNews reminds us:
WatchOS 4 wishes you happy birthday on your birthday :-)
privacy & security
Before you hit `submit' this company has already logged your personal data, reports Gizmodo. Filling out a form partially and not submitting the form is enough. User beware.
general apps & services
GoWatchIt.com lets you know when and how you can watch a movie. It tracks all the major streaming services (Netflix, Amazon video, HBO Go, Hulu, iTunes, and so on), as well as theaters. You can also add shows in your queue and it will email you when the show is available.
Mountain Duck lets you mount server and cloud storage as a local disk on the Finder app (for Mac) or Windows Explorer (for Windows).