Microsoft's Cortana is now available on iPad

iPad users now have another personal assistant or A.I. to consider in Microsoft's Cortana. Cortana has been available on the iPhone for some time, Microsoft has tailored Cortana's user interface to suit the iPad's larger screen, a laudable change (cough, cough, Instagram). 

Upon installation, Cortana asks for location permission, access to calendars as well as a list of interests. If you use Cortana on Windows 10, having it on your iPad will be seamless. iOS now has Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and now Cortana available to users.

Apple posts Q1 revenue of $88.3 Billion, has 1.3 Billion active devices installed

Apple today announced its financial results for fiscal 2018 first quarter ending December 30, 2017. Historically Apple's stringest quarter, this one saw a revenue of $88.3 billion, a 13 per cent increase from a year ago quarter. International sales hit a record while accounting oe 65 per cent of the quarter's revenue.

“We’re thrilled to report the biggest quarter in Apple’s history, with broad-based growth that included the highest revenue ever from a new iPhone lineup. iPhone X surpassed our expectations and has been our top-selling iPhone every week since it shipped in November,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve also achieved a significant milestone with our active installed base of devices reaching 1.3 billion in January. That’s an increase of 30 percent in just two years.”

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Apple's HomePod could be the big iOS move to the home

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Little is known about Apple's upcoming HomePod speaker. It is expected to offer amazing sound for its size, it has accelerometers and advanced acoustic technologies to determine location, bounce off sound and calibrate for optimal sound. This could make it a truly-smart speaker in terms of audio playback.

HomePod has been easily dismissed as a late-to-the-game, me-too smart speaker. Apple's feeble attempt to eke out some profit from the insanely popular smart speaker segment led in the US by Amazon Echo and growing globally thanks to Google Home and the various sizes and variants they offer.

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Apple reportedly delaying iOS visual enhancements to focus on performance and stability

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

A report today says that Apple is foregoing a visual update to iOS to focus on performance and stability enhancements on stability and security. Apple's iOS hasn't had a major visual overhaul since 2013 with iOS 7.

A report from Axios states that Apple's engineers will focus on improving performance, battery life as well as security will receive attention over visual redesign and a new look. This includes delaying some interface features, new photo-taking features, photo editing and sharing features. The iPhones 8 and X are already superior cameras, delaying new features this year won't make an impact.

I think this is a great move. iOS 11 has been generally a good update when used with new devices but seems to show its cracks when running on older iPhones or iPads. This is a case where the plumbing and electrical systems require repair before Apple can consider adding a new facade and splash of fresh paint. 

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