Facebook has confirmed that it is testing the return of SMS support for the Messenger app on limited Android users. SMS integration in Messenger will once again allow users to send and receive SMS messages from the app. The company has separately added multiple accounts support for users of the Messenger app for Android.
A company spokesperson confirmed the SMS integration testing to TechCrunch, and said, "At Messenger we are always trying to create new ways for people to communicate seamlessly with everyone. Right now, we're testing the ability for people to easily bring all their conversations - from SMS and Messenger - to one place."
"It's a really simple way to get, see and respond to all your SMS messages in just one app. By choosing to access your SMS messages in Messenger, they're right alongside all the other enhanced features that Messenger offers," the spokesperson added.
According to the initial details, Facebook is currently testing the SMS feature with limited Android users in the US. As of now, there is no word when the feature will have a wider rollout.
For those unaware, Facebook's Messenger app had the ability to send and receive SMS messages back in 2013 but after an update the feature was removed by Facebook due to low traction.
Users are reporting (via Android Police) a new SMS Settings pane in the Messenger app and are able to use Messenger as main SMS client. For differentiating from other services, a purple colour is seen for messages in SMS pane. Additionally, the text input box for SMS says "Write an SMS message" to prompt users that this is a regular text message box.
In addition, the multiple accounts feature has also begun rolling out gradually for Android users. The new multiple accounts feature is likely targeted at users who share their devices within the family or friends. The new addition will mean that multiple people can log in to Messenger from a single device.
A spokesperson confirmed the multiple accounts feature for Android users to TechCrunch, saying, "Millions of people share phones with their family and friends. Until now, there hasn't been an easy way for people to access their individual Messenger accounts from shared devices. To address this, we've launched a feature on Android to enable multiple people to log in and use Messenger from a single phone."
Remember Microsoft's funny website that could almost accurately guess your age? Well, the Redmond, Washington-based company is at it again. It has released an app called Fetch! which utilises facial recognition and artificial intelligence to recognise your dog's breed. It is available for Web users as well on what-dog.net.
Microsoft on Thursday announced the release of Fetch! for iPhone users. The app allows users to take a picture of a dog you see (or use one from your photos library) and identify its breed. But wait, there's more.
"There was an interest in creating a framework that would allow you to take a domain - in our case, dogs - and recognise numerous classes, such as breeds. We were interested in enabling an app to allow you to make object recognition extraordinary, fun and surprising," says Mitch Goldberg, a development director at Microsoft Research whose Cambridge, U.K based team built the experience.
"We wanted to bring artificial intelligence to the canine world. We wanted to show that object recognition is something anyone could understand and interact with." Microsoft insists that the app utilises machine learning, so it will only get better with use.
Coming to the other interesting feature of the app, you can click your image (or any person you want) and the app would tell you the type of canine you would be if you were a dog.
"This is the kind of app you're going to take out when you're with your friends," its description reads. "You'll make fun of each other, comparing which breeds you look like, and posting the tagged photos."
The app comes from Microsoft Garage, the team inside Microsoft that utilises some of its time on weird - most of the times awesome - things. In the past few months, they have released a number of apps for the rival platforms.
WhatsApp is no doubt one of the most widely used instant messaging services worldwide, and crossed 900 million monthly active users back in September. One of the features however missing from the Facebook-owned messaging app has been video call support, which gives an edge to competing apps such as Hangouts and Skype.
Leaked screenshots now tip that WhatsApp may soon receive video calling support. A German website has posted screenshots from WhatsApp for iOS that show an ongoing video call.
Based on the leaked screenshots, the WhatsApp video call interface appears to be similar to the voice call one, with green-dominated tabs. The leaked screenshots show that users will also get the option to mute as well as switch cameras while on video call.
According to the website, WhatsApp for iOS version 2.12.16.2 is being tested internally, and is the build that developers and beta testers are already testing video calling feature on. So far, there has been no word on video call support officially arriving to WhatsApp but speculation has it the feature may be rolled out early next year.
Apart from video calling, WhatsApp is also rumoured to be testing a multi-tab UI which will allow users to jump from one conversation to another without going back to the main chat list. Details about multi-tab support on WhatsApp are limited as of now.
To recall, WhatsApp started rolling out voice calling support back in March with Android users. This was later rolled out to other platforms including iOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Phones. We can expect the company to start video calling rollout somewhere during the same period next year. Notably, Facebook's standalone Messenger app already supports video calls.
Cortana is officially coming to Android and iOS. Rumors have been swirling around but Microsoft’s Joe Belfoire clearly lays out Microsoft’s plans for the personal digital assistant in a YouTube video which you can find below.
