A recently added setting on iPhones and iPads makes the devices less complicated. It can turn a smartphone into a feature phone, a landline replacement, a kid’s phone and even an iPod. Called Assistive Access, the setting was introduced in September in iOS 17 as an accessibility option for people with cognitive disabilities. Like many accessibility features, it has potentially beneficial applications for everyone.
When activated, it switches to a bare-bones home screen that shows one or more apps as larger-than-usual icons. It makes smartphones and tablets easier to navigate by minimizing the number of options and adding more visual-based controls.
Spatial Personas aren’t everything they need to be, but they finally provide the sort of shared-space experience that we highlighted as one of the ways Apple can improve Vision Pro without new hardware. Now you can finally “gather” with up to four others to watch videos together, play games, work on a whiteboard, or all examine and discuss the same 3D interactive objects and environments.
It’s not unique—other VR headsets have been doing their own versions of this for years—but it really makes the Vision Pro feel like a less isolated and disconnected experience. And with WWDC right around corner, it’s a sign that Apple Vision Pro is just getting started.
I was able to invite my friend Stephen Hackett’s Persona over to my house for a play date and we were able to chat face to face in a way that just seemed more natural than talking to a persona in a box. It felt more like it was him.
Personas are still a bit weird, but I think freeing them from their boxes makes them feel totally different and much better. If you have a Vision Pro, it’s worth checking this out, especially with SharePlay in the mix.
I want more content, content, content – better than this – but these types of updates are crucial for any hopes of "viral" adoption of this device.
Apple last year announced a partnership with Google to work on a new “industry specification to address unwanted tracking” after many concerns about stalkers using accessories like AirTags to silently track people. Now it seems that Apple is planning to launch these new anti-stalking features with iOS 17.5.
Multiple pieces of evidence found in the code of iPadOS 17.5 beta, which was released to developers on Tuesday, point to a new gesture called “squeeze” for Apple Pencil. The gesture can be used for quick interactions such as adding shapes, signatures, stickers, or a text field. Presumably, the gesture will be triggered by pressing the Apple Pencil surface.
Apple today released the first beta of iOS 17.5 to developers, and as expected, the update introduces support for downloading apps from developer websites in the European Union.
Fundamentally, in their current state, third-party iOS app stores like AltStore will only be attractive to power users, groups of enthusiasts who are desperate to solve niche issues or have particular interests in something they can’t get on the App Store, like a fully functioning clipboard manager or game emulator.
New versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote are now available with new iPad optimizations, improved collaboration, and more.
Apple is rolling out a new firmware version for AirPods Max users today. The update is the first firmware release for AirPods Max users since the end of January, but don’t expect any major changes.
Apple's Beats brand is known for participating in collaborations with various designers and others for special editions of Beats earphones and headphones, and the latest partnership is with luxury activewear brand Alo Yoga for a unique version of Beats Fit Pro.
Transit is an amazing app that lets you look up transit itineraries and will even guide you along as you travel to your destination.
The Philips Hue app was today updated to version 5.14, adding support for widgets. Hue widgets can be added to the Home Screen, Lock Screen, or Today View, and can be used for controlling lights and other accessories.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. halted some chipmaking and evacuated plants after the biggest earthquake to hit its home island in 25 years, raising concerns about disruptions to the global tech supply chain.
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The island’s tech firms are still assessing impact from the earthquake, which leveled dozens of buildings on its eastern side and killed at least four people. On Wednesday, TSMC said staff were beginning to return to evacuated sites though it stressed it was examining impact. Still, any halt in production threatens to upset a process that — especially for sophisticated semiconductors — can require uninterrupted seclusion in a vacuum for weeks on end, Barclays analysts wrote.
Over here, Apple has 'unbundled' the various media player out from iTunes into separate apps. But over there, it does seem like Spotify and Google are bundling different media into the same app?
Was the iPod a superapp?
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Thanks for reading.