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Apple's iOS 14 update, coming this fall, is packed with tons of new features, functions, and design changes, many of which iOS users have been wanting for years now. In our latest YouTube video, we highlighted some of the best features included in iOS 14 that will make you want to upgrade to the new software.

• Picture in Picture FaceTime - You know how FaceTime pauses your video if you exit the app while you're on a FaceTime call? That's no longer the case in iOS 14 thanks to the Picture in Picture FaceTime option where you can use your phone as normal while you chat.
• Compact Phone Calls - Fed up with phone calls taking over the entire iPhone display and interrupting what you're doing? If your iPhone is unlocked and in use, incoming phone calls now show up as a small banner that can be tapped to expand it or swiped away so it's little more than a passing nuisance.
• App Library - App Library is a one stop shop for all your apps, and it's one of those features that makes you wonder why the iPhone didn't always have it. You can find any of your installed apps in the App Library, and it lets you get rid of Home Screen pages and hide apps if you want, for a much more organized iPhone interface.
• Third-Party Default Apps - Tired of tapping links and having them open up in Safari instead of Chrome? In iOS 14, you can set default mail and browser apps so you're no longer forced to open links and compose messages in Apple's own Safari and Mail apps.
• Search in Apps - Apple made search better in iOS 14, and now when you type in a search term, you can scroll down to the "Search in Apps" section and tap an app to automatically launch a search in that app. You can search Notes, Reminders, Mail, Files, Messages, the App Store, and more. App search was in iOS 13, but the feature in iOS 14 is expanded and more organized.
• Approximate Location Sharing - Lots of apps are hungry for your location data, and in iOS 14, Apple has a new privacy option to let you use location-based features while obscuring your exact location. Apps like those that serve up weather info don't need to know exactly where you are, so you can now choose to share an approximate location instead of an exact location.
• Emoji Search - The Mac has long had a little search interface for finding emoji, and in iOS 14, Apple finally brought this same emoji search option to the iPhone. Just tap on the emoji (or globe) icon and then tap on the emoji search bar to find the exact character that you're looking for.
• On-Device Dictation - In iOS 14, dictation now gets better over time as you use your device with all of that learning done directly on the iPhone rather than through Apple's servers. All processing is now done offline, so when you dictate a text message, note, or email to your iPhone, it stays on device.
• Back Tap - With Back Tap, you can double or triple tap on the back of the iPhone to perform actions like taking a screenshot, accessing the Control Center, changing the volume, and more. It's an Accessibility feature, but anyone can use it.
• Sound Recognition - Another Accessibility feature, Sound Recognition is a useful feature for those who are hard of hearing because it lets the iPhone listen for sounds like fire alarms, smoke, pets, door bells, running water, shouting, and more. It's pretty accurate and sends a notification whenever the iPhone detects a sound.
• Exposure Lock - Serious iPhone photographers will be pleased to learn that iOS 14 allows an exposure compensation value to be locked in for an entire photo or video session with separate controls available for locking camera focus and exposure for a single shot.
• HomeKit Control Center - Your favorite HomeKit scenes can be accessed in the Control Center in iOS 14, plus there's an expanded HomeKit interface you can get to with a tap to make it easier than ever to control smart home products.
• Custom Widget Stacks - Apple added widgets for the Home Screen in iOS 14, so you can pull them right out of Today Center and onto the main iPhone display. Even better, Apple made Widget Stacks, so you can create one widget space on the Home Screen that houses multiple widgets you can swipe between.
• QuickTake Video - Have an iPhone XR or an iPhone XS? Good news, in iOS 14, you can use the QuickTake video feature that Apple added to the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro. You can hold down the capture button in photo mode to capture a quick video without taking precious seconds to swap to video mode. In iOS 14, QuickTake also works with the Volume Down button.
• Apple Music Redesign - "For You" in Apple Music is now "Listen Now," which offers up better than ever suggestions for what you might like to listen to. Search offers up suggestions based on genre and mood, and playlists now feature animated artwork. It's a solid update for Apple Music users.
• Apple Music Continue Playing - There's also one other new Apple Music feature so good that it deserved its own bullet point - continue playing. When you listen to a single song or a playlist and the music ends, Apple Music will now automatically play something that's similar so there's no dead air.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and there are a bunch of other great features included in iOS 14 that we'll highlight in the future. If you have a favorite new iOS 14 change, let us know in the comments below.

iOS 14 is available to developers and public beta testers at this time, so anyone with a compatible device is able to download it. iOS 14 will be in beta testing for a few more months before it sees a public release this fall.

