iOS 7 Beta Tidbits: Per-App Cellular Data Usage, Live Clock Icon, Panoramic Wallpaper and More

While the most obvious change in iOS 7 is the look and feel of the user interface, Apple's engineers have packed the update with numerous changes both big and small. 

Here are a selection of changes noticed by folks in the MacRumors Forums and elsewhere. 

Cellular Data Tracking by App - In Settings / Cellular, users can track cellular data usage on a per-app basis. Apps can have their cellular data access disabled individually as well. 

Update Apps Manually - The App Store now updates apps automatically, but for users who prefer to handle things themselves, automatic updates can be disabled via a slider in Settings / iTunes & App Stores. 

How to Get to Spotlight - Spotlight is now accessible from the home screen by swiping down from the middle of the screen. Additionally, in Settings / General / Spotlight Search, users can manually turn search result categories on and off, as well as change the order results are presented in. 

Live Clock Icon - The clock icon provides the correct time, including a live second hand. The weather app does not update -- it is always partly cloudy. 

Newsstand Has Permanent Icon - Newsstand's icon remains the same regardless of what publications are inside it. The app itself works similarly, though the design is substantially different. Newsstand can now be put inside a folder as well. 

App Permission for Microphone Access - Apps are now required to ask permission to access the microphone, similar to how apps currently ask to access location data or the camera. 

Multitasking Switcher Works in Landscape - The app switcher works in landscape mode. Double-tap the home button to access. Control Center can also be used in landscape. Apps can also be manually quit by swiping up, and multiple apps can be closed at the same time...

Read the full story here. Source: Mac Rumours

Apple Announces iTunes Radio, Ad-Supported, Free for iTunes Match Subscribers

Apple announced iTunes Radio today, a new internet radio service that is built into theMusic app in iOS 7. The new feature offers music discovery through featured and genre stations provided by Apple or through the creation of new stations based on a specific artist or song.

 "iTunes Radio is an incredible way to listen to personalized radio stations which have been created just for you,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “It’s the music you love most and the music you’re going to love, and you can easily buy it from the iTunes Store with just one click.

iTunes Radio keeps track of all of the songs listened to for easy access later for purchasing or repeat listening. iTunes Radio will also be available on Mac and PC through iTunes and Apple TV. 

iTunes Radio will be available in the fall for free with ads while iTunes Match subscribers get an ad-free experience. The service will be available starting in the US only at first.

Source: Mac Rumours

Apple Announces OS X 'Mavericks'

At today's WWDC keynote event, Apple announced the next version of its Mac operating system, dubbed "Mavericks" after a surfing area north of Half Moon Bay in California. Mavericks will feature many new Finder features including tabs, full-screen capability, tagging, and independent handling of multiple displays. 

Tagging items allows users to categorize and search for files more easily. With multiple displays, Finder will display a menu bar in each to allow easier control of all apps. Mission Control has also been modified to allow easy transfer of apps between displays, and Mavericks can display apps through a connected Apple TV. 

A new feature called Timer Coalescing will reduce CPU activity by smoothing out active processes and idle time while another new feature, Compressed Memory, will compress inactive memory to make free space available to running apps. 

Safari gets a revised Top Sites page and a sidebar with direct bookmark and Reading List access. Also visible in the sidebar are links shared by friends through social networks. The browser's memory and energy usage has also been improved in Mavericks. 

Keychain moves to iCloud in Mavericks to enable cross-device synchronization of passwords for use within Safari and other apps. Keychain will be able to suggest strong passwords and will remember credit card information to make online shopping easier. 

Notifications also get an overhaul with the ability to respond to iMessages or even decline Facetime calls right from the notification banner. After waking from sleep, notification banners for alerts received during sleep will appear on the lock screen. 

A Maps app will come to the Mac in Mavericks, offering search capabilities, Flyover views, turn-by-turn directions and the ability to send directions directly to an iOS device. 

iBooks is coming to the Mac as well, with direct access to content available in the iTunes Store. Reading features include bookmarks, a night mode, and access to embedded multimedia elements. 

Registered developers can preview Mavericks starting today and the final public release of the OS is planned for the fall.

Source: Mac Rumours

Apple Announces New MacBook Airs with Haswell Processors and 'All-Day' Battery Life

At today's WWDC keynote in San Francisco, California, Apple announced new 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Airs, which have been designed with battery life in mind. As expected, the new Airs use Haswell processors that offer enhanced performance and significantly improved battery life, but feature no cosmetic changes. 

With the new Haswell processors, The 11" MacBook Air will now have nine hours of battery life while the 13" MacBook Air will have a stunning 12 hours of battery life.

In addition to Haswell processors, the new MacBooks feature 802.11ac compatibility, with support for the "Gigabit WiFi" 802.11ac specification. Gigabit WiFi offers speeds up to three times as fast as existing 802.11n wireless networks. 

The 11" MacBook Air starts at $999 with a 128GB hard drive and the 13" MacBook Air with a 128GB hard drive starts at $1099. Apple's MacBook Airs are available today from Apple's Online Store and at retail locations.

Source: Mac Rumours

Apple Unveils iOS 7 with Major Design Overhaul, Multitasking and Control Center

At today's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Apple unveiled the latest iteration of its mobile operating system. As expected, iOS 7 features a major design overhaul that removes many of the skeuomorphic elements found in previous versions of iOS, instead favoring a clean and gloss-less "flat" look. 

"It's the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone," said Tim Cook. "It has a whole new structure that is coherent and that is applied across the entire system," said Jony Ive in a video showing off the new operating system. "We've considered the tiniest details like refining the typography to much larger ones like redesigning all the icons..."

