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The Fall-Risk Edition Friday, June 11, 2021

Apple’s New Health Features Bring New Focus To Elder Care Technology, by Nicole Wetsman, The Verge

Apple’s new health features will be available for anyone with an iPhone. But two of the tools announced at WWDC 2021, walking steadiness and the ability to share health data with family members, could be particularly useful for older adults.

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There are no major commercial products that track the quality of people’s movement, Sosnoff says. Until now, most movement trackers have focused on how much people moved. “That’s why there’s a lot of excitement about this,” he says. “Having people be aware of their fall risk is important.”

Shortcuts For Mac: The Future Is Now, by John Voorhees, MacStories

On the one hand, Apple left no doubt that the company views Shortcuts as the future of automation on all of its platforms, the Mac included. Apple’s words were backed up by its actions, such as the fact that the most popular Automator actions have been replicated as Shortcuts actions. On the other hand, though, Apple has made it equally clear that this will be a multi-year transition and that it isn’t abandoning powerful automation tools like AppleScript, shell scripts, and JavaScript, which will provide flexibility and power beyond the actions that will be shipped this fall when macOS Monterey is released.

WWDC 2021: Apple Dips Its Toes Into Matter’s Smart Home, by Dan Moren, Six Colors

From the user’s perspective, interacting with a Matter accessory should look pretty much identical to interacting with a HomeKit accessory. When adding a Matter accessory to another app, the workflow will be basically the same: using a QR code, then selecting the correct home, rooms, scenes, and automations. Matter accessories can, at the user’s discretion, appear in the Home app, be accessed using Siri, and show up in Control Center, all right alongside HomeKit accessories.

Coming Soon?

Apple Accidentally Leaks Fitness+ Audio Meditations For Apple Watch, by Hartley Charlton, MacRumors

Apple is looking to add Fitness+ Audio Meditations to the Mindfulness Apple Watch app, according to a now-removed image from WWDC.

Stuff

2021 Apple Design Awards Given To Six Developers, by John Voorhees, MacStories

On June 1st, the company, for the first time, announced finalists in six categories: Inclusivity, Delight and Fun, Interaction, Social Impact, Visuals and Graphics, and Innovation. For each category, Apple picked six finalists for a total of 36 ADA contenders.

Dark Sky’s API, iOS App, And Web App Will All Stop Working Next Year, by Samuel Axon, Ars Technica

Dark Sky's developers initially said the API would shut down at the end of 2021, but this new end-of-2022 target obviously moves things back a bit. This is the first time we've heard about an end date for the iOS app, though.

An iPad Has Become The Bandmate I Wish I Had Growing Up, by Alice Clarke, Gizmodo

If you already have one for school, or have the means to treat yourself, here are some of the ways I’ve been using the new iPad Pro to play, make and record music.

And the good news here is that these apps will work on most iPads, so you don’t need the latest model.

Develop

iOS 15 Lets Developers Hide Sensitive Information In Widgets On The Lock Screen Until iPhone Is Unlocked, by Sami Fathi, MacRumors

On iOS and iPadOS 15, Apple is adding new functionality to WidgetKit, introduced last year, that will allow developers to classify information deemed as sensitive in their widgets, meaning that specific information will only become viewable on the lock screen when the user unlocks their device.

Apple’s StoreKit 2 Simplifies App Store Subscriptions And Refunds By Making Them Accessible Inside Apps, by Sarah Perez, TechCrunch

If you’ve ever bought a subscription inside an iOS app and later decided you wanted to cancel, upgrade or downgrade, or ask for a refund, you may have had trouble figuring out how to go about making that request or change. Some people today still believe that they can stop their subscription charges simply by deleting an app from their iPhone. Others may dig around unsuccessfully inside their iPhone’s Settings or on the App Store to try to find out how to ask for a refund. With the updates Apple announced in StoreKit 2 during its Worldwide Developers Conference this week, things may start to get a little easier for app customers.

Apple To Offer Beta Versions Of AirPods Pro Firmware For Developers, by Sami Fathi, MacRumors

According to Apple, AirPods Pro firmware betas will allow for the development of certain features on iOS and macOS and will enable features such as Conversation Boost and Ambient Noise Reduction.

Bottom of the Page

I am now typing with my left hand only, because my right hand is not working right. Doctor thinks this is gout; I've had previous episodes with my right leg. Taking medicine now and I hope my doctor is right.

By the way, my left hand can remember where all the left hand keys on the keyboard are. I have to hunt for the keys -- especially the punctuation marks -- on the right side of the keyboard.

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Thanks for reading.