At last, iOS 14 will let you set a default email and web browser app

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar
It's only fair to share...Share on RedditShare on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterPin on PinterestShare on Tumblr

Back in February, it was reported that Apple might soon allow users to set third-party apps as the default option over the in-house apps that come pre-installed on an iPhone. Today, that rumor turned to reality, thanks to iOS 14 that was showcased by Apple earlier today at its digital-only WWDC20 conference.

Notably, Apple didn’t talk about this feature during the presentation, and it was found buried deep inside the iOS 14 preview changelog. Titled “Set default email and browser apps“, Apple describes the feature as “Set a default web browser and email app that launch when you click a link or want to compose a new mail message.”

In simple terms, Apple will let users replace the Mail app with third-party options such as Gmail or Outlook as the default email app. Likewise, you can choose Chrome, Firefox, or any other third-party web browser as the default option for opening web links instead of Safari. While this is definitely a useful addition for users, it also shows that Apple is willing to loosen some grip on its ecosystem for the benefit of users.

The post At last, iOS 14 will let you set a default email and web browser app appeared first on Pocketnow.

It's only fair to share...Share on RedditShare on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterPin on PinterestShare on Tumblr

Macs with custom Apple chip will run iPhone and iPad apps natively

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar

Apple today made it official – the company is ditching Intel silicon and will switch to custom ARM-based chip for future Macs starting this year. Apple has assured that app transition and compatibility across Intel and ARM-based Macs won’t be an issue, but going for a shared architecture brings another huge benefit – the ability to natively run iPhone and iPad apps on a Mac natively.

During the WWDC20 presentation, Apple revealed that Macs powered by its custom processor will natively run iPad and iPhone apps that can be downloaded directly from the Mac store. Developers will be able to port apps directly to macOS, essentially bringing millions of apps from the App Store to the macOS ecosystem.

Apple says the iPhone and iPad apps will run in a completely unmodified state on the upcoming Macs, thanks to the shared architecture and Rosetta 2 translation tool. Plus, users won’t have to wait for it, as iPhone and iPad apps will be available to download and run on day one when the Mac machines powered by Apple’s custom chip hit the shelves.

The post Macs with custom Apple chip will run iPhone and iPad apps natively appeared first on Pocketnow.

Apple announces macOS Big Sur: What’s new?

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar

At WWDC20 today, Apple introduced macOS Big Sur, the next major software upgrade for its Mac ecosystem that succeeds macOS Catalina. It brings a major redesign and a ton of changes such as an updated Messages app, a new control center, and updates to Safari and Maps among others.

Starting with the design, Apple says macOS Big Sur introduces the biggest design change since macOS 10. There are new app icons, the Finder has a new design for the sidebar, while each app now uses its own key color. The menu bar is now translucent and picks up the color of the background.

The Notification Center in macOS Big Sur displayed on MacBook Pro.
The updated Notification Center in macOS Big Sur.

macOS Big Sur also brings a new Control Center that provides quick access to desktop controls such as display brightness, light mode, and the ability to customize it. The notification center has also been overhauled, complete with redesigned widgets and interactive notifications.

The Control Center in macOS Big Sur displayed on MacBook Pro.
The fresh Control Center in macOS Big Sur.

All of these items are arranged neatly in a single column, where users also get the flexibility to sort alerts and group notifications that are related. Widgets come in a variety of sizes, and can be added to the notification center with just a drag and drop gesture.

The new photo picker in Messages displayed on MacBook Pro.
macOS Big Sur also brings a new photo picker in Messages

Apple is bringing a new search feature to the Messages app and has also added a redesigned photo picker to make sharing pictures and videos easier. Notably, Big Sur allows users to create Memoji on a Mac, and also introduces message effects such as balloons and confetti. Plus, users will also have the ability to pin conversations that are synced across all devices.

Pinned conversations in Messages displayed on MacBook Pro.
Users can pin conversations at the top in the Messages app for quick access.

Maps has also received a design overhaul and a ton of new features such as the ability to create a custom guide for certain landmarks like a coffee shop, see a 360-degree of any place with Look Around, and also check indoor maps for places like shopping centers and airports. Essentially, all the new features coming to Maps on iOS 14 will make their way to macOS Big Sur as well.

