❤ iOS 14 beta features and changes

In our first hands-on iOS 14 video, we’ll step through over 250 changes and features, including all of the aforementioned QOL improvements such as Picture in Picture, Widgets, App Library, Compact call interface, and more.

Picture in Picture

new feature in iOS 14 is Picture in Picture video.

Picture in Picture is a huge convenience feature. It allows me to consume videos while chatting in iMessage or while browsing in Safari. I especially like that it allows me to watch YouTube how-to videos while jotting down notes in the Notes app.

Hands-on with 250 + iOS 14 beta features ( 1HR VIDEO )

Compact Call interface

In bringing a compact incoming call interface to iOS 14, Apple has addressed perhaps one of the most requested quality of life features for the iPhone.

In previous versions of iOS, receiving an incoming call would present a full-screen call interface and interrupt your current task. It was a jarring experience that never fully got used to and it made to dislike receiving incoming phone calls.

In iOS 14, incoming phone calls are relegated to a small banner at the top of the interface. This allows you to keep reading, or browsing without worrying about being ambushed by an incoming call.

Compact Siri

Like the compact call interface, compact Siri allows users to interface with the virtual assistant without interrupting whatever current task you’re engaged in. Siri is now displayed as an overlay at the bottom of the screen, with Siri results appearing as a significantly less conspicuous banner at the top of the screen.

App Library

Apple’s App Library is another big win for iPhone users who have long lamented over the state of app management on iOS. Instead of being forced into adopting page after page of apps and folders, users can now add and remove app pages at will.

Regardless of what’s displayed on the traditional Home screen pages, the App Library is where all of the apps installed on your iPhone reside. There’s even a handy alphabetical list of all of the apps currently installed on your iOS device.

Improved Search

Search in iOS 14 is a big improvement over its predecessors, bringing smarter search results and launcher-like functionality to native iOS. New features include as-you-type suggestions and the ability to press the “go” button to take action and launch websites, web searches, and apps.

For references, here’s a list of everything included in our iOS 14 beta features video walkthrough:

Initial setup

Downloading app data

Home screen

Slide through app pages
Enter edit mode from anywhere
New minus indicator for deleting apps
Edit Home screen pages
Six new iOS 14 wallpapers

App Library

Remove any app from Home screen
Automatic categorization
Suggestions
Widgets on Home screen
Edit a widget
Siri Suggestions widget
Differently sized widgets
Widget stacks
Edit a widget stack
Stack multiple weather widgets
Smart stack

Search

As-you-type search suggestions
Quick launcher
In-app search
Web search
Updated Siri Suggestions UI
Redesigned Siri Knowledge layout

Picture in Picture

Enable Picture in Picture
Customize and control Picture in Picture
Settings > General > Picture in Picture

Siri

Compact Siri UI
Send audio messages
Share ETA
Updated Siri Settings > Suggestions on Lock screen
Updated Siri Settings > Siri Feedback
Updated Siri Settings > Suggestions when Sharing
Updated Siri Settings > In Search settings
Updated Siri Settings > App Clips

Privacy

Manage app tracking
Approximate Location
Limited Photos library access
Recording/microphone indicator
Recently used indicator in Control Center
Notification when apps access clipboard
Privacy > Local Network
Use Private Address

Markup

New colors button
New eyedropper tool
Colors: Grid, Spectrum, Sliders
Opacity
Hexadecimal colors
Save colors as favorites
Shape recognition

Settings

Long press back button to go back levels
Settings > General > About > Carrier Lock
Settings > General > Customize Automatic Updates
Settings > TV > Cellular Streaming > Automatic Optimized based on data plan… Settings > iCloud > Media & Purchases
Rename Bluetooth devices
Search bar added to iPhone Storage
New Glyph when Bluetooth devices connected
AirPods now have their info in iOS Bluetooth Settings
All-new Field Test app

Family sharing

Family sharing shows avatars of all members
New Family Sharing Layout shows when joined, role, and access
“Shared with your Family” instead of shared features
Invite member now uses Share Sheet
Apple TV Channels are broken up individually
Ask To Buy
New Screen Time UI

Keyboard

Emoji search

Control Center

Updated Camera app glyphs
Home app CC toggle removed
Dynamic Home toggles added
Sound Recognition toggle
Hearing toggle shows decibel rating
Updated Control Center Settings

