Apple

ipados-18-adds-machine-learning-wizardry-with-handwriting,-math-features

iPadOS 18 adds machine-learning wizardry with handwriting, math features

Apple, ipad, iPadOS, iPadOS 18, Tech, WWDC 2024 / /

WWDC 2024 —

Also coming: new SharePlay features and a new “tab bar” for first-party apps.

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  • The Calculator app is finally coming to iPad.

    Samuel Axon

  • You’ll be able to write out expressions with the Apple Pencil and see them solved in real time.

    Samuel Axon

CUPERTINO, Calif.—After going into detail about iOS 18, Apple took a few moments in its WWDC 2024 keynote to walk through some changes.

There are a few minor UI changes and new features across Apple’s first party apps. That includes a new floating tab bar. The bar expands into the side bar when you want to dig in, and you can customize the tab bar to include the specific things you want to interact with the most. Additionally, SharePlay allows easier screen sharing and remote control of another person’s iPad.

But the big news is that the Calculator app we’ve all used on the iPhone to the iPad, after years of the iPad having no first-party calculator app at all. The iPad Calculator app can do some things the iPhone version can’t do with the Apple Pencil; a feature called Math Notes can write out expressions like you would on a piece of paper, and the app will solve the expressions live as you scribble them—plus various other cool live-updating math features. (These new Math Notes features work in the Notes app, too.)

Apple didn’t use the word AI here, but this is surely driven by machine learning in some way. Doubly so for a new handwriting feature called Smart Script, which refines and improves your handwriting as you go, tweaking letters to make them more legible when you’re writing very quickly to take notes. It uses machine learning to analyze your handwriting, so these adjustments are meant to match your normal script. That means you can scribble as quickly and recklessly as you want during a conference or a day of classes, but ostensibly, it will be legible at the end of the day.

Not everyone’s a big Pencil user—for some of us, handwriting long ago took a back seat to typing—but Apple is aggressively selling these kinds of flashy features for those who want that experience.

The release date for iPadOS 18 hasn’t been announced yet, but it will likely arrive in September or October alongside iOS 18 and the new iPhone models that will probably be announced then.

Listing image by Samuel Axon

iPadOS 18 adds machine-learning wizardry with handwriting, math features Read More »

apple-announces-macos-15-sequoia-with-window-tiling,-iphone-mirroring,-and-more

Apple announces macOS 15 Sequoia with window tiling, iPhone mirroring, and more

Apple, macOS, macOS 15, Tech / /

back to the mac —

New release brings iOS 18 features along with a few Mac-specific additions.

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Using macOS S15 Sequoia to stream an iPhone's screen to a Mac while the iPhone stays locked.

Enlarge / Using macOS S15 Sequoia to stream an iPhone’s screen to a Mac while the iPhone stays locked.

Apple

Apple has formally announced macOS 15 at its Worldwide Developers Conference. Codenamed Sequoia, the new release brings a combination of iOS 18 features and a few Mac-specific things to the devices it supports.

Users who split their time between Windows and macOS will be the most excited to see that Apple has finally implemented a form of automated window tiling in macOS. This makes it easier to arrange windows automatically on your screen without manually dragging and resizing each one individually or switching into full-screen mode.

Another feature called iPhone Mirroring sends your iPhone’s screen to your Mac, so you can use apps directly on your phone while manipulating them using your Mac’s keyboard and trackpad. The iPhone audio is also streamed to your Mac. For privacy’s sake, your phone’s screen stays locked while apps are streaming to your Mac, and your Mac can also receive your iPhone notifications alongside your Mac notifications (no word on how the operating systems will handle duplicate notifications from Messages, Calendar, or other apps that are getting the same updates on both platforms).

Window tiling in macOS 15.

Enlarge / Window tiling in macOS 15.

Apple

For gamers, Apple has announced the second version of its Game Porting Toolkit, which makes it easier to bring Windows games to macOS and macOS games to iOS and iPadOS.

Some of the changes also mirror those that Apple announced in the iOS and iPadOS portions of the presentation—including RCS support and expanded Tapback reactions in Messages, a redesigned Calculator app that mirrors the one introduced on the iPad, and the Math Notes feature for typed-out equations in the Notes app. All of Apple’s platforms, plus Windows, are also getting a new Passwords app that should be able to replace many standalone password managers like 1Password and Bitwarden.

A grab bag of new features in macOS 15 Sequoia.

Enlarge / A grab bag of new features in macOS 15 Sequoia.

Apple

All of Apple’s operating systems will also benefit from some of Apple’s new AI-driven capabilities, including image generation and an updated Siri driven by a large language model (LLM). In Apple’s demo, Siri was aware of the contents of your screen, could directly manipulate apps, and understood the context of previous requests while processing follow-up requests. The entire operating system will also get support for a “summarize” feature for written text, allowing users to highlight portions of an email or note and allowing the operating system to sum them up. Voice Memos and the Phone app will also pick up new transcription and summarization capabilities, and an Image Playground app will allow you to generate custom images and emoji in Messages, Notes, and other apps.