The new Guides feature in Maps displayed on MacBook Pro.
The new Guides feature in macOS will let users find new places with the help of trusted resources

The developer beta of macOS Big Sur is out now, while the first public beta will arrive next month. Apple says macOS Big Sur will be available to the masses as a free software upgrade in the fall season.

The post Apple announces macOS Big Sur: What’s new? appeared first on Pocketnow.

Apple unveils a program to help developers prepare for Macs with custom silicon

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar

Apple today announced that it is finally making the transition from Intel to custom ARM-based chips for the Mac hardware, marking the dawn of a new era. The transition begins at the end of 2020 and will take two years to complete. While the plan is ambitious, app and software compatibility is the biggest question mark, and Apple is ready to tackle it.

The company is launching a Universal App Quick Start Program to help developers begin moving their apps to the new platform. With that in mind, Apple will start shipping a Developer Transition Kit starting this week. It includes a new Mac mini enclosure powered by the A12Z Bionic chip alongside 16GB RAM and 512GB storage.

In addition to the test kit, Apple will also provide documentation, forums support, beta versions of macOS Big Sur, and Xcode 12 to help developers build and test their Universal 2 apps. Apple says that using Universal 2 binaries, developers can create apps that support both Intel and custom silicon-based Macs of the future.

During the WWDC20 livestream, Apple revealed that it is working with Microsoft and Adobe to port the Office apps and Adobe Creative Cloud solutions respectively for Macs based on the new processors. We even saw a live demo of Final Cut Pro X performing some heavy-duty tasks on a Mac powered by the A12Z Bionic chip.

The post Apple unveils a program to help developers prepare for Macs with custom silicon appeared first on Pocketnow.

It’s official. Apple is moving to custom silicon for Macs starting this year

Posted on by Nadeem Sarwar

After ten generations of custom silicon for the iPhone and then to the iPad, Apple is now applying the same approach to the Mac hardware. At WWDC20, Apple has announced that it is switching to custom ARM-based silicon for the Mac line, with the goal being to deliver better higher performance and better battery efficiency.

Apple is designing a family of SoCs specifically for the Mac that will have a common architecture across all of Apple’s portfolio. What this means is all iPhone and iPad apps will run natively on Macs powered by Apple’s custom silicon. But what about true computing apps, both from developers’ and users’ perspectives?

Well, Apple says all apps and software that were running on Intel-based Macs will be available on the new Macs powered by custom silicon on day one. And the tools to make that possible, both hardware and software, will be made available to developers starting this week. As for the products themselves, the first Mac powered by custom silicon will arrive by the end of this year.

The post It’s official. Apple is moving to custom silicon for Macs starting this year appeared first on Pocketnow.

Pocketnow Daily: POCO F2 Pro might NOT be the iPhone SE competitor we need? (video)

Posted on by Samuel Martinez
https://youtu.be/dN1RgGDQYgU

Apple’s previous 13-inch MacBook Pro, LG G8 and more, on sale today

Deals. Yesterday we get a new MacBook Pro, so as expected, Amazon has the previous 13in MacBook Pro for $200 off, leaving the 128GB variant for $1094. I know, too little storage, but buyers beware though, you’ll find the 256GB silver variant for $1299, but don’t buy it. The brand new model starts for the same price and that same storage. We’re also waiting on the LG Velvet so the G8 ThinQ is $200 off as well, which means it is currently starting at $400. Finally, if you’re looking for a fitness tracker, the Garmin vivomore HR Hybrid is $56 off, leaving it for $144 shipped. We also have deals on Roku TVs, Samsung tablets and more. Buy 13-inch MacBook Pro Buy LG G8 ThinQ Buy Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e 2019 Buy Garmin vivomove HR Buy 65-inch TCL Roku TV

MediaTek announces a its new Helio G85 gaming chipset

MediaTek has announced a total of three gaming focused chips this year. Now we get the MediaTek Helio G85 which is similar to the G80 but it includes a faster GPU. The first phone with this processor was announced last week and it is the Redmi Note 9. The G85 comes with a new 1GHz ARM Mali G52 GPU and a HyperEngine Game Technology enhancements. It also includes two ARM Cortex A75 cores running at 2GHz and 6 Cortex A55 cores running at 1.8GHz, all built on a 12nm process. It also has AI capabilities, better battery life and more features. Expect it on smartphones coming soon, we’ll keep you posted.

