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Poll: What features and changes do you want to see in iOS 10 at WWDC?

At WWDC on Monday, Apple will unveil the latest version of its mobile operating system, iOS 10. With the conference being light on hardware, expectations are high for Apple to announce some major new features for iOS 10 on iPhone and iPad. The rumor mill is quieter than usual, so there’s definitely a bigger opportunity to be surprised with this year’s keynote.

We have some idea about what to expect but we want to hear what you want to see Apple announce next week. Join in the poll after the jump to have your say on what you want to see in iOS 10 …


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iPhone 7: Specs & features expected for Apple’s next flagship

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A new dual-camera system, storage and RAM upgrades, a tweaked physical design, and possibly the Smart Connector that debuted on Apple’s iPad Pro line. Those are just a few of the upgrades possibly expected for Apple’s next flagship iPhone lineup, not to mention a lot of discussion over what it has planned for its bundled headphones now that it’s expected to ditch the old 3.5mm headphone jack with iPhone 7. Here’s what we know so far.


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What will Tim Cook’s ‘can’t live without’ new feature for iPhone 7 be?

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In a TV interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer this week, Cook said the iPhone 7 will have a killer feature that would prove to be an upgrade customers won’t be able to resist. “We are going to give you things that you can’t live without that you just don’t know you need today,” Cook teased.

Could it really be something we already know about? Could any of the rumored features for the device possibly fall under the groundbreaking or irresistible category of features Cook hinted at? Perhaps the new rumoured dual-camera system could be enough to account for Cook’s comment? Of course, it’s also possible it’s all just post-Q2 PR hype after a quarter of declines. Will Apple have something new and exciting that we don’t yet know about for the iPhone 7?

That’s the question we ask readers in today’s poll. What rumoured new feature for iPhone 7 will make it upgrade worthy for you? Or will Tim Cook and Co need something beyond what’s expected to get upgrade numbers it didn’t get in 2015 with the 6s update and this year with the iPhone SE?
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Share your personal Snapchat URL with new feature from latest update

There’s a new little feature tucked away in the latest Snapchat update that allows users to share their own Snapchat URL with others. The new URL is much more user-friendly as it is something you could easily copy and paste directly into messages and profile bios all around the web. Previously, Snapchat heavily relied on username search and QR code-based cards for this purpose.


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Poll: What features do you want to see in the next-generation Apple Watch 2?

If Apple only includes one new standout feature on its second-generation Apple Watch next year, what should it be? We already asked you if you’re still wearing your Apple Watch eight months after the device’s launch, and now we want to know what features will get you to upgrade or purchase Apple’s upcoming next-gen smartwatch.


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The best iPhone 6s 3D Touch features [Video]

Apple’s iPhone 6s is finally here and it comes along with a new feature that you may not be familiar with. Today we’re checking out the best 3D Touch features. Some of you are probably thinking, how is this any different from a long press, right? Well its uses may not be very different at the moment, but the technology that makes this possible is a very different thing.

3D Touch will sense the amount of pressure your finger applies to the screen and trigger various actions. So instead of a short press or a long press, 3D Touch enables a soft press and a hard press. So you can “tap” on the display, but then you can go even further (quite literally) and press into the display at multiple levels. Once you’ve reached the amount of pressure to trigger an event, the iPhone will provide slight haptic feedback to let you know. So what can 3D Touch actually do?


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Changing the conversation: How Apple could modernize iMessage to be more powerful and easy to use

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At this year’s WWDC, Apple devoted a lot of onstage attention to a revamp of the Notes app in both iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan. One of my favorite additions is inline web link previews. Just paste a URL, and Notes will turn the link into a preview bubble with a thumbnail for the page, as well as a title and description.

This got me thinking about the possibility of applying the same functionality to other apps. The most obvious place to start, in my opinion, is Messages. I’m constantly sending and receiving links through iMessage throughout the day, whether it’s to a web page, an image, or even just a tweet. Having to flip back and forth between Safari and Messages just to see what the link I’ve been sent is removes me from the conversation and slows down my workflow.


