The fall is a crazy ride for Apple users. New hardware, new software, lots of changes, and more. John and Dave are right there with you to answer your questions, share tips, and dissect the new technology to help us all understand everything better. Listen this week as your two favorite geeks answer some Wi-Fi questions, share Cool Stuff Found, and revisit Big Sur as it surely gets closer to release time. Press play and enjoy learning five new things!
iOS 14
Getting the Most Out of the Smart Stack Widget
With iOS 14, we have a new feature called a Smart Stack widget. Here are some tips on how to add it and make the most of its capabilities.
New iOS 14.2 Public and Developer Betas Released
On the heels of Apple’s “Hi, Speed” event, Cupertino has released the new iOS 14.2 beta 3 to developers and public beta participants.
iOS 14: How to Copy and Paste Actions in Shortcuts
iOS 14 brought many improvements to the Shortcuts app, including a way to copy and paste actions and duplicate them.
Privacy Advocates Call on Tim Cook to to Implement iOS 14 Privacy Features
Ranking Digital Rights, along with seven other organizations, sent a letter [PDF] to Apple CEO Tim Cook, urging the company to implement iOS 14 privacy features that are delayed until 2021.
Apple has the opportunity to reinforce its position as an industry leader on protecting the privacy of its users by empowering them to control who can track their online behavior. At the same time, this change can and should enable the company to become more transparent about how it enforces its terms against apps that violate its policies. By delaying the introduction of crucial privacy measures, the company is slowing the momentum it created.
Security Friday, Widgets, and You – TMO Daily Observations 2020-10-02
Andrew Orr joins host Kelly Guimont for Security Friday news and updates, and a discussion about iOS 14’s widgets and what they can/can’t do.
This Developer Made Over $100k Selling Custom App Icons
Developer “Traf” wrote a blog post saying he made over US$100,000 in six days selling custom app icons that can be used on iOS 14.
As soon as I noticed the hype, I put together some icons in my own style, downloaded some widgets, and tried it all out. I thought it looked cool, so I shared a screenshot of it on Twitter. Right away, people started asking about the icons in the screenshot. So I quickly packaged them, uploaded them to Gumroad, and embedded them on a Notion site using Super. All of this took about two hours.
It’s cool to see all of the customization people are doing on iOS 14, but I wonder if this developer could get into legal trouble by making money off of companies’ icons.
Here’s How to Replace the iOS 13 Favorites Widget on iOS 14
We all know how much I like shortcuts, and Juli Clover came up with a clever way to replace the iOS 13 Favorites widget that was removed in iOS 14.
Why the Favorites widget was removed is a mystery and it could be a simple oversight with Apple planning to reintroduce it later, but for now, those who relied on the widget can recreate its functionality with Shortcuts. It takes some effort, but it may be worth the time investment if you often relied on your Favorites.
As my image above suggests, it’s only the widget that was removed. You can still add favorites in the Phone and Contacts apps.
Apple Seeds iOS 14.2 Public Beta 2, Includes New Emojis
Apple has released the second update to iOS 14.2 public beta and another one for iPadOS 14.2. Here are some features we can expect to see.
MindNode Update Supports iOS 14 Scribble With Apple Pencil
MindNode issued an update on Wednesday that adds support for the iOS 14 Scribble feature with Apple Pencil. Users can try the new image picker to add photos, trigger actions with the new context menu, and use their Apple Pencil to hand write in nodes. Other improvements: Added support for opening URLs in third party browsers; Fixed opening of documents on Apple Watch that are outside MindNode’s iCloud container; Fixed image loading on Apple Watch of single file format documents and documents outside MindNode’s iCloud container; Improved support for third-party fonts by adopting the system font picker; Fixed an issue with opening documents that are outside MindNode’s iCloud container.
NextDNS Lets You Create Configuration Files for iOS 14 Encrypted DNS
NextDNS released a new tool on Tuesday that lets you generate a configuration profile to let you use iOS 14 encrypted DNS without needing the NextDNS app.
Can iOS 14 Widgets Steal Your Keyboard Info?
After claims that iOS 14 widgets are up to no good, can they access your keyboard and act as keyloggers? First, as the developer of Widgetsmith says:
Leaving for a moment that I don’t think that is technically possible for a widget to read the keyboard. Widgetsmith was built from the ground up with complete privacy in mind and collects essentially no data about its users.
After using the app I wrote about this morning, Sticky Widgets, I’d say yes they can access your keyboard, because if not then Sticky Widgets would be unusable and you couldn’t type anything into them. Can they access the keyboard without user consent? Most likely not, as the quote continues: “Widgets use SwiftUI views to display their content. WidgetKit renders the views on your behalf in a separate process. As a result, your widget extension is not continually active, even if the widget is onscreen.”
