software update
Latest
macOS Sonoma is now available
Apple’s macOS Sonoma is officially out of beta and available for anyone (with compatible devices) to install now.
Google’s March feature drop finally reaches the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro
The Pixel 6's latest update includes Google's March feature drop along with a number of bug fixes and performance improvements.
Google's latest Pixel update improves captions, translation and Duo
Google's 10th feature drop is slated to include support for Night Sight in Snapchat, Live captions for calls, message sticks, Live Translate in Spanish, and the ability to view the battery life of connected Bluetooth devices from you Pixel's At a Glance screen.
Android 12L hands-on: Some big multitasking upgrades, but is that enough?
Ahead of Android 12L's final release sometime by the end of Q1 2022, we took a look to see what's changing with Google's mid-cycle Android update.
Microsoft issues patch for zero-day exploit that uses malicious Office files
Microsoft has fixed the vulnerability being actively exploited by hackers using malicious Office files.
PlayStation 5 SSD upgrades are finally enabled for beta testers
Sony is rolling out a PlayStation 5 beta software update that lets users increase local storage with an M.2 SSD.
Apple will still release security updates for iOS 14 after iOS 15 comes out
When iOS 15 is released, if you don't want to upgrade immediately then you can stay on iOS 14 and still receive security patches as they're released.
Fossil's Gen 5 Wear OS smartwatches are about to get a major update
Fossil's Gen 5 smartwatches will get an update that tweaks the phone app and helps the battery last longer during workouts or sleep tracking.
BMW's update with wireless Android Auto is rolling out
At the end of last year BMW announced plans to add wireless Android Auto support on several of its vehicles, and according to Android Police, the update is now available.
Switch update finally lets you move downloaded games to an SD card
Nintendo's new Switch software update lets owners move games from internal storage to an SD card and remap its buttons to their liking.
Form's Swim Goggles display heart rate data in the pool
You might have thought Form already perfected the Swim Goggles, but the company is about to add another welcomed feature: heart rate tracking. Today, Form announced that it's teamed up with the fitness wearable company Polar to introduce the heart rate tech. Beginning in November, a free software update from Form will make the Swim Goggles compatible with Polar's OH1 and OH1+ heart rate sensors.
The Google Translate iOS app is about to get a lot smarter
Google Translate has always seemed a little bit like magic - perhaps a little flawed magic when it doesn't translate something properly - but it's been getting better as time goes on. Now the iOS app is about to get a very big update that will make almost as useful as Star Trek's universal translator. First, Google Translate will now use the amazing Word Lens capability acquired in 2014 to do visual translations (see image above). By just pointing your iPhone's camera at a sign, menu or other written material, you'll get an instant translation even without a Wi-Fi or data connection. This is working for English to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, and Google says it is working on expanding to more languages soon. But the biggest change is in terms of getting spoken language translations. The updated app works like this: Starting today, simply tap the mic to start speaking in a selected language, then tap the mic again, and the Google Translate app will automatically recognize which of the two languages are being spoken, letting you have a more fluid conversation. For the rest of the conversation, you won't need to tap the mic again-it'll be ready as you need it. Asking for directions to the Rive Gauche, ordering bacalhau in Lisbon, or chatting with your grandmother in her native Spanish just got a lot faster. As Google notes, the updates "take us one step closer to turning your phone into a universal translator and to a world where language is no longer a barrier to discovering information or connecting with each other." Expect to see the iOS update in the next few days. Now if we could just get inexpensive and ubiquitous data service for our phones when we're in a different country...
Heyday goes 2.0, adds sharing, locking via Touch ID, and more
About a month ago I wrote a review of Heyday, a free personal journal app that captures location and photo information and turns it into a wonderful day by day photo journal of your life. I love the app, but wondered "where can they go from here?" That question was answered today with the release of Heyday 2.0, which brings some new useful and fun features to the table. First up is the ability to lock your Heyday journal away from the prying eyes of others... with Touch ID. While I don't use Heyday to keep a written journal - that's what Day One is for - some people might, or they may have photos or location info that they'd like to keep hidden from others. You can now set Heyday up with either a 4-digit passcode or just turn Touch ID on for protection. The app fully supports the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus now, but the feature I'm impressed with the most is the ability to share a day with someone else. Just grab a day, any day, and tap the share button. A web page is created for you (see image above), and a link is sent to the recipient so they can see what happened on that auspicious day. Here's an example page from a weekend trip last year. One sad thing - videos just appear as images, which explains the blurry photos in a few locations. In the Heyday app, they are movies that were captured on that day, and you can experience them in their full cinematic glory with a tap. All in all, it's a great update to Heyday, and as one of the developers told me, "it lays the groundwork for a whole lot of goodness for 2015".
