A few of us at The Verge have noticed something new about Twitter’s iOS app: when you pull down to refresh your feed, you might hear a couple of new noises. One is a little windup trill that plays when you first pull the feed, and after your feed is done refreshing, you might hear a short confirmation chirp. (Though the sounds are more robotic than any real-life bird I’ve heard.)

I made a recording so you can hear what I’m hearing. It’s a little different from the short “pop” you might have heard when refreshing before.

We’re not exactly sure when the change kicked in, but we first noticed it Friday afternoon, and we’ve seen a bunch of tweets about the new chirp from Friday as well. There are also a handful of tweets mentioning a chirp over the past couple of weeks, which could mean that Twitter has been rolling it out slowly ahead of a bigger release.

This seemingly isn’t an iOS-only change. One Verge staffer on Android is occasionally hearing the second new noise I described, and a few of the tweets I’ve found about the chirp were sent from Android.

If you want to hear the noise for yourself on your phone, just try pulling down to refresh your feed. If you don’t hear it, try force closing the Twitter app and opening it again (this is what worked for me), and make sure you’re on the latest version of the app. We’re not sure how widely this is rolled out, so you may not have the sounds just yet even if you try those steps.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to refresh the app to hear the lovely new sounds again. And again. Maybe just one more time. Last time, I promise...

You’re not hearing things — yes, the Twitter app chirps now

Android 13 marches toward release with final beta version

TheThe iPad is Apple’s most versatile device. I don’t necessarily mean that as a compliment, at least not entirely: there’s no other device in Apple’s lineup that can do more things in more ways, but Apple has spent the last couple of years adding so many features, input methods, and UI systems to its tablet that it’s starting to feel a bit… crufty.

I’ve been using the iPadOS 16 beta for a bit now ahead of the public beta that’s launching today. Even for an early beta, iPadOS 16 itself feels relatively polished and functional — though I’d never recommend installing beta software onto your main device — but the apps running on it don’t. As the iPad becomes a more flexible device, developers have a surprising amount of work to do for their apps to work seamlessly everywhere.

iPadOS 16 is a big step in the direction of user choice and flexibility, and it comes with lots of features I really like. But my overall feeling after a few weeks is that the iPad is a stupendously powerful device… and I increasingly have no idea how to use it. Should I use the touchscreen or the trackpad? Do I want to use Stage Manager to switch between apps or the funky two-apps-and-slide-over multitasking system or just do one app at a time? Which apps should I put on the external monitor, and which apps work better on the small screen? Apple’s answer would be that it doesn’t matter. It all works well, so you can use it however you like! That’s often true, but I can’t help but wish Apple had more opinions on the subject.

Power users only

If you’re the kind of person who uses an iPad as your main workhorse, iPadOS 16 is for you. Just the ability to plug in an external monitor and use it as a second screen is a game-changer for anyone who spends hours a day doing work on their iPad. The process is pretty seamless: you can buy a specific USB-C to HDMI cable, but my USB-C hub worked well, too, and as soon as I plugged it in, it popped up a second screen with its own dock ready to go.

The iPad assumes the second screen is above it by default, so you drag windows up from your iPad onto your second screen. (You can tweak this in Settings.) Most apps just treat the monitor as a really big iPad with no touchscreen, which works well enough, but a few get crazy with it: Netflix played everything turned 90 degrees to the right, for instance, and YouTube expanded into some deeply broken layout I’ve never seen before. These are all solvable problems, and are why betas exist, but this actually isn’t an easy fix for everyone. Should apps actually treat it like a big iPad and give you 30-plus inches of a 10-inch app? Some apps are already built to be responsive and resize nimbly as you move them around, but no iPad developer has had to reckon with screens this size — or this many different sizes, period — before.

Managing monitors is easy in iPadOS 16, though not every app works well on the bigger screen.

Stage Manager is the other thing that’s going to cause developers headaches. It’s also likely to be the most controversial thing about iPadOS 16: a new tool for multitasking designed to make it easier to quickly switch between a lot of apps. Once you turn on Stage Manager — it’s actually off by default, so you have to actively decide to use it before it appears — it puts four “piles” of apps onto the left side of your screen, like a dock of your various screen configurations. (“Pile” is Apple software chief Craig Federighi’s term, not mine, and it’s not particularly flattering, but it’s pretty accurate.) I have my calendar, to-do list, and notes app in one pile, Slack and email in another, and Spotify and Pocket Casts in a third. It’s not a replacement for the other ways of multitasking — just a new way to use a lot of apps at a time.

We’ll reserve full judgment for our review this fall, but so far, I hate Stage Manager. The piles take up too much room on the screen, and it takes way too much work to place the app windows just so. (One funny beta moment: when you turn on Stage Manager, it instantly forces the Settings app to render at a size it doesn’t support, and it breaks. Lots of other apps do, too.) When you open a full-screen app, you’re out of Stage Manager, and it’s not obvious how to get back or put things into the piles.

Stage Manager makes more apps accessible at once, but it doesn’t make much sense.

It might be better, oddly enough, if Stage Manager completely took over the device when you turned it on. But you can still Command-Tab your way through apps, use Mission Control, and open two apps side by side with a third slid over. It’s just too many ways to mess with your apps. So far, I’ve seen nothing about it that’s more useful than the side-by-side multitasking Apple has offered for years, and I’m going to turn State Manager off as soon as I finish… this paragraph.

Collaboration is the other big power-user feature in iPadOS 16. Apple’s building real-time collaboration tools into Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, along with a way to share tab groups in Safari. The system for sharing and collaborating works really well. You just send a link to someone, and as long as they’re also using the latest software, they immediately have access to your documents. But “real-time collaboration” is a bit of a stretch here. When my colleague Dan Seifert and I were in a Pages doc together, it seemed to update every sentence or so, so we were constantly writing over top of each other. Tools like Google Docs and Figma do this kind of co-authoring much more seamlessly.

The most collaboration-friendly Apple app doesn’t exist yet: it’s called Freeform, and it’s Apple’s infinite whiteboard answer to the Figmas and Miros of the world. The app is scheduled for release later this year, so I wasn’t able to test it, but that will be the truest test of how well Apple can let people actually work together.

Sharing tabs and documents is easy, but real-time collaboration isn’t quite in real time yet.

For now, think of document collaboration more like shared photo albums; you’re making sure you’ll always have the most updated thing, and you can look at them together, but it’s not great for multiple people mucking around in the file.

Again, this is all beta software, so much of the success of iPadOS 16 will come down to how developers change their apps to match. For collaboration, Apple’s treating the tech as a sort of Collaboration as a Service tool, though, offering some of the front-end features — inviting someone to collaborate in Messages, bringing a FaceTime call into the app while you’re working together — to third-party developers. But the actual collaborative work will be handled by the app itself, so they could conceivably do it better than Apple.

Keep an eye also on how many apps you use ship updates that take advantage of Apple’s “size classes,” which is how Apple describes an app’s ability to shift to different sizes on the iPad’s screen. Size class support is how apps fit in slide over, side by side, and now, in the iPad’s other display modes, too. Gmail and many others have been resolutely full screen-only for years, and for iPadOS 16 to really work, those apps are going to need to be much more resizable.