Put Sticky Notes on Your Home Screen With ‘Sticky Widgets’
Many Mac users have fond memories of Apple’s sticky notes widget and you can replicate that experience with Sticky Widgets. It lets you add sticky notes on your Home Screen in two steps: 1) Add a Sticky Widget to your Home Screen; 2) Tap on the widget to edit it. This is one app you should download immediately, although you probably don’t need me to tell you that since sticky notes on the screen are so useful. With these widgets easily accessible and in my face, I no longer have to create a reminder for stuff to get at the store, and a reminder to remind myself to set the other reminder.
That CPU is Hot! — Mac Geek Gab 835
Of course your Quick Tips for iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7 keep rolling in, and of course your two favorite geeks take pleasure in sharing them for you. But there’s more… there’s always more! This week, John and Dave dig into what’s making your CPU hot, what’s causing your CarPlay woes, and much, much more! Press play to enjoy learning at least five new things.
Facebook Wants Messenger to be Default iOS Message App
iOS 14 lets users choose which email and browser they want to be the default. Mark Zuckerberg wants the option for Messenger to be the default.
iOS 14 vs Android, App Library, Widgets, and Default Apps
Writer Nicole Lee is happy with iOS 14 features that are similar to Android, like widgets, default apps, and App Library. And she wants more of that.
But for me, the real star of iOS 14 is not quite so obvious (It’s so low-key that Apple didn’t mention it at its WWDC keynote). It’s the fact that, at long last, iOS now lets you pick your own default email and browser apps. This one feature, more than any other, is what I feel is a key factor in preventing me from switching to Android. That’s because, as an iOS user, it is not Android that I find attractive — it’s Google.
I’m trying to wrap my head around this argument. I don’t want to be one of those people who say, “If you’re not happy with iOS, then switch to Android.” But it doesn’t make sense to me that setting default apps would stop her from switching, considering Android had that all along. She goes on to say that she hasn’t bothered with iOS 14 widgets and that Android widgets don’t appeal to her. Okay, don’t use them?? Just like you’re not using iOS 14 widgets?? There’s more I have to say but this is running up against the length limitation of our Linked Teasers. Go read.
iOS 14.0.1 is Out to Fix Default Apps Bug
Apple released iOS 14.0.1 on Thursday primarily to fix the “default apps bug” that would reset your default mail and browser app upon reboot.
Here are 6 Advertising Trackers I Found on The Mac Observer
Like many websites, The Mac Observer uses advertising trackers and cookies. Here are six of them Andrew found using Safari 14.
Calendar App ‘Fantastical’ Supports iOS 14 Widgets
Calendar app Fantastical updated to version 3.2 which adds support for iOS 14 widgets, iPadOS Scribble, and bug fixes.
Create iOS 14 Widgets With the “Widgetsmith’ App
Widgetsmith lets you create iOS 14 widgets and customize them to suit your needs and Home Screen theme. The app includes a variety of widget categories like weather, calendar, timezone converter, and others. Widgets can even by scheduled to appear on your screen following rules you define. App Store: Free (Offers In-App Purchases)
Verizon Supports iOS 14 Robocall Blocking Feature
Verizon is adding iOS 14 support for its robocall blocking feature called Silence Junk Callers.
iOS 14 Quick Tips and More — Mac Geek Gab 834
We’ve got first-run Quick Tips for iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14 for you right here. You know those things that surprise and delight your friends when they see you do them? That’s what Quick Tips are! Come and learn at least five new things as John and Dave talk through Quick Tips plus answer your questions about everything Mac, Apple, iPhone, and more. Press play and enjoy hanging out with your two favorite geeks!
What’s New in iOS 14 Game Center? Everything
Apple reminds us in an App Store story today that iOS 14 Game Center has been completely redesigned. Here are new changes.
iOS 14 Reveals Facebook Spying on Your Camera Through Instagram
Facebook is being accused of accessing peoples’ cameras through Instagram, thanks to a iOS 14 feature that tells you when your camera is active.
Facebook denied the reports and blamed a bug, which it said it was correcting, for triggering what it described as false notifications that Instagram was accessing iPhone cameras.
In the complaint filed Thursday in federal court in San Francisco, New Jersey Instagram user Brittany Conditi contends the app’s use of the camera is intentional and done for the purpose of collecting “lucrative and valuable data on its users that it would not otherwise have access to.”
Facebook: “It’s a bug because you weren’t supposed to know we were doing this.”