Strava, the popular social networking app for athletes and a leading digital community, today released its newest feature in the latest update – Messaging. Messaging allows Strava members to connect with one another and motivate each other in ways that they couldn’t before today. Head below the fold for more details on Strava’s Messaging feature.
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Laura is a copy editor for 9to5Mac who occasionally writes about social media and Apple features.
In her previous career, Laura was a middle school English teacher for 12 years, and frankly, she is having difficulty writing about herself in the third person. The love of her life is her dog, Billy, a near-perfect lab/collie that she rescued six and a half years ago (or did he rescue her? someone get her a bumper sticker).
Aside from walking her dog every day, in her free time Laura enjoys traveling, frequenting the gym, reading every book that she can get her hands on, shopping at Trader Joe’s, and playing euchre with her friends.
She has never been to WWDC.
You can find Laura on twitter @LauraMRosenberg or Instagram @lauramirose
Spotify for iPhone wishlist: 3 things I’d like to see
With Spotify Wrapped having launched this past week, I can’t help but think of three specific feature requests I’d like to see implemented into Spotify. As someone who works from home and spends a lot (76,589 minutes this year, to be exact) of time with Spotify on in the background, I am intimately familiar with the app and its foibles.
Expand Expanding CloseThree features I’d love to see in iOS 18
iOS 17 was only just released in September with some major updates that we love, including customizable contact posters, additional Tapback replies, and voice note improvements. Not only that, but with the recent announcement that RCS messaging is coming to Apple later in 2024, it’s safe to say that iPhone users are going to be seeing some massive updates in iOS 18. That said, there are of course additional features I’d love Apple to implement in iOS 18 that would be huge wins for iPhone users. Head below the fold to read more.
Expand Expanding CloseThree ways Oura Ring can improve its app experience for iPhone users
As far as health trackers go, there is a lot to love about the Oura Ring and its companion app. The ring’s 200+ biometrics sync to the Oura Ring app, giving users detailed analytics and insights into their overall health and wellness, in addition to various meditations, breathing exercises, and more. However, after only having had my Oura Ring for a couple of weeks, there are some obvious changes that Oura could (and should) embrace to improve the iPhone user experience.
Expand Expanding CloseOura poaches Apple Health executive as its CEO teases rapid expansion ‘into the health-care world’
Leading connected smart ring company, Oura, has hired Apple’s Health executive Jason Oberfest as head of Oura’s clinical strategy and healthcare work. The move from Oura is a part of its expanding network of partners, as reported by Bloomberg.
Expand Expanding CloseLeaked Samsung Galaxy Fit 3 tracker looks a lot like a squished Apple Watch
Windows Report yesterday posted exclusive images of the yet-to-be-released Samsung Galaxy Fit 3, and it looks a whole lot like a smooshed-up Apple Watch.
Expand Expanding CloseMy iOS 17 wish list: FaceMails, expanded Tapbacks, more
I do realize that it is far too late in the year to make a wish list that might get any traction re: things I’d like to see Apple implement into iOS 17, and that’s fine – I don’t care – but I have to document my hopes and dreams as a consumer and Apple loyalist somewhere, and with WWDC happening next month, I remembered that I have ideas. Read on to see what I would love, would absolutely die for, should Apple choose to implement any of the following into any of their products at any point in any future iOS release ever.
Expand Expanding CloseIn a callback to AIM Away Messages, Instagram introduces new ‘Notes’ feature [Comment]
Instagram this week rolled out a new feature to users they are calling “Notes,” a way for users to leave a sort of status update – or Away Message – to their followers or to their Close Friends.
Expand Expanding CloseFinally, a formidable response to Amazon-owned Goodreads: Introducing The StoryGraph
The StoryGraph – an app that lets you track, rate, and review the books you’ve read amongst many, many other things – is something every book lover should have in their app library. Complete with beautiful analytics, personalized recommendations, and a 1.2 million-member community, The StoryGraph is everything Goodreads isn’t. We spoke with cofounders Nadia Odunayo and Rob Frelow to dig more deeply into everything we love about our new favorite book app.
Expand Expanding CloseOpinion: Viral ‘BeReal’ app designed to capture real-life moments, but how authentic is it really?
BeReal – a social media app that launched in 2020 – is quickly gaining popularity among users and generations. Touting an opportunity for people to “be real,” I downloaded the app to see if it was worth the hype, and, spoiler – it isn’t.
Expand Expanding CloseAlpine iLX-507 review: CarPlay retrofit
About a week ago, I had Alpine’s newest version of its popular multimedia receiver – the iLX-507 – installed into my beloved nine-year-old car, providing a much-needed upgrade. Head below for more details.
Expand Expanding CloseApple should make iOS 16 customization more like Android’s: Here’s what I want to see
Apple doesn’t offer truly individualized customization of its products or interfaces to its users, and if anyone wants to customize the look of their Apple products – specifically their home screens – they’re in for A Time. With iOS 16 coming in September, there’s an opportunity for Apple to give consumers needed autonomy.
Expand Expanding CloseWhy I love audio messages, or, why I love your voice
When communicating with people, no matter the platform – be it iMessage, Slack, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. – we have the ability to utilize audio messaging. I get why a lot of people don’t use them (probably?), but I’m here to tell everyone why they should embrace their own voice – and everyone else’s – when messaging one another.
Expand Expanding CloseSOS shortcut provides easy-to-use safety tools for iPhone users
Kevin Boroumand, an entrepreneur, automation expert, and TikToker, has created a free, downloadable shortcut for iOS that will help to get you out of trouble if you find yourself in an unsafe or potentially dangerous situation. Below, we look into the details of “DoorDash Express.”
Expand Expanding CloseSpotify doesn’t want us to be friends
With over 380 million users and 172 million subscribers, Spotify continues to dominate the streaming music market. While there are plenty of features to love about the service (curated playlists and podcast integration, to list two personal favorites), its Friend Activity leaves a lot to be desired.
Expand Expanding CloseWhy is TikTok gatekeeping this fundamental feature for the majority of its user-base?
For reasons unbeknownst to users, the ability to organize your favorite videos (into what TikTok calls “Collections”) is available to some, was taken away from others, and for the rest of us, the “Collections” feature simply never existed. TikTok users have been lamenting over the loss of – or the inability to – organize their favorite videos for months, and we all want the ability to put our favorite videos where they belong.
Expand Expanding CloseThree things that would dramatically improve iMessage, and probably also my personality
Contrary to popular opinion, linguists know that texting isn’t destroying the English language, even if there aren’t hard-and-fast rules. In fact, texting is a language in-and-of itself, and like any language, it allows us to express exactly who we are.
Think of it like this: the ways in which we format our words, how we respond to our friend’s texts, and the emoji we choose when texting are the parallel versions of our inflection, our non-verbal communication, and our facial expressions, all of which are highlighted when having face-to-face conversations.
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