Sep 26, 2021

📱 Finer Tech Newsletter #79: iOS 15, Split View shortcuts, smarter Siri, widgets, and more

By David Chartier • Issue #79 • View online

Hey all you finer readers! It’s been a pretty light couple of weeks so I’ve been struggling with content for this issue. 😄

But seriously, by now you’ve probably seen how-tos and tips for the big iOS 15 features like Focus, Live Text, and the Safari redesign. I’ll do my thing with some of the little features that can make a big difference.

The macOS Monterey tips are on hold until Apple actually ships the OS. SharePlay also sits this one out since it was pulled from 15.0 (but has resurfaced in 15.1 betas).

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this issue via email and Twitter.

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Cover photo via my Flickr

💡 Tips

📱 iOS 15 Maps: More granular search options like cuisine type, venues open now, and more

When you search for businesses now, filter options appear under some suggestions to help narrow results to venues that are open now, offer delivery, are featured in local guides, and more.

📱 iOS 15 Siri can control devices at a later time

You can now tell Siri things like “turn off the living room lights at 7pm.” In my testing, this seems to work with any devices, rooms, and scenes in HomeKit.

📱 iOS 15 Siri can control devices at a later time

You can now tell Siri things like “turn off the living room lights at 7pm.” In my testing, this seems to work with any devices, rooms, and scenes in HomeKit.

📱 iOS 15 Split View, Slide over have keyboard shortcuts now

I’ve wanted these for years and they’re finally here: keyboard shortcuts for managing apps in Split View and Slide Over. There’s a list of new shortcuts in iPadOS 15 at iMore, but here are a few I want to highlight. Yes, these use the Globe language/emoji key:

Split View

These shortcuts finally solve the problem of bringing new apps into Split View that are not in the Dock. They also behave differently depending on whether the current app is full screen or already in Split View:

Tile Window Left: Control + Globe + Left Arrow
Tile Window Right: Control + Globe + Right Arrow

If the current app is full screen, it will move to the far left or right, making way for you to find another app, tap it, and bring it into Split View. If you’re already in Split View, these shortcuts will switch the two current apps between sides. It’s glorious.

Slide Over

These should help seal the deal on Slide Over’s usefulness:

Show Slide Over: Globe + Backslash </li>
Move to Left Slide Over: Option + Globe + Left Arrow
Move to Right Slide Over: Option + Globe + Right Arrow

📱 iPad: Make your own dashboard Home Screen to focus on the important stuff

Widgets on our iPad Home Screens open up some fun possibilities. Like many of us, I have a few purpose-based screens dedicated to things like ‘photography/creative’ and ‘work.’ On the former, I have a small widget of Flickr’s Discover feature for inspiration. Basic example.

Now I’m toying with making a morning dashboard of Stuff That Matters from 100 percent widgets (pic of WIP above).

Bonus Tip: The iPad remembers different widget layouts between portrait and landscape. Place your widgets on a screen, organize them (with or without apps), flip orientation, and organize them again. Your iPad should remember those layouts between orientations.

📱 Apple figured out the iPad needs Low Power Mode, too

Not sure why it took this long, but you can finally add this option to Control Center on an iPad. It’s in Settings > Battery, too.

📱 Safari: Copy all links from a tab group

Tab Groups in Safari are one of my favorite new features in iOS 15. I’ve never liked keeping a zillion tabs open all the time, so organizing them into containers that are easy to swap between fits my needs pretty well.

You can copy all links from any tab group in the sidebar by right-clicking it. This includes the default set of tabs at the top of the list if you haven’t created any groups.

🔗 Good Links & Reads

Photos From The 1911 Expedition To Antarctica

In 1911 a group of scientists and adventurers left Hobart under the leadership of geologist Dr Douglas Mawson (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) . They were bound for Macquarie Island and the then unknown parts of Antarctica.

flashbak.com • Share

The video below is one of those long ambience things I like to put on sometimes, instead of music or ‘background noise.’

Ancient Library Room - Relaxing Thunder & Rain Sounds, Crackling Fireplace for Sleeping for Study

🕰 🕰 🕰 Too Many Clocks! 🕰 🕰 🕰 - by Pessimists Archive - Pessimists Archive Newsletter

We found a piece [from 1886] lamenting the “era of cheap clocks”, which complained they were now bric-a-brac, rather than precious objects bought by newly weds and used for a life-time.

pessimistsarchive.substack.com • Share

Meet the Self-Hosters, Taking Back the Internet One Server at a Time

Tired of Big Tech monopolies, a community of hobbyists is taking their digital lives off the cloud and onto DIY hardware that they control.

www.vice.com • Share

I quit my job to travel and work remotely 5 years ago — here's what I wish I knew about the digital nomad lifestyle before becoming one

“A general rule of thumb is that your estimated lifestyle costs 25% more than you think and planning takes double the time,” says Stephanie Smolders.

www.businessinsider.com • Share

🤩 Thanks for reading

Of course, there’s plenty more iOS 15 stuff to dig through so I’ll work it into future issues. And like I said, Monterey will get its spotlight when it ships.

How did you like this issue? Was it useful and bite-sized enough? Are there certain kinds of tips or apps you’d like to see here? Let me know what you think via email and Twitter.

You can also find me on Mastodon, Tumblr, and Micro.blog.

Did you enjoy this issue?

By David Chartier

Quick productivity boosters for apps and Apple devices, served with a side of humor, links, and videos across culture, science, and more.

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