Apple releases iOS 9.1 with taco emoji and Live Photos improved

Apple has released iOS 9.1, a small update for iOS 9 that at long last brings the taco emoji to the iPhone. The Ejimo was updated.

Depending on your perspective, the other change in this update is the more/less interesting one: Apple is tweaking how Live Photos work to make them turn out a lot better. The iPhone 6S will capture 1.5 seconds of footage before and after a photos is taken to create a Live Photo, but that back 1.5 seconds is often just the iPhone being put away in someone's pocket. Now, the camera will stop recording if it detects that the iPhone is being lowered. So Live Photos should be a lot nicer.

The update also includes stability improvements to CarPlay, better performance in the app switcher, and various bug fixes. Apple is also updating OS X today with support for all of the new emoji, plus more/less important things like better compatibility with Microsoft Office 2016.

Galaxy View tablet...smart !!!

Samsung teased the Galaxy View tablet with a few images last month.

The 18.4-inch Android slate boasts a pretty sleek design with a clean look. There’s no home button, suggesting the device will rely on on-screen buttons instead. You can also see what looks like a front-facing camera.

The most interesting detail may be the special dock Samsung’s apparently designed for the Galaxy View. It features a handle for carrying the device with one hand like a briefcase. It also supports a few different viewing angles so you can use it to get work done or just relax and watch a video.

The Galaxy View is expected to pack an octa-core Exynos 7 processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and a 1080p resolution display. Samsung previously said we’d learn more about the new tablet in October, though we’re still waiting for the company to make an official announcement.

Huawei Mate S pre-orders open in the U.K.

 

Customers in UK have a glitch  with the HTC One A9, which will cost a bit more over the pond, but at least they have access to Huawei’s new smartphone.

The Mate S features a 5.5-inch 1080p display that, at first glance, might not  look very special. Except, like Apple’s Force Touch, you can dig deeper into the phone using a smart pressure-sensitive display that allows you to access additional functions by applying more pressure on the display.

For the spec heads, features include Android 5.1, an octa-core Kirin 935 processor, a 13MP camera, a 2,700mAh battery, 32GB of storage, 3GB of RAM and a microSD card slot for adding up to 128GB of additional space.

Carphone Warehouse has the device up for pre-order for £419.99 (~$649) SIM-free. Hit the source to grab yours now.

Elon Musk "Apple is the 'graveyard' for fired Tesla staff "

Outspoken Tesla chief executive Elon Musk employees refer to the tech company (apple) as the “Tesla graveyard”.

Dismissing claims that Apple is poaching key members of staff from his own firm to work onits long-rumoured self-driving car project, Musk said: “Important engineers? They have hired people we’ve fired. We always jokingly call Apple the ‘Tesla Graveyard’.

Musk, whose company will this week unveiled theModel X, its first SUV, was speaking to German newspaper Handelsblatt. When asked whether or not he took Apple seriously as a competitor in the automotive market, Musk replied, laughing: “Did you ever take a look at the Apple Watch?”

He added: “No, seriously: it’s good that Apple is moving and investing in this direction. But cars are very complex compared to phones or smartwatches. You can’t just go to a supplier like Foxconn and say: ‘Build me a car.’

“But for Apple, the car is the next logical thing to finally offer a significant innovation. A new pencil or a bigger iPad alone were not relevant enough.”

Apple’s project to create its own self-driving car is fast becoming one of the worst-kept secrets in Silicon Valley. In September, the company met with California officials to review the state’s autonomous vehicle regulations.

Apple removes adblockers on Facebook and other third-party apps

Apple has started removing some adblockers from its App Store.

Adblocking on the company’s iPhone and iPad was enabled within Safari by Apple’s content blocking system

But some apps, including the popular Been Choice, blocked ads not only within mobile Safari but other apps on the smartphone or tablet too.

The PS4’s huge new software update launches tomorrow

Sony outlined one of the biggest software updates to the PlayStation 4 to date, adding new features like increased cloud storage and the ability to stream games on YouTube. Now we finally know when version 3.0 of the software will be available — and it's tomorrow.

The key changes are the bump in cloud storage from 1GB to 10, and the new option to stream via YouTube in addition to Twitch, but there are plenty of additional changes as well. Other incoming upgrades include the ability to share 10-second video clips to Twitter directly from your console; some user interface tweaks that include a dedicated PlayStation Plus section for subscribers; and an events hub so that you can see any upcoming special events..