How-To Geek: 10 iPhone Spotlight Search Features You Should Be Using. “The iPhone is chock full of handy features to make your life easier, but Spotlight Search doesn’t get the attention it deserves. This humble search bar is your gateway to finding almost anything on your iPhone. Are you using it?”
How-To Geek: ChatGPT Now Has an Official iPhone App. “Ever since ChatGPT took the world by storm, there has been a pile of unofficial mobile apps, some of which were outright scams. OpenAI has now released an official iPhone app for ChatGPT, with an Android version on the way.”
Engadget: Most states halt use of Google and Apple’s COVID-19 exposure notification system. “States have turned off COVID-19 exposure notifications on iPhones across the US now that the public emergency has expired. At least some states also appear to be shutting down notifications for Android users. You won’t get alerts if you approach someone who tested positive and reported their results. No personal data traded hands, as the system relied on anonymized Bluetooth exchanges rather than GPS.”
TechCrunch: Opera brings its free VPN to iOS to rival Apple and Google’s paid alternatives. “Opera, the makers of an ad-blocking web browser, whose most recent claim to fame is having TikTok built-in, announced today it’s rolling out an updated version of its iOS app that now includes its free VPN.”
Ars Technica: Apple releases last week’s security patches for older iPhones, iPads, and Macs . “Last week, Apple released iOS and iPadOS 16.4.1 and macOS Ventura 13.3.1 to patch two actively exploited security vulnerabilities and fix other small bugs. Today it’s following those up with iOS and iPadOS 15.7.5, macOS Monterey 12.6.5, and macOS Big Sur 11.7.6 to patch those same vulnerabilities in older devices that are still receiving software updates but aren’t capable of running the newest OSes.”
Lifehacker: Finally, There’s an Easy Way to Reduce Background Noise on Your iPhone. “As reported by 9to5Mac, Apple is adding Voice Isolation mode to phone calls as part of iOS 16.4. According to Apple, Voice Isolation mode ‘prioritizes your voice and blocks out ambient noise around you,’ a simple solution to clearer audio during phone calls.”
Engadget: How to declutter your iOS devices. “If you’ve owned your iPhone or iPad for a while, there’s a good chance there are apps, contacts and settings that you either don’t use anymore or aren’t serving you as well as they could. This guide will take you through how to reclaim your notifications and your device’s storage.”
WIRED: A New Kind of Bug Spells Trouble for iOS and macOS Security. “FOR YEARS, APPLE has hardened the security systems on iPhones and Macs. But no company is immune from such issues. Research reveals a new class of bugs that can affect Apple’s iPhone and Mac operating systems and if exploited could allow an attacker to sweep up your messages, photos, and call history.”
The Register: What Brit watchdog redacted: Google gives Apple cut of Chrome iOS search revenue. “Google has been paying Apple a portion of search revenue generated by people using Google Chrome on iOS, according to a source familiar with the matter. This is one of the aspects of the relationship between the two tech goliaths that currently concerns the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).”
Emojipedia: First Look: New Emojis in iOS 16.4. “New emoji designs have arrived on iOS as part of the first iOS 16.4 beta, including the shaking face, two pushing hands, and the much-requested plain pink heart emoji.”
The Register: Japan joins ranks of nations plotting smackdown for Apple, Google. “Japan’s competition regulator has recommended big changes to local laws to reform the ‘oligopoly’ it’s assessed Google and Apple enjoy in the markets for mobile operating systems and the apps that run on them.”
Lifehacker: Your iPhone Can Scan and Copy Any Text Into a Note. “‘Scan Text’ can scan any text from any document you point your camera to, which means you have a one-click option to copy someone’s homework, a contract, or a grocery list that’s hanging on the fridge. And, once it’s scanned, you are can format or share it any way you want.”
Six Colors: New tool generates more useful Mastodon link previews in Messages. “Just the other day, I was lamenting one of my big frustations with Mastodon—that links to posts, unlike tweets, don’t display nicely in Messages. Instead you get a preview that shows the poster’s profile image and their name, rather than the actual text or image of the post itself…. Well, the ball may be in Apple’s court, but not everybody’s waiting for them to return the serve. iOS developer Tyler Hillman has come up with a workaround: a web service that can provide the necessary metadata to show post content in Messages.”
Lifehacker: 45 of Lifehacker’s Favorite iPhone Hacks of 2022. “From iOS 16 to the iPhone 14, the iPhone had a big year. We started 2022 with iOS 15.2, which gave us features like Apple Music Voice and legacy contacts, and end the year appropriately with iOS 16.2, with Apple Music Sing and end-to-end encryption for iCloud backups. In between, we discovered a lot of hacks that make life with an iPhone even easier. Here are 45 of our favorites.” Slideshow.
Engadget: Twitter is reportedly raising Blue subscription’s pricing on iOS to $11. “According to The Information, the company informed some employees that it’s going to charge users $11 for Blue subscription if they pay through its iOS application. But if they pay through the web, it will only cost them $7 a month for the service, which includes getting the website’s blue verification badge.”