Accessibility

Headphone Accommodations
Accessibility Settings
VoiceOver
Magnifier
Spoken Content
Touch
Switch Control
Side Button
Audio/Visual
Siri
Accessibility Shortcut

Phone

Compact interface
Third-party VoIP calls compact interface
New audio picker
Updated tables and buttons in contacts
New contact photo options camera, photos, emoji, text
Updated Groups in contacts
Updated Settings > Phone > Incoming Calls
Updated Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown/Blocked/SMS call reporting

Messages

Pinned conversations
Now typing indicator in conversation list
Mentions
Inline replies
New contact photo avatar layout for group messages
Set group photo and name
Edit button replaces action button
Hide Alerts and Delete alerts changed to glyphs
Updated Detail view (Name, buttons, photos and links history)
Updated Audio Call UI
Move between 3D effects by sliding finger
Shooting star effect removed
New Memoji and Memoji Sticker icons
New hairstyles
New headwear styles
Face coverings
More age options
New Memoji stickers

Maps

Updated route UI buttons
Cycling
Guides
Updated Maps Settings > Cycling
Updated Maps Settings > Navigation & Guidance
Other upcoming Maps features

Translate

Voice translation
Conversation mode
Attention mode
Text translation
Favorites
On-device translation settings
Dictionary
Keyboard automatically added when typing a foreign language

Home

Redesigned UI
Suggested automations
Home controls
Adaptive Lighting for smart light bulbs
Face Recognition for video cameras and doorbells
Activity Zones for video cameras and doorbells
Recording options

Safari

Web page translation
Website Privacy Report
Performance
Password monitoring

App Store

App details
App Store search typo suggestion
Shared in-app purchases for third-party apps
Updated App Store settings

App Clips

App Clips

Apple Arcade

Continue playing
Filter all games
Friends suggestions
Achievements
Game Center in-game dashboard

Camera

Updated quick action shortcut glyphs
Improved shot-to-shot performance
QuickTake video on iPhone XR and iPhone XS
Quick toggles in Video mode available to all devices
New chevron button for settings
Updated Night mode capture experience
Exposure compensation control
Capture burst photos and QuickTake video with volume buttons
Mirror photos taken on front camera
QR code reading enhancements
Updated Camera settings

FaceTime

Compact mode
Improved video quality
Updated FaceTime settings
Sign language prominence
Eye contact
Animoji renamed Memoji

Files

APFS encrypted drive support
Updated sidebar
More consistent glyphs
New action button for easy folder and file management
Now sort and change list view when searching
New Shared Documents folder

Health

Customized sleep schedule
Wind Down for sleep
Sleep mode
New Health data types
Updated profile page
Health Checklist
Hearing health

Clock

New system-wide time picker
Bedtime removed
Change Sleep Mode alarm on one-time basis

Mail

VIP Star color now gold and no more separator
Mark shortcut now features flag
New accounts setting location

Measure

Updated quick action Level and Measure glyph

Magnifier

Updated Magnifier app

Music

Listen Now
Updated now playing background
Updated album page
Autoplay
Improved search
Library filtering
Scrubber when in lyrics view

News

Dark Articles in Dark Mode

Notes

No more textured paper background
New table view for list of notes
Enhanced actions menu
Collapsible Pinned section
Top Hits in search
New headings for formatting
Quick styles
Enhanced scanning

Photos

New actions button
Filter and sort
Easy, fluid navigation
Zoom in further on photos
Add context to photos and videos with captions
Memories enhancements
Redesigned image picker in apps
Recently deleted photos now displayed in reverse
Less intrusive “Rendering Video” message

Podcasts

Smarter Listen Now

Reminders

Assign reminders
New reminders from the lists screen
Enhanced calendar picker
Revamped Details view with colors and glyphs
Edit multiple reminders at once
Personalized lists with emoji and new symbols
New Assigned to Me list
Organize smart lists
Improved search
Settings > Reminders > Assignment Notifications

Shortcuts

Show on Apple Watch
New Shortcuts Widget
Brighter colors
New Automation Triggers
Time of day recurrence
New actions

Books

Updated Books settings

Game Center

User details at top
Friend Suggestions
Achievements By Game
Profile Privacy

Voice Memos

Light recording button area in light mode
Enhance recording
Favorites
Smart Folders
Folders

FindMy

Will integrate with third parties

Weather

Next-hour precipitation
Air Quality meter
Multi-day precipitation forecast
Slide between locations
View locations without adding

Fitness

Renamed from Activity to Fitness
Consolidated Summary tab

– https://is.gd/U0EwVu

❤ iOS 12.4.6 Update Available for Older iPhone and iPad Models

iOS 12.4.6

Apple has released iOS 12.4.6 for older model iPhone and iPad devices that are not able to run iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4.

