HIGH - TECH

After an unexpected delay, Microsoft has at last begun rolling out the new Windows 10 April 2018 Update (version 1803) half a year after the last big Windows 10 update, the Fall Creators Update (version 1709), in October 2017. The April 2018 Update, which was code-named Redstone 4, offers a slew of new features, notably one called Timeline that lets you quickly resume earlier activities, and the Diagnostic Data Viewer, which Microsoft says will make it easier for you to know and control what data Microsoft gathers about you. Beyond that are tweaks to Cortana, Microsoft Edge and plenty more. Preston Gralla / IDG The new Windows 10 April 2018 Update looks much like the previous version of Windows 10. (Click image to enlarge it.) How useful are the new features, and will the tweaks make a difference in your life? To find out, I’ve put this newest Windows 10 iteration through its paces for a month, in addition to tracking its new features for the last six months. Here’s an

  I use my 9.7-inch iPad Pro a lot, so when Apple introduced its entry-level 2018 iPad with Apple Pencil support, I knew I had to try it out. I’ve been using the new model this month, and I wanted to share the biggest thing I’ve noticed about it, which is: Nothing “Nothing, Jonny, really?” You heard me right. I have been using the 2018 iPad to do everything I usually use the Pro for: taking notes, writing stories, working on images, sketching, communications, research, watching movies, listening to Apple Music, even playing my favorite game (which is still Rome: Total War, for some reason). I’ve noticed nothing. [ Further reading: 10+ iOS 11 iPad Pro productivity tips ] No performance compromises, no in-app stutter, no lag, for the most part almost everything feels almost exactly the same. That’s not surprising when you think about the powerful A10 Fusion chip (as used in iPhone 7) inside the 2018 iPad, which is actually faster than the A9X

Back in December, Bloomberg 's Mark Gurman reported on the existence of Marzipan, said to be an internal project at Apple that would allow for single apps to be designed for both Mac and iOS user interfaces. In January, Gurman followed up to note that the project was on track for inclusion in this year's iOS 12 and macOS 10.14. But according to longtime Apple watcher John Gruber, of Daring Fireball , the initative is unlikely to surface this year — and may be less ambitious than previously assumed. From his sources, Gruber says the project is no longer codenamed Marzipan and “sounds like a declarative control API,” which doesn't necessarily relate to cross-platform development but would theoretically allow apps to be built for multiple user interfaces at once. This alone, however, wouldn't really be something to help developers port existing iPad apps to the Mac, for example, since apps would still have to be cod

https://youtu.be/kXVt7BYQo08 Lumos is adding a smart new feature to its blinking bike helmet today: the ability to be controlled by an Apple Watch. Lumos’ helmet has turn signals on the back that are usually activated by a wireless remote clipped onto a bike’s handlebar. Now, Lumos Helmet owners will be able to automatically trigger those signals by using hand gestures instead, as long as they’re wearing an Apple Watch, too. It’s a clever feature, especially since Lumos wearers should theoretically still be signaling with their hands, anyway. So removing the need for buttons means less thing they have to do. Remember to keep your helmet charged After installing Lumos’ Apple Watch app, the Watch will record how its wearer makes their left and right turn gestures. When they make them in the future while the app is running, it’ll activate the corresponding signal on the helmet. The Watch will vibrate to remind wearers that it’s still blinking, and they’ll have t

Apple is officially getting out of the router business, with the company announcing today that it will be discontinuing its AirPort, AirPort Extreme, and Time Capsule routers, via Engadget . Apple will reportedly continue to offer bug fixes and security patches for the devices going forward, but the company is selling off all of its remaining AirPort hardware while supplies last. The death of Apple’s router business has been a long time coming, with Bloomberg reporting back in November 2016 that Apple had disbanded the hardware division responsible for its routers, which last saw an update for 802.11ac Wi-Fi back in 2013. Since then, the company’s AirPort offerings have been slowly rendered obsolete by the rising popularity of mesh Wi-Fi systems like Eero, Google Wifi, and the Linksys Velop (the last of which Apple actually sells in its stores now.) Still, the AirPort dream might not tota

  Back in January, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed three potential new iPhone models Apple might release this year. One of them was a 6.1-inch iteration that would borrow elements from both the iPhone X and iPhone 8 models. Kuo previously noted that the 6.1-inch model wouldn’t have 3D Touch, and now we have more details about it. According to Chinese website Feng , and as spotted by MacRumors , Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that Apple’s new 6.1-inch phone will have an updated display. That new display will supposedly raise costs to between $23 and $26, leading Kuo to predict that because Apple’s new display module is more expensive, it might give up 3D Touch features to balance costs. According to Kuo, the new 6.1-inch iPhone will use something called Cover Glass Sensor (CGS) technology which will reportedly allow the display to be lighter and more impact resistant. According to the memo seen

  Apple is making a VR and AR headset that would combine both technologies and use the company’s proprietary chips, according to a report from CNET , citing a person familiar with the plans. The headset will reportedly arrive in 2020. There’s very limited information about the headset and CNET is only citing a single source in its report. It describes a dream headset with technology that doesn’t exist so far on the market. CNET says there will be an 8K display for each eye, which seems ambitious, considering the best VR headsets on the market now barely reach 4K per eye. The headset will have cameras that detect the surroundings. It’s supposedly going to connect to a dedicated box through a high-speed, wireless tech called 60GHz WiGig. The box will be powered by a 5-nanometer proprietary Apple processor, the anonymous source told CNET . Apple’s current A11 Bionic processor in the iPhone X uses 10-nan