CloudApp, a Mac app designed for visual collaboration and content sharing, today launched a new iOS app that expands CloudApp's capabilities to the iPhone and the iPad. The app has been in testing with a soft launch since December, but is now being officially announced.
CloudApp for iOS mirrors what CloudApp for Mac is able to do, allowing customers to upload images, videos, and files from an iPhone or download CloudApp "drops" that include screenshots, videos, screen recordings, and GIFs to the iPhone. Uploading to CloudApp can be done from other iOS apps, such as the Photos app.
The new iOS app supports screen recording of the iPhone for creating tutorials or collaborating regardless of location, and there are options for previewing and sharing files, screenshots, screen recordings, and more.
There's a customized thumbnail view for quickly scrolling through available files, and key content can be favorited for easy access. Collections can also be created, letting users sort their content into different folders for better organization.
CloudApp for iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Spotify today announced "Pet Playlists," which builds custom playlists for a cat, dog, iguana, hamster, or bird (via The Verge). The playlist generator combines your pet's personality traits with your own listening history on Spotify, building a list of songs that the company says both you and your pet can enjoy.
To get your Pet Playlist, visit Spotify's new Pet Playlist website, choose an animal, and then answer questions about their personality and temperament. Spotify will combine this information with your listening habits to create a Pet Playlist that's automatically added to your library, filled with about 30 songs.
While music for pets isn’t an exact science, we consulted with experts in the pet industry for the best approximation for what might work best for our featured animals. Incidentally, we only use the information you provide us to create your Pet Playlist. The information is not stored and is not used for any other purpose.
When subscribers were last counted, Spotify had 113 million Premium subscribers as of October 2019, compared to Apple Music's 60 million as of June 2019. According to Spotify, the streaming service is growing twice as fast as Apple Music.
Apple Music finally caught up to Spotify in one area in 2019, introducing a "Replay" feature that let its users track their most-played songs from the previous year, as well as every single year since they started using Apple Music.
Following rumors of a performance-boosting "Pro Mode" coming in the next update to macOS Catalina, developer Marco Arment has argued that Apple should bring an iPhone-style Low Power Mode to MacBooks as well.
Since iOS 9, Apple has included a Low Power Mode on iPhones that reduces the amount of power that the device uses when the battery gets low, and Arment this week shared his experience with his own self-styled equivalent for macOS.
His method involves the use of a third-party app called Turbo Boost Switcher Pro that enables users to disable Intel Turbo Boost on a Mac's processor. According to Arment, disabling Turbo Boost has increased his 16-inch MacBook Pro's battery life by an estimated 30-50 percent and made it "a much better laptop" the vast majority of the time he uses it.
With Turbo Boost disabled, peak CPU power consumption drops by 62%, with a correspondingly huge reduction in temperature. This has two massive benefits:
The fans never audibly spin up. When Turbo Boost is enabled, the fans annoyingly spin up every time the system is under a heavy sustained load. Disable it, and it’s almost impossible to get them to be audible.
It runs significantly cooler. Turbo Boost lets laptops get too hot to comfortably hold in your lap, and so much heat radiates out that it can make hands sweaty. Disable it, and the laptop only gets moderately warm, not hot, and hands stay comfortably dry.
Arment claims that despite the reduction in processing power, his MacBook Pro is "still fast enough to do everything I need (including significant development with Xcode)." His only concern is that the app which allows him to enjoy these benefits is on borrowed time: Turbo Boost Switcher Pro relies on a legacy kernel extension that likely won't be supported in future versions of macOS.
"I suspect that this is the last year I'll get to run the latest OS and be able to turn off Turbo Boost at will, making all of my future laptop usage significantly worse," says Arment.
An iPhone's Low Power Mode reduces battery usage by disabling background app refreshing and automatic downloads, locking the screen after 30 seconds, and via other methods. Would you be happy to see an optional Low Power Mode in a future version of macOS, too? Let us know in the comments.
