Microsoft continues focus on iOS by adding OneDrive support for Apple Watch

By Kris Wouk Published April 20, 2015

While the companies have always been fierce competitors, there is also a long history of cooperation between Apple and Microsoft. It may seem that with its own wearable wrist accessory (you can’t quite call the Microsoft Band a smartwatch) on the market, Microsoft would be hesitant to support the Apple Watch, but as it turns out, that’s not so.

As part of the latest update to its OneDrive app for iOS, Microsoft has added support for the Apple Watch. For now, the app simply allows you to browse through photos on the watch, but it will be interesting to see what if any other Apple Watch-specific features are added to the app in the future.

Recommended Videos

The new update allows users to view their most recent photos, delete unwanted photos, and even find photos by tag. The Apple Watch’s small screen likely isn’t the most obvious choice for serious photo management, but it’s still a nice feature, especially if your phone is plugged in or located elsewhere at the moment.

This is yet another in a long line of recent Microsoft moves that we probably wouldn’t have seen even a few years ago. With the departure of Steve Ballmer, and Satya Nadella’s move to CEO, the company has been ruthlessly streamlining its existing product lines while exploring new platforms and services.

We started to see this new Microsoft last year when the company made its Office suite freely available on iOS and Android devices, and this year has seen the arrival of the company’s Office Lens app, the newly updated Outlook app, and the announcement that its Cortana personal assistant would be coming to iOS and Android.

It could even be argued that, at least when it comes to mobile devices, Microsoft is making better software for its competitors’ platforms than it is for its own. This may or may not be good for the company, but it’s certainly good for users.

Former Contributor

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

Topics

Mobile

Apple iOS 15: News, features, and everything you need to know

Apple's newest iPhone operating system, iOS 15, launched on September 20. The update brings new features and controversial design changes to the vast majority of iPhones, including many older devices. Whether you're planning to buy a new iPhone 13 or holding onto your older iPhone model, here's everything you need to know about iOS 15 and its subsequent updates.
What devices can get iOS 15?
The new Apple iPhone 13 models will ship with iOS 15, but there are hundreds of millions of iPhone users with older devices who will benefit from the update as well. Apple released iOS 15 to all iPhone models going back to the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6 Plus, and original iPhone SE, making these the longest-supported iPhone models yet. The corresponding iPadOS 15 rolled out to a slew of devices, including the iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 4, iPad (5th-generation), and iPad Pro 9.7, as well as the new iPad Mini 6 and 10.2-inch iPad, of course.
What are the new features of iOS 15?
There are many new features and improvements in iOS 15. Here are a few of the most exciting ones to watch out for once you update:
Notifications
If you're the type to ignore notifications or let them pile up, this update should make your life a bit easier. A new Notification Summary on the lock screen compiles your notifications for a cleaner look. You don't have to worry about missing anything, though. The summary uses on-device intelligence about what you interact with the most to separate and prioritize notifications, so urgent notifications like messages won't be lost among app reminders.

The new Focus feature enhances the Notification Summary even further. You can choose from among the preset Focus modes -- Work, Personal, Sleep, and Do Not Disturb -- or create up to 10 Focuses so iOS 15 can prioritize notifications based on your circumstance. Focus modes can even be set to a location, and once you set your status, it automatically applies across all connected Apple devices. There are new notification settings and new widgets for the home screen that let you see the notifications in your Focus mode. Throughout the notification system in iOS 15, icons for apps are larger and text is clearer, making it easy to catch up with everything at a glance.
Sharing
Apple knows how important video calls and messaging are today, and it has announced a variety of new features for both FaceTime and Messages that are all built around SharePlay.

Mobile

Apple’s iOS 15.3 update fixes critical Safari security bug

iPhone showing Home Screen with widgets resting on soft white cloth background.

Apple has just released iOS 15.3, and while this latest update doesn’t add any significant new features, it addresses at least one critical security flaw. Earlier this month, software engineer Martin Bajanik of FingerprintJS found a serious vulnerability in Safari 15, the browser included in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, that could leak browsing history information and even credentials from online services that a person is using, such as Google, YouTube, Amazon, and sites using WordPress.

As Bajanik explains, many websites use an API called IndexedDB to request that browsers like Safari and Chrome store information in a local database on a person’s device. Under normal circumstances, a given website should only be able to request information about the databases that it created — any others should be invisible to it.

Mobile

Microsoft Teams walkie-talkie comes to Android and iOS

Microsoft Teams walkie talkie.

Microsoft Teams has always had a walkie-talkie feature that allows users that are a part of the same underlying channels to connect smoothly through its web app. Now, this update can be accessed on both Android and iOS devices.The walkie-talkie feature is accessible with Wi-Fi as well as cellular network connectivity. The PTT (push-to-talk) feature landed nearly two years ago for frontline workers on the Teams app to ensure smoother communication during the early ravages of the pandemic. Only users within a particular channel can interact with each other, similar to two users from the same team who can have a private chat via Microsoft teams. Outside parties and users can only engage if they have been granted permission or have been added to these channels.
The walkie-talkie feature gives Microsoft an edge over its competitors such as Slack and Zoom. Image used with permission by copyright holder
Microsoft has teamed up with Zebra Mobile to implement this functionality. Currently, this feature is not enabled in the app, and the average employee can't do it themselves. To add it, organizations need to go to the "App Setup Policy" from the admin center. Once switched on, the feature will be available on the app within 48 hours. This walkie-talkie feature will also be present on a wide range of Zebra Mobile devices geared toward enterprise use. The combination of this Teams feature and the PTT button on Zebra devices helps easier access and connectivity for essential workers. Additionally, the Reflexis Shifts Connector will have general availability in Teams from January 2022. This connector would integrate with the Reflexis Workforce Scheduler (RWS) and sync in real-time for assigning and managing worker shifts, which could be useful for hourly employees and contractors.