March, 2019 | CompuScoop.com

Apple updates Shortcuts app to version 2.2

CompuScoop Staff March 27, 2019 0

Apple has updated the company’s Shortcuts app to version 2.2 which includes the following:

• Create and access Notes in your shortcuts with the new Create Note, Append to Note, Find Notes, and Show Note actions
• Pull out numbers from text using the new Get Numbers from Input action
• Tapping on the Library tab will now scroll to the bottom of your shortcuts list
• Get Travel Time now returns more details, including route name, arrival time, and distance
• Bug fixes and improvements

More info via Apple’s App Store here.

Apple Pay coming soon to: Estonia, Portugal, Slovakia, and Slovenia

CompuScoop Staff March 27, 2019 0

Mobile banking service N26 has teased it will be making its Apple Pay-supporting service available to customers in European countries that are not currently listed as supporting Apple’s mobile payment system, a tweet that could be an indicator of imminent Apple Pay expansion on the continent,” Malcolm Owen reports for AppleInsider.

“In a tweet posted on Tuesday, N26 claimed it will be ‘bringing Apple Pay’ to its customers in Estonia, Greece, Portugal, Slovakia, and Slovenia,” Owen reports. “No timescale was provided for when the bank would offer Apple Pay in those markets, except it would be ‘coming soon.'”

“The tweet is notable as Apple has not officially confirmed Apple Pay will be arriving in those countries anytime soon,” Owen reports. “It is unclear if the tweet was a misfire by the bank ahead of a formal announcement by Appleitself.”

Read more in the full article here.

Apple TV Remote App gets new icon in update

Dan Uff March 27, 2019 0

On Tuesday,Apple pushed out an update for its Apple TV App that includes a brand new icon to help new and current users find it faster.

The change is available now.

Notice: If you haven’t updated your iPhone or iPad, to iOS 12.2, you should do it NOW

Dan Uff March 27, 2019 0

While Apple was announcing its new services last Monday, it also pushed out a critical security update for its iPhones and iPads. If you haven’t updated those devices yet, perhaps you will after reading this article.

Perhaps the most notable fix: Apple patched a flaw that could allow malicious applications to access the microphone on your iPhone and record you and those around you.

But that's just one of the vulnerabilities Apple addressed in iOS 12.2.

The company also fixed a problem with the FaceTime app that prevented video chats from pausing when you left the app.

Another fix closed a loophole that allowed users to access sensitive information in the Messages app and websites visited through Safari to see information from their phone's light and motion sensors.

Those are just a few of the most shocking security flaws. Others dealt with phone memory and SMS hacking. Some of the patches impact devices other than iPhones, such as laptops and iPads.

It's not unusual for Apple to fix security issues in software updates, cybersecurity consultant Nick Merrill told CNN.

The iPhone's previous operating system, iOS 12.1.4, was released in February after the discovery of a bug in FaceTime that allowed the camera and microphones of iPhones to be accessed without the user's permission.

The fixes come ahead of Apple's big push into content and entertainment. During its press event Monday, privacy was a buzzword for several of its new services.

The company said it would "maintain user privacy" when suggesting content for users of its News+ magazine subscription service and announced on stage that it will not collect data from its streaming game service Apple Arcade. The company also pledged that Goldman Sachs, which partnered with Apple on a credit card, wouldn't share Apple cardholder's data for marketing.

Apple's stock closed down 1% after the announcement. Vague details about the credit card's interest rate and the price of TV+ left investors unconvinced that they could make up for slowing iPhone sales.

Portions of this article came from WGN-TV News in Chicago, Ill. USA.