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Patent application shows how Apple Watch could measure ambient sound to adjust volume of iPhone alerts

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iPhones could in future automatically sound louder or quieter notification alerts depending on the level of background noise. A patent application published today describes how both an iPhone and Apple Watch could periodically measure ambient sound levels, adjusting notification volumes to an appropriate level.

The patent notes that while users can manually adjust the volume of alerts, many don’t do so because they forget or because it’s too much hassle. The patent suggests that the primary sound reading would be taken from the Apple Watch (aka ‘a wearable device’) …


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Google Drive for iOS gets improved sharing experience w/ notifications & more

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Google Drive updates arriving today include new features for the service’s iOS app including sharing notifications and what Google promises will be a ‘consistent sharing experience across platforms.”

As part of its Drive mobile app updates today, both users of the iOS and Android apps can now enable notifications for when files are shared with them. Not only is it a notification, but it also acts as a quick link to jump right into the file or folder. And in addition, Google notes that “If a file/folder owner has notifications turned on and someone requests access to their content, the owner will be notified of the request instantly on their mobile device so they can quickly grant access.”

Another feature in the update for the Google Drive iOS app is what Google describes as a new consistent sharing experience, which essentially means the iOS app sharing experience is now on par with the Drive app on other platforms. You’ll notice the addition of an option to add a custom message when sharing:

We’re implementing a more consistent sharing experience in Drive (and the Docs editor apps too!) across platforms, including the ability for people using the Drive iOS app to add custom messages to recipients directly from the app when sharing a file.

The updated Google Drive app for iPhone and iPad is available now.

Facebook bolstering iOS Notifications tab with sports scores, birthdays, more

A More Useful Notifications Tab on Mobile | Facebook Newsroom 2015-10-26 13-25-16

If you’re a Facebook user, you’re definitely familiar with the Notifications tab in the company’s iOS app. Although it has barely evolved from being a simple stream of your notifications since its introduction many years ago, Facebook has today come out to outline some changes on the way to make it more useful and personalized.

Assumably since most of us rarely use or view notifications that are more than a day old, Facebook has decided to use the space in the Notifications tab in other, more useful, ways. With the new version, you’ll find the 5 or so most recent activity notifications at the top, with handfuls of additional — and hopefully useful — information below.

Among the things that Facebook says it is adding to the Notifications tab are friends and family “milestones” (which include birthdays, major life events, and the like), sports scores and television notifications based on the pages you have already liked, as well as events that are around the corner (but, seemingly, only those that you’ve already joined).

Facebook says that if you head into the app settings and allow it to see your location history (which many users already have), you can see things like local events based on your physical location, as well as weather updates, movies that are playing at nearby theaters, and even places to eat. Unsurprisingly, most of these features will connect you with many locations’ Facebook pages.

Facebook says that the update is rolling out “gradually,” so it should appear on your device sometime in the next few days.

PSA: Here’s how to keep seeing iPhone 6s Lock Screen notifications + wallpaper despite super-fast Touch ID

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“Faster” is almost always “better” with new iPhones, but the iPhone 6s’s lightning-quick Touch ID fingerprint scanner has created a small new issue: if you touch the Home Button to look at your Lock Screen, you’ll see that it disappears within a split-second. At a minimum, this is visually jarring, but it also impacts historic iPhone functionality — users have been customizing their Lock Screens with photos (most recently, Live Photos) and checking the date/time there since the first iPhone launched in 2007, and it subsequently became an easy place to view notifications and activate the camera.

If you want to continue using the Lock Screen for any of these reasons, there are a couple of workarounds:

  1. Start using the Sleep/Wake Button on the iPhone’s right side for all screen activations and deactivations. This is the easiest way to do a quick turn on and off of the display for notifications.
  2. Go into the Settings app, select Touch ID & Passcode, and remove your most commonly used finger scan from the list of stored Fingerprints. This will let you continue to activate the screen using the Home Button’s Touch ID sensor, without immediately moving to the Home Screen.

The choice between 1 or 2 will come down to personal preference, the way you hold your iPhone, and how you use your iPhone when it’s docked or car-mounted. For example, if you want to quickly check notifications when your iPhone is car-mounted (and your car is stopped), you may find that the Sleep/Wake Button is out of reach or inconvenient to press inward, making the Home Button a better choice. Removing your index finger from the Touch ID list will let you naturally use one finger for screen and Home Button interactions.

