WatchOS 5: 8 tips and tricks you need to know

Alongside releasing iOS 12, Apple is also updating the Apple Watch ($70 at Amazon) to WatchOS 5. The update brings with it a new walkie-talkie feature, the Podcasts app, and other improvements. The update process is a breeze, but make sure you set aside some time and have your charger handy. Not every feature is as clear as, say, the …

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iOS 12 has a trackpad feature for easier text editing

We’ve all faced the test of accurately tapping on a word in an attempt to place the cursor in the perfect spot in order to fix a typo. This process almost never works. With the addition of 3D Touch starting with the iPhone 6S ($190 at eBay), users could hard press on the keyboard to activate a trackpad-like feature. After …

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Sinemia adds new unlimited $30 plan to push MoviePass out of your life

In just one year, MoviePass has gone from Most Likely to Save Movie Theaters from Extinction to Least Likely to Survive 2018. To say it’s been a rollercoaster ride is to understate rollercoasters. Never mind that one ticket per day for $9.95 per month — the much-ballyhooed plan that debuted in August 2017 — was overkill and unsustainable. The company …

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Apple Watch: Five new fitness features coming with WatchOS 5

Apple’s latest WatchOS 5 update is now available for download, and it brings a ton of great new features for the Apple Watch like a walkie-talkie app, Siri shortcuts and Podcast support. But as someone who uses her Apple Watch mostly for its fitness and workout features, those are the improvements I’m most excited about.   Here are the key fitness upgrades in …

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Apple scrubs most references to AirPower from its website

AirPower, where are you? At its Sept. 12 event, Apple unveiled new iPhones and a new Apple Watch, but no AirPower. Apple first showed off the wireless charging pad in September 2017, but it’s been a full year and the product still isn’t on the market. Now, it seems like Apple wants us to forget it even existed. Apple removed …

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We’re finally getting the smartwatches we wanted five years ago

Qualcomm’s Toq smartwatch was so big it dwarfed my wrist. Rectangular and thick, it weighed down my arm and almost restricted my motion. I had to cut the wrist band, which contained the battery in the clasp, to precisely fit my wrist. It was a watch that only an engineer could love. And I sure wasn’t an engineer. That, in …

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iOS 12: What’s new with Do Not Disturb and Notifications

This story is part of WWDC 2022, CNET’s complete coverage from and about Apple’s annual developers conference. With the release of iOS 12, Apple is finally doing something about the mess of notifications and alerts we receive on a daily basis.  Some of the changes are an extension of Apple’s effort to help you limit the amount of time spent …

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The lithium

Batteries are our lifeblood. Lithium-ion power cells, first commercialized by Sony in 1991, enable nearly every 21st century convenience: Phones, laptops, wireless headphones, cordless power tools — even electric vehicles. But like the other great conveniences of our modern age — automobiles and air travel — on the rare occasions lithium batteries go wrong, they can go catastrophically wrong.  Just …

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Amazon highlights small biz sellers with Storefronts page

Amazon on Monday launched Amazon Storefronts, a landing page made specifically for the over 1 million US small and medium-sized businesses selling on the site. Storefronts joins three similar landing pages Amazon created to highlight smaller businesses: Launchpad and Exclusives, for up-and-coming brands, and Handmade, for hand-crafted jewelry, art and gifts. The new initiative is another way for Amazon to …

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10 hidden features in iOS 12

iOS 12 is here and ready to add a bunch of new features to your iPhone ($899 at Amazon), iPad ($170 at Amazon) and iPod touch. Most notably, Apple focused on improving overall performance for all iOS devices. That’s not really a feature that can be shown in screenshots but has to be experienced firsthand. There are easier to find …

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Pandora launches The Drop, a personalized new

Pandora on Monday introduced another personalized playlist, called The Drop, which collects new-release music suited to your tastes. The playlist, which is available for people who pay a $10-a-month Premium subscription, adds tunes to the top as they’re released, sort of like a news feed of fresh songs algorithmically picked for you.   Pandora is widening its roster of personalized …

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Trump can text every phone in the US with a ‘presidential alert’

Don’t freak out when you get a text from the government on Oct. 3. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is conducting a nationwide test of its Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts on Oct. 3, 2018 at 2:18 p.m. ET. The test of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, or IPAWS, is supposed to determine the readiness of …

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