Apple recently acquired popular iOS utility Workflow in a deal that includes both the app and its developers. While many apps get pulled by Apple after an acquisition, Workflow remains on the App Store, and is now free.
iOS
Concept Video Shows Great iOS 11 Interface Ideas
With our first glimpse of iOS 11 most likely coming up in a few weeks at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference, it’s fun to look at features we’d like to see in the next version of the iPhone and iPad operating system. Jacek Zieba put together a video showing many of those features in action, and it’s pretty compelling. How about a pop-up menu from the control center’s WiFi icon showing available networks, or group FaceTime video chats? We’d love to see more useful in-app screen controls and that option to clear app data and caches easily, too. But true multi-user support? Apple isn’t going there.
Here's an iOS 11 Lock Screen Concept We Can Get Behind
Matt Birchler mocked up a great concept for iOS 11’s lock screen and we’re hoping Apple is taking notes. His ideas are plausible because he builds on what Apple already gave us in iOS 10 with enhancements like a current weather badge, grouped and organized notifications, “smart notifications” triggered by activity or location, and more. Matt also took the time to explain his ideas, and now we’re seriously wondering why there hasn’t ever been a weather complication on our iPhone screens. You can check out Matt’s iOS 11 lock screen concept at the Birchtree website.
iOS Chrome Browser Gets Read Later, Like Safari's Reading List
Google added Read Later to its iOS Chrome browser, a feature similar to Apple’s Reading List in Safari. As the name suggests, Read Later is a section where you can save articles and websites to read later. When you’re browsing in Chrome, you can tap the three dots icon on the upper right. Tap the share icon, then Read Later. Articles are saved offline, so you can read them wherever you are. So far this feature is only on the mobile version of Chrome, but it’s possible Google will add it to the desktop version in the future. The update is available now as part of Chrome version 57 on the App Store.
Take Back Control Over Email Notifications on iOS
If you’re like most of us, you have multiple email accounts set up on your iPhone and iPad. This can mean a flurry of notifications vying for your time, but Jeff Butts is here to show you how you can take control over that. It’s surprisingly easy to configure which email accounts do and do not give you notifications, and Jeff shows you how to set that up.
Apple Just Hired iOS Security Researcher Jonathan Zdziarski
Apple recently hired a prominent iOS security researcher, Jonathan Zdziarski. Known as NerveGas in the jailbreaking community, Mr. Zdziarski is the author of several books about iPhone forensics and how to secure iOS apps. In light of recent events like the CIA Vault 7 leak, this move may improve Apple’s standing within security and privacy circles.
Why iOS 10.3 Isn't Going to Trash Your iPhone's Data - TMO Daily Observations 2017-03-13
Is iOS 10.3 going to destroy all the data on your iPhone? Spoiler: No, it isn’t. Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to explain what’s really going on with the transition to APFS in iOS 10.3, plus Jeff goes out on a limb and says the iPhone 8 will have a flat display with curved edges, just like the iPhone 7.
Let Folks Through 'Do Not Disturb' With Emergency Bypass
Do Not Disturb is a great feature, but it’s always bothered Jeff Butts that he couldn’t allow text or iMessage notifications through. Thanks to the new Emergency Bypass setting in iOS 10, those worries are gone. Let’s check out how it works.
Perspectives on Blancco's State of Mobile Device Report (iOS & Android)
Recently, Blancco published a report on the performance and health of iPhones and Android smartphones. A key finding was that iPhones are less reliable than Android devices. It created quite a stir, and the report intrigued John, so he asked for a copy of the report and looked into the findings. Here’s what he found.
iOS 10 Spying Possible With iCloud Backups
A scary piece from Motherboard brings to attention a tool for iOS 10 spying. A company called Mobistealth sells a special monitoring tool that can pull data from iCloud backups. And the device doesn’t need to be jailbroken to work.
iOS: Long Press Icons For Safari Shortcuts
You might not know it, but Safari has some hidden shortcuts tucked behind some of the icons. This will let you perform certain actions a little faster. Safari shortcuts will save you plenty of time. Andrew tells us how he discovered these shortcuts by accident.
