MacRumors

Google has announced a significant update for Gboard, bringing new emoji, Google Doodles, voice typing, and additional language support to the iOS keyboard app.

Gboard integrates the company's search capabilities into an iPhone or iPad's keyboard. Using the Google button in Gboard, users can search for information, send what they find, discover GIFs, emojis, and more, without having to exit a messenger app to visit Safari or Chrome.

The update means Gboard now supports all of the latest emoji from iOS 10. Additionally, Google has added subtle alerts about Google Doodles, which frequently animate the Google logo to honor holidays, anniversaries and notable people. Whenever a new Google Doodle goes live, the "G" button animates, prompting users to find out more about it.

Elsewhere, today's update adds voice typing, which allows users to dictate messages directly to Gboard. To start a new text, users can now long-press the mic button on the space bar and talk.

The update also brings 15 additional languages to Gboard, including Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Catalan, Hungarian, Malay, Russian, Latin American Spanish and Turkish.

Gboard is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]

AlwaysOnline Wireless, one of the data providers for the Apple SIM built into newer iPads, today announced new, more affordable pricing for its LTE data plans in the United Kingdom, which can be used by both domestic UK residents and travelers who visit the UK.

The company offers a range of short-term data plans for iPads equipped with an Apple SIM, providing plans by the day, hour, or megabyte. AlwaysOnline Wireless offers connectivity in 74 countries, but today's price drop is limited to the UK. Pricing in other countries varies.

An hour of connectivity with 100MB of data is now priced at $0.11 in the United Kingdom, a significant price drop from the original cost of $0.49. A daily plan, with 500MB, now costs $2.99 (down from $5.99), and 1GB, 3GB, and 5GB plans with a 30 day limit are available for $5.99, $9.49, and $14.99, respectively. Previous pricing was at $10.99, $18.99, and $29.99.

"More travellers are increasingly turning to iPad as their preferred device while travelling or on-the-go," says Emir Aboulhosn, CEO and Founder of AOW parent company, Otono Networks. "Now iPad users around the world can benefit from the most aggressive cellular data pricing in the UK and stay connected for less than the price of a cup of tea."

The Apple SIM, introduced in 2014, works with cellular models of the iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4, 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and 9.7-inch iPad Pro. It is designed to support wireless service across multiple carriers, making it easy for customers to switch cellular providers, something that's especially useful for travelers.

Apple SIM is supported by AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile in the United States, along with EE in the UK, au and SoftBank in Japan, Deutsche Telekom in Germany, and Three in Hong Kong. GigSky and AlwaysOnline Wireless, two companies that offer coverage around the world, also support Apple SIM.

Apple SIM connectivity is available in more than 140 countries, primarily through Apple's partnerships with GigSky and AlwaysOnline Wireless.

Instagram today announced that users will now be able to share multiple photos and videos within one post thanks to a carousel-like feature that allows up to ten pictures and videos to be uploaded simultaneously.

After the series is shared, followers will be able to swipe through in the order they were uploaded, creating a natural series of moments that can cover a friend's birthday party or even a full how-to series on food recipes, according to Instagram.

Instagram said that these types of posts are still designated to a single caption and only support the square-style size "for now." A similar carousel feature has been available to brands for advertising purposes within Instagram for the past few years.

Instagram is available to download on the iOS App Store for free [Direct Link]. The update will begin rolling out to users throughout the day.

Pad & Quill has created a Leather Apple Pencil Grip that allows users to get a better hold of the Apple Pencil when drawing or working on a compatible iPad. The grip accessory comes in a two-piece construction, with one piece towards the bottom of the pencil to provide the holding grip, and the other towards the top that acts as a clip and Lightning cap holder.

Like all of Pad & Quill's leather products, the Apple Pencil Grip is made of full-grade American leather so it's unique and is "designed to age with use and break in like an old baseball glove." Due to the Apple Pencil's traditional, slippery nature, the company says that the grip gives users an advantage when using Apple Pencil, from more comfortable work sessions to not losing it when it rolls off of a table thanks to the custom pen clip.

At Pad & Quill, we firmly believe the pen, or in this case the Apple Pencil, is mightier than the sword. We love our Apple Pencil, and believe it is the greatest thing to hit the iPad since the finger. Our Leather Apple Pencil Grip turns the Pencil from useful tool into a work of art.

This is truly one of those Apple Pencil accessories you never knew you needed until you see it in action. No more hunting for lost lightning caps, that pesky charging cap stays put, even when plugged in. No more rolling away from you when you set it down or storage difficulties, the custom pen clip keeps your Apple Pencil in place on the table and in the pocket. And no more slippery fingers, the leather grip provides a sturdy tactile feel while letting you be as precise as you want.

Users can pre-order the Leather Apple Pencil Grip in Chestnut, Whiskey, and Galloper Black today for $49.95. Pad & Quill's new accessory will then begin shipping sometime in early April, but the company didn't give a specific launch date yet.

Some rumors have pointed towards a second generation of Apple Pencil coming as soon as next month, at what is believed to be an iPad-centric March event. Features for the device remain unclear, but potential possibilities might be an expansion of the areas within iOS that supports Apple Pencil use, as well as an integrated magnet that would let users attach the accessory to the side of the iPad.

