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- Friday March 29
- 16 mins agoGoogle obviously says that Apple RCS support will come in the fall
While Apple has publicly only said that it will add RCS messaging support to iOS later in 2024, a Google announcement appears to pin it down further.RCS support will be added to the iPhone sometime in 2024Apple's November 2023 announcement that it would add RCS messaging support to the iPhone, committed to it being done "later next year." The addition, possibly forced on the company by China, is presumably taking months because Apple is ignoring Google's RCS in favor of working on a new version with a standards body.Google has launched a new page about RCS messaging, and at least at first included this extra detail about a launch in the fall. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums1 hour agoWWDC24: One feature we want to Apple to announce for each OS
Macworld It’s official—WWDC will kick off on June 10 with Apple’s biggest keynote of the year. As always we’ll get a preview of what to expect from Apple’s OS updates coming this fall. That’s iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS—and likely some surprises along the way. With less than three months to go before the big event, it’ll be here before we know it. iOS 18: Siri It’s hard not to be excited when you hear that this is going to be the most ambitious iOS update in a very long time. Apple’s big AI push seems great and has me wishing for all kinds of neat features in lots of apps. But if I had to narrow it down to one feature, I would have to say: Siri. Siri may be part of every Apple product, but it’s inexorably tied to the iPhone. After becoming the poster child for digital assistants with the iPhone 4s and sort of entering the collective consciousness as “AI” before “AI” was all the rage, it has become something of a blemish for Apple. Despite some real significant improvements in the last couple years, it is often ridiculed online for misunderstanding users and giving weird results. For Apple, Siri is AI and AI is Siri. It is, in a very literal sense, AI personified. Siri has to make people say “wow” again, like it did when it was new. It needs to be something above and beyond the current state of the art in phone assistants. It’s going to take a lot to change the minds of the many millions of people who have “given up” on Siri after years of underperformance, but more than anything else, that’s what I want out of iOS 18. —Jason Cross iPadOS 18: Multiple users I’ve wanted this one for as long as Apple’s been making iPads—please please please let us have more than one user account on our tablets. Like Macs, iPads are communal devices and we’d love to be able to share ours with our spouses and kids without having half of the apps tied to our Apple ID. Ever since Apple split iOS and iPadOS, multiple users seemed to be a no-brainer for the iPad, but each passing update has arrived with a lock screen instead of an iPhone instead of a Mac login screen. I’m hoping this year is when things change. —Michael Simon macOS 15: Dynamic Notch OK, I’m pretty sure this one isn’t going to happen, but I’d really really like it to. On our iPhones, the Dynamic Island is a great way to quickly see things happening in the background—on our MacBooks, a Dynamic Notch would be an awesome way to multitask on our MacBooks. It would work largely the same way—apps that are doing something in the background would populate the notch, with small interactive screens descending when clicked. It would take some getting used to and obviously need tremendous developer support, but hey if someone at Apple thought Stage Manager was a good idea, surely this could work. —Michael Simon tvOS 18: Customizable TV app Some of what I want most on my Apple TV has nothing to do with new OS features and more to do with company policies. Like Netflix supporting the TV app so it’s in my “Up Next” queue, or game streaming apps such as Xbox Cloud Gaming or GeForce Now (Apple allows these now but the company’s policies around how games are sold still draw ire from developers). I think the TV app itself has gotten worse over the last couple of years, though. With auto-playing trailers and a heavy preference for pushing Apple TV+ content. I have to scroll past many categories of Apple-only content before I get to the “New Shows and Movies” section where stuff from other services is mixed in. As a platform, tvOS pushes Apple’s own services so hard that I’m surprised it wasn’t specifically mentioned in the Department of Justice’s recent antitrust lawsuit. —Jason Cross My ideal tvOS change is simply to let users customize the TV app home screen, choosing which sections to show or hide and in which order. —Michael Simon watchOS 11: Notes app watchOS has undergone numerous changes over the years, culminating with its