Details have been rather scarce on Apple's rumored electric car project, but there's some new info today. Wall Street Journal reports that Cupertino is "accelerating" the codenamedProject Titan effort, internally calling it a "committed project." What's more, WSJ's sources indicate Apple is aiming to ship the first vehicle in 2019. Yes, that means you'll have to wait a while to get behind the wheel, but we should be hearing more detailed info soon enough, especially when the company begins testing on public roads. Perhaps what's more interesting, though, is the report says the first car won't be fully autonomous, despite that type of system being part of the long-term plan.
This latest report also says that Apple will triple its team of 600, which already includes automotive experts. Tim Cook & Co. are reportedly moving forward with the project after looking into the potential for building its own car, including meeting with government officials in its home state of California, for over a year. Apple's entry into the industry would follow self-driving car efforts from a number of auto makers, including its main tech rival. Given what we know about Google's on-going project, it'll be interesting to see what that first vehicle will look like when it drives away from 1 Infinite Loop.
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Apple toned down the 
Apple introduced a new social network in the Music app called Connect. It’s stupid, and if you don’t plan on using it, it just takes up space. You can get rid of it, but it requires a few steps. Tap on Settings > General > Restrictions and set restrictions to on. Then scroll down to Apple Music Connect and set the toggle to off. Once you’ve done that, the Connect icon in Music gets swapped out with an icon for playlists.
It’s a bit baffling why Apple thinks it needs to send you a notification every time you come across a new open Wi-Fi network, but it does. If you’re sick of getting a notification every time you enter a building, head to Settings > Wi-Fi and set “Ask to Join Networks” to off.
Background App Refresh is a setting that allows apps to reload data in the background so they’re always up to date. Essentially, it makes it so you can open an app like Facebook and there’s no load time. It sounds cool on the surface, but it eats up your battery life. Worse, every app you install has this enabled by default, and in most cases it’s not even needed.
By default, iOS will automatically download and install all new app updates (as well as Music, Books, and Apps purchased on other devices). This is a annoying if you prefer to hold off on updates or you just don’t want your phone checking for those updates and eating battery life up all day. To turn them off, head toSettings > iTunes & App Store and set the “Updates” toggle to off.
Suggested Apps is a feature that uses your current location to suggest new apps to download. For example, if you walk into a Starbucks, you’ll get a notification to download the Starbucks app. It’s basically having ads for places you’re visiting draining your battery life and it’s incredibly stupid. Head to Settings > iTunes & App Store and under Suggested App change the My Apps and App Store setting to off.
When you tap the trash can icon in Mail, you get an annoying popup asking if you’re sure you really want to delete your email. It’s pretty obnoxious, but it’s easy to disable. Head to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars and turn off “Ask Before Deleting” under Mail.
The lock screen noises made when locking and unlocking your iPhone are pretty annoying. To turn them off, head to Settings > Sounds and set the toggle for Lock Sounds to Off. While you’re in there, you can also turn off the keyboard clicking sound effect by toggling Keyboard Click to Off.
iOS is all about “interest based ads,” which essentially means your iPhone tracks your interests based on apps and Safari browsing. It’s creepy to say the least, but it also sucks up data and drains your battery. Head to Settings > Privacy > Advertising and set the Limit Ad Tracking toggle to On to disable this “feature.”
Do Not Disturb is a great way to ensure you don’t get annoyed with notifications. That is, unless your phone isn’t locked. For some reason, by default, Do Not Disturb doesn’t work when you’re using your phone. It’s a little annoying if you’re just trying to read in peace. So head to Settings > Do Not Disturb and toggle the setting from “Only while iPhone is Locked” to “Always.”
