Four more states are jumping onto the DOJ's antitrust suit against Apple
The US Department of Justice has enlisted more help in its omnibus and controversial antitrust suit against Apple, with the count now up to 20 co-plaintiffs.The Department of Justice case will hang over Apple for yearsThe four states added in an amended complaint filed on June 11 are Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Washington. The amended filing contains no additional information other than the additional states jumping on."We welcome the States of Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington, who join our existing coalition to restore competition in the smartphone markets that Apple has monopolized," said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division in a statement. "We look forward to litigating this important case alongside our state partners to deliver the benefits of competition to consumers, app developers, accessory makers and the American public." Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Read more »

How to install the iOS 18 beta on your iPhone
Macworld Apple unveiled iOS 18 at WWDC on June 10, and it’s coming to all our iPhones later this year (typically in September). But you don’t have to wait to try it now, if you don’t mind some bugs. Apple always runs an iOS beta-testing program throughout the summer in order to produce a more polished release at launch and to give developers a chance to test and update their apps. If you want to try out iOS 18 before its release, you can download the developer beta or public beta—the developer beta is released first, with the public beta coming in July. Just know that you can expect significant problems. There will crashes, some apps may not work, battery life may be poor, and so on. If you are a beta tester you will continue to receive beta updates even after the final version launches. Development of iOS will continue after the September release with a number of “point releases” (e.g. iOS 18.1, iOS 18.2, etc.) that add additional features that weren’t available at launch and fix bugs/address security flaws. If you don’t want to continue to get the beta we cover that here: How to remove iOS beta. iOS 18 beta release date and latest version The first version of the developer beta of iOS 18 arrived on the day of the WWDC 2024 keynote on June 10, 2024. It is normal for Apple to release the first beta following the keynote so that developers can immediately start testing to make sure their apps work. The public beta will start a few weeks later, at the beginning of July. This usually corresponds to the 3rd or 4th developer release. The Developer Beta was tied to a paid-for developer account (which costs $99/£79 a year). However, in 2023 Apple changed its policy so that if you have any developer account, even the free one, you can get the developer beta of iOS. To enroll in the Apple Developer Program and get access to the developer beta, head the the Apple Developer enrollment page. Once registered, you’ll see a developer beta option in Settings > General > Software Updates. However, we don’t recommend you install the developer beta if you aren’t a developer. The Public Beta, while not bug-free, is less problematic. iOS 18 public beta release date and latest version The first public beta version of iOS 18 will likely be released in the first half of July. To enroll in the public beta, head to beta.apple.com to sign up for access. Once registered, you’ll see a public beta option in Settings > General > Software Updates after the beta begins. How to get the iOS 18 beta If you are keen to try out the new features, we recommend waiting for the public beta—the first developer beta releases tend to be quite buggy and unreliable. Just beware that any beta, public or developer, is likely to be buggy and cause issues with your iPhone, so our advice is not to run it on a secondary iPhone or have some backup plan in place. If you do want to revert back to iOS 17 read: How to remove an iOS beta from your iPhone. Anyone with an Apple developer account can get access to the developer beta—it is no longer necessary to be a paid-up member of the Apple Developer Program. You can join Apple’s beta programs on Apple’s website. Read this for more information: How to become an Apple beta tester. Here are the various ways to get the iOS 18 beta on your iPhone: How to install the iOS 18 Developer Beta Each stage of iOS’s development cycle is rolled out to developers first, and then to public beta testers afterwards. If you’re a developer and need to test your apps against the most up-to-date version of iOS possible, this is the version to run. You no longer need a paid developer account to run the beta (just to publish apps to the App Store)—any Apple Developer account will do. You can create a free Apple Developer account using your Apple ID. How to get a sign up for an Apple Developer account If you want a free Apple Developer account so you can access the developer beta you can get this via Xcode, the Apple Developer app on iOS, or the Apple Developer enrollment site. Here’s how to do it via the Apple Developer app: Download the Apple Developer App from the App Store. Open the app. Tap on Account. Sign in using your usual Apple ID.  