More From This Author

Check out more of my editorials, How-To guides, and reviews for 9to5Mac here! I’ve covered a lot of different topics of interest to Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, and Apple Watch users. I’ve recently discussed how to safely prepare and wipe your iPhone for resale or trade-in, and how to get the best iPhone trade-in price to help buy an iPhone 6s, amongst many other topics.

Apple now sending iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus shipping notifications for Friday delivery

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Apple has started sending out shipping notifications for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, right on schedule for Friday delivery. The shipment notifications are likely rolling out over the next few hours so don’t worry if you haven’t gotten your dispatched notification just yet. Unless your iPhone is delayed by the Pope, you should be just fine getting your iPhone on launch day — September 25th.


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New interview with Kevin Lynch reveals more Watch details, early prototypes used timeline UI

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WIRED has posted a new story on the Apple Watch, which revolves around interviews with Apple human interface designer Alan Dye and Apple’s VP Technology Kevin Lynch, who heads Apple Watch software. The piece shines new light on the foundation of the smartwatch project at Apple as well as some new details about the product — which ships later this month.

Amusingly, Lynch did not know what he would be working on when he accepted the Apple job. He walked into the role with the project already underway; early ‘experiments’ from the iPod team with click-wheels and such. Dye says that the idea for a watch blossomed during design meetings for iOS 7, Apple’s major software overhaul.


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Developer hacks Android Wear to show iPhone notifications (Video)

From 9to5Google: 

Android Wear and iOS (direct connection) - YouTube 2015-02-22 11-02-59

Android Wear is great, but if you’re an iOS user, it looks like the Apple Watch is going to be your only option for a while. Google has yet to make any of Android Wear’s functionality compatible with Apple’s operating system, and it doesn’t look like they plan to do so any time soon. But that’s not stopping one developer, Mohammad Abu-Garbeyyeh, from hacking Android Wear to at least support notifications from iOS devices.


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Skype for iPhone updates the dialer, reintroduces URI support for other apps

Skype for iPhone 5.10 keypadMicrosoft is out today with its latest version of Skype for iPhone, version 5.10, as it continues to add refinements and features to the overhauled version of its app first released last year.

The new version of Skype for iPhone highlights the ability to save contacts from the app’s phone dialer just like the native Phone app on iOS. You can also save contacts to Skype from the recent call list starting with this version, and Microsoft touts improved chat notification reliability as well.

Finally, Microsoft is reintroducing support for Skype URIs which let other developers include interactions with Skype directly in their own apps including features like calling and messaging.

As long as the Skype app is installed on an iPhone, when a user taps on a Skype name or phone number, the URI will open the Skype app to connect a call or send a message*, making it faster than ever to reach friends, family or businesses.

For example, if you’re browsing restaurant options on an app or mobile website that utilizes Skype URIs, tapping on the phone number would launch Skype so you could call and make a reservation.

If you heavily rely on communicating with Skype frequently, this means you should see deeper Skype integration in other third-party apps in the future.

Skype for iPhone version 5.10 is available now for free on the App Store.

Incipio debuts Prompt Notification Folio, first iPad folio with OLED screen for watch-style notifications

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As a particularly interesting addition to its very wide new range of cases, Incipio today debuted Prompt Notification Folio for iPad Air 2 ($90) — the first iPad case with an integrated OLED screen capable of displaying phone-style notifications, shared either from an always-connected iPhone or the iPad inside. Head below for a closer look. 
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Apple seeks Evangelist to promote third-party Apple Watch app development

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Apple wants the third-party app marketplace for the upcoming Apple Watch to be a hit just like on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Apple has begun seeking an “Apple Watch Evangelist,” according to a posting on its official jobs website. This evangelist position is specifically designed to work with third-party application developers and promote development for the upcoming Apple Watch platform:


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iPhone SMS notifications coming to Google Glass this week

An iMessage sent to Glass

An iMessage sent to Glass

Google announced today that it’s about to bring SMS for iPhone and a new Calendar Glassware to Google Glass users following an update to KitKat and the introduction of new features earlier this month. First up, iPhone users will now be able to receive text messages on Glass but, as Google points out, they “won’t be able to reply from Glass due to some limitations with iOS.

SMS for iPhone – iOS fans, by popular demand you can now get texts from your friends on Glass. Get started by going to your iPhone’s Bluetooth settings and turning on “Show Notifications” for your paired Glass. When you receive a new text message, it will appear as a notification on Glass. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to reply from Glass due to some limitations with iOS. (Android fans, don’t feel left out – you’ve got SMS on Glass already.)

