Outlook for Android Update Brings Streamlined Search Feature

Microsoft has released a new update to Outlook for Android that brings a much improved search experience in the email, calendar and contacts app.  Version 2.2.147 landed in the Google Play Store on Friday and by now should be out to most reader’s accounts and available to for update.

The biggest change in the app is the improved navigation bar.  It is much more simple in this release, providing one-tap access to mail, calendars and to the improved search feature.  The navigation bar remains at the bottom of the display has it has for some time now but looks cleaner.

iOS 13 Rumored to Have Several iPad-Focused Feature Updates

While iOS 12 is on the horizon for 2018, attention is already starting to turn to iOS 13 which is slated for 2019.  That attention is being fueled by rumors about the update coming in 2019 and it looks like it is going to be heavily focused on the iPad.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman tweeted on Friday about some of the things that we can expect in “Yukon”, the codename for iOS 13.

While the tweet and rumors are still somewhat generic in nature, it does align with previous rumors that there would be a heavy focus on the iPad in v13.

You Can Now Order Movie Tickets on Fandango From Google Assistant

Good news today for those of you who use Fandango to get your movie tickets.  You can now use Google Assistant on your phone to find movie times near you and order your tickets all with voice commands.   You can continue to use the Fandango app of course but now you have a voice enabled option.  Sweet!

The feature only works on Assistant on your phone and while you can ask your Google Home for details, it is going to move the process over to your phone to complete it.  Hopefully it’ll get fully enabled on home at some point but as you can see after the break, the interaction with Assistant on your phone is pretty visual instead of just blurting out a bunch of movie times.

Apple News to Bring Exclusive Video Content to Readers

Apple is upping its game with Apple News according to a report in Digiday.  According to the report, Apple is signing deals with content providers to provide exclusive content to users of the app on their iPhones and iPads.  That content could prove to be only available for Apple News or, as with BuzzFeed News last month, will be exclusive and first on Apple’s service temporarily.

Last month, BuzzFeed News released a three-part series Future History: 1968 with the company confirming that Apple paid to have the exclusive rights to have first views of that series on their news app.

Apple Stops Signing iOS 11.3 With Downgrades No Longer an Option

With the release of iOS 11.3.1 last week, Apple has stopped signing iOS 11.3 meaning that iPhone and iPad owners can no longer downgrade from the latest build.  Long time Apple followers will know that this is normal for the Cupertino company to do after a release of an update or major version of the platform.

For the majority of iOS users, the removal of 11.3 won’t be a big deal.  Most owners don’t downgrade after an update unless there are bugs or other use impacting issues.  With virtually none reported, it was just a matter of when Apple stopped signing it.

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