The iOS 12.4.6 is said to include important security updates and thus is recommended for eligible users to download and install onto their devices. No new features are expected to be included with iOS 12.4.6.

Devices eligible for the iOS 12.4.6 update include iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 5s, iPod touch 6th generation, iPad Air 1, iPad Mini 2, and iPad Mini 3. Newer iPhone and iPad models are able to download iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4 instead.

How to Update to iOS 12.4.6

Before anything else, backup the iPhone or iPad to iCloud, iTunes, or to MacOS before beginning any system software update. Failure to backup could lead to data loss.

The easiest way for most users to download iOS 12.4.6 is through the Software Update mechanism in Settings app on the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch :

Open the “Settings” app
Go to “General” and then choose “Software Update”
Choose to “Download and Install” iOS 12.4.6

iOS 12.4.6 will download and install automatically, requiring a device reboot to complete. When the installation has finished, the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch will automatically boot itself back up and be usable again as normal.

Release notes accompanying the iOS 12.4.6 update download are very brief stating that it “provides important security updates” and is therefore recommended for all users who are eligible for the update.

More advanced users can also choose to update iPhone or iPad manually by using IPSW as detailed here.

iOS 12.4.6 IPSW Download Links

Separately, Apple has also released macOS Catalina 10.15.4 for Mac, along with Security Update 2020-002 for macOS Mojave and High Sierra, iPadOS 13.4 for newer iPad, iOS 13.4 for newer iPhone, along with updates for tvOS and watchOS. – https://is.gd/lh27wY

❤ iOs 12 features

New features available with iOS 12.
iOS 12 is designed to make your iPhone and iPad experience even faster, more responsive, and more delightful.

Performance

Faster and more responsive

The things you do every day are faster than ever — across more devices. iOS has been overhauled for improved performance on devices as far back as iPhone 5s and iPad Air.

Smoother animations

Animations are smoother across the system. So when you do things like bring up Control Center, swipe while multitasking, or scroll in apps, it’s more fluid and responsive.

Up to 40% faster app launch

Apps launch faster in day-to-day use. And when you’re pushing your iOS device to the limit, multitasking between lots of apps, they launch up to 2x faster.

Up to 50% faster keyboard display

The keyboard appears faster and typing is more responsive.

Up to 70% faster swipe to Camera

Swiping to Camera from the Lock screen happens faster so you never miss a moment.

Up to 2x faster Share sheet display under load

The Share sheet appears faster than ever, especially if you have a lot of sharing extensions installed.

FaceTime

Group FaceTime

Make FaceTime calls with up to 32 participants simultaneously.

FaceTime audio and video

Answer incoming Group FaceTime calls with video or audio on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, or join with audio on Apple Watch.

Join anytime

Join or add people to Group FaceTime at any time.

Focus View in Group FaceTime

During Group FaceTime, the speaker will automatically be front and center. Or with Focus View, you can double-tap the person you’d like to see.

Ringless notification

Group FaceTime uses a silent notification that participants can tap to join.

Messages integration

Start Group FaceTime right from a group Messages conversation. See and join active calls from the conversation list or in the conversation itself.

Animoji

Use FaceTime with your friends and family as your favorite Animoji or Memoji.

Filters

Transform your look using built-in filters, like classic black and white, comic book, and watercolor.

Text effects

Add text effects like speech bubbles and emoji to your photos or videos.

Shapes

Jazz up your photos and videos with shapes like stars, hearts, and arrows.

iMessage sticker packs

Download sticker packs from the App Store for iMessage to enhance your photos and videos. Stickers track the movement of your face and move with you.

