At the WWDC 2014 event in San Franscisco, Apple made a number of announcements that were improvements to the iOS and OS X platforms. One of the things that was common to both the platforms was a much better and improved in-built search engine. Spotlight, as Apple calls it, is now smarter, brighter and faster.
Category: Apple
Apple introduces ‘Swift’, a new programming language for OS X and iOS apps
Among the numerous announcements at the Apple WWDC 2014 event in San Francisco, the announcement that brought the largest cheers and applause from the audience was the announcement of ‘Swift’, a new programming language. Apple’s Craig Federighi said that Apple wanted to create a language without the complications of Objective-C and they came up with ‘Swift’.
One of the biggest advantages of ‘Swift’ is that the developers will be able to have a real time view of the results as they type the code which was not possible in Objective-C. The press release for Swift reads as follows
Swift is a powerful new programming language for iOS and OS X® that makes it easier than ever for developers to create incredible apps. Designed for Cocoa® and Cocoa Touch®, Swift combines the performance and efficiency of compiled languages with the simplicity and interactivity of popular scripting languages. By design, Swift helps developers write safer and more reliable code by eliminating entire categories of common programming errors, and coexists with Objective-C® code, so developers can easily integrate Swift into their existing apps. Xcode® Playgrounds make writing Swift code incredibly interactive by instantly displaying the output of Swift code.
To make the transition from Objective-C to Swift smooth, developers can write the code such that Swift can reside side by side with Objective-C in the same application. Apple has published a 500page guide for Swift language on the iBooks store and developers can start using Swift which is available in XCode 6 beta.
Apple bolsters itself in the cloud storage race with iCloud Drive
At the WWDC 2014 event in San Francisco, Apple announced a number of software features for both iOS and OS X operating systems. Among these announcements was the announcement of the iCloud Drive which would help Apple establish itself in the cloud storage market.
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Apple has sold 800 million iOS devices with over half a billion iPhones
Apple held its annual developer conference WWDC 2014 at San Francisco yesterday and at the event, Apple made a lot of announcements about the upcoming software features. During the keynote, Apple also mentioned that they had sold more than 800 million iOS devices and well on course for hitting a billion iOS devices.
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Apple adds wake up command and Shazam integration to Siri
In a bid to enhance song recognition, Apple has added Shazam integration to Siri. Apple’s intelligent voice assistant will identify the song from Shazam’s database. If the user asks “What song is playing”, Siri will identify the song and ask the user to buy it from iTunes. This feature was previously leaked last month.
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Apple opens up iOS 8 to 3rd party keyboards, Swiftkey, Swype & Fleksy on their way
With the announcement of iOS 8, Apple as usual brought to its mobile platform a lot of consumer centric features. An unexpected one amongst them was the ability to switch the default keyboard. After giving the application necessary permissions on your iPhone or iPad, replacement keyboards will have system wide access to all the services or applications.
This comes at a time when Apple themselves revealed a new keyboard for iOS 8 called QuickType. This new way to type essentially brings Windows Phone 8 like WordFlow prediction to iOS. Supported in 14 regions, it will bring up contextual words as you type so as to save time. Continue reading “Apple opens up iOS 8 to 3rd party keyboards, Swiftkey, Swype & Fleksy on their way”
Apple forays into health and fitness with HealthKit and Health App
After an arrays of speculation and leaks, Apple has finally announced HealthKit platform and Health app. Coming to iOS 8, HealthKit is a cloud based health platform that consolidates user’s health information on iOS devices.
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Apple iOS 8’s Handoff lets you handle calls and SMS on the iPad and Mac
As a part of the new “continuity” push on all of Apple’s devices and services, the Cupertino company announced a really nifty feature called “Handoff”. In pure cellular technology terms, this word is used to denote the transfer of a signal from one cell to another. Similarly, the iOS devices will be able to “Handoff” information from one form factor to the other, all thanks to intervention of the cloud and advanced local network features. While you can already accomplish some of these things, like synced notes and reminders, Apple has taken it further by not only including third party support, but also support for voice calls and imessages. Yes, you can now take calls and reply to SMSes or iMessages from your iPad running iOS 8 or even your Mac, running OS X Yosemite.
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Apple announces iOS 8, Coming this fall with a new Health app, QuickType keyboard and more
Apple has announced iOS 8, the next major software update for the iPhone and iPad at the WWDC 2014. This would deliver a simpler, faster and more intuitive user experience and it the biggest iOS release ever, says Apple. This also brings new features such as iCloud Photo Library, new Health app, QuickType keyboard, new Messages app and more. Continue reading “Apple announces iOS 8, Coming this fall with a new Health app, QuickType keyboard and more”
Apple opens Touch ID API for all applications
Last year, Apple introduced the iPhone 5s with its Touch ID sensor on board. This fingerprint reader built into the home button itself was intimately tied in to the operating system. It allowed for a seamless way to unlock the device, offered a few more security related functions.
With the launch of iOS 8, developers will be able to use the Touch ID API to enable authentication for users. This’ll work in two ways. Developers can either use fingerprint based authentication for applications and in case of more sensitive use cases, offer Touch ID as a secondary means of authentication. Continue reading “Apple opens Touch ID API for all applications”
Apple to acquire Beats for $3 billion
After several reports, Apple today confirmed that it has agreed to buy Beats Music and Beats Electronics for a total of $3 billion. Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple along with their team of employees. Apple will pay $2.6 billion in cash and $400 million in stock. This marks the largest acquisition ever made by Apple. Continue reading “Apple to acquire Beats for $3 billion”
Apple iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display coming to NTT Docomo in Japan on June 10th
Almost two months after launching the TD-LTE variants of the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display in China, Apple has announced that it would launch these iPads on Japan’s NTT Docomo network on June 10th. These iPads would use ultra-fast Xi LTE service and also lets you choose new billing plans with data sharing among family members and corporate users. Apple introduced the iPhone 5s and 5c for NTT DOCOMO by the end of 2013. Continue reading “Apple iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display coming to NTT Docomo in Japan on June 10th”
Apple reportedly planning to foray into Smart Home market
The year 2014 was touted to be the year of wearables and we did see devices like smartwatch, smart ring, smart contact lens and range of fitness trackers. Another new technology that we saw this year were “Smart Appliances” which reminded us of the popular cartoon Jetsons. Companies like LG and Samsung sell home appliances like washers and refrigerators that can be connected to internet and controlled via smartphone.
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Apple asks the US Court to ban sales of Samsung devices
Apple is not letting it go. The iPhone and iPad maker is re-targeting Samsung for patent infringement. Apple has filed a motion with the US court to block the U.S. sale of some older Samsung products. The move comes from the company after a jury verdict earlier this month that Samsung violated three of its patents. Apple was granted mere $119.6 million in damages against $2 billion demanded in this latest verdict.
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Apple, Google dismiss Motorola-related patent suits
Apple and Google’s Motorola Mobility reached a truce agreeing to dismiss all patent-infringement claims against each other. Both these companies agreed to work together in some areas of patent reform, but this agreement doesn’t include a cross license for the patents. Last month Google, Apple, Intel and Adobe Systems settled a class-action lawsuit. Apple had already settled their patent suits with HTC and Nokia. Continue reading “Apple, Google dismiss Motorola-related patent suits”