WWDC 2021: the latest news from Apple’s annual developer conference – The Verge

Apple says you can build apps on an iPad now, but devs say the reality is trickier

2021-06-15T11:54:00-04:00

Apple's latest iPad Pro is its most powerful tablet yet. And going into WWDC 2021, many viewers (myself included) had long wishlists of features we were hoping we might finally get to see - multiuser support, a more advanced Files app, native support for Final Cut and Photoshop, better compatibility with external displays.

We didn't get many of those dream features, but we did get something of a surprise: Apple announced Swift Playgrounds 4, the newest version of its Swift Playgrounds sandbox, a program Apple SVP Craig Federighi claimed will bring "a whole new dimension of productivity to iPad." It was a quick announcement that was easy to …

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iOS 15 gives you better tools to fight the firehose of notifications — with a catch

2021-06-11T08:00:00-04:00

Apple's iOS 15 preview earlier this week gave us a look at an important new feature coming to your iPhone's notifications: help. A few new tools may act as a life preserver for those of us up to our eyeballs in a sea of notifications every day, regulating which apps and people are allowed to bug us, and when. But on the flip side, app developers get some additional tools for getting your attention, too, and could very well start sending you even more notifications - albeit in a less disruptive way.

What's new in iOS 15 notifications?

Focus: Do Not Disturb for more scenarios, plus away messages!
Notification summaries: scheduled digests …

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Apple’s new health features bring new focus to elder care technology

2021-06-10T11:55:01-04:00

Apple's new health features will be available for anyone with an iPhone. But two of the tools announced at WWDC 2021, walking steadiness and the ability to share health data with family members, could be particularly useful for older adults.

People who work with older adults are excited that a company like Apple is interested in tech that could be used for this group. Experts have spent years frustrated that companies don't design products to meet the needs of that demographic. There have been a few attempts to introduce new tools, but none got much traction, says Richard Schulz, a social psychologist studying aging at the University of Pi …

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The best features of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS that Apple didn’t announce onstage

2021-06-10T09:05:00-04:00

He didn’t tell you everything.

Apple had its WWDC keynote on Monday, where it showed off the big new features coming to its platforms, but it didn't have time to show off everything coming to the new versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. So we've combed through the preview pages, Twitter, and a good chunk of the internet to see what interesting features got left out of the presentation.

iOS and iPadOS 15

The big features in iOS and iPadOS were the updates to notifications, FaceTime, and multitasking, but it appears Apple may have been really focusing on the platforms themselves, too. There are a ton of quality-of-life improvements including:

More Memoji options with new out …

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With iCloud Plus, Apple’s privacy promise is paired with an upsell

2021-06-10T08:00:00-04:00

Apple has spent considerable time championing itself as a protector of user privacy. Its CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly stated that privacy is "a fundamental human right," the company has based multiple ad campaigns around its privacy promises, and it's had high profile battles with authorities to keep its users' devices private and secure.

The pitch is simple: our products protect your privacy. But this promise has shifted very subtly in the wake of this week's iCloud Plus announcement, which for the first time bundled new security protections into a paid subscription service. The pitch is still "our products keep you safe," but now one of th …

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Apple may have accidentally confirmed the existence of an M1X MacBook Pro

2021-06-09T16:01:00-04:00

Not the new MacBook Pro, but it does have ports that are tipped to return!

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote came and went this year without a new MacBook Pro - but it looks like that wasn't the original intent! Intriguingly, Apple quietly included the phrases "M1X MacBook Pro" and "M1X" as tags on its YouTube video of the live keynote, as spotted by Max Balzer (via 9to5Mac).

Not only does that sound like tacit confirmation of at least one new Arm-powered MacBook Pro, it also corroborates the rumors that it'll include a new M1 chip, and that Apple will likely market it as an enhanced "X" variant, like it used to do with its high-end iPads, rather than going straight to M2. (Or, as some are pointing o …

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New iPhone Health app feature gives doctors easier access to data

2021-06-09T11:15:58-04:00

iPhone users will be able to share their Health app data directly with doctors. | Image: Apple

People with smartphones and wearable devices regularly show up to the doctor's office with readouts from apps detailing everything from their heart rate to sleep patterns. Now, with the new iOS 15 update this fall, some iPhone users will be able to send data directly from their Health app to their doctors' electronic medical records systems.

That type of integration could make it easier for patients to share information with their doctors, said Libo Wang, a cardiology fellow at the University of Utah School of Medicine who studies wearables. "The current workflow is mildly laborious, and requires the patient to email the pdf, and a clinici …

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Apple brought back the beloved magnifying glass for selecting text in iOS 15

2021-06-08T16:52:01-04:00

Apple's text selection magnifying glass has reappeared in the iOS 15 beta, and Apple's own site confirms its return by listing it as a feature. Bringing the feature back is a reversal from when Apple made the decision to dump it in iOS 13, which is a bit of a rare occurrence: Apple doesn't usually go back after it's done away with something (bringing back scissor switches in its keyboards after years of butterfly switches is a notable exception). The return of the little pop-up is welcome, though: I can only speak for myself, but since iOS 13's release, I've constantly been struggling without the helpful little magnifier.

The new version of …

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The six-year-old iPhone 6S will get iOS 15, and that rules

2021-06-08T15:12:56-04:00

The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus arrived in September 2015 running iOS 9.

The iPhone 6S will turn six years old this September, an eternity in phone years. If you've managed to hold onto one this long, then Apple has some good news for you - your phone will be eligible for the iOS 15 upgrade when it arrives for the public this fall. The iPhone 6S, 6S Plus, and first-generation iPhone SE, which all shipped with iOS 9, will be among the oldest devices to receive the OS update.

Six years is an awfully long life span for a mobile device, and certainly puts the 6S in the running for the longest supported phone to date. The iPhone 5S was five years old when it got its last OS update with iOS 12 but wasn't eligible for …

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macOS and tvOS are getting spatial audio support with the AirPods Pro and Max

2021-06-08T12:18:04-04:00

Apple is extending support for spatial audio to macOS and tvOS. The feature will work with the company's high-end AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, using the devices' built-in accelerometers and gyroscopes to create a 3D audio effect that tracks the listener's head movements.

Apple initially announced spatial audio for the AirPods Pro last year and impressed us with the feature's immersive quality. At this year's WWDC, the company extended support for spatial audio to Apple Music and FaceTime calls.

According to a press release from Apple, spatial audio for macOS will only work with the AirPods Pro and Max on Macs with the company's latest M1 c …

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