A decade ago, we could only imagine running a company on computers as thin as a wallet. But ever since Apple’s iPad emerged, employees can work on all sorts of productivity apps while they’re outside the office, conveniently and stylishly. Here are five ways your employees can enhance their mobile experience with iPad apps. Point Learn More “5 Ways iPads help SMBs go mobile”
San Jose, California, recently hosted WWDC 2018. Apple’s engineers interacted with the developers in attendance, while everyone at the event got a sneak preview at the computer manufacturer’s upcoming products and software. Check out the highlights from the event right here!
A more personal, faster iOS 12
Apple has focused on improving the operating system’s performance so that iPads and iPhones become more responsive and work faster. The good news is that older devices that can still run iOS 11 will be compatible with iOS 12.
Developers tweaked the software to make apps launch quicker, especially the keyboard and camera. The latest version of iOS is designed to optimize its system when it is under load, so that Apple products run faster when the user demands higher performance.
Fresh features aimed at impressing consumers include the Memoji, an Animoji that users can customize to their preferences. Group Facetime supports video conferences of up to 32 individuals, and these fun tweaks can be used in both Facetime via the Effects camera and in Messages.
A smarter Siri
Apple’s signature digital assistant can now answer queries about motorsports, food, and famous people. There is a new Shortcuts feature integrated in the Workflow app, which allows users to automate various tasks in first- and third-party apps, to be triggered through Siri voice commands.
Both Shortcuts and suggestions by Siri appear on the Lock screen, and third-party Shortcuts integration will let Siri do more when the user pulls the Lock screen down to search. A dedicated Shortcuts app will be available later this year to give users a quick way to build Shortcuts from dozens of preset options.
An alternative to Google Photos
The iOS Photos app may be useful to Apple product users, but it may seem too basic for some. Once iOS 12 is released however, a clever Photos app will showcase most of the features that Google Photos has.
The Search feature has been improved – users can look for images based on general terms such as “park” or even business names, and multiple terms can be searched (such as images from Africa during a particular month). All pictures will be arranged by place and time in case the user wants to perform searches with those variables.
A new tab labeled “For you” will contain the auto-generated albums which Photos makes, and is sorted with any shared albums. Speaking of sharing, the enhanced Photos app will proactively advise users on what images to share according to who is in the pictures.
A refined WatchOS
Apple’s upcoming WatchOS 5 will introduce users to new ways of connecting to the world while staying active. It may not be a radical revision for the wearable device, but the apps and features it provides will be more helpful and fun for the user.
The highlight of WatchOS 5 is the Walkie-Talkie app, an innovative method of communicating by combining the natural flow of messaging with real-time voice discussions. Just like the conventional product that the app is based on, users simply press and hold down a virtual Talk button to converse with friends and family.
Hiking and Yoga have been added to the list of workout types, while users can keep track of their Outdoor Runs more effectively with support for cadence, the custom pace alert, and the rolling mile pace. Automatic workout detection will make sure that the Apple Watch will always stop or start recording user activity while exercising. This feature works with Open Water Swim, Pool Swim, Rower, Elliptical, Indoor Walk, Outdoor Walk, Indoor Run, and Outdoor Run.
To get users motivated to work up a sweat, WatchOS 5 has a Competition feature that allows friends and family to challenge each other in a contest to see who can get the most activity points within a week. The watches will post regular progress reports to let contestants know how they are doing, and the winner will get a special award.
These updates can change at any time, and will be released by Fall this year. If you need more information on making use of Apple devices and software, or if you have other computer-related concerns, feel free to contact us today!
People who use iPhones, iPads, and Macs are at risk of encountering a Unicode attack that can cause the messaging app to crash and lock up the device. The good news is a workaround has been found which can restore the state of said Apple products.
What is going on?
A bug, known as “Black Dot,” is locking the messaging app on Apple devices running iOS 11.3 and 11.4 beta with Apple TVs and Apple Watches also at risk.
Black Dot is activated when an iOS user sends another user an iMessage (this is not an SMS) with an emoji of a black dot with a finger pointing at it. Loaded with plenty of invisible Unicode characters, this emoji will overwhelm the CPU and memory, forcing the messaging app to stop functioning and possibly lock up the device.
The affected user may be lucky enough to close the app, but the bug will remain when the program is opened again, causing everything to crash.
How do I squash this bug?
Apple’s development team is still working on a patch to address the issue, but you can apply a temporary remedy to keep your device going.
For devices that have Siri installed:
If your iPhone has 3D Touch installed:
If your Apple device does not have 3D Touch or Siri installed:
While this bug is a major issue, it has not infected many Apple products yet. Once the final version of iOS 11.4 is released, the problem should be resolved. If you need more information on properly maintaining your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, feel free to give us a call today!
Many iPhone users are aware that Apple apps access their device’s data. But this can mean increased security risk, especially if your phone is used for both personal and business reasons. Fortunately, iOS 11 includes privacy controls to limit data access.
Apple and other third-party apps and websites gather user location data to make Location Services work better. Apple Maps, Google Maps, and other mapping apps need location data to make recommendations, notify friends of your whereabouts, and more. But some users might not like every app on their phone having full access to their precise location.