Oh, and there’s one other developer unknown: Apple has been touting the idea that the iPad is getting “desktop-class apps,” but so far, there’s not much of that to see in the App Store. What that seems to mean is that Apple is bringing a more consistent menu bar to the iPad in hopes of making settings and tools easier to find across apps. It’s also bringing undo and redo to more apps and making search a more universally accessible tool as well. Apple’s even rethinking how printing works from the iPad, which tells you exactly who these features are for. The menu bar is a particularly good idea given how many apps tend to bury their settings behind inscrutable icons, but we’ll have to wait and see how it turns out.

Still a big iPhone

Most of the rest of what’s coming to iPadOS 16 matches what’s coming to iOS 16 on the iPhone. You’ll get the new Messages features that let you mark a message as unread or edit a message after you send it; the new Passkeys that aim to replace your insecure passwords; and a bunch of handy new accessibility features that improve everything from making calls to on-device captions for videos and FaceTime calls.

Most of Apple’s built-in apps are getting some love in iPadOS 16, too. The Home app’s redesign looks nice and definitely puts more controls front and center on the page — but the real shift is going to be when Apple moves to a “new architecture” for HomeKit that seems like it’s not going to support the iPad as a Home hub anymore. We’ll have to report back on that one. The Notes app is getting some better organization tools that will automatically show you recent notes, notes with attachments, or notes you’ve shared with other people, which I’ve found pretty handy. And, as an inveterate to-do list addict, the addition of templates and pinned lists to Reminders makes me much happier than it should. Oh, and there’s a Weather app! It’s… a Weather app! On the iPad! What a concept!

Look! A weather app on the iPad!

Most of these features don’t include much in the way of iPad-specific features or design, though, instead just lifting from what’s also coming to the iPhone. One thing I wish were coming? More lock screen controls. The iPhone’s lock screen is getting a total overhaul, but the iPad’s still just a clock and a bunch of notifications. I think I understand the logic here, which is that the iPhone is a much more glanceable device, and you’re rarely going to turn on your iPad unless you plan to do something with it. But I don’t buy that logic. I’d rather be able to control and customize my lock screen. And I really, really want widgets on there.

The cynical way to read iPadOS 16 would be to think of the iPad as a device caught between two worlds, unsure of whether it’s a big iPhone or a touchscreen MacBook, and suffering as a result. The more optimistic view — which I think I still subscribe to — is that the iPad could actually be all things to all people, the best of all worlds, a power-user device that’s also incredibly approachable, and it’s just going to be a long journey to get there. In its best moments, iPadOS 16 feels like there’s no job it can’t handle. In its worst, it feels like it’s trying way, way too hard. So many times, I found myself flinching as I tapped the three-dot button at the top of a window to resize it because who knew what was about to happen?

More so than usual, the next few months will be crucial for iPadOS 16. As Apple makes its operating system more flexible, it needs developers to do the same with their apps or else it risks having users constantly caught between past and future systems. Apple’s better than anyone at cajoling developers into keeping up with the times, but nearly everything cool about the new software — from the collaboration and the multiscreen support to even maybe making Stage Manager useful — will require developers to think as broadly about the iPad’s possibilities as Apple does.

And eventually, Apple’s going to need to have fewer and better ideas about multitasking. Because whatever the future looks like, I don’t think it’s piles.

Photography by David Pierce / The Verge

iPadOS 16 preview: jack of all trades, master of some

• Wi-Fi is now functional (2.5Ghz/5Ghz). Mac Address retrieval is not yet here, however.
• Cellular Data is now functional (LTEA/LTE/HSDPA+/HSDPA/EDGE/GPRS).
• Cellular Texts are now functional. Use the Chat application to send and get messages.
• Calls, VoLTE, RCS, and more are coming soon in a later release.
• eSIM support is now enabled in this release.
• GPS is now functional.

Although the project has received multiple improvements and enhancements, it is still far from being ready to substitute the stock Android for daily use. In addition to missing calls support, you get a non-functioning camera, graphical rendering issues, problems with automatic orientation, broken USB dongles, and other bugs.

For now, Windows for the original Surface Duo remains a fun experiment for those having a spare Surface Duo. Also, it is a way to get a taste of the now-dead Surface Neo, a device that Microsoft does not plan to resurrect any time soon.

If you prefer to use your Surface Duo with its original OS, you may want to check out the latest improvements and enhancements Microsoft released in the July 2022 firmware update.

Surface Duo with Windows 11 gets working Wi-Fi, Cellular, eSIM, and GPS

Asus accidentally leaked a promo video for its apparently upcoming Zenfone 9 on its YouTube channel, and the phone’s got some very interesting quirks and features, to borrow a phrase (via XDA, TechGoing). Perhaps the most interesting (at least for the people who could take or leave a headphone jack) is what Asus has done with the side-mounted fingerprint sensor, which the video labels as the “smart key”: it shows a creepy CGI hand swiping through a webpage by sliding its finger along the side of the phone.

It’s not exactly unusual to have some sort of gesture built into the fingerprint reader — phones like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip / Fold 3 let you bring down the notification shade with a similar swipe. (And those phones are far from the first to do it; I remember that feature from my Pixel 2.) But using it to actually scroll through content feels like a fun throwback to the age where phones had physical dials or roller balls for scrolling. Will Asus’ version, which it calls “ZenTouch,” be an RSI disaster or a gimmick you use once before turning it off forever? Perhaps. But will it feel rad as hell that one time you try it? I’d bet yes.

Fun side button aside, the Zenfone 9 seems like a very interesting gadget. According to Twitter user SnoopyTech (who’s had some accurate leaks before), the phone will have a 5.9-inch screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and will be powered by the same Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip that Asus put in its gaming-focused ROG Phone 6. They also say the phone will cost between 800 and 900 euros, around $850 to $950 US. That’s a fair bit higher than the $699 starting price for the previous-gen Zenfone 8, which my colleague Allison Johnson called “fantastic” in her review.

Plus, it comes in fun colors. Image: SnoopyTech

We’ll have to wait for an official announcement and hands-on to see if that price jump is justified (or if it’s even accurate), but the video does indicate at least a few improvements that could help justify the added cost. The battery has gotten a bit bigger compared to the Zenphone 8, which had a 4,000mAh cell that provided “just okay” runtime. The video also says that the phone’s two cameras are “massively upgraded” and shows that the main one features a “6-axis hybrid gimbal stabilizer.” It then shows that feature being used with a truly whacky accessory called the smart backpack mount, which looks like it’s trying to emulate a piece of gear that professional videographers use to hoist heavy cameras all day — but for a phone.

Quick question: what?? Gif: SnoopyTech

Accessories aside (there’s also a seemingly modular phone case that you can connect a kickstand / wallet to), this preview actually gets me excited to see the Zenfone 9 officially revealed. Sure, it’s not the iPhone Mini clone running Android that some people want, but it seems like it’ll continue the Zenfone tradition of being a compact-ish but high-end Android phone with a few fun features thrown in to keep things interesting. And a headphone jack — I cannot get enough of the headphone jack.

Asus’ leaked Zenfone 9 video shows fun gimmicks like a scroll key and shoulder mount

According to renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple's latest chips will be exclusive to high-end iPhone models, the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro, for example. It means SE and 'non-Pro' models are not going to get benefited from Apple's latest chipset. Expectedly, the 'Pro' models will look far more superior to the non-Pro ones if Kuo's report is true.