If you want to sell applications to the App Store and sell them you’ll need to pay $99/£79 per year for a paid account. Sign up to the Apple Developer Program (here) or through Apple’s Developer App. You can register as an individual or a company. You will be required to add various bits of information and agree to the program license agreement, then enter your payment details (it’s an annual subscription that you can end up to a day before it renews). It can take a few days to verify you and make the account live. You can compare the free and paid accounts here. All set with your Apple developer account? Okay! Here’s how to install the iOS developer beta: Back up your iPhone (because this is a beta you are testing!) Open Settings app. Tap General. Tap Software Update. In the Beta Updates section, select the iOS Developer Beta. Now wait a while while the beta installs. Foundry Foundry Foundry Developers can choose to get the Public Beta instead by selecting iOS Public Beta in the Software Update screen. Prior to iOS 16.4, it was necessary to download and activate a beta profile to your device. From iOS 16.4 onwards, Apple will simply check to see if your Apple ID is a registered developer and provide access in the Software Update menu. You may need to restart your iPhone for the option to appear. How to install the iOS 18 Public Beta The developer beta is, as the name suggests, is intended for developers only, but Apple does offer a beta testing program for members of the public who would like to try out new features and find bugs. Beginning with iOS 16.4, you no longer need to download and activate a profile to get the beta. You simply need to enroll and select the beta from the software updates section in Settings. You can install the iOS public beta using the following instructions. Click Sign Up on the Apple Beta page and register with your Apple ID. Log in to the Beta Software Program. Click Enroll your iOS device. Open the Settings app, tap General, then Software Update. In the Beta Updates section, select the iOS Public Beta. If you want to uninstall the beta and stop receiving beta updates read this: How to remove an iOS beta from your iPhone. The beta will include a Feedback app that you can use to submit bug reports and broken features. Make use of it! It’s the best way for Apple to get well-documented, reproducible bug reports directly to developers, along with things like telemetry and screenshots that make it easy for them to figure out what’s wrong. Using the Feedback app every time you encounter a problem is the best way to make sure the final release of iOS 18 is a smooth upgrade for everyone. What’s a beta? Betas are pre-release testing versions. Nearly every iOS update goes through the beta phase before it’s officially launched, from small tweaks such as 15.5 to full-version game-changers like iOS 16. There are developer betas (for registered software developers only), and public betas (for anyone who’s keen). Both types go through multiple versions—probably half a dozen—before a major launch. Risks and precautions Note first of all that betas are test versions of upcoming software. They are by definition unfinished, and while they should include most or all of the features in the finished product, there will be cosmetic differences and, inevitably, some glitches and problems that will need to be fixed. The glitches and problems are why Apple bothers to beta-test iOS in the first place. In other words, don’t expect a perfect user experience. In particular, don’t expect existing apps (including ones that you may rely on) to work perfectly with the new version. In extreme cases, you may even find that your device is bricked by the beta, and cannot be used until the next beta comes along and hopefully fixes the problem. It’s not uncommon for early beta software to exhibit excessive battery drain, too. The closer we get to the final launch, the more polished and feature-complete the betas become. The counter to that, of course, is there will less time left to wait for the official launch, so you won’t gain much by installing a beta. Assuming you decide to go ahead, we can’t stress enough how important it is to back up your iPhone before you install an iOS beta, or better still, use a secondary device rather than your main iPhone. You won’t lose everything if something goes wrong while the beta is installing, and you’ll be able to go back to the last version should you find that you don’t like the new software after all, or that it’s too buggy. iOS, iPhone