largest overhaul yet in watchOS 10. So we don’t expect many major changes this year, but we are hoping for one—a Notes app. We don’t know why Apple didn’t include a companion Notes app in watchOS 1 or why it hasn’t added one since, but the ability to speak and store notes on the go is sorely needed. —Michael Simon visionOS 2: User-anchored windows The second release of visionOS needs to be a big change from the first. A real customizable home view, lasting widgets, way more tools for developers, faster/better hand tracking, shared spaces and virtual objects, and lots more. But if I have to pick just one thing, it would be for the ability to anchor windows to the user rather than to the space. Let me “lock” a window to me and have it follow me around, floating in the same relative position around me as I move. —Michael Simon Apple Inc, iOS, MacOS1 hour agoApple TV+ shows and movies: Everything to watch on Apple TV Plus
Apple TV+ offers exclusive Apple original TV shows and movies in 4K HDR quality. You can watch across all of your screens and pick up where you left off on any device. Apple TV+ costs $9.99 per month. Here’s every Apple original television show and movie available now on Apple TV+, as well as the latest trailers … more…1 hour agoiOS 17.4.1 update allows for faster Qi wireless charging on iPhone 12 models
If you have an iPhone 12 and just upgraded to iOS 17.4.1, you can now use some of the additional charging speed that Qi2 wireless charging technology offers. Apple’s MagSafe first launched as a competitor to Qi charging with the iPhone 12 in 2020. Since then, a Qi2 standard has been released which is more […] Source1 hour agoiPhone 16 Pro may gain a new polished, glossy titanium finish
Apple is believed to be sticking with titanium for the forthcoming iPhone 16 Pro, but a new leak claims that an improved manufacturing process will give it a more polished look.iPhone 16 Pro could have a new, more polished titanium finishFollowing reports that the iPhone 16 Pro lineup will see a change in colors, a new leak reports that the finish on each of the colors will look different. According to leaker "yeux1122," Apple is introducing a new production method for its titanium chassis."Unlike the 15 Pro models, the iPhone 16 Pro models are said to have a method with improved titanium processing and color processing," writes the leaker on a blog. "Therefore, there is a possibility that it will be changed to a more polished material, if not an external scratch [resistant one]." Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums1 hour agoiPhone 16 Pro may gain a new polished, glossy titanium finish
Apple is believed to be sticking with titanium for the forthcoming iPhone 16 Pro, but a new leak claims that an improved manufacturing process will give it a more polished look.iPhone 16 Pro could have a new, more polished titanium finishFollowing reports that the iPhone 16 Pro lineup will see a change in colors, a new leak reports that the finish on each of the colors will look different. According to leaker "yeux1122," Apple is introducing a new production method for its titanium chassis."Unlike the 15 Pro models, the iPhone 16 Pro models are said to have a method with improved titanium processing and color processing," writes the leaker on a blog. "Therefore, there is a possibility that it will be changed to a more polished material, if not an external scratch [resistant one]." Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums1 hour agoiPhone 16 Pro may gain a new polished, glossy titanium finish
Apple is believed to be sticking with titanium for the forthcoming iPhone 16 Pro, but a new leak claims that an improved manufacturing process will give it a more polished look.iPhone 16 Pro could have a new, more polished titanium finishFollowing reports that the iPhone 16 Pro lineup will see a change in colors, a new leak reports that the finish on each of the colors will look different. According to leaker "yeux1122," Apple is introducing a new production method for its titanium chassis."Unlike the 15 Pro models, the iPhone 16 Pro models are said to have a method with improved titanium processing and color processing," writes the leaker on a blog. "Therefore, there is a possibility that it will be changed to a more polished material, if not an external scratch [resistant one]." Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums10:00 amRumor: Apple to introduce updated iPad Air, and iPad Pro models in early May
Sometimes announcements take a bit more time than previously thought. Following up on the previous rumor that Apple would announce its updated iPad Air and iPad Pro models around this time, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has now stated that the timeline for the new iPads has been pushed back to early May. Apple is working on […] Source10:00 amCreate flowcharts, org charts, floor plans, and more with Microsoft Visio, now under $25
