7 Alternatives To Apple Default Apps That Will Supercharge Your iPhone

Apple iPhone comes loaded with a range of default apps which offers a number of functionality and features to the users but not everyone likes the default apps. Here are some of the smart alternative for the default apps which can help in enhancing the experience on iPhone to a whole new level.

Microsoft Outlook

A Microsoft app on an Apple phone might seem inadequate in many cases but that isn’t the case with Outlook at all. Outlook bring an incredibly fast and easy to use email client on iPhone which comes a ton of features like fast loading, ability to sort mails and a smart calendar sync feature so you don’t miss out on important things.

WhatsApp

Facebook owned WhatsApp is reining as the de-facto messaging apps king and if you are missing on it then you shouldn’t. WhatsApp iOS version is lightning fast, offers emoji support, along voice and video calling apart from the standard messaging abilities. The best thing about WhatsApp is that you can even send documents on its platform.

Dark Sky

If you are looking for a robust and smart weather app then Dark Sky is the silver lining for you. This app is known for offering extremely accurate weather reading whether it is rain alerts, forecasts or detailed meteorological chart, it does all like a charm.

Sleep Cycle

Waking up in the morning can be a challenging task for a number of users. This app is not just your usual alarm app which is described as disruptive, frustrating and hateful by wider audience. Sleep Cycle is a gentle app which can easily wake a user up by calculating the best possible time and within a particular time frame without causing any negative sympathies for the app. It can also track your sleep cycle in the best fashion.

Citymapper

If you love to explore new places then this exciting navigational app will set you on the right course. This app is known for its fast and easy to use interface which allows users to find the quick and cheapest way to get anywhere you want to go. Moving around the city in a car or on foot this app is aptly suited for everything navigational.

SwiftKey

If you are bored to default keyboard on the iPhone then you can spice things up with tons of keyboard skins offered in SwiftKey. Furthermore this app also makes use of AI for suggesting the correcting the spelling while typing and remember this not just simple autocorrect. It has some of the cool tricks up its sleeves which enhances the typing experience and users can always change their keyboard skin as per their mood.

Fantastical 2

If you are looking for an extremely smart calendar app then Fantastical 2 is the right choice. This one offer some of the cool features like ability to create event set for every other day of the week without the typing in for each day and it can also efficiently handle the to-do lists.

Security Experts Identify Dozens of iPhone Apps Vulnerable to Hacking

Hacking has turned out be a global issue and no matter how full proof a system is it remains vulnerable to the system of hacking. Most of the hackers are trained professionals who can very easily extract information digitally from our phones and computers. According to recent news, a group of security experts have discovered a flaw in several popular iPhone apps which can make the user’s device vulnerable to hacking. Through the mobile applications the hackers can very easily gain access to all the sensitive data including details about latest transactions and bank details.

33 Names Already Revealed 

Will Strafach, an Infosec expert recently published a blog post to caveat users that a scan of the regular Apple Store iPhone apps has identified 76 apps which can be used as a medium for hacking. Through these applications the hackers will play the role of ‘man in the middle’, and will gain access to all the useful data and information sent from phone to the cloud. The blog post also revealed the names of 33 such apps which are vulnerable including FirstBank, a banking app and a car application called Uconnect Access.

43 More Apps Named

That’s not all, the names of the apps already revealed are believed to be low risk and the blog further warns that there are 43 applications that are high risk apps. The name of these applications will also be revealed within a few weeks, after the developers have been given a fair chance to fix the flaws immediately. The Infosec expert revealed that this security hole can be derived by hackers through network related code be misconfigured in an unfortunate manner. He also stated that most of the names of apps already revealed are Snapchat add-on apps. These also include the apps used for uploading videos and photos to Snapchat and also those used for increasing Snapchat contacts. Another popular application which is a high risk app is Epic, which offers unlimited books for kids.

Onus of App Developers 

He also said that because of the type of flaw, Apple has not yet issued a widespread fix for that would make the applications even more vulnerable to hacking. It is the obligation and responsibility of the app developers solely to fix this issue and to ensure that their apps are free from risk of attacks. The blog post by Will Strafach contains the full names and details of the app list issued earlier. The scariest part of this is that all the 76 apps vulnerable to hacking have been downloaded and installed over 18,000,000 times.

The blog post not only reveals the name of these apps but also categories them into sections of low, medium and high risk. This will make it easier for the iPhone users to stops using the high & medium risk apps until the risk of attack is gone and the apps are safe to use. Strafach has also advised iPhone users to safeguard their device through properly configured VPN. If the users are not keen on using VPN, then they must switch off the Wi-Fi connection in all public places.

iOS 10.3 beta Hints Apple to Drop Support for 32-bit Apps in iOS 11

Apple is all set to do away with the 32 bit apps on its iPhone and iPad with upcoming version of the iOS. This move by the Apple was first discovered by a developer named Peter Steinberger who very soon sent out a tweet that he had discovered this hint from the iOS 10.3 beta update. Therefore a number of apps based on 32 bit will not work at all on the future versions of iOS.

Therefore developers will have to update their app in order to improve the capability on iOS based devices in future. In iOS 10.3 beta version a similar error message pops up on the screen when accessing such mobile applications. This error messages are doing rounds on various forums where developers have found to their surprise that the Apple has stopped supporting the 32 bits apps together.

The slew of error messages in iOS

Users who have updated the developer version of iOS are frequently getting error messages like ‘the app will slow down an iPhone/iPad when opening a 32-bit app. Furthermore system also lays down the path for the developer to ensure the compatibility for this app in future by upgrading it at the earliest. The error messages further states “the app needs to be updated. This app will not work with future versions of iOS. The developer of this app needs to update it to improve its compatibility”. In short Apple is sending out message to the developer to get to the task of enhancing their 32 bit before next public updates hits the iPhone and iPad in upcoming months.