The support for SMS is a feature that Glass users have long had access to when paired to an Android device. You’ll begin receiving notifications as long as the “Show Notifications” option for your paired Glass is selected from Bluetooth settings. 

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Firefox 28 released w/ Mac OS X Notification Center support for web notifications

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Firefox today released the latest version of its desktop browser for Mac, Linux, and Windows and in the process added one much welcomed feature for Mac OS X users: support for Notification Center. This means that web apps and sites taking advantage of Firefox’s web notifications feature will now also appear for Mac users in the Notification Center.

Version 28 of Firefox also introduces a few new behind the scenes improvements including VP9 video decoding, volume control for HTML5 audio/video, and a number of other fixes.

Firefox 28 for Mac is available to download from the Mozilla website now.

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iBetterCharge puts iPhone & iPad battery notifications on your Mac

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A nice, new utility called iBetterCharge brings those 20% and 10% battery warnings from your iPhone or iPad onto your Mac. Rather than picking up your phone before heading out the door only to realize your battery is almost dead, the app will remind you to plug in with warnings that pop up as desktop notifications on your Mac. This is a handy little tool for anyone that likes to leave their iPhone or iPad out of sight while working on their Mac or people with multiple iOS devices to manage. It has already saved me a few times this week as I’ve been testing it.

iBetterCharge-02You can connect multiple devices, set granular preferences for notifications when your battery gets lower than 50%, 20%, 10%, or 5%, and also select options to play sounds, animate the menu bar icon, or show a notification. Another preference will let you get notified when a device is fully charged and an ignore list lets you quickly mute notifications for certain devices.

The app is rather lightweight and a free download. Once you’ve installed it, iBetterCharge sits in your menu bar and automatically finds your devices over WiFi. Note: For this to work you have to have WiFi Sync enabled on your device.

You can download iBetterCharge for free here.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaWovz5WviI]

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Google Wallet iOS app gets loyalty card scanning, notifications for nearby merchants

Google-WalletAfter rolling out the update to Android devices last week, Google today updated its Google Wallet app for iOS with the ability to scan physical loyalty cards. Rather than having to type out your account information to join a new program within the app, scanning a physical loyalty card from a supported retailer will auto-populate your info and automate the process.

The updated app also now includes new notifications for nearby retailers related to loyalty programs you’ve joined. If you’ve joined the Walgreens program, for example, you’ll get notifications reminding you “to shop and earn rewards” when close to a brick and mortar retail location.

The updated Google Wallet iOS app is available on the App Store now.

How to change OS X banner notification duration using Terminal

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Notification Banner

I’ve recently found myself wishing there was a space between banners and alerts with OS X’s notification system. Alert style notifications that require manually dismissing can be rather annoying, but quick banner notifications often fly by before I’ve had time to glance at the information. It turns out despite not having a toggle in the system preferences, a little Terminal code shared by OS X Daily allows you to toggle the duration down to the second…


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Pinterest adds Safari Push Notifications for OS X Mavericks

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Pinterest today announced on its blog that it’s introducing Safari Push Notifications for users running Apple’s new OS X Mavericks update.

This makes it easy to get real-time updates, like when someone comments on your Pin, or sends you a Pin they think you’ll like. Similar to the push notifications you might see on youriPhone or iPad, you can see alerts in the upper right of your desktop screen.

Pinterest is using Apple’s new Apple Push Notifications Service introduced with Mavericks that allows websites to offer users the ability to receive push notifications on their desktop and in the OS X Notification Center. Pinterest push notifications can be activated by visiting Pinterest in Safari on Mavericks.

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Pebble smartwatch will finally receive all iOS 7 app notifications

Today, smartwatch maker Pebble finally announced a long awaited feature that will allow users to receive all notifications from their iOS 7 device reliably. It also announced version 2.0 of its SDK with new features for developers.

First, we’re introducing a more delightful user experience for Pebble customers using iOS. Pebble is now fully integrated with iOS 7 and works seamlessly with Notification Center. This means that any notifications you’ve enabled in Notification Center on your iOS 7 device will appear on your Pebble — just like that. It’s easier than ever to pick and choose which updates you want to see on your watch.

Back in June, we noted that Apple was introducing Apple Notification Center Service to allow Bluetooth devices to reliably receive all notifications that hit Notification Center on a connected iOS device. Before integrating ANCS, Pebble could only receive SMS, Email and Call notifications reliably from iOS 6+ devices.

