Hidden Features of iOS 9 that Apple Didn’t Talk About

iOS 9 is full of enhancements that will make a big impact on your life. With the mobile revolution, your apps are gaining more and more popularity. New features such as multitasking on iPad make you productive.

Siri is much more proactive and could do more than ever. It will help you do things even before you ask. However, there are several hidden features that not many are talking about. These features will have a deep impact on iOS app development. Let’s take a quick look at these unknown features that will help you gain more from iOS 9.

Searchable Settings
Now you can find settings just by searching for them. Thanks to a search box on top, you can quickly search for the information that you want easily without the need to navigate through layers of menus to reach your destination.

Picture-in-Picture Video Mode (Available in newer iPads Only)
Well, if you have a new version of iPad such as iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 2 or later, you can watch a video on your iPad while at the same time do something else. So multi-tasking gets easy with this new functionality. Here is how it works: simply start a video in Safari and tap the video to bring up the control interface — you can look for the icon appearing like a box within a box. Tap on that box, and it’ll float a new box that’ll stick around even as you navigate from one app to another app. You can drag the video to place it in any corner.

Detailed Battery Usage
Are you unable to figure out which of your apps are draining your battery the most? iOS 9 will be able to tell you not just about the apps that drain out your battery the most, but also how much time it spent in the background. To get access to the new info, go to Settings > Battery, tap the clock icon at the top of the app list.

Low Power Mode
Low on battery? You don’t have to worry anymore. With iOS 9, you will be asked if you want to enable “Low Power Mode.” When toggled, this mode will disable mail fetch, app refresh in the background, and automatic downloads. This might help you get extra time out of your battery. Once you plug your phone to the charger, low power mode will get disabled itself.  
You can turn Low Power Mode setting on manually under Settings > Battery.

Option to Calculate in the Search Bar
Now be ready to make quick and simple calculations in the search bar itself. This is an easy way to calculate without worrying about installing a full-featured app. Just pull down or swipe to the left to bring the search bar and it will do basic math.

Request Desktop Site
You often go around in circles browsing website on your iPhone. The problem is due to bad mobile website. In such scenario, you could only wish to load the desktop version of that page. Now your wish is granted in iOS 9. Simply hold the refresh button in URL bar and you would receive a prompt in few seconds requesting you to allow the desktop version of the current page.

We hope these features, many of which you might not otherwise stumble upon on your own will help you leverage iOS in an effective manner. 

Mobile World Congress 2016: Why You Need to be There

It’s that time of the year mobile app developers worldwide ardently wait for, as they would for Christmas. One of the largest congregation of the brightest and innovative minds in the world of mobile - GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2016 is all set to begin next month (22-25 February 2016) in Mobile World Capital Fira Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain.

Mobile World Congress: The Keystone of ‘Mobile World Capital’

The Mobile World Congress is the foundation of the Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCB) which will be hosted in Barcelona through 2023. The Mobile World Capital - an initiative to make Barcelona a benchmark for mobile transformation, comprises of programmes and activities that span the entire year and will help act as an engine for development and internationalization of the whole business of Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain.

MWC 2015: The Year that was….

According to GSMA statistics, 2015 was one of the most eventful years at the MWC that saw an outpouring of participation from participants across the world. While it saw footfalls of more than 94,000 attendees, including 2,199 Exhibitors and thousands of C-Level leaders; the event also saw more than 140 inspiring speaker sessions – not to forget the 3,800+ international press and industry analysts.

What to expect at MWC 2016

Mobile World Congress 2016 is expected to see a never-before event with more than 95,000 attendees and 2000 companies including global brands such as AT&T, Alcatel-Lucent, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Ford Motor Company, Google, Huawei, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, NEC, Nokia, Qualcomm, Samsung, SK Telecom, Sony Mobile Communications, Telefónica, and VMware to name a few.

Attendees are expected to see several specialty pavilions throughout the exhibition highlighted important initiatives benefiting the industry, including Mobile Apps, Cloud, Green Technology, Mobile Money and Wearables. Look out for the Pavilion of your choice on your visit to MWC 2016 - the Graphene Pavilion, Green Pavilion, IoT Pavilion, Mobile Money Pavilion and Wearables Pavilion.

MWC 2016 - Keynote Speakers You’d Love to Hear

Keynote addresses are undeniably the most sought after attractions of Mobile World Congress. Not only do keynote speakers pride of delivering their addresses, the world look forward to hearing the announcements of innovation that can set mobile trends for the future. Check out the first confirmed keynote speakers listed by GSMA:

• Simon Segars, CEO, ARM
• Jonah Peretti, Founder and CEO, BuzzFeed
• Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson
• Jon Fredrik Baksaas, Chairman, GSMA
• Mats Granryd, Director General Designate, GSMA
• Anne Bouverot, Chair and CEO, Morpho (Safran)
• Sifiso Dabengwa, Executive Director, Group President and CEO, MTN Group
• Richard Fain, Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

See you there….

MWC annual event is emerging as one of the most happening platform for mobile leaders to gather, network, collaborate and conduct business. Getting fast recognized as a world-class conference featuring visionary keynotes and thought-provoking panel discussions, Mobile World Congress 2016 has been raising expectation of global attendees every passing year.

