Tag: iOS

Over the course of the past couple of years it has been clear that Microsoft’s mobile strategy is developing apps for Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.  This isn’t a bad strategy overall and it is clear from presentations this week at Build, Microsoft’s developer conference, that they are continuing that strategy.

One of the more exciting announcements on the first day of the conference is Windows 10’s new Timeline feature making it to both Android and iOS.  For Android users, access to Timeline will come via Microsoft Launcher while iOS users will have access to via Microsoft Edge.

It looks like the Apple HomePod is about to get a much needed feature:  Calendar access.  Right now HomePod isn’t able to access your calendar.  It can access your Messages, Reminders and Notes, which is handy but having calendar access is key to increasing the productivity of users of the smart speaker.  It looks like it is going to be changing pretty soon.

In the 3rd beta of iOS 11.4, when you go through the process of setting up an Apple HomePod, you now will see an icon for Calendar along with Messages, Reminders and Notes.  It is the strongest indication yet that calendar support is coming – although Apple hasn’t said anything on the topic to date.

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.

Less than a month after the second beta for iOS 11.4, a new build is now rolling out to testers in the Apple Beta Program.  The update has all of the appearances of a bug fixing exercise as no new features have been noted by the beta testing community to this point.

If you want to test in the Beta program, you can register your device here.  Keep in mind that your device has to be able to run iOS 11 to register into the program.

As most readers will know, there are two significant features expected to arrive when 11.4 is finally released to the public:  Messages in iCloud and AirPlay 2.

Update – Now Live in the Stable version

A new and pretty exciting feature is making its way to Microsoft Authenticator for iOS.  The feature will allow the app to keep a user’s credentials so they don’t get locked out of their accounts when they move to a new device.  The feature is a long requested feature by users and should make the migration from one phone to another more simple.

Today, if you migrate to a new phone, you have to pre-configure the Microsoft Authenticator app on your new phone prior to wiping your old one.  If you wipe the old one prior to doing this pre configuration, you run the risk of losing access to your two factor accounts – which is a gigantic pain, let’s be honest.  This new feature should make it a lot easier.

Apple Maps has quietly rolled out indoor maps for three new international airports, bringing the total number of supported airports to 37.  The new airports include Sydney International (SYD), Edinburgh (EDI) and Hamad International in Qatar (DOH).  You can find the complete list here on the iOS Feature Availability site.

Indoor mapping of airports and shopping malls is something that Apple Maps has been focusing on over the course of the last several years.  While it is fair to say that Google is certainly ahead with Google Maps in this type of indoor mapping, Apple continues to chip away at catching up.