Microsoft's personal digital assistant will make her way onto iOS and Android in the form of an app, and will require a "Phone Companion" app on a Windows 10 PC to help to install Cortana on the rival systems. Many of the features she provides on Windows Phones, such as notifications and tracking flights, and your personal Cortana's Notebook, will be available but Microsoft points out in their blog post breaking the news that not everything will be included. They specifically point out that 'Hey Cortana,' opening apps, and toggling settings will not be available due to "Some features requiring access to the system that aren’t currently possible with iOS or Android"
The main idea behind having Cortana on all three major phone platforms is that with a cross platform Cortana, people can have notifications and information follow them anywhere regardless of the device they use. Joe Belfoire states that many people that will be using Windows 10 on their desktop, which has Cortana integrated within it, will use iOS and Android devices. By having Cortana on their phones, they could use her on their desktop to set a reminder and have her notify them of said reminder on their mobile device.
This is a similar strategy to what Microsoft has done with other services recently. Microsoft Office is on all the major platforms, as is OneDrive and a long list of other software and services.
Some Windows users have expressed concern over Windows Phone exclusive features making their way onto other platforms, pointing out that if everything on Windows Phone is available elsewhere that no one will switch to Microsoft’s mobile phone platform.
The flip side to that argument is that Microsoft is a software company that also makes hardware, not the other way around. Defenders of expanding Cortana’s reach, and the reach of other popular Microsoft software, is that Microsoft as a company is trying to increase its user base.
Specifically speaking of Cortana, it’s quite possible that users with Android phones and iPhones may not use Cortana on the desktop even if they use Windows 10 unless their reminders and information followed them to their phone. While having Cortana on the desktop will be useful to many users, Google Now and Siri are built into their respective mobile phones and many users would pick a phone exclusive assistant to a desktop specific assistant. By bringing Cortana to Android and iOS Microsoft creates another cross platform universal service.
Microsoft will soon give people one less reason to purchase a Windows Phone, as its digital assistant, Cortana, is reportedly headed to Android and iOS as a standalone application.
At this stage Microsoft has only hinted at when Cortana will hit competing mobile platforms, with managing director of Microsoft Research, Eric Horvitz, saying that "the next roll out of Cortana" is scheduled for sometime this fall. This places its release around the same time as Windows 10, which Microsoft is also working to integrate Cortana into.
As well as bringing Cortana to more mobile platforms, Microsoft is working on a major update to the virtual assistant that uses research from "Einstein", an artificial intelligence project at Microsoft Research. Details are light on at this stage, but it was mentioned that Microsoft hopes Einstein will transform Cortana into "the first intelligent 'agent' which anticipates users needs".
The choice to bring Cortana to other mobile platforms is all part of CEO Satya Nadella's plan to increase the reach of Microsoft's services. Rather than attempting to get users to switch to their operating systems, Microsoft can gain users of their software platforms and services by offering tools like Cortana on other OSes.
Unfortunately the news likely won't please Windows Phone fans, who have felt neglected by Microsoft for quite some time. Now that one of the main selling points of the OS is moving to other platforms, it leaves Windows Phone users with few truly exclusive features.
Microsoft may have just made a game-changing decision by making its Office suite completely free for iOS devices.
Previously, iOS users had the choice of the underwhelming Office Mobile for their iPhone, or Word, Excel and Powerpoint for their iPad, but now Microsoft has announced that it's launching free-to-use versions of its Office apps for both iPhone and iPad, available to all devices running iOS 7 or newer.
The individual apps, which were previously only available to iPad users, are gloriously easy to use, having been optimised for touch-based devices. They've been updated today too, bringing some extra refinements and bugfixes to what will undoubtedly be a large new user base.
Michael Atalla, Microsoft’s head marketing honcho for Office, elaborated on the company’s new direction. “If you’re in the middle of working on a presentation and you get on your train to go home you can just move to your phone and continue editing,” he said, attributing the decision to embrace the freemium model to Microsoft's desire for its users to be “productive across all of the devices they have.”
The company is also (finally) launching its Office suite for Android tablets too, though the software is still in development. However, you can sign up for a preview, if you're interested in seeing what Word, Excel and Powerpoint will have to offer on your Android device. The finished articles will be ready by “early 2015”, according to Microsoft’s blog.
The humble mouse is one of the most ubiquitous peripherals associated with computers. When you use a laptop, you may opt to connect a mouse, but how would you like the idea of use a trackpad or touch pad on a regular computer? It doesn’t matter if you're using a Moto X or Nexus 5, or have a larger screened phone such as a Note 4 or a Nexus 6, you can use your Android phone as a mouse or trackpad to control your computer. Using Remote Mouse you can use just about any phone or tablet to control your computer. You can also use the app as a keyboard for text input.