Read more »

‘Pink Slime’ Sites Outnumber Daily Newspapers on the Web
Websites posing as local news outlets funded by partisan groups have surged past the number of sites of independent daily newspapers on the internet, according to a new report by a disinformation watchdog. The post appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

Read more »

You can’t mirror your iPhone on Vision Pro – not even by cheating!
iPhone mirroring in macOS Sequoia will be one of the cooler features when it lands, but sadly there isn’t any way to mirror your iPhone on Vision Pro. “Aha,” you may be thinking, “I can think of a simple workaround for that!” But sadly the obvious cheat here doesn’t work … more…

Read more »

macOS versions: Every update including the latest
Macworld Wondering what the name of the latest macOS version is? Want to know what the next version of macOS will be called? Curious about the versions of Mac OS X that came before? Here we’ll fill you in on the names of the different versions of the Mac operating system in order: from the newest macOS to the first version of Mac OS X and the codenames that Apple used for them. We’ll also show you how you can check which version of macOS you are running and find out what the latest version of macOS is. If you are wondering what the next version of macOS will be called, on June 10 2024, Apple revealed that it will be called macOS Sequoia (macOS 15), after the forests (and tall trees) in California. That version of macOS will probably launch to the general public in September or October 2024, but a macOS beta program is already underway. The current version of macOS is Sonoma, also known as macOS 14. Sonoma arrived on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, but development has continued with new features being added since. For more information read our complete guide to macOS 14 Sonoma. If you are looking for help installing Sonoma read: How to update macOS and Fixes for Macs that won’t update. What operating system does the Mac use? All Macs run macOS, previously known as Mac OS X, and have done so since the introduction of the first version of Mac OS X in 2001. Prior to that Macs ran Mac OS 9 which came out in 1999. Mac OS X was based on technology from NeXT Computer, which was another company founded by Steve Jobs. Jobs brought the technology back to Apple with him when he was reinstated as Apple CEO. The operating system is Unix-based. macOS Version History Mac OS X was launched more than two decades ago on March 24, 2001. There’s been a lot of change over those two decades: good and bad. From the problems with the first edition (it was slow and didn’t run important apps like Microsoft Word) Mac OS X has evolved through various iterations and various designs to what we know today. We’ve seen tight integration with iOS devices, the incorporation of the cloud, and the arrival of excellent and helpful features including integrated Time Machine backups, Quick Look – which lets you see a preview of a document without opening the application, and innovations like Expose and Spaces and Desktop Stacks to help you work more efficiently. For an overview of the features of the various versions of the Mac operating system, showing how it has developed over time, take a look at our video above. If you want to know the names Apple assigned to Mac OS X over the years, and the codenames that were used internally, read on. List of macOS version names and latest versions Here’s an overview of every version of macOS and Mac OS X Apple has released. You’ll find a complete list of the latest release of each version of OS X and macOS, along version code names, along with internal code names (if available): OS X 10 beta: Kodiak – September 13, 2000 OS X 10.0: Cheetah – March 14, 2001 (Latest: 10.0.4) OS X 10.1: Puma – September 15, 2001 (Latest: 10.1.5) OS X 10.2: Jaguar – August 14, 2002 (Latest: 10.2.8) OS X 10.3 Panther (Pinot) – October 24, 2003 (Latest: 10.3.9) OS X 10.4 Tiger (Merlot) – April 29, 2005 (Latest: 10.4.11) OS X 10.4.4 Tiger (Chardonnay) – January 10, 2006 (for Intel Macs) (Latest: 10.4.11) OS X 10.5 Leopard (Chablis) – October 26, 2007 (Latest: 10.5.8) OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard – August 28, 2009 (Latest: 10.6.8) OS X 10.7 Lion (Barolo) – July 20, 2011 (Latest: 10.7.5) OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion (Zinfandel) – July 25, 2012 (Latest: 10.8.5) OS X 10.9 Mavericks (Cabernet) – October 22, 2013 (Latest: 10.9.5) OS X 10.10: Yosemite (Syrah) – October 16, 2014 (Latest: 10.10.5) OS X 10.11: El Capitan (Gala) – September 30, 2015 (Latest: 10.11.6) macOS 10.12: Sierra (Fuji) – September 20, 2016 (Latest: 10.12.6) macOS 10.13: High Sierra (Lobo) – September 25, 2017 (Latest: 10.13.6) macOS 10.14: Mojave (Liberty) – September 24, 2018 (Latest: 10.14.6, July 2021) macOS 10.15: Catalina (Jazz) – October 7, 2019 (Latest: 10.15.7, Security Update 2022-005, July 2022) macOS 11: Big Sur (GoldenGate) – November 12, 2020 (Latest: 11.7.10, September 11, 