Apple Intelligence features will generally require a Mac with an Apple M1 chip or newer, though we’ll need more details on where Apple is drawing the lines between locally-processed and cloud-processed AI features.

A developer beta of macOS Sequoia will be released today, followed by more refined public betas in July. Per usual, the full release will be available this fall.

Apple announces macOS 15 Sequoia with window tiling, iPhone mirroring, and more Read More »

ios-18-adds-apple-intelligence,-customizations,-and-makes-android-sms-nicer

iOS 18 adds Apple Intelligence, customizations, and makes Android SMS nicer

AI, Apple, iOS, ios 18, ipad, IPhone, rcs, Siri, Tech / /

Apple WWDC 2024 —

Mail gets categories, Messages gets more tapbacks, and apps can now be locked.

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Hands manipulating the Conrol Center on an iPhone

Apple

The biggest feature in iOS 18, the one that affects the most people, was a single item in a comma-stuffed sentence by Apple software boss Craig Federighi: “Support for RCS.”

As we noted when Apple announced its support for “RCS Universal Profile,” a kind of minimum viable cross-device rich messaging, iPhone users getting RCS means SMS chains with Android users “will be slightly less awful.” SMS messages will soon have read receipts, higher-quality media sending, and typing indicators, along with better security. And RCS messages can go over Wi-Fi when you don’t have a cellular signal. Apple is certainly downplaying a major cross-platform compatibility upgrade, but it’s a notable quality-of-life boost.

  • Prioritized notifications through Apple Intelligence

  • Sending a friend an AI-generated image of them holding a birthday cake, which is not exactly the future we all envisioned for 2024, but here we are.

    Apple

  • Example of a query that a supposedly now context-aware Siri can tackle.

  • Asking Siri “When is my mom’s flight landing,” followed by “What is our lunch plan?” can pull in data from multiple apps for an answer.

Apple Intelligence, the new Siri, and the iPhone

iOS 18 is one of the major beneficiaries of Apple’s AI rollout, dubbed “Apple Intelligence.” Apple Intelligence promises to help iPhone users create and understand language and images, with the proper context from your phone’s apps: photos, calendar, email, messages, and more.

Some of the suggested AI offerings include:

  • Auto-prioritizing notifications
  • Generating an AI image of people when you wish them a happy birthday.
  • Using Maps, Calendar, and an email with a meeting update to figure out if a work meeting change will make Federighi miss his daughter’s recital.

Many of the models needed to respond to your requests can be run on the device, Apple claims. For queries that need to go to remote servers, Apple relies on “Private Cloud Compute.” Apple has built its own servers, running on Apple Silicon, to handle requests that need more computational power. Your phone only sends the data necessary, is never stored, and independent researchers can verify the software on Apple’s servers, the company claims.

Siri is getting AI-powered upgrades across all platforms, including iOS. Apple says that Siri now understands more context in your questions to it. It will have awareness of what’s on your screen, so you could say “Add this address to his contact card” while messaging. You could ask it to “take a light-trail effect photo” from the camera. And “personal context” was repeatedly highlighted, including requests to find things people sent you, add your license number to a form (from an old ID picture), or ask “When is my mom’s flight landing?”

The non-AI things coming in iOS 18

A whole bunch of little boosts to iOS 18 announced by Apple.

A whole bunch of little boosts to iOS 18 announced by Apple.

On the iPhone itself, iOS 18 icons will change their look when in dark mode, and you can customize the look of compatible icons. Control Center, the pull-down menu in the top-right corner, now has multiple swipe-accessible controls, accessed through a strange-until-you’re-used-to-it long continuous swipe from the top. Developers are also getting access to the Control Center, so they can add their own apps’ controls. The lock screen will also get more customization, letting you swap out the standard flashlight and camera buttons for other items you prefer.

Privacy got some attention, too. Apps can be locked, such that Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode is necessary to open them. Apps can also be hidden and have their data prevented from showing up in notifications, searches, or other streams. New controls also limit the access you may grant to apps for contacts, network, and devices.

Messages will have “a huge year,” according to Apple. Tapbacks (instant reactions) can now include any emoji on the phone. Messages can be scheduled for later sending, text can be formatted, and there are “text effects” that do things like zoom in on the word “MAJOR” or make “Blown away” explode off the screen. And “Messages via satellite” is now available for phones that have satellite access, with end-to-end encryption.

Here's a Messages upgrade that is absolutely going to surprise everybody when they forget about it in four months and then it shows up in a weird message.

Here’s a Messages upgrade that is absolutely going to surprise everybody when they forget about it in four months and then it shows up in a weird message.

