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iOS 12 concept photos showcase how Apple could easily improve the iPhone user experience

apple, phone

Apple over the past few years has been iterating at breakneck speed. Every single year, without fail, we’ve seen a brand new iPhone accompanied by a brand new version of iOS, complete with a wide array of new and exciting features. 2018, though, will be a little bit different. While a slate of new iPhones are on the horizon, iOS 12 will likely be a less ambitious release than initially planned. According to reports, a handful of widely publicized iOS and macOS bugs convinced Apple to scale back a few of its more ambitious iOS plans as to ensure that upcoming features are fully baked upon release.

Interestingly enough, Apple’s early roadmap for iOS 12 was said to include a brand new home screen, a revamp that has since been pushed back to iOS 13.

As Axios reported last month:
Pushed into 2019 are a number of features including a refresh of the home screen and in-car user interfaces, improvements to core apps like mail and updates to the picture-taking, photo editing and sharing experiences.
So while we’ll likely have to wait until 2019 before we see a drastic overhaul to the iOS user experience, new iOS 12 concept photos hosted on Behance provide us with a glimpse into what a re-imagined iteration of iOS might look like. While iOS concepts are a dime a dozen these days, many of the concepts below are intriguing to say the least.
For instance, a brand new sound bar would allow users to increase or decrease the volume without the UI overtaking the screen.








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7 tips for using Instagram to maximise your business

apps

    The world’s most popular image-based social media network is a great source to significantly         boost your business’ revenue, if you know how

The amount engagement that businesses receive on Instagram is unparalleled compared to the other social networks. It’s ten times higher than even Facebook, despite having half of its user base size. So if you don’t have a presence on it, you’re missing out.
However, some businesses flounder in their attempt to reel in an audience. It sends many scrambling for solutions. Some use Instagram automation to get more followers, while others try to do it by themselves. Either way, it can be tough making a splash on the platform.
It’s not a futile endeavour, though. All it takes is some careful planning and the right approach. Below are seven tips for any business looking to pull ahead and find success on Instagram.

1. Develop a clear picture of your audience

Every Instagram marketing campaign should begin with figuring out the demographics that you’re trying to target. This will help give your strategy a stronger focus and structure.
Do some research before doing anything else. Look around Instagram and see what other similar businesses are doing. Take note of the followers that are responding to their posts, and then try to form a profile of the specific type of person you want to attract yourself.
Once you have your audience in mind, you should put in the effort to understand them. Pay attention to the content they enjoy the most, what visual styles resonant with them, and which topics they often discuss. Let all of these elements inform the posts that you make.

2. Establish your identity

Social media is often a stage of competing personalities. The image that you convey is important, as Instagram followers tend to gravitate towards the brands that reflect themselves and their values.
The best place to start with this is your bio. Consider the impression that it makes, as its the first thing that users see at the top of your profile page. Make sure that your profile picture is appealing, and that your bio communicates what your brand is about. Don’t forget to include a link to your website or shop too, as this is the only place where you can have a clickable link.
Your posts are another place where your identity comes through. Put careful thought into the aesthetics of your content, as well as the tone that your captions convey. For instance, the use of emojis can help you seem more playful and lighthearted.

3. Socialize more than you advertise

One of the biggest problems with businesses on Instagram is that some of them become overly self-promotional. They only seem to jump on there to push their products and little else. This is a quick way to push away viewers.
You should always remember that Instagram is a social network. Its main function is to facilitate interactions and foster communities. So it’s often more rewarding to reach out to others and engage, than remain insular and disconnected.
Spend some time just browsing around and viewing other users’ content. Give out likes and comments freely, and follow anybody you think might be interested in your brand. In return, many of them might do the same for you.
Receiving engagement is important. Instagram’s algorithm is built around boosting the content that receives a lot of it. If you ever need assistance, there are a lot of great tools out to help get real Instagram likes fast.