The large screen of a phone such as the Nexus 6 is great for use as a trackpad, but smaller-screened phones work just as well. Getting up and running with Remote Mouse is a two-step process; you'll need to install the app on our phone, and install software in your computer as well.
Set up your PC
Fancy a trackpad for your computer? Remote Mouse can help.
Start by visiting the Remote Mouse website on your computer to grab a copy of the necessary software. Click the Get Now link and then click the Windows button. Download the installer and then run through the set up process in the usual way.
Remote Mouse is available for other mobile platforms, but we're interested in the Android app.
There's no configuration needed, as long as you are connected to a wireless network. You'll be prompted to download a copy of the Remote Mouse app for your phone which you can do by scanning the QR code displayed in your web browser, or by simply download via Google Play.
Configure your phone
Make sure your phone and computer are on the same network and setup is simple.
Grab a copy of Remote Mouse, make sure that you are connected to the same wireless network as your computer and then fire up the app. Swipe through the introduction and tap Start.
Remote Mouse will perform a network scan and should detect your computer running the desktop software. Establish a connection by clicking the name of your computer in the list that is displayed. You can then check out the simple instructions about how to use.
Gestures can be performed on your Nexus 6's screen to control the mouse cursor.
A regular click of the left mouse button takes nothing more than a tap of your phone's screen, while a right click can be achieved by tapping with two fingers at the same time. To mimic the actions of a mouse scroll wheel, place two fingers on the screen and move then up and down. To grab hold of a window or other on-screen object, you can double tap and drag. Click Got It, and you're ready to control your computer.
Remote Mouse has an on-screen keyboard, but you can hide it if you don't use it.
You'll notice that there is a green area in the top portion of the screen, and this is where you use your phone as a trackpad – just move your finger around and the mouse cursor will follow suit. In the bottom half of the screen you can use your regular Android keyboard to send key presses to your computer – you can hide this by tapping the down arrow to the left of the screen if you are only interested in the trackpad option.
You can even switch apps and shut down your computer from you phone.
There are a few other little things that Remote Mouse can so. Tap the monitor icon in the row of buttons and you can access an app switcher for jumping between applications on your computer. Scroll over to the right and you'll find a button that allows you to shut down and restart your computer from your phone.
Left-handed? Not a problem... Remote Mouse can cope!
You should find that everything just works as it should but there are a few settings you might want to investigate. Just as with your regular mouse, you can slow down the speed of cursor movement as well as scroll speed, and if you are left-handed, you can switch the position of the buttons.
Have you tried using your phone as a mouse either as an emergency measure or just because you like the idea of using a trackpad with your computer?
Google announced a brand new app for Gmail Wednesday morning, called Inbox. No, you're not imagining things; there is a Gmail app already. No, Inbox doesn't replace it; it's just another option for how to view your Gmail on your smartphone.
So what problem — and there are, of course, many problems with email — does Inbox solve? Google answered that, albeit not very successfully, with one of those product launch videos that is practically a parody of itself. We see people skateboarding, running along beaches, getting into taxis, taking selfies. Inbox was introduced as "an inbox that works for you." (So is Google saying regular Gmail doesn't work for you?) Features mentioned, include the ability to add reminders, bundle similar messages, and highlight important messages, apparently so you can get back to your skateboards, beaches, taxis and selfies.
A more cynical soul might point out that there have been an awful lot of hipper, younger apps doing the rounds, such as Mailbox and Boxer, and Gmail might want to blunt their popularity with a similar app of its own — especially one with a social network-like look and feel that might give Google some of the cool it was pursuing with Google+. Also Inbox is invite-only, a strategy that has worked well for Google in the past.
But let's take Inbox at face value. I was able to download the app earlier Wednesday — no, before you ask, I do not have invites — and have been taking it for a trial run ever since. The first major problem is that it won't work with my Mashable email, or any other enterprise email account built on Google apps. The Gmail app does do this. Strike one against Inbox. Though this is the kind of thing easily fixed with a future update, it should have been part and parcel of Inbox from the start. Why should Google Apps users, who are actually paying for the service, be second-class citizens?
Luckily, I'm very active on my personal Gmail account, too. So let's take a closer look at those features Google was proud to highlight:
Reminders
This feature got left out of a lot of the Inbox discussion Wednesday, but in my mind, it's actually the strongest aspect of the app. I've long felt that email and To Do lists need to merge; heck, if only Gmail would let me reorder my starred messages, it would be my To Do list.
In Inbox, Reminders and emails are treated the same. You swipe to the left to "snooze" them, so they'll pop up at another time of your choosing, and swipe to the right to dismiss them. This allows you to be wonderfully granular about your email time management. Don't need to answer that email from your boss until tomorrow morning? Snooze it and forget it.