For more on all of the new features in iOS 14, make sure to check out our iOS 14 roundup and keep an eye out for our detailed guides and how tos, which we're adding to the site each day. Our guides and our roundup offer an in-depth look at all of the new features in the update, while our how tos teach you how to use them.

Tomorrow marks World Emoji Day, and in celebration of the event, Apple has shared a preview of upcoming 2020 emojis that will be added to iPhones, iPads, and Macs with Emojipedia.

Emojis coming in 2020 are part of the Emoji 13 update, which includes the following emoji options:

• Faces - Smiling Face with Tear, Disguised Face
• People - Ninja, Person in Tuxedo, Woman in Tuxedo, Person with Veil, Man with Veil, Woman Feeding Baby, Person Feeding Baby, Man Feeding Baby, Mx. Claus, People Hugging
• Body Parts - Pinched fingers, Anatomical Heart, Lungs
• Animals - Black Cat, Bison, Mammoth, Beaver, Polar Bear, Dodo, Seal, Beetle, Cockroach, Fly, Worm
• Food - Blueberries, Olive, Bell Pepper, Flatbread, Fondue, Bubble Tea, Tamale
• Household - Potted Plant, Teapot, Piñata, Magic Wand, Nesting Dolls, Sewing Needle, Mirror, Window, Plunger, Mouse Trap, Bucket, Toothbrush
• Miscellaneous - Feather, Rock, Wood, Hut, Pickup Truck, Roller Skate, Knot, Coin, Boomerang, Screwdriver, Carpentry Saw, Hook, Ladder, Elevator, Headstone, Placard, Transgender Symbol, Transgender Flag
• Clothing - Thong Sandal, Military Helmet
• Musical Instruments - Accordion, Long Drum

The update also features 55 gender and skin-tone variants, along with new gender-inclusive emojis that can be used as an alternative to gendered versions, such as person with veil and person with tuxedo rather than the current woman/man options.

Apple shared design previews of several of the new emoji with Emojipedia, which can be seen in the image above and in more detail on the Emojipedia website.

Apple will adopt the new Unicode 13 emoji characters at some point in 2020, likely in a fall update to iOS 14. Apple last year introduced Unicode 12 emojis in the iOS 13.2 update that was released in October.

After the Emoji 13 update, there will, unfortunately, be a delay with Emoji 14 that will prevent new emojis from being introduced in 2021. Emoji 14 will be released six months late, which means it likely won't be able to be added to smartphones until 2022.

macOS Catalina 10.15.6 successfully fixes a frustrating bug that prevented some USB 2.0 accessories from working properly with 2020 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, according to MacRumors readers and users on Reddit.

Apple in the release notes for the macOS Catalina 10.15.6 update said that the update "resolves an issue where certain USB mouse and trackpads may lose connection," and people who were experiencing that particular problem have confirmed that their accessories are now able to successfully connect.

The bug was first noticed earlier this year by ‌MacBook Air‌ and ‌MacBook Pro‌ users who purchased one of the new 2020 machines. The Mac notebooks were unable to properly work with USB 2.0 accessories connected to their machines through hubs or adapters.

Problems included lost connections, freezes, and a failure to work entirely, and those affected were unable to find any kind of fix with methods like SMC resets, safe mode, Disk Utility repairs, and more. The only suitable fix was using a more expensive Thunderbolt 3 hub instead of a USB-C hub.

Though Apple's release notes mention mice and trackpads, the problem affected all kinds of devices, including keyboards and other accessories, though it appeared to be limited to USB 2.0 devices rather than USB 3.0 or 3.1 accessories.

There have been numerous reports from those who were experiencing the issue that confirm macOS 10.15.6 addresses the issue for all kinds of accessories. The fix doesn't appear to have been implemented in macOS Big Sur, however, so some users may still run into USB issues on the newest update until Apple adds the fix to Big Sur as well.

In iOS 14, Apple pared down the Siri interface so that it no longer takes over the whole of your iPhone's screen when you issue a voice command or query. Instead, a small ‌Siri‌ orb pops up at the bottom of the screen without obscuring what you're looking at.

It's not just the interface that's been improved, though. ‌Siri‌ also picked up several new features, one of which is the ability to record and send audio messages to contacts.

When you send an audio message using the audio interface in the Messages app, the record audio option only appears when the intended recipient is an iMessage user. But ‌Siri‌ can also send audio messages to Android phones. The following steps show you how it's done.