The Mail app gets on-device categorization with Gmail-like labels like “Primary,” “Transactions,” “Updates,” and “Promotions.” Mail can also show you all the emails you get from certain businesses, such as receipts and tickets.

The Maps app is getting trail routes for US National Parks. Wallet now lets you “Tap to Cash,” sending money between phones in close proximity. Journal can now log your state of mind, track your goals, track streaks, and log “other fun stats.”

Photo libraries are getting navigation upgrades, with screenshots, receipts, and other banal photos automatically filtered out from gallery scrolls. There’s some automatic categorization of trips, days, and events. And, keeping with the theme of iOS 18, you can customize and reorder the collections and features Photos shows you when you browse through it.

This is a developing story and this post will be updated with new information.

iOS 18 adds Apple Intelligence, customizations, and makes Android SMS nicer Read More »

apple’s-new-vision-pro-software-offers-an-ultrawide-virtual-mac-monitor

Apple’s new Vision Pro software offers an ultrawide virtual Mac monitor

Apple, apple vision pro, Tech, vision pro, visionOS, visionOS 2, WWDC 2024 / /

WWDC 2024 —

visionOS 2 offers iterative improvements and refinements, plus new developer APIs.

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A floating Mac desktop over a table

Enlarge / A Mac virtual monitor in visionOS 2.

Samuel Axon

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Apple kicked off the keynote for its annual developer conference by announcing a new version of visionOS, the operating system that runs on the company’s pricey but impressive Vision Pro mixed reality headset.

The updates in visionOS 2 are modest, not revolutionary—mostly iterative changes, quality-of-life improvements, and some features that were originally expected in the first version of visionOS. That’s not too surprising given that visionOS just went out to users four months ago.

Vision Pro users hoping for multiple virtual Mac monitors will be disappointed that’s not planned this time around, but Apple plans to add the next-best thing: Users will be able to take advantage of a larger and higher-resolution single virtual display, including a huge, wraparound ultrawide monitor mode that Apple says is equivalent to two 4K monitors.

There’s one major machine learning-driven feature: You will soon be able to convert 2D images into 3D spatial ones in the Photos app, even photos you took years and years ago, long before iPhones could take spatial photos. (Apple also announced that a new Canon DSLR camera will get a spatial photo lens, as another option for taking new spatial photos.)

Other notable improvements include support for using travel mode on trains instead of just airplanes and a simple finger gesture to open the home screen so you don’t have to invoke Siri or reach up to press a physical button on the headset.

A lot of the improvements that will lead to better apps come in the form of new developer APIs that will facilitate apps that really take advantage of the spatial features rather than just being flat 2D windows floating around you—something we noted as a disappointment when we shared our impressions of the device. Some APIs help create shared spatial experiences with other Vision Pro users who aren’t in the same room as you. One of those, TabletopKit, is focused on creating apps that sit on a 2D surface, like board and card games.

There will also be new enterprise-specific APIs for things like surgical training and manufacturing applications.

Finally, Apple says Vision Pro is going international. It will go on sale in China (including Hong Kong), Japan, and Singapore on June 13 and in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK on June 28.

There was no specific release date named for visionOS 2.

Apple’s new Vision Pro software offers an ultrawide virtual Mac monitor Read More »

report:-new-“apple-intelligence”-ai-features-will-be-opt-in-by-default

Report: New “Apple Intelligence” AI features will be opt-in by default

AI, Apple, apple intelligence, Tech / /

“apple intelligence,” i see what you did there —

Apple reportedly plans to announce its first big wave of AI features at WWDC.

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Report: New “Apple Intelligence” AI features will be opt-in by default

Apple

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off on Monday, and per usual, the company is expected to detail most of the big new features in this year’s updates to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and all of Apple’s other operating systems.

The general consensus is that Apple plans to use this year’s updates to integrate generative AI into its products for the first time. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has a few implementation details that show how Apple’s approach will differ somewhat from Microsoft’s or Google’s.

Gurman says that the “Apple Intelligence” features will include an OpenAI-powered chatbot, but it will otherwise focus on “features with broad appeal” rather than “whiz-bang technology like image and video generation.” These include summaries for webpages, meetings, and missed notifications; a revamped version of Siri that can control apps in a more granular way; Voice Memos transcription; image enhancement features in the Photos app; suggested replies to text messages; automated sorting of emails; and the ability to “create custom emoji characters on the fly that represent phrases or words as they’re being typed.”

Apple also reportedly hopes to differentiate its AI push by implementing it in a more careful, privacy-focused way. The new features will use the Neural Engine available in newer devices for on-device processing where possible (Gurman says that only Apple’s A17 Pro and the M-series chips will be capable of supporting all the local processing features, though all of Apple’s recent chips feature some flavor of Neural Engine). And where Apple does use the cloud for AI processing, the company will apparently promise that user information isn’t being “sold or read” and is not being used to “build user profiles.”

Apple’s new AI features will also be opt-in by default, where Microsoft and Google have generally enabled features like the Copilot chatbot or AI Overviews by default whether users asked for them or not.

Looking beyond AI, we can also expect the typical grab bag of small- to medium-sized features in all of Apple’s software updates. These reportedly include reworked Control Center and Settings apps, emoji responses and RCS messaging support in the Messages app, a standalone password manager app, Calculator for the iPad, and a handful of other things. Gurman doesn’t expect Apple to announce any hardware at the event, though a number of Macs are past due for a M3- or M4-powered refresh.

Apple’s WWDC keynote happens on June 10 at 1 pm Eastern and can be streamed from Apple’s developer website.

Report: New “Apple Intelligence” AI features will be opt-in by default Read More »

what-to-expect-at-wwdc-24:-big-ios-changes,-more-vision-pro,-and-so-much-ai

What to expect at WWDC 24: Big iOS changes, more Vision Pro, and so much AI

Apple, iOS, ios 18, iPadOS, iPadOS 18, macOS, macOS 15, Tech, vision pro, visionOS, WWDC 2024, WWDC24 / /

WWDC 2024 —

There might not be new hardware, but Apple could make up for it with software.

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A colorful logo that says

Enlarge / The logo for WWDC24.

Apple

Apple’s annual developer conference, WWDC, kicks off in Cupertino, California, next week. As always, it will start with a livestream keynote on Monday morning at 10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern. We’ll be in attendance reporting on the event, so let’s take a moment to take stock of what we expect to see next week.

But first, let’s note something we don’t think we’ll see: Due to some peculiarities about Apple’s upgrade cycles, as well as a push toward the M4, we’re not actually expecting any major hardware announcements at WWDC this year.

That’s OK, though, because it looks like it’s going to be a big one for software news. iOS has seen relatively modest updates in the past couple of years, but that’s about to change.

AI in the spotlight

Most of the rumors leading up to WWDC have been about Apple making plans to announce tons of generative AI features for its platforms. Part of that is because AI is the hot topic right now, so anything about that is bound to get some coverage. However, according to leaks reported on by Bloomberg, The Information, and others, it looks like Apple is going to make a conscious effort to reposition itself as a leader in AI.

Apple was already doing neat things with machine learning in iOS and elsewhere, like features that make image editing easier, smart recommendations, and more. But there have been major new developments in models lately that allow for many new options, as we’ve seen from others like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft.

We don’t know many details about exactly what Apple will do here beyond it being a focus. The company has published several papers related to new large-language model chatbots, major Siri improvements, image generation, and more, but it’s hard to tell what will become user-facing features.

Possibilities include auto-generated summaries in apps like Mail, new ways to block ads or interact with websites in Safari, GitHub Copilot-like code editing assistance in Xcode, clip art generation for iWork documents, more conversational and larger-scope answers from Siri, new image editing features, expanded accessibility features, new transcription capabilities, and more.

Apple has reportedly been in talks with companies like OpenAI and Google (it even sounds like a deal has already been reached with OpenAI) about augmenting Siri and other parts of the iOS or macOS experience with an external AI chatbot. Apple has reportedly experimented with its own chatbot, but it’s unlikely that one would be far enough along to be a strong alternative to the likes of ChatGPT. At a minimum, expect Apple to partner with at least one company (probably OpenAI) as a provider for out-of-scope answers to queries asked of Siri or in Spotlight.

There have been rumblings that Apple could offer users a choice of multiple AI providers or launch an AI App Store, but we don’t know for sure how it will all take shape.

iOS and iPadOS 18

iOS 18 (and its close sibling, iPadOS 18) will roll out later this year alongside new iPhones, likely in September or October. But WWDC is the first time we’ll get a look at the major features Apple has planned.

Typically, Apple announces most new iOS features during the upcoming keynote, but it might save a couple that are are related to as-yet unannounced iPhone hardware for later.

The rumor mill this year points to an overhaul of both Control Center and Settings, plus the aforementioned inclusion of numerous new machine learning, LLM, or image generation features. One rumored example of how AI could be used in iOS described a new home screen that allows users to quickly recolor app icons to create a consistent color palette across their phone. Apple might even allow users to place icons wherever they want, addressing the irritating “wobble mode” home screen management that we’ve criticized in our iOS reviews for years.

Expect big new features for Messages, too, like new text effects and formatting options. There’s also a strong possibility that Apple will go into detail about RCS support in iOS. Generative AI could allow users to create custom emojis or stickers, too.

There were also a few rumors that Apple will make some visual changes to iOS, borrowing a bit from the visual language we saw in visionOS this spring.

Oh, and one more thing: iPadOS is finally getting a calculator app. We’re not sure why that took so long, but there it is.

What to expect at WWDC 24: Big iOS changes, more Vision Pro, and so much AI Read More »

apple-will-update-iphones-for-at-least-5-years-in-rare-public-commitment

Apple will update iPhones for at least 5 years in rare public commitment

Apple, iOS, iOS 17, iPhone 15 Pro, Security Updates, Tech / /

finally, something in writing —

UK regulation requires companies to say how long they plan to provide support.

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Apple will update iPhones for at least 5 years in rare public commitment

Apple

Apple has taken a rare step and publicly committed to a software support timeline for one of its products, as pointed out by MacRumors. A public regulatory filing for the iPhone 15 Pro (PDF) confirms that Apple will support the device with new software updates for at least five years from its “first supply date” of September 22, 2023, which would guarantee support until at least 2028.

Apple published the filing to comply with new Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) regulations from the UK that went into effect in late April. As this plain-language explainer from the Center for Cybersecurity Policy and Law summarizes, the PSTI regulations (among other things) don’t mandate a specific support window for manufacturers of Internet-connected devices, but they do require companies to publish a concrete support window and contact information for someone at the company who can be contacted with bug reports.

As publications like Android Authority have pointed out, five years is less than some Android phone makers like Google and Samsung have publicly committed to; both companies have said they’ll support their latest devices for seven years. But in reality, Apple usually hits or exceeds this seven-year timeline for updates—and does so for iPhones released nearly a decade ago and not just its newest products.

2017’s iPhone 8 and iPhone X, for example, are still receiving iOS 16 security updates. 2015’s iPhone 6S and 2016’s iPhone 7 were receiving iOS 15 updates as recently as March 2024, though these appear to have dried up in recent months. Each of these iPhones also received six or seven years’ worth of new major iOS releases, though not every phone that gets an iOS update supports every feature that newer devices get.

So Apple’s five-year pledge is notable less because it’s an improvement on or departure from the norm but more because Apple virtually never commits to software support timelines in writing.

Take those iOS 15 updates—Apple provided them for nearly a year and a half for iPhones and iPads that didn’t meet the requirements for iOS 16 or 17 but then abruptly (apparently) stopped releasing them. There was never a public commitment to continue releasing iOS 15 updates after iOS 16 came out, nor has there been any statement about iOS 15 updates being discontinued; we can only assume based on the fact that multiple iOS 16 and 17 updates have been released since March with no corresponding update for iOS 15.

The situation with the Mac is the same. Apple’s longstanding practice for decades has been to support the current version of macOS plus the two preceding versions, but that policy is not written down anywhere.

Contrast this with Microsoft, which generally commits to 10-year support timelines for new versions of Windows and publishes specific end-of-support dates years in advance; when Microsoft makes changes, it’s usually to extend the availability of updates in some way. Google has been making similar commitments for Chromebooks and officially certified ChromeOS Flex devices. These public timelines may tie a company’s hands, but they also make it easier for individuals, businesses, and schools to plan technology purchases and upgrades, and make it easier to know exactly how much support you can expect for a hand-me-down used or refurbished system.

Though the PSTI regulations only technically apply in the UK, it’s unlikely that Apple would go to the trouble of releasing iOS security updates in some countries without releasing those updates in all of them. But because a five-year support timeline is so much shorter than what Apple normally provides, it probably won’t matter that much. If Apple exceeds its stated support timeline, the PSTI law requires it to publish a new timeline “as soon as is practicable,” but for now, that date is far off.

Apple will update iPhones for at least 5 years in rare public commitment Read More »

modern-lives-are-messing-up-menstrual-cycles—earlier-starts,-more-irregularity

Modern lives are messing up menstrual cycles—earlier starts, more irregularity

Apple, health, IPhone, JAMA, menstrual cycles, obesity, period, puberty, Science / /

downward trend —

Earlier and irregular periods are both linked to poor health outcomes.

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Panty liners, hygienic tampons, and sanitary pads.

Enlarge / Panty liners, hygienic tampons, and sanitary pads.

People in the US are starting their menstrual cycles earlier and experiencing more irregularities, both of which raise the risk of a host of health problems later in life, according to an Apple women’s health study looking at data from over 70,000 menstruating iPhone users born between 1950 and 2005.

The mean age of people’s first period fell from 12.5 years in participants born between 1950 and 1969 to 11.9 years in participants born between 2000 and 2005, with a steady decline in between, the study found. There were also notable changes in the extremes—between 1950 and 2005, the percentage of people who started their periods before age 11 rose from 8.6 percent to 15.5 percent. And the percentage of people who started their periods late (at age 16 or above) dropped from 5.5 percent to 1.7 percent.

In addition to periods shifting to earlier starting ages, menstrual cycles also appeared to become more irregular. For this, researchers looked at how quickly people settled into a regular cycle after the start of their period. Between 1950 and 2005, the percentage of people obtaining regularity within two years fell from 76.3 percent to 56 percent.