4. Keep your content fresh and high-quality

On Instagram, content will always be king. There’s no question about it. Try as you might in all of the other areas, it’s the primary motivating factor that will bring followers back to your page. People want to see eye-catching photos and videos above all else.
Keeping up with trends is one way to stay relevant with your content. It’s crucial to be constantly evolving and showing your followers something new. You don’t want them to become bored and eventually tune you out.
Variety can spice things up too. Mix up the types of content you post. You could alternate between photos and videos, and then sometimes throw in something unique like a Carousel or Boomerang post. Additionally, ‘regramming’ (resharing) user-generated content could encourage followers to start submitting more content to you.

5. Utilize hashtags efficiently

It’s absolutely imperative that you include hashtags with your posts. Unless you’re already a massive brand with widespread name recognition, people won’t discover your account without them. Instagram’s search function is entirely built around using hashtags.
That doesn’t mean you should stuff your captions with every popular hashtag. That kind of spam-like behaviour will get you ignored more than anything. Instead, your hashtag selection should be specific and relevant to your content.
You should also try using some of the more niche hashtags. They’re a lot less crowded with content, and tend to have more passionate users. Take a moment to look around and see what smaller, specialized hashtags your audience is using to get some inspiration.

6. Try telling an Instagram Story

Much like its predecessor Snapchat, Instagram Stories is a feature-based around temporary posts that only last 24 hours before disappearing. It currently boasts over 300 million monthly active users. It’s also situated at the top of every followers’ timelines, which makes it prime real estate for any business.
Stories are a perfect place to let loose and have fun. You can give viewers a sneak peak behind the scenes of your business, or do fun images with filters, stickers and drawings over the top of them.

7. Provide exclusive value to your followers

Give your viewers some extra incentive to follow your account. Use it as a platform to unveil new products or services before anywhere else. Hold giveaway contests and share limited-time promo codes with them. These kinds of opportunities will make anyone who hasn’t joined your community yet feel like they’re missing out.
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Proof of Huawei's AI tech: the Mate 10 Pro drives a car

Huawei, phone

Huawei is pushing on its latest chip, the Kirin 970 with an artificial intelligence NPU. But how does this much talked about AI really work? The Chinese company wanted to show us by putting the Huawei Mate 10 Pro at the helm of a Porsche Panamera and launching it in a prepared path with unexpected obstacles.

Kirin 970: Huawei leaps head of Qualcomm with super AI chip
What does AI and machine learning really mean for your smartphone
Huawei's AI is more than marketing buzz

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the biggest revolutions in the information technology sector and will certainly change the way we interact with technology. Huawei has put a lot of emphasis on this new technological approach based on machine learning, so much so that it created a SoC with a unit dedicated to the processing of AI-related tasks.

The biggest problem for Huawei is how to make users understand how this technology really works, how it can improve the use of smartphones in everyday life, but above all how it can improve over time with the use of devices. Quoting a representative of the Chinese company "we are often asked how it is possible to verify in a concrete way the functioning of this NPU". To answer these questions, Huawei created the demo in which we participated.



The smartphone used is a normal Mate 10 Pro. / © Huawei


The Mate 10 Pro drives the car all by itself
Huawei has therefore decided to equip a Porsche Panamera with the artificial intelligence of Huawei Mate 10 Pro to show how the machine vision can recognize images quickly and accurately, reacting accordingly.

The hardware used for the demo is minimized to limit any further doubt. The car was equipped with:
A DSLR placed on the roof to ensure a clear and precise view (the smartphone is located inside the car, which makes it difficult to use the integrated camera).

A Huawei Mate 10 Pro, like the one that can be purchased in the shop, which has a dedicated application created using Tensor Flow that can take advantage of the NPU for image recognition.
A Wi-Fi system for receiving commands from your smartphone.

A hydraulic system for pedal pressure and steering to give the Huawei device full control.

The car has no additional driving aid. / © Huawei

The car used was certainly not randomly chosen. 
The automotive brand collaborates with Huawei for some Porsche Design devices and the chosen model does not have any guidance system that may disturb or help the Mate 10 Pro in its task. But let's move on to the demo itself.

