Hyundai’s BlueLink lets Apple Watch or iPhone start, lock + find your car.

Meet BlueLink, a Hyundai cloud-connected service that provides cool remote access features for select vehicles. I recently had a chance to test BlueLink with the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and Plug-In, and now I’m convinced that connected cars are the future.

BlueLink links up to your vehicle using its VIN number, using the Internet to relay information to and from the car, wherever you may be. Connected apps for cars, homes, and other smart accessories are cool and all, but what if you could start your car or unlock your doors from an Apple Watch, without taking a step? Welcome to what’s next…

Hyundai’s BlueLink app works with iOS and Android devices, and looks very similar across both platforms. The functions allow you to lock and unlock the doors, start and stop the car, flash the lights, honk the horn, and even locate it from a distance. BlueLink also provides current statistics on the vehicle’s battery charge, and other important data.

Beyond supporting phones, BlueLink also features smartwatch integration with both Apple Watch and Android Wear. You can easily launch the watch companion, choose from specific functions within the interface and perform any action. There’s even voice control support within the smartwatch app that will utilize Google Now or Siri dictation to take your command and make it happen.

Check out our first look video below to see BlueLink in action:

How will this be practical? Well, let’s say it’s cold outside and you want to warm up the car for a bit before leaving the house. All you’d need to do is launch the app, tap the remote start icon, pick a running time duration, and set the temperature you’d like the car to be at when you get in. The app will send your request wirelessly to the vehicle. The same remote access works for unlocking or locking the doors, locating your vehicle with Google Maps, or even flashing the headlights and honking the horn to help you find the car in a packed parking lot. It’s pretty cool stuff.

Each time you send a command, you’ll be required to enter in a four digital PIN code which can get annoying at times, but it’s there for security reasons. I’d love to see this integrated with Touch ID on the iPhone or the simple “on-wrist” protection that Apple Watch offers. Unfortunately, at the moment, you’ll need to enter this PIN each time you’d like to control the vehicle.

BlueLink is a very cool service that Hyundai is putting together, and I’m looking forward to the future of connected cars, smart integration, and remote access. Connected cars are definitely the future, but are they worth buying right now?

Unlike smartphones, most people don’t upgrade their car every year, so it’s important to get in at a point when the technology is readily available and stable. I think that moment in time is coming very soon, and I’m definitely looking forward to it. It’s also important to note that BlueLink is a subscription service through Hyundai. What Hyundai is doing with this technology isn’t exactly new, since Tesla has been working on similar functionality for a while, but I’m glad to see more cars adding cloud-connected features. For a closer look at BlueLink and its smartphone/smartwatch integration, check out the video above.

Dropped iPhone 5 films its watery descent to the ocean floor.

An iPhone 5 user from San Diego almost lost his Apple handset after accidentally dropping it into the sea.

“My brother tried throwing my phone to me,” Gregory Papadin told British newspaper The Mirror. “It ended up going straight under water and sank to bottom of the ocean floor.”

Papadin says the underwater pressure proved too much for him and his brother to swim down and retrieve the phone, but the captain of the ship he was renting was able to dive in and get it — to discover that the phone had not only managed to survive the episode, but actually film its own watery descent.

The iPhone 5 in question was protected by a LifeProof case, described by its manufacturers as being capable of surviving “anything you throw at [it].”

The company claims its waterproof cases will protect the iPhone down to depths of around 6.6 feet, but judging by this video it may have been selling itself a bit short.

InnoFlask Portable Bluetooth Speaker Is Just What I Was Wanting.

When I received the InnoFLASK portable speaker ($129.95) $88.43, the first music I played was my long-time favorite: Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture. It has a wide dynamic range, and seemed like a perfect test for this speaker. I was impressed.

I’ve listened to this composition many times over the years on many different stereo systems. It’s a good test because Rimsky-Korsakov uses such colorful orchestration and dynamic range, from a single flute to the full orchestra playing fortissimo. Often when I’d listen to it, the solo passages would be almost inaudible. If I cranked up the volume, the fortissimo passages toward the end would be too loud or would distort. I’m not a connoisseur of speakers, and this is my first Bluetooth portable speaker, so I don’t have a basis for comparison, but the InnoFlask handled the task well.

