MacRumors

Apple is closing seven retail stores located in the Houston, Texas area, as coronavirus outbreaks in the state continue to climb.

Last week, Apple shuttered stores in Florida, Arizona, North Carolina, and South Carolina, with no details on when those stores might reopen.

In Texas, the following stores are closing on June 25, as noted by 9to5Mac: Highland Village, First Colony Mall, Houston Galleria, Memorial City, Willowbrook Mall, Baybrook, and the Woodlands.

Apple started reopening stores in the United States in May, and ahead of when the store closures restarted, more than 150 of the 271 stores in the United States had reopened. Coronavirus cases are climbing in some areas of the United States, however, leading Apple to reclose stores in affected areas.

When the first store openings started happening in May, Apple's retail chief Deirdre O'Brien said that Apple would only reopen stores when it is confident that it can safely serve customers.

Apple's decisions to close or reopen stores are based on data evaluation, such as local cases, near and long-term trends, and guidance from national and local health officials. At the time stores were reopened, O'Brien warned that Apple would not hesitate to close stores again if coronavirus cases spiked.

"These are not decisions we rush into - and a store opening in no way means that we won't take the preventative step of closing it again should local conditions warrant," O'Brien said.

Even as Apple prepares to close stores in Houston, Apple reopened several stores this week in Chicago, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, Virginia, and more.

In stores that have reopened, Apple is implementing safety measures that include mandatory masks, social distancing, frequent cleaning, temperature checks, and more. In some locations, stores are open only for repairs and curb-side pickup, while others are open but with a limited number of people allowed in at one time.

Apple this week announced that it will be switching to its own custom-designed processors for Macs starting later this year. As part of this transition, the company is allowing developers to apply for a modified Mac mini with an A12Z chip and 16GB of RAM to develop and test their apps on a Mac with Arm-based architecture.

While not too surprising, developers should be aware that this "Developer Transition Kit" is not eligible for repair at a Genius Bar or Apple Authorized Service Provider, according to an internal memo obtained by MacRumors. Instead, developers should contact Apple support, and the company will ship a replacement Mac mini if necessary.

Apple has many other strict rules in place for the A12Z-based Mac mini. For instance, developers are forbidden from disassembling the machine, running any benchmark tests on it, sharing it with others, or discussing it on social media.

Developers who are interested can apply for Apple's Universal App Quick Start Program at a cost of $500, and the Mac mini must be returned at the end.

Apple's digital only Worldwide Developers Conference is taking place this week. Monday was the keynote event, but Apple is hosting engineering sessions and sharing videos on the new software updates all week long.

There's quite a bit going on with the dozens of different sessions that developers can watch in the Apple Developer app or the Apple Developer website, so Apple has been providing bite-sized daily recaps with the important highlights.

The day two video, shared this morning, highlights WidgetKit, which will let developers create widgets that can be used in the Today view and on the Home Screen of the iPhone, and App Clips, small bits of an app you can experience for quick interactions without the need to download a full app.

It also covers creating expansive and dynamic interfaces for iPad apps, the new Accessibility features introduced in 2020, and a neat new feature that lets developers take advantage of hand and body pose detection for interacting with the ‌iPhone‌ without touching the display.

The video includes a sneak peek at upcoming sessions, which include CarPlay templates, speeding up test results, and a new Game Center experience.

Apple also shared a day 1 video in the same quick recap theme, going over key iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS Big Sur, and watchOS 7 features, as well as highlighting Apple's big chip announcement.

We'll be updating this article throughout the week as Apple shares additional recap videos pointing out notable new features and changes worth knowing about.

Update: Apple's day three video highlights new Game Center features, haptics for game controllers, App Clips, details on Apple Silicon Macs architecture, Car Key, and more.

Update 2: Apple's day four video looks at several topics including keyboard and mouse support for ‌iPad‌ games, ways to optimize Mac Catalyst apps, and more.

Game Center, a feature for tracking game progress and connecting gamers together for multiplayer gameplay experiences, has long been a part of iOS.