1. Invoke ‌Siri‌ on your ‌iPhone‌ or iPad with the usual "Hey Siri" voice command or through a physical button.
2. Now say "Send an audio message to [contact's name]." (If ‌Siri‌ is unsure which contact you're referring to, it will ask you to choose one from a selection displayed on the screen.)
3. After ‌Siri‌ responds with "OK, recording," say whatever it is you want to include in the audio message. ‌Siri‌ will transcribe your speech in real time at the bottom of the screen to show that it can hear you clearly, and there doesn't appear to be a limit to how long you can record for.
4. To end the audio message, simply stop speaking for a few seconds, and ‌Siri‌ will recognize that you're finished.
5. When you're done, ‌Siri‌ displays the waveform of the recording on the screen along with options to Send, Cancel, and a play button to play it back to yourself. At this point, ‌Siri‌ is still activated, so if you want you can just ask to play it back, re-record the message, cancel, or send.

If you open the Messages app, you should see the recording show up in a conversation thread, indicating it's been sent.

Note that audio messages are automatically deleted after a couple of minutes unless they're saved, but you can change this default behavior and keep them permanently: In the Settings app, select Messages -> Expire -> Never.

For more details on iOS 14's new compact interface and communication features, be sure to check out our iOS 14 roundup.

Logitech today announced the launch of the Logitech Folio Touch, a new keyboard case with trackpad designed for the 11-inch iPad Pro models released in 2018 and 2020.

The Logitech Folio Touch is Logitech's first keyboard with trackpad designed for the ‌iPad Pro‌ and it serves as an alternative to Apple's own Magic Keyboard. Logitech previously released the Combo Touch, a keyboard with trackpad that works with the 7th-generation iPad, the iPad Air, and the 10.5-inch ‌iPad Pro‌.

Similar in design to the Combo Touch, the Folio Touch features a case that wraps around the ‌iPad‌ along with a laptop-like keyboard with a built-in trackpad that works with the ‌iPad Pro‌'s trackpad support. There's also an adjustable kickstand to allow for greater positioning flexibility, an Apple Pencil holder, and four use modes that include typing, viewing, sketching, and reading.

The keyboard is powered by the Smart Connector on the ‌iPad Pro‌ so it doesn't need to be charged and doesn't need to connect over Bluetooth. When not needed for typing, the keyboard can be folded back behind the ‌iPad Pro‌, a feature not available with Apple's own Magic Keyboard.

Logitech's Folio Touch will be available starting in July 2020 for $160 from the Logitech website or from Apple's online store.

T-Mobile today unveiled its latest "Un-carrier" initiative, Scam Shield, which is designed to block robocalls and scam calls targeting T-Mobile, Metro, and Sprint customers.

A free service, Scam Shield offers scam identification and blocking for every customer and provides more information about who's calling with enhanced Caller ID. T-Mobile is also offering a free second number so customers can keep their main numbers safe, plus free number changes and free ID monitoring.

T-Mobile competitors Verizon and AT&T have similar services, but charge for some features. Verizon, for example, has a free Call Filter service that IDs spam calls, but charges $2.99 per month for features like caller ID, blocking, and spam look up.

AT&T also has a free service for blocking fraud calls, but charges $3.99 per month for caller ID, reverse number lookup, custom call controls, and more. T-Mobile says that it is challenging other carriers to offer the same free services provided to T-Mobile customers.

"Today, I'm challenging the Carriers to get off their assets, stop profiting from fear and do the right thing, because everyone needs and deserves protection now, more than ever," said T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert.

T-Mobile and Metro customers can activate scam blocking by dialing #662# on their smartphones as of today, with the Scam Shield app launching on July 24. Sprint customers will be able to download an upgraded Call Screener app from the App Store on July 24 to activate free scam ID and blocking along with caller ID.

Along with the new Scam Shield service, T-Mobile also announced that it will be combining operations with Sprint and unifying under the T-Mobile brand in retail stores nationwide.

Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, and other voice assistants and connected home products are the target of a new Internet of Things probe the European Commission launched today.

The European Commission says that it's aiming to prevent big companies from becoming "gatekeepers" of the Internet of Things through market domination and data collection.

The potential is incredible. But we'll only see the full benefits - low prices, wide choice, innovative products and services - if the markets for these devices stay open and competitive. And the trouble is that competition in digital markets can be fragile. When big companies abuse their power, they can very quickly push markets beyond the tipping point, where competition turns to monopoly. We've seen that happen before. If we don't act in good time, there's a serious risk that it will happen again, with the Internet of Things.