Private end-to-end encryption

FaceTime is encrypted end to end for both one-to-one and group calls, so your conversations remain private and viewable only by the participants.

Messages

Memoji

Create an all-new kind of Animoji that fits your personality and mood.

Memoji Maker

A new tool for you to select and adjust nearly endless customization options to make your Memoji.

New Animoji

Try four new Animoji: T. rex, ghost, koala, and tiger.

Tongue and wink detection

Improved face tracking now recognizes when you stick out your tongue or wink.

Longer Animoji

Now you can record clips of up to 30 seconds.

Camera effects

Use the camera in Messages to capture photos and enhance them in new ways using built-in effects and third-party sticker packs.

Filters

Transform your look using built-in filters, like classic black and white, comic book, and watercolor.

Text effects

Add text effects like speech bubbles and emoji to your photos or videos.

Shapes

Jazz up your photos and videos with shapes like stars, hearts, and arrows.

iMessage sticker packs

Download sticker packs from the App Store for iMessage to enhance your photos and videos inside Messages. Stickers track the movement of your face and move with you.

Photos iMessage app

Get photo suggestions based on who you’re messaging with, what you’re talking about, and where you’ve taken photos together.

Redesigned App Strip

The redesigned App Strip now takes up less space when you type. So you can see more of your content and always get to your favorite iMessage apps.

Screen Time

Screen Time

New tools empower you to understand and make choices about how much time you spend using apps and websites.

Activity reports

Get reports weekly or check Today View anytime to see app usage, notifications, and device pickups.

For kids

Use your family’s Apple IDs to set up Screen Time for your kids to keep an eye on how much time they spend on apps and websites. They can request more time for you to approve.

App limits

Set the amount of time you and your kids can spend each day on specific apps and websites.

Downtime

Set a specific time, like bedtime, when apps and notifications are blocked. You can choose which apps are on and off limits.

Always allowed

Create exceptions for apps you’d like your kids to have access to even during Downtime, such as Messages or education apps.

Notifications

Grouped notifications

Message threads and notification topics are grouped together, so it’s easier to see what’s important with just a glance at your iPhone or iPad.

Instant Tuning

Control your notification settings the moment you receive an alert, without having to leave what you’re doing.

Deliver quietly

Within Instant Tuning, you can choose to have notifications delivered silently to Notification Center by default so you’re not interrupted by alerts.

Siri notification suggestions

Get suggestions based on how you interact with your notifications, such as which app notifications to deliver prominently and which ones to send to Notification Center.

Critical alerts

A new type of opt-in alert for important information, like reports from a healthcare provider, which you’ll receive even during Do Not Disturb.

Tapback to messages

Quickly reply to messages with an expression, like a heart or a
thumbs-up, by touching and holding the notification.

Do Not Disturb

Do Not Disturb During Bedtime

Dim your display and silence overnight notifications until you unlock your iPhone in the morning.

New Do Not Disturb options

Set Do Not Disturb to end automatically in an hour, at the end of the day, when you leave a certain location, or at the end of a meeting on your calendar.

Augmented Reality

Persistent and multiuser experiences

AR experiences can now be shared across time and fixed to real-world locations, so you can create a piece of AR art that can be viewed later in the same place by someone else.

3D object recognition

ARKit 2 recognizes objects and how your device is oriented to them, and can use that information to trigger AR experiences.

Face tracking

Face tracking now sees where you’re looking and can detect whether you’re sticking out your tongue or winking.

Scene reflection

AR is even more lifelike, enabling virtual objects to reflect the real-world scene in your camera.

USDZ file format

A new format that helps 3D creators to create rich content and animations optimized for mobile devices.

AR Quick Look

View AR experiences in the apps you use every day, including Files, Mail, Messages, and Safari.

Measure app

Draw straight lines to measure objects and surfaces both vertically and horizontally using your iPhone or iPad camera, and automatically detect dimensions of rectangular objects.

Photos

For You tab

A single destination for your Memories, Shared Album activity, and the best moments in your library. Featured Photos and Effect Suggestions intelligently show you your best photos and propose effects to make them even better.

Sharing suggestions

Photos understands when you’ve done something meaningful, like taking a trip or attending an event, and will suggest sharing the photos with the people who are in them. And if you receive photos from someone else, your device will look for photos in your library from the same event and suggest sharing photos back.