A new update to Google's Smart Lock iOS app lets users set up their iPhone or iPad as a security key for two-factor authentication when signing into native Google services via Chrome browser.
Once the feature is set up in the app, attempting to log in to a Google service via Chrome on another device such as a laptop results in a push notification being sent to their iOS device.
The user then has to unlock their iPhone or iPad using Face ID or Touch ID and confirm the log-in attempt via the Smart Lock app before it can complete on the other device.
After installing the update, users are asked to select a Google account to set up their phone's built-in security key. According to a Google cryptographer, the feature makes use of Apple's Secure Enclave hardware, which securely stores Touch ID, Face ID, and other cryptographic data on iOS devices.
The Smart Lock app requires that Bluetooth is enabled on both the iPhone/iPad and the other device for two-factor authentication to work, so they have to be in close proximity, but the advantage of the system is that it ensures the process is localized and can't be leaked onto the internet.
The Google Smart Lock app is a free download for iPhone and iPad on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Google has updated its official YouTube iOS app with Subscription feed "topics" in an effort to make it easier for users to catch up with their favorite creators.
The topics appear below the top row of followed channels and essentially act as filters for content that you subscribe to.
The default setting is "All," which lists all videos from channels you're subscribed to, from newest to oldest. Then there's "Today," showing all the videos published within the past 24 hours.
The other topics include "Continue Watching" (videos you started watching but haven't finished yet), "Unwatched" videos, "Live" videos (includes livestreams as well as YouTube Premieres), and "Posts," which shows only community posts.
Google says that tests showed that these topics encouraged more subscribers to come to their subs feed daily to look for new updates. That said, there's no requirement to use them, and user feeds will continue to show in reverse chronological order in the traditional way if the topics buttons are left untouched.
United States President Donald Trump this afternoon weighed in on a disagreement between Apple and the FBI, calling on Apple to "step up to the plate" and "help our great country" by unlocking the iPhones used by Florida shooter Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani.
Trump said that the U.S. is "helping Apple all of the time" but Apple refuses to "unlock" smartphones used by "killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements."
The Twitter rant comes following a request yesterday from U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who asked Apple to unlock the iPhone 5 and iPhone 7 used by Alshamrani. Barr complained that Apple had provided "no substantive assistance" and said that it is critical "that the public be able to get access to digital evidence."
We are helping Apple all of the time on TRADE and so many other issues, and yet they refuse to unlock phones used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements. They will have to step up to the plate and help our great Country, NOW! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2020
Apple previously said that it had provided all of the information in its possession (such as iCloud backups) to the FBI earlier in the month after the FBI asked for assistance obtaining the shooter's data. Law enforcement officials are not satisfied with the iCloud data, however, and want Apple to provide a way to unlock the shooter's iPhones, which is not possible without a backdoor into the software.
After Barr's request, Apple issued another statement and provided further detail on the data that has been provided, as well as once again stating that there is "no such thing as a backdoor just for the good guys." Apple's full response to Barr that ultimately triggered Trump's tweet is below:
We were devastated to learn of the tragic terrorist attack on members of the US armed services at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida on December 6th. We have the greatest respect for law enforcement and routinely work with police across the country on their investigations. When law enforcement requests our assistance, our teams work around the clock to provide them with the information we have.
We reject the characterization that Apple has not provided substantive assistance in the Pensacola investigation. Our responses to their many requests since the attack have been timely, thorough and are ongoing.
Within hours of the FBI's first request on December 6th, we produced a wide variety of information associated with the investigation. From December 7th through the 14th, we received six additional legal requests and in response provided information including iCloud backups, account information and transactional data for multiple accounts.
We responded to each request promptly, often within hours, sharing information with FBI offices in Jacksonville, Pensacola and New York. The queries resulted in many gigabytes of information that we turned over to investigators. In every instance, we responded with all of the information that we had.
The FBI only notified us on January 6th that they needed additional assistance -- a month after the attack occurred. Only then did we learn about the existence of a second iPhone associated with the investigation and the FBI's inability to access either iPhone. It was not until January 8th that we received a subpoena for information related to the second iPhone, which we responded to within hours. Early outreach is critical to accessing information and finding additional options.