Apple iOS 10.3 beta brings a new Siri feature

Apple has bumped up the feature for Siri by bringing in ability to answer any question related to the cricket. This update brings an India specific feature for Siri where ‘cricket’ is a hugely popular sport. Quite incidentally Google Now already has support for answering queries related to the cricket but Apple is catching up with Google by bringing similar functionality for its assistant.

According to the Apple Siri will be able to effectively answer questions related to the cricket with this update wherein users can even get precise answers from upcoming 2016 IPL rankings, get to see stats for an individual players as well the trivia questions associated with this sport.

Apple support for 64-bit apps is not new

Apple going for the 64-bit apps is not a new thing as it was first on iOS after the launch of the iPhone 5s in 2013. In 2014 Apple put forward on the developer’s web page wherein it stated that all the apps developed from now on will have to offer 64 bit support. Later on in June 2015 Apple started ensuring that all the apps on App Store are 64 bit. In short Apple move to get rid of 32 bit apps on the iOS platform isn’t immediate rather it has been a calculated move.

iPhone Secrets, Shortcuts and Hidden Features You Should Know About

iPhone, which is the world’s smartest smartphone, provides you with the wide variety of features which you cannot experience in other smart phones. It has the power to bring the entire universe at the grip of your hand. The curiosity always runs down amongst us to know what enables the smartphone to bring on the applications on the front screen.

The answer to it is known now as the GPS renders the compass in a superfluous way that makes all the apps to appear on the front screen that provides a magnanimous view. As you can witness all your apps in one go hence, locating apps in shortest time will make you feel that everything is on the range of your fingers.

To delve in to an ocean of applications all you need to do is swipe the screen. Swipe towards the left and you can experience all the features that will make you feel that everything is under your control ensuring simplicity and comfort from all angles. By swiping towards left the compass of applications steps a level higher and utilizes the phones accelerometer which makes you understand that why this have been heralded as the smartest phone of the generation.

Along with availing a wide range of applications for yourself you can also experience the privilege of iMessaging. After the introduction of iOS 10 you can add several animations to your texts. Like you can make the screen or the upcoming texts go rippled.

You can simultaneously add effects of balloons to your entire screen that gives an artistic turn to your messages. It is also very easy to avail this feature as you can get all the effects by just pressing the arrow present down the text. You can also add animation like Slam, Loud, Gentle and Invisible Ink through the same procedure.

You can now click stills during video recording. You do not have to stop your video recording inorder to take pictures. You just need to press the white circle present on the downward corner of your screen. The photo won’t be exact that you click via full camera mode as it uses the resolution of the phones video.

You can also get an added benefit on the plus size models of iPhones called Reachability which enables you to bring the upper top of your screen to the middle position by just tapping twice on the screen. This is really beneficial for the ones who have short hands.

You can now call your favorite people with just a 3D touch. The four top contacts will appear and then you can ring them up without having to search through the entire contact list. You can also change the people who comes as your favorites by just sliding along the top four contacts. Just add your favorite according to the given program and call them whenever you want without any hassle.

The iPhones has come up with so many dynamic features and secrets that after buying it you will feel yourself to be highly prejudiced.

New Developer Update On Apple Watch Introduces Theater Mode

Apple Watch is here to stay and it has been made clear a while ago by the Apple even though the smartwatch industry going through the dull phase. Apple has exclusively rolled out update for developers with WatchOS 3.0 wherein it has enhanced the support for Siri along with the amazing Theatre Mode.

Let’s talk about smartwatch market at first which is growing at a very low rate with continuous downfall in shipments with each passing quarter some industry analyst are predicting that the bubble is about to bust. However Apple standing the smartwatch category is special as it controls both the hardware and software division which ensures its devices gets best of features, security along with longer support than other devices.
More features for Siri

Apple is getting stiff competition when it comes to innovation by Microsoft with the launch of the Windows 10 Continuum model in 2016. Currently Siri support has been expanded to the iOS, MAC, Apple TV as well as Watch. Apple is bringing the new SiriKit to the developers with this new update which will open the possibility for the SmartWatch to interact with a number of third party apps and executes a number of following commands.

In short developers will be able to run thirds party apps such as can booking apps and book a cab on the go right from their Apple Watch. Siri will become smarter than ever before as it will be able to write down messages, take takes for booking a cab proactively as well as do other needful tasks by accessing varied apps on the watch apart from the default apps. Apple official website gives more insight into the enhanced features in Siri which includes searching through photos, making digital payments, calling, messaging, accessing workouts history through Apple Health app and much more.

Theatre Mode on a Smartwatch

If you are thinking of watching movies and videos in the exciting fashion by rolling up your sleeves and peering at your wrist then you are simply mistaken. Theatre Mode update doesn’t have to do anything with videos or movies rather its simply puts watch in the silence mode wherein display is turned off and can’t be turned on by wrist movements. However even in the Theatre Mode Apple Watch will keep receiving notification and users will be able to respond though screen tap or pressing the crown. Quite interestingly this mode first appeared in the Android Wear devices like Moto 360.

Some of new features include offsetting the audio files. At the moment users can employ their Apple Watch to control the music being played on their iPhone wherein they can also skip tracks, change volume as well as mark favorites effortlessly. Still users can’t seek from one point in the song to another which is known as offset in technical terminology. Apple is offering such capability right on the smartwatch to make music listening a more interesting and effective fashion.