Unfortunately, Inbox is only kind of synced with your regular Gmail. Dismiss an email in Inbox, and it's automatically archived in your desktop (i.e. web-based) Gmail: Sweet. Snooze an email, and it remains exactly where it was on your desktop: Not so good. And Reminders don't show up at all on the desktop. In this age of cloud computing, what is the worth of a To Do list that only really works on one of your gadgets?
Bundling
Google makes much of its ability to bundle similar kinds of messages — social notifications, travel reminders, financial emails and so on. You can create your own bundles, which work according to the rules you set down. But the only bundle I really noticed in Inbox was that it bundled all my high priority emails and low priority emails together. That meant I had to click through to see — well, pretty much everything. There were no emails from today that were not placed in the low priority bundle, which makes a mockery of the whole bundling concept.
You can unbundle each bundle, but what you're left with then is just a regular old inbox, with each email slightly more spaced out, and images shown in-line. Personally, I prefer seeing more emails on one screen than Inbox offers. Your mileage may vary.
Highlighting
You can pin an email, which is Inbox's equivalent of starring a message in Gmail. There's a pin symbol on top of the page that will take you to all your pinned emails, so you can see the important stuff at once. Great idea — but again, it suffers from its lack of integration with regular Gmail. Pinned emails do not translate into starred emails, and vice versa.
In theory, then, Inbox is an app with a lot of neat ideas. But it seems to be suffering an identity crisis. Is it Gmail, or isn't it? If it is, it needs to integrate more fully with the desktop product. If not, Google needs to introduce a connected product for the desktop, because not all of us spend all our email time on our smartphones.
If you do, then you might just want an invite to this party. If not, feel free to hang back while Google works out Inbox's identity crisis.
For those who truly have no interest in expanding their mathematical knowledge, or want to speed through their math homework, a new app might do the trick. With PhotoMath, iOS and Windows Phone users can point their phone at a math problem, which the app will examine using the device's camera, and spit out the answer on screen.
An Android version is expected next year.
"It makes math easy and simple by educating users how to solve math problems," according to app creator Microblink.
Indeed, the app does show its work, breaking down how it got to a particular answer. But that, of course, might just make it easier for math-averse students to cheat on their homework. Presumably phones are not allowed during in-class tests, but I haven't actually been in a math class since 1998 (programmable graphing calculators ftw!), so who knows?
Right now, the app supports arithmetic expressions (plus sign, division, etc.), fractions and decimals, powers and roots, and simple linear equations.
A quick test on iOS produced mixed results. An easy addition problem (230 + 230 + 230 + 230) returned the correct answer. But the app did nothing with a more advanced problem (pictured above), though perhaps that one did not qualify as a simple linear equation.
Right now, the app does not support hand-written math problems, so you'll have to focus it on problems in a math book rather than scribbles in your notebook.
In a throwback to the popular chat rooms of the mid-90s, Facebook today released a new app - dubbed Rooms - that will let you chat anonymously about topics that interest you.
Rooms has been updated for the digital age, of course. You access it on your phone (iOS only at this point) rather than dialing up from a desktop PC in your basement, and you can create and customize Rooms yourself.
"Early users have already created rooms for everything from beat boxing videos to parkour to photos of home-cooked meals," Facebook Product Manager Josh Miller said in a blog post. "There's even a room called 'Kicks From Above' that showcases photographs of cool shoes in cool places."
To sign up, you provide an email address. Even though Rooms comes from the Facebook Creative Labs, the app will not connect to Facebook.
"We may share information about you within the companies and services operated by Facebook to understand and improve our services, but the information you share on Rooms will never be posted to your Facebook account and the information you share on Facebook will never be posted to your Rooms account," according to a privacy statement from Rooms.
Once you're inside Rooms, you can select a different username for each room. "In my room for technology industry discussions I am 'Josh' but in another about backpacking travel I am 'jm90403' – a homage to my hometown ZIP code. Sometimes I want to go with my real name and sometimes I prefer a nickname. It depends," Miller wrote.
You can also add photos and videos to a Room, making it a bit more lively than the text-only chat rooms of yore. If you own a Room, add a cover photo, select colors, pin messages of note, customize member permissions, and decide whether your content can be linked on the Web.
Note, however, that information shared on Rooms is public. "This includes your usernames, comments, and photos," according to Rooms. "Anyone online or offline, including people off of Rooms, may be able to see this information. When you join a room, your status as a member of the room may also be visible to other Rooms users, such as the moderator of the Room."
