AirPods and HomePod get some new capabilities

Apple’s audio hardware didn’t get a ton of love at WWDC but the devices didn’t go unmentioned, here’s what’s coming to your HomePod and AirPods.

• For AirPods users, Siri will now be able to read incoming iMessages to you as soon as they arrive on your phone and allow you to respond instantly without bothering with “Hey Siri…”
• The company is introducing a feature that will allow you to instantly share a song you’re listening to from one iPhone to another. It doesn’t seem to be AirPods specific, but wireless headphones will probably make this feel ritzier.
• Handoff is coming to HomePod, and it’s coming about in a very physical way. If you are walking in the door and want to move audio from your iPhone to the HomePod, now you can just bring your iPhone close to it and it will transfer the audio, this works in the opposite direction as well.
• One far overdue update is multi-user support finally coming to the HomePod so you’ll be able to play music that’s unique to you and get info like iMessages, Reminders and Notes as well.
• Across Siri, you’ll now be able to listen to radio stations on iHeartRadio, TuneIn and Radio.com

from Apple – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2JVVtxU

Apple is now the privacy-as-a-service company

Apple shared plenty of news today at its WWDC 2019 annual developer conference, but a few of the announcements early on are potentially its biggest in terms of what they signal about the company and its direction. Specifically, Apple unveiled a new single-sign on unified ID platform, as well as a new way it’ll operate as a go-between for security cameras that work with its HomeKit smart home services.

These didn’t come out of nowhere: Apple has been playing up its privacy game for at least a few years now, and in the Tim Cook era it’s especially come to the fore. But today’s announcements really crystallize how Apple’s approach to privacy will mesh with its transformation into becoming even more of a services company. It’s becoming a services company with a key differentiator – privacy – and it’s also extending that paradigm to third-parties, acting as an ecosystem layer that mediates between users, and anyone who would seek to monetize their info in aggregate.

Apple’s truly transforming into a privacy-as-a-service company, which shows in the way that it’s implementing both the new single sign-on account service, as well as its camera and location services updates in iOS 13. The SSO play is especially clever, because it includes a mechanism that will allow developers to still have the relevant info they need to maintain a direct relationship with their users – provided users willingly sign-up to have that relationship, but opting in to either or both name and email sharing.

The radial decision-making that also includes an option to create a tokenized single-use email for a direct, but unique relationship is especially inspired. It means a developer or service provider can still easily talk to you directly, but also means that they can’t then trade that on for profit by selling or sharing your information with other developers and providers. It’s entirely about moving the locus of control for privacy to the user, rather than playing the classic charade of providing “control” to users in the form of long, obscure and hard to reject terms of services with onerous requirements for the user re: their data sharing by the service provider.

Apple’s work with camera providers is also unique – providing actual on-device analysis of footage captured by third-party partners to deliver things that security device makers have typically offered as a value-add service themselves. That includes apparent identification of visitors to your home, for instance, and sending alerts when it detects people, as well as being able to differentiate that from other kinds of motion.

That’s going above and beyond simply protecting your data: It’s replacing a potential privacy-risk feature with a privacy-minded one, at a service level across an entire category of devices.

The new location services feature similarly puts all the control with users, instead of with service providers. Making it possible to provide single-use location permissions to apps is terrific for privacy-minded users, as are updates about usage, which sound like they could be detailed about what specific apps are doing with that data in Apple’s estimation.

Other new features, including HomeKit firewalling of specific services and devices, are similar in tone, and likely indicate what Apple intends to do more of in the future. Combined with its existing efforts, this begins to paint a picture of where Apple plans to play in offering a comprehensive consumer services product that is substantially differentiated from similar offerings by Google and others.

It’s a bold play, and one that could end with Apple accruing a huge amount of control over consumer relationships with not only hardware, but also anything else that software providers want to do on their platform. Given Apple’s track record with privacy to date, that’s reassuring, but we should definitely watch closely to see how their business evolves if they succeed in shifting that locus of control.

from Apple – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2MrtkAT

Apple updates CarPlay with new home screen and Siri Suggestions

Today at Apple’s annual developer’s conference, Apple revealed the biggest update to CarPlay since its release. The revamped in-car system looks dramatically better, leaving behind the faux iPhone layout for something that looks better suited for us in cars.

Until now, CarPlay was left largely forgotten since its debut in 2014. Most vehicles are now compatible with the system, but since its release, in-car systems have dramatically improved to the point where most are better than what Apple developed. This update looks like a large step in the right direction.

The biggest change seems to be the amount of information that can be displayed using CarPlay. The previous version’s home screen is just a grid of apps. It’s not helpful. Now, with this new version, the home screen can display a map, media playback and HomeKit devices like a garage door or lights.

Last month Google announced a large update to its Android Auto platform, which has long outclassed CarPlay. The difference have always been profound with Android Auto able to handle tasks and display apps in a manner better suited for cars. But now, with the new version of CarPlay, Apple’s in-vehicle system seems to have a lot of the functionality found in Google’s counterpart.

The announcement left a lot of questions. Will this work on older model vehicles built on older hardware? What versions of the iPhone will it work on? How does it handle scaling to different resolutions found in different vehicles?

from Apple – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/317k4oL

Apple releases the first trailer for Ron Moore’s space race drama ‘For All Mankind’

We still don’t know exactly when Apple will launch its subscription streaming service TV+ (it’ll be sometime this fall), or how much it will cost, but CEO Tim Cook showed off a trailer for one of the original shows today at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

That show is “For All Mankind,” a new drama from Ronald D. Moore, the writer behind the critically acclaimed reboot of “Battlestar Galactica.”

The trailer starts out with familiar-looking footage of the moon landing, but things soon take a turn, with the Soviet Union reaching the moon as well, leading to an escalated space race that aims for “Mars, Saturn, the stars, the galaxy.”

“For All Mankind” stars “Altered Carbon”‘s Joel Kinnaman, and will supposedly tell its story “through the lives of NASA astronauts, engineers and their families.” It looks like show will deliver the old-school feel of a classic space race film, while breaking free from the constraints of real history.

from Apple – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2IbXP8I

Apple announces iOS 13 with dark mode, updated Apple apps and privacy features

Apple shared some of the new features that you’ll get with the release of iOS 13 this fall at WWDC.

“iOS 13 is a huge release packed with lot of capabilities,” VP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi said. But Federighi immediately started with performance improvements.

For instance, Face ID is 30 percent smaller. Downloads and updates on the App Store will be a lot smaller. Updates will be 60 percent smaller on average because your iPhone won’t download the full app every time you get an update. And apps should launch twice as fast.

Dark mode and low level improvements

Many apps have already adopted dark mode. But Apple is adding system-wide dark mode for iOS 13. With a simple button in Control Center, you’ll be able to switch from a light interface to a dark interface. Native apps, such as Music, Messages and Calendar have all been updated to support dark mode.

Notifications and widgets look darker. When you open an app, Apple is using a solid black background, which should look good on an OLED keyboard as it won’t emit any light.

The native keyboard now supports typing by swiping from one letter to another. The share sheet has been redesigned with intelligent suggestions based on your most important contacts. In the Music app, you can now see scrolling lyrics.

Apple apps get updated

When it comes to first-party apps, Safari has options to change text sizing and settings per website. Mail gets rich text editing. Notes gets a gallery view and folders.

Reminders has been completely redesigned. There’s a new quick type bar to add a task. You can indent tasks below a bigger tasks. You can also tag people — they receive a notification in iMessage.

Apple’s Meg Frost also showed the new version of Apple Maps. In addition to improved data in some parts of the U.S., there’s a Google Street View feature called Look Around. Moving from one location to another in Look Around is incredibly smooth.

There are more updates to Apple Maps, such as the ability to share ETA with friends, collections of favorite places, the ability to share lists with friends, etc.

Apple will map the U.S. by the end of 2019, other countries will be upgraded later.

Privacy, privacy, privacy

Apple is updating location tracking in apps. You can share your location with an app just once. Third-party developers won’t be able to share details about your Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth signal, which should put an end to many privacy scandals.

Apple is also going to compete with “Sign in with Facebook” or “Sign in with Facebook” by introducing “Sign in with Apple”. This way, you can create an account without sharing personal information. You can even share a randomly generated email address that relays email to your real email address.

HomeKit is also becoming more private. With HomeKit Secure Video, you can store up to 10 days of security camera footage in your iCloud account. Apple doesn’t have the keys and footage doesn’t count against your storage. Logitech, Netatmo and others will support that feature.