And one of the key issues here is data. Voice assistants and smart devices can collect a vast amount of data about our habits. And there's a risk that big companies could misuse the data collected through such devices, to cement their position in the market against the challenges of competition. They might even use their knowledge of how we access other services to enter the market for those services and take it over.

It's important, says the European Commission, to ensure that smart devices are "truly interoperable" with one another as the Internet of Things market grows, allowing customers the freedom to find the best product on the market without worrying which about which devices it might or might not be compatible with.

The sector inquiry into the Internet of Things will allow the European Commission to "spot problems" and then "take action while there's still time." Right now, the European Commission is seeking data and has sent questionnaires to 400 companies in Europe, Asia, and America that sell smart home appliances, wearables, and voice assistants, along with businesses that provide services that can be used through the aforementioned devices.

The European Commission is questioning companies on how smart products work together and possible problems that might arise making them interoperable. The results of the questionnaires will let the commission find situations where "companies may have broken the competition rules" and will provide information for future regulatory initiatives.

Apple's ‌Siri‌ voice assistant was specifically mentioned in the commission's letter, and the Cupertino-based company will also likely have to answer questions about HomeKit, its smart home framework that supports HomeKit-connected devices.

Verizon today began offering a free six-month Apple News+ subscription with the purchase and activation of a cellular iPad with a data plan.

The promotion applies to the purchase of any cellular iPad, iPad Pro, iPad Air, or iPad mini through January 15, 2021 in the United States. Those who have never subscribed to Apple News+ will receive six months of free access, while users that have already taken advantage of Apple's standard one-month trial will receive five months free.

For those not interested in purchasing an iPad, Best Buy is also offering a free four-month subscription to Apple News+ in the United States, with the only requirement being a free Best Buy account. This offer is available to first-time subscribers only, but previous trial users can still receive an additional three months of free access.

Apple News gained several new features alongside the release of iOS 13.6 and macOS 10.15.6 this week, including audio versions of select stories for News+ subscribers, a daily audio news briefing podcast hosted by Apple News editors, and curated local news collections starting in the San Francisco Bay Area, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York City.

Verizon's plan to offer a free six months of Apple News+ was first reported by 9to5Mac and the promotion is now live.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Verizon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Apple Maps vehicles will be surveying select regions of Finland, Norway, and Sweden through August, collecting street-level imagery and data, according to a list of locations maintained on Apple's website.

The data collected will be used to improve Apple Maps and to expand its Look Around feature, which remains limited to large U.S. cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. Introduced in iOS 13, Look Around is similar to Google's Street View, providing a street-level view of a location with high-resolution 3D imagery that can be zoomed and panned.

One advantage of Look Around over Street View is smoother panning when moving around the map for a more immersive experience. As with Street View, Apple blurs faces and license plates in all of the 3D imagery that it makes available.

In areas where Look Around is available, a binoculars icon will appear in the top-right corner of ‌Apple Maps‌. Tapping that icon opens a street-level view in a card overlay at the top of the screen, which can then be expanded to a full-screen view. Look Around also appears in the search results for a supported city, below the Flyover and Directions buttons.

Apple also removed the U.K. from its list of locations, perhaps signaling that data collection has finished in that country. In January, Apple said that its revamped Maps experience will start rolling out in Europe later this year.

Apple Maps‌ vehicles have also surveyed parts of the United States, Canada, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Portugal, Croatia, Japan, Andorra, and Puerto Rico since data collection began in 2015. In some areas where streets are not easily accessible, Apple uses employees wearing a backpack system to collect data.

As part of its Community Education Initiative, Apple today announced it is partnering with an additional 10 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to bring coding and creativity opportunities to their campuses.

Apple says this initiative will introduce more students and adult learners to coding and app design through its free "Everyone Can Code" and "Everyone Can Create" curricula, helping to facilitate coding clubs, for-credit coding courses, community coding events, and workforce development opportunities for learners of all ages.

"Apple is committed to working alongside communities of color to advance educational equity," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. "We see this expansion of our Community Education Initiative and partnership with HBCUs as another step toward helping Black students realize their dreams and solve the problems of tomorrow."

The 10 new HBCUs include: Arkansas Baptist College, Central State University, Claflin University, Dillard University, Fisk University, Lawson State Community College, Morehouse College, Prairie View A&M University, Southern University at Shreveport, and Tougaloo College. Apple expects to double its number of HBCU partners by the end of this summer.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple will release its first Arm-based 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air by the end of 2020, according to a new DigiTimes report today.

Taiwan's supply chain will begin shipping backlit units (BLUs) and other components for the next-generation MacBooks in the third quarter of the year, which could be interpreted as meaning anytime between now and September.