To limit your phone’s location-data gathering, follow these steps:
Share My Location lets your contacts see your location via apps like Messages and Find My Friends, as well as location-based features like Siri and the Home apps. It’s often convenient to leave this activated, but users can deactivate it by swiping the button from right to left.
You can also share your location from other Apple devices connected to your Apple ID account. For example, if you own an iPhone and an iPad, you can share your location information from your iPad using your iPhone.
Here’s how to do it:
You can also limit third-party apps from accessing your iPhone hardware and apps. For instance, if you don’t want Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or any other app to have access to your contacts, here’s what you need to do:
You can also adjust your iPhone or iPad’s location-data access on a system-wide basis. There is an option to allow your device to remember the places significant to you, which is aimed at improving location-based services in Maps, Photos, and other apps that need location data.
How to do it:
Given the large number of apps you use on a daily basis, the amount of data you’re sharing with third-party websites and apps could be alarmingly high. If you need expert help ensuring your business’s Apple devices are not unnecessarily sharing data, call our hotline today.
Microsoft recently updated Office 365 for iOS and Mac to enhance user experience. Office apps are now better integrated into the Apple ecosystem, which means iPhone, iPad, and Mac users can expect a more seamless experience when creating, accessing, or storing Office documents.
Apple users can now co-edit documents in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. This new feature for Apple products allows several users to work, edit, or view changes in a document at once, whether from a PC, Mac, or mobile device. This feature also allows co-authors to track and identify other users who are making changes in real time.
The latest updates also come with an autosave feature for Apple users. This functionality not only automatically saves files, but also lets users view and restore previous versions of their content, similar to the autosave function in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
iOS’s Files app, which was introduced in the iOS 11 update, made searching and organizing documents more convenient for iPhone and iPad users. However, it’s only now that Microsoft has integrated its own cloud storage platform with the Apple app. OneDrive for iOS now supports the Files app, which means users can access and edit all their files in OneDrive or Sharepoint, and easily classify them via a new tagging feature.
The improved list view in OneDrive for iOS makes viewing file names and relevant details and sorting files much easier. This view option includes thumbnails on file previews and support for 130 file types that can be opened, viewed, or shared within OneDrive.
A drag-and-drop capability is nothing new in iOS, but it was previously limited to moving around files from non-Office sources and apps. With the latest update, Apple users can drag and drop files from various sources that now includes OneDrive, Office, and other Microsoft sources. This capability saves users’ time when adding photos, graphs, and other files into documents or presentations on their iPad, iPhone or Mac.
Microsoft has also improved searching in Outlook for iOS because the search function now has its own tab in the navigation bar. The search feature is now more intuitive; tapping on the tab gives you instant access to top contacts, upcoming travel itineraries and deliveries, and recently accessed attachments.
These recent updates to Microsoft’s productivity tools aim to make users’ life much easier regardless of the device they use. But there’s way more Office 365 apps and programs to help you work more efficiently, and we have Microsoft consultants who can help you maximize all of them. Just give us a call.
A new iOS release usually means system performance updates, a redesigned interface, and some application enhancements. However, not all major updates are well-received, and such is the case with iOS 11, which came with a feature that drained battery life fast. Fortunately, Apple is offering a remedy along with other features in the upcoming iOS 11.3.
You might recall the infamous iOS software update in 2016 that deliberately slowed down iPhones. Apple claims that this update was meant to prevent devices from an unexpected shutdown in case of low battery charge, old batteries, or extremely cold temperatures. Unsurprisingly, many users were unhappy about this, which is why Apple is including another battery management capability in its latest iOS update.
When you update to iOS 11.3, your devices’ battery life wouldn’t necessarily be longer; rather, you’ll have an option to disable the feature that slows down the phone. That means you can keep your phone running at peak or have your phone running slow with an extended battery life.
With the Business chat feature, a user can ping a company’s customer service representative via the iMessage app to make an inquiry or purchase a product using Apple Pay. This could offer great convenience to customers, as they no longer have to call a company’s hotline or search for their contact details online.
But there’s a catch: This functionality is available only in selected business apps, including Wells Fargo, Lowe’s, Discover, and a few other brands.
Another iMessage update is the syncing of read and deleted messages. In the new OS, messages will more seamlessly sync across all devices, including iPhone, iPad and Mac. This makes it easier for you to organize your messages, ensures you’re all caught up on new messages, and keeps deleted messages deleted on all synced devices.
ARKit, Apple’s augmented reality (AR) platform, allows developers to create AR applications for iPhones and iPads running on iOS 11 or higher. However, apps developed on this platform were limited to recognizing horizontal surfaces and regular-shaped objects. That means AR-capable apps will work only when used to capture a virtual object horizontally.
In iOS 11.3, the AR capability extends to vertical surfaces and irregularly shaped objects like spherical or other multi-dimensional items, and recognize flat-surface objects like signs and posters. This gives AR developers greater capability to build more complex apps.
The Health app also gets a new feature called Health Records, which consolidates your medical records from hospitals and clinics that allow patient records integration with the Apple app. Users can also expect key updates on Apple Music, Apple News, mobile location functionality, and other usability improvements.
As with any OS releases, iOS 11.3 will come with security updates and other enhancements that can be highly relevant to businesses using Apple devices. Our technology consultants can help you make the most of these updates and features. Call us for mobile productivity tips and tricks.