Macworld Crunching numbers is one thing, but when your data is more complex, you need more than just charts and graphs to visualize solutions. That’s where a tool like Microsoft Visio Professional 2021 comes in. Fortunately, this leading diagramming tool is on sale for only $24.97 (reg. $249) through April 2. Microsoft Visio (4.9-star rated by verified buyers!) can help you simplify technical, complex data sets with a series of premade templates, starter diagrams, stencils, and more than 250,000 shapes to help visualize information. Whether you need to make a flowchart, org chart, floor plan, or something else, Visio makes it easy to create intuitive visuals. Business leaders and managers can also problem-solve with Visio’s brainstorming visualization. You can produce helpful solutions by creating fishbone diagrams, SWOT analyses, and more. You can also automatically generate charts from sources like Excel, Exchange, or Microsoft Entra ID. Visio even allows users with touch-enabled devices to draw diagrams with their fingers or styluses. Streamline your diagramming needs with lifetime access to Microsoft Visio Professional 2021 for Windows, now just $24.97 through April 2 at 11:59 PM Pacific. No coupon required! Microsoft Visio Professional 2021 for Windows Only $24.97 at Macworld StackSocial prices subject to change. Accessories10:00 amAnother day, another iPad delay–here’s when you can expect to buy one
Macworld Earlier this month Apple released the new M3 MacBook Air with a surprise press release on Monday, March 4. That was notable for a couple of reasons: One, we expected Apple to hold a spring event this year, and two, they weren’t accompanied by new iPads. With no event, we thought new iPads would launch the next day or the following week, but more than two weeks later, that hasn’t happened. Then there was a rumor earlier this week that Apple would unveil the new iPads on Tuesday, March 26, but this week has come and gone without an announcement, so it appears new iPads will officially be launching in April now. Or based on the latest report, maybe even May. So what gives? When exactly will the new iPads arrive? Let’s look at what we know. Several reports have claimed that the new iPads won’t ship until April. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reports that a new version of iOS 17.4 for the new iPads “won’t be complete until the end of March or even sometime in April,” a process that “could last a couple weeks, probably taking us deeper into next month.” Separately, Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants says that while the new OLED panels for the iPad Pro began shipping in February, production and price issues caused some delays, particularly with the 11-inch model. Now that we’re officially looking at April, we’re hearing reports that Apple won’t launch new iPads until May, which is a very rare month for new Apple products. Here’s a list of Apple’s announcements via press release since 2019: M3 MacBook Air: Monday, March 4, 2024 M2 Pro/Max MacBook Pro: Tuesday, January 17, 2023 2nd-gen HomePod: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 10th-gen iPad/6th-gen iPad Pro: Tuesday, October 18, 2022 2nd-gen iPhone SE: Wednesday, April 15, 2020 4th-gen iPad Pro: Wednesday, March 18, 2020 7th-gen iPod touch: Tuesday, May 28, 2019 5th-gen iPad mini: Monday, March 18, 2019 3rd-gen iPad Air: Monday, March 18, 2019 iMac (Intel 9th-generation): Tuesday, March 19, 2019 The only new recent Apple product that arrived in May was the iPod touch way back in 2019, a product that isn’t nearly as important to Apple’s lineup as an iPad. It’s probably more likely that Apple will announce the new iPads later in April and begin shipping them in May, like it did with the new M1 iPad Pro in 2020. Apple has announced iPads on Mondays and Tuesdays and once on a Wednesday due to Covid shakeups. However, major announcements (10th-gen iPad, M2 MacBook Pro) generally happen on a Tuesday, while Mondays are relegated to smaller updates, like the recent M3 MacBook Air. So what does it all mean? Put all of the clues together and our best guess for an iPad release is either Tuesday, April 16 or April 23. We’re leaning toward April 23, which gives Apple plenty of time to gather stock, finish the new build of iPadOS 17.4, and generate a bit more buzz. So plan accordingly. While you wait, check out our iPad Air and iPad Pro rumor roundups so you know what to expect from the releases when they arrive. iPad09:00 amHow to migrate away from iCloud+