As Apple is set to release 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, powered by Apple Silicon, by the end of this year, total shipments of MacBook lineup are expected to reach 16-17 million units in 2020 compared to 14.5-15.5 million units shipped a year earlier, the sources estimated.

At WWDC in June, Apple officially announced that its Mac computers will be transitioned from Intel x86 to homegrown Apple Silicon chips. Apple said it plans to deliver the first ‌‌Apple Silicon‌‌ Mac by the end of the year and complete the transition in about two years.

DigiTimes' latest prediction pegs the launch of ‌Apple Silicon‌ Macs a little earlier than analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has said he expects an Arm-based ‌MacBook Air‌ either in the fourth quarter or in the first quarter of next year. Kuo also believes that an Arm-based 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ will arrive by the end of the year.

Apple will reportedly rely heavily on TSMC for the Arm-based silicon destined for its Macs. The semiconductor foundry is expected to ramp up its wafer sales in the second half of 2021, according to a separate ‌DigiTimes‌ report today.

TSMC will fabricate Apple's custom chips for the Mac using 5nm process technology, with production still in small volume during the first half of 2021, the sources noted, but the output will expand substantially later next year.

ASMedia is said to be another supplier for Apple's Arm-based Macs, and will also see orders for the devices start contributing substantially to company revenue in the second half of 2021. ASMedia reportedly will provide USB controllers for the new Macs.

Today's report also claims that parts for a new "more affordable" 10.8-inch iPad with a "high performance chip" will start shipping in the latter half of this year. This prediction aligns a little more favorably with Kuo's latest thoughts on Apple's ‌iPad‌ roadmap.

Likewise, Kuo believes Apple is working on a new 10.8-inch ‌iPad‌ that's set to be released in the second half of 2020. However, it's unclear if Apple plans to introduce a larger ‌iPad‌ or if the increase in size will be implemented through a bezel reduction, and other rumors have suggested that this updated ‌iPad‌ could actually be an iPad Air, so we're waiting to see what Apple has in store for the low-cost ‌iPad‌ in the future.

According to a leaker that has provided accurate information about Apple's plans in the past, Apple's next-generation low-cost ‌iPad‌ will feature an A12 chip inside, an upgrade from the A10 Fusion chip in the seventh-generation model.

Apple's Twitter account has been breached by bitcoin scammers who have also hacked the Twitter accounts of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and more.

Apple users should be careful not to believe the fake tweet, which is a scam to collect bitcoin. Twitter has been deleting the fake tweets, but the scammers who have breached the accounts have been repeatedly posting them.

The tweet that was posted on the Apple Twitter account has since been deleted. Given the number of high profile accounts that have been breached, the hack may have originated from a Twitter security vulnerability.

Apple does not actually use its official Apple Twitter account on the platform, reserving it for sending out reminders ahead of events and advertisements.

Update: Twitter says that it's looking into the security breach and will provide an update after implementing a fix.

Update 2: Twitter appears to have disabled all tweets from verified accounts, so no one with a verified account is able to tweet at this time.

Update 3: Most verified Twitter accounts are now once again able to tweet. Twitter is still working on fully fixing the issue.

Apple is expanding AppleCare+ monthly payment options to Canada, Australia, and Japan, allowing customers in these countries to pay for ‌AppleCare‌+ for iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches on a monthly basis.

The online Apple Stores in Canada, Australia, and Japan aren't yet providing monthly payment options when checking out after new device purchases, but an AppleCare+ support document confirms the feature is rolling out.

In the United States, Australia, Canada, and Japan, when you purchase AppleCare+ coverage for your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, you can choose to pay monthly or pay upfront for 24 months of coverage. (For Apple Watch Edition and Hermes, you can pay upfront for 36 months.) If you paid upfront, you can go to mysupport.apple.com to continue coverage* on a monthly basis after the 24 or 36 months is over.

Customers in Australia, Canada, and Japan can opt for monthly payments along with customers in the United States, where the monthly payment option rolled out in September 2019.

Monthly payment plans continue to renew each month until canceled, and ‌AppleCare‌+ coverage on a monthly plan continues beyond the standard 24 or 36 month (for the Apple Watch Hermes) period as long as monthly payments are continued.

Customers who purchase ‌AppleCare‌+ up front and pay the full price for a standard ‌AppleCare‌+ plan can later upgrade to a monthly plan to continue ‌AppleCare‌+ support beyond 24 months. Monthly payments for ‌AppleCare‌+ vary based on device and country.