Apple has released the first beta versions of iOS 18.3, MacOS Sequoia 15.3, and iPadOS 18.3, for users enrolled in the beta testing programs for Apple system software.
The upcoming updates are now in beta testing, and are expected to focus on bug fixes and security enhancements as usual. Some new features are likely to be included as well, with perhaps the most notable addition thus far being the introduction of Genmoji on the Mac.
If you have recently opened the Mail app after updating to iOS 18.2 or iPadOS 18.2, you likely discovered that Mail now defaults to a Mail “Categories” view, showing distinct mail category inboxes; “Primary”, “Transactions”, “Updates”, and “Promotions”. Presumably Apple chose to redesign everyones inbox and enable Mail Categories by default on iPhone and iPad because they thought users would like their email app to be redesigned and having to take additional steps to see all of their emails, but the Mail category feature is already causing frustration with many users who do not want to fumble through a new complicated user interface that hides many emails from immediate view, let alone see their emails sorted into categories and often erroneously so.
There are many complaints about the Mail categories feature, from making the Mail interface worse or more confusing, emails no longer being listed in chronological order with the newest emails on top, emails can be incorrectly labeled or categorized improperly, some users lament it’s harder to find their emails, some say the new Mail Categories interface is cumbersome and annoying to switch between multiple categories to see all of your emails, and many users simply prefer the standard default Mail interface that has existed forever on iPhone and iPad with all emails shown in a single inbox that they manage on their own.
If you want to turn off the annoying Mail categorization feature in iOS 18.2 on iPhone, read along to learn how to do that, and to get the much loved easy to use old Mail app inbox style back again.
Some iPhone users may be interested in learning what the battery cycle count is on their iPhone. A battery cycle is counted when a full charge and discharge cycle has completed, and this number can help to determine battery usage, health, as well as longevity.
Up until recently and with the latest model iPhone devices, this was a more cumbersome process, where checking battery cycle count by looking at iPhone Analytics Data was one option, and using third party apps, or even a Mac, was another. But if you have an iPhone 15 or newer, it’s now easier than ever to determine iPhone battery cycle count right on your device, and with minimal effort.
A handy app-specific security feature is available for iPhone and iPad that requires authentication with Face ID or a passcode before a chosen app can be launched. Essentially this lets you lock any iPhone or iPad app with Face ID or a passcode, and this lock applies even if your iPhone or iPad is already unlocked in general. Features like this are quite popular with security and privacy advocates, but are also useful for the average iPhone and iPad user too for many different scenarios.
The app lock feature works with both Face ID and with a Passcode, so whichever authentication method you use on iPhone or iPad you will find this available. If you are not familiar with how this feature works, read along and you’ll quickly find out how simple it is to enable and lock apps on your device.
Apple has released MacOS Sequoia 15.2 as an update for Mac users running the Sequoia operating system. The software update includes new Apple Intelligence features including ChatGPT support for Siri, Image Playground image generation tools, along with some improvements to writing tools AI. Aside from AI, you’ll also find new abilities to share items in Find My, refinements to various apps, and the usual round of bug fixes and security enhancements.
If you’re a Mac user not running MacOS Sequoia 15.2, you will find macOS Sonoma 14.7.2 and macOS Ventura 13.7.2 instead, each with security patches.
Aside from Mac software updates, Apple also made available updates for iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, watchOS 11.2, tvOS 18.2, and updates for HomePod and Apple Vision Pro.
Apple has released iOS 18.2 for all iPhone users, and iPadOS 18.2 for all iPad users. The new software updates focus primarily on bringing new Apple Intelligence AI features to compatible devices, including support for ChatGPT integration with Siri, Image Playground image generation, along with smaller new AI features throughout various apps and the operating system.
Separate from AI, there are also refinements to the Photos app, the ability to share items in Find My, a bug fix for Photos not appearing in the All Photos view right away, a new Mail category feature that will undoubtedly be polarizing, and various other bug fixes and security enhancements.