The car "cruised" on a 100 meter-long route at 5 km/h, during which the Huawei Mate 10 Pro was shown some possible obstacles so that it could recognize them. The car was then brought back to the starting grid and the device showed us the various obstacles recognized by asking us what to do if they were on our way (the choices were: turn right, turn left and brake). We decided the reactions so we can confirm that it was not possible to prepare the car for certain operations.

Once we made our choices, the employees chose an obstacle among those recognized by the car in order to add an additional random element to the scene: neither we nor the smartphone were aware in advance of the obstacle chosen. At this point the car was thrown at 50 km/h on the same route in the direction of the obstacle. It seems like a low speed but, believe me, from inside the car and on such a short route the demo didn't seem to be slow at all.

    A nice relaxing drive. / © AndroidPIT

The obstacle was a football ball and my colleague Steffen's action was to turn right. The action was performed flawlessly.

An excellent improvised demo
The person in charge of the demo showed us how they only had three weeks (plus two weeks of brainstorming) to complete the project, and I have to admit that I was very impressed. In addition, we have also been told that with the Android 8.1 update, the Huawei Mate 10 will be able to take advantage of the new NNAPI as well as the company's proprietary APIs. This means that all apps created using these standard instructions in the latest Android version will run much faster thanks to HiSilicon's NPU.

The system of the Huawei Mate 10 Pro has been trained with thousands of images of every possible object in the demo: football balls, bicycles and dogs. In practice, Huawei uses this demo to demonstrate how the Kirin 970's NPU is able to recognize the camera's signals and react quickly accordingly.

Is this the future? Will your smartphone drive your car? / © Huawei

In everyday use, this is used in the camera application: the system recognizes the scene, the main framed object and adjusts ISO settings, shutter speed, white balance, color saturation and much more for the best possible result.

OnePlus 5T o Huawei Mate 10 Pro? In uno scontro diretto scegliere è difficile
We certainly expect to see this technology further improved and evolved in the brand new Huawei P20 that will be presented in Paris on March 27th, and thanks to the use of three rear cameras in combination with advanced algorithms, 

AI will hopefully bring a further innovation in the world of computational photography for smartphones. That is at least what we expect!

What do you think about AI in smartphones? Do you find it useful?
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How To Remove Electra iOS 11 Jailbreak From Your iPhone Or iPad

apple, apps

Jailbreaking is all the rage again right now, thanks in part to new jailbreaks being released for some of the most recent versions of iOS. This means that there will likely be plenty of new jailbreakers out there and in turn, likely a few who decided that jailbreaking simply was not for them.
Whether the reasons for this are a lack of stability, and potentially, performance, or something else entirely, removing a jailbreak from an iPhone can be a hair-raising experience.
However, while potentially stressful, it does not have to a complicated process. If you’re jailbroken on iOS 11-11.1.2 using Electra and want to reverse the process, here’s how you go about doing exactly that. Before we get started, we’re assuming you are using a Windows machine here, but if you’re using a Mac, then the process is identical, although you will need to use Mac versions of the apps mentioned and potentially be a little more familiar with Terminal and SSH. We’re sure you’ll be fine! Assuming you are using Windows, of course, you’re going to need to download a couple of things before getting started:
  • Cyberduck or a similar FTP app
  • Delectra script
  • PuTTY
Okay, let’s get into the fun stuff!
Note: Before you begin, as suggested by the author of the uninstaller script, remove all tweaks and jailbreak apps on your device first using Cydia. If you futurerestored to your current firmware, do not use this method. Also note that although several jailbreakers have confirmed that the script works, the developer does not guarantee a successful unjailbreak, so if you’re not one to take risks, simply wait for the tried and tested SemiRestore by CoolStar to be updated for this.

Step 1: Open Cyberduck and establish a new connection to your iOS device by clicking the Open connection button.
Step 2: Select SFTP as the connection type and enter the IP address of the device you are trying to unjailbreak. This can be found in the Wi-Fi portion of the Settings app on your device.

