With the recent launch of the iPhone 16 I thought it would be great to try and find workarounds to the AI feature gaps that iOS has, especially for people switching from an Android device.
Here’s how to set up an iPhone and get some of the most popular smarts from a Pixel phone: Circle to Search, Google Lens, Gemini and even Work profiles.
Continue reading “Unlock Pixel’s best AI features on your iPhone”
Now that we are only 3 years away from the iPhone’s 20th anniversary, it’s easier to imagine what it will look like for its big birthday. The past few years have helped discard a few features that seemed more plausible just a few years ago.
Continue reading “3 features iPhone needs to steal back the show”As an iPhone owner since 2013, the announcement of the next iPhone is usually an exciting moment for me. To be more precise, the anticipation leading to the announcement is what’s stimulating; the actual moment of truth tends to be disappointing since 2017. About a year ago, I wrote about how there has not been any dramatic change since the introduction of the iPhone X. The 2021 iPhone, rumored to be called iPhone 13, will not change that trend if all the leaks get confirmed next month.
This made me look towards the Android ecosystem, where some inspiring changes are happening while iPhone power users yawn. Top examples of this are Samsung’s folding devices, like the newly announced Fold3 and Flip3, and Google’s futuristic AI features, namely the on-device speech recognition on the new Pixel 6 or Duplex’s ability to make and receive calls for you.
Have you ever had to add your signature to a document and send it over email? No, you don’t need a printer or a scanner. Did you know that you can do this for free with just your iPhone? Read on to learn how.
Continue reading “How to sign documents with just your phone”
We are now close to the end of an important decade for technology, a decade that started without many of the innovations that today we consider part of the norm. Artificial intelligence at home, self-driving cars, wearable devices, supercomputers in our pockets… the 2010s not only changed the technology we use, but also how we communicate and think. Privacy has never been so critical as a selling point, and information bubbles have never been so polarizing. Today, we are at a turning point in the tech industry; it’s not clear what’s going to be the next revolutionary tech segment, or how companies are going to keep convincing customers to upgrade their various devices.
So what happened in the last ten years? How did we get here? The following areas have experienced substantial changes since 2010, making our lives considerably better in some cases, while taking a few surprising turns in some others. This is the first of a series of two posts that take a look back at a decade of tech evolution.
Continue reading “Time travel through 2010s technology: Part 1”Thousands of people unwrapped new and shiny iPads the morning of Christmas Day. Many of them will attempt to use the new device as their only computer, and they will need the right setup in order to succeed. I’ve been using an iPad Pro as my main computer for six months now, and having an organized home screen is the secret sauce for making it possible.
Last week Facebook reported an important data breach that resulted in between 50 and 90 million accounts potentially compromised. This is more serious than the Cambridge Analytica issue reported earlier this year, because unlike that infamous case, this last breach provided attackers with access tokens for these accounts.
The iPhone X was already controversial even before it was officially introduced last Tuesday, mostly due to the rumored removal of Touch ID in favor of Face ID.
However, Apple’s presentation caused a new controversy: the infamous notch. Even though the array of cameras and sensors got leaked long before the event, nobody knew how Apple was planning to do in order to integrate it with iOS 11. We have the answer now: Apple is so proud of that black bar that they decided to render the user interface around it.
Since Apple controls the operating system, they made sure it looks good with most 1st party apps. But what happens with 3rd party content like a website? The notch gets in the way.
Continue reading “About the iPhone X notch controversy”
Apple will present the new iPhone this Tuesday and, as usual, most of the details have already been leaked.
What seems guaranteed is that we’ll see 3 models being introduced: the iPhone 7s, 7s Plus and a special edition to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone. That special edition has been known until now as iPhone 8, iPhone Edition, or iPhone Pro, but the official name iPhone X has been confirmed (among other details) thanks to the final version of iOS 11 leaking.
These are the top 3 reasons why I’m excited about the iPhone X.
Continue reading “3 reasons why I’m excited about the iPhone X”
Waiting for my delayed flight to take off, I came across Phoneys, an iMessage sticker pack with some controversy.
Phoneys allows users to cover friends’ messages with stickers that look like a real message. In less than a week, it became the #1 Top Paid and #1 Top Grossing iMessage app. Here’s how it works:
Of course, Apple noticed and asked Adam, the developer, to update it so that users don’t get confused or think that their iPhone has been hacked, otherwise the app would be taken down.
With iMessage on iOS 10, Apple tried to create a fun experience that can compete with Snapchat, the king of fun messaging.
A very clever way of doing this was… well, letting others actually do it and lure them into a new iMessage app store (following Facebook’s steps with Messenger).
I find fascinating how Apple simplified and streamlined the creation of stickers for iMessage. Anyone can create a fun experience (and sometimes a cash machine) with a good idea and a few nights of work.
Fun messaging apps are the next gold mine: emojis, stickers, GIFs… the best way of increasing the variety and quality of options is to let 3rd party developers do it. How long will it take for Snapchat to open its own app store?
Adam is now debating what to do with his “stupid little sticker pack”, as he calls it. To him, I’d say: enjoy the viral ride and start thinking of the next great idea, you sure know how to monetize it.
You can read his full story in Medium.
Image via Adam Howell
Geek on record 