Macworld In a world with ever-rising costs, some readers want to trim their budgets. iCloud+ pricing for 50GB ($0.99/ £0.99 per month) to 12TB ($59.99/£54.99 per month) of storage plus other bonuses might not seem terrible compared to, say, streaming services or a fancy latte, but it’s not nothing. If you have a family using Apple devices and you’re using Family Sharing with an Apple One plan ($25.95/£24.95 per month for 200GB or $37.95/£36.95 a month for 2TB) the cost is more than trivial. The real question is, can you get what you need without relying on iCloud? For the purposes of this column, I’m using the sweet spot of 2TB as the basis, since it’s high enough to consider cutting. Signing up for iCloud+ at 2TB is $9.99/£8.99 per month, which can be shared with members of a Family Sharing group; the Apple One Premier plan ($37.95/£36.95 per month) can be used by an individual or Family Sharing group, but it’s the only bundled plan with 2TB. (Family Sharing group members can only access their own storage, but their storage and yours all count towards the total in the iCloud+ storage pool.) Consider which services you get with iCloud+ that you would lose if you reverted to the free basic 5GB iCloud plan. A full list of associated services can be found on Apple’s site. iCloud Photos One of iCloud’s big selling points is the ability to sync your photos and videos across all devices, backing them up and copying them as soon as you capture them on a mobile device or import them on a desktop Mac, as well as holding optimized versions of the library to reduce storage on devices. It’s hard to replicate this. You’ll need to regularly import media from mobile devices to a Mac or Windows system to prevent the potential of losing them and ensure you have excellent computer backups so you can restore media later. One alternative is Google Photos, which can sync mobile photos to its cloud up to the limits of storage paid for via your Google One account. Google offers 2TB for $99.99/£79.99 a year ($8.33/£6.67 per month when divided out), which can be shared with up to five other people. Not a huge savings. To stop using iCloud Photos: In iOS or iPadOS, go to Settings > account name > iCloud > Photos and disable Sync this iPhone/iPad or iCloud Photos. In macOS, go to Photos > Settings/Preferences > iCloud and uncheck iCloud Photos. In both cases, you’ll be prompted about how to manage cloud- and locally-stored images. You’ll be limited by the storage available on your device. iCloud Drive If you never need to share files or only share relatively small ones that would all fit within 5GB, you can use the free iCloud tier’s storage, the free Dropbox tier (5GB), or Google Drive (15GB). iCloud Drive effectively provides an extra backup for files stored there, as well. It’s possible to use computer-based software or network-attached storage to create your own private internet-accessible file servers for sync and remote access, as well as sharing with others, but the cost and complexity involved seemingly outstrips the desire to save money on an iCloud+ subscription. To stop using iCloud Drive, go to Settings (iOS/iPadOS) or System Settings (macOS), and then account name > iCloud > iCloud Drive. Disable Sync this iPhone/iPad/Mac. You’ll be prompted about how to handle files, just as you were with photos. Other services Other services you should consider how to manage without iCloud+ tiers of storage: Messages in the Cloud: If you enable iCloud for Messages you can sync your message history for your iCloud account and associated SMS/MMS messages across all your devices. This can add up to gigabytes over time due to multimedia attachments, like movies. There’s no direct way to duplicate this, although performing local backups using macOS will keep a copy of Messages data on an iPhone or iPad. You might also use Signal, WhatsApp, or other messaging services, but make sure you understand the security tradeoffs for each, particularly with WhatsApp and cloud-based archiving of messages you exchange with it. iCloud email: Apple offers an email service like many other firms, and you could switch to another provider. If you fill up available iCloud storage space with email and attachments, you can use the Mail app in macOS or third-party mail apps to download email and store it locally on your computer. Locally stored email is subject to the same concerns about keeping reliable, multiple backups of data. Contacts, calendar, reminders: These three categories of synced data don’t require much storage unless you add big attachments to entries, like PDFs or movies. You should be able to continue using the free tier of iCloud storage for all these needs. Lots of miscellaneous things: Apple uses iCloud to sync iCloud Keychain entries, as a conduit and backup for end-to-end encrypted information used by devices, to store in escrow a macOS FileVault Recovery Key, and much more. These all add up to very little actual storage consumed. After you’re sure everything is in place, you can use iOS, iPadOS, or macOS to downgrade storage in Settings/System Settings > account name > iCloud > Manage/Manage