We are continuing to work with the FBI, and our engineering teams recently had a call to provide additional technical assistance. Apple has great respect for the Bureau's work, and we will work tirelessly to help them investigate this tragic attack on our nation.
We have always maintained there is no such thing as a backdoor just for the good guys. Backdoors can also be exploited by those who threaten our national security and the data security of our customers. Today, law enforcement has access to more data than ever before in history, so Americans do not have to choose between weakening encryption and solving investigations. We feel strongly encryption is vital to protecting our country and our users' data.
The current dispute between Apple and the U.S. government mirrors a similar incident in 2016. Apple was ordered by a federal judge to unlock the iPhone owned by San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook. Apple fought hard against the order, which was asking for backdoor access into iPhones, and explained that weakening security "makes no sense" and would create "new and dangerous weaknesses."
Apple ultimately won the dispute and the government was able to find another way to access Farook's iPhone, which may also be an option in the current situation. Bloomberg this afternoon spoke to several security researchers, including Will Strafach, who said the government could "absolutely" get into the iPhone 5 and iPhone 7 owned by Alshamrani using technology offered by Cellebrite and other iPhone cracking firms.
As in 2016, Apple is not likely to cave in to government demands because doing so would compromise the security of all iPhones. A new report from The New York Times suggests Apple is privately preparing for a legal fight while also attempting to publicly diffuse the situation.
Apple executives are said to be surprised at the case's "quick escalation" and some of the team working on the issue are frustrated that the Justice Department "hasn’t spent enough time trying to get into the iPhones with third-party tools." Apple CEO Tim Cook has put together a team handling the dispute, and the group is said to be hoping to steer the situation towards an outside resolution that "doesn’t involve the company breaking its own security."
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
On iPhone and iPad, a long press (also known as a press-and-hold) gesture will often initiate a different action in an app that isn't immediately obvious, such as revealing an icon's contextual menu. On recent iPhones, a long press will sometimes also offer haptic feedback in the form of a vibration, which Apple calls Haptic Touch.
Apple has made extensive use of the long press gesture and Haptic Touch in its apps, which means if you don't tend to long press screen elements, you could be unaware of some convenient shortcuts to everyday actions, or you could even be missing out on app functionality altogether.
This is particularly true for Safari, Apple's native mobile browser, which has several handy features that can be accessed with a long press. In this article, we've put together 10 of our favorite long press tips for Safari on iPhones and iPads running iOS 13.
Note that the default minimum period that a finger must press on the screen for the long gesture to be recognized is half a second. If you're having trouble performing a long press, open the Settings app, go to Accessibility -> Haptic Touch, and try selecting a Fast or Slow touch duration. There's also a handy interactive demo area for you to test each setting.
1. Bookmark Multiple Tabs in One Go
Make sure you have a few tabs open in Safari that you want to reference at a later time. Now, select one of those tabs, and in the main browsing window, long press the Bookmark icon (it looks like an open book).
A popup menu will appear on the screen that includes options to Add to Reading List and Add Bookmarks for X Tabs, X being the number of tabs open. Once you've tapped the latter option, you'll be asked to save the tabs in a new bookmarks folder. Alternately, you can choose an existing folder in which to save the tabs.
2. Bulk Copy Links in a Bookmarks Folder
Following on from the last tip, if you long press on a bookmarks folder in Safari, you'll see a Copy Contents option pop up in the contextual menu.
Selecting this will copy a list of every website URL in that folder to your clipboard, allowing you to paste it elsewhere for easy sharing.
3. Fast Scroll Web Pages
A scroll bar appears on the right-hand side of the Safari window whenever you swipe to navigate a web page.
If the content you're viewing is long, perform a long press on the scroll bar. The bar will swell slightly and you'll be able to drag it up and down and scroll at a much faster rate.