Aside from iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2, there are also releases for older iPhone and iPad versioned as iOS 17.7.3 and iPadOS 17.7.3, plus software updates for Mac including MacOS Sequoia 15.2 with AI features, macOS Sonoma 14.7.2 with security fixes, macOS Ventura 13.7.2 with security fixes, watchOS 11.2 for Apple Watch, and tvOS 18.2 for Apple TV.
The Tapback reaction feature in Messages for iPhone, iPad, and Mac is popular, and with the latest versions of system software for these devices, you can now Tapback with any Emoji, rather than just the handful of defaults. This offers a nice way to further customize a response to a message, and it’s pretty easy to use.
A second release candidate build of iOS 18.2, MacOS Sequoia 15.2, and iPadOS 18.2, has been made available for all beta testers. The 2nd RC build follows after issuing the first RC build a week prior. RC, or Release Candidate, are usually the finalized beta version of system software that is made available to beta testers before the final version is released to everyone in the public. This suggests the final release of iOS/iPadOS 18.2 and MacOS Sequoia 15.2 is soon, perhaps even this week.
iOS 18.2 and MacOS Sequoia 15.2 will include a round of bug fixes and security patches, along with new AI features, a few smaller features like the ability to use iPhone Mirroring with Personal Hotspot, a weather widget for the Mac menu bar, and sharing for devices in Find My.
By far the biggest change coming in iOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 are the inclusion of more Apple Intelligence AI features, including ChatGPT integration and Image Playground which allows for generating images with AI. Currently, Apple Intelligence features are mostly summarization abilities and various useful writing tools. Apple’s AI features are strictly limited to newer devices however, meaning those capabilities will not be available for all users.
Apple has issued the release candidate build for iOS 18.2, MacOS Sequoia 15.2, and iPadOS 18.2, for all users that are involved in the beta testing programs for Apple system software. RC, or Release Candidate builds, are typically the final version of a beta before it gets released to the general public, indicating the final releases of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and MacOS Sequoia 15.2 are imminent.
Aside from the usual bug fixes and security enhancements, these upcoming software updates are focused on bringing new Apple Intelligence features to compatible devices, including Image Playground AI image generation capabilities, and ChatGPT integration. This will be the second route of AI features introduced to the Apple operating systems, with a variety of handy writing tools and summarization features being available at the moment.
Some other new features will be included as well, including the ability to share devices in Find My, a weather widget for the Mac menu bar is available, iPhone Mirroring can be used with Personal Hotspot, and a handful of other small changes and adjustments.
One of the potentially most useful newer features on iPhone is available in iOS 18.1 and later, offering a remarkably simple way to record calls on iPhone. Now, iPhone has an easily accessible call record button, available on the same phone screen that you use to toggle speaker phone, mute, and end the call. When you activate the call recording feature, a message plays for both parties to inform all that the phone call is being recorded, but it’s still probably a good idea to verbally confirm with the call participants that you’re going to record the call.
Calls recorded on iPhone are stored automatically within the Notes app, labeled as “Call with (contact name or phone number)”, where you can easily listen to the call again, review a voice-to-text transcription, and add additional notes if you’d like.
Ready to get started with this incredibly useful feature? Let’s dive in and you’ll quickly learn how you can record any call on your iPhone, whether you’re making the call, or you’re receiving the call.
While there are plenty of paid options to get a business plan, from business plan software, to books, to working with a consultant, or even outsourcing the entire thing, another option is available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users, and it uses the magic of Apple Intelligence features and ChatGPT to instantly create a business plan for literally any business, industry, or location.
Whether you need a business plan to start a business, help flesh out ideas for a new or existing business, are trying to get a small business loan and need a business plan for the bank or lender, or even as an academic exercise or class, you’ll get a great business plan in literally seconds, generated from the brilliance of artificial intelligence and large language models.
One of the useful Apple Intelligence features that is available in Safari is the webpage summarization feature. With Apple Intelligence Summarize in Safari, you can have an AI summary of an entire webpage, whether it’s a long article, a general website, or anything else on the web, giving you a nice summary of the page contents. This can help you quickly determine information and save time, and it’s really easy to use in Safari on the Mac.