The push for a more anonymous social networking experience comes after Facebook was criticized for requiring San Francisco-area drag queens to use their "real" names on the site. Facebook has long required people to use their real names on the site, but people frequently ignore that rule, and Facebook doesn't really do anything about it unless people complain.
That's what happened with the Bay Area drag queens. Facebook's Chief Product Officer Chris Cox confirmed that "an individual on Facebook decided to report several hundred of these accounts as fake." The approach, he said, "took us off guard" because most fake name complaints are legitimate. Facebook later apologized, and reports emerged that the company was working on an app that allowed for anonymous chats.
In the interim, however, a competing social network - Ello - cropped up, promising an ad-free experience that allowed for any name you liked. Earlier today, it reiterated that commitment and announced an additional $5.5 million in funding.
It's unclear if the usernames you select on Rooms are yours forever, or if there is a limit to how many you can have. At the moment, the Rooms app is on the App Store, but those who try to download it are getting an error. The Rooms team urged people to keep trying.
Apple has unveiled two new iPhones, the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. Along with larger screens and a completely new iPad-style design with an ultra thin body and rounded corners, the two new phones offer faster processors, better cameras, and Apple's new Apple Pay payment system.
Apple's new iPhones are available in Gold, Silver, and Space Gray, and are available in 16, 64, and 128 GB capacities. The iPhone 6 pricing starts at $199, while the iPhone 6 Plus pricing starts at $299.
While both models include the same 64-bit A8 chip and the same general design, there are several differences between the two phones. The iPhone 6 measures in at 6.9mm, while the iPhone 6 Plus is slightly thicker at 7.1mm. Apple's iPhone 6 Plus also has three major differentiating factors: optical image stabilization for the camera, and a longer battery life, and an iPad-style landscape modethat displays more content on the screen.
Though the iPhone 6 Plus has optical image stabilization, both phones got some major camera improvements in form of sensor upgrades, improved tone mapping, better noise reduction, and new "Focus Pixel" technology, which improves the phone's ability to select autofocus points. For videos, there's a new 240fps slo-mo option, along with support for shooting in 1080p at 60fps. The front-facing camera was also upgraded, with an f/2.2 aperture that lets in more light and new burst mode capabilities.
Both phones have an impressive new "Retina HD Display," with the iPhone 6 featuring a resolution of1334 x 750 (326 ppi) and the iPhone 6 Plus featuring a resolution of 1920 x 1080 (401 ppi).
Design wise, the phones more closely resemble the iPad and the iPod touch than the iPhone 5s. Both models have soft, rounded corners and a curved glass screen that melds smoothly into the thin metal body of the device. The volume buttons on the left side of the device are now pill-shaped, and the power button is located on the right side of the device for easier one-handed use.
It feels like there have been iWatch rumors going back basically forever, but the strange thing is that they really only kicked off about a year and a half ago. Stranger yet: we still don't have a perfectly clear picture of what Apple's built. Its latest phones and tablets have all leaked out pretty thoroughly before their announcements, but details on the so-called iWatch have been inconsistent and piecemeal at best.
We're now just days away from finding out what Apple's actually been working on. That hardly means that it's time to rest our curiosity, though — we're still as eager as ever to find out what the iWatch is like. Here's our breakdown of all the reports and rumors that we've seen over the past year or so as we try to figure out exactly what to expect from Apple on Tuesday.
It'll tell the time
It's probably safe to call it a smartwatch. Some recentreports with knowledge of the device have carefully referred to Apple's creation as merely a nondescript "wearable," but stories going back for well over a year have used the "smartwatch" moniker. Who knows what Apple's going to call it, but it's pretty safe to say that this thing sits on your wrist and tells the time.
It'll track your health
HEALTH TRACKING SHOULD BE THE IWATCH'S BIG FEATURE
The iWatch's standout feature is believed to be a fairly robust set of health-tracking sensors. It's not known exactly what it'll be able to track, however, and a lot of potential sensor options have been thrown out there. Currently on the list of potential things that it might track: heart-rate,blood sugar, blood pressure, air pressure, altitude, temperature, weather,ultraviolet light exposure,calories,steps,sleep. Some of those seem a lot more likely than others, but it's worth remembering that Apple appears to hope that this device will be able to serve some basic medical functions. It's even been seen meeting with the FDA to talk about health.
It'll be an extension of your iPhone
The iWatch is probably running iOS, but it won't be able to do everything your phone can on its own. Reports suggest that the iWatch will need to be paired with an iPhone in order to send text messages or place phone calls. That's potentially a good thing, though, as it means that you likely won't need to pay for a separate service plan for the watch. Presumably, the watch will display notifications, allow you to perform basic phone functions, and even have apps — but, surprisingly, there has been very little detail on any of that. We really don't know how much it'll be capable of.