4. Close All Open Tabs
If the number of active tabs has gotten out of hand in your browser session, long press the Tabs icon in the bottom-right corner (top-right on iPad) of the web page view to reveal the Close All Tabs option.
If you're in the vertical tabs view, you can reveal the same option by long pressing the Done button, which appears in the same location.
In iOS 13, you can actually get Safari to close tabs on your behalf, based on when you last viewed them. Launch the Settings app and select Safari -> Close Tabs, and you'll find options to make the browser automatically close tabs that have not been viewed After One Day, After One Week, or After One Month.
5. Re-open Recently Closed Tabs
If you've accidentally closed a browser tab in Safari and want to open it back up, open up the Tabs view and long press on the "+" icon to get a look at all of the tabs that you've recently closed.
It's worth remembering that this long press option exists, because if someone gets ahold of your phone and checks your browser, even if you've closed out a tab, it's still going to be accessible in Safari, unless you were using a private browser window or have cleared your browsing history.
6. Open All Bookmarks in a Folder in New Tabs
This option appears in the same contextual menu described in tip 2. Long press a bookmarks folder and you'll see an option to Open in New Tabs.
Select the option, and Safari will open everything in that folder in separate tabs, ready for perusal.
7. Preview a Favorite Site or Hyperlink
If you want to take a peek at what a specific web page hyperlink has to offer before actually visiting the site, long press the link to get a preview of it. Note that you can also perform this action on the Favorites or Frequently Visited sites that appear in the start page of a new tab.
If, say, you just want to copy a URL and would rather not have to wait for the preview to load every time you long press on one, simply tap Hide preview at the top-right corner of a link preview, and you won't get one again.
You can revert this functionality on the same long press screen at any time by selecting Tap to show preview.
8. Merge All Safari Windows
This one is exclusively for iPad users running iPadOS. If you have multiple browser windows open in the background, you can tidy things up by merging all of them, including their tabs, into the active browser window.
Simply tap and hold the Tabs icon in the top-right corner of the screen and select Merge All Windows.
9. Download a Linked File
Now that now Safari has a Downloads Manager, you can download files directly from hyperlinks. Simply tap and hold a linked file, then select Download Linked File from the contextual menu. You can tap the Downloads Manager icon in the top-right corner of the address bar to check on its progress.
This option works for web pages, too. If you long press the headline of this article, for example, you can download an HTML version of it.
10. Access the Tab Control Panel
Another one that's just for Safari on iPad. Next time you have multiple tabs open, tap and hold one of those tabs to access the new tab control panel.
From this panel, you'll see options to copy the URL of the tab to the clipboard, close all other tabs, and two entirely new options allowing you to Arrange Tabs By Title or Arrange Tabs By Website. Select one of the latter two options, and your open tabs will be arranged alphabetically.
Apple has signed a multi-year content deal with Lee Eisenberg, the co-creator, executive producer, and co-showrunner of Apple TV+ series "Little America," reports Variety.
Eisenberg will be launching a new production company, Piece of Work Entertainment, and he will create digital media projects exclusively for Apple TV+.
Eisenberg is one of several film industry creators that have inked deals with Apple. Apple has content deals with Alfonso Cuaron, Jon Chu, Justin Lin, Jason Katims, and more.
Along with "Little America," Eisenberg is known for his work on "The Office," where he served as a writer and co-executive producer. He has also worked on screenplays that include "Year One" and "Bad Teacher."
"Little America," Eisenberg's first Apple TV+ show, is set to debut this Friday on January 17. "Little America" is an anthology series that highlights the stories of immigrants, and it was produced by Eisenberg, Kumail Nanjiani, and Emily V. Gordon, among others.
The series has received largely positive reviews from critics, who have called it the best Apple TV+ show yet. "Little America" has already been renewed for season 2.
Apple plans to release one 5.4-inch, one 6.7-inch, and two 6.1-inch iPhone models in 2020, according to UBS analysts Timothy Arcuri and Munjal Shah. While the analysts expect all four iPhones to be equipped with OLED displays, they believe other features like camera specifications and RAM will vary by model.