The feature was added to iOS 4 in 2010 and was a key part of gaming for a few years, but Apple nixed the Game Center app in 2016 with the release of iOS 10. Game Center has stuck around since then, but as more of a behind the scenes feature.

Apple's latest software releases revive Game Center, and there's a redesigned Game Center dashboard available on iOS, tvOS, and macOS that games can take advantage of.

Users are able to view their achievements, leaderboards, and Game Center profiles directly within various games through a new in-game dashboard in ‌Apple Arcade‌ games and through the updated Game Center section in the Settings app.

Game Center now offers up recurring leaderboards for current game rankings along with leaderboards for daily, weekly, and monthly competitions, plus a feature that lets users see their friends' game progress. Apple will also use Game Center in ‌Apple Arcade‌ to let users see what games are popular with their friends.

Apple is encouraging developers to set up leaderboards, add achievements, and opt in to the Game Center challenges feature for their apps.

‌Apple Arcade‌ is getting other feature updates, such as lists of achievements you can earn in games right on the game page, filters for finding new content, sneak peeks at upcoming games, and a continue playing feature that lets you launch the games you've recently played across your devices from the ‌Apple Arcade‌ tab.

Apple today sent out emails to some former Apple Arcade subscribers, offering them another month of free access.

It's not entirely clear how many people are receiving the additional month of Apple Arcade service to try it out, but the emails may be going out to those who tried ‌Apple Arcade‌ for a month and then canceled it after the trial period was over.

For customers who used their free month trial right when the ‌Apple Arcade‌ service came out, there was a limited number of games available. Apple has been regularly releasing new ‌Apple Arcade‌ games and there are now over a hundred, all of which are free from in-app purchases and ads.

Apple may be wanting to provide those early subscribers with a chance to test the service in its more fleshed out form, with many more game titles to choose from. Those who received the email can tap on the "Get Started" text to receive a promo code to input into ‌Apple Arcade‌ for the additional free month.

After a one-month free trial, Apple Arcade is priced at $4.99 per month, and that price tag provides access for the whole family.

Starting in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur, developers will be able to add the capability to detect human body and hand poses in photos and videos to their apps using Apple's updated Vision framework, as explained in this WWDC 2020 session.

This functionality will allow apps to analyze the poses, movements, and gestures of people, enabling a wide variety of potential features. Apple provides some examples, including a fitness app that could automatically track the exercise a user performs, a safety-training app that could help employees use correct ergonomics, and a media-editing app that could find photos or videos based on pose similarity.

Hand pose detection in particular promises to deliver a new form of interaction with apps. Apple's demonstration showed a person holding their thumb and index finger together and then being able to draw in an iPhone app without touching the display.

Additionally, apps could use the framework to overlay emoji or graphics on a user's hands that mirror the specific gesture, such as a peace sign.

Another example is a camera app that automatically triggers photo capture when it detects the user making a specific hand gesture in the air.

The framework is capable of detecting multiple hands or bodies in one scene, but the algorithms might not work as well with people who are wearing gloves, bent over, facing upside down, or wearing overflowing or robe-like clothing. The algorithm can also experience difficulties if a person is close to edge of the screen or partially obstructed.

Similar functionality is already available through ARKit, but it is limited to augmented reality sessions and only works with the rear-facing camera on compatible iPhone and iPad models. With the updated Vision framework, developers have many more possibilities.

Earlier today, the anonymous Twitter account Mr. White leaked photos of what appears to be a new 20W power adapter for upcoming iPhone 12 models. And now, it appears that this charger has been certified in at least one country.

As spotted by MySmartPrice, a new USB-C power adapter with the same model identifier of A2305 shown in the leaked photo above has surfaced in an electronics certification database in Norway. The certification was issued on February 28, 2020.

Another power adapter with a model identifier of A2247 has also received certification in both Norway and Australia, but no further details are known.

Apple currently includes an 18W USB-C power adapter with iPhone 11 Pro models, while the iPhone 11 still ships with a slower 5W charger. It is unclear which iPhone 12 models the 20W power adapter would be bundled with.

