When Apple demos new software updates at WWDC, accessibility features usually don't get the spotlight (though last year's WWDC was all about accessibility). I realize that there are many hundreds of new things coming that Apple wants to make us aware of, but I think Apple should wear its accessibility achievements on its chest as a badge of honor. I oftentimes speak to tech lovers that tell me they only use Apple devices or have switched to Apple products because of the many and useful accessibility features.
This success doesn't come from simply adding on an accessibility option after everything's already been done. It comes from Apple putting accessibility at the top of its list of priorities. Accessibility isn't an afterthought for Apple. It's a before thought.
Control Center on macOS Big Sur is visually similar to the Control Center on iOS but with controls adapted for the Mac. Instead of accessing it with a swipe, Control Center on the Mac can be opened by clicking on a new button in the Menu Bar.
From there, users can access network settings, brightness adjustments, AirPlay, and more. Some of these options were already available in the macOS Bar Menu before, but there are new features in the Control Center as well.
In dense areas where you can’t get a precise location, Apple Maps will prompt you to raise your phone and scan buildings across the street to refine your location.
As you may have guessed, this feature is based on Look Around, a Google Street View-inspired feature that lets you … look around as if you were walking down the street. It’s a bit more refined than Street View as everything is in 3D so you can notice the foreground and the background.
The information organizer now stores synchronization data on Apple’s servers, which means that the amount of space it occupies is charged against your iCloud storage allowance.
The public launch of the service comes alongside a second piece of good news for Hey: Apple has approved Hey’s update containing proposed changes to meet App Store guidelines. The app’s version 1.0.3 update is now available, offering free, temporary 14-day burner Hey accounts with randomized addresses for iOS users, making the app “functional” by Apple’s definition when it’s first downloaded. Hey is also adding support for multiuser corporate accounts with this update, as Apple had originally taken issue with the purely consumer-focused nature of Hey.
So often the biggest challenge I face as an indie developer isn’t just making customers aware of my products, but making them even consider that the capabilities I provide are even things that their iPhone can do. When Apple takes on a feature and makes it a 1st-party experience they also take on the burden of that communication and educating customers about what is possible.
Apple is continuing with store closures in areas that are experiencing significant spikes in coronavirus infections, and tomorrow, 14 retail locations in Florida will be shut down.
The wide-ranging interview covers developers and the App Store, the Mac and Big Sur, the iPad and Pencil, iOS 14, and privacy. In response to commentators who believe that Apple is merging iOS and macOS or abandoning the Mac, Federighi rattled off a long list of projects related to the Mac, commenting, “We love the Mac and we’re all in.” Joswiak added, “We’re far from bored with the Mac; it’s in our DNA.”
You probably have a song you play to get you up in the morning. Maybe something you listen to before a difficult day, a job interview, or a public speaking gig. I certainly do—I have a whole playlist full of them. You might too. But why does music inspire us so much, and how can we find more music to hype us up?
If you don’t have a playlist of songs to get you hyped up for the day, build one. If building a playlist sounds like yet another thing to add to your to-do list, worry not: Plenty of music services have mood- or genre-based playlists to get you ready for the day, and we'll come through with some suggestions here too.
Why aren't widgets in the upcoming iOS also in the lock screen?
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Thanks for reading.