Articles about iOS

Lost for words? Facebook Messenger suggests conversation topics at the cost of privacy

Facebook is keen for people to keep talking. Recently the company has been pushing its Messenger app as a way for people to stay connected in a variety of ways, but it has also noticed a problem -- people don’t always have something to talk about.

But Facebook (of course!) has a solution. To help those who struggle with small talk, an experiment is underway whereby Facebook Messenger will suggest possible topics for conversation. These are, obviously, not just random suggestions, but topics based on the activities of the participants -- opening up the usual privacy concerns that tend to be associated with Facebook.

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Twitter experiments with replacing Moments with a new Explore feature

The Moments feature could be set to disappear from Twitter's mobile apps. Having only recently announced the roll out of a curation option to everyone, Twitter is now experimenting with replacing it with a more inviting Explore feature.

Speaking to Mashable, Twitter confirmed that a "content discovery"-focused Explorer tab could replace Moments in the future. For now, though, there is an experimental change visible to some iOS and Android users that sees the Moments and Explore tabs show up side by side.

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Updated Google Photos uses AI to animate and auto-rotate your pictures... and more

Google Photos has received a fairly significant update that sees the arrival of four key new features. Three of them are focused on sharing and viewing your photos, but the fourth is an AI-powered auto-rotate function that ensures you'll no longer have to look at photos on their sides.

As Pixel and Pixel XL owners (as well as other Android users who don't mind a drop in quality) have unlimited Google Photo storage at their disposal, Google is introducing a Facebook-style restrospective feature. Google says it will "make it easier to look back at your fondest memories", but there is more to discover.

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Snowden-endorsed Signal gains Facebook-style disappearing messages

Facebook's recently rolled-out Secret Conversations heralded the arrival of not only end-to-end encryption for users, but also disappearing messages. Not to be outdone, Edward Snowden's favorite messaging service, Signal, has followed suit.

The company behind the app, Open Whisper Systems, points out that the feature is not really designed to further improve security and privacy; rather it is a way "to keep your message history tidy".

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Facebook's new Events app helps you discover what's going on near you

If you're a keen Facebook user, you may well have accepted invites to events advertised on the social network. To help make your life a little easier, Facebook has now launched a new, dedicated app called simply Events from Facebook to more easily find out what's going on nearby.

More than this, the app can pull in information from your existing calendar so you can see all of your events and appointments in one place to avoid double-booking yourself. It's iOS-only for the time being, but an Android version of the app is in the pipeline.

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Facebook Marketplace takes on eBay and Craigslist

Today, Facebook launches a new way to buy and sell goods online -- Facebook Marketplace. While the service may not win any prizes for the originality of its name, it provides a more efficient and effective way to find things that are for sale near you than currently exists on the social network.

To start with, Facebook Marketplace will be available to mobile app users on iOS and Android, but it will also come to Facebook on the desktop eventually. Facebook is taking a very hands-off approach to buying and selling, and is not getting involved in the murkier aspects of transactions such as payments or handling feedback.

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Android users can help map mobile coverage in the UK: iPhone owners need not apply

Looking to paint a more accurate picture of what mobile coverage is like across the country, UK communications regulator Ofcom has released an app that can pull in data from millions of Android users.

The app, called Ofcom Mobile Research, is only available for Android and has been designed to measure not only mobile broadband performance, but also voice call quality. While building up a mass of data from participating Android users, iPhone owners are locked out of contributing because of the way iOS works.

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CloudMagic gets rebranded to Newton, adds subscription-based premium features

Subscriptions can generate a lot of revenue for developers, which is why we are seeing them in so many apps these days. And it is not just new titles that now involve regular payments, as subscriptions are making their way to existing apps as well.

This is now the case with CloudMagic, one of the best -- and my favorite -- cross-platform email apps. It just got an update that changes its name to Newton and adds a number of new, premium features. The latest extras are offered as a rather costly one-year subscription.

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Google brings Cardboard Camera to iOS for virtual reality fun

Google's dream of bringing virtual reality to the masses just took another big leap forward. The popular Cardboard Camera app is now available for iOS, giving iPhone users the chance to capture and share VR photos.

For many people Google Cardboard has been all about finding a cheap way to enjoy virtual reality experiences that other people have created. Cardboard Camera gives you the chance to create your own.

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Mario comes to the Apple App Store… Sonic the Hedgehog fans rejoice

At today’s Apple event, Tim Cook spoke about the success of the App Store, with the big numbers being 140 billion downloads to date, 106 percent year-over-year growth, and 500,000 games in the store. But while there are some excellent games and franchises available, someone, he lamented, has been missing, until now… Mario!

Yes, Nintendo’s most famous character is set to finally arrive, officially, and exclusively on iOS, but anyone hoping for a traditional Super Mario Brothers game will likely be disappointed.

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Facebook Messenger gains Instant Video live broadcasting

Facebook, like Twitter, is going all in on video. The social network's latest move is to bring video to its second greatest love -- Facebook Messenger. You'd be forgiven for thinking that this is not exactly new, and you'd be right.

Facebook Messenger has included a video calling option, but Facebook is concerned that this is being reserved for 'special occasions'. Instant Video is an extra new feature that is designed to make it easier to show things that can't be properly described in words, or even static pictures.

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Android 7.0 Nougat tells iPhone switchers how to migrate their data

Switching from an iPhone to an Android smartphone can be quite daunting, which is why two years ago Google created an online guide to help users migrate important data, like contacts, photos, and music. And it has left it at that, leaving it to iPhone switchers to find it on their own.

But, as you may know, newer versions of Android have made it easier for users to move their data from another Android device and now, with the introduction of Nougat, those wanting to migrate content from an iPhone or iPad are getting a dedicated import option too, while setting up their new device.

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Serious security vulnerability that left iPhones open to hackers is patched in iOS 9.3.5

Security researchers have unearthed three serious security flaws in iOS that made it possible to install spyware and other malware on iPhones. Software exploiting the vulnerabilities (described as "one of the most sophisticated pieces of cyberespionage software we've ever seen") can be installed with a single click, opening up victims' devices to full-scale surveillance.

The security holes have already been abused by NSO Group -- linked with selling hacking and surveillance software to governments -- but Apple has now issued a fix in the form of iOS 9.3.5. The update fixed two kernel vulnerabilities and one in WebKit, all discovered by Citizen Lab and Lookout.

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iOS device failures overtake Android for the first time

Mobile frustration

In the ongoing smartphone performance and reliability battle, Apple has lost its leading position to Android for the first time in the second quarter of 2016.

Plagued by crashing apps, WiFi connectivity and other performance issues, the iOS failure rate more than doubled to 58 percent, compared to a 25 percent failure rate in the previous quarter, according to the research by mobile device diagnostics company Blancco Technology Group.

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Windows falls to 0.6 percent share in the smartphone market

Windows continues to lose ground to Android and iOS in the smartphone market, according to a new report from Gartner. Driven by the poor performance of the Lumia line, its share dropped to just 0.6 percent in Q2 2016, down from 2.5 percent a year ago.

Microsoft is the largest platform vendor, selling over 90 percent of the smartphones that run Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile, so its performance has a direct impact on Windows' share in this market. And, since in Q2 2016 it only sold 1.2 million Lumia devices, it dealt the platform yet another blow.

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