iPhone, iPad users could soon gain Siri, iCloud and AirPod enhancements The flashy projected features of the iPhone 8 (or iPhone X?) are dominating the Apple rumor mill of late, but let’s not overlook the iOS software on the inside. Developers this week gained access to iOS 10.3 beta 1, even as iOS 11 rumors heated up. If you have an Apple Developer account you can go ahead and grab iOS 10.3 beta 1 now, but if not, here’s what developers will be dabbling with (BGR shares the release notes here). The public will gets its chance to experience the new iOS features for iPhones and iPads in the weeks or months to come. Addressing the much joked about issue of how to track down your lost AirPods (your lost $159 AirPods!), Apple will enable iPhone and iPad users to enlist the Find My iPhone app for the job. The last device to be used with the wireless earbuds can be made to crank out a loud sound. MORE: Conan’s take on Apple’s AirPods: Wireless. Expensive. Lost. Cult of Mac highlights a floating, one-handed iPad keyboard that essentially looks like an iPhone one. iCloud becomes more useful in several ways, including that you can get a more visual view of how much cloud storage you have remaining and for Verizon customers, you can now make/answer calls from any iCloud-connected device, including Apple Watch (other carriers already support this feature). MSN reports that other 10.3 beta 1 features include the ability to book Uber and Lyft rides using Siri voice commands and more down in the weeds, “the iPhone’s file system will be upgraded to Apple File System (APFS), which allows multiple file systems to share the space on the device memory instead of fixed amount of space for each file system.” Another handy new feature: Use 3D Touch to gain instant weather info from the Maps app. LOOKING TO iOS 11 Israeli website The Verifier got Apple watchers worked up this week with a report (from “several people familiar with iOS development”) that iOS 11 could support a predictable but useful feature: group Facetime video chats for up to 5 people. Yes, catching up with the likes of Skype. That’d be a nice one-two punch with the debut of the iPhone 8 in the fall. (MORE: The iMore blog has a nice rundown of possible iOS 11 features.) Related content news analysis iPhone 8 Rumor Rollup: Cranking up the processors; 3D cameras; $1K-plus price With iPhone 8 A11 processors reportedly in production, the next great Apple smartphone is starting to feel more real By Bob Brown May 14, 2017 3 mins Small and Medium Business Smartphones Apple news analysis SNL one step ahead of Amazon with Echo Silver In SNL spoof, Amazon and AARP team to address senior citizens' most pressing digital assistant needs By Bob Brown May 14, 2017 1 min Small and Medium Business Amazon.com Collaboration Software news analysis You really should know what the Andrew File System is "Model of storing data in cloud and delivering parts of it via on-demand caching at the edge is something everyone takes for granted today," one AFS creator says By Bob Brown May 10, 2017 7 mins IT Training Open Source Servers news analysis Getting a jump on private LTE networks Federated Wireless, Lemko join forces on CBRS wireless networks for private LTE By Bob Brown May 08, 2017 3 mins Small and Medium Business Internet of Things Mobile PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe