This week is the calm before the storm in the world of the iPhone, iPad and Mac. On Monday, June 4, Apple begins its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Jose, CA. The conference kicks off with a Keynote address on Monday at 10 Pacific / 1 Eastern. Apple always uses this as an opportunity to preview the next version of the operating system for the iPhone and iPad, which I presume will be called iOS 12. (This time last year, Apple previewed iOS 11.) This is also an opportunity for Apple to make new hardware announcements, so perhaps we will see a new iPad Pro or a new Apple Watch. With WWDC around the corner, there wasn't much other iOS news this past week, but here is the news of note:
- About six weeks ago, I posted a review of the iPhone Field Guide by California attorney David Sparks. It is a fantastic e-book (including tons of videos) with tips for how to make the most of your iPhone. This week, David announced that he updated his book to version 1.1, adding new content and fixing some small typos. David also announced that he plans to update this book "for a few years," with the next update likely to come after iOS 12 is released. If you think you might be interested and you haven't yet purchased this book yet, I encourage you to do so now because David also announced that he is about to increase the price.
- Earlier this week, I discussed the new Messages in iCloud feature of iOS 11.4. David Pogue of Yahoo provides much more information about how this feature works. For example, he explains that photos, videos, and other large files in your Messages app are offloaded to iCloud, which means that turning this feature on can save lots of space on your iPhone or iPad, although it does use up your iCloud space. But it is easy to increase your iCloud space by just paying a little bit more; you cannot increase your iPhone space without buying a new iPhone. So if you are running low on iPhone space because of Messages, the new Messages in iCloud feature might be very useful for you.
- John Gruber of Daring Fireball notes that the Things app (a task management app) was updated to version 3.6 and adds tons of support for using a keyboard with an iPad.
- Gruber also encourages everyone to turn on the iOS feature that erases all data after 10 failed passcode attempts. I have never enabled this feature on my iPhone because I was afraid that my kids might trigger it on accident. John points out that it would take over three hours before there could be 10 unsuccessful attempts, which certainly does reduce the risk of it happening when you don't want it, but I'm still on the fence.
- It's now June, so one of the next special occasions to look forward to is Father's Day on June 17. Roger Fingas of Appleinsider recommends a dozen Apple-related gifts for dads.
- Guigherme Rambo of 9to5Mac discovered that a new Apple Watch face will go live on Monday, June 4 during WWDC. It features strings corresponding to the LGBT pride flag, and it looks pretty cool.
- And finally, here is a short video from Apple with a few tips for using the on-screen keyboard on the iPad.