Cyber Monday is a great time to get some huge discounts on popular Apple products through Amazon, who consistently offers some of the best deals out there on new Apple gear. From huge discounts on AirPods Pro, to AirTags, MacBook Air, iPad, and Apple Watch, check out some of the available deals below.
AirPods Pro 2 at 38% off
AirPods Pro 2nd gen feature USB-C charging, noise cancellation, Spatial Audio, and more, and are massively discounted right now now on Amazon:
Apple Watch Series 10 features a bigger and brighter always-on display, faster battery charging, health insights and fitness tracking capabilities, crash and fall detection, and much more:
If you’re shopping for iPad, you’ll find many great deals available for Cyber Monday on Amazon, whether it’s on the powerful M2 iPad Air in either display size, or the iPad 10th gen, each in various color options:
Amazon is offering the M3 series of MacBook Air in both 13″ and 15″ screen sizes for up to 23% off, or $300 off the MSRP. Perhaps best of all is remembering that Apple recently made 16GB the base default for RAM, making these deals even better when considered against their upgrade prices from just a few months ago.
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Apple has introduced their annual Holiday advertisement for the 2024 season, titled “Heartstrings”, and it’s an unusually moving commercial that focuses on hearing loss and the hearing aids feature of AirPods Pro 2 (which happen to be hugely discounted on Amazon right now, if you’re in the market).
In the touching and family oriented commercial, a small family is gathered around a Christmas tree opening presents, and as the father reminiscences about his daughter growing up over the years, he gets a nudge from his wife to listen to his daughter singing a rendition of “Our House” by Crosby, Stills, and Nash, where he puts in his AirPods and is able to hear her clearly.
Grab a tissue, get in the holiday spirit, and watch the commercial on YouTube or below!
One of the best features of modern MacOS versions, from Sequoia 15.0 onward, is iPhone Mirroring, which allows Mac users to interact with their iPhone and use their iPhone directly from their Mac.
iPhone Mirroring is almost entirely full featured in that you can access basically every iPhone feature from the Mac… but “almost entirely” is not entirely, because some iPhone functionality is not accessible currently with iPhone Mirroring.
One of the more prominent iPhone features that iPhone Mirroring does not currently support is Control Center, which is how you access many of the iPhone features and quick toggles for networking, Shazam, accessibility toggles, amongst many other capabilities.
Amazon Black Friday deals continue with tons of fantastic deals on various Apple products, with particularly big discounts being offered on AirPods Pro, AirTags, select iPad models, Apple Watch, and the M3 MacBook Air lineup.
If Apple gear has a place in your holiday shopping, don’t miss these discounts while they’re available!
If you’ve just setup a new wi-fi network or ISP, or perhaps you just joined a new wi-fi network, one of the first things you might be inclined to do is run a speed test. Speed testing helps to evaluate the performance of an internet connection, measuring download speed, upload speed, and latency, allowing you to determine if performance is optimal, or needs adjustments.
A strange bug is impacting some iPhone, iPad, and Mac users, where they are presented with new “iCloud Terms & Conditions” to accept, but they are not able to accept them. On a Mac this is particularly annoying because the iCloud Terms & Conditions popup and screen will continuously bother you, but it’s equally annoying on iPhone, iPad, and apparently even on Apple Vision Pro too. For some, they attempt to accept the iCloud Terms and they see an error message stating “Cannot Complete Action. This action cannot be completed at this time.”
By not being able to accept and dismiss the iCloud Terms & Conditions, you’re not able to use most iCloud features, including access to Notes, Photos, Reminders, and many other features in the MacOS and iOS ecosystem that depends on iCloud, and therefore depends on being able to accept the iCloud Terms & Conditions.
If you’re experiencing problems accepting iCloud Terms and Conditions and the popups and alerts will not go away, read along to fix this problem.