I turned up the InnoFlask to full volume and could hear the quiet solo passages clearly. Yet there was no distortion in the loudest parts of the work. Every level was satisfying. The fortissimo felt full bodied but not overly loud.

The InnoFlask can fill a room with sound. And I can hear it well enough in the next room to continue enjoying the music if I’m moving around the house. Certainly it’s not a full-fledged stereo, but if you need portability it seems a good choice. And for me, it’s a perfect choice. I like to live lean, with not a lot of big toys in my environment. I’ve never wanted a component system, with large speakers and wires. It felt like clutter. The InnoFlask fits my lifestyle. The music satisfies, yet it takes up little space.

The design is attractive, and includes a speaker and a solid case. You can throw InnoFlask in a backpack or purse, or put it in a pocket, and not worry about damage. The case is about the size of a glasses case and the speaker and case weigh less than a pound. You can also conveniently use the case as a stand for the speaker.

Setup was simple. I had it paired with my iPad in a couple minutes without reading the directions, though I did glance at the Quick Guide on the packaging. The InnoFlask gives helpful sounds to let you know its status, such as when it’s connected. The volume buttons double as track-up and track-down buttons, while the pairing button doubles as a play-pause button.

The InnoFlask comes in black, blue, orange, and white, and retails for $129.95. It’s currently available for less than $90 on Amazon. (I was lucky to receive a free evaluation unit.) The package includes speaker, case, charging cable, and manual.

Pros

• The InnoFlask is highly portable, attractive, and can fill a room.
• It handles a wide dynamic range with aplomb.

Cons

• Being a small portable speaker, it won’t fill a whole house with music.

Final Verdict

The InnoFlast seems a good choice.

iPhone Live Streaming: Free app streams your screen.

Have you ever tried repeatedly to explain something to a friend or family member in an effort to help them solve a problem on their iPhone or iPad? Have you wanted to share something you’re doing on your phone with someone who isn’t in your immediate vicinity? You can always take a bunch of screenshots and message them to the person you’re dealing with, but beyond that you’re out of luck — until now.

For as long as the iPhone has been around, users have wanted to stream their screens on the internet. Now, the developers at Lookback have made that dream a reality. And best of all, their new app is completely free.

Aptly dubbed Unicorns, the group’s new app can be downloaded from their website and installed on a Mac computer. Once the app is installed, all you need to do is connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac and click the stream button in the app. Voila! You’re off and streaming.

You’ll get a unique link that can then be shared with anyone and everyone you want to have access to your stream. There’s also a chat mechanism built right into the site, so people can discuss your stream. Think of it as Twitch for your iPhone.

Here’s a demo of iPhone screen streaming in action, and a link to download the app can be found below in our source section.

Apples Watch apps are about to get the speed boost they desperately need.

Apple Watch is one the most incredible watch I’ve ever owned, but there’s just one problem — the apps are all soooo slow.

That could change pretty soon, according to Apple VP of Operations Jeff Williams, who says Apple will give developers a preview of native Apple Watch apps at next month’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

Currently, only Apple’s own apps run natively on the Apple Watch S1 chips. By adding support for third-party software, Apple Watch apps won’t only be faster, they’ll also have access to more sensors.

During his interview at the Code Conference this morning, Williams told Walt Mossberg that third-party apps will get direct access to all of Apple Watch’s sensors, so if you use fitness apps you won’t be forced to use Apple’s built-in exercise app to access all your fitness data. There could even be better games focused on the watch.

Fully native Apple Watch apps won’t come out until the fall, says Williams, but they’ll be much better than the current options. “Third-party apps will get much better when they can release code natively for the watch and have access to native sensors,” said Williams. “That will make for better apps.”

Williams’ interview is still underway at Code Conference in Ranchos Palos Verdes, California. You can follow all the action live here.