Account Storage. Backup, backup, backup Whatever data you stop syncing or stop having an extra central backup with iCloud, you should make doubly sure is archived in ways you can reach later. While saving money is the intent, don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish, losing a lifetime’s worth of photos in the process. Get an inexpensive, high-capacity external hard disk drive that you use for networked Time Machine backups; make it a routine to back up your iPhones and iPads to a Mac nightly, if possible; and consider an affordable, secure online backup service, like Backblaze, which has unlimited storage per computer for a flat yearly fee. This Mac 911 article is in response to a question submitted by Macworld reader Chris. Ask Mac 911 We’ve compiled a list of the questions we get asked most frequently, along with answers and links to columns: read our super FAQ to see if your question is covered. If not, we’re always looking for new problems to solve! Email yours to mac911@macworld.com, including screen captures as appropriate and whether you want your full name used. Not every question will be answered, we don’t reply to email, and we cannot provide direct troubleshooting advice. iCloud08:00 amLearn a new language this year with Babbel, now only $140
Macworld Whether you’re traveling abroad as warmer weather arrives or simply want to broaden your communication horizons, learning a new language is a smart idea. Now is an even better time to learn, as lifetime access to Babbel is discounted to under $140 through April 2. Developed by more than 100 expert linguists, Babbel is designed to offer users a more intuitive language learning experience. Just choose from one of Babbel’s 14 different languages to begin. You’ll learn practical vocabulary through bite-sized classes (just 10-15 minutes long!) that fit into your daily schedule. Babbel focuses on developing students’ conversational skills, and you can learn how to order food, hail cabs, and more. Babbel also offers speech recognition technology to ensure students’ pronunciation is accurate and personalized review sessions so that what you learn really sticks with you. There’s even an offline mode, allowing you to download Babbel’s lessons to your device before traveling so you can learn anywhere. Find out why Fast Company called Babbel one of its “most innovative companies in education.” Broaden your language horizons with a lifetime subscription to Babbel Language Learning for just $139.97 through April 2 at 11:59 PM Pacific. Babbel Language Learning: Lifetime Subscription (All Languages) – $139.97 See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Accessories07:00 amApple Sues Former Employee For Leaking Journal App, Vision Pro Details
Apple has sued its former employee Andrew Aude for leaking information about more than a half-dozen Apple products and policies, including its then-unannounced Journal app and Vision Pro headset, product development policies, strategies for regulatory compliance, employee headcounts, and more. MacRumors reports: Aude joined Apple as an iOS software engineer in 2016, shortly after graduating college. He worked on optimizing battery performance, making him "privy to information regarding dozens of Apple's most sensitive projects," according to the complaint. In April 2023, for example, Apple alleges that Aude leaked a list of finalized features for the iPhone's Journal app to a journalist at The Wall Street Journal on a phone call. That same month, The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley published a report titled "Apple Plans iPhone Journaling App in Expansion of Health Initiatives." Using the encrypted messaging app Signal, Aude is said to have sent "over 1,400" messages to the same journalist, who Aude referred to as "Homeboy." He is also accused of sending "over 10,000 text messages" to another journalist at the website The Information, and he allegedly traveled "across the continent" to meet with her. Other leaks relate to the Vision Pro and other hardware: "As another example, an October 2020 screenshot on Mr. Aude's Apple-issued work iPhone shows that he disclosed Apple's development of products within the spatial computing space to a non-Apple employee. Mr. Aude made this disclosure even though Apple's development efforts were confidential and not known to the public. Over the following months, Mr. Aude disclosed additional Apple confidential information -- including information concerning unannounced products, and hardware information." Apple believes that Aude's actions were "extensive and purposeful," with Aude allegedly admitting that he leaked information so he could "kill" products and features with which he took issue. The company alleges that his wrongful disclosures resulted in at least five news articles discussing the company's confidential and proprietary information. Apple says these public revelations impeded its ability to "surprise and delight" with its latest products. Apple said it learned of Aude's wrongful disclosures in late 2023, and the company fired him for his alleged misconduct in December of that year. [...] Apple is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial, and it is also seeking other legal remedies. The full complaint can be read here (PDF). Read more of this story at Slashdot.06:15 amRecord low prices hit Apple's M3 MacBook Pro 14-inch, now on sale from $1,399