Step 3: Enter the username “root” and the password “alpine” unless you changed the password at some point.
Step 4: Click Connect, followed by Allow.
Step 5: Drag the unjailbreak.sh script into the Cyberduck window and allow the file transfer. Once complete, you’re done with Cyberduck.
Step 6: Now, fire up PuTTY and enter the IP address of your iOS device in the Host Name field, making sure SSH is selected as the connection type. Click Open and click Yes on any popups.

Step 7: You’ll now be presented with an SSH terminal, connected to your iOS device. All you need to do now is run the unjailbreak script.
Step 8: In the PuTTY window, type “bash ./unjailbreak.sh” and hit Enter. This will start the script.
Step 9: Follow the instructions in the window, which amount to pressing Enter. You’ll need to enter your PIN on your iOS device at least once through this process, too.
Step 10: Once your iOS device has restarted, you should be jailbreak-free. Delete the Electra app and you’re all done!
See, we told you it wasn’t “that” complicated, didn’t we?

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KGI: Apple to release more affordable 13-inch MacBook Air in Q2, HomePod demand ‘mediocre’ so far

apple

Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities is today out with a pair of new investor notes on Apple. The analyst offers new supply chain details on the new iPhones coming this year, AirPods demand, and more. Kuo also says Apple is planning a more affordable 13-inch MacBook Air for this year…

Kuo says that he expects Apple to release a new MacBook Air “with a lower price tag” during the second quarter of 2018, meaning we should see it sooner rather than later. The analyst expects that the more affordable MacBook Air will help push MacBook shipments up by 10-15 percent this year.


Details on the new MacBook Air are sparse, but this report from KGI corroborates a similarly vague report from Digitimes earlier this year. The MacBook Air line has been largely stagnate in recent years as Apple has shifted focus towards the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Currently, Apple sells the 13-inch MacBook Air starting at $999, and KGI seems to think it will get even cheaper this year. Despite its neglect by Apple, the MacBook Air remains a popular choice for college students.

The investor notes also offers some additional details on supply chain reactions to the upcoming iPhone refreshes, the growing success of AirPods and more. Kuo says that KGI is “positive” on shipments of AirPods and predicts the refreshed model will come in the second half of the year, driving strong year over year growth.

As for the new iPhones coming this year, Kuo primarily focuses on the entry-level 6.1-inch model, saying it will make for a strong year for suppliers such as Unimicron, as well as Apple partners Wistron and Pegatron.

Kuo also notes that demand for HomePod has been “mediocre” thus far. Overall, the analyst says he holds a “neutral” view of demand for the smart speaker based on “shipping time.” Kuo doesn’t offer any additional info on HomePod shipments or supply chain chatter.

What do you make of Kuo’s latest report? Would you be interested in a more affordable 13-inch MacBook Air? Let us know down in the comments.
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Front-door tech is hot, and it’s not just Amazon who wants in

Security

Most of us tend to think people trying to open the door when we’re away want to steal stuff. Amazon.com would like to change that assumption.
The e-commerce giant shelled out a reported $1.1 billion this week to acquire Ring, a developer of Wi-Fi-connected door bells. The move follows the rollout last year of Amazon Key, a smart lock and camera system for in-home deliveries to customers who don’t want packages sitting outside.
But Amazon’s not the only one placing high value on front-door tech. In the age of on-demand delivery, service providers have long seen the typical low-tech door as an impediment to expansion. Smart-lock developers and home security companies also have been putting resources into the space, alongside a number of venture investors.
As we reported a few months ago in an overview of smart-lock and building access investments, the way people open the front door hasn’t changed much in a century. Most of us still get in by turning a flat metal key into a lock. Visitors ring old-fashioned door bells. And there’s commonly no digital record of who came or why.
There’s a lot of money going into changing that status quo. Since last year, venture investors have poured more than $200 million into an assortment of companies with businesses and technologies tied to keys, locks and building access. To date, those companies have more than $500 million, according to an analysis of Crunchbase funding data.