Apple will kick off WWDC 2015 with June 8 keynote.

Apple updated its official WWDC app this morning, and along with listing hundreds of sessions that will give developers an inside look at the latest iOS and Mac software, the app reveals the conference will kick off with a two-hour keynote June 8.

Media invites to the Worldwide Developers Conference 2015 keynote were sent out to press this morning, though the signage is the exact same as the WWDC logo that was revealed last month.

Apple is expected to show off iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 at this year’s dev conference, which runs June 8 to 12. Both of the operating system updates will reportedly focus on bug fixes and performance improvements.

A redesign of the Beats Music service also might appear during the keynote, and Apple TV could get an update and a software development kit, too.

The keynote kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific and lasts until 12 p.m. Apple hasn’t said yet whether the keynote will be streamed live to iOS, OS X and Apple TV devices, but developers who can’t attend will be able to stream sessions from the Dev Center or via the update app.

You can download the updated WWDC app from the iOS App Store.

New iOS Bug Crashing iPhones Simply by Receiving a Text Message.

A new bug has been discovered in the Messages app, allowing a string of characters sent to a person via iMessage or SMS to crash an iPhone and cause the Messages app to crash after being opened. The bug, which requires a specific string of symbols and Arabic characters to be sent, was first noticed on reddit earlier this afternoon and has been spreading around the Internet since then.

Sending the string of characters to an iPhone results in an immediate respring, causing an iPhone to crash and quickly reboot. From there, if the Messages app was opened at a list view, the Messages app crashes automatically when you try to open it. If it was opened to the conversation where you received the message, the app will open, but attempting to go to another conversation causes Messages to crash.

MacRumors tested the bug on iPhones running iOS 8.3, but it may also be affecting other versions of iOS.

If you receive one of these messages, there are a few possible fixes that have worked for us and for other people who have encountered the bug. If the Messages app was opened to the conversation with the person who sent the offending message, the Messages app can be reopened to this conversation. Sending a reply message fixes the problem.

If Messages was opened to the conversation list view, the app will crash when you attempt to open it. You can fix this by having someone send you a message or by sending a message to yourself. There are several options for sending a message to yourself, including sending yourself a message via Siri or through the Share sheet in any app.

To send yourself a message in Siri, tell Siri to “Send a message to myself.” Siri will open up a dialogue where you can give her a quick message like “Fix” that’ll be sent to your iPhone to clear away the malicious message.

Alternatively, you can open an app like Notes, craft a quick note, and use the Share option (the little document with an arrow) to message it to yourself. Sending yourself something though the share sheet of an app opens a new messages window where you can enter your own contact information.

According to a Twitter user who spoke to Apple support, Apple’s engineers are aware of the problem and are working on a fix.

Jony Ive will have an even bigger influence over Apple’s image in new design role.

Jony Ive received a nice gift for the Memorial Day weekend: a promotion to the role of Chief Design Officer at Apple, which will broaden his design duties at Apple while handing day-to-day running of the design team to long-time Apple employees Alan Dye and Richard Howarth.

Congrats, Jony!

Alan Dye will serve as Apple’s new vice president of User Interface Design and Richard Howarth will take over as new vice president of Industrial Design. Ive took over control of User Interface after the firing of Scott Forstall in late 2012. The new jobs go into effect July 1.

In a note to Apple employees Tim Cook wrote that:

“Jony is one of the most talented and accomplished designers of his generation, with an astonishing 5000 design and utility patents to his name. His new role is a reflection of the scope of work he has been doing at Apple for some time. Jony’s design responsibilities have expanded from hardware and, more recently, software UI to the look and feel of Apple retail stores, our new campus in Cupertino, product packaging and many other parts of our company.”

Interestingly, a more hands-on role with the look and feel of the Apple Stores (among other areas) seems to be a big part of Ive’s new focus. In an accompanying interview for the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper, long-time Apple fan Stephen Fry, the following exchange reveals a bit about Jony’s thought process regarding his new job:

When I catch up with Ive alone, I ask him why he has seemingly relinquished the two departments that had been so successfully under his control. “Well, I’m still in charge of both,” he says, “I am called Chief Design Officer. Having Alan and Richard in place frees me up from some of the administrative and management work which isn’t … which isn’t …”

“Which isn’t what you were put on this planet to do?”

