Don't you hate it when your iPhone rings and and it is a spam / junk phone call? It interrupts your day and is just annoying. Fortunately, there are now some things that you can do to protect yourself. This week, Florida attorney Katie Floyd posted a review of Hiya, a free app that can filter spam phone calls to your iPhone. I recently started using Call Protect, a free app that AT&T released for its customers December 20, 2016. The AT&T app incorporates Hiya technology. Since I started using Call Protect, the app blocked one suspected fraudulent call (and my phone didn't even ring), and it knew to flag another call as a "Survey" so when I saw my phone ringing I knew I could ignore it — and I have received no other spam / junk phone calls. I may post a full review of Call Protect in the future as I have more experience with the app, but for now, if you are looking to stop those annoying phone calls, consider taking a look at Hiya or Call Protect. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- Mike Wuerthele of AppleInsider reports that Apple was recently sued by a family whose daughter was killed in a car accident in Texas when her vehicle was rear-ended by a driver who was using FaceTime on his iPhone at the time of the crash. The plaintiffs allege that Apple has a patent on a feature that would block the use of FaceTime while driving, and was unreasonable in failing to implement that feature.
- South Carolina attorney Justin Kahn reviews Duet Display, an app that turns your iPad into a second display for your computer.
- If you enjoy working out with your Apple Watch and you want to try a different workout app, David Smith recently introduced Workouts++, and Chicago attorney John Voorhees posted a review of Workouts++ for MacStories. I still haven't decided if I prefer the app, but it is definitely nice to see more high quality choices.
- If you think that you might enjoy working out with an Apple Watch and you are looking to buy one, the Apple Watch Nike+ is now available, and Rene Ritchie of iMore reviewed it. His conclusion is that if you want the aluminum version of the Apple Watch and you think that you might want the extra features of the Nike version (special watch band, special Nike watch faces), you might as well get it because it costs the same as the regular Apple Watch and, for now, you cannot purchase the special Nike bands or the special Nike watch faces separately.
- Apple announced yesterday that January 1, 2017 was the busiest day ever on the App Store, with $240 million in sales. Apple developers earned $20 billion in 2016, up 40% from 2015.
- Jason Snell and Dan Moren of Six Colors list some of their favorite iOS apps.
- I meant to post this one last year and I forgot. If you use the GoodNotes app to take handwritten notes on an iPad, click on the link in this tweet from GoodNotes to download a whole bunch of free cover and paper templates, including yellow and white legal pad templates.
- And finally, if you are looking for a stand for your Apple Watch that brings back the nostalgia of the 1980s, look no further than the W3 stand from Elago, available on Amazon for $12.99. Note that this picture shows an (appropriate) beige color, but the two versions sold by Elago are called "white" and "black," and a picture on MacRumors makes me wonder whether the white unit is more white than beige. Regardless, it is a fun idea. [UPDATE 1/10/17: Serenity Caldwell of iMore tried it out, and really likes it.]