Medical doctors who used an Apple Watch app to discover the most common triggers of epileptic seizures will present their findings at the American Academy of Neurology's 69th Annual Meeting today in Boston, Massachusetts.

The 10-month study involved 598 people who tracked their seizures with an iPhone app called EpiWatch, which was built by Johns Hopkins using Apple's ResearchKit software framework. The app features a custom Apple Watch complication that provides patients with one-touch access to record accelerometer and heart rate sensor data. When participants felt a seizure aura coming on, they were asked to launch the app to let it record their heart rate and movements for 10 minutes.

After the seizure had come to an end, participants filled out a brief survey about seizure type, aura, loss of awareness, and possible trigger that led to the seizure.

"The data collected will help researchers better understand epilepsy, while helping people with epilepsy keep a more complete history of their seizures," said study author Gregory Krauss, MD, in a press release. "The app also provides helpful tracking of seizures, prescription medication use and drug side effects -- activities that are important in helping people manage their condition."

Overall, 40 percent of the group tracked a total of 1,485 seizures, with 177 people reporting what triggered their seizures. Stress was revealed to be the most common trigger, and was linked to 37 percent of the seizures, while 18 percent of sufferers identified lack of sleep as another contributing factor. Meanwhile, menstruation was found to be a cause in 12 percent of recorded seizures, and overexertion accounted for 11 percent.

Stress was more commonly reported as a trigger for participants who worked full-time (35 percent), compared to those who worked part-time (21 percent), were unemployed (27 percent), or were disabled, (29 percent).

"Seizures are very unpredictable," said Krauss. "Our eventual goal is to be able to use wearable technology to predict an oncoming seizure. This could potentially save lives as well as give people with epilepsy more freedom. The data collected in this study helps us take a step in that direction."

The insights result from one of three ResearchKit studies launched by Johns Hopkins and Oregon Health & Science University in October 2015, which sought to learn more about autism, epilepsy and melanoma.

(Thanks, Fred!)

Qualcomm, ZTE, and China Mobile have announced plans to start interoperability testing and outdoor trials for the new 5G radio specifications being developed by the 3GPP group (via DigiTimes).

The interoperability testing and trials will launch in China starting in the second half of 2017, with the goal of the trials being to showcase how 5G NR technologies can efficiently achieve multi-gigabit per second data rates at lower latency and better reliability than today's network, Qualcomm stated in a company release.

After large-scale testing of 5G networks in 2017, China Mobile aims to continue with deployment testing in 2018, and commercial operations starting in 2020, according to the report. The trials will use device prototypes from Qualcomm and base station solutions from ZTE, and follow guidelines from China Mobile.

The announcement indicates an acceleration of China Mobile's schedule for 5G development in the country, as the company looks to keep abreast of mobile carriers in the U.S., Europe, Japan and South Korea.

Earlier this month, AT&T announced it would begin trialing 5G wireless technologies in the U.S. this year and said it anticipated 5G speeds to be 10 to 100 times faster than average 4G LTE connections. However, widespread rollout across AT&T's network isn't expected until 2020.

There's no information as yet on Apple's plans for 5G uptake. Appl supported LTE-Advanced – a faster standard of 4G LTE – fairly rapidly with the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but the older 3G and LTE wireless technologies were both available for years before Apple adopted them. Going on AT&T's and 3GPP's timelines, a 5G iPhone is unlikely to be released for at least another three to four years.

Popular running app Strava has been updated with support for the Apple Watch Series 2, enabling runners to use Strava on their wrist and leave their iPhone at home.

The new support in version 5.13.0 makes full use of the built-in GPS found in the second-generation Apple Watch, meaning users of the app no longer have to be tethered to iOS to track their workouts. Strava Head of Integration Mateo Ortega said the company saw this as just a "first step" in its plans for supporting the Apple Watch 2.

Research and athlete feedback often drives new Strava features and integrations. We're excited to add to our growing list of compatible devices, and see this as the first step in providing our athletes an excellent Strava experience on the Apple Watch Series 2. Our athletes can look forward to continued updates as we strive to provide the best Watch experience possible.

Users can expect Strava to keep track of a series of metrics which are displayed on their wrist, including heart rate, time, distance, pace, and running speed.

Strava joins a small number of apps that support GPS functionality on the Apple Watch Series 2, which includes the likes of Runkeeper and Nike+ Run Club. Strava users simply need to update their iOS app for the changes to take effect.

Apple recently uploaded four new videos to its United Kingdom YouTube site, all of which focus on highlighting its latest accessory, the AirPods.

Each of the four videos, which are between 16 and 17 seconds long, feature the AirPods positioned as musical notes set to music by UK artists. Featured artists include Lianne La Havas, Craig David, The 1975, and Marian Hill.

Apple has been focusing on sharing 15-second videos appropriate for social media in recent weeks, and the company recently released a video unique to its Brazilian YouTube channel, which focuses on showing off the iPhone 7 Plus's photo taking capabilities at Carnival, an annual Brazilian festival.