“Exactly. Those two are as good as it gets. Richard was lead on the iPhone from the start. He saw it all the way through from prototypes to the first model we released. Alan has a genius for human interface design. So much of the Apple Watch’s operating system came from him. With those two in place I can …”

I could feel him avoiding the phrase “blue sky thinking”… think more freely?”

“Yes!”

Jony will travel more, he told me. Among other things, he will bring his energies to bear – as he has already since their inception – on the Apple Stores that are proliferating around the world.

Title-wise (and presumably in terms of pay?) it’s another step up for Jony, who is almost certainly the single most important person to Apple’s success here in 2015.

I’ve already seen a few people on Twitter worried that this is about Jony phasing himself out at Apple by setting up replacements. I don’t buy that for a second. Although Jony may be stepping away from the day-to-day running of his design team, it looks more like Jony is headed in the direction Steve Jobs was during his last few years at Apple. That means leaving the more managerial aspects of Apple to someone else, while focusing on the future “next big thing” for the company.

At a time when Apple is in the middle of unveiling (in the words of Eddy Cue) its most exciting product pipeline in a quarter-century, it’s the perfect time for him to make the move!

iPhone 7 specs rumors: A10 processor might be a 10nm TSMC job.

We aren’t anywhere close to the launch of the iPhone 6s, however that still hasn’t stopped rumors from flooding in about 2016’s iPhone 7. The Electronic Daily News says that TSMC, which is making A8 and A9 chips for certain iOS devices, is going to open a 10nm pilot line next month. The project could be further expanded and could end up making A10 chips for Apple’s 2016 iPhone 7 model next year.

Samsung and TSMC will supply A9 chip for this year’s new iPhones and iPads, built on 14nm and 16nm process technology, respectively. But TSMC is already looking forward to making 10nm and 7nm chips, which would be even more efficient than their 16nm predecessors

It might be too early for iPhone 7 rumors, but these new reports seem to indicate that TSMC is really interested in securing Apple orders for future iPhones. The publication says TSMC is aiming to become the sole supplier of A10 chips next year, though it’s also likely that TSMC will build 10nm chips for other potential clients next year not just for the iPhone 7.

TSMC’s main rival for obtaining A10 orders from Apple will still be Samsung, which along with TSMC will likely supply chips for Apple’s iPhone 6s. In addition to besting Samsung, the Taiwanese company is also looking to better compete against Intel’s own chips in the future.

Designer shows why Apple is adopting San Francisco as its new system font.

When Apple launched the Watch, it also designed a new system font to go with it: San Francisco. The typeface was specifically designed to combine a clean look with readability on the small display of the Apple Watch.

We exclusively revealed last week that Apple doesn’t intend to limit San Francisco to the watch: it instead plans to adopt the new typeface for Macs, iPhones and iPads. San Francisco is expected to replace Helvetica Neue as part of iOS 9 and OS X 10.11. Designer Wenting Zhang features the font in a look at “the beautiful details of the type forms that often get overlooked” …

The Type Detail project is aimed at typography fans, so you won’t find explanations of the technical terms use in the visual analysis, but it does reveal a few of the details that make San Francisco easy to read even in very small sizes.

One of the keys to readability is what is described as the large x-height: lower-case letters are around 75% of the height of capitals, making lower-case letters larger than in a typical font. The ‘eye’ of letters like e and a – the gap between the tail and the rest of the letter – are also larger than usual.

The site shows what the typeface looks like in a range of sizes, weights and styles, and says that it is similar to Open Sans and Arial.

Don’t expect too many new features in either iOS 9 or OS X 10.11: multiple sources tell our Mark Gurman that both updates will focus more on quality and stability than headline features. If you don’t want to wait for OS X 10.11, you can download a modified version of the font now and install it as your system font in Yosemite.