Apple’s WWDC 2020 starts on June 22 with an online-only, free-for-all format

We’ve been waiting on Apple to give us the exact way they will be carrying on with WWDC and they finally confirmed it. The Event will start on June 22 and it will last for a week, of course through an online event which according to them will be their biggest one, allowing all of their developer community which includes 23M people to be there in an unpresented way. You can also watch if you want by downloading the Apple’s Developers app.

Microsoft Surface Book 3 GPU details leaked. (Sorry folks, no RTX 20-series here!)

The Microsoft Surface Book 3 recently went through a certification revealing that it will bring an Intel Core i7 processor, 32GB of RAM and two screen sizes: 13in and 15in. Now we got some new info from Twitter disclosing the GPUs. According to the tipster, the 13in variant will bring an Nvidia GTX 1650 (4GB GDDR5) and the 15in variant will bring an Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti (6GB GDDR5). The 15in is also reportedly bringing Quadro graphics but there’s no more info on those, though regardless it still seems that 15-inch seems quite capable. We’ll keep you posted as these are expected to drop some time this year.

The Google Pixel 4a is already being used by top Google executives

Now let’s talk about the Google Pixel 4a. Today we get a leak from the head man himself, Rick Osterloh.. Sort of.. He just tweeted out a new image of his Earth Badge on Fitbit and the UI clearly shows a space for the punch hole on the top left corner which isn’t present on other Pixel phones. Now, one of the biggest deal breakers of the iPhone SE is the battery is good, but not great, and which we’re hoping the Pixel has a better one but his device is at 80% and it’s barely 10am for him, so either he’s a late riser, or it might not be great at all. We’re about 10 days away from the speculated launch.

Story of the day:

POCO F2 Pro Gearbest product page goes live, features teased

And finally for the hottest news today.. Sort of, let’s talk about Poco. I mean, the orignal PocoPhone was a huge deal back in 2018 due to the impressive specs for a very cheap price tag. If there’s one company that can compete with the iPhone SE, it’s this one. Two months ago the company made their first independent launch with the X2 which wasn’t released globally, now the company just put out teasers and published a new product page live on Gearbest, telling us about the launch of the F2 Pro. The teasers hint to the phone looking like the Redmi K30 Pro but being a totally different device and not just a rebranded variant, bringing the Snapdragon 865, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The Problem, well if you’ve been following other rumors, the price might be starting at €649 in Portugal with the higher tier variant going up to €749. Yeah, it seems Poco is joining OnePlus in not offering the best value proposition they’ve been known for. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/pocketnowsub http://pocketnow.com Follow us: http://flipboard.com/@Pocketnow http://facebook.com/pocketnow http://twitter.com/pocketnow http://google.com/+pocketnow

The post Pocketnow Daily: POCO F2 Pro might NOT be the iPhone SE competitor we need? (video) appeared first on Pocketnow.

Apple’s WWDC 2020 starts on June 22 with an online-only, free-for-all format

Posted on by Lee Kelly
It's only fair to share...Share on RedditShare on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterPin on PinterestShare on Tumblr

Apple has today announced that the 2020 edition of its Worldwide Developers Conference (stylized as WWDC20) will start on June 22. To recall, Apple announced back in March that WWDC 2020 will be an online-only event this year owing to coronavirus concerns.

“WWDC20 will be our biggest yet, bringing together our global developer community of more than 23 million in an unprecedented way for a week in June to learn about the future of Apple platforms,” Apple’s Phil Schiller noted.

To keep up with WWDC20 proceedings such as keynote and Platforms State of the Union details, session, lab schedules and more, download the official Apple Developer app. Additionally, the company will also host the Swift Student Challenge for which entries will be accepted through May 17.

Source: Apple

The post Apple’s WWDC 2020 starts on June 22 with an online-only, free-for-all format appeared first on Pocketnow.

It's only fair to share...Share on RedditShare on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterPin on PinterestShare on Tumblr