Tag Archives: IPadOS

Technology

Hands-On With Universal Control in iPadOS 15.4 and macOS Monterey 12.3

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Apple today released new developer betas of iPadOS 15.4 and macOS Monterey 12.3, and the updated software adds the long awaited and highly anticipated Universal Control feature. We tested out Universal Control, and even in an early beta form, Universal Control is an easy to use and convenient multi-device control option.


To use Universal Control, the iPadOS 15.4 beta and the macOS Monterey 12.3 beta must be installed on your iPad and Mac, respectively. When you update, the feature is enabled by default and should work automatically, but we did run into an issue where we needed to restart the Mac to get it to work.

Settings for Universal Control on the Mac can be found under Displays > Advanced if you want to turn it off for some reason or change the functionality, and on the ‌iPad‌, you can find the toggle under General > AirPlay & Handoff.

After updating, if you have a Mac and an ‌iPad‌ next to each other, or even multiple Macs and iPads, you can use the keyboard and cursor on one device across all of them. So, for example, if you have a MacBook Pro and an iPad Pro on your desk as we do in our video, the MacBook Pro’s trackpad can be used over on the ‌iPad‌ just by swiping across, as can the keyboard. The same is true of the ‌iPad‌ if you have a keyboard attached. Universal Control works between multiple Macs and between multiple Macs and iPads.

You can drag files from the Mac to the ‌iPad‌ and vice versa, but on ‌iPad‌, you will need to have the appropriate app open. So if you’re dragging a photo from Mac to ‌iPad‌, you need to open Photos — it can’t go on the Home screen. Trackpad gestures for Mac do not appear to work on the ‌iPad‌, which is also worth noting.

It’s an intuitive and simple-to-use feature because you can just swipe right over from one display to the next with no lag or other hindrances. You can use Universal Control on any Mac or ‌iPad‌ that’s signed into your iCloud account, and it’s a great example of an Apple feature that “just works.”

Have you tried out Universal Control? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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Technology

Apple fixes major bugs in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS software updates

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Enlarge / The 2021 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

Samuel Axon

Today, Apple released several new operating system updates to the public: iOS 15.3, iPadOS 15.3, macOS Monterey 12.2, watchOS 8.4, tvOS 15.3, and HomePod Software 15.3.

The update notes for these releases are some of the leanest I’ve seen. iOS, iPadOS, and macOS simply state that the update “includes bug fixes and security updates” and is “recommended for all users.”

iOS and iPadOS 15.3 do not add any new user-facing features. Rather, they fix several key security issues. The most notable is a zeroday vulnerability that was being exploited in the wild. Tracked as CVE-2022-22587, the threat stems from a memory corruption bug in the IOMobileFrameBuffer. Hackers who successfully exploit the bug can execute malicious code with kernel privileges on vulnerable devices. The vulnerability also resides in macOS Monterey.

“Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited,” Apple said in Wednesday’s release notes.

Apple also patched a previously reported Safari vulnerability that allowed websites that use the common IndexedDB API to access the names of databases from other websites. Note that this also affected other browsers on iOS and not just Safari (that’s because all iOS web browsers must use WebKit). macOS 12.2 fixes the same bug in the desktop version of Safari. (Unlike iOS, there are macOS web browsers that were not affected.)

For the full list of security updates in iOS and iPadOS, visit Apple’s support page on the subject. There’s a similar page for macOS, too.

macOS 12.2 also finally makes Apple Music fully native and AppKit-based in macOS, and the update improves the smoothness of scrolling in Safari on Macs with 120 Hz ProMotion displays.

As for the Apple Watch update, it’s all about bug fixes again. Specifically, watchOS 8.4 fixes a widespread issue that prevented some Apple Watch Series 7 owners from being able to properly charge the device from certain chargers.

Updates to the Apple TV and HomePod software also hit today. The HomePod 15.3 update “adds Siri voice recognition support for up to six users in a home in English (India) and Italian (Italy)” plus “performance and stability improvements.” The HomePod mini launched in both Italy and India late last year.

Apple didn’t publish any details about the tvOS update, but that update likely offered performance and stability improvements under the hood, too.

Apple has been busy outside the realm of software updates this week as well. For months, users have been complaining to app developers about iCloud syncing issues accompanied by error messages that say, “request failed with HTTP Status Code 503.” Developers quickly recognized that this was a problem on Apple’s end, even as many users assumed the fault was the developers’.

Now, developers are saying on Twitter and elsewhere that the iCloud Sync bug seems to be fixed. Apple hasn’t yet released a public statement on it, though.

All of the aforementioned software updates are available to all supported devices starting today.



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Technology

Apple releases iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1 beta 1 to developers

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Just one day after the release of iOS 15 to the public, Apple is launching the beta train yet again. The company is now rolling out the first developer beta of iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1, and developers can update today via the Settings app on their devices.

Today’s new release of the iOS 15.1 beta 1 is available to developers via an over-the-air update in the Settings app. As usual, if the update does not immediately appear for download, keep checking, as it sometimes takes a few minutes to roll out to all registered developers. The build number of iOS 15.1 beta 1 is 19B5042h.

We don’t yet know what is new in iOS 15.1 beta 1, but we’re updating our devices now to dive into things.

It’s likely that iOS 15.1 includes improvements and bug fixes for iOS 15, but it could also include new features that were not included in iOS 15.0. As a reminder, iOS 15 launched without a number of promised features, including SharePlay, ID cards in the Wallet app, App Privacy Report, CarPlay navigation improvements, Universal Control, Legacy Contacts, and Find My AirPods.