It'll come in two sizes
Everyone has their own preference on watch size, and Apple's apparently ready to give buyers some amount of choice there. It's been reported that the two sizes options could be anywhere from as small as 1.3-inches (which would be a touch smaller than the average Android Wear smartwatch) to as large as 2.5-inches (which would be larger than even Samsung's Galaxy Gear S). A number of reports have honed in on a 1.5-inchdisplayoption, though, and that sounds like a fairly reasonable bet. Whether that'll be the large model or the small model still isn't quite clear though.
It'll have multiple price options
YOU MAY NOT HAVE TO SPEND A FORTUNE ON ONE
Apple is said to be looking at pricing the iWatch at around $400, according to Recode. But other models of the watch may be more or less expensive than that. It's not clear how those will break down, but there are some natural guesses: the larger model and the models with more storage inside of them might just cost you more.
No one's positive what shape the iWatch is
The iWatch is a band that you put around your wrist. But whether it has a circular watch face, a square watch face, or a large rectangular display on top of it still doesn't seem to be something that's reliably been answered. Recent reports have pointed to it being rectangular or slightly-rectangular, though many early reports seemed to think that it would have a circular face. The difference between the two is a big one, and it would establish whether Apple is planning a modern spin on the classic watch, or whether it's trying to create a brand new form of wrist-wear.
It'll be able to do a lot wirelessly, including pay for things
With something this small, you can't be bothered with cords. It's expected that the iWatch will take advantage of wireless charging, and — naturally — it'll do its pairing with your iPhone wirelessly too.
The really big wireless feature, though, is NFC. NFC is a type of short-range, wireless communication that can let a device do a whole host of things. And, most importantly, it's able to communicate fairly securely because of how short its communication range is.
Apple is supposed to be unveiling a mobile payments service alongside the iWatch, and the watch will be able to hook into that thanks to NFC. Just by tapping the watch on a compatible receiver when you're checking out at a store, you'll be able to pay a bill using your credit card — all without taking our your wallet.
Its screen will have four interesting features on its own
Let's break this down:
1. It's going to be curved. It's not expected to have a significant curve, but it's believed that the iWatch has a slightly arch to its display.
CURVED, FLEXIBLE, AND WELL-PROTECTED
2. It's going to be covered in sapphire crystal. Apple just opened a big manufacturing plant in Arizona specifically for the purpose of manufacturing this. The screen won't look any different because of it, but it should be sturdier and more scratch resistant than most glass — and that's pretty important for a screen hanging off your wrist.
3. It's going to be "flexible." It's not clear exactly how this will work given the sapphire crystal over top of it, but it's possible that the screen will have a slight flex to it for safety purposes. It's also possible that this is just an invisible facet of it being slightly curved. Who knows, though. Perhaps Apple has something more ambitious planned. LG is supposed to be supplying the displays, and it certainly has the technology.
4. It'll have some type of OLED technology. OLED's are often known for their over-saturated colors, but they have some important advantages. Namely, individual pixels can be turned on and off as needed. That means that a watch might be able to display some basic information (like the time or a notification) while leaving the rest of its display blank. If that's how Apple chooses to use it, it could mean big battery savings.
You won't be able to buy it until next year
There's at least one good reason that we don't know all that much about the iWatch just yet: Apple hasn't really kicked off production on them. Though Apple plans to unveil the watch on Tuesday, it isn't expected to be in stores until after the holidays. It sounds as though Apple may have liked to have its watch ready before then, but there may be a lot for it to do between now and when the watch goes on sale — perhaps even running it by regulators.
There are still some big questions remaining
There's a whole lot that we still don't know about the iWatch, but here are a few points that stick out to us: How waterproof will it be? Will it have any buttons? Will it let you control smarthome devices? Will it be designed like a fashion accessory or a tech accessory? Will it actually be called the iWatch? How long will its battery last for? (For several days, we're hoping.)
All told, that should make Apple's event on Tuesday a pretty interesting one. Unlike in previous years, we don't know every single detail of what to expect. This is a brand new device, and Apple has done a good job of keeping it under wraps. Now, let's just hope we're pleasantly surprised.
Just as expected, Apple sent out invitations on Thursday for what's presumed to be its big iPhone event of the year.
The invitation, which coyly says "wish we could say more," revealed that the "exclusive event" will be held on Sept. 9 at 10 a.m. PT. It will be held at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino, California, which is Apple's hometown.
It's also the same location where Apple debuted the Macintosh computer in 1984, 30 years ago this year. Perhaps the Flint Center was chosen as a way to pay homage to that groundbreaking product with a new one: the iWatch, which is also rumored to be making an appearance.