Ring, which raised $200 million in venture funding, is one of two heavily funded companies to be acquired in recent months. In October, August Home, a smart-lock developer that had raised more than $70 million in venture funding, sold to ASSA ABLOY Group, the largest global supplier of door opening products, for an undisclosed sum.
There’s good reason to think the up cycle for smart locks and entry systems has further to go. For one, to a large degree, lock and building access-related investments are an extension of the connected home space, and growing adoption of connected home systems provides a major entry point for key and door tech.
Many legitimate businesses also want an easier way to get through the door. After all, delivering things to customers’ doors, either inside or out, constitutes an industry with a collective valuation in the trillions of dollars. Amazon.com alone is valued at more than $700 billion.
Additionally, anecdotally, it does appear urban humans over recent decades are trending toward greater laziness. Increasingly, people want their laundry, meal kits, produce, shaving supplies and pet treats delivered to their doors. Just as we used to think of going to the store as a pain, we will soon consider stepping outside to pick up a package as the height of inconvenience.
Those trends might not be great for the state of humanity. But they are bullish indicators for the smart lock industry.
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Can you really trust app store ratings? We asked the experts

apps

As smartphones have soared in popularity, app development has exploded. There are currently more than 3.5 million Android apps and games in Google’s Play Store, and more than 2 million apps and games in Apple’s App Store, according to App Annie. With such a feast of choice, people need a little help separating the wheat from the chaff.

App stores offer a review rating system for precisely this purpose. After you download and install an app, you can rate it out of five stars and write up a review detailing your thoughts. Review scores are aggregated and used to determine an overall score for the app. The higher the score an app gets, the more people liked it, at least in theory. In practice, a lot of reviews are less than useful for prospective installers and there’s a thriving trade in fake reviews. One star, one-line reviews complaining that an app didn’t work on this or that device, or that there was some billing issue, aren’t always a good indication of whether the app will meet your needs. But what about multiple five-star ratings with repetitive, unnatural-sounding reviews?

Gaming the system

Good review scores are vital if you want a coveted place in the app store charts. They boost your chances of appearing on curated lists and recommendations, and the bottom line is they can persuade people to install your app. Little wonder then, that some developers are willing to bend, or even break, app store rules to get closer to five stars.

The fact that many developers game the system has been an open secret in the industry for years. A brief web search for “paid app reviews” or similar terms reveals several services selling app reviews and installations to artificially boost the standing of apps in the main app stores. While a small number of app reviews might cost $2 to $3 each, developers buying in bulk can secure discounts, with reviews costing below a mere 50 cents.
There’s no gray area here – this practice violates the Google Play Developer Program Policies and Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines. It can result in the removal of suspect reviews, the removal of the app, or even the expulsion of the developer from the program.
“Both Apple and Google have demonstrated they take the issue extremely seriously, and they continuously monitor reviews left on their respective stores,” Barnes said.

The problem is that determining what constitutes a fake review is easier said than done. Many of these services employ real users who download and install the apps and then post glowing reviews. While developers used to buy reviews in big chunks and post suspiciously similar write ups, things have gotten more sophisticated.
You can now dictate the wording of reviews, decide on post frequency, and stir in some four-star reviews alongside the five-star reviews to make it look more natural. Some of these paid app review services also guarantee they will replace any reviews that are deleted.
We want ratings and reviews to be authentic and a true reflection of comments from the users,” Andrew Ahn, product manager at Google Play, told Digital Trends. “Spammy reviews, such as off-topic comments, solicitation, content with profanity, are just some of the categories we filter out. We also prohibit fake or incentivized reviews.”
Interestingly, the practice of buying reviews isn’t just about securing positive feedback for your own app -- it can also be used to knock the competition down.
“There are two types of issues with incentivized reviews,” Ahn said. “One is buying good reviews to better promote your own app, and the other is buying negative reviews to harm competing apps. We cover both cases to keep the ecosystem clean and fair.”
Meteoric success, like what happened with the game Flappy Bird, immediately raises questions, as does a sudden drop in ratings, like with CNN’s iOS app.
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After Just 6 Months, the Phone Notch Is Already Deeply Uncool

