The Dynamic Island is a potentially good idea that’s waiting for the next step Apple pulled off some unexpected surprises with the iPhone 14 Pro: there had been lots of solid rumors about the company switching from putting the front-facing camera and Face ID system in a pill-shaped cutout instead of the familiar notch, but the new “Dynamic Island” alert system came out of nowhere. And while it was getting clearer that Apple would have to follow the industry in using bigger camera sensors eventually, Apple went even further and rebooted its entire computational photography system as the Photonic Engine. There’s a lot of that sort of thing in the iPhone 14 Pro, whose prices in the United States still…

Apple today seeded a second release candidate (RC) version of iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a almost a week after Apple released the first RC. This RC likely represents the final version of iOS 16.5 that will be provided to the public, which Apple has said is coming this week. iOS 16.5 adds a Sports tab in the Apple News app, making it easier to access sports-focused content. You can choose to follow your favorite teams to get updates on a regular basis. Apple's full release notes for the update are below.This update includes the following enhancements and bug fixes: - A new Pride Celebration wallpaper for the Lock Screen to…

Macworld If you’re in a Family Sharing group, you may already have discovered that you can typically use apps other people have already purchased within your group as well as subscriptions they’ve paid for. See “How to share subscriptions in the App Store with a Family Sharing group” for all the details. That column explains how to examine a subscription you’ve already paid for to see if it allows Family Sharing. How can you tell ahead of time if that’s going to be an option? Apple may show ambiguous information in the App Store. You should see (or not see) one of three items in an App Store’s detailed entry for a given app: No mention of Family Sharing: There’s no…

Macworld When you receive an iMessage from an unknown party, how does Messages identify that person for you if they’re not already in your contacts? Apple has a backchannel in its proprietary multimedia texting system that transmits your name and image to the recipient based on settings you can control. In iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > Messages > Share Name and Photo; in macOS, open Messages and go to Messages > Preferences > General (Monterey and earlier) or Messages > Settings > General (Ventura or later). You can start by enabling or disabling sharing your name and profile image: use the Name and Photo Sharing switch in iOS/iPadOS and the Share Name and Photo checkbox in macOS. When disabled, these items…

Apple has introduced security keys as an additional step to help users protect their Apple ID accounts. Keep reading to learn why the alternative authentication method is the most secure method available and what you need to do to set it up. What Are Security Keys? With the release of iOS 16.3, iPadOS 16.3, and macOS Ventura 13.2, Apple introduced support for security keys, or physical devices that can verify your ‌Apple ID‌ instead of a passcode. Apple designed the feature for people who require additional protection from targeted attacks, such as phishing or social engineering scams. The extra protection that security keys provide means that if someone had your ‌Apple ID‌ and your password, they still would not be…

Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the launch of the fourth betas. The release candidates represent the final version of iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 that will be provided to the public. Registered developers can opt in to the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to Software Update, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option and toggling on the iOS 16/iPadOS 16 Developer Beta. Note that an Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta. iOS 16.5 adds a Sports tab in the Apple News app, making…