Stanford's 'Developing iOS 10 Apps with Swift' free on iTunes U
iTunes U pushed a version of Developing iOS 10 Apps with Swift. The free iOS tutorial series from the Stanford School of Engineering has been updated for iOS 10 and the current version of Swift. Reader Rick Allen turned me onto this release, calling it, “a great and free resource,” which seems like a great reason to pass it on. Reviews on iTunes are overwhelmingly good, too. The description says the 14-part course covers UI design, memory management, a model-view-controller paradigm, object-oriented databases, animation, power management, multi-threading, networking, and performance. And it’s free through iTunes U.
iOS: Turn Safari Into a Simple RSS Reader
If you’ve found modern feed readers too cumbersome or full-featured for your use, you might be in the camp that just needs a bare-bones feed reader. Thanks to an often-overlooked feature in Safari for iOS, you’ve already got one. Jeff Butts shows you how to use it in this Quick Tip.
iOS: Use "Vibrate Only" for Specific Event Alerts
This Quick Tip is all about the awesome sound of silence…ahhh. There’s a way that you can have your iPhone vibrate only for certain events (like when an email comes in) while allowing it to chime for others (such as when you get a text). Tired of the beeping and pulsing and dinging? This article’s for you!
iOS 10: How to Make Home Button Touch ID Work Like it Used to
iOS 10 brought a big change to the way the Home Button worked by requiring users to press it, even after your fingerprint has been recognized. But, there’s a feature tucked away under Settings > General > Accessibility that allows you to make your Home Button work like it used to. When this option is turned on, your iPhone or iPad with Touch ID will unlock with just a touch from the lock screen. Here’s how to do it.
WWDC 2017 Set for June 5-9, Moves to San Jose
Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference will run from June 5th through June 9th this year, and is getting a change of venue. For 2017, WWDC will be held at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose instead of Moscone West in San Francisco.
Photon Strike is a Fun Arcade Scroller for iOS
You may known of my penchant for tower defense games, but I also have a not-so-secret love for arcade scrollers. The good news for your time-sucking pleasure is that I found a new one called Photon Strike. It’s a solid vertical scroller for iPhone an iPad (I played on iPad) with good graphics and fast action. In fact, it’s very fast. It’s similar to others in the genre. You have to steer your ship (with your fingers), firing as long as your finger is on the screen. Waves of enemies fly around the screen, and you have to shoot/avoid them. Powerups are available throughout each level, and you get credits for each enemy you destroy for buying upgrades. It’s free to download, but for real-world cash, you can get yourself a whole heap of credits. You can also watch videos for free credits. Every five waves there’s a boss at the end. It’s ad-supported, but the ads go away with any purchase (the ads are not obnoxious). That said, this is the kind of game where I’m happy to pay to unlock ads to directly support the developer.
iOS: Easily Print To PDF Emails In Apple Mail
On iOS there is a hidden feature that lets you print to PDF any email you want. It doesn’t require a third-party app or another email client. You can do it inside Apple Mail with a 3D Touch. Andrew Orr shows you how.
32-bit iPhone and iPad Apps Are on Death Row
Apple’s look-forward philosophy means 64-bit iPhone and iPad apps are the future and 32-bit apps are fading into the past. That means the day is coming where 32-bit apps that haven’t been updated to 64-bit will stop working, and if you don’t have a replacement app ready to go you’ll be out of luck.
You Scratch Your Head, I’ll Scratch Mine – Mac Geek Gab 643
Cool Stuff Found kicks off this week’s show, with email clients, Wi-Fi Widget(s), combo iPhone/Watch chargers, disk utilities and much, much more. Then, after a few additional tips from you, dear listeners, it’s time for your questions. Topics this week include comparing local vs. Cloud storage for things like your music, videos and documents; memory interleaving and when to use it; solving corrupt user accounts that won’t login; and solving the issues with web pages that are slow to load. Press play and enjoy!
How to Get Info on Your iCloud Devices
This Quick Tip is about how you can look within your iCloud settings to get information about every device you’ve signed into. This is helpful if, for example, your iPhone has been stolen, and you need to find out what its serial number is without having it right in front of you. We’ll tell you how to find this with iOS, macOS, and your Web browser!
Setting Your Default Calendar Across macOS and iOS Devices
This Quick Tip is not just about configuring which calendar is set as the default on your devices, but why you should check to see which specific accounts are set to sync calendars, too. Getting everything cleaned up and organized is the name of the game!
The iOS Chrome Browser Is Now Open Source
After several years of switching the code, Google made the iOS Chrome browser open source. For the past several years the Chrome team has been updating the code in order to bring it under the Chromium Project. Since iOS browsers must use Apple’s WebKit rendering engine, the app had to support that as well as Google’s Blink engine.
Making iPhones in the US, APFS Comes to iOS 10.3 - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-26
There’s pressure for Apple to bring iPhone production into the United States, but is it practical? Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at what it would take for Apple to set up an iPhone factory in the states, plus they dive into Apple’s APFS system that’s coming to iOS 10.3 and eventually macOS, too.