2023) macOS 12: Monterey (Star) – October 25, 2021 (Latest: 12.7.5, May 13, 2024) macOS 13: Ventura (Rome) – October 24, 2022 (Latest: 13.6.7, May 13, 2024) macOS 14: Sonoma (Sunburst) – September 26, 2023 (Latest: 14.5, May 13, 2024) macOS 15: Sequoia – in beta We have a full list of which Macs run which versions of macOS here. You can install a beta version of Sequoia and test new features that haven’t yet launched. If you want to install the latest beta of macOS read about joining Apple’s beta program. Foundry Foundry Foundry Mac OS X and macOS names As you can see from the list above, with the exception of the first OS X beta, all versions of the Mac operating system from 2001 to 2012 were all named after big cats, from Cheetah to Panther to the final release, Mountain Lion. But while the public-facing builds were named after big cats, internally, they were named after wines (aside from OS X 10.6 which had no codename). Even after Apple switched public-facing code names to places in California back in 2013, it carried on naming them after wines internally until 2014. In 2015, Apple decided to change the theme of internal code names from wines to types of apples. Original. In 2016, Apple took the plunge to unify the branding of its operating systems by rebranding Mac OS X to macOS, which sits nicely alongside iOS, tvOS, and watchOS and paved the way for macOS 11, the successor to Mac OS X, which arrived twenty years after the first beta of Mac OS X. Which versions of macOS are still updated? Apple still supplies regular features and security updates to the most recent version of macOS. Right now this is Sonoma, also known as macOS 14. The previous two versions of macOS also receive security updates and bug fixes. If you are running macOS 13 Ventura and macOS 12 Monterey you will get regular security updates. Since the arrival of Sonoma, Apple no longer supports macOS Big Sur, which arrived in 2020. Similarly, with the arrival of Ventura in October 2022 Apple ceased support for Catalina, which arrived in 2019. See: How long do Macs and MacBooks last? When Sequoia launches in the fall of 2024 Apple is likely to stop supporting macOS Monterey. Apple also issues updates to its Safari web browser. The latest version of Safari for Mac is Safari 17 (as of September 2023) and it requires Monterey, Ventura or Sonoma. Foundry Foundry Foundry How to tell which macOS version you are running You can tell which version of macOS you are running by clicking on the Apple logo in the top left and choosing About This Mac. It will clearly show which version of macOS you are running along with the most recent version that your Mac has installed It’s easy to find out which version of macOS is running on a Mac. It’s easy to find out which version of macOS is running on a Mac.Foundry It’s easy to find out which version of macOS is running on a Mac.Foundry Foundry How to install the latest version of macOS If you want to update your Mac to a newer version of macOS the method will be determined by the version of macOS you are running. Very old versions of Mac OS X came on a disk and any security updates came via Software Update. Since the arrival of the Mac App Store in 2011 (as an update to Snow Leopard) versions of Mac OS X and macOS have been available to download via the Mac App Store. However, that changed with Mojave, which arrived in 2018. Now operating system updates come in via Software Updates which is either located in System Settings > General > Software Update or in System Preferences > Software Update (pre-Ventura). One of the benefits of this is that your Mac can be set to automatically download the latest updates and install them, keeping your Mac up-to-date with minimum effort on your part. Incidentally, you can still find the macOS software on the Mac App Store.  Some Macs will be set to update macOS automatically. If you want your Mac to update automatically follow these steps: In Ventura or later: Open System Settings. Click on General. Click on Software Update. Click on the i beside Automatic Updates and make sure that Check for updates, Download new updates when available, and Install macOS updates are selected. This way your Mac will automatically update to the latest version. If you would prefer not to have your Mac do this automatically you can deselect these options. In Monterey, Big Sur, Mojave, or Catalina: Open System Preferences. Click on Software Update. Check the box beside Automatically keep my Mac up to date (or Download new updates when available). Now select the box Install macOS updates. In High Sierra or earlier: Open System Preferences. Click on App Store. Check the box beside Automatically check for updates – it should have a tick in it as should the four options below that… Now deselect the box beside Download newly available updates in the background. Read all about how to update your Mac here. We also have a list of every version of iOS where you can see the latest versions and how long Apple supports iPhones for. Mac, MacOS, Personal Software

Read more »

Our favorite features so far in iOS 18 from Control Center to Genmoji
Apple's iOS 18 is on full display after Monday's WWDC keynote, and there's a lot to talk about! Here are our favorite new features that were previewed.iOS 18 adds Genmoji to the messaging mixThese yearly updates are full of hundreds of new features but there were a few things that stuck out to us including the revamped Control Center, smart home improvements, and of course Apple Intelligence. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Read more »

Bento breakdown: What's new in macOS Sequoia
Apple's now-traditional bento image shows off the highlights of macOS Sequoia. This is what each cell of that graphic means for Mac users this fall.Apple's macOS bento graphic on an iMac. Apple's presentation of operating system updates are usually summed up by a single graphic. The bento, named after the food container due to its compartments, is used to list all of the key features users will be able to try out when macOS Sequoia ships this fall.While it doesn't list every new feature, it does act as a good guide for what to expect. At least, it covers the main beats of the release. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Read more »

Apple Intelligence privacy can be independently verified thanks to an ‘extraordinary step’
Apple Intelligence privacy is a key differentiator for the company’s own AI initiative, with the company taking a three-step approach to safeguard personal data. But Apple says we won’t have to take the company’s word for it: It is taking an “extraordinary step” to enable third-party security researchers to fully and independently verify the privacy protections in place … more…

Read more »

iOS 18: 5 delightful little features that didn’t make the WWDC keynote
Macworld It happens every year. Apple announces a new version of iOS with a bunch of really big new features, and then September rolls around, you install the new version, and it’s not the big things you love. Instead, there’s some tiny little quality-of-life improvement that just makes your day-to-day iPhone use so much better. Over the course of the summer and leading up to iOS 18’s release in September, beta testers will probably find dozens of these little tweaks. Some will appear and then go away, others will change over the course of the beta tests, and some won’t appear until shortly before release in the fall. But we’ve been keeping our eye on the community, and here are some of the little iOS 18 changes that didn’t make it into Apple’s big WWDC presentation, but we think are worth knowing about. Flexible charge limits for iPhone 15 If you have an iPhone 15 or 15 Pro, you can force a charge limit of 80%, which is probably very good for the longevity of your battery. But iOS 18 changes that toggle to a slider with settings for 80, 85, 90, 95, and 100 percent, taking one of our favorite features and making it better because we’re all about limiting charging for battery life but giving up 20% of our battery to do it was just a little too steep a price. A setting of 85 percent or 90 percent would likely have a lot of benefits without feeling like your phone is going to run out of charge. Improved Apple Music queue Apple Music users have been complaining about its interface for as long as it has been around, but Apple has been making welcome changes, bit by bit, and now it’s quite good. But even Apple Music fans have complained about the Queue or “Up Next” interface. It’s a lot better now, with a refreshed look and better interactions. For example, “Play later” now puts a song a the end of your queue not at the end of your entire music selection, and the queue no longer clears when you tap to play another song. For some, this really fixes one of the last big pain points with Apple Music. The new Control Center in iOS 18 has a surprise flashlight feature. The new Control Center in iOS 18 has a surprise flashlight feature.Apple The new Control Center in iOS 18 has a surprise flashlight feature.Apple Apple New flashlight interface with beam control There’s a new flashlight interface–a small “card” with a flashlight image near the top of the display. Frankly, it’s a little too small, but it looks nice and it has a cool new feature. In addition to adjusting brightness (which seems to maybe go brighter than before), you can adjust beam width if you have an iPhone with Adaptive True Tone Flash. That means anyone with an iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro can set the flashlight beam to one of three different widths. Neat! Another way to power off your iPhone Have you ever tried to explain to someone who isn’t very technically savvy about how to turn their iPhone off? Not put it to sleep, but actually power it down? With iOS 18 there’s another way to do it. The Control Center has a clear power button in the upper-right corner. Tap that and you go to the “Slide to Power Off” screen. It may not be easier for everyone—for some reason, a lot of users seem completely unaware of the existence of the Control Center or how to make it appear—but it’s at least a visual interface element and an obvious one. The “semi-circle and line” power symbol is essentially universal at this point. New Calendar month view The Calendar app has a few new interface tweaks but none are as useful, and attractive, as the new monthly calendar view. Instead of showing a full month of days with a smattering of rather unhelpful event dots, prompting you to switch to the day or week view to see what it is, you can see see actual events on the days. What’s more, pinching to zoom stretches the days taller or shorter, to show more or less on each day. You can go all the way back down to color-coded dots and lines and up to show six or more events with labels. iOS

Read more »

Apple honors original icon designer Susan Kare in macOS Sequoia wallpaper
Susan Kare's work on the icons for the original Mac in the 1980s is now the subject of a macOS Sequoia screensaver and wallpaper.Susan Kare created works of art in 32x32 pixels for the original MacAs expected, macOS Sequoia has added at least one wallpaper that harkens back to old favorites. In a wallpaper called just "Macintosh," the famous icons that so made the original Mac appear approachable, are now shown on screen.They're shown dramatically larger than they were. Originally drawn as 32 pixels by 32 pixels, now they fill the screen. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Read more »

