Apple releases first public beta of iOS 12.2

If you’ve signed up to be part of Apple’s beta testing program, the company has started seeding the first beta of the upcoming iOS 12.2 to its public beta testing group. It should come as an over-the-air update after installing the proper certification on an iOS device. If you’re interested in trying it out, you’ll need to sign up for the beta program.

Some of the expected features coming to iOS 12.2 includes the expansion of Apple News to Canada for the first time with Canadian iPhone and iPad users able to access news stories in either English or French. The update also introduces infrastructure to support AirPlay 2 and HomeKit on third-party TVs as well as a redesigned TV remote in Control Center. There are also tweaks to the Wallet app, Downtime feature in Screen Time, new icon changes, and changes to Safari, among others. It’s also being rumoured that iOS 12.2 ushers in the launch of AirPods 2 as well as a subscription service for Apple News.

Source: MacRumors

Apple iOS 12.2 beta shows customized Downtime scheduling

Apple launched with iOS 12 last year a Downtime feature that lets users impose limits on app use. It lets users turn off apps after a certain time of day or after a certain amount of time. Now, it looks like Apple will be offering users the ability to customize Downtime to account for days of the week. The feature was spotted by a Twitter user in the iOS 12.2 beta. This means, you can set a different limit for you during the weekdays and weekends, depending on when you need to be on your phone more.  

Source: The Verge 

Amazon Alexa app on iOS now has voice control support

It took many, many months (or even a year or two) since Amazon has been able to add voice control support to its Amazon Alexa iOS app. It might have felt like this wasn’t going to happen but it’s finally here. The update will be rolling out to users in the coming days so keep an eye for it. What this brings to users is the ability to ask for help from Alexa. Since it’s not baked in natively, you’ll need to tap a button to interact with it. But once you do that, you can ask Alexa questions, access skills, listen to music, and control smart devices. There will also be a visual component in the app for queries related to weather, sports, movies, and calendar.

Source: TechCrunch

Microsoft makes photo transfers from mobile to the PC easier with new app

Microsoft just launched a new app called Photos Companion to make transferring photos from both Android and iOS devices an easier thing to do. After installing the app, all you need to do is scan the QR code you see on the Windows Photos app. This is where you can access the photos you’ll transfer to your PC. Make sure you have the latest version of the app. Once you’ve paired your devices, this will let you batch send photos to the PC while you’re on the same Wi-Fi network. You will have to pair your devices every time you want to transfer files over. But as GSMArena points out, it’s possible to start a video project on Windows Photos and then directly get images and videos from your phone.