Google Drive update makes it easy to upload from other iOS apps
Google quietly updated the free Google Drive app to version 3.4.0 yesterday, improving the iOS version with some features that should make Google's cloud solution more competitive with the likes of iCloud drive and Dropbox. The biggest addition for iPhone and iPad users who have upgraded to iOS 8 is that they'll now be able to add documents from other applications to their Google Drive storage. This is done through an app's share sheet, specifically when you choose to "Open in Google Drive" (see image at top of this post). As a test, I was able to send an image from Waterlogue, a letter written in Pages, and output from several other recently-updated apps to Google Drive. Older apps, and those that haven't been updated in some time, may not be able to use this capability. Google also announced that iOS Google Drive users will be able to access and share maps that were custom-made through the My Maps feature. Those custom maps need to be created using the web version of Drive, but are then able to be opened in Safari or Chrome and shared with others.
iOS 8.1.2 available now, fixes missing ringtone issue
Have you ever had a problem with ringtones that you purchased through the iTunes Store disappearing from your device? If so, you'll want to install iOS 8.1.2, which has just become available as an over-the-air update. Just visit Settings > General > Software Update and you should see iOS 8.1.2 appear magically. To get those ringtones back, Apple recommends visiting http://itunes.com/restore-tones from your iOS device after installing the update. iOS 8.1.2 also includes the usual bug fixes and security content. Go ahead, knock yourself out. Tip of the hipster fedora to Federico Viticci of MacStories.net, who was the first to tweet the update.
Dropbox adds file/folder renaming and Office document editing to iOS app
Dropbox updated its iOS app with several new features, including the long-awaited ability to rename files and folders. There's also a new "edit" option that allows users to edit Office documents in Microsoft's Office for iOS apps and then save them back to Dropbox. According to the changelog, version 3.6 of the Dropbox app includes the following features: You can now rename your files and folders! Swipe right on a folder to see more actions, including rename. We've moved a few things around - there's a new more actions button (⋯) when viewing files On iPhones, the more actions button (⋯) also includes the full file name, size and other details. Edit Office documents and save them back to your Dropbox Dropbox for the iPhone and iPad is available in the iOS App Store for free. It is a universal app and requires iOS 7.0 or later.
And by the way, OS X Yosemite 10.10.1 is out as well...
It must be update Monday at Apple today. No sooner had I updated my iPhone 6 Plus to iOS 8.1.1 than I noticed a little red notification badge on the Mac App Store -- which ended up being the official version of OS X Yosemite 10.10.1 (I've been running the developer beta version for a few days). As you can see from the notes above, the update improves Wi-Fi reliability, improves mail reliability with certain email service providers and Microsoft Exchange servers, and also makes Back to My Mac remote connections more reliable. It's ready when you are, in the Updates tab of the Mac App Store. Other notes about the update are available here.
iOS 8.1.1 is here, full of bug fixes, stability and performance enhancements
Another day, another iOS update. iOS 8.1.1 is appearing on iPhones, iPads and iPod touches around the world via the standard over-the-air update process. You can install the update by simply launching Settings, then going to General > Software Update. While there's no big info about what has been fixed and/or enhanced in 8.1.1, the update notes do say that performance improvements are specifically for the iPad 2 and iPhone 4s. As of publication time, information on the security content of the update was not yet available. It will be available soon at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222. Unlike the fateful iOS 8.0.1 update, this does not appear to be bricking iPhones. Unless you hear from us again soon, it's probably safe to run the update once it's available for you.
iOS 8.0.1 update now available (Updated -- Don't update!)
Update: There's a bug in iOS 8.0.1. After updating, many users are reporting loss of all cellular service and Touch ID. I can verify this personally. We'll be posting instructions on how to revert to iOS 8.0 soon. In the meantime, do not update! Less than a week after shipping iOS 8.0, the first update to the new mobile OS -- containing improvements and bug fixes -- is now available. According to the release notes seen above, the release fixes a known bug that kept HealthKit apps from being available on the App Store at the initial release. For users of the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the update improves the reliability of the Reachability feature. That feature moves top of screen features to the bottom of the phone when the Home button is double-tapped. The update is available as an OTA (over-the-air) download that can be access from Settings > General > Software Update. As usual, information on the security content of the update will be available at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.
Radiohead releases new music through PolyFauna app
This past February, Radiohead released their first iOS app, an experimental music and art project called PolyFauna. Using music from their King of Limbs recording session as the background for abstract and evolving visuals, the app was equal parts musical performance and art piece. Now Radiohead has released an update for Polyfauna, featuring brand new music and visual landscapes from the band. The app's "Whats New in Version 2.0" description simply reads "Entirely new" and they're not lying. Version 2.0 features an entirely new soundtrack by the band, one that will easily remind longtime fans of their ambient-minded album Kid A. The alien forests of the original app have been replaced with blossoming expanses of outer space, stars, and light. Players -- if you can call this app a game -- navigate the worlds by tilting their iOS device in various directions. The title intentionally leaves out any tutorials, so plug in your headphones for ideal sound quality and get ready to explore. You can listen to four previews of the new Radiohead music found within the app below, then head over to iTunes to download it for free.