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Apple publishes the Apple Watch User Guide online, explaining various hardware features and bundled apps

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Update: Now available on iBooks to download on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac.

Apple has today posted its Apple Watch User Guide, as customers begin to receive their Watches starting tomorrow. The guide serves as an accompaniment to the Watch, teaching users how to navigate around the interface and access various features. The guide covers all of the native first-party Apple Watch apps as well as general user-interface tips and tricks.

There is also a section on pairing the Watch, which will prove useful when Watches start being distributed into customers hands from tomorrow morning. There is also information about how to properly take care and clean the Apple Watch bands.


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Apple Watch review roundup: the best smartwatch yet, but not an essential purchase

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Apple has just lifted the embargo on the Apple Watch for reviewers, allowing the technology press the to give their verdict on the device ahead of Watch preorders on the 10th. The device will actually be available to the public on the 24th. The Apple Watch is a huge release for Apple, its first new product category under Tim Cook. The anticipation for Apple Watch has been simply immense. The pricing model alone is a huge step for the company, entering ‘high-end’ luxury for the first time with the Apple Watch Edition … and a price tag in the $10,000 range. These reviews are our first glance at whether Apple succeeded in making the next hit product.

Reviewers got a demo of the entire Apple Watch buying process, from the initial Apple Store try-on experience right through to handling the device for a few days. Reviewers got to choose their watch-band combination, although the Edition was not available for reviewers (although you can see what Pharell thinks about it of course)

Read below for our roundup of the reviews from a handful of publications:


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Apple will fight iOS bugs with first-ever iOS Public Betas: 8.3 in March, 9 in summer

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In an effort to eliminate bugs from upcoming iOS versions ahead of their general releases, Apple plans to launch the first-ever public beta program for the iOS operating system, according to multiple people briefed on the plans. Following the successful launch of the OS X Public Beta program with OS X Yosemite last year, Apple intends to release the upcoming iOS 8.3 as a public beta via the company’s existing AppleSeed program in mid-March, according to the sources. This release will match the third iOS 8.3 beta for developers, which is planned for release the same week. Apple then expects to debut iOS 9 at its June Worldwide Developer Conference, with a public beta release during the summer, and final release in the fall…


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Apple announces OS X 10.10 Yosemite with redesigned user interface

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Live from the WWDC keynote presentation, Apple just unveiled the next version of of the Mac OS X and with it introduced some big changes for the operating system including a significantly redesigned user interface. The new release is called OS X Yosemite.
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Here’s a look at Tweetbot 3.1, coming soon w/ swipe to reply/fav/RT & lists as timelines

After an all-new Tweetbot Twitter client from developer Tapbots arrived last week as version 3, it wasn’t long before the app became the top paid app in many countries around the world. As with any redesign of a popular app, some users have been asking about what features that were removed during the redesign could possibly return in future updates. Today Tapbots shared a couple new features that will be arriving in version 3.1, including the ability to use lists as your timeline and swipe to reply, favorite, or RT:

https://vine.co/v/hjWvzTeU2v0

https://vine.co/v/hjWnMPUva0x

https://vine.co/v/hjWvViVYpnx

While there is no timeframe on when version 3.1 might be arriving other than “coming soon”, the developers previously said that new adjustable font settings (pictured in the screenshot above), a nighttime theme, an iPad redesign, and new swiping gestures are all in the plans for future releases.

You can read our full review of Tweetbot 3.0 for iPhone here.

New iWork & iLife apps go for simplicity, upset power users all over again

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Following the introduction of Apple’s new iWork apps at its iPad Air event earlier this week, an increasing number of users have taken to Apple’s support forums to voice concerns over the removal of features as the apps receive new simplified user interfaces that bring them more in line with the iOS versions. Several pages of complaints from users in Apple’s forums point out that many features, those mostly used by power users, have been removed from Apple’s new redesigned version of Pages:

Why does Apple get rid of so many useful features in new pages? iWork 13 has been a huge disappointment and nothing more than a downgrade to match the capabilities of the iOS iWork apps.  If Apple simply made performance upgrades to iWork 09 I would have been happy.  I hope there is a way to get back to the most up to date version of iWork 09.