Did Apple just Sherlock its most loyal users?
Macworld Last month I stepped into the breach to bravely defend a trillion-dollar corporation from social-media criticism: I felt that viewers of Apple’s new “Crush” iPad ad were being hypersensitive and overly literal in ascribing to it motives of contempt for creatives. But no good deed goes unpunished. First, Apple inconsiderately apologized for the ad that I had said was fine, and conceded that it had “missed the mark.” (Thanks a lot, guys!) And then the company announced a series of AI features at WWDC that don’t just imply contempt for the creative professions, they shout it from the rooftops. Over the past couple of years, it’s been pretty difficult to ignore the march of generative AI, with the world and his wife rushing to write sub-Vice think pieces about how much ChatGPT and its ilk have revolutionized the way they work or study. But the technology is likely to have loomed particularly large for illustrators freelance writers and copy editors, many of whom report that work is already drying up as clients cut costs by using AI options instead. To add insult to financial injury, they’re sure to be called Luddites any time they dare to complain about the situation; it must be tempting to emulate their 19th-century counterparts and smash a few looms. How galling, then, for Apple–a company which only last month claimed contritely that it wants to “empower creatives all over the world”–to now add its products to the army of digital looms churning out text and art with no human input required. Once Apple Intelligence rolls out later this year, the iPhone, iPad, and Mac will all be able to rewrite your emails for you or make images and custom emojis based on your photos and prompts. To which one can only respond: hooray. I will gloss over the text side of things since as a writer I have something of a conflict of interest. (I mean, I wasn’t planning to come to your house and rewrite your emails. But the technology in the broader sense will inevitably be used to reduce the number of people employed as professional writers and copy-editors, or to replace them with others who are less experienced and therefore cheaper.) Let’s focus instead on the art. The crappy, crappy art. Oh, you want your artwork to look like the icon for a free iPhone game? That’s handy. Oh, you want your artwork to look like the icon for a free iPhone game? That’s handy.Apple Oh, you want your artwork to look like the icon for a free iPhone game? That’s handy.Apple Apple Because obviously, the art is bad, in the way that almost all AI art is bad: joyless and bland and always somehow the same, in that curiously heightened, uniformly lit CGI manner. (The Macalope observes accurately that the feature can handle anything from “my mom in a cape and costume but remove her soul” to “my friend in front of a birthday cake but remove her soul.”) Anyone who’s spent time using generative AI programs will be familiar with that nagging sense that they ignore instructions such as “in the style of Francis Bacon” or “like a 1950s movie poster” and just blithely produce exactly the CGI monstrosity you were always going to get. It’s a little like that old British beer advert about a barber who does haircuts in the style of Lionel Blair. “But Lionel Blair doesn’t have his hair cut like that,” a customer replies. “He does if he comes here.” Part of the reason Gen AI is so tedious is its lack of originality. Gen AI cannot create art in the true sense because it has no means to do so; it can only learn from the things in its data set and copy those, to a greater or lesser extent. The art it “creates” has already been created by thousands of human artists. What comes out is a bad photocopy: blended and tweaked enough to avoid falling foul of copyright law, naturally, but fundamentally unoriginal. Apple Apple Apple Of course, the genie was already out of the bottle when it comes to generative AI, and Apple’s belated entry into the sector doesn’t change much in the short term: Illustrators were already getting undercut (in both price and quality) by AI alternatives, and image-sharing websites were already being flooded by low-effort AI pap. Indeed, it was already possible to use ChatGPT and numerous other gen AI programs on Apple products; there’s even an app for the Apple Watch called Petey. What’s different about this is the way that Apple is bringing it in-house: making it official, and giving it the stamp of approval. Until now Gen AI has always seemed a little grimy, a little controversial. But if good old wholesome Apple thinks it’s worthy of a place on the iPhone? It must be fine. And before long our least tech-savvy relatives will be noticing the feature on their iPads and getting in on the craze. Which will be dreadful on an individual level, since the emojis will be bad. But also a further widespread eroding of the idea that custom art is something worth paying for, and yet another nail in the coffin of the creative professions. In some ways, this is a classic Sherlocking move: that dreaded maneuver where Apple notices the success of a third-party app and replicates it as a free feature in macOS or iOS, thus instantly dooming the smaller company to a fiery demise. In this case, the Sherlocked service is us, the people who use our Apple devices to create things and make art. You know, the people Apple loves so much. And if that isn’t crushing, I don’t know what is. Apple Inc