It's expected that Apple will launch the iPhone 6 in what is believed to be two sizes, a 4.7-inch model and a larger version at 5.5 inches, possibly called the iPhone 6L.
The price tag for the new iPhones may be a bit higher than before, thanks to a sapphire screen (instead of a glass one) that's typically used in luxury watches. The inclusion of a sapphire screen will make it much more difficult to scratch.
IMAGE: APPLE
Apple previously announced some of the core features coming to iOS 8, which will launch with the iPhone 6. The updates include new keyboards for typing, a battery usage indicator so you know which apps are the most draining, camera features like time-lapse capture for video, interactive notifications, TouchID for apps and a greater focus on health and smart home automation. Also on deck: a smarter Siri.
Apple is also rumored to be introducing a reversible Lightning cable for the iPhone 6 that allows you to plug it into USB ports from either end, with no "right" or "wrong" side. The existing Lightning connector can plug into an iPhone or iPad in any way, but the latest design will bring the orientation flexibility to both ends of the cable.
But don't expect new iPad models to debut at the event. It's believed that the company — which is reportedly working on an iPad significantly larger (12.9 inches) than its existing models, the 9.7-inch iPad and the 7.9-inch iPad mini — will hold an iPad-specific event in October.
At WWDC, developers rule. Apple may have previewed iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite to the entire world at its opening keynote, but developers are the only ones who get to check out the beta version of the software until an open beta program kicks off this summer.
This year's conference has had its share of surprises, and it's little wonder devs are salivating: Apple is allowing more flexibility about what developers can grow within its walled garden. For the first time, third-party onscreen keyboards will be welcomed in iOS 8, widgets are coming to the notification center, and media apps will have greater access to the device's camera. Apple even debuted its own programming language, Swift, which got some of the loudest cheers during Monday's keynote.
That's all well and good, but what about the rest of us?
What's in iOS 8 that will change the mobile life of your everyday iPhone user? Quite a bit, as it turns out. Here are the most important changes coming in iOS 8, based on what Apple revealed at WWDC and reports about the beta software:
Wh 1. Battery usage indicator
It's probably the most common complaint about the iPhone: The battery drains too damn fast. This is, of course, dependent on exactly what you do with it, but how do users know whether to prioritize dimming the screen, quitting a particular app or turning off Background App Refresh?
In iOS 8, they'll finally get some guidance. The iPhone's settings will offer a way to check exactly which apps and functions are draining your battery. With that guidance, users will be able to selectively change their settings or uninstall the right apps to maximize their battery.
Developers will certainly find the feature useful as well, as it should help make their apps more efficient. In short, this could be the most welcome new feature in iOS 8.
2. New keyboard(s)
There's nothing more fundamental to the iPhone than its onscreen keyboard — and in iOS 8, it gets an upgrade via predictive typing, which suggests several options for the next word as you type. This is a feature that's been on Android for a while, although Apple says its implementation is superior — since it learns what you're likely to say to different friends and colleagues.
At the same time, Apple is letting developers offer their own keyboards. You may have tried Swype for Android, for example, which uses an algorithm that lets you swipe around a keyboard rather than tap; the company has already said it will make its keyboard available for iOS.
3. Continuity
Apple took the idea of collaboration through the cloud to a new level with a new feature called Handoff, part of its "Continuity" concept. If you have an iPhone and a Mac, you'll be able to start a task on one device (say, composing an email) and finish on the other. Since the devices are aware of each other, all you have to do is click one button, and it works on iPad, too.
Continuity also has a couple of bonuses: First, AirDrop will work between Macs and iOS devices. Second, using your iPhone as a personal hotspot has never been easier. There's no configuration needed — the iPhone will just know when your Mac needs the connection.
4. New camera features
The camera is probably every smartphone's No. 1 app. Apple likes to keep its interface relatively simple, but in iOS 8, users will get a couple of more options: a three-second timer and time-lapse capture for video — sort of the opposite of the slow-motion mode introduced in iOS 7. The camera also gets focus and exposure controls.
5. iCloud Photo Library
iCloud currently stores the last 1,000 photos from your iOS devices for free. With iOS 8, users will be able to upgrade to iCloud Photo Library, which will instantly upload all iPhone/iPad photos and videos to iCloud. Users only get 5GB for free, though — storage costs $0.99 a month for 20GB, with tiers all the way up to 1TB. (The Google+ app on iOS, by the way, will back up all your photos up to Google's 15 GB limit, for free).
6. Family Sharing
Image courtesy : Mashable
With iOS 8, Apple is taking the first step toward merging Apple IDs (a long-requested feature) by introducing Family Sharing, which lets different Apple users share all content they've downloaded from iTunes. Up to six people can be designated family members, and it provides a great solution to the problem of kids downloading paid apps on their parents' credit cards: With Family Sharing, the parent gets notified, and then can grant or deny the purchase.