Intelligent search suggestions

Smart suggestions help you find photos even before you finish typing by suggesting events, people, places, and relative dates.

Places search

Search for photos based on the places or businesses where you were when you took them, whether it’s a general category, like “Japanese restaurant,” or a specific place, like “Jacques Torres Chocolate.”

Event search

Search for photos from events you’ve attended, like the Aspen Ideas Festival.

Multiple keyword search

Now you can combine keywords in searches, like “surfing” and “vacation,” for even better results.

Improved import

It’s easier than ever to import photos and videos from your professional camera on the go.

RAW editing support

You can now edit your RAW images in Photos on iPhone and iPad models with an A9 chip or later.

Redesigned Albums tab

Find existing and shared albums more quickly and efficiently.

Camera

Improved Portrait Lighting

Portrait mode photos are better than ever. Camera now generates a mask when it detects a person and intelligently and elegantly separates the person from the scene.

Portrait Segmentation API

A new API for third-party developers allows for the separation of layers in a photo, such as separating the background from the foreground.

Improved QR code reader

Camera now highlights QR codes in the frame, making them easier to scan.

Siri

Siri suggestions

A quicker way to do the things you do most often. As Siri learns your routines, you’ll get suggested shortcuts for just what you need, at just the right time, on the Lock screen or in search.

New Shortcuts app

Create or customize your own shortcuts to run multiple steps at once. Get started with examples from the gallery and personalize with steps from across your apps.

Shortcuts API

App developers can work with Siri to run shortcuts via a new SiriKit API.

Photos Memories search

Use Siri to quickly pull up photos and memories based on people, places, events, time, and keywords of objects and scenes in the photos.

Privacy and Security

Enhanced tracking prevention

Improvements prevent Share buttons and comment widgets on web pages from tracking you without your permission in Safari. Safari also prevents advertisers from collecting your device’s unique settings, so they can’t retarget ads to you across the web.

Automatic strong passwords

Automatically create, autofill, and store strong passwords in Safari and iOS apps. Passwords are stored in iCloud Keychain and are available on all your Apple devices.

Password reuse auditing

Passwords that have been reused will be flagged in the passwords list, so you can quickly navigate to the app or website and replace it with an automatically generated strong password.

Security code AutoFill

SMS one-time passcodes will appear automatically as AutoFill suggestions, so you never have to worry about quickly memorizing them or typing them again.

Password sharing

Easily share and receive passwords from nearby iOS devices, from an iOS device to a Mac, and from an iOS device to Apple TV.

Password Manager API

Access passwords stored in third-party password managers directly from the QuickType bar in apps and in Safari (requires third-party adoption).

App Updates

Apple Books

The Apple Books app has been completely redesigned to make it easier for you to discover and read your favorite books. Access your current book or start a new one in the Reading Now tab, visit the new bookstore, and organize your library with more flexible collections.

Stocks

The redesigned Stocks app keeps you more informed about the market. View prices at a glance in the customizable watch list. Tap any ticker to see key details and an interactive chart. And for the first time ever, Stocks is available on iPad as well as iPhone.

Voice Memos

Voice Memos has been redesigned and is available on iPad. It’s even easier to capture your personal reminders, edit class lectures, or share family moments. And with iCloud, you can record on your iPhone or iPad and harness the power of your Mac to do even more.

Even More

More battery information

The battery usage chart in Settings now shows your usage for the last 24 hours or 10 days. Tap a bar to see your app use for that period of time.

iPad gestures

iOS 12 for iPad includes updated gestures that make it easier to navigate. You can now go to the Home screen by quickly swiping up from the bottom of the screen. Get to Control Center more conveniently with a swipe from the top-right corner.

Keyboard

Turn the QuickType keyboard into a trackpad on devices without 3D Touch by touching and holding the space bar.

New dictionaries

Enjoy three new language dictionaries: an Arabic and English bilingual dictionary, a Hindi and English bilingual dictionary, and a Hebrew dictionary.

English Thesaurus

Get synonyms and related concepts for words with English Thesaurus.

New markup tools

When you mark up a screenshot or PDF or draw in Notes, you can now choose from more colors, line weights, and opacities for each tool.

