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Apple introduces AirTag with accessibility features

The new AirTag tracking tiles that Apple unveiled comes as the iPhone maker is showing a growing interest in helping you track items outside of its Apple devices. Apple began this month allowing its Find My app to locate lost items made by third-party companies.

Now that the Apple tracking tag has arrived, here’s everything you need to know about the AirTag, including how it works, accessories and how to buy AirTags.

What’s an AirTag?

The AirTag works similarly to the Tile tag in that you can clip one of the small devices onto keys, a bag or whatever using a separate keychain. The tag can be used without the keychain as well and slipped into a wallet or bag. The AirTag can be paired with items like your iPhone, and it works with the Find My app. read more

iOS 14.5 beta indicates that Apple’s Bluetooth tracker AirTags is coming soon

In the latest iOS 14.5 beta, Apple has enabled the Items tab in the Find My app for all users. This is a good indicator that Apple’s Bluetooth tracker product is imminent (following around two years of rumors that the product is in development). However, the Items tab will also be used by third-party accessories that integrate with the Find My network, so technically the two things are not inextricably tied.

Apple is working on a Tile-like Bluetooth tracking device that’s designed to be attached to items like keys and wallets for tracking purposes, letting you find them right in the Find My app. read more

How To Simultaneously Share Audio with Two AirPods in iOS 13

In iOS 13, with a second set of AirPods or PowerBeats Pro, two people can listen to the same audio from one device at once. Here is how it works.

There are two ways to share your audio with iOS 13. First is the proximity-based method Apple showed off on stage at its World Wide Developer Conference. Just move one device towards the second and a card will display asking to share audio. Currently, the first beta of iOS 13 doesn’t support this method. Fortunately, the second method does work in beta one. read more

This Device Turns Your Old speaker Into a Smart Speaker at Half the Price

After Amazon introduced the original Echo smart speaker in 2013, not everyone wanted to buy a new speaker just to get access to Alexa.

The price point was hard to justify if you already had a great set of speakers to listen to music, which studies show is one of the primary uses of Alexa devices. To solve that problem, Amazon introduced the Echo Dot (now in its third generation), which offered an auxiliary cable to connect to any speaker that offered a 3.5 mm input.

So the Echo Input is just like the Echo Dot in that function. It just doesn’t have a speaker of its own, so it can’t operate independently. In exchange for sacrificing that functionality, the Echo Input is priced at half the price of the newest Echo Dot. read more

How To Switch Between Bluetooth Devices in Control Center on iOS

You can pair multiple Bluetooth devices to your iPhone and easily switch between them from Control Center.

But Control Center starting with iOS 11 and iOS 12 is different from iOS 10 and earlier, so we’ll go over where in Control Center you can switch which Bluetooth device is currently playing your sound. This is helpful if you need to switch from a speaker to headphones and in other similar instances. Here’s how to do it.

How to Switch Bluetooth Devices in Control Center with iOS 12:

For this tip, we’re assuming you already have multiple devices paired to your iPhone previously. Both devices, as well as Bluetooth, will need to be turned on. We’ll simply be switching which device is currently connected. Here’s how: read more

New App Aims to help People With Disabilities Navigate University’s Network of Tunnels

Carleton University is launching a new pilot project to help students navigate the university’s network of tunnels.

The Key2Access app uses Bluetooth navigation beacons to send location alerts.

The navigational beacons are at key intersections along the tunnel to guide visually and mobility impaired students along the way. Audio will indicate entrances into buildings, corners, ramps, or accessible washrooms. There are also directional markers along the tunnel.

Dean Mellway is with Carleton’s READ Initiative (Research, Education, Accessibility and Design). He is part of the group launching the pilot project. read more

Lucyd Launches Prescription Bluetooth Smart Glasses for only $99

Lucyd has launched a new pair of prescription-compatible smart glasses called Lucyd Loud which cost only $99.

Loud features bone conduction-based audio and AI voice assistant access for phone calls, media controls, and app access at the touch of a button, similar to how standard Bluetooth headsets work.

They also don’t necessarily look like either prescription glasses or tech-heavy smart glasses. Instead, they have a modern styling in a matte black coloration and ship in three different styles of lenses. They include clear, sunglasses, and a slightly more expensive photochromatic. read more

Google Developing Hearing Aid Support for Android

Android fragmentation has made it difficult for bluetooth hearing aid manufacturers to provide support to Android devices. Now Google is working to bring native hearing aid support for streaming on Android.

Google recently announced that it’s working with Danish hearing aid manufacturer GN Hearing to create a new hearing aid specification for Android smartphones called ASHA, or Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids. It’s designed to be battery-efficient, while providing high quality audio with low latency. read more

How to Fix Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Cellular connectivity in iOS 11

Are you having difficulties with wireless connectivity on your iPhone or iPad? Are you having problems connecting to Wi-Fi, cellular, or Bluetooth devices? Read on.

One of the most frustrating things to fix on any device is connectivity issues. Maybe it’s that you can’t access Wi-Fi or cellular or Bluetooth from a particular device (and you know it works because your other devices are working fine), or maybe you’re experiencing those-annoying random connectivity drops or laggy connections that can be so destructive to productivity. read more

How to Pair a Bluetooth Speaker with Google Home

The Google Home Mini speaker sounds OK for listening to podcasts, but for music it could use a boost. Now, you can pair any Home or Home Mini with a Bluetooth speaker for a better audio experience.

Note: We’re using Android for in our examples here, but the process is similar on iOS.

Launch the Google Home app, and then select the devices button in the top right corner.

On the Devices page, select the menu button (the three-dots) in the top right corner, and then choose the “Settings” command. read more

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