Apple’s iOS 14 will give users the option to decline app ad tracking

A new version of iOS wouldn’t be the same without a bunch of security and privacy updates. Apple on Monday announced a ton of new features it’ll bake into iOS 14, expected out later this year with the release of new iPhones and iPads.

Apple said it will allow users to share your approximate location with apps, instead of your precise location. It’ll allow apps to take your rough location without identifying precisely where you are. It’s another option that users have when they give over their location. Last year, Apple allowed users to give over their location once so that apps can’t track a person as they go about their day.

iPhones with iOS 14 will also get a camera recording indicator in the status bar. It’s a similar feature to the camera light that comes with Macs and MacBooks. The recording indicator will sit in the top bar of your iPhone’s display when your front or rear camera is in use.

But the biggest changes are for app developers themselves, Apple said. In iOS 14, users will be asked if they want to be tracked by the app. That’s a major change that will likely have a ripple effect: by allowing users to reject tracking, it’ll reduce the amount of data that’s collected, preserving user privacy.

Apple also said it will also require app developers to self-report the kinds of permissions that their apps ask for. This will improve transparency, allowing the user to know what kind of data they may have to give over in order to use the app. It will also explain how that collected data could be tracked outside of the app.

Android users have been able to see app permissions for years on the Google Play app store.

The move is Apple’s latest assault against the ad industry as part of the tech giant’s privacy-conscious mantra.

The ad industry has frequently been the target of Apple’s barbs, amid a string of controversies that have embroiled both advertisers and data-hungry tech giants, like Facebook and Google, which make the bulk of their profits from targeted advertising. As far back as 2015, Apple CEO Tim Cook said its Silicon Valley rivals are “gobbling up everything they can learn about you and trying to monetize it.” Apple, which makes its money selling hardware, “elected not to do that,” said Cook.

As targeted advertising became more invasive, Apple countered by baking in new privacy features to its software, like its intelligence tracking prevention technology and allowing Safari users to install content blockers that prevent ads and trackers from loading.

Just last year Apple told developers to stop using third-party trackers in apps for children or face rejection from the App Store.

Apple has a plan to make online ads more private

from iPhone – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/3hOYzl7

Apple’s iOS 14 will give users the option to decline app ad tracking

A new version of iOS wouldn’t be the same without a bunch of security and privacy updates. Apple on Monday announced a ton of new features it’ll bake into iOS 14, expected out later this year with the release of new iPhones and iPads.

Apple said it will allow users to share your approximate location with apps, instead of your precise location. It’ll allow apps to take your rough location without identifying precisely where you are. It’s another option that users have when they give over their location. Last year, Apple allowed users to give over their location once so that apps can’t track a person as they go about their day.

iPhones with iOS 14 will also get a camera recording indicator in the status bar. It’s a similar feature to the camera light that comes with Macs and MacBooks. The recording indicator will sit in the top bar of your iPhone’s display when your front or rear camera is in use.

But the biggest changes are for app developers themselves, Apple said. In iOS 14, users will be asked if they want to be tracked by the app. That’s a major change that will likely have a ripple effect: by allowing users to reject tracking, it’ll reduce the amount of data that’s collected, preserving user privacy.

Apple also said it will also require app developers to self-report the kinds of permissions that their apps ask for. This will improve transparency, allowing the user to know what kind of data they may have to give over in order to use the app. It will also explain how that collected data could be tracked outside of the app.

Android users have been able to see app permissions for years on the Google Play app store.

The move is Apple’s latest assault against the ad industry as part of the tech giant’s privacy-conscious mantra.

The ad industry has frequently been the target of Apple’s barbs, amid a string of controversies that have embroiled both advertisers and data-hungry tech giants, like Facebook and Google, which make the bulk of their profits from targeted advertising. As far back as 2015, Apple CEO Tim Cook said its Silicon Valley rivals are “gobbling up everything they can learn about you and trying to monetize it.” Apple, which makes its money selling hardware, “elected not to do that,” said Cook.

As targeted advertising became more invasive, Apple countered by baking in new privacy features to its software, like its intelligence tracking prevention technology and allowing Safari users to install content blockers that prevent ads and trackers from loading.

Just last year Apple told developers to stop using third-party trackers in apps for children or face rejection from the App Store.

Apple has a plan to make online ads more private

from Android – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/3hOYzl7
via IFTTT

Apple will let you emulate old apps and run iOS apps on ARM Macs

Apple has announced a major shift for the Mac. In the future, the company is going to switch from Intel CPU to Apple’s own silicon, based on ARM architecture. If you are a developer or if you run obscure enterprise apps, you may have a lot of questions about how it’s going to work.

First, you’ll be able to compile your app to run both on Intel-based Macs and ARM-based Macs. You can ship those apps with both executables using a new format called Universal 2. If you’ve been using a Mac for a while, you know that Apple used the same process when it switched from PowerPC CPUs to Intel CPUs — one app, two executables.

As for unoptimized software, you’ll still be able to run those apps. But its performances won’t be as good as what you’d get from a native ARM-ready app. Apple is going to ship Rosetta 2, an emulation layer that lets you run old apps on new Macs.

When you install an old app, your Mac will examine the app and try to optimize it for your ARM processor. This way, there will be some level of optimization even before you open the app.

But what if it’s a web browser or a complicated app with just-in-time code? Rosetta 2 can also translate instructions from x86 to ARM on the fly, while you’re running the app.

And if you’re a developer working on code that is going to run on servers, Apple is also working on a set of virtualization tools. You’ll be able to run Linux and Docker on an ARM Mac.

As a bonus, users will also be able to access a much larger library of apps. “Mac users can for the first time run iOS and iPadOS apps on the Mac,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said.

While the company didn’t share a lot of details, Apple isn’t talking about Catalyst, its own framework that makes it easier to port iOS apps to macOS. You should be able to download and run apps even if the developer never optimized those apps for macOS.

The transition is going to take a while — around two years. The first ARM-based Mac will ship by the end of the year. There will be a quick start program for developers interested in porting apps to ARM-based Macs. In addition to documentation and a private forum, Apple will send you a custom-made Mac Mini with an A12Z system on a chip. This way, you can test your apps on an actual Mac with an ARM chip.

from Apple – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/3hVnVxY

Apple is bringing spatial audio to AirPods Pro

It’s no AirPods Studio, but Apple’s got a pretty exciting update to last year’s AirPods Pro. The bluetooth headphones are getting spatial audio (or 3D audio, depending on who you ask). The addition of the feature gives audio a sense of locational awareness, with sound originating from different points.

It’s a nice addition that should be good for movies where sound location is part of the narrative story telling. More importantly to Apple’s future, however, it will play an interesting role in the company’s push into augmented reality. Apple has been exploring the category through its ARKit for developers and is rumored to be working on an AR headset which would no doubt play nicely with head tracking earbuds.

Also of note on the AirPods front is the addition of automatic switching between devices. That’s a big bonus for people who use one set of headphones with different connected product (like most people — we’re not made of money here). With the new feature, both AirPods and AirPods Pro will automatically shift between your iPhone and MacBook, as you perform different tasks.

The updates will be available through a firmware update.

from Apple – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/2YZ7EiD

Apple’s Messages gets better group replies and Memoji updates, including face coverings

Today’s WWDC keynote has been much more Memoji-centric than usual. The invite art featured them and they were all over the intro. They also got a significant amount of face time during today’s iOS 14 Messages break down.

According to the company the the messaging app has experienced a 40% year-over-year increase. The biggest updates to the app include the ability to pin specific messages to the top for easy access, and the ability to reply directly to messages in group chat. Doing so will alert the specific person you’re responding to — a big upgrade for those who rely on Messages for keeping in touch with big groups.

Apple unveils iOS 14 with home screen widgets

Also on the plate are 20 new hairstyles and more ages for Memojis, along with additional skin color choices, facial hair and makeup. Also fitting given the…well, state of the world, is the addition of face coverings, including the pictured surgical mask, which, for better or worse is something we’re going to be living with for a while. That follows other recent accessories additions for the avatars, including last year’s AirPods, glasses and hats.

from Apple – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/316dDoH

Apple turns the iPhone into the key for your car

Today at Apple’s annual developer’s conference — held virtually because of COVID — the company announced the ability to control a car with an iPhone. With an upcoming software update, the iPhone can soon unlock and start a car like a standard key. If your car supports it, that is.

Details at still slim at the moment.

Initially, only the upcoming BMW 5 Series will support this feature. Apple expects other manufacturers to support it in the future, too.

Security is paramount. Apple says the so-called digital key will live in the secure environment on the owner’s iPhone. It’s not stored in the cloud, but locally on the iPhone. This is the same secure enclave that store’s the owner’s FaceID and Wallet information.

Once the key is added to the iPhone, owners can share the key with other iPhones through iMessage. When sharing, the owner can limit the permissions of the key. Again, details are light, but it seems like this will allow parents to restrict the use of a vehicle to teenagers. Automakers have long offered similar options and enable the owner to put a cap on the rate of speed a person can drive, the volume of the radio, and other features. It’s unclear at this point the extent of Apple’s permissions.

Apple said that the company is working with car makers to integrate the iPhone’s U1 ultra-wideband chip into this system. If implemented, the range would be greatly increased. Without the U1 chip, the owner would need to hold the phone close to the car so the car read the phone’s NFC chip. With U1, the range increases dramatically. Apple gave the example of an owner walking up to a car and unlocking it without taking the phone out of a bag.

This feature will roll out with iOS 14 but will come to iOS 13 devices, too.

from Apple – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/3do0MRb

Apple’s new Translate app works offline with 11 languages

Translation is an everyday smartphone task for millions of people, but outside a few minor features, Apple has generally ceded the capability to its rivals. That changes today with a new first-party iOS app called, naturally, Translate, which works with 11 languages, no internet connection required.

The app is intended for use with speech or short written sentences, not to translate whole web pages or documents. The interface is simple, with a language selector, text field and record button as well as a few extra widgets like favorites and a dictionary.

At launch Translate will support English, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, korean, Arabic, Portuguese, and Russian, with others to come. You simply select a pair of languages and paste or record a snippet of text or audio. The translation should show up immediately.

There’s also a landscape mode that further simplifies the interface:

The best part is that unlike many translation apps out there, Apple’s is entirely offline, meaning you can use it whether you have good or bad signal, if you’re out in the middle of nowhere in a country where you don’t get service, or if you’re just trying to save data.

There were no specific release details so the app will probably appear when you upgrade to iOS 14.

from Apple – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/3fLKAdT