Your Tech Story

Tech News

Apple’s Next-Generation iOS 12 Available On the Latest iPhones

Apple, on Monday, launched its iOS 12, two months later the announcement of its launch in June. The much-awaited Apple iOS 12 is out and is available for the iPhones and iPad released in 2013 and later. The new iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and XR model will have this version of iOS inbuilt. Last year the release of iOS 11 was quite a disappointment as those flashy updates could not do any better for the iPhone’s performance, but slowing down the speed. After iOS 11, all the older users have been sceptical about the new updates as it had worsened the performance of their phones instead of making any improvements.

The iOS 12 has been pushed out with the claims of having better performance and new features added to it. It is good to know that this time Apple has put all its efforts in enhancing the performance of the iPhones, i.e. 40 per cent faster speed. Unlike the iOS 11, that just had a few flashy changes and redesigned the look and the appearance of the OS and the Apps.

Apple iOS 12
Image Source: futurecdn.net

In the earlier iOS versions, there used to be 10 different notifications for a single app at the same time. Now, iOS 12 has introduced group notifications for a single app. You can now manually turn off or mute the notification, for any of the apps, to avoid the disturbing notification sounds.

Like the new Android 9, Apple has also become considerate about the screen time of the user. The iOS 12 has provided an option for tracking and limiting the time the user spends on a particular app or on the phone. You can also set the time of sleep, and the app will notify you to stop using the phone and the screen will become grey. Although, you can still continue running the phone by changing the settings.

Also, the iOS has also updated its password management by providing two-factor authentication services. Similar to the iPhone X, now you can also swipe between the apps, notifications, and access the control centre, using the gesture navigation. You can also add your conversations and instructions to Siri with its new shortcuts.

The iOS 12 is also added with the feature for creating the Avatars, by mixing emojis and animoji, i.e., Memoji. You can create custom animated Animoji avatars that you can use in the real time on top of live pictures, messages and videos. The feature is currently available in the latest iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR models.

There have been many other changes as well, including easy photo sharing, easy photo searching, easy browsing eBooks, real-time object measurements, improved ARKit 2, Google Maps embedded to CarPlay, Group Video calls for up to 32 users. The group call feature has not been launched yet and will be available by the end of the year.

It is great that Apple has been thinking of improving its performance instead of the design of the iOS. And, the smaller iPhones and the older iPads will also enjoy these features without worrying about the poor performance.

Gmail to Hold All Google Inbox Features After its Discontinuation

google inbox
Image Source: neow.in

It has been more than a decade when Gmail was launched as the Google’s primary e-mail platform. In 2014, Google introduced a new e-mail app Inbox, that was developed as an experimental platform for trying new features that could be added to Gmail.

On Wednesday, Google announced that it is going to say Goodbye to the Inbox app and will close it down for further use, in March 2019. The main reason for shutting it down is said to be that Google wants to focus on Gmail as its main e-mail platform. Many features like snoozing e-mails to later, Smart Reply, Nudges, high-priority notifications, were tested and implemented on Google’s Inbox. All of these features are already integrated into Gmail and are working successfully.

The Product Manager, Matthew Izatt said, “We want to take a more focused approach to help us bring the best e-mail experience to everyone. As a result, we’re planning to focus solely on Gmail and say goodbye to ‘Inbox’ at the end of March 2019.”

However, Google’s Inbox could not create much client base, the ones who have already used the Google’s Inbox, are entirely against the closing down of Google’s Inbox. Google has even created an information guide for the Inbox app users for their easy migration to Gmail. Many Inbox app users have tweeted against its shutting down, saying that moving from Google’s Inbox to Gmail would be like going back to the stone age.

Google has given a time period of almost six months for the Inbox users to get comfortable with Gmail. Izzat, through his blog, also said, “All your conversations are already waiting for you in Gmail,” that means the Inbox users do not have to manually shift their e-mails from Google’s Inbox to Gmail. With the new features added to Gmail in the April of this year, Google had already given a hint that there can be a change in its e-mail platforms.

Apple’s Fall Event 2018 : All About the New Launches

iphone
Image Source: osxdaily.com

Apple’s annual event took place yesterday in San Francisco, California. The event was streaming live on the Apple TV and Apple’s event page, broadcast in London, Berlin, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo and Sydney.

Apple, in its 2018 event, has announced a range of new iPhones along with its FDA-approved watch, that is capable of reading the heartbeat.

Apple’s new iPhone series includes the iPhone XS having a 5.8-inch OLED display screen, iPhone XS Max with 6.5-inch OLED display screen and iPhone XR with 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display Screen.

The iPhone XS and XS Max has come with a better camera resolution and are embedded with the faster A12 processor implanted in a stainless steel body. The new iPhones will support the eSim feature that will eliminate the need of inserting an extra sim card with the help of an inbuilt sim card.

On the other hand, the iPhone XR is having an aluminium body with a single 12MP wide angle back camera, providing the same depth-of-field effect. The iPhone XR has come with an improved battery with approximately 90 minutes more battery life. The iPhone XR will be available in six different colours black, white, blue, red, yellow, coral.

