Peter writes for 9to5Mac. He has a passion for music and technology and has accepted the Bluetooth audio revolution, but will never give up the beauty of vinyl.
Tips to peter@9to5mac.com
watchOS 5 beta 2 released this morning, and with it comes some new additions. While we still don’t have Raise to Speak for Siri yet, we do have a smaller new feature that lets you change how loud the Siri voice volume is on Apple Watch.
Apple has been quietly working on several original TV series behind the scenes, but has yet to announce anything officially. Today, that list continues to grow as Apple has placed another series order.
The Voice Memos app for iOS got a major revamp with iOS 12. With this comes a new design, but also new features as well. One of those new features is the ability to change the audio quality of your recordings. This is incredibly important for those who use voice memos in a professional environment such as recording sound bites for songs.
UPDATE: Apple has also released the third iOS 11.4 and tvOS 11.4.1 public betas.
UPDATE 2: macOS 10.13.6 beta 3 is now available to developers.
While not a major update in any way, Apple is today releasing the third developer builds for iOS 11.4.1 and tvOS 11.4.1. Being a bug fix update to the earlier release, we aren’t expecting any new user facing features.
Update: Apple Pay is now rolling out in Poland, according to Think Apple. Thus far, two banks are live with their support, but more are expected to come.
Apple Pay just launched in Poland at 5 a.m.@9to5mac @MacRumors @appleinsider pic.twitter.com/fQqAu8QffP
— Baerok (@Baerok) June 19, 2018
Apple Pay is reportedly rolling out in Poland as early as tomorrow, June 19.
As reported by Polish blog Cashless.pl, the service will be landing in Poland this week with the following banks: Alior, BGŻ BNP Paribas, BZ WBK, Getin, mBank, Nest Bank, Pekao and Raiffeisen Polbank.
Arguably one of the biggest improvements, and albeit fairly limited, in watchOS 5 is the ability to access the Internet on Apple Watch. While there isn’t an official Safari app or web browser on the Watch, it’s still possible to access it with the new WebKit API coming in watchOS 5.
While we haven’t heard much about Apple’s Project Titan for quite some time, that doesn’t mean the company isn’t actively working on the project.
Update 6/19: John Legere confirms.
After announcing the deal in April of this year, T-Mobile US and Sprint plan to formally file an application to merge to the FCC on Monday.
Apple announced today that it is partnering up with popular actress and talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
To further its in-house video catalog, Apple is reportedly about to ink a deal to create its first animated film.
One smaller change Apple is making in watchOS 5 is adding a variation of WebKit in the operating system. For now, it’s limited to Messages and Mail. This allows you to lightly access the internet from Apple Watch, however Apple will aggressively try to use reader mode whenever possible, among other limitations.
iOS 12 will bring some welcomed new security features to the operating system. Among those is a new USB Restricted Mode. When enabled, this mode will force you to re-authenticate any USB devices plugged into your iOS device if it has been locked for more than an hour.
One nifty feature in watchOS 5 is automatic Start/End Workout reminders. These remind just in case you forgot to Start or End your Workout by pushing you a notification.
A federal juge ruled on Tuesday that AT&T can proceed with its $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner. Judge Richard Leon ruled the deal is legal and he did not impose any conditions on the merger.
Today’s ruling comes as part of the antitrust lawsuit levied by the Justice Department last year.
Apple recently changed its App Store policies in a move intended to bolster privacy, specifically regarding apps that access user contact databases.
Siri has always been above average when it comes to talking about sports. Now, Apple is adding support for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in its virtual assistant.
SleepScore Labs is today releasing its first consumer-grade sleep measuring mobile app, SleepScore.
Apple introduced a true, system-wide dark mode in macOS Mojave. Unlike previous versions of the OS, where only the Dock and menu bar were dark, Mojave brings a full fledged dark mode that spans across most of the native apps such as Messages, iTunes, Mail, and more.
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While not as major, Apple is today releasing the second developer builds for iOS 11.4.1, tvOS 11.4.1 and macOS 10.13.6. Being a bug fix update to the earlier release, we aren’t expecting any new user facing features.
Apple last week pulled the first watchOS 5 beta due to it bricking certain Apple Watch models. Today, Apple has re-issued the first beta that will hopefully resolve any bricking issues.
In pervious versions of watchOS, Apple Maps navigation alerts were all in or all out, with no middle ground. Now, in watchOS 5, Apple is giving users more options to allow alerts based on the type of navigation the user is doing.
While we didn’t see a new Apple Watch at WWDC, it’s still very possible that it’ll be revealed this fall, alongside all other Apple hardware that we typically see.
Spotify has been a worthy competitor for Apple Music since the start. However, Apple arguably has the edge with artists and music labels because of the tight relationships Eddy Cue and Jimmy Iovine have with industry leaders.
Over time, Apple has been giving developers more freedom on Apple Watch. One of the biggest annoyances since the feature was introduced, was the lack of ability to customize the Control Center.