In addition to iOS 15.1 beta 1 and iPadOS 15.1 beta 1, Apple today has also released tvOS 15.1 for Apple TV as well. There is also watchOS 8.1 for Apple Watch.

If you spot any changes in the iOS 15.1 beta or other new releases from Apple today, let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @9to5Mac. Stay tuned for our full hands-on coverage with the new releases right here at 9to5Mac today.

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Technology

Here are the best new Safari extensions to download for iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 (Updated)

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One of the flagship new features in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 is the redesigned Safari web browser. While the highlight of the new Safari is its user interface, it also gains compatibility with more powerful, Mac-like browser extensions. Now that iOS 15 is available to download, there are plenty of extensions hitting the App Store, and we’ve put together a list of some to try out.

Users of 1Password will love the new Safari extension in the latest update. The 1Password extension gives you the ability to see any password right in Safari and fill in password fields with saved ones. The extension can automatically fill in two-factor authentication codes as well. If you’re using an iPad, you will get the entire desktop 1Password experience. The extension will appear in the toolbar for you to access at any time.

1Password’s new extension

The developer behind Apollo for Reddit, Christian Selig, has created a new Safari extension called Amplosion. Amplosion redirects you to the original webpage when you open an AMP link in Safari. The app also lets you keep track of how many times you’ve visited an AMP link and how many times you’ve used Amplosion to avoid one. Amplosion is priced at just $1.99 and if you hate AMP as much as I do it’s well worth it.

Christian has also created an extension that adds an HTML web inspector to Safari. The app is priced at $0.99 and is well worth it – since Apple still hasn’t added its own inspector.

Achoo extension on iPhone

The new CardPointers Safari extension knows what deals you may be able to take advantage of on different shopping websites. CardPointers says that it’s compatible with thousands of websites. While shopping in Safari with the extension enabled, you’ll get a notice telling you which card to use for the best deal as well as any special offers.

Cheep is an app that helps you find deals on Flights. With its latest update, it adds a Safari extension for use with Google Flights. The extension helps determine the cost per mile, distance in miles, and recommends whether or not you should book the flight. Cheep is free.

This app is a simple web inspector that appears to be designed to look familiar to those who frequently use one in Chrome on the Mac. This extension lets you inspect webpages and edit their elements, enter JavaScript commands, view network requests, and more. It’s also entirely free.

HyperWeb is a new extension that adds the ability to customize just about anything you want to in Safari while browsing the web. The app lets you create blockers, personalize search, and customize the design of webpages. The app can also recommend enhancements to enable to make the extension more powerful.

Safari already has some translation features built-in but a new app from Gikken called Language Translator can help you take things to the next level. The app’s new Safari extension can automatically translate sites in 40 languages without any work required by the user. You can also select text and get a pop-up window if you want to translate it to another language. The app is pricey though at $29.99 but if you frequently need to translate different sites in a multitude of languages it might be worth the buy.

Vidimote is a new Safari extension that allows you to control video playback from the toolbar. The extension lets you change the speed of videos, jump ahead, switch between PiP and fullscreen, and more. Vidimote is $4.99 and available now.

StopTheMadness is a Safari extension that helps you take control of websites you frequently visit. The extensions lets you enable native iOS features like contextual menus, text editing, drag and drop, and autofill. The extension also improves privacy on the web by stopping clickjacking for different services among other things. StopTheMadness is priced at $7.99 on the App Store.

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Technology

How to Use the New ‘Live Text’ Feature in iOS 15

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Photo: Khamosh Pathak

There’s a lot going on in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, from small features like Background Sounds to banner features like FaceTime SharePlay. But the one feature that’s going to have a huge impact on your day-to-day life is Live Text.

If you’re using a compatible iPhone or iPad (any device that is running an A12 Bionic chip or higher), your device will automatically and reliably use Optical character recognition (OCR) to pull text from the iPhone viewfinder, Photos, Screenshot, Quick Look, and Safari—and it will even transcribe handwritten text for you.

How to scan and copy any text using the iPhone camera

Live Text is a really simple feature that will be automatically enabled on your iPhone after you upgrade to iOS 15. To try it out, find some text out in the real world (a book, a billboard, or a menu), and point your iPhone camera toward it. A Live Text button will appear in the bottom-right corner, along with a yellow border around the text area. Tap the Live Text button to enter the text recognition mode.

The iPhone or iPad will highlight the area with the text, and you can tap on the text to select it. From the popup, tap the “Copy” button to copy the text; now you can paste the text into any app.

Screenshot: Khamosh Pathak

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If you’re looking at something that’s actionable, like an address or phone number, you’ll have the option to navigate to the address or place a call. And yes—this all works for handwritten notes or signs, as well.

How to copy any text from a photo on iPhone

Once you upgrade to iOS 15 or iPadOS 15, Apple will scan all the photos in your library for text. This text OCR is done in the background, and it’s ready to go when you are.

When you open a photo that contains text, you’ll see the familiar Live Text icon in the bottom-right corner. Again, tap on the icon to highlight all selectable text, and you can now select and copy the text you want.

Screenshot: Khamosh Pathak

In fact, the Live Text feature is so good, you can swipe on text in a photo, and the Photos app will start selecting the text for you—no need to tap the Live Text button. You can then copy or share the selected text to any app you want.

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