The price of the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR will start from $899 (Approx. 64,800), $999 (Approx. 72000) and $749 (54000), respectively. All the three phones will be available in a storage range of 64GB, 256GB and 512GB, that will vary the price accordingly. And, finally, the new iPhones are going to have two sim card slot that can help in boosting its sale.

Another product that was introduced at the event is an edge-to-edge screen watch, with a thinner body and a 30% larger screen, an addition to the Apple Watch Series 4. The new Apple 4 series watch is a GPS-only cellular model watch that is redesigned with enhanced software and hardware. The watch is having a faster S4 processor and ECG/EKG monitor. The watch is capable of reading the heartbeat rhythm and can sense if the user has fallen. In such a situation the watch will make a call to the emergency asap.

The preorders for the iPhones as well as the watch will start from 14 September and will be available in the American markets from 21 September, this year.

Buy Bitcoin for $1 in the Walmart Stores

walmart-bitcoin
Image Source: bitcoinexchangeguide.com

According to a post, by TheKayleMain, in The CryptoCurrency subreddit, Walmart is planning to sell a set of six BitCoins for just $1 USD. The post was released on Monday, and included a picture, that displayed packages consisting of BitCoins that were bannered under the name of “Everyday Low Price”.

The BitCoin is a decentralised cryptocurrency that is created and held electronically. According to the Reddit readers, these BitCoins are a bit different in its manufacturing, as these are covered with chocolate. Pennsylvania based chocolate manufacturing company, the Frankford Candy & Chocolate Company, will cover the BitCoins with milk chocolate weighing about 1.48 Oz and will be wrapped with golden tinfoil.

According to the crypto forum, for now, these chocolate BitCoins will only be available in America. The launch of such BitCoin chocolates can make many other prospective investors to approach Wallmart as the intermediate for their market-to-market purchase of BitCoins.

Bitcoin’s price has already seen a slump from $20000 to $6000, this year, but, $1 exchange price for six bitcoins is quite inexpensive. Until now, Wallmart has not confirmed the news, but, Frankford gave a hint by tweeting on Friday, “Lots of Milk Chocolate + Bitcoins = Pure happiness.” With the tweet, it also posted a picture of chocolates covered with the gold foil having a Bitcoin sign on it.

Daniel Zhang to Replace Jack Ma as the Chairman of Alibaba Next Year

Alibaba
Image Source: nan.ng

On last Friday, the Chinese billionaire Jack Ma announced his retirement from the position of the chairman of Alibaba. He is going to serve as the chairman of the company till 10 September 2019 and will stay a member of the board until 2020. Jack Ma is only 53 and wants to devote his time to Philanthropy. At the age of 53, he is the only Chinese billionaire who has taken such a decision.

Jack Ma founded Alibaba in 1999, as a business-to-business marketplace. Soon, he expanded the business, to obtain a $420 billion profit, within a few years, making Alibaba as a consumer based platform. He also tried his hands in cloud computing, digital media, and other industries, including the payment gateway AliPay. His success story inspires everyone and he is referred to as ‘Teacher Ma’, in China. His decision has shaken the whole world, but he has got a plan for himself. Jack Ma is going to stay as a lifetime partner of the Alibaba Partnership and will continue working with his philanthropic organisation, the Jack Ma Foundation.

Jack Ma had already decided to retire from his post, a long time ago. Almost a decade ago, he had asked his team about what they will do without him. Now when he is stepping down from his position, the current CEO of the company Daniel Zhang is going to replace Jack Ma, to hold the position of the chairman of the company.

Daniel Zhang joined as the CEO of Alibaba, in 2015, and since then, Alibaba has seen consistent and sustainable growth, for 13 consecutive quarters. On this Jack Ma said, “This transition demonstrates that Alibaba has stepped up to the next level of corporate governance from a company that relies on individuals, to one built on systems of organizational excellence and a culture of talent development”.

Apple Announces an Online Portal to Cooperate with the Law Officials

apple
Image Source: marketexclusive.com

Since our lives have been so attached to our smartphones and we have stored almost every personal data in our phones, the data security has become the main concern. Over the past few years, the cyber-crime has also made the law enforcement officials to request the user’s private data from the top tech companies. The tech companies also respond to those queries with a sense of responsibility.

On September 4, Apple wrote a letter to Sheldon Whitehouse, the Democrat from Rhode Island, regarding a web portal that will help the police to request the user data stored in the iCloud. Apple is going to launch the web portal by the end of the year. It will constitute a team of trainers that will train the police about which data to be obtained and how it can be obtained.

Apple said in the letter that last year it answered to 14000 law enforcement requests. Among which 231 requests were regarding the domestic emergency and were addressed within 20 minutes. Until now, the law enforcement officials requested the data through emails to an Apple law enforcement email account.

The online portal will be a more convenient and a centralized hub. It will help the police officials to make and track requests, easily. Apple has created a set of strict guidelines on how and which data can be obtained. Apple has already trained over 1000 law enforcement officials that were trained in its training institutes. Now for further training, Apple is going to develop an online training program. The trainers from Apple will help the officials in the training and the training portals will be available globally.