In a research note shared with MacRumors, the analysts provided an overview of the four iPhones they expect in 2020:
6.7-inch iPhone: triple-lens rear camera with 3D sensing and 6GB of RAM
6.1-inch iPhone: triple-lens rear camera with 3D sensing and 6GB of RAM
6.1-inch iPhone: dual-lens rear camera and 4GB of RAM
5.4-inch iPhone: dual-lens rear camera and 4GB of RAM
5G is expected to be a key feature of high-end iPhones in 2020. UBS conducted a survey of over 9,000 consumers across the United States, Germany, Japan, China, and the United Kingdom and found that 22 percent of respondents view 5G support as something that is worth upgrading smartphones for.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming macOS 10.15.3 update to developers for testing purposes, nearly a month after seeding the first beta and over a month after releasing the macOS Catalina 10.15.2 update.
The new macOS Catalina beta can be downloaded using the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after installing the proper software from the Developer Center.
We don't yet know what improvements the third update to macOS Catalina will bring, but it will likely focus on performance improvements, security updates, and fixes for bugs that weren't able to be fixed in the macOS Catalina 10.15.2 update.
macOS Catalina 10.15.3 has code in it that suggests a new "Pro Mode" is coming to Apple's Macs. Pro Mode appears to be an optional setting that overrides fan speed limits and energy saving restrictions to improve performance. The code says that apps "may run faster" but battery life could decrease and fan noise could increase.
It's not entirely clear if Pro Mode is coming to Macs in the 10.15.3 release, but the code is there so it is a possibility.
We didn't find any other new changes in the first beta of macOS Catalina 10.15.3, but we'll update this post if there's anything new in the second beta.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming watchOS 6.1.2 update to developers, almost a month after releasing the first beta and over a month after releasing the watchOS 6.1.1 update with bug fixes.
Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update.
To install the update, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone.
There's no word yet on what features are included in the watchOS 6.1.2 beta, and there were no new features discovered in the first beta, but we'll update this article should anything new be found in the second beta.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming tvOS 13.3.1 update to developers, close to a month after seeding the first beta and several weeks after releasing the tvOS 13.3 update.
Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the new tvOS 13.3.1 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode.
tvOS updates are typically minor in scale, focusing on under-the-hood bug fixes and improvements rather than major outward-facing changes. Apple provides little to no information on what's included in tvOS beta updates, so we may not discover anything new after installing the software.
While we don't often know what's new in tvOS during the beta testing process, we let MacRumors readers know when new updates are available so those who are developers can download it upon release.
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS and iPadOS 13.3.1 updates to developers, almost a month after seeding the first betas and several weeks after the release of iOS 13.3 with Communication Limits for Screen Time.
iOS and iPadOS 13.3.1 can be downloaded from the Apple Developer center or over the air once the proper developer profile has been installed.
There's no word yet on what's in the iOS 13.3.1 update, but it likely includes bug fixes for issues unable to be addressed in the iOS 13.3 update. Specifically, it could address some issues with Communication Limits, fixing a workaround with the Contacts app that allowed children text someone who contacted them from an unknown number. There's also a new "Play Again" button when replaying content that you've already watched in the TV app.
No other notable new features were found in the first betas of iOS and iPadOS 13.3.1, but we'll update this article should anything new be found in the second betas.
Starting today, Instagram is bringing direct messaging options to the web. As noted by The Verge, a small number of Instagram's global users can access their direct messages from the Instagram website in addition to the iPhone app.
The rollout today to a limited number of customers is just a test, though depending on how it goes a wider rollout could come in the future.
Direct messaging on the web is almost identical to direct messaging through the iPhone, so the interface will be familiar to Instagram users. You can start a DM with someone from a profile page or the DM screen, and there are options to create groups.
Double tapping likes a message, there's an option to see how many unread messages are available, and photos from the desktop can be shared in DMs. Notifications for DMs can also be received if notifications are enabled for the Instagram site in the browser.
