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Charlotte Henry

Charlotte is a media junkie, covering how Apple is not just a revolutionary tech firm, but a revolutionary media firm for TMO. She is based in London, and writes and broadcasts for various outlets.

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Articles by Charlotte Henry

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And The Winner of the 2020 Streaming War is... Apple TV+?

Charlotte Henry ·

Lots has been made of the 2020 streaming war. New players joined just before or at the start of the year, and others (Quibi), have promptly surrendered. When it started year ago, not many people thought that Apple TV+ would come out on top. However, writing for Fast Company, Joe Berkowitz argues that the newcomer may have done just that.

Apple TV Plus may not have a specific prestige aesthetic yet, the way HBO shows once felt like HBO shows and AMC shows felt like AMC shows, but what it does have is momentum and potential. While the must-see Disney Plus original content beyond Mandalorian still seems stalled in a galaxy far, far away, Apple TV Plus has a treasure trove of decent-to-great programming to tap into right now

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Fifth watchOS 7.1 and tvOS 14.2 Developer Betas Now Available

Charlotte Henry ·

The latest beta version of watchOS 7.1 and tvOS 14.2 are now available for developers to download, AppleInsider reported. In both cases, they are the fifth developer betas.

The new watchOS 7 and tvOS 14 beta versions can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center by users enrolled in the test program, or as an over-the-air update by users who are running an earlier version of the beta software. The newest betas replace the fourth betas released on Oct. 22. New features include support for health features in Russia and Korea on Apple Watch, and no known new user-facing features on Apple TV. To install the new update, an Apple Watch must be at least 50% charged, placed on a charger, and within range of an iPhone. Updates on the Apple TV can be installed via the Settings app.

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Apple Maps in Italy Gets Transit Directions

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple Maps now includes transportation directions across Italy. MacRumors  reported that it works on systems like train, bus and tram in a number of cities now, instead of just Rome where the functionality originally rolled out.

The feature can be accessed by selecting the Transit tab or button in Apple Maps on iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch. Supported modes of transportation include trains, buses, trams, and more in and between cities such as Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Genoa, Florence, and Venice. Google Maps has supported transit directions for several years now, but Apple Maps is steadily catching up with detailed routing information.

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Connecting COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps Across Europe is Starting to Work

Charlotte Henry ·

The first stage in making COVID-19 contact tracing apps work across different European countries has been achieved. The Scottish contact tracing app, which was built using the Apple/Google API, now also works in both Northern Ireland and Jersey.

The shared code is what also enables interoperability between apps used in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware … The Scottish app should also work in England and Wales within the next few weeks, and then across Europe. This is all part of a wider European interoperability project intended to ensure that all contact tracing apps work across the continent. The app was developed by NearForm, which first created the Irish contact tracing app before rolling out versions for Scotland, Jersey, and the four US states. All the apps share the same core code.

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iPad Air Might Make the Pro Obsolete

Charlotte Henry ·

The reviews of the new iPad Air are starting to appear. Wired UK‘sis very positive, with author Jeremy White saying that it might make the Pro redundant for many users.

The inclusion of Apple’s A14 Bionic means you get the company’s latest chip that is in some respects even better than the one in the current iPad Pro. While to say this results in better performance than the Pro would be outright wrong, you do get a big bump in power – a 40 per cent increase in performance over the previous iPad Air, Apple says, and a 30 per cent uptick in graphics performance. Much like the new iPhone 12 series that also carries the A14, the Air is noticeably faster than its previous iteration. Battery life is of the usual iPad standard – top drawer. You will not need to charge the Air for days with light use, and if you do employ it as a PC replacement (which is certainly possible, especially with the keyboard) you will get many more hours out of it than a standard laptop. The faster 20W charger that comes in the box will help top things up if you do run low. It’s not all good news, though. Despite stealing so much from the Pro there is no LiDAR and no ultrawide camera.

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Apple Music For Android Gets Crossfade Feature Before iOS

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple Music for Android got an update Monday with the arrival of version 3.4 of the app. Amongst other things, AppleInsider noted that the latest version includes Crossfade, a feature not yet available to iOS users.

The Autoplay feature also makes the transition to Android, with users able to let Apple Music select the next songs to play once a playlist has been exhausted. When enabled, Apple Music will analyze the playlist and select songs that seem to be similar, such as the same artist or genre. Social media users will be able to share their current listening selection with others, by using the Share Song option in the menu to post to Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat. One unusual option that Android has is Crossfade, a feature that has Apple Music overlapping the end of one song with the beginning of another for a few seconds, fading between the two for a semi-seamless and continuous listening experience. While the option is available on Mac, it has yet to be made available on the iOS or iPadOS versions of the app.