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When Essential debuted the first-ever notched display on the PH-1, it was a bold, divisive statement about smartphone design. Then Apple put one on the iPhone X, and while some people still didn’t get it, the sentiment around the notch shifted from confusion to curious appreciation, or even adoration. But now, after going to Mobile World Congress and seeing pretty much every other smartphone maker adopt the notch, the feature has almost entirely lost its cool.
And I’m not just talking about some no name knock-offs either. On the Zenfone 5, not only did Asus rip off the iPhone X’s notch, the company blatantly copied the rest of the X’s design too. Then there’s the R15made by Oppo, the fifth largest smartphone maker in the world. Even LG reportedly showed off a notched G7 behind closed doors, and that’s before we talk about all the other notched Euro and Asian smartphones we don’t pay attention to here in the US. And with rumors that Huawei and OnePlus are adding notches to their next handsets, pretty soon it’s going to be only Pixels, Galaxys and maybe a Moto that still have unblemished rectangular displays.

So the whole world has gone notch crazy. Sweet. Now there’s a couple reactions you can have. One is to get angry about it, which is fine, but instead, why not try to look one level deeper and figure out what’s causing this change? With the recent trend of smartphones opting for full-view or extra-wide or whatever you want to call it displays and cutting down on bezels, the notch was really an inevitable evolution.

You can’t really get rid of a phone’s front-facing cam without whipping up the hoard of selfie-snapping fanatics into a frothy social media-powered complaint storm. But you can try to recover the space on either side of a phone’s front sensors, which is precisely the line of thought that gave us notches in the first place. And while the Zefone 5’s notch is quite uninspired, you got to give Asus a little credit for delivering a handset with a screen-to-body ratio of 90 percent, which is better than both the iPhone X (82.9) and the Galaxy S9 (83.6 percent).
When you realize this, suddenly it seems kind of silly to get worked up about Android phone makers copying the iPhone X’s notch. The notch wasn’t even the iPhone X’s to claim in the first place. Additionally, conflating the inclusion a notch with phone makers copying Apple seems a bit flawed.


The iPhone X is much more than a handset with a screen that has a crooked side. That notch is hiding some pretty impressive facial recognition tech, that try as they might, has to be replicated on any Android phone. 
The iPhone X also has a build quality that is largely unmatched outside of a select few Android phone makers, and its homegrown processor still blows Qualcomm’s chips out of the water when it comes to pure speed. Yes, the Zenfone 5 is an iPhone X clone, but that’s because it copied Apple’s entire playbook. Most other smartphones makers are simply chasing the easiest path to bigger, more immersive displays.
So now back to the issue of coolness. When you think about it, the notch is really a utilitarian compromise, and as everyone knows, utility is the opposite of style. Consider the good ‘ole utilikilt. (Please click that link if you want a good laugh.) Its open bottom gives you plenty of mobility, and its rugged cotton-poly blend and metal grommets are surely quite durable. But is it cool? Hell no.

Or what about the suburb’s favorite people mover, the minivan. It’s by far the best way to shuttle a gaggle of rambunctious children to a soccer game or ferry a pack of labradoodles to the vet. But there’s a reason why when people have mid-life crises, they opt for a sleek two-seater rather than a wood-paneled Caravan.
No, if smartphone makers were going for cool, they would have tried harder. Maybe if they ask real nice, Vivo might give them some tips. So until someone figures out something better, notches are going to be a standard feature from here on out. And that’s really the issue at heart, because not long after Essential and Apple made notches neat, everyone else hopped on the bandwagon and ruined it. After all, there are few things worse than running into someone and realizing you are wearing the same clothes. What a bummer.
by: Sam Rutherford
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