Apple has sent out invitations to an event on March 21, where the company wants to “loop us in”. Speculation from AppleInsider claims we’ll see a 4-inch iPhone at the event, along with the iPad Air successor, which might just end up being a smaller iPad Pro. As for the teaser, maybe that’s some kind of code for new Apple Watch bands. Or Apple’s bringing the iPod touch wrist strap to the iPhone, one of the two.
An Apple enthusiast emailed Apple CEO Tim Cook to ask if he quit apps from the multitasking tray on iOS and if it was necessary for better battery life. He didn’t get a response from the Apple CEO, but SVP Software Engineering Craig Federighi piped up and said he did neither. So there you have it folks - quitting your apps isn’t necessary.
Meanwhile, Apple SVP Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue has spoken out about Apple’s current battle with the FBI. Cue said that if the FBI won the battle, it would set a dangerous precedent - not only compelling to unlock other iPhones in the future, but even getting the company to turn on the microphone and cameras of devices remotely.
Supporting the whole “smaller iPad Pro” theory is a case from a third-party manufacturer that features a Smart Connector on a 9.7-inch form factor device. There’s a good chance that what was going to be the iPad Air 3 will actually turn out to be the iPad Mini Pro, or whatever Apple decide to call it. How about just iPad?
Apple’s latest patent suggests Apple is looking to turn the Apple Watch into an active monitoring system for those that require urgent care. The patent says a wrist-worn device could analyse the environment and alert medical services if the user experiences some kind of trauma or other condition that threatens their health.
MacRumors writes that you can now re-download your audiobooks that you purchased from Apple, something that wasn’t possible before.
While the official Wikipedia app might not have the bells and whistles of third-party Wikipedia browsers, it’s more than good enough for casual browsing. The latest version of the app offers 3D Touch shortcuts, letting you search right from the home screen.
9to5Mac shares a tip that lets you disable home screen animations entirely, making your iPhone feel faster when switching between apps — even if that comes off as a little jarring.
9to5Mac also says Apple should be leading the way in terms of iOS feature adoption. As it stands, only some of Apple’s own apps support the landscape mode on the Plus-sized iPhone, and not every Apple app supports 3D Touch shortcuts. Not all of Apple’s apps support the larger screen of the iPad Pro either, which kind of sets a bad example for app developers.
Over a Medium, Alexandra Mintsopoulos claims that Apple’s software quality debate isn’t as much of an issue with software quality as much as it is a perception issue. Because we have these influential Apple bloggers who claim that Apple’s software quality is declining all the time, we start seeing the flaws in our own usage of Apple hardware, software, and services, leading us to jump on the bandwagon and claim Apple’s software sucks. Perhaps the truth is that Apple’s software is no more good or bad than it was previously, but we’re complaining about it more now.
Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2016/03/friday-morning-news110316/