As it often does on a Monday, Apple threw out the third beta of its upcoming iOS 8 software a short while back, and although the changelog mentioned the usual bug fixes and general performance enhancements, the Cupertino giant has also delivered a little treat for those rocking an iPhone on T-Mobile U.S. As of iOS 8 beta 3, those subbed to the popular carrier can enjoy Wi-Fi calls, and apparently, the clarity of said calls is far greater than on a standard 3G / 4G cellular connection.
Some iOS and OS X users have noted of a minor glitch pertaining to the use of the stock Calendar, resulting in the wrong holiday dates being shown for certain regions. Thus, folks in countries like Lithuania are seeing the holidays of nations like Mexico and Hong Kong, and although this rather confusing scenario seems to have affected multiple users running on iOS 7.1.x as well as others on Mac, Apple has reportedly noted of the issue and will come through with a fix in a forthcoming software update.
iOS 8 beta 3 has been released, and in typical fashion, we took the latest beta from Cupertino out for a test run and found a few nuggets along the way. Here’s what is new!
Apart from the third beta of iOS 8, Apple has also seeded Developer Preview 3 of OS X Yosemite. Details on how and where to download it from can be found right here.
Turns out that making smartphones is hard, and although the folks at Foxconn are actually rather good at doing just that, there's always room for extra improvement. Whether that improvement comes in any form, Foxconn is apparently set to augment its existing workforce with 10,000 new additions.
Having visually compared Android L with KitKat, we found out that Google is pushing hard to take Android one step further from where it stands right now. But how does it compare to its fiercest upcoming rival, iOS 8? That’s exactly what we’re going to find out, by comparing Android L preview with iOS 8 beta, visually.
We cannot, it seems, help but get carried away by voice assistants, and even though Microsoft joined the party extremely late with the introduction of Cortana earlier this year, the amount of hype it has generated for the software giant will certainly do Windows Phone's cause no harm whatsoever. Having already been compared a dozen times to Google Now and Apple's Siri, Cortana has had the benefit of watching and learning from both, but while the Halo-based voice assistant has clearly borrowed from its two longer-serving rivals in many departments, Siri is now looking to Cortana for inspiration.
It has long since been suspected that Apple would come through with its very own brand of smartwatch, and this year, there's a genuine feeling that the company will finally bite the bullet and introduce the elusive product. Given Google's announcement of Android Wear at the beginning of the year, followed up at last month's I/O conference with more details and the announcement of Samsung's Gear Live, it would appear crucial that Apple doesn't allow its rivals to much leeway, and with the Cupertino's first major wearable set for release later on in the year, the company has just secured the services of TAG Heuer's Sales Director.
The iPhone 6 is coming, and boy do we know about it. We are currently sitting right at the peak of the speculation and concept stage of the annual release cycle, meaning that each day we can look forward to a new influx of best and educated guesses pertaining to potential device specifications as well as new concept art. There will undoubtedly be an exception to that at some point but today is not that day. Following hot on the heels of yesterday's beautiful iPhone 6 renders from Mark Pelin, we are now seeing a new - albeit very similar - set shown off in multiple colors.
Apple is said to be preparing two new iPhones for release later on this year - a 4.7-inch model and a larger, 5.5-inch variant. Hitherto, reports have suggested that only smaller of the two new iPhone 6 configurations would be available from the start, with the more sizeable option apparently beset by manufacturing delays. However, a new report today has indicated that, as suspected, Apple will announce and release its next-gen smartphone in the month of September, although interestingly, has added that the 16GB edition of the 5.5-inch device will also hit the retail market on the same date.
