Another two Apple iOS updates in last fortnight - with some handy new features

For those of you who have been waiting for the go-ahead on iOS 10, it might now be time to think about updating.  

On Oct 27, Apple released a 'major' update to iOS 10, iOS 10.1. 

Then, hot on the heals of this iOS 10.1 release, Apple released a 'fix' for iOS 10.1 this week - so the latest version of iOS 10 is now (as at 5/11/16) iOS 10.10.1.

For those of you who had already installed iOS 10, 10.0.1, 10.0.2, 10.0.3 or 10.1, please do go ahead with this latest update, as there will be fixes for lots of little issues with the earlier releases of iOS 10 - as well as the new features described below.

For those who had not yet updated to iOS 10, I think that the upgrade and its updates have now 'bedded down' sufficiently for you to feel quite safe in going ahead with the update.   

Below we look at some of the features that  are worthy of mention in iOS 10.1 (and 10.1.1).  

For anyone who is an iTandCoffee Club member, our next Free Friday on Nov 18th at 9am will be part 2 of 'Discovering the new features of iOS 10', where we will look at more of the great new features of iOS 10, and answer questions relating to iOS 10.   Book here to reserve your place - seats are filling fast, so don't delay.

The video from the October Free Friday (where we looked at part 1 of 'Discovering the new features of iOS 10') is available here, for viewing by any iTandCoffee Club members who couldn't attend or who would like to refresh what we covered.

Are you a member of The iTandCoffee Club yet?  It's easy to join - find out more here.

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iOS 10.1 has a lovely new feature on my iPhone 7 Plus

If, like me, you have splashed out on an iPhone 7 Plus, you will find a wonderful new feature in iOS 10.1, in the Camera app.  (If you are tossing up between the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, this might help with your decision, as the feature is only available on the Plus model.)

The new feature is Portrait mode in the Camera App.  When Portrait mode is selected, the resulting photo has looks like it was taken with a fancy SLR camera, blurring the background and focusing on the face/s or object in the foreground.  Fancy!

Here is a Macworld article about this new feature.

Melbourne Public Transport directions are now available in Apple's Maps app

This is handy for those of you who love using Siri to get directions to places, try asking Siri "Give me public transport directions to 34 High Street Glen Iris"  (or whatever address you really want!), and you will see the list of options for train, tram and bus routes and times.

This was available for many cities around the world, but has only recently become available for our own fair city.  

Messages allows you to replay special effects

If you have been enjoying some of the special effects in the Messages app (some of which we featured in the last newsletter in the article "I somehow sent some animated balloons in my Message!  How did that happen?"), iOS 10.1 provides the option to 'Replay' these effects.

And there's lots more in iOS 10.1, 10.1.1.

There are lots of other new features and fixes as well - here is the list extracted from the Apple website.

iOS 10.1
This update includes Portrait Camera for iPhone 7 Plus (beta), transit directions for Japan, stability improvements and bug fixes.
Camera and Photos

• Introduces Portrait Camera for iPhone 7 Plus that creates a depth effect that keeps your subject sharp while creating a beautifully blurred background (beta)
• People names in the Photos app are saved in iCloud backups
• Improved the display of wide color gamut photos in the grid views of the Photos app
• Fixes an issue where opening the Camera app would show a blurred or flashing screen for some users
• Fixes an issue that caused Photos to quit for some users when turning on iCloud Photo Library

Maps

• Transit support for every major train, subway, ferry, and national bus line, as well as local bus systems for Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya
• Sign-based transit navigation including layouts of all underground structures and walkways that connect large transit stations
• Transit fare comparison when viewing alternative transit routes

Messages

• New option to replay bubble and full screen effects
• Messages effects can play with Reduce Motion enabled
• Fixes an issue that could lead to contact names appearing incorrectly in Messages
• Addresses an issue where Messages could open to a white screen
• Addresses an issue that could prevent the report junk option from displaying with unknown senders
• Fixes an issue where videos captured and sent in the Messages app could be missing audio

Apple Watch

• Adds distance and average pace to workout summaries in the Activity app for outdoor wheelchair run pace and outdoor wheelchair walk pace
• Fixes issues that may have prevented Music playlists from syncing to Apple Watch
• Addresses an issue that was preventing invitations and data to appear in Activity Sharing
• Fixes an issue that was allowing Activity Sharing to update over cellular when manually disabled
• Resolves an issue that was causing some third-party apps to crash when inputting text

Other improvements and fixes

• Improves Bluetooth connectivity with 3rd party accessories
• Improves AirPlay Mirroring performance when waking a device from sleep
• Fixes an issue where playback would not work for iTunes purchased content when the “Show iTunes Purchases” setting is turned off
• Fixes an issue where certain selfie apps and face filters used with the FaceTime HD Camera on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus did not display a live preview
• Fixes an issue in Health where individual strokes are converted to separate characters when using the Chinese handwriting keyboard
• Improves performance of sharing websites from Safari to Messages
• Fixes an issue in Safari that caused web previews in tab view to not display correctly
• Fixes an issue that caused certain Mail messages to be reformatted with very small text
• Fixes an issue that caused some HTML email to be formatted incorrectly
• Fixes an issue that in some cases caused the search field to disappear in Mail
• Fixes an issue that could prevent Today View Widgets from updating when launched
• Fixes an issue where Weather widget sometimes failed to load data
• Fixes an issue on iPhone 7 where Home Button click settings would not appear in search results
• Fixes an issue that prevented spam alert extensions from blocking calls
• Resolves an issue that could prevent alarm sounds from going off
• Fixes an issue where audio playback via Bluetooth would cause the Taptic engine to stop providing feedback for some users
• Resolves an issue preventing some users from restoring from iCloud Backup

For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website:
https://support.apple.com/HT201222

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Recent Articles about iOS 10

• A look at iOS 10 and some features I will definitely use      
• Battery problems after upgrade to iOS 10 - and how I fixed this    
• I somehow sent some animated balloons in my Message!  How did that happen?             
• My iPhone is not saving away my 'parked car' location                 ​             ​                  
• Another update has arrived for iOS 10 - iOS 10.0.3.
• Are we there yet?  Is it time to upgrade to iOS 10 and/or MacOS Sierra?             ​   
• Save emails as PDFs - a very handy iOS 10 tip that I am now using every day!             
• Are you hating the new 'Press home to unlock' feature of iOS 10? Here's how to go back to the 'old way' of unlocking with your fingerprint.
• I LOVE this new feature of the Photos app in iOS 10 and MacOS Sierra ​
• I can't find the 'Raise to Wake' feature of iOS 10!