Back in the day, it used to be the camera system that was far superior in 'Pro' as compared to the regular model, but now, it's no longer just the camera. For instance, the iPhone 13 Pro comes with what Apple calls a ProMotion display, which is essentially a fancy way of describing a 120 Hz panel, something that is not present in the regular iPhone 13 models.

Apple hopes that a huge difference between 'Pro' and 'non-Pro' models will lead to more people buying the premium iPhones, which, in turn, will make the average iPhone price go up. And that means more profit for Apple. As noted by Kuo, Apple's new strategy will also benefit camera suppliers for high-end iPhones.

However, the end-user will be the sole loser, as they will now need to pay a lot more to own an iPhone powered by Apple's newest chipset.

Do you think it's the right strategy to increase profit? If you're an iPhone user, are you willing to pay more to get the latest Bionic chip? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Ming-Chi Kuo | via 9to5Mac

Apple may change its iPhone business strategy to increase profit

Microsoft Remote Desktop Mobile Version 10.4.1 introduces thumbnail snapshots for published PC resources to the Workspaces tab of the Connection Center. Microsoft has also created an in-app highlights UI to advertise new features. Additionally, it comes with a fix for an issue causing the mouse cursor to get temporarily stuck at the bottom of the screen. You can read the complete official changelog below.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Version 10.4.1

Microsoft’s last significant update to the Remote Desktop Mobile app for iOS was released a couple of months ago. In the previous update, the app received the ability to dynamically change the orientation of the remote session while connected to Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, and later. It also introduced several improvements and other noteworthy changes.

The latest update is not as big as the previous one when it comes to the number of features, but it offers some UI changes, a new thumbnail, and bug fixes. All in all, Version 10.4.1 provides exciting changes, making the overall app experience even better.

You can download and install the Microsoft Remote Desktop Mobile app on your iOS device.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Mobile for iOS gets updated with UI changes and more

Your phone’s lock screen is the hottest new real estate in tech. Apple made the iPhone’s lock screen a centerpiece of iOS 16, giving users more control over how theirs looks and works. But while Apple talked about pretty clock fonts and nifty color-matched wallpapers, it also showed off a world in which your lock screen is more than just a security measure: it’s becoming another surface on which companies can put information, apps, and even ads. Apple’s far from the only company thinking about this, too. TechCrunch reports that Glance, a lock screen content company (which apparently is a thing!) is already in talks with US carriers and plans to launch on some Android phones in the US in the next two months.

The competition for your eyeballs and attention has already come out of apps and onto your home screen, through widgets and notifications. Now it looks like it’s headed one step further: onto the first thing you see when you turn on your phone, before you even pick it up or unlock it. That might be at least one step too far.

If you’ve never seen a Glance-running device before, one way to imagine the app is sort of like a Snapchat Discover feed on your phone’s lock screen. The company serves up a rotating set of news headlines, videos, quizzes, games, and photos that appear every time your phone screen turns on. Glance calls these content cards “glances,” naturally, and says that users consume these glances 65 times a day on average.

Glance is a neverending content machine, on your lock screen Image: Glance

And, of course, it’s all filled with ads. Glance is a subsidiary of InMobi Group, an Indian ad tech company. It has partnerships with a number of manufacturers, including Samsung and Xiaomi, and the company says its software is built into more than 400 million phones around Asia. Google is an investor in the company; so is Peter Thiel.

In a certain light, Glance or something like it is a totally sensible idea. You don’t need to constantly dip in and out of apps looking for news and information, you don’t even need to unlock your phone, you just trust your device to bring you something interesting every time you turn it on. And a couple of non-intrusive ads won’t hurt, right? After all, I bought the Kindle with ads on the lock screen to save a few bucks, and it doesn’t bother me. (Though I never would have bought the Prime Exclusive Phones that came with lock screen ads, and apparently neither would anyone else.)

Apple has echoed this idea, talking about how it sees a more feature-rich lock screen as a way to help you use your phone less. Apple’s software chief Craig Federighi referred to the lock screen as “the face of your phone,” and said that features like Live Activities could make it easier to get quick information without having to unlock your phone and open yourself up to all the distractions inside. “If you can get the answer at a glance, then you don’t unlock,” he said, “and once you’ve unlocked your phone, you almost forget why you’re there in the first place!”

Letting you customize your lock screen is a good idea! Image: Apple

But by opening up this space, these companies are offering apps and advertisers a chance to get even closer to you. Developers will surely build Live Activities that stick around long after they’re done being useful, the better to grab you every time your phone lights up. Platforms will find ways to pull more of their content onto lock screens, attempting to hook you into the feed before you even press a button.

Generally speaking, most users don’t change their settings, and you better believe developers will use that to their advantage. “Consumers will move from seeking content to consuming what is shown to them,” InMobi CEO Naveen Tewari told Forbes when Glance launched. That’s super bleak! And probably true!

Most of all, a Glance-like future is a way of turning smartphones even further into consumption-only devices. And is “easier access to endless feeds of medium-interesting content” really a worthwhile goal? As we look to reset our relationship with technology, I would argue we should be finding places to add friction, to give you what you need when you look at your phone... but to also help you realize you didn’t need to look at your phone at all. And if, as Federighi said, the lock screen’s job is to help you avoid distraction, I can’t imagine a worse idea than putting a TikTok-style video feed between you and your home screen.

Glance will surely have competition, but it’s already a good example of where this is all headed. In June, it held Glance Live Fest, a virtual three-day festival that took place entirely on users’ lock screens. It streamed concerts and interactive challenges, live tutorials and interviews, and a ton of live shopping content, to more than 70 million users. It’s like an opt-out music festival, to which you’re transported every time someone sends you a text. That sounds distracting, frustrating, and just flat-out exhausting.

There’s no question that our lock screens could be better. The whole “running list of notifications” thing isn’t great, and a push for more personalization will make a lot of users happy. But that space should belong to users and users only, not turn into yet another breeding ground for distraction and advertising. We should be taking back control of our phones, not giving more of it away.

Apps and advertisers are coming for your lock screen, and it’s going to be exhausting

Although internet and communication services have largely been restored, au mobile phones are still having difficulty making phone calls due to a temporary limit placed on network traffic. Around 260,000 customers out of the total 40 million affected belonged to corporate sectors. The outage disrupted payment machines, bank teller machines, parcel deliveries, and even the Meteorological Agency's weather data.

At a press conference, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara said that the problem is extremely regrettable as mobile networks are important infrastructure for the public and their activities. He also demanded an "in-depth explanation for users" from the carrier.

KDDI President Makoto Takahashi apologized for the disruption at a press conference, admitting that it was the largest outage in the company's history. The carrier is also considering compensating individual and corporate users.

KDDI is Japan's second largest mobile carrier by subscribers. The company says that the problem occurred due to a facility failure before dawn on Saturday. The failure was due to the switching system for voice calls that was replaced during regular maintenance. The repair work triggered a greater concentration of traffic that made the company put limits.

The carrier is taking measures such as flow control to reduce traffic congestion for voice calls and data.

ATMs at Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank, among others, still remain out of service as of Monday morning. Transport company Yamoto Transport Co reported that its delivery system was disrupted. Drivers using Toyota's connected car service were unable to reach a call center or do other tasks too.