It comes down to this. Apple has discontinued Pages in its entirety. You can no longer download it or purchase it, and Apple won’t support it. Apple has simultaneously introduced a completely new and different product, also called Pages, that is designed for different users and different use cases. Despite the name, it is not a successor to Pages (old), except in the licensing terms, it is completely a completely different species of animal. Those of us who depended on Pages (old) cannot use Pages (new). We have to save all our Pages files in a widely used format and import them into a new word processor that supports the formatting.

Pages isn’t the only app, users are also hitting Apple’s forums to list features that have been removed from the redesigned versions of Keynote, Numbers, and iMovie:
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From beta 1 to release: how each major iOS version has transformed

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Following its introduction earlier this month, Apple’s newest operating system has fallen under criticism and scrutiny from both designers and casual users alike. Due to both the tight development timetable and the new design direction under Jony Ive, following the removal of former iOS SVP Scott Forstall last fall, iOS 7 is, understandably, the most controversial and intriguing iOS version yet.

In response to much of the negative criticism directed towards iOS 7, some have suggested that iOS 7 will change substantially before it is released to the general public. Looking back at previous versions of iOS reveals a long trend of subtle refinements to the operating system during beta periods, not dramatic changes. Let’s take a look at how each version of iOS has transformed:


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Mailbox continues to say iPad app, iCloud support, more coming in future updates

https://twitter.com/mailbox/statuses/327476894318600194

After some controversy for the popular Mailbox iOS app earlier this week, some good news for Mailbox users comes today in the form of confirmation of new features and an iPad app coming soon.

As noted in the tweets above and below, the Mailbox devs have publicly confirmed in a number of recent tweets that and iPad version of the app is currently “in the works” and expected to launch soon. We also learn that desktop and Android versions of the app are on the company’s roadmap, while iCloud support, landscape typing, alias support, and “Send as” features are also on the list for future updates:

https://twitter.com/mailbox/status/327480611428245504

https://twitter.com/mailbox/status/327494387955273729

https://twitter.com/mailbox/statuses/327476894318600194

(via TechCrunch)

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Mailbox email app for iPhone updated with improved swipes, smarter snoozes

Mailbox for iPhone and iPod touch, the popular Gmail application recently acquired by Dropbox, has been updated with a couple neat enhancements. Adjustments for snooze times are now more specific, swipes are faster, and the UI has been updated with various tweaks. Additionally, bug and performance fixes are also present.

What’s New in Version 1.2.0

– smarter snoozes (adjust based on time of day and week)
– faster swipes (swipe as many items at one time as you want)
– UI improvements (e.g. double-tap a name bubble to see email address)
– bug fixes (including swipe-to-open bug) and performance improvements


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Latest iOS 7 concept shows slick widget integration, enhanced lockscreen & much more

We’ve seen lots of iOS 7 concepts popping up lately thanks to all the rumors that Jony Ive’s new role on the software side of things could mean major changes for the next major iOS update. Many of the concepts borrow from features already available to jailbreak users, and there seems to be a big focus on widgets and lock screen enhancements. We’re not too sure that iOS 7 will get the full Ive treatment like some are expecting, but this latest iOS concept from designer F. Bianco certainly gives us a taste of the possibilities. Rather than just focusing on one area of iOS, Bianco presents a number of concepts for widgets, app switching, media controls, and much more. Go past the break for screenshots:

Instagram releases v2.0 with overhauled camera UI, high-res photos, and real-time filters

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Instagram has released a huge update today with Version 2.0 in what they’re calling one of the “largest revamps” to the app’s core camera technology since it launched. Along with a UI overhaul, the app now supports images with a resolution up to 1936×1936 on the iPhone 4 (in your camera roll, not on Instagram), in comparison to the 612×612 prior to the update.

As part of a brand new camera UI, the most impressive feature is the new “live filters”. They’ve taken the old filters and rewritten them to be “200x faster”, allowing you to instantly apply effects in real-time within the camera UI. The image above shows off the new UI, but you can go here to learn exactly how all the new elements work. Oh, and you can also now enable and disable borders on every filter.

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