Favicons in Safari on iPad

View website favicons on tabs in Safari to identify your open tabs at a glance.

Automatic software update

A new option allows iOS software updates to be installed automatically, so you always have the latest. When you enable this setting, software updates will be installed overnight.

– https://is.gd/L4T8MY

❤ How to Disable URL Link Previews in Messages for iOS & MacOS

The Messages app in newer releases of iOS and MacOS will attempt to render a small preview of any webpage URL or link that is shared within the Messages app. Usually the link preview will pull the title of the article or webpage, an image, and the domain of the URL being shared, all in a little compact thumbnail preview seen in the Messages thread on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. The Message link previews are useful to many people, but some users may not like the URL previews, and some more cautious users may prefer to see the full URL of a link at all times, especially before clicking on it.

We’ll show you a few tricks to disable the link previews of URLs sent and received in the Messages app of iOS and MacOS.

First, if you’re looking for a switch or setting for this, you won’t find one because it does not exist. So be aware that the approaches covered here are effectively workarounds, as there is no method of disabling the URL link previews in Messages app completely, either on the Mac, iPhone, or iPad. But with that said, you can effectively disable URL link previews in Messages on a per-message basis by using a few text tricks.

How to Prevent URL Link Previews in Messages for iOS and Mac OS

This comes down to a simple text trick. Essentially, you need to wrap the URL in text. You can do that in several different ways:

Option 1: Put the link in a sentence, or between words

Put a URL in the middle of a sentence like this http://osxdaily.com and then share it as usual

Simply placing the link being sent through Messages in between words or in a sentence will remove the message preview on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Just note that the words or text must appear on both sides of the URL to work as intended. Basically anything like “words URL words” will do the job and disable the Message URL preview, and instead show the full URL.

Option 2: Place periods on both sides of the link being shared

Place periods on the beginning and end of a URL being shared, like this: “.http://osxdaily.com/.”

Just wrap the URL in periods and send the link as usual. This is just a variation of the above trick but rather than placing the URL in a sentence or between words, you’re placing the URL between periods.

Interestingly, if you use periods on both sides of the URL, then Messages in both iOS and MacOS will strip the periods out, as long as they surround a complete URL like so:

.http://osxdaily.com/.

This means that, once the message with the URL is sent, it will appear as so:

http://osxdaily.com/

And yes, without the iMessage preview.

While the above screenshots focus on the iPhone and iPad by demonstrating the iOS Messages app, the tricks work identically on the Messages app for Mac, where the same techniques will disable the URL preview on the Mac side of things too (for both sending and receiving). The screenshot below demonstrates this with a link preview, as well as a link without the URL preview on the Mac:

And note this is NOT the same as disabling message previews with Notifications in iOS lock screens or MacOS, which is a completely separate feature that disables the preview text of a message

By the way, if you’re interested in seeing the full link in Messages, you probably also would prefer to see the full URL of a link in Safari on Mac too, which is curiously not the default. – https://is.gd/7q3n8t

❤ How to keep some full resolution images on your iOS device, and store others in the cloud

iCloud Photo Library isn’t flexible about file storage. But the solution may lie with Dropbox.

With iCloud Photo Library you can take endless photos on an iPhone or iPad, or upload endless images on a Mac or via iCloud.com, as long as you’re paying for the right quantity of iCloud storage. And Apple simply manages it for you.

This trick comes through optimized storage, which is enabled by default in iOS when you turn on iCloud Photo Library. On the Mac, you have to turn it on: In the Photos app, go to Preferences > iCloud, check the iCloud Photo Library option, and then pick either to Download Originals to the Mac or Optimize Mac Storage. (I use full-resolution downloads on one of my Macs, a desktop machine, so I have a local copy that I can also backup elsewhere.)

Macworld reader John has a common request. While he’s using optimized storage on his iPad, he wants to always have some media locked at full resolution to show other people. The images he wants to show seem to be dumped routinely by iOS. Retrieving them is tedious—not to mention redundant—unless he has a high-speed internet connection.

It’s completely reasonable and totally unavailable. For some reason, even years into iCloud Photo Library as a service, Apple doesn’t recognize this as something people might want.

Dropbox lets you force offline (on device) storage.