The problem also affected low-cost UQ mobile brand and its "povo" mobile customers, as well as other small leasing companies such as Rakuten Mobile Inc.

KDDI recommended people to use landlines or public phones in case of an emergency.

Japan telco outage puts 40 million people offline for more than two days

This will be a benefit to those who are looking for a less demanding Outlook client, particularly if they are a business who utilise lower end devices, however, it is not yet confirmed exactly which features will be included and which will be cut from this stripped down version. The expectation will be that the core features, such as Mail and Calendar access, will be included with this version as a bare minimum.

Microsoft already have one Lite offering with Skype, and this brings them alongside numerous companies who have already created versions of their apps with a more stripped back experience that is less demanding on devices, such as Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, Firefox and Google themselves with their Go branding.

The roadmap states that the app will be made available later this month internationally on the Google Play store.

Microsoft confirms that Outlook Lite is coming to Android

iFixit and Google launch official Pixel parts store

Gurman also shared several other important pieces of information about the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro handsets. A revamped rock screen is one of the most talked-about features in iOS, and the upcoming “Pro” models will also have it, which will consist of widgets displaying weather, calendars, stocks, activities, and other data. The screen brightness and frame rate will be lowered to ensure a better life. The revamped lock screen will also allow users to keep sensitive data from appearing on the lock screen. They will work works hand-in-hand with AOD.

Moreover, iPhone 14 Pro will have a much-improved camera system. Apple will use a 48 MP rear camera for the first time. The front-facing camera is also expected to be significantly better than previous models. The processing power is also likely to be better, courtesy of Apple’s faster A16 chip, something the iPhone 14 non-Pro models will not get, as reported by Gurman. A redesigned notch with a pill-shaped cutout for Face ID and a hole punch for the camera is another noteworthy change that Apple is set to introduce in iPhone 14 Pro.

The non-Pro models will be a lot less exciting this year, as per Gurman. The regular iPhone 14 will get the same A15 chip from last year, which powers the iPhone 13 models. Also, due to poor demand, Apple will finally kill the 5.4-inch mini-size models and replace them with 6.7-inch ones.

This year’s iPhone launch event could take place in September, though the exact dates are unknown. The event will tell us whether these leaks are true. In the meantime, keep reading MSPU to know all the latest updates about the upcoming iPhone 14 series.

Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro will reportedly have these new features

After sunsetting Google Hangouts for Workspace users in February, Google’s now beginning the process of migrating free, personal Hangouts users to Chat. In an announcement posted to its blog, Google says people who still use the Hangouts mobile app will see a prompt to move to Chat.

As for users who use Hangouts in Gmail on the web, Google says it won’t start prompting users to make the switch to Chat until July. Hangouts will remain usable on its desktop site until November, and Google says it will warn users “at least one month” in advance before it starts pointing the Hangouts site to Chat.

Image: Google

Confusingly, Google Chat isn’t the same thing as GChat (or Google Talk), which Google discontinued for good earlier this month. (Hangouts was originally supposed to be the successor to GChat, but here we are.) The company first hinted at its plans to transition users from Hangouts to Chat in 2018 and made the feature free for all users in 2020.

If you’re still using Hangouts, Google should automatically transfer your existing conversations to Chat. The company also gives you the option of using its Takeout service to download a copy of your Hangouts data before it’s officially discontinued come November.

To entice users into making the switch to Chat, Google says it’s rolling out a few new features, including the ability to make direct calls, create in-line threads in Spaces (the rebrand of Rooms), as well as share and view multiple images.

Google Hangouts is shutting down in November

Google has announced five new major features coming to its browser on iOS. They focus on making Chrome on iPhone and iPad faster, safer, and more personalized.

According to a post on the official Google blog, the next update for Chrome on iOS will include the following features:

• Enhanced Safe Browsing. This is a feature Google plans to bring from the desktop version of its browser to mobile devices. It provides improved security by keeping users safe from phishing, malware, and other web-related threats. Chrome will warn its customers about potentially harmful websites or login/password leaks.
• Improved auto-fill. Like Microsoft Authenticator and Edge, Chrome users will be able to utilize the browser as the default password provider on websites and third-party apps. No more storing passwords in the standard Notes app.
• A better home page. Google says improvements to the home page will make it easier to discover relevant content, access recent tabs, and open bookmarks, reading list, history, or the frequently visited websites.
• Enhanced translation. Google Chrome on iOS will utilize on-device machine learning for better website translation. The upcoming update will improve language identification so that the browser can detect the needed language more accurately and figure out whether it needs to translate it.
• Chrome Actions. Here is another feature that will come straight from desktop Chrome to iOS. The browser will let its users use natural language commands to get things done faster, such as "clear browsing data," "open incognito tab," or "set Chrome as the default browser." A similar feature recently appeared in Microsoft Edge on desktop.

Google promises to add "even more innovation" to Chrome on iOS in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, you can check out what is new in Chrome 103 that Google released earlier this week.

Chrome for iOS will autofill passwords in other apps

Apple will no longer let you use an iPad as a home hub to control HomeKit accessories starting with iOS 16, MacRumors reports. Text apparently found in iOS 16’s second developer beta by MacRumors contributing writer Steve Moser spells out the change.

“A home hub is required to take advantage of features like receiving accessory notifications and allowing other people to control your home,” text in the Home app reportedly reads. “You will not be able to view shared homes until those homes are also upgraded to the latest HomeKit. iPad will no longer be supported as a home hub.”

If the change goes into effect as the found text suggests, it means you’ll need to use a HomePod, HomePod mini, or Apple TV as your home hub when you upgrade to iOS 16. Apple didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. But as MacRumors points out, the company’s iOS 16 preview webpage says that “only Apple TV and HomePod are supported as home hubs,” which to me indicates that Apple is indeed planning to remove support for iPads.

While the change might be disappointing, there is some good news on the smart home front for iOS 16. The update will include an all-new Home app with features like a new categories section and a redesigned home tab. And a later iOS 16 update will add support for Matter, the new smart home connectivity standard with broad industry support that’s set to arrive sometime this fall. That upcoming Matter support may provide a clue as to why Apple is dropping iPad home hub support: while no iPads support Thread, a smart home networking protocol used by Matter, the Apple TV 4K and the HomePod mini do.

iPads might lose their smart home hub abilities in iOS 16

Xiaomi is no stranger to Windows computers. The Chinese manufacturer has a solid portfolio of Windows laptops with different price tags and capabilities, and now there is one more somewhat exotic option. Xiaomi has announced the Xiaomi Book S, a 2-in-1 hybrid tablet with Windows 11 and an ARM processor.

The Xiaomi Book S follows the well-established formula of hybrid tablets Microsoft first introduced with its Surface Pro devices. It is a 12.4-inch tablet with a 16:10 screen, 2560 x 1600 pixels resolution, and a modest 60Hz refresh rate. The manufacturer says the display reaches a peak brightness of 500 nits and supports an active stylus.

What makes the Xiaomi Book S stand out in a crowd of hybrid Windows tablets is the CPU choice. Xiaomi decided to ditch traditional Intel chips in favor of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2. It is not the newest nor fastest processor from Qualcomm (it was actually announced in September 2020), but it still offers decent performance and allows reducing the final price.

An older processor is not the only corner Xiaomi had to cut to lower the price to €699. The manufacturer also ditched the cellular modem, leaving Wi-Fi the only connectivity option available for potential buyers. Hence, the Xiaomi Book S falls out of the "Always Connected PC" device category.

On the upside, for €699, buyers get the tablet and a keyboard, so there is no need to spend more money on additional accessories unless you want the Xiaomi Smart Pen stylus, which is sold separately.

Would you consider a hybrid Windows tablet with a last-gen ARM processor for a lower price? Share your thoughts about the Xiaomi Book S in the comments.

Xiaomi announces its first ARM-based Windows tablet

Justin Gutmann says Apple "throttled" the performance of older iPhone handsets after users installed upgrades that they were told would improve the performance of their device.

He claims Apple never told users that the update could slow their device and that the tool was introduced to mask the inability of older iPhone batteries to cope with the demands of newer operating systems.

Apple said in a statement that "we have never -- and would never -- do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.

"Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that," it added.

Gutmann's claim with the Competition Appeal Tribunal seeks damages for 25 million iPhone users to the tune of £768 million.

The complaint revolves around a power management tool included in a 2017 software update, which slowed down older iPhone models and prevented abrupt shutdowns as they struggled with the overhead of a new operating system.

Gutmann says Apple never told users that the update could slow a user's device and claims the tool was introduced to prevent costly repairs or recalls.

"Instead of doing the honourable and legal thing by their customers and offering a free replacement, repair service or compensation, Apple instead misled people by concealing a tool in software updates that slowed their devices by up to 58 percent," said Gutmann.

"I'm launching this case so that millions of iPhone users across the UK will receive redress for the harm suffered by Apple's actions".

Apple apologised at the time and said it would replace batteries at cut price and would allow users to turn off the power management tool manually.

It has faced legal action in several countries over the issue and agreed to pay up to $500 million to owners of older models in the United States in 2020.

French authorities fined the group 25 million euros in the same year for failing to warn that updates could slow down older models.

The claim seeks compensation for owners of the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, SE, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X models.

Source

Thunderbird product and business development manager Ryan Lee Sipes confirmed in May 2022 that Thunderbird would become available for Android soon. The release would fill a gap, as Thunderbird has been available for desktop operating systems only up until now. The Android version enables Thunderbird users to sync data between desktop versions and their mobile Android devices.

The development of an Android email client from the ground up was one of the options that the team discussed, but it would have been a large project that would have required considerable effort and resources. The idea to collaborate with an existing open source email project for Android was born in 2018, when Sipes started talking to Christian Ketterer, the K-9 Mail project maintainer, about potential collaborations.

K-9 Mail "aligns perfectly with Thunderbird's values of using open standards, respecting the user, and enabling power users with unmatched customization" according to Sipes.  Ketterer has joined the Thunderbird team already, "bringing along his expertise and experience with mobile platforms", and the K-9 Mail application.

Thunderbird will "devote financial and development resources to improving K-9 Mail", including an improved account setup, something which Thunderbird received already in a recent update, improved folder management, support for message filters, and the option to sync data between desktop and mobile clients. The team expects to introduce synchronization support in the Summer of 2023.

K-9 Mail will turn into Thunderbird for Android eventually, but this won't happen overnight. The client will undergo visual changes to align it closely with Thunderbird.

K-9 Mail remains available, but users who have installed it will experience transformations in the coming months and years to align the email application closely with Thunderbird's brand and feature set.

The latest interface update has seen mixed reviews. Some users who use multiple email accounts in the application stated that they find it less intuitive to use. Others like its open source nature and that development is financed by donations.

Closing Words

Joining forces with an existing application and developer makes sense on lots of levels. K-9 Mail is already available and it will take less time to make it look and feel like Thunderbird. Creating an app from ground up would take more resources and more time, and users would probably be unhappy if the initial version would lack certain expected features.

The lead developer and team need to take user criticism seriously, as the 3.1 out of 5 stars rating is not the greatest. There is a good chance that several Many of theses will be addressed, thanks to additional development resources becoming available.

Now you: what is your take on the decision?

K-9 Mail app will become Thunderbird's Android email client

I haven’t been to an ATM in probably five years. Even before the pandemic, I avoided filthy lucre(Opens in a new window), the operative word being "filthy." Online banking—especially using apps to occasionally deal with a check deposit and mobile payment services for everything from food orders to parking to paying the dog sitter on Rover(Opens in a new window)—has become my norm. It's so easy, I assumed the rest of the world was right there with me. A new report indicates I’m dead wrong.

The insights come from an April survey of 1,117 people in the US conducted by the risk-assessment automation site ThirdPartyTrust. Respondents were pretty evenly split on gender, with household incomes from $20,000 to over $100,001; the majority were full-time workers, along with a mix of part-time workers, the unemployed, and “other.”

Plenty of survey respondents are still hitting the automatic teller—78%. The majority (49%) go as rarely as once every other month. Only 11% said they visited often (one or two times per week).

(Image: ThirdPartyTrust)

But the bigger takeaway is that most of the respondents prefer to bank through a phone app (70%) or online (80%). And a full 69% realize they can deposit checks with a mobile app; no need to visit a bank in person.

(Image: ThirdPartyTrust)

Almost one in five said they never visit a bank branch.

Nineteen percent say the COVID-19 pandemic put them off cash for good (because money is, to be honest, gross). Obviously, even more people might want to go cashless, but it's not really an option. That’s because there are still many businesses that accept only cash payments. Fifty-eight percent of respondents say they’ve encountered such a business (compared with 44% who have run into businesses that shun cash entirely).

(Image: ThirdPartyTrust)

Only 27% said they’d prefer a cash-only establishment. Most look to see that a place will take multiple forms of payment before they even go in; 52% said they've left a business when they discovered it was cash-only.

Still, people are nervous without cash on hand; 76% had currency in their wallets while they were being surveyed, even though most don’t use it that often.

(Image: ThirdPartyTrust)

Using cash is certainly not most people's preference. Ninety percent of those surveyed have used a mobile payment service app. PayPayl, Venmo, and Zelle are the favorites; PCMag’s top choice, Google Pay, is the least used. Fifty-nine percent prefer using apps for convenience, financial tracking, speed, and security. And, of course, many say they like it because it means not carrying cash (31%) or a wallet (15%).

(Image: ThirdPartyTrust)

For more insights into how people are paying for things and why, check out the full report at ThirdPartyTrust.

Source

That said, Stage Manager is not coming to all Apple hardware even if they support the latest versions of the company's operating system. When it comes to iPadOS, only M1 iPads support Stage Manager while older models are out of luck, despite supporting iPadOS 16. Although this has led to some backlash from people using older devices, Apple has now provided some clarification behind this move.

In a statement to tech reporter Rene Ritchie, Apple had the following to say:

Stage Manager is a fully integrated experience that provides all-new windowing experience that is incredibly fast and responsive and allow users to run 8 apps simultaneously across iPad and an external display with up to 6K resolution. Delivering this experience with the immediacy users expect from iPad’s touch-first experience requires large internal memory, incredibly fast storage, and flexible external display I/O, all of which are delivered by iPads with the M1 chip.

So basically, it all comes down to performance. Apple believes that its M1 chip in iPads is capable of handling the graphical prowess of Stage Manager while older hardware is not.

The reasoning does make some sense on paper, though. As an example, the current iPad Pro comes with the vastly superior M1 chip and up to 16GB of RAM, but 2020's model sports Apple's Bionic SoC and 6GB of RAM. Apple isn't saying that it's impossible to run Stage Manager on the latter hardware, it's just saying that it won't result in a good experience.

Source: Rene Ritchie (Twitter)

Here is why Stage Manager in iPadOS 16 is only coming to M1 iPads

According to the details revealed by the latest leak, the OnePlus 10/10T was supposed to be powered by Dimensity 9000 processor, but new sources have revealed that it might feature the latest Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset. The smartphone will offer Android 12-based on OxygenOS 12 out of the box.

The new OnePlus 10/10T looks different than all the company’s previous models, though it looks similar to the OnePlus 10 Pro. However, the camera module on the back side takes up the entire space of the upper portion and has the Hasselblad logo on it. The leaked renders also suggest that it will feature a quad-camera setup, consisting of a 50MP primary camera with OIS, a 16MP ultrawide camera, and a 2MP macro camera. It will probably lack the iconic alert slider which the OnePlus 10 Pro has.

OnePlus 10/10T will feature a 32MP front-facing camera, which can record up to 4K 60fps and 1080p 30fps videos. The 6.7-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate is another important piece of information about the handset.

OnePlus 10/10T will pack a 4,800mAh battery, equipped with 150W fast charging. Furthermore, it will have an in-display fingerprint reader and stereo speakers, similar to the OnePlus 10 Pro models.

According to the rumors, the new OnePlus handset will launch sometime in July in India and other markets.

Do our readers excited about the upcoming OnePlus 10/10T handset? You can sound off in the comments and let us know.

OnePlus 10/10T renders and specifications have leaked

Google Maps' latest feature lets you check the quality of air around you.

Turn on the new air quality layer in the iOS or Android app to monitor the air quality index (AQI) and decide whether to enjoy the great outdoors or stay inside with the windows closed.

The function was teased last year as one of more than 100 AI-powered improvements—including a weather layer that highlights current and forecasted temperatures and conditions. Now rolling out to global markets, folks can check the AQI by tapping the layers icon and selecting "Air Quality" (green circle with three wavy white lines).

As XDA Developers reports, the map automatically zooms out to show an overview of air quality across a broad geographic area; pinch the screen or use the plus and minus buttons to get more localized results.

Nearby monitoring stations appear as small bubbles, highlighting the score and corresponding color-coded dot—from dark green (best) to dark red (worst). Click a bubble to reveal additional information like guidance for outdoor activities and when the number was last updated.

Data is gathered from government monitoring stations run by the US Environmental Protection Agency, as well as non-regulatory partners; the latter's sensor measurements are calculated as a weighted average using the NowCast algorithm and the EPA's correction factor. Users in the US can also see air quality info from PurpleAir via a Nest smart device.

"Pollutant concentrations can be inconsistent over short distances and make air quality readings vary between locations," according to Google Maps' Help page. Data can be influenced by several factors, including wind speed and direction, terrain, smoke plumes, and "other sources that emit fine particle pollution," the site said.

Source

This week, European Union lawmakers agreed on new proposals to force manufacturers of everything from smartphones and headphones to digital cameras and tablets to use the same universal charging port: USB Type-C. The plan is for the new rules to come into effect by fall 2024, after which these devices that charge using a wired cable will need to do so via a built-in USB-C port.

The single biggest impact of this legislation is likely to land on Apple’s iPhone. While the rest of the smartphone industry has gradually converged around USB-C as a single, standardized wired charging port, Apple has steadfastly stuck with Lightning, the proprietary connector it introduced with the iPhone 5 way back in 2012. The EU’s legislation could finally force it to move on.

The EU’s rules are just a provisional agreement for now and will need to be approved by both the European Council and European Parliament before they become official. That’s expected to happen after summer recess, which ends on September 1st. It’ll enter into force 20 days thereafter, and most manufacturers will then have 24 months to comply, which is where the fall 2024 compliance date comes from. The exception is laptops because the kind of high-wattage USB-C chargers these devices require are less commonplace than phone chargers. They’ll instead have 40 months, which brings us to roughly the beginning of 2026.

If Apple wants the iPhone to have a physical charging port after fall 2024, then the EU wants USB-C to be its only option. It can’t simply offer an external dongle like it did a decade ago. The most recent public drafts of the proposed legislation specify that the USB Type-C connector used for charging needs to remain “accessible and operational at all times,” meaning a detachable dongle is unlikely to cut it. That’s because the EU’s rules are designed to reduce e-waste, with a universal charging standard that’ll hopefully mean more chargers can be reused rather than ending up in landfills. The EU estimates the rules could cut down on 11,000 metric tons (over 12,000 tons) of e-waste annually and save customers €250 million (around $268 million USD) on “unnecessary charger purchases.”

New flagship iPhones tend to be announced in September each year, which means Apple’s 2024 iPhone range (likely to be called the iPhone 16) will launch right as the legislation is coming into force. But the rules dictate that “there shouldn’t be products on the market that are not compliant” with the directive, says Desislava Dimitrova, a spokesperson with the European Parliament. That means Apple may want to make the changes sooner, since it would have to modify or pull older models from the market. Apple typically continues selling older models for several years at a lower price.

There are already reports that the iPhone maker could make the change next year. Last month, reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple could be ready to make the switch as early as 2023. Days later Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman corroborated this report and said Apple was already testing iPhones equipped with the connector. If accurate, these reports suggest we might see an iPhone equipped with a USB-C port a year before the EU’s new rules come into effect.

Of course, the EU can’t force Apple to make the change worldwide. But any iPhones sold in the European Union’s single market would have to abide by these rules. Over the course of its 2021 financial year, almost a quarter of Apple’s net sales came from Europe, and the iPhone was its best-selling product worldwide. The market is simply too lucrative for Apple to abandon over legislation like this. Apple could make USB-C iPhones and ship them exclusively to the EU, but given Apple’s emphasis on supply chain efficiency that sees it selling a narrow selection of very similar devices around the world (with just a couple special models as an exception), that approach seems unlikely.

A spokesperson for Apple declined to answer questions about how the company intends to comply with the forthcoming legislation.

There is at least one way that Apple could avoid having to ship USB-C ports on its phones, and that’s thanks to wireless charging. The current EU legislation is only concerned with wired charging, so if a phone were to only charge wirelessly, it could avoid the EU’s charging harmonization rules altogether.

It’s a theoretical distinction given portless phones don’t really exist outside of the realms of a couple of concept phones and publicity stunts. But it’s significant given the rumors that Apple has considered going down that route with the iPhone. These rumors have been swirling ever since Apple introduced the MagSafe wireless charging standard with the iPhone 12 line. Those rumors have faded away more recently, though, and a decision to stick with wired charging could explain why Apple seems relatively uninterested in building out an ecosystem of MagSafe accessories.

Apple has resisted the EU’s attempts to standardize around USB-C. In feedback submitted to the European Commission last year, the company argued that the regulation could slow down “the introduction of beneficial innovations in charging standards, including those related to safety and energy efficiency.” It also said the new rules could increase e-waste in the short term “by triggering disposal of existing cables and accessories.” It has a point. With an estimated 1 billion iPhones in use around the world as of early 2021, that’s a lot of charging hardware that’ll become redundant over time. And all these customers are going to need new USB-C accessories to replace them.

