You can now search the Apple Store app using your voice

By Lulu Chang July 27, 2018

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Need to find something on the Apple Store app? Apple is making that a bit easier for you. The app has been updated to version 5.1, and finally, is beginning to look more like the App Store and iTunes Store. The new search interface displays trending searches if you’re not entirely sure of what you’re looking for, and also has a new microphone icon that, as you might suspect, lets you search via voice rather than text.

If you check out the Apple Store app — which you might use if you’re interested in seeing MacBooks, iPhones, or compatible accessories available for purchase — you can now tap on the microphone button and simply say your keyword. From there, voice search will take you to the correct results page, making for a much more streamlined search process.

Moreover, the actual app interface has been revamped. In addition to the popular searches display, Apple is also now presenting its results in card format, making them much easier to read and understand.

As Apple describes, “Search has been updated with an enhanced design. And it’s now powered with speech recognition technology for better search results.” The tech giant continues, “With a fresh look and the addition of speech recognition technology, it’s never been easier to find products, stores, sessions, and more.”

Moreover, Apple has also made updates to its Worldwide Developers Conference app for iOS, promising bug fixes and performance improvements. There are also new sorting options available on the Apple TV. Apple wrote in its update notes, “Thank you for your feedback. This update includes bug fixes and improvements in several areas, including accessibility, stability, and video downloads. In addition, videos can be viewed by collection and platform on tvOS.”

Of course, neither of these two apps are quite as popular as Apple’s App Store. Earlier this month, the App Store celebrated its 10th anniversary, and the Wall Street Journal published an interview with late Apple CEO Steve Jobs that was held following the App Store’s launch ain 2008. At the time, the executive noted that he was surprised by its success, saying that he had not expected the App Store to “be this big.”

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…

Mobile

Apple Music just got a cool feature you won’t find on Spotify

Apple Music Replay screenshots via Apple.

The Apple Music Replay feature gives you a rundown of which songs and albums you've listened to on the service every year. But now, it's getting a makeover that will make it more handy. Rundowns are being offered every month, allowing you to see your favorite tunes during the past 30-plus days — as well as how often you've listened to those titles.

The new monthly Apple Music Replay feature is only available through the web on the Apple Music Replay website, which is unfortunate, but unsurprising. The annual Apple Music Replay launches every December and is also a web-only feature.

Mobile

Arc Search is one of the best iPhone apps I’ve ever used

Using Browse for Me feature in Arc Search browser.

It’s 2024, a year when generative AI chatbots are browsing the web for us and presenting answers that are essentially a summarized version of the information hosted on different websites. The approach is convenient and saves us the hassle of visiting multiple ad-ridden, tracker-happy websites to find the required details.

Yes, a wall of information isn’t the most pleasing way to find answers, especially when these AI-generated summaries could result from hallucinated misinformation or sourced from garbage content-farm websites. Thankfully, the likes of Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s Copilot now provide citations, but tests have proved that these summarized answers are still not perfect.

Mobile

If you have one of these apps on your Android phone, delete it immediately

The app drawer on the Google Pixel 8 Pro.

The NSO Group raised security alarms this week, and once again, it’s the devastatingly powerful Pegasus malware that was deployed in Jordan to spy on journalists and activists. While that’s a high-profile case that entailed Apple filing a lawsuit against NSO Group, there’s a whole world of seemingly innocuous Android apps that are harvesting sensitive data from an average person’s phone.
The security experts at ESET have spotted at least 12 Android apps, most of which are disguised as chat apps, that actually plant a Trojan on the phone and then steal details such as call logs and messages, remotely gain control of the camera, and even extract chat details from end-to-end encrypted platforms such as WhatsApp.
The apps in question are YohooTalk, TikTalk, Privee Talk, MeetMe, Nidus, GlowChat, Let’s Chat, Quick Chat, Rafaqat, Chit Chat, Hello Chat, and Wave Chat. Needless to say, if you have any of these apps installed on your devices, delete them immediately.
Notably, six of these apps were available on the Google Play Store, raising the risk stakes as users flock here, putting their faith in the security protocols put in place by Google. A remote access trojan (RAT) named Vajra Spy is at the center of these app's espionage activities.

A chat app doing serious damage