There’s one reliable option: Dropbox. You can export the images you want to always have available, store them in Dropbox, and use the Dropbox app. Dropbox has a Make Available Offline option for each folder and file. With that option, the file or folder is downloaded to iOS and retained.

In macOS, by the way, if you put images or videos in a shared album, those images are always cached locally at full resolution on the startup volume. This is known because it bites some users with a lot of shared media and tight storage on the startup volume. – https://is.gd/KoSELf

❤ iOS 12 Supported Devices List

Now that Apple has unveiled iOS 12, the question many people have on their mind is whether or not their current iPhone or iPad will be compatible with the iOS 12 operating system.

The good news is that if your iPhone or iPad is even reasonably new, then it will likely support iOS 12. Read on to see the full iOS 12 supported devices list to see if your particular iOS device is compatible with the latest system software version.

Apple has said that all devices which support iOS 11 will also support iOS 12. In other words, if your iPhone or iPad wants to run iOS 12 and it can currently run iOS 11, you’re good to go for the new version. This makes sense since many of the improvements to iOS 12 are performance and optimization related, though there are certainly some new features too.

iOS 12 Compatibile Devices List

The following list is from Apple, detailing all iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices which are compatible with iOS 12. If your device is on this list, it will support the system software version. If your device is not on the list, it will not be able to run iOS 12.

iPhone models supporting iOS 12

iPhone X
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone 7
iPhone 7 Plus
iPhone 6s
iPhone 6s Plus
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 Plus
iPhone SE
iPhone 5s

iPad models supporting iOS 12

12.9-inch iPad Pro 2nd generation
12.9-inch iPad Pro 1st generation
10.5-inch iPad Pro
9.7-inch iPad Pro
9.7-inch iPad 6th generation (2018)
iPad 5th generation (2017)
iPad Air 2
iPad Air
iPad mini 4
iPad mini 3
iPad mini 2

iPod Touch models supporting iOS 12

iPod touch 6th generation

If your device is on the supported hardware list and you feel like playing around with iOS 12, you will find iOS 12 beta 1 is available to download now as a developer beta, while the public beta will debut sometime in the coming months.

The final version of iOS 12 is expected to launch this fall. Typically Apple debuts new iOS system software around the same time a new iPhone comes out, so obviously whatever new iPhone models debut will also support the iOS 12 operating system, whether that’s iPhone SE/2, iPhone 9, iPhone 11, iPhone X Plus, or whatever else they are labeled as.

iOS 12 isn’t the only new operating system debuting however, and if your a Mac user you may want to check the list of macOS Mojave compatible Macs to see if your Mac computer will run the 10.14 release of system software too. – https://is.gd/v8KO7n

❤ How to fix autocorrect in iOS

What to do when you get inappropriate suggestions from the iOS autocorrect feature.

You’re tapping along on your iPhone or iPad, and suddenly an ordinary letter or word gets replaced by something bizarre. We’re all used to autocorrect picking up weird expansions, which happens partly because Apple has introduced machine learning into how it predicts what you might intend to type.

However, you might also be the victim of a prank, and if you have children or people with child-like humor around you, you probably know who did it, too. A Macworld reader whose identity I shall wisely keep secret in order to spare them further embarrassment, wrote in with this question:

When I type in the letter I, I get the following “i see dem jeanzzz”, and when I type in the word “hi”, I get “You a big green stankie bugger”. How do i stop this from happening?

While it’s possible iOS’s autocorrect learned this from repeated entries, it’s more likely that someone gained access to your device and set a shortcut. While I don’t want to impugn young people, a young friend admitted this when I mentioned prank autocorrect substitutions:

Once, I made “Hello” autocorrect to “Salutations” on my mom’s phone

You can check one main method for this kind of substitution through these steps:

Open Settings > General > Keyboards > Text Replacements.
Review the list of items.
If you see something that looks ridiculous, swipe left on it, and then swipe Delete.

That takes care of obvious things. It’s possible to retrain autocorrect to substitute words automatically, too. Sometimes on my iOS device, it will try to replace an ordinary word, like “and”, and something seeming off base and disturbing appears, like “Ahahahahahahahah”. I must have typed that in once and it decided it’s what I meant all the time. This seems kind of sinister.

Autocorrect is usually helpful, suggesting a sensible replacement.