Apple’s iPhone 5 (pictured) was its first device with a Lightning port. Image: The Verge

As my former colleague Chaim Gartenberg wrote last year, Apple’s concerns could have as much to do with Apple’s bottom line as it does with e-waste or innovation. Since Lightning is a proprietary connector, any accessory manufacturer that wants to support it has to go through Apple’s MFi program, which allows Apple to get a cut of the lucrative iPhone accessories market.

The irony is that, despite its opposition to putting a USB-C port on its phones, Apple has been one of USB-C’s biggest champions across other device categories. On the laptop side of its business, the company started going all-in on USB-C in 2015 when it released a MacBook featuring just a single USB-C port alongside a headphone jack. If anything, Apple embraced USB-C too quickly, forcing the much-mocked “dongle life” onto users around the world. Apple has also brought USB-C to an increasing number of its iPads, like the iPad Pro and, more recently, the iPad Air.

(As a side note: although devices covered under the EU’s rules need to be able to charge over USB-C, they don’t have to use this as their only form of charging. That means MacBooks that charge over MagSafe — the laptop version that is — are still free to do so, so long as their USB-C ports can also charge them. And that’s already the case with Apple’s latest MacBooks.)

If the legislation comes into force in its current form, it won’t just be the iPhone that Apple will have to switch from Lightning to USB-C in the EU. According to a press release from the European Council, headphones, earbuds, wireless mice, and wireless keyboards would all be required to use USB-C for wired charging. That would cover the AirPods Max, AirPods, Magic Mouse, and Magic Keyboard, all of which currently use Lightning.

As well as asking smartphone manufacturers to use the physical USB-C port, the EU also intends to standardize fast charging across phones, where Apple is starting to lag behind its Android-based competitors. The iPhone 13 Pro Max reported charges at under 30W, while Samsung’s USB PD-compatible Galaxy S22 devices can extend up to 45W. The EU hopes to standardize wireless charging in the future, too.

The EU’s new legislation is still far from passing into law. It needs to be finalized at a technical level and voted on by both the European Parliament and European Council. But between it and the Digital Markets Act, whose provisions include requiring iMessage to interoperate with other smaller messaging platforms as well as requiring Apple to allow third-party app stores on iPhone, the organization is forcing big changes at Apple. And the iPhone maker will have little choice but to play ball if it wants to continue benefiting from one of its largest markets.

What the EU’s new USB-C rules mean for the iPhone

Here's everything you need to know. 

With iOS 16, Apple is ending software support for the following devices: the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone SE 2016, iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus. Basically, if you have an iPhone 8 (2017) or newer (including the second- and third-gen iPhone SE), you'll be able to download and run iOS 16 when it's released this fall. That doesn't mean every feature in the update will be available on your iPhone, though, as some features like Live Text work only with iPhones powered by an A12 Bionic chip or newer.

It's a little more complicated for iPads, since they don't have sensible naming conventions. Here are the generations that will receive iPadOS 16 this fall. You can figure out which model you have by following the directions here.

• iPad: 5th-gen and up
• iPad Mini: 4th-gen and up
• iPad Air: 2nd-gen and up
• 9.7-inch and 10.5-inch iPad Pro
• 11-inch iPad Pro: First-gen and up
• 12.9-inch iPad Pro: First-gen and up

Here, we've highlighted the top new features coming in iOS 16. We'll be adding more continuously until Apple releases the final version this fall.

Lock Screen Overhaul

Apple is redesigning the lock screen completely in iOS 16. Notifications now appear on the bottom of the screen so as to not clutter up your beautiful lock screen photo. The clock widget cuts behind the subject of your photo, giving off a cool depth effect, and you can customize its design, from the typeface to the color—just press and hold the lock screen to go into editing mode. 

You can add more widgets below the clock, like weather, activity rings, and the calendar. All the way at the bottom, where the notifications live, you can also pin certain kinds of live activities. For example, if you're following an NBA game, you can see the scores via a pinned notification at the bottom. You can also pin things like Uber rides, workout activities, and Now Playing controls, which can expand to the full lock screen now to show album art. 

There's a new wallpaper gallery with tons of designs to choose from, including a live weather lock screen that mimics the real-time weather conditions, or suggestions using photos from your very own camera roll. Apple will let you set up multiple lock screens, and it's easy to cycle through them, just like how you can easily switch watch faces with a swipe on an Apple Watch.

More Focus Improvements

Your lock screen can also be tied to a Focus, meaning you can set a lock screen for your Work Focus and a different one—with a more personal photograph—for your Personal Focus. Swiping to the relevant lock screen will simply trigger that Focus. iOS 16 also adds Focus Filters in apps like Safari, Calendar, Mail, and Messages. This means when you open Safari with your Work Focus turned on, you'll only see work-related tabs. The same goes for the other apps that support these filters, and Apple says developers can take advantage of an API to add support.

Messages, but Editable

Twitter still won't let you edit tweets, but Apple is letting you edit messages in the Messages app after you've sent them. You can even “Undo Send” to recall messages. Also new is the ability to mark any thread as unread so you can check back on messages at a later time. Apple is also adding SharePlay support to the Messages app. Now, you don't need to FaceTime a friend just to watch a synced movie together—you can start the action in the Messages app and chat with synced video and shared playback controls.

If you're a fan of dictating your messages instead of typing (fewer “ducks,” am I right?) then you'll be happy to see the improvements to dictation. Now, the keyboard will stay open during dictation so you can easily move between voice and touch. You can tap text to select it and replace it with your voice, and even send emoji without taking forever to find one.

Pay It Later With Apple Pay

Services that let you buy now but pay later have received some pushback from consumer analysts, but Apple is barreling ahead with its own take called Apple Pay Later. Soon you'll be able to split the cost of an Apple Pay purchase over four equal payments spread over six weeks with zero interest and no fees. You'll have the option for Apple Pay Later when you're checking out with Apple Pay, and Apple says it's available everywhere Apple Pay is accepted online or in-app. 

You'll also be able to see order tracking directly in Apple Pay, though this is available only with participating merchants. And if you're a small business owner, you'll be able to accept Apple Pay payments via an iPhone instead of having to use a separate terminal. 

Over in Apple Wallet, you can already add your digital driver's license if you're in Maryland or Arizona, and Apple says support for 11 other states is on the way. You'll be able to use this ID for apps that require identification, and Apple says it'll only show necessary information, such as the fact that you're over 21, instead of your full birth date. You can also simply share your home, hotel, office, and car keys through messaging apps like Messages, WhatsApp, and Mail. Apple says it's working on a standard to support sharing these keys with folks that don't have an iPhone.

Share Your Family Photos

You can now set up an iCloud Shared Photo Library, similar to how you can set up shared photo libraries in Google Photos. Just add up to five other people to a library and everyone can add and edit family photos. You can choose which photos to share, share based on a start date, or via face detection. There's also a toggle in the camera app that you can turn on to automatically send the photo you capture to the shared library. If you're all on vacation, these photos can even automatically show up in the shared library based on your proximity to family members.

Safari Tab Groups and Passkeys

You can create tab groups in Safari already, such as a collection of tabs for work, but now in iOS 16, you can share these groups with other people. You'll be able to see what tabs people are viewing in real-time. 

Everyone wants to get rid of passwords, and Apple is one step closer with Passkeys. These are unique digital keys you can create via Touch ID or Face ID; there's no password to generate or type in, and Apple says they are virtually immune from being phished or leaked in a data breach. They sync across your Apple devices via iCloud Keychain and will work across apps and the web. Apple says it's working with the FIDO Alliance for a cross-platform solution for those who also use non-Apple devices.

Updates to Live Text Visual Look Up

Live Text, the feature that lets you grab the text in any photo (before or after you snap it), now works with videos. Just pause on any video and tap the text to copy it. There are a few new quick actions when you select certain kinds of text, such as converting currency and translating text.

Visual Look Up is a different feature Apple introduced last year that offered up more information on the photo you were looking at, like details about a landmark or similar web results. It now supports birds, insects, and statues, but you can also use it to grab the subject from a photo (much like using the Lasso tool in PhotoShop) to paste anywhere, like in a conversation thread in Messages.

Safety Check

This new tool lets you quickly remove all access you might have granted to anyone in your circles, including an emergency reset that will sign you out of iCloud on all other devices, reset privacy permissions, and limit messaging to the device you have in your hand. It also shows who has access to your devices and apps.

Use Your iPhone as a Webcam

If you have a MacBook with an M1 or M2 processor, you can use your iPhone as a webcam (the rear cameras, which are significantly better than the webcam cameras in the laptops). You don't need to plug anything in. You Mac will automatically detect the rear camera and will use it for your video calls. You'll be able to use features like Center Stage, which has the camera following you around a room, and Portrait mode, which blurs the background to block out the mess behind you. There's even a Desk View mode that utilizes the ultrawide camera to show folks what's on your desk, though I don't want anyone seeing that. Apple says it's working with Belkin on custom mounts to outfit your iPhone on top of the MacBook.

Apple Maps Goes to Vegas

Apple has been slowly redesigning select cities in the US to show off richer data. Today Apple added Las Vegas, Nevada, to the list, along with six more cities coming by the end of the year. Other Maps updates include the ability to add up to 15 stops before your final destination, which is great for long-distance road trips (and you can set this up on a Mac and send it straight to your iPhone). If you're using public transit, you can now see fares, add transit cards, see low balances, and reload transit cards. 

Photograph: Apple

There are tons of other iOS 16 features. Here are a few more worth calling out:

• Mail: You can now schedule emails, unsend emails (within a short period of time), get reminders to add an attachment if you mention the word, snooze emails, and get follow-up suggestions. Apple also says it has overhauled the search function, so you should have an easier time finding old emails.
• Family Sharing: There's now a simpler process for setting up devices for kids. Just bring your iPhone close to your iPad and choose your kids' account. It'll set it up with all the parental controls you configured before. You can also grant screen time extensions in the Messages app instead of having to go into the device's settings.
• Home: The Home app has been redesigned from the ground up. It'll support the upcoming Matter standard, and you can now see your entire home in a single feed.
• Handoff FaceTime Calls: When you're FaceTiming on your phone, bring the device close to your MacBook or iPad and the call will transfer to your large-screen device.
• Fitness: Yes, that's right. The Fitness app finally is available to anyone with an iPhone. No Apple Watch needed. You'll be able to close your rings without needing to wear your Apple Watch.
• Apple Health: A new Medications tab lets you add medications you need to take and set reminders (and receive them on the Apple Watch). You can manually type in your medications or just scan the label of the bottle with your phone's camera. The data includes Critical, Serious, or Moderate interactions with the pills. This data can be shared with family members.
• Apple News: A new My Sports section lets you follow your favorite teams and players in one area of the News app. You can see scores, schedules, standings, and highlights. It's available in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, and you'll get premium coverage if you subscribe to Apple News+.
• CarPlay: Apple is working with carmakers on a redesigned CarPlay experience. That includes a customizable odometer, buttons to control every facet of the car, and a unified interface. The first cars to launch with this new experience will be announced late in 2023.
• Accessibility: A few top accessibility features include Door Detection, which lets people who are blind or have low vision use iPhones to see the area in front of them. Apple Watch Mirroring allows anyone with physical and motor disabilities to fully control the Apple Watch from the iPhone.
• Quick Notes: This iPad feature is coming to iPhones. You can create a note anywhere by swiping in from the bottom right corner of the screen.

iPadOS shares a lot of DNA with iOS, so many of the iOS 16 features mentioned above apply to iPadOS 16 too. Here are a few more tablet-specific features.

Easier Collaboration

Sharing projects can be a pain, what with adding email addresses and granting access. In iPadOS 16 (and iOS 16 and MacOS Ventura), you can now just use the Share button in Files, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, Notes, Reminders, and Safari and share access via Messages to the relevant thread. Everyone will immediately get access, will be able to see updates, and can quickly start FaceTime calls with folks who are in a collaborative project.

Later this year, Apple will debut an app called Freeform. Think of it as a virtual whiteboard. You can start a FaceTime and hop into Freeform to collaborate with or without an Apple Pencil. It'll be available on MacOS and iOS.

The Weather App Arrives

No, it's not 2010. The iPad is finally getting a default weather app. Need I say more? Next, maybe Apple will finally bring the calculator app to the tablet. 

Desktop-Like Multitasking

The iPad is continuing to behave even more like a desktop computer. With Stage Manager, you can see apps and windows on the left side of the screen and switch through them with just a tap. Your apps will appear as floating windows, and you can resize them and have them overlap, much like on MacOS.

Reference Mode

Apple's 12.9-inch iPad Pro (from 2021) has a Mini LED screen that can now be utilized as a reference monitor. Basically, creators need color-accurate screens, and a new Reference Mode will let professionals use this iPad screen to ensure consistent image quality. 

As per usual, the iOS 16 developer beta will be available soon, and a public beta will roll out in July. With the latter, anyone will be able to try it out, though we strongly suggest you back up your iPhone first. Know that the beta will be filled with bugs that might render your iPhone or iPad unusable day to day, so it's best to wait unless you want to be on the bleeding edge of new tech. 

The final version usually rolls out right after Apple's annual September event, right after the company announces its new iPhones. 

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The Top New Features in Apple’s iOS and iPadOS 16

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Apple is finally bringing its first-party Weather app to iPad as part of iPadOS 16. Finally. The first iPad launched in 2010, and it hasn’t had the official Weather app that whole time.

The company shared a few screenshots at WWDC 2022, and if you’re familiar with the app on iPhone, it will look pretty familiar. The app’s background reflects the weather, and there’s a big dashboard of statistics. It’s basically the iPhone app but blown up to tablet size.

Here’s a screenshot of the weather in Seattle in the new iPadOS Weather app. Image: Apple

And here’s the weather in San Carlos de Bariloche. Image: Apple

It’s unclear exactly why it took Apple 12 years to add a weather app to iPad, but we’ll take it. And it’s not just the iPad — as spotted by MacRumors, Apple is bringing its Weather app to the Mac with macOS Ventura as well.

Update June 6th, 4:08PM: Weather is coming to the Mac as well.

Apple’s Weather app is finally coming to iPad