Read the full story here. Source: Mac Rumours

Apple Tease with New Mac Pro Coming

Today, Apple Inc gave us details of their new Mac Pro coming later this year. The radical new redesign sees many new features including a cylindrical form-factor, next gen Xeon processors, memory with 60GBps bandwidth and all PCIe flash based storage. In addition to these new performance winners, we also get some little design touches, like the built in handle and a back panel that lights up "tron style" to show us the ports. No pricing yet, with later this year not coming soon enough. Full details here.

Wave-Themed OS X Banner Goes Up at Moscone West for WWDC 2013

9to5Mac has posted a new photograph showing a wave-themed banner with an X in the middle, similar to the iOS 7 banner that was revealed earlier today. The spartan and minimalistic banners are significant change from the style used in previous years, particularly the OS X banner below.

The X appears to use the Helvetica Neue Ultra Light font, an extremely thin variant of Helvetica and the same font as the iOS 7 banner.

Source: Mac Rumours 

Google CEO on NSA spy program: We're definitely not involved

Google CEO Larry Page has flatly denied involvement in a secret spy program operated by the National Security Agency, calling into question recent news reports that alleged the company gave spooks a backdoor into its servers.

Google's statement was also signed by David Drummond, the company's top legal officer, who oversees the entire legal department.

PRISM gives the federal government surreptitious access to customer information held by Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple, Google, Facebook, and other Internet companies, according to reports from the Washington Post and The Guardian newspapers yesterday.

The program, code-named PRISM, allegedly allows NSA analysts to peruse exabytes of companies' confidential user data by typing in search terms. PRISM reports have been used in 1,477 items in President Obama's daily briefing last year, according to an internal presentation to the NSA's Signals Intelligence Directorate that the newspapers obtained.

Those allegations about companies' participation in PRISM remain unconfirmed, and thecompanies listed in the supposed presentation have denied any participation. Today's statement from Page, Google's co-founder, is the most detailed to date -- and, crucially, comes from someone who would be in a position to know or investigate rather than an unnamed corporate spokesman who would not be...

Read the full story here. Source: CNET

The 6 most underrated games for Android: May 2013 edition

 

There are a lot of fun games on the Google Play Store, but it's difficult to find a game that isn't overshadowed by a game that has millions of downloads and high ratings. So just like last month, we've gone into the depths of the Google Play Store searching for some of the best underrated games, and we're back to show you what we've found. As usual, if you'd rather watch the video, just head down to the bottom of the article...

Read the full story here. Source: Android Authority  

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8-inch and 10-inch announced

Samsung has revealed its latest tablets in the Galaxy Tab lineup: the dual-core Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8-inch and Tab 3 10.1-inch slates, with Jelly Bean and the latest features from the Samsung Galaxy S4.

The Tab 3 series is a pair of new slates with dual-core processors and high definition screens, both packing the latest version of Android, 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

The 8-inch Tab 3 arrives to take on the likes of the Google Nexus 7 and iPad mini. It packs a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor under the 8-inch, 1,280x800-pixel high-definition screen.

Samsung says the 8-inch model is designed to be held in one hand, with physical keys on the bottom. There's a 5-megapixel camera on the back, and a video-calling camera in the front.

The 10-inch model boasts a 1.6GHz dual-core processor, but for some reason only a 3-megapixel camera.

The tablets also include features first seen on the Samsung Galaxy S4 smart phone, including the clever S Translator lingo decoder, and WatchOn, which turns your tablet into a TV remote control.

Samsung promises a 3G, 4G, and vanilla Wi-Fi version of both Tab 3 series tablets. They hits shops "later this year", with exact details of release dates and prices to follow.

Source: CNET

Apple Planning 'Something Really Different' for New Mac Pro

The new Mac Pro model, expected later this year, is "something really different" according to a video professional who says he spoke with the Mac Pro product manager.

Writing on the RedUser.net forum, Andrew Baird says he spoke to Mac Pro project manager Douglas Brooks on the phone after emailing CEO Tim Cook with his concerns about the lack of a new professional tower from Apple over the past few years.

Baird told MacRumors that the call didn't include any specific details about when the new machine would be released, nor its specifications -- however, he was assured several times that the new Mac Pro would be worth the wait. Brooks told him that the machine would be released later this year.

Somewhat corroborating Baird's phone call, Lou Borella -- administrator of the 'We Want a New Macpro' Facebook group -- wrote on the page that he heard the new professional Mac would be "heavily reliant on Thunderbolt" with "no internal expandability", and would have support for dual-GPU's and no FireWire or optical drive.

In mid-2012, after a minor update to the Mac Pro was announced at WWDC, Tim Cook confirmed to a fan that new Mac Pros were coming in 2013, which was later reiterated by an Apple spokesman. It has also been rumored that the new Mac Pro would be the first Apple computer in years to be 'Made in the USA'

Source: Mac Rumours

Pricing Leak Suggests MacBook Air Release at WWDC, Retina MacBook Pro Update Shipping Later?

 

 9to5Mac has received information from a source that suggests the MacBook Air updates that are expected at WWDC will ship soon after the keynote, perhaps with updated AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule wireless base stations that support a new, faster wireless standard.

These leaks line up with a report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who said in April that the MacBook Air update expected at WWDC would ship very soon after the event, while the Retina MacBook Pro would ship later due to production bottlenecks on the advanced displays.

The site also says it received pricing for three new accessories that could be new AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule models. If accurate, these would likely support the new 802.11ac-wireless standard.

As we wrote in our WWDC rumor roundup earlier today, the notebook updates are likely to be the hardware highlight of WWDC, with new MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro models announced.

Expected upgrades include a shift to Haswell processors, a possible slimmer design for the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, a new full HD (2.0-megapixel) FaceTime camera on the Retina models, and a dual-microphone system on the MacBook Air. 

Source: Mac Rumours