The study, published by researchers at Apple and Harvard in the journal JAMA Network Open, notes that both of these findings bode poorly for long-term health. Early starting age of menstrual cycles is linked to adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, spontaneous abortion, and premature death, the researchers write. And a longer time to regularity is linked to fertility problems, longer menstrual cycles, and an increased risk of metabolic conditions and all-cause mortality.

Looking across race and ethnicity categories, researchers found that the trends affected all groups. However, Black and Hispanic participants had consistently earlier menstrual starting ages than white and Asian participants. Black participants also saw a larger magnitude shift toward earlier starting ages compared with white participants.

It’s unclear what’s driving the menstrual changes, but the authors speculate that there could be a multitude of factors. The most prominent potential factor is childhood obesity, which has increased in the US over the course of the study period and is known to be linked to earlier puberty. However, the authors note that obesity doesn’t explain the totality of the shifts—an exploratory analysis indicated that obesity only accounted for 46 percent of the trends seen in the study. And other studies have indicated that the shift toward earlier menstrual cycles began before the upward trend of obesity in the US.

The authors of the current study point to various potential environmental factors, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals, metals, air pollutants, dietary patterns, psychosocial stress, and adverse childhood experiences.

The study has limitations, of course, including that it relied on self-reported data and was limited to people who own iPhones, who generally skew toward higher socioeconomic status. Thus, the findings may not be generalizable to the population overall. Still, the data fits with other studies, and the researchers called for more awareness among health care practitioners and more studies to look at trends and health outcomes.

Modern lives are messing up menstrual cycles—earlier starts, more irregularity Read More »

apple-clarifies-ios-17.5-bug-that-exposed-deleted-photos

Apple clarifies iOS 17.5 bug that exposed deleted photos

Apple, ios 17.5, iOS 17.5.1, photos, Tech / /

iOS 17.5 —

iOS 17.5.1 fixed the bug, but users still had questions.

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iPadOS 17.5.1 ready to install on an iPad Pro.

Enlarge / iPadOS 17.5.1 ready to install on an iPad Pro.

Samuel Axon

On May 20, Apple released iOS 17.5.1 to fix a bug users had found a few days prior in iOS 17.5 that resurfaced old photos that had been previously deleted. So far, the update seems to have resolved the issue, but users were left wondering exactly what had happened. Now Apple has clarified the issue somewhat, describing the nature of the bug to 9to5Mac.

Apple told the publication that the photos were not regurgitated from iCloud Photos after being deleted on the local device; rather, they were local to the device. Apple says they were neither left in the cloud after deletion nor synced to it after, and the company did not have access to the deleted photos.

The photos were retained on the local device storage due to a database corruption issue, and the bug resurfaced photos that were flagged for deletion but were not actually fully deleted locally.

That simple explanation doesn’t fully cover all the widely reported edge cases some users had brought up in forums and on Reddit, but Apple offered additional answers for those, too.

The company claimed that when users reported the photos resurfacing on a device other than the one they were originally deleted on, it was always because they had restored from a backup other than iCloud Photos or performed a direct transfer from one device to another.

One user on Reddit claimed (the post has now been deleted) that they had wiped an iPad, sold it to a friend, and the friend then saw photos resurface. Apple told 9to5Mac that is impossible if the user followed the expected procedure for wiping the device, which is to go to “Settings,” “General,” “Transfer and Reset,” and “Erase All Content and Settings.”

The bug was particularly nasty in terms of optics and user trust for Apple, but it would have been far worse if it was iCloud-related and involved deleted photos staying on or being uploaded to Apple’s servers. If what the company told 9to5Mac is true, that was not the case.

Still, it’s a good reminder that in many cases, a deleted file isn’t necessarily deleted, either due to a bug like this, the nature of the storage tech, or in some other cases on other platforms, a deliberate choice.

Apple clarifies iOS 17.5 bug that exposed deleted photos Read More »

the-apple-tv-is-coming-for-the-raspberry-pi’s-retro-emulation-box-crown

The Apple TV is coming for the Raspberry Pi’s retro emulation box crown

Apple, Apple TV, Emulation, gaming, iOS, retroarch, tvos / /

watch out, raspberry pi —

Apple’s restrictions will still hold it back, but there’s a lot of possibility.

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The RetroArch app installed in tvOS.

Enlarge / The RetroArch app installed in tvOS.

Andrew Cunningham

Apple’s initial pitch for the tvOS and the Apple TV as it currently exists was centered around apps. No longer a mere streaming box, the Apple TV would also be a destination for general-purpose software and games, piggybacking off of the iPhone’s vibrant app and game library.

That never really panned out, and the Apple TV is still mostly a box for streaming TV shows and movies. But the same App Store rule change that recently allowed Delta, PPSSPP, and other retro console emulators onto the iPhone and iPad could also make the Apple TV appeal to people who want a small, efficient, no-fuss console emulator for their TVs.