Read more »

Apple is finally letting you have it your way–kinda
Macworld Apple, as a company, has always extolled the value of putting the “personal” in “personal computer.” From its earliest days pushing back at the monolith of IBM and beige boxes that all looked like one another, to its more recent extremely personal devices like the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods. But that ethos of “personal” technology has always been in fundamental tension with the company’s other overriding principle: Apple knows best. Whether it’s the design of its apps or how to use its features, the company has a strong streak of imposing on its users what it believes is the best approach. In the company’s latest platform updates, this tension is more apparent than ever. Apple announced several new features that allow users to bring their own touches to their devices—but it did so in a typically Apple fashion that still kept everything within bounds. Custom-ish-ation One of the most anticipated announcements ahead of this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference was that Apple would finally relax the strictures around your iOS device’s home screen. The grid of icons has remained largely unchanged since its appearance in the very first iPhone back in 2007. There have been a few additions of course: folders, the App Library, and at long last the addition of widgets in iOS 14. But even all of those enhancements fit within the structure provided by the grid. iOS 18 gives you more freedom than ever to customize your iPhone home screen, but it’s not a free-for-all. iOS 18 gives you more freedom than ever to customize your iPhone home screen, but it’s not a free-for-all.Apple iOS 18 gives you more freedom than ever to customize your iPhone home screen, but it’s not a free-for-all.Apple Apple The rumor that this year would let you put icons anywhere on your screen no doubt conjured the freedom of macOS in some minds’ eyes. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, it wasn’t to be: when the company did announce the feature, it became clear that while you could move your icons around and leave open spaces so your wallpaper showed through, the icons would still ultimately reside within the grid. Likewise, the news that you would at long last be able to reassign the iPhone’s lock screen shortcut buttons for the flashlight and the camera was greeted enthusiastically…but there remain just the two icons. Apple specifically acknowledged this push and pull to me, saying that they wanted to give users the freedom to customize their experiences while still trying to maintain the iconic look and feel of the iPhone. There is, however, one place on the home screen where Apple has put people’s customizations front and center: the new app icon features, which let you not only choose a light or dark option but also tint all your apps the same color. When you select a tint, it changes all of your app icons—regardless of whether or not the developer has designed their icon appropriately. Picture window There’s a big Photos redesign happening this year, and it’s largely about customization as well. Users can choose what they want to show up in the carousel at the top, whether it’s the traditional grid of photos or a specific set of curated pictures, or even photos the system has chosen to feature. Below that main section is a set of collections, which you can select and order as you like. The push-and-pull of the customization is almost more internalized to the app here. It’s a question of Apple trying to make your Photos app look as good as possible by suggesting the content that might take center stage, even if you do have the option to override it. Given that this is a feature centered around your own pictures, it does seem smart for Apple to try and go a little more hands-off here, making sure that it’s your content that remains the star. Apple Intelligence tools such as Image Playground can make images for you, but how much of it will look like artwork that truly reflects you? Apple Intelligence tools such as Image Playground can make images for you, but how much of it will look like artwork that truly reflects you?Apple Apple Intelligence tools such as Image Playground can make images for you, but how much of it will look like artwork that truly reflects you?Apple Apple Intelligence agency By far the most personal-oriented development from this year’s WWDC is, of course, the company’s rollout of its AI-powered features, under the aegis of “Apple Intelligence.” This suite of improvements to features across the company’s platforms may unlock some very powerful behaviors that help you do the things you need to do, but it remains to be seen just how personal it will be. The problem is, to a degree, inherent in the very technology that underpins it. Much as AI is intended to help people accomplish things in a faster and more efficient manner, the way it achieves this is via a technology that is often trained on a huge corpus of material. One risk of technology like that is that it can feel depersonalized–almost generic. For example, if you use Apple’s new Writing Tools feature to make an email sound more professional, might it do so in a way that sounds less…like you? Will everybody’s use of the “Friendly” rewrite tone end up sounding like the same person? Again, it’s not a concern that’s unique to Apple–much of the text generated by other systems like ChatGPT has a way of sounding samey–but it’s something that the company may have to contend with when convincing people to take advantage of its feature. Likewise, Apple’s new image generation technologies might unlock the ability to create pictures even for those who, like me, are artistically challenged, but their reliance on a handful of specific styles can end up feeling generic. Or, as developer Sebastiaan de With pointed out a feature that “can turn whimsical sketches into AI slop.” All of this is something that Apple needs to contend with as it attempts to make its own foray into artificial intelligence. A personalized intelligent agent needs to feel personal, and the company’s demonstration of a system that knows about your data and information is a good step in that direction…even if the generative features sometimes feel like a step back. iOS, iPad, iPhone