Pebble’s SDK 2.0 announced today for developers includes a number of new APIs for Javascript, Accelerometer, Data Logging and Persistent Storage:

These API allow developers to make Pebble apps that interface directly with the web (real-time weather, transit info, location check-in), access the accelerometer (health/fitness monitoring and gesture-based remote control), log data when disconnected from the phone (health/fitness tracking), and store info on the watch (high scores for games, settings). You can find out more about SDK 2.0 on the Pebble developer blog.

The notifications support will arrive via an update to the Pebble iOS app later today for iOS 7 devices. Pebble also announced that it’s offering free worldwide shipping through its website starting today and shared some numbers:

  • Number of Pebbles on wrists worldwide: 190,000
  • Number of apps and faces downloaded: 2 million
  • Number of apps and faces on mypebblefaces.com: 2,200
  • Number of watchfaces created on watchface-generator.de: 80,000
  • Number of companion apps available on the iTunes and Google Play stores: 50+
  • Number of developers: 10,000+

Google Search iOS app gets massive update w/ ‘OK Google’ handsfree voice search, notifications, reminders, much more

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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8Ey0AufD9g]

The Google Search iOS app has received a huge update today that brings a number of new features including the ability to activate voice search handsfree. Users on iPhone 4S or later can now simply say “OK Google” to begin a voice search, much like what users have been able to do with Google Now on Android devices for quite some time.

Version 3.1.0 now includes notifications for upcoming events, flights and public transit. For example, the Google Search app will provide notifications for delayed flights, tell you how long you have to catch the last train, and remind you of upcoming appointments . You can also now set reminders within the app:

Ask Google to remember things for you. Just say
• “Remind me to buy coffee beans at Starbucks,” or
• “Remind me to check out the fair this weekend”
and Google will remind you at the right time or place

In addition, Google says users can now set reminders for when their favorite musicians, tv shows, actors or celebrities are releasing new content or appear in headlines. There are also new cards in the app that display info for movie and event tickets, boarding passes, rental car reservations, public transit and upcoming events.


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How-to: Customize and use Notification Center in iOS 7

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Notification Center in iOS is a panel that keeps track of all of your incoming notifications so you can easily access them. It has been around since iOS 5, but it has been completely redesigned in iOS 7. In this article, you’ll discover how to increase enjoyment of your iOS device by customizing Notification Center. First, you’ll learn how to change the way certain apps show notifications. Then you will learn how to set Notification Center to show only the notifications you want in a customized view.

First, there are a few important settings you’ll want to pay attention to. On your iOS device go to Settings, Notification Center and scroll down to the bottom. Confirm that under Government Alerts, both AMBER and Emergency Alerts are ON. Both of these settings are optional, but they are potentially life saving…


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Finish for iPhone 2.0 introduces Kiip integration, more notifications, task times, and more

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Finish, the Apple Design Award-winning task management app created by a duo of high school students, received a substantial upgrade to version 2.0 today. The new version brings many visual tweaks and bug fixes throughout the app, but the biggest changes are the addition of several new, highly-requested features.


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Viber iPhone app updated w/ doodles, ‘Seen’ status, new emoticons, and more

Viber-Doodle-iOS-appPopular messaging and VoIP service Viber just updated its iPhone app with a number of new features that first hit Android devices yesterday. The update brings “doodles”, a feature that lets users draw on top of photos before sharing.

Also new in version 3.1 of Viber is the ability to see when a recipient has viewed a message with “Seen” status notifications.

In addition, the updated app includes more emoticons, additional language support, and “Support for the Viber Desktop application on Windows and Mac.”

A full list of new features is below:

What’s New in Version 3.1

• Send doodles or paint over a photo and share it with your friends!
• “Seen” status lets you know when your messages have been seen
• Support for the Viber Desktop application on Windows and Mac
• Fun new emoticons
• Message performance improvements
• Bug fixes
• Localized to: Croatian, Norwegian, Romanian, Slovak and Ukrainian

Demo of the first public website using Safari’s new native push notifications feature [Video]

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=T4QrylM6th0

During the WWDC keynote, Apple introduced a new Safari 7 feature that allows developers to take advantage of native push notifications on their websites. Unlike HTML5 push notifications, which have been used by some browsers for some time now, native push notifications act like any other installed application’s notifications: they are branded for the web app rather than the browser, they can be used even when you aren’t on the website, and they can even pop up when Safari isn’t running.

Working with 9to5Mac, developer Connor LaCombe has developed the first public demo website that shows exactly how the feature works:


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