So far, few of the emulators that have made it to the iPhone have been ported to the Apple TV. But earlier this week, the streaming box got an official port of RetroArch, the sprawling collection of emulators that runs on everything from the PlayStation Portable to the Raspberry Pi. RetroArch could be sideloaded onto iOS and tvOS before this, but only using awkward workarounds that took a lot more work and know-how than downloading an app from the App Store.

Downloading and using RetroArch on the Apple TV is a lot like using it on any other platform it supports, for better or worse. ROM files can be uploaded using a browser connected to the Apple TV’s IP address or hostname, which will pop up the first time you launch the RetroArch app. From there, you’re only really limited by the list of emulators that the Apple TV version of the app supports.

The main benefit of using the Apple TV hardware for emulation is that even older models have substantially better CPU and GPU performance than any Raspberry Pi; the first-gen Apple TV 4K and its Apple A10X chip date back to 2017 and still do better than a Pi 5 released in 2023. Even these older models should be more than fast enough to support advanced video filters, like Run Ahead, to reduce wireless controller latency and higher-than-native-resolution rendering to make 3D games look a bit more modern.

Beyond the hardware, tvOS is also a surprisingly capable gaming platform. Apple has done a good job adding and maintaining support for new Bluetooth gamepads in recent releases, and even Nintendo’s official Switch Online controllers for the NES, SNES, and N64 are all officially supported as of late 2022. Apple may have added this gamepad support primarily to help support its Apple Arcade service, but all of those gamepads work equally well with RetroArch.

At the risk of stating the obvious, another upside of using the Apple TV for retro gaming is that you can also still use it as a modern 4K video streaming box when you’re finished playing your games. It has well-supported apps from just about every streaming provider, and it supports all the DRM that these providers insist on when you’re trying to stream high-quality 4K video with modern codecs. Most Pi gaming distributions offer the Kodi streaming software, but it’s frankly outside the scope of this article to talk about the long list of caveats and add-ons you’d need to use to attempt using the same streaming services the Apple TV can access.

Obviously, there are trade-offs. Pis have been running retro games for a decade, and the Apple TV is just starting to be able to do it now. Even with the loosened App Store restrictions, Apple still has other emulation limitations relative to a Raspberry Pi or a PC.

The biggest one is that emulators on Apple’s platforms can’t use just-in-time (JIT) code compilation, needed for 3D console emulators like Dolphin. These restrictions make the Apple TV a less-than-ideal option for emulating newer consoles—the Nintendo 64, Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation, PlayStation Portable, and Sega Saturn are the newest consoles RetroArch supports on the Apple TV, cutting out newer things like the GameCube and Wii, Dreamcast, and PlayStation 2 that are all well within the capabilities of Apple’s chips. Apple also insists nebulously that emulators must be for “retro” consoles rather than modern ones, which could limit the types of emulators that are available.

With respect to RetroArch specifically, there are other limitations. Though RetroArch describes itself as a front-end for emulators, its user interface is tricky to navigate, and cluttered with tons of overlapping settings that make it easy to break things if you don’t know what you’re doing. Most Raspberry Pi gaming distros use RetroArch, but with a front-end-for-a-front-end like EmulationStation installed to make RetroArch a bit more accessible and easy to learn. A developer could release an app that included RetroArch plus a separate front-end, but Apple’s sandboxing restrictions would likely prevent anyone from releasing an app that just served as a more user-friendly front-end for the RetroArch app.

Regardless, it’s still pretty cool to be able to play retro games on an Apple TV’s more advanced hardware. As more emulators make their way to the App Store, the Apple TV’s less-fussy software and the power of its hardware could make it a compelling alternative to a more effort-intensive Raspberry Pi setup.

The Apple TV is coming for the Raspberry Pi’s retro emulation box crown Read More »

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Apple, SpaceX, Microsoft return-to-office mandates drove senior talent away

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The risk of RTO —

“It’s easier to manage a team that’s happy.”

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Someone holding a box with their belonging in an office

A study analyzing Apple, Microsoft, and SpaceX suggests that return to office (RTO) mandates can lead to a higher rate of employees, especially senior-level ones, leaving the company, often to work at competitors.

The study (PDF), published this month by University of Chicago and University of Michigan researchers and reported by The Washington Post on Sunday, says:

In this paper, we provide causal evidence that RTO mandates at three large tech companies—Microsoft, SpaceX, and Apple—had a negative effect on the tenure and seniority of their respective workforce. In particular, we find the strongest negative effects at the top of the respective distributions, implying a more pronounced exodus of relatively senior personnel.