7. Interactive Notifications
Image courtesy : Mashable
Just need to reply to a message with a single word? Why do you have to launch Messages for that? In iOS 8, you won't have to — just pull down on the banner that appears and you can type your reply — then get right back to playing Candy Crush.
Notifications on the lock screen are interactive, too. Swiping an alert to the left will reveal Reply/Dismiss buttons, letting you do things faster without unlocking your phone. And if you're concerned about security implications, you can disable this feature.
8. Messages upgrade
In iOS 8, Apple's built-in messaging app has a lot more to offer. Apple added the ability to send audio and video messages to your friends. With audio, they're effortless: just open the conversation and raise the phone to your ear to begin recording. Users can also let these kinds of messages self-destruct after a certain amount of time — but that's just a memory-management feature, and not, as has been claimed, an attempt to move in on Snapchat's territory. (After all, there's nothing to prevent the other people in the conversation from saving their versions of the video or audio.)
At the same time, Messages adds a couple of convenient features: You can set Do Not Disturb on specific threads so you're not constantly getting alerts from big group messages. You can also now share your location with contacts you're conversing with, as in the Find My Friends app, viewable through a new "Details" button on threads.
9. Widgets
Image courtesy : Mashable
Here's another upgrade that Android has had a lock on for years: widgets, made possible by iOS 8's "extensibility," which allows apps to share data and functions with other apps.
Don't get too excited — widgets will reside in the notification center, not the home screen. But their arrival on iOS is a big upgrade, and if Android is any indication, you can expect the floodgates to open for these small, "glanceable" mini-apps when iOS 8 launches in the fall.
10. Lock screen app suggestions
In iOS 8, users will notice a new icon on the iPhone lock screen that looks like the App Store. Swipe up and you'll see app suggestions based on your location. For example, if you're across the street from Starbucks, you might see the Starbucks app.
The feature could be a new path to app discoverability (which can be a problem for apps not in the Top 100), but we'll wait to see how this plays out between Apple, vendors and developers.
11. TouchID for apps
Image courtesy : Mashable
Apple took fingerprint reading mainstream with the TouchID sensor in the iPhone 5S. In iOS 8, it's going to open up that level of convenience to developers, who can let a user unlock any password stored in their keychain by placing their finger on the reader. That could potentially be even more convenient than Lastpass app logins on Android.
12. iCloud Drive
If you've ever tried to save, say, a PDF from an email on your iPhone, you may have been frustrated by the lack of a native file system for iOS. Soon iCloud Drive will address that problem, while at the same time offering a cloud-storage service similar to Dropbox, Box or Google Drive. It's compatible with Windows, too — but not Android.
13. Health
The new Health app is straightforward: It provides a central place for all the health and fitness information you're storing on the iPhone. Many apps, such as Nike+ and Fitbit, do this individually, but now those apps will be able to integrate into one app — presuming developers take advantage of Apple's HealthKit platform.
Apple is also partnering with healthcare providers to help bring the iPhone health data to the doctors and care specialists who can really do something with it. Health could have a profound effect on preventative medicine, if both developers and care centers support it.
14. New Siri features
Image courtesy : Mashable
Be careful what you say — Siri is always listening in iOS 8. Even if the iPhone is in a dormant state, you can just say "Hey Siri" to wake up the phone and ask something. The phone has to be plugged into power for this to work, indicating Apple probably sees it as a hands-free solution for the car.
Siri can also identify songs with built-in Shazam integration. So instead of launching an app, all you'll need to do is hold down your iPhone's home button to find out what music is playing. Think of all the time you'll save at the bar.
15. Contacts on apps screen
Image courtesy : Mashable
Apple realized it wasn't making use of all the space on the apps screen that appears when you double-click the home button. Right above the apps running, you'll see a strip of the most recent contacts along the top. It's another welcome convenience.
16. More Spotlight results
Image courtesy : Mashable
Searching on the iPhone in iOS 8 now brings up Wikipedia, App Store and iTunes results for anything you're searching for.
17. Full-featured Safari
Safari got a huge upgrade in iOS 7, and although the upgrades in iOS 8 are more incremental (and already exist in other browsers), they're welcome. There's more flexibility in Private browsing, letting you keep regular and private tabs separate. DuckDuckGo — the privacy-preserving alternative to Google — is supported as a search engine, and users will be able to easily request the desktop version of any site.
18. The Weather Channel
In iOS 7, Apple's weather app got its info from Yahoo. Starting in iOS 8, that data comes from the Weather Channel.