Read more »

WWDC: Apple highlights forthcoming changes in visionOS 2
During Monday’s WWDC keynote, Apple highlighted several major features and revisions en route for visionOS 2, the operating system for its Vision Pro wearable headset. Upcoming features include the following: The first visionOS 2 beta is now available to developer beta testers and the update will be released to the public in the fall. Stay […] Source

Read more »

iOS 18 gains new slow charger warning in battery settings
The battery section of Settings in iOS 18 now shows when the iPhone is connected to a slow charger.It would be handy if this new "Slow Charger" warning were not so buried in SettingsAlongside giving users more options regarding charging limits, Apple's new iOS 18 includes a detail about charging speeds. It's specifically shown in the battery section of Settings, in the section that details battery usage.As spotted by a user on Reddit, the words "Slow Charger" are followed by an "i" icon for more information. This is the sole information icon in the section, and tapping it goes to an as-yet non-existent support document. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Read more »

WWDC: iOS 18 to allow for additional iPhone 15 battery charging options
Sometimes it’s the betas that show the really cool stuff that’s coming down the line. After a quick look at the iOS 18 developer beta, all four iPhone 15 models will use a setting that prevents the devices from charging beyond 80 percent while toggled on, which can potentially improve an iPhone battery’s lifespan by […] Source

Read more »

Presumed Innocent TV show starring Jake Gyllenhaal, streaming now on Apple TV+
The new limited series Presumed Innocent starts streaming today on Apple TV+. Based on the boo, Jake Gyllenhaal stars in his first major TV role as Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor in the Chicago Attorney’s office. The office is turned upside down when blame for a murder is pointed at Rusty himself. His innocence or guilt is examined, across the twisty eight-part thriller. more…

Read more »

WWDC: Apple announces iOS 18, highlights Home Screen customization, Dark Mode, Game Mode, and other features
Monday’s keynote speech at WWDC marked a fair amount to come, complete with Apple previewing its iOS 18 update for its iPhone. The forthcoming operating system offers new customization tools for the Home Screen, including Dark Mode, which can use a color tint to create a personalized look. Apps can also now be placed anywhere […] Source

Read more »

Apple Watch gets automatic sleep tracking with watchOS 11
watchOS 11 will improve sleep tracking on the Apple Watch by tracking your sleep metrics even without Sleep Focus mode. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

Read more »

Easily edit and publish PDFs from your Mac with $30 off PDF Reader Pro
Macworld PDFs are powerful tools, yet they can also be frustrating when you need to work with them beyond signing a form. This PDF Reader Pro for Mac lifetime license turns your Mac or Windows PC into a PDF multitool, so you can more easily incorporate them into your workflow. This PDF editor utility is full of useful features, starting with a quick-load function that pops open long documents in seconds and a night mode to spare your eyesight after a long day. It also has bookmark and search functions to find what you need quickly. From there, you have a full suite of tools to edit text and pictures, annotate or mark up pages with your notes, change page order or remove pages, use optical character recognition (OCR) to turn scans into searchable text, place redactions, password-protect certain documents, and much more. When you’re done, you can batch-process your publishing, convert it to a range of other formats, or add secure digital signatures and encryption. Get better PDF control with PDF Reader Pro for Mac or Windows for $29.97, $30 off the $60 MSRP.   PDF Reader Pro For Mac: Lifetime Subscription – $29.97 See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Accessories

Read more »

UTM SE Windows Emulator rejected on app store
The App Store Review team has declined the UTM SE PC Emulator leaving people confused about what is allowed and what is not. The OS System cannot support apps in both third-party marketplaces and the iOS app store because they didn’t get through notarization guidelines. However, the early windows and DOS on UTM SE is […] The post appeared first on iLounge.

Read more »