Indeed Mobile World Congress 2016 is one trade show event no vendor or operator can afford to ignore. Are you going to #MWC2016?

Watch this space for more updates.

Importance of Typography in Website Design

Courtesy: sixrevisions.com

There is no denying that typography has a phenomenal impact on several aspects of our websites such as the mood of your website, user experience, content readability and much more. It is absolutely important that designers understand the importance of typography and the factors behind the selection of typography.

The main purpose of your font selection is to convey the character or purpose of your website and content. This means you need to take a stock of the situation and review the core purpose of your company goals, article, content and/or product. Once you know the primary points that you would like to communicate to your readers you can then select or design a typeface that reflects the core essence of your content.

Create brand identity

Custom Typography is one of the most effective ways to create a clear brand identity among target audience. And it also happens to be the easiest way. Customers will be able to recognize your brand in both print and digital media. Whatever you write and wherever it ends up, your audience would know that you wrote about it.

Unique Identity

Custom typeface can take your brand identity to the next level and sets your brand apart from others. Designing your font will help you give your website a unique and distinct personality. A custom typeface can have the same multiplier effect as creatively using simple type - taking into account the potential for enhancing brand identity and character.

Creative Freedom

When it comes to fonts, you don’t need to feel restricted by standard fonts. Now you have the freedom to constantly experiment and come up with really creative ways to use text. The opportunities are limitless when it comes to fonts. You can custom design a font around existing image, logo or photograph. You can let your imagination run wild and think about creating iconic typeface.

Typography is all about infusing life into your website and giving your site a soul.

But ultimately, everything boils down to creating typography in a memorable way to stand tall. As recommended in website design and development trends in 2016, typography will help your website shine. However, the ultimate goal of typography is to help readability of your website. So don’t jeopardize the words’ meaning at the cost of creativity. It’s best to combine typography with a simple and unobtrusive background. You don’t want to mess your screen real estate with too many elements competing for your user’s attention.

Finally

With the effective use of typography, even your text will become a design element. Always keep in mind that today’s world seeks compatibility across platforms: a custom typeface must seamlessly work across diverse browsers and devices with different screen sizes.

Why build Wearable Apps for Healthcare in 2016

While 2014 went down as the ‘Year of Wearable Technology’, 2015 emerged as a year where innovation in smart wearable technology led to big and profitable market. While innovators are using technology to re-imagine the health sector, the year 2016 is predicted to be the year where wearable apps for healthcare will remain key to the optimal operating of our future society.

The global market for wearable technology is predicted to grow to approx. USD 6 billion by 2018, and the impact of wearable technology is such that it has started revolutionizing healthcare from assisting doctors in the operating room to providing real-time access to electronic health records.

Global wearable devices market value (Image Source: Statista)

Wearable App for Healthcare: Challenges & How to Overcome Them

While wearable technology comes with the promise to transform the healthcare experience from the time you walk into a hospital until you return home - continually transmitting health data to your doctor virtually, it too comes with its own set of challenges.

Make Data Meaningful

An enormous quantity of data is expected to be generated with the proliferation of wearables in the healthcare sector. However, this opportunity must be managed with careful data analysis and algorithms so as to provide clinicians with accurate and relevant information as per requirement.

Security Enhancement

With the advancement of technology comes the need to deal with privacy and the risks associated with data security. Enhancing the security of patient data is indispensable especially when data starts being sent to a medical provider. 

Make Data Available

Even though the marketplace is awash in wearable technology for healthcare, it would not be of much help doctors treat their patience by harnessing these devices unless they are made data ready and accessible their own wearable app for healthcare.

Enhance Interoperability

Enhancing interoperability is another aspect that needs to be taken care of as there will be a number of contrasting systems that will contain these data sources. This can be either part of other healthcare providers or commercially available systems or even from devices that individual patients may purchase on their own.

Critic’s viewpoint - The Wide Angle!

Industry experts opine that the rate of innovation in wearable technology particularly in the healthcare segment has been so rapid that researchers in MIT (who are developing wearable device BioPhone) have been coining it with the term ‘nonwearables’.

At the same time, critics believe that wearables have been showered with too much of hype with very less productivity quotient that - wearables work! Moreover, there have been rising concern with issues related to security, development and infrastructure – besides the widening gap between wearable healthcare device and wearable application development. This calls for bridging of this gap with more businesses building wearable apps for healthcare that can help patients and medical providers benefit from the breakthrough innovation in wearable technology.

SYNOPSIS

Even though technology may never completely replace a detailed diagnosis, the comprehensive health record, or a one-to-one conversation between patient and a clinician; the data collected from the wearable technology devices, when supported by cutting edge wearable applications can provide a wider scope of information and superior benefits in diagnosis and treatment.

Some of the most popular forms of wearables for healthcare are related to fitness trackers worn on the wrist or wrapped around a person's chest. More recently, there has also been a flurry of wearables embedded in smart clothes, including sneakers, glasses, watches, rings, and even under human skin. However, regardless of how they look or are worn, wearable apps is set to play a pivotal role in the future of healthcare in 2016.

Get in touch with us with your unique healthcare wearable app idea and get the first-mover advantage in wearable app development in 2016.

Image Courtesy: http://www.healthcarebusinesstoday.com