Typically, when autocorrect wants to drop a replacement in without enough confidence it’s what you mean, you’ll have a popover menu appear with suggestions that you can tap before you tap space or return, which accepts the word that’s been dropped in. Tapping that popover helps retrain autocorrect, and you may only need to type the word a few times and pick your preferred replacement (which might the actual word typed!) before it’s back to normal. You can also double tap a word, select Replace, and the popover menu with suggestions should appear.

If this is all too much, you can reset the dictionary, which drops all the words and replacements learned (Settings > General > Reset > Reset Keyboard Dictionary), or disable autocorrect (Settings > General > Keyboards > Auto-Correction to off). – https://is.gd/lIHg11

5 things Apple needs to fix in iOS 12

iPhone X would be even better with these improvements.

We can forget about big new features for iOS 12. Apple is focused on “addressing performance and quality issues” in 2018, according to a new report. Here are five things that should be at the top of the company’s repair list.

Siri’s voice recognition

Siri is missing features offered by rival virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa, but it’s unlikely that’s going to change anytime soon. Apple’s restrictions mean Siri will never be as flexible as its rivals. But Apple can (and should) improve its voice recognition.

It’s been over five years since the virtual assistant made its debut on iPhone 4s, and yet it still has problems understanding many users. Siri still cannot perform simple commands for some users, or properly transcribe dictation. Some even say it has gotten worse in recent years.

Apple gave Siri a more natural voice with iOS 11, but that’s not enough. It doesn’t matter how convincing it sounds if its responses are way off target. Accurate voice recognition is a must for any virtual assistant, and with HomePod on the way, Apple needs to fix it now more than ever.

Notification Center

Notification Center has remained largely unchanged since it was introduced with iOS 5. It looks better now, but it’s fundamentally the same. In other words, it’s still a horrible mess.

Most of us get dozens of notifications every day, and if you don’t look at your iPhone regularly, the most important ones get lost among a sea of clutter. Apple really needs to fix this, and it should start by ripping off Android’s notifications.

Android lets you categorize your notifications for every app, so your most important alerts are always visible at the top of the list, regardless of when they were received. That means an important email can’t be buried under 20 notifications from a game you never play anymore.

Android also groups notifications for each app so they don’t end up all over the place, and you can dismiss them all at once. You can even color-code them so they’re really easy to spot at a glance. Again, this prevents important messages from being lost within a long list of alerts.

Apple should hire some Android designers to fix iOS notifications. They are a mess. Ideas to fix them:
* Group notifications
* Unread dots instead of numbers
* Easier way to clear all

Google even gives its users the ability to snooze notifications so they reappear at a more convenient time, while developers can issue them with a timer. This means time-sensitive notifications — like a flash sale in a shopping app — don’t sit there after the sale has expired.

Portrait mode

Lots of iPhone users love Portrait mode, but most agree it could be better. With two camera lenses to rely on, it should do a better job of identifying your subject and not making them blurry around the edges. Sometimes it’s awesome; sometimes it’s a complete bust.

Apple should be able to fix this with improvements in software. Google nailed it in its Pixel 2 lineup, which has just one rear-facing camera, so Apple should be able to do better.

iPhone X’s status bar

iPhone X’s “notch” means we can’t have a complete status bar, and Apple decides what is displayed in the space available. Not everyone needs to see cellular and Wi-Fi signal strength, however. Some would prefer a Bluetooth indicator or battery percentage.

Apple needs to make the status bar customizable — just as it did with Control Center in iOS 11 — so that we can choose what’s displayed there.

Bugs

I’ve already ranted about how buggy Apple’s software has become. Some of the most serious issues in iOS 11 have already been addressed, but plenty of smaller glitches remain. There’s a whole Twitter Moment dedicated to them.

Apple needs to eliminate these problems. It has earned a sterling reputation for spectacular software over the years, and there’s a risk that will be tarnished. We don’t (and shouldn’t) expect weird glitches and random freezes on iPhones and iPads.

I appreciate that smaller issues are difficult to identify in beta testing, and software will never be perfect. But it’s baffling that some of these problems made their way into public iOS releases — and still remain today. If Apple only fixes one thing on this list, bugs should be it. – https://goo.gl/cCL1g7