In order to make HomeKit devices more secure, Apple is bringing HomeKit to routers so that connected devices don’t always have to talk to the internet directly.

iMessage gets more personal

iMessage still feels like an improved version of SMS. Apple is going to make it more like WhatsApp. With iOS 13, you’ll be able to add a profile picture and share it with your contacts. You control who gets to see your profile pictures.

Apple is using this opportunity to improve Memojis with more customization options. And the company is going one step further by copying Bitmoji and creating stickers with your Memoji.

Photos

On the photo front, Apple is adding a new portrait lighting effect. And portrait lighting will become more customizable. iOS is getting more pro features with buttons to control saturation, highlights, shadows, etc. All of this will be available for videos as well. And Instagram users will love that you’ll be able to rotate videos.

When it comes to your photo library, iOS automatically hides duplicates photos to keep the best shot. There’s also a new tab to explore your photo library. Navigating your library feels more fluid with autoplaying video vignettes. There’s a new tab bar so that you can see highlights from the past years, months and days.

Siri gets smarter

Apple is adding more voice features across the board. For instance, when you receive a message and you’re wearing AirPods, you can hear the message you just received and reply.

If you want to watch a video or listen to music together, you can share audio with someone else who has an iPhone and a pair of AirPods. I don’t think it means that you’ll be able to stream music to two pair of AirPods — you still need two iOS devices.

On the HomePod front, you can tap your phone on your HomePod to send audio to your HomePod. The smart speaker is also getting support for live radio stations — I can’t believe it wasn’t already available. You’ll finally be able to set up multiple users for the HomePod to control your own calendar, messages, music and get personalized results.

CarPlay is also receiving an update with better Siri features. You can now control third-party apps, such as Pandora or Waze, with Siri. And the Siri animation doesn’t fill up the entire screen anymore.

This is a developing post, please refresh for more…

from Apple – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2QHHoog

Apple introduces ‘Sign in with Apple’ to help protect your privacy

Apple has a new way to stop third-party sites and services from getting your information when you sign up to an app.

All too often, developers give users the chance to sign in with one-click — using data fed in from Facebook, Google or Twitter.

“Now this can be convenient, but it also can come at the cost of your privacy, your personal information sometimes get shared behind the scenes and these logins can be used to track you,” said Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi at its annual developer conference.

Apple thinks it can do one better by allowing developers to add a “Sign in with Apple” button instead.

What’s the difference? Apple says it can authenticate a user using Face ID on your iPhone without turning over any of your personal data to a third-party company.

Federighi said users can create a new account on an app using its own one-click button “without revealing any new personal information.”

He noted that when apps ask for names and email addresses — typically auto-populated from a one-click login from a social networking site — you can still provide them if they wish. But when you don’t want to provide your real email address to protect your privacy, Apple will auto-generate a random “relay” email address that hides your real email address.

“That’s good news because we get each a unique random address, and this means you can disable any one of them and anytime when you’re tired of hearing from that app,” said Federighi.

“It’s really great,” he said. Yes, it really is.

from Apple – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2Wzamwj

Apple’s iOS 13 will include a system-wide Dark Mode

Apple’s iOS 13 is getting a dark mode, the company announced today at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose. Confirming an earlier leak, the new dark mode will be system-wide and can be turned on or off from iOS’s Settings or through a new Control Center toggle. Once enabled, Dark Mode will change the color of the Home screen dock, the background colors of iOS screens, and Apple’s built-in apps like Apple Music, Notes, Messages, Photos, Calendar, Music, and more.

Other system features have also been prepped for dark mode like the dock and share sheet, so it’s a seamless experience.

Dark themes for apps have become fairly popular, thanks to the rise of OLED smartphones in recent years. Because a dark mode lights up fewer pixels, it can help conserve battery life on phone’s OLED screens. Dark themes may have other benefits as well, in terms of lessening device addiction and improving sleep, some claim.

Apple is not the first to launch a system-wide dark mode, however. At Google’s developer conference in May, the company introduced Dark Theme for Android Q which will work across its mobile OS and in first-party Android apps, with developers able to code for it in their own applications.

Several third-party apps today support darker themes of their own, including Twitter, YouTube, Google, Medium, Reddit, Wikipedia, Instapaper, Pocket, IMDb, iBooks, Kindle, Google Maps, Waze, Opera Mini and many more.

Below, is the leaked image of Dark Mode for comparison:

from Apple – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2Z3Qejm