Apple today released the rack mount version of the Mac Pro, offering a design that is suited to a rack configuration. Priced starting at $6,499, the rack mount Mac Pro features all of the same configuration options as the standard Mac Pro.
Rather than feet or wheels, the rack mount version of the Mac Pro uses stainless steel slide rails that allow it to be slotted into a rack. The machine features the same 3D lattice design for maximizing airflow and top handles for accessing the internals.
The base model of the rack mount Mac Pro is the same as the base model standard Mac Pro featuring a 3.5GHz 8-core Intel Xeon W processor, 32GB RAM, and 256GB of storage.
Apple is developing 5G-enabled iPads with mmWave support, according to sources cited by industry publication DigiTimes.
A paywalled preview of the report claims Taiwan's Advanced Semiconductor Engineering will supply antenna-in-package technology for the 5G iPads, in addition to 5G iPhones. While not specified, it is almost certain that these models would be iPad Pros given 5G is a high-end feature with higher production costs.
mmWave or millimeter wave is a set of 5G frequencies that promise ultra-fast speeds at short distances, making it best suited for dense urban areas. By comparison, sub-6GHz 5G is generally slower than mmWave, but the signals travel further, better serving suburban and rural areas.
The complete report should be published by tomorrow, and we will update this post if there are any additional details to share.
Update: The full report is now available and it speculates that 5G iPads could be released as early as the second half of 2020.
Nomad today unveiled the Base Station Stand, a single device wireless charger designed to charge Qi-based products like the iPhone and the AirPods.
The Base Station Stand, priced at $100, can only charge one device at a time, but it is equipped with two charging coils to offer both horizontal or vertical iPhone charging as well as AirPods and AirPods Pro charging.
Most stand-based Qi wireless chargers are equipped with one coil and are meant to charge the iPhone only in an upright orientation, so a stand that can charge in either orientation and also has the capacity to charge AirPods is useful.
The Base Station Stand offers up to 10W of charging, though Apple's iPhones max out at 7.5W. It ships with a USB-A to USB-C cable, it features a machined aluminum frame and a leather charging pad, and it comes with an 18W wall adapter with US, UK, and EU plugs.
Apple on Monday released Xcode 11.3.1 with bug fixes and improvements, including reducing the size of dependency files produced by the Swift compiler, which can improve incremental build times and disk usage for targets with many source files. Full release notes are posted on Apple's developer website.
As with Xcode 11.3, version 11.3.1 supports developing apps for iOS 13.3, iPadOS 13.3, macOS 10.15.2, watchOS 6.1, and tvOS 13.3.
It has been nearly one month since Apple seeded new betas for its software platforms, which is an unusually long time. The first betas of iOS 13.3.1, iPadOS 13.3.1, macOS 10.15.3, watchOS 6.1.2, and tvOS 13.3.1 were seeded on December 17, but no further builds have been made available since then.
Apple always stops seeding betas over the holidays, but the cycle usually resumes in early January, including January 7 in 2019, January 3 in 2018, and January 9 in 2017, so there is a bit of a delay this year.
On an Xcode-related note, Apple has reminded developers that, starting April 2020, apps submitted to the App Store must use an Xcode storyboard to provide the app's launch screen and must have an interface that supports any display size. Apple also strongly encourages supporting multitasking on iPad.
Apple:
Apps should look great on all models of iPhone and iPad, regardless of display size or aspect ratio. With features like Xcode storyboards and Auto Layout, your app’s interface elements and layouts automatically fit the display. As announced at WWDC19, starting April 2020, apps submitted to the App Store must use an Xcode storyboard to provide the app’s launch screen and must have an interface that supports any display size.
Support for Multitasking on iPad is strongly encouraged. Adding support for multiple windows, and adopting Multitasking capabilities, including Slide Over, Split View, and Picture in Picture, will ensure your app delivers a modern and complete experience on iPadOS.
Apple says it has addressed an Xcode bug in the storyboard canvas that could cause the development tool to crash.
A new update to Google's Smart Lock iOS app lets users set up their iPhone or 