B&H has dropped MacBook Pro prices further as March comes to a close. Pick up an M3 MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM for just $1,549 — or opt for the M3 Pro MacBook Pro 14-inch for $1,699. Both are record-breaking deals.Kicking off the sale is a best-selling M3 MacBook Pro 14-inch configuration. This model in Space Gray has a bump up to 16GB of memory. Now on sale for $1,549, this $250 discount delivers the cheapest price on record for the upgraded configuration. The base model is $200 off too, dropping the price to $1,399.Buy from $1,399Prefer the M3 Pro chip? B&H has also slashed the standard M3 Pro 14-inch configuration in Space Black to $1,699. This is the lowest price we've ever seen, according to our M3 Pro MacBook Pro 14-inch Price Guide. Continue Reading on AppleInsider03:22 amHow to grant third-party apps Apple Music access in macOS
Subscribers of Apple Music can allow third-party apps to access the app and their music collection. Here's how to grant that access to other apps in macOS.Apple Music app icon for macOSApple Music on the Mac has a little-known feature that allows third-party apps to access your music collection.For example, you could use it to connect smart speakers like Amazon's Echo so you can play songs and playlists from your Apple Music account. Apps may also offer other features, such as a music game allowing players to add their favorite tracks to an Apple Music playlist. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums01:12 amApple Vision Pro's first new immersive video in months is 5 minutes of old soccer clips | AppleInsiderApple Vision Pro's first new immersive video in months is 5 minutes of old soccer clips
Four short immersive videos are available for Apple Vision Pro users, and after nearly two months on the market, a fifth has arrived in the form of a five-minute MLS ad.2023 MLS Cup HighlightsApple Vision Pro can play 180-degree 8K 3D video that takes over the wearer's vision. These are called immersive experiences and are a technical achievement.However, that technical achievement may also be an Achilles heel for the platform if it's slow or difficult to produce. More immersive content is absolutely on the way, but Apple Vision Pro owners have noticed that the scant library hasn't grown since the February 2 debut. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums12:56 amHands-on: How to use SharePlay in CarPlay with Apple Music
One of the big changes in iOS 17 for CarPlay users is the addition of SharePlay support for Apple Music. This feature allows anyone in the car to control and contribute to what’s playing via Apple Music, rather than just one person. I took SharePlay for Apple Music in iOS 17 for a recent drive. My takeaway? This is a very, very fun feature. more…Thursday March 2810:17 pmApple debuts first new 3D video content for Vision Pro in two months
Major League Soccer highlight reel is the first Immersive Video since launch.10:08 pm350 Swift Student Challenge winners awarded AirPods Max, chance to attend WWDC
Apple has notified the 350 Swift Student Challenge winners of their victory and rewards, which include AirPods Max, a certificate, and a free one-year membership to the developer program.Swift Student ChallengeApple holds the Swift Student Challenge each year to encourage student developer to practice their craft and win prizes. Participants must be over 13, part of an academic institution or homeschool equivalent, and not employed as a full-time developer.Winners are being notified by email, and Apple Senior Director, Worldwide Developer Marketing Esther Hare shared the news on Twitter. Participants can also check their status by logging into their developer account. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums09:27 pmOur best recommendation: Ottocast makes your in-car entertainment next-level amazing [Save 30%] | 9 to 5 MacOur best recommendation: Ottocast makes your in-car entertainment next-level amazing [Save 30%]
If your car has factory-installed CarPlay or Android, then the wireless vehicle entertainment experts at Ottocast want to turbocharge your in-car entertainment. For a limited time, 9to5Mac readers can take advantage of an exclusive 30% discount on some of Ottocast’s best CarPlay products by using code “TM30” at checkout. more…