Enterprise security software Fleetsmith is now part of Apple. Fleetsmith is a suite of management and security services that allows users to oversee a fleet of Apple products, automatically managing apps, settings, and security preferences while implementing best practices for IT and security.

Fleetsmith has always been focused on Apple products, and now Apple has purchased the company. Fleetsmith said that, "Our shared values of putting the customer at the center of everything we do without sacrificing privacy and security, means we can truly meet our mission, delivering Fleetsmith to businesses and institutions of all sizes, around the world."

Fleetsmith offers a free trial for up to 10 devices. Afterwards, you can opt for the free version of Fleetsmith or pay $8.25 per device per month for enhanced settings and more control over each device.

A new privacy feature in iOS 14 enables users to give an app access to a limited number of photos, instead of having to hand over the keys to their entire photo library.

The new app permissions feature was spotted in the iOS 14 beta by Benedict Evans, who shared a couple of screenshots of it in action.

When an app requests access to photos on a device, the user can now choose from three options: Select Photos…, Allow Access to All ‌Photos‌, or Don't Allow.

An iOS privacy awareness pane explains it like so:

Your photos and memories are personal. Apple's new privacy controls let you decide what photos and videos you share. When an app asks for permission to access your photo library, you have the choice to select specific items or allow access to all photos and videos.

The change is a nice improvement to the current binary option of either denying an app access to your photos or allowing it to get at your entire library of images. It should come in especially handy for when users want to give an app one-off access to a single photo, for example.

Apple has been keen to promote the new privacy features coming in iOS 14. Other iOS 14 privacy highlights covered at WWDC 2020 include the ability to give an app your approximate location instead of your precise location, App Store privacy lists for all apps, clipboard restrictions, and camera and microphone access attempt notifications.

Apple may ship some of its upcoming "iPhone 12" models with a 20-watt PD USB-C adapter, based on photos shared by leaker Mr White on Twitter.

In Apple's current crop of phones, the ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro models come with an 18-watt USB-C fast charger, while the ‌iPhone‌ 11 comes with a 5-watt adapter, which is the same wattage as the charger that came with the original ‌iPhone‌ back in 2007. The 18-watt adapter is the first fast-charger that Apple included in an ‌iPhone‌ box.

Rumors have suggested Apple will complete its transition to an all-OLED lineup for this year's "‌iPhone‌ 12," with one new 5.4-inch device, two 6.1-inch models, and one 6.7-inch handset.

Rumors suggest the 6.7-inch ‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌ and one 6.1-inch model will be higher-end OLED devices with triple-lens cameras. Going on last year's phones, these may be the ones coming with a 18-watt adapter.

On the other hand, Apple may choose to bring the faster charging adapter to its entire "‌iPhone‌ 12" lineup, but we probably won't know for sure until it drops in the fall.

Apple yesterday unveiled iOS 14, the newest version of the operating system designed for the iPhone, and we thought we'd go hands on with the new software to give MacRumors readers a sneak peek at all the features.

iOS 14 brings some useful new interface changes, including a revamped Home screen. Widgets have been redesigned, and for the first time, they can be dragged out of the Today center and placed right on the Home screen among your apps.

You can choose which widgets you want to use, which app page you want them on, and how big the widget should be, which makes widgets a whole lot more useful because they can be positioned front and center. Up to 10 widgets can be stacked up, and there's even a Smart Stack widget that will automatically display an appropriate widget based on ‌iPhone‌ usage and time of day.

Along with widgets, app pages can be hidden from the Home screen for a cleaner and more customizable look. All of your apps are still accessible thanks to a new App Library feature, which may be one of the best improvements in the update. Swipe all the way to the from right to left on the ‌iPhone‌ to see all of your apps organized into neat little folders.

You can search to find an app here, tap on a folder to see its entire contents, or check out the Suggestions folder where Apple makes app recommendations based on usage habits.

Siri in iOS 14 is smarter and can access more data sources to provide better answers to complex questions, but even better, ‌Siri‌ no longer takes up the entire ‌iPhone‌ display when activated.

There's an animated ‌Siri‌ icon that pops up at the bottom of the ‌iPhone‌ when you summon ‌Siri‌, and most ‌Siri‌ results also show up in smaller banners at the top of the screen, no longer interrupting what you're doing on your ‌iPhone‌. Ask for the weather, for example, and it shows up in a small, dismissible banner.

Apple also made another major quality of life improvement that users have been wanting for years now, and phone calls, FaceTime calls, VoIP calls, and more now show up as banners and don't take over the whole screen.

The Maps app received a major overhaul with cycling directions for bike riders and commuters. It features bike paths, lanes, and bike friendly roads, plus info on elevation and incline levels for avoiding stairs. For electric vehicles, there's now an option to create a route that includes charging stations.

Also new to Maps is a Guides feature that allows trusted brands and Apple partners to create guides highlighting notable attractions, places to eat, and more in various cities that you visit. You can create your own Guides too - it's the same as Collections from iOS 13, just with a new name.

The Weather app includes some features from Dark Sky, the app that Apple purchased back in March. It adds info on severe weather events, a next-hour precipitation chart, and minute-by-minute precipitation readings when rain is forecast, which is limited to the U.S. for now.

Apple added some great new features to the Messages app, many of which enhance group chats. Up to nine important conversations can be pinned to the top of Messages so you can keep an eye on the chats that matter most, and there's a new inline reply feature that lets you reply to a specific message in a standard chat or a group chat.

Mentions in Messages have been added, so if you want to get someone's attention in a group chat, you can @mention them with their name and it'll pop up a notification even if they have the group chat muted because it's noisy. There are also new options for choosing images for groups, with emojis and Memoji icons.

Speaking of Memoji, Apple added new Memoji customization options. You can select new hair styles, headwear, or masks, and there are more age options. New Memoji stickers are available for hug, fist bump, and blush.

Apple made an improvement to emoji too, adding a much needed search feature. When you bring up the emoji interface there's now a search bar at the top so you can find a specific emoji by keyword.

A brand new Translate app expands on ‌Siri‌'s translate features in iOS 13, allowing you to type or speak text to have it translated to and from 11 languages that include Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Languages can be downloaded for on-device translation, and ‌Siri‌ can speak your translations for you. Pop the ‌iPhone‌ into landscape mode and it enters what Apple calls "Conversation Mode." In this mode, the app listens for either of the two languages it's set to, translating between each one so you can have a conversation with someone in another language.

Apple's long rumored Car Key feature was unveiled alongside iOS 14, but it'll ultimately work with devices running iOS 14 and iOS 13. Car Key lets your ‌iPhone‌ or Apple Watch be used in lieu of a physical key to lock, unlock, and start a car using NFC. It has some neat new features like sharing keys over Messages, and in the future, it's going to work without the need to even take your ‌iPhone‌ out of your pocket. Car Key needs to be implemented by car manufacturers and it's coming first to the BMW 5 Series next month.

There are a lot more features in iOS 14, including tons of smaller changes, which we'll be covering in future videos. For more on what's new, you can also check out our iOS 14 roundup, which is in the process of being updated and will include a super detailed look at all of the changes introduced in iOS 14.

Later this week, we'll have separate first look videos available for macOS Big Sur, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7, so keep an eye out for those.

Apple yesterday announced plans to build future Macs with its own custom silicon chips, and to ease the transition away from Intel processors, Apple revived the "Rosetta" feature that allowed PowerPC apps to run on Intel processors during the PowerPC to Intel transition.

Now revived, Rosetta will allow users to run apps that contain x86_64 instructions on Apple silicon, which means Intel-based apps will continue to work on Macs using custom Apple chips.

Rosetta is meant to provide developers with time to create native versions of apps, and there are a few limitations that are worth noting. As outlined in developer documentation shared this week, while Rosetta will be able to translate most Intel-based apps, it will not work with Virtual Machine apps that virtualize x86_64 computer platforms.

That means Apple's future Macs with Apple-designed chips will not natively support running current versions of software like VMWare or Parallels to run x86 Windows within the virtualization software. Other native solutions may appear, but will require efforts from 3rd party developers.

Right