The study looked at résumé data from People Data Labs and used “260 million résumés matched to company data.” It only examined three companies, but the report’s authors noted that Apple, Microsoft, and SpaceX represent 30 percent of the tech industry’s revenue and over 2 percent of the technology industry’s workforce. The three companies have also been influential in setting RTO standards beyond their own companies. Robert Ployhart, a professor of business administration and management at the University of South Carolina and scholar at the Academy of Management, told the Post that despite the study being limited to three companies, its conclusions are a broader reflection of the effects of RTO policies in the US.

“Taken together, our findings imply that return to office mandates can imply significant human capital costs in terms of output, productivity, innovation, and competitiveness for the companies that implement them,” the report reads.

For example, after Apple enacted its RTO mandate, which lets employees work at home part-time, the portion of its employee base considered senior-level decreased by 5 percentage points, according to the paper. Microsoft, which also enacted a hybrid RTO approach, saw a decline of 5 percentage points. SpaceX’s RTO mandate, meanwhile, requires workers to be in an office full time. Its share of senior-level employees fell 15 percentage points after the mandate, the study found.

“We find experienced employees impacted by these policies at major tech companies seek work elsewhere, taking some of the most valuable human capital investments and tools of productivity with them,” one of the report’s authors, Austin Wright, an assistant professor of public policy at the University of Chicago, told the Post.

Christopher Myers, associate professor of management and organization health at Johns Hopkins University, suggested to the Post that the departure of senior-level workers could be tied to the hurt morale that comes from RTO mandates, noting that “it’s easier to manage a team that’s happy.”

Debated topic

Since the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, whether having employees return to work in an office is necessary or beneficial to companies is up for debate. An estimated 75 percent of tech companies in the US are considered “fully flexible,” per a 2023 report from Scoop. As noted by the Post, however, the US’s biggest metro areas have, on average, 51 percent office occupancy, per data from managed security services firm Kastle Systems, which says it analyzes “keycard, fob and KastlePresence app access data across 2,600 buildings and 41,000 businesses.”

Microsoft declined to comment on the report from University of Chicago and University of Michigan researchers, while SpaceX didn’t respond. Apple representative Josh Rosenstock told The Washington Post that the report drew “inaccurate conclusions” and “does not reflect the realities of our business.” He claimed that “attrition is at historically low levels.”

Yet some companies have struggled to make employees who have spent months successfully doing their jobs at home eager to return to the office. Dell, Amazon, Google, Meta, and JPMorgan Chase have tracked employee badge swipes to ensure employees are coming into the office as often as expected. Dell also started tracking VPN usage this week and has told workers who work remotely full time that they can’t get a promotion.

Some company leaders are adamant that remote work can disrupt a company’s ability to innovate. However, there’s research suggesting that RTO mandates aren’t beneficial to companies. A survey of 18,000 Americans released in March pointed to flexible work schedules helping mental health. And an analysis of 457 S&P 500 companies in February found RTO policies hurt employee morale and don’t increase company value.

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Apple releases iOS 17.5, macOS 14.5, and other updates as new iPads launch

Apple, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Tech / /

start your updaters —

Latest updates launch in the shadow of WWDC keynote on June 10.

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Apple releases iOS 17.5, macOS 14.5, and other updates as new iPads launch

Apple

Apple has released the latest updates for virtually all of its actively supported devices today. Most include a couple handfuls of security updates, some new features for Apple News+ subscribers, and something called Cross-Platform Tracking Protection for Bluetooth devices.

The iOS 17.5, iPadOS 17.5, macOS 4.5, watchOS 10.5, tvOS 17.5, and HomePod Software 17.5 updates are all available to download now.

Cross-Platform Tracking Protection notifications alert users “if a compatible Bluetooth tracker they do not own is moving with them, regardless of what operating system the device is paired with.” Apple has already implemented protections to prevent AirTag stalking, and Cross-Platform Tracking Protection implements some of those same safeguards for devices paired to non-Apple phones.

Apple News+ picks up a new word game called Quartiles, part of the wider trend of news organizations embracing games as growth drivers. Quartiles, Crossword, and Mini Crossword also track player stats and win streams, and the Today+ and News+ tabs will also load without an Internet connection.

Some of Apple’s older operating systems also received security-only updates to keep them current. The iOS 16.7.8 and iPadOS 16.7.8 updates are available for older iDevices that can’t update to iOS 17, and macOS Venture 13.6.7 and Monterey 12.7.5 support all Macs still running those OS versions regardless of whether they can install macOS Sonoma. There’s no update available for iOS or iPadOS 15.

These are likely to be the last major updates that Apple’s current operating systems receive before this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10, where Apple usually unveils its next major operating systems for the fall. Once those updates—iOS 18, macOS 15, and others—are announced, updates for current versions usually shift focus to security updates and bugs rather than adding major new features. Apple’s updates this year are widely expected to focus on generative AI features, including some ChatGPT-powered features and a more capable Siri assistant.

Apple releases iOS 17.5, macOS 14.5, and other updates as new iPads launch Read More »