O'Grady's PowerPage

Category: iPhone

  • Apple quietly introduces AirDrop codes into iOS 26.2 update, allowing for easier contacts-based authentication within AirDrop

    Apple quietly introduces AirDrop codes into iOS 26.2 update, allowing for easier contacts-based authentication within AirDrop

    This is interesting.

    Albeit not well-hyped upon its release, Apple’s iOS 26.2 update included a clever addition to its AirDrop feature. Dubbed “AirDrop codes,” the new feature works to solve the issue of easily sharing files to someone who isn’t in your contacts without resorting to the overly broad “Everyone for 10 Minutes” setting.

    The feature finds a middle ground between the cumbersome “Contacts Only” and the potentially risky “Everyone for 10 Minutes” by generating and sending a one-time code to the non-contact. The sender must enter this exact code on their own device to initiate the transfer. This step ensures you’re connecting to the intended person, not a nearby stranger. Once verified, the devices can remain visible to each other in AirDrop for the next 30 days with no need to repeat the code exchange during this time period.

    In the case of an occasional collaborator, the code system acts as a quick handshake, preventing accidental or unwanted sharing attempts from unknown devices that “Everyone” mode allows.

    You can view and manage your list of these 30-day authorized contacts in “Settings > General > AirDrop”.

    If you’ve had a chance to try the feature out, please know what you make of it in the comments.

    Via Reddit

  • Verizon offers $20 account credit following the cellular service outage on Wednesday

    Verizon offers $20 account credit following the cellular service outage on Wednesday

    If you were plagued by the Verizon outage this week, the company has a $20 account credit coming your way.

    The outage, which took place on Wednesday around 12:30 PM ET, knocked out cell service to millions of customers,with iPhone owners reporting an “SOS” where their network icon should have been.

    While users could still make calls and send texts via Wi-Fi, those away from an access point were left without service for up to ten hours.

    Per AppleInsider, Verizon is now offering affected users a $20 account credit. Users will receive a text message with instructions on how to claim the credit. The company has also stated that the credit applies at the overall account level, and not per line.

    Verizon reported the outage as resolved at 10:20 PM ET on Wednesday. The cause is still not publicly known.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and @VerizonNews

  • Rumor: Apple to fine-tune Google Gemini AI to offer additional features for Siri

    Rumor: Apple to fine-tune Google Gemini AI to offer additional features for Siri

    With the announcement that Apple has tapped Google’s Gemini to help power its Siri assistant, a new report from The Information has indicated that the revamped Siri will be able to do the following:

    • Answer more factual/world knowledge questions in a conversational manner
    • Tell more stories
    • Provide emotional support
    • Assist with more tasks, such as booking travel
    • Create a document in the Notes app with information, such as a cooking recipe

    The report said Apple plans to announce additional Siri capabilities at WWDC in June, including providing proactive suggestions based on information from apps such as Calendar.

    Apple has already announced that the upgraded/personalized Siri would have a better understanding of a user’s personal context, as well as on-screen awareness, and deeper per-app controls. In a recent example, Apple showed an iPhone user asking Siri about their mother’s flight and lunch reservation plans based on info from the Mail and Messages apps.

    The report also indicated that the latest prototype of the more personalized Siri would not feature any Google or Gemini branding, and that Apple will be able to fine-tune the Gemini AI model to respond to queries in a way that Apple prefers.

    Apple first previewed the more personalized Siri at WWDC 2024, and the revamped assistant is expected to launch as part of iOS 26.4 in March or April. However, per the report, some capabilities will not arrive until iOS 27.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and The Information

  • Civilization VII Arcade Edition to arrive for Apple Arcade in February, albeit with caveats

    Civilization VII Arcade Edition to arrive for Apple Arcade in February, albeit with caveats

    If you love Civilization, it’s en route to Apple Arcade, albeit with some caveats.

    Per AppleInsider, Civilization VII Arcade Edition is coming to Apple Arcade on February 5, bringing the long-running strategy series to additional Apple platforms, but with some limitations.

    The game will be available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac through an Apple Arcade subscription, without ads or in-app purchases. For Apple users, that removes the usual upfront cost tied to a franchise long sold as a premium PC release.

    The game will offer the classic turn-based strategy experience, wherein players guide their civilizations through distinct historical ages through long-term choices. Unfortunately, the Arcade version will be somewhat limited and won’t receive downloadable content released for Civilization VII on other platforms. Per the App Store listing, both post-launch DLC available on Steam and other platforms and other updates to the title may arrive later or not at all.

    The game will be available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac through an Apple Arcade subscription.

    The absence of DLC ties in to how Apple Arcade itself works, as the service doesn’t support paid expansions or in-app purchases, which clashes with Civilization’s long-established expansion-driven model.

    Finally, multiplayer functionality over a network may be limited to Apple Arcade subscribers as well.

    Civilization VII Arcade Edition launches on Apple Arcade on February 5 and will require iOS or iPadOS 17 or later on devices with an A17 Pro or M-series chip, including recent iPhone, iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini models, along with macOS Monterey 12.1 or later on Apple silicon Macs. The download size is 3.53 GB, with Apple Vision support requiring visionOS 26 or later.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider

  • Rumor: Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro models to incorporate under-screen Face ID system, other new features

    Rumor: Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro models to incorporate under-screen Face ID system, other new features

    If this leak is even partially correct, there’s some interesting stuff en route for the iPhone 18 Pro models this year.

    Per MacRumors, Digital Chat Station has posted a new series of potential specs for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Pro Max handsets on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. The leak indicates that the units will have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but will also feature a breakthrough new feature in the form of under-screen Face ID.

    This jibes with a previously published report from December in which The Information stated that the handsets would be equipped with an under-screen Face ID system. The publication also stated that the front camera would be moved to the top-left corner of the screen on the devices. As a result, the report said the devices would no longer have a pill-shaped cutout in the screen.

    Should the under-screen Face ID system surface this year, it’s unknown as to whether the iPhone 18 Pro models would offer a Dynamic Island feature, which could still be used for notifications such as low battery alerts and Live Activities.

    Where the standard iPhone 18 and iPhone Air 2 handsets are concerned, Digital Chat Station stated they expect those devices to have a Dynamic Island, and the same 6.3-inch and 6.5-inch display sizes as the equivalent previous-generation models, respectively.

    Here is what the leaker expects on a model-by-model basis:

    • iPhone 18: 6.3-inch display (120Hz/LTPO) and Dynamic Island
    • iPhone Air 2: 6.5-inch display (120Hz/LTPO) and Dynamic Island
    • iPhone 18 Pro: 6.3-inch display (120Hz/LTPO) and under-screen Face ID
    • iPhone 18 Pro Max: 6.9-inch display (120Hz/LTPO) and under-screen Face ID

    Apple is expected to release the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max in the typical September timeframe this year, but rumors suggest the standard iPhone 18 and the iPhone Air 2 will not launch until around March 2027.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors, Weibo, and The Information