The iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 updates include a number of privacy and security improvements that make your devices safer than ever, with Apple restricting access to photos and calendar events and cutting down further on how websites track you across the web. Private Browsing Upgrades in Safari In Safari, Private browsing windows are now locked and require secondary authentication to unlock and access. If you hand your phone over to someone and they attempt to open your Safari private browsing tab, access will be denied without a Face ID/Touch ID scan or a passcode. The Private tab is locked automatically. Tracking URL Removal Opening up a URL in a private browsing window automatically strips all tracking information added to…

Apple Pay uses NFC technology, and it requires you to effectively touch the terminal to make a connection. | Image: The Verge Tap-to-pay services like Apple Pay may soon no longer need the actual tapping part to work. That’s because NFC, the technology that enables you to pay at shops by touching your phone to a payment terminal, is getting new capabilities over the next next two to five years, such as a communications range boost, more powerful wireless charging for tiny devices like earbuds, and more (via Android Authority). NFC, which stands for Near Field Communication, is inside thousands of devices today ranging from smartphones to video game-enhancing figurines. Now the body that decides how to standardize the technology,…

Apple has been researching the use of haptics in the Siri Remote that could guide future users silently and invisibly toward content on the device they want to control.If you have an Apple TV set with a Siri Remote, you don't need haptic feedback. Assuming you can find the remote, and you have it facing the right away around, then you just press a button and you know it works when your Apple TV reacts.But sometimes it's less clear that a device has responded to your pressing on a remote control, or tapping on an iPhone app. That may be because of what you're trying to control, such as a speaker that has no visual display. Read more...

Apple has been researching the use of haptics in the Siri Remote that could guide future users silently and invisibly toward content on the device they want to control.If you have an Apple TV set with a Siri Remote, you don't need haptic feedback. Assuming you can find the remote, and you have it facing the right away around, then you just press a button and you know it works when your Apple TV reacts.But sometimes it's less clear that a device has responded to your pressing on a remote control, or tapping on an iPhone app. That may be because of what you're trying to control, such as a speaker that has no visual display. Read more...

Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming two weeks after the release of the first betas following the WWDC keynote event. Registered developers are able to opt into the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to the Software Update section, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option, and toggling on the iOS 16 Developer Beta. Note that an Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta. ‌iOS 17‌ is a major update that introduces a customized look for each person that calls, with the person who places the call able to customize their look. Live voicemails…

Photography has become a staple use of the modern iPhone, and Apple isn't resting on its laurels in its efforts to advance what you can do with a photo in iOS 17. Below we've listed eight new photo-related features and improvements coming with Apple's latest mobile operating system, which is expected to get its official release in the fall. Can't wait until then? The iOS 17 beta is available now. 1. Pet Recognition In ‌iOS 17‌, Apple has improved the image recognition capabilities of the Photos app, which can now recognize not only your family and friends, but also your beloved pets. The ‌‌Photos‌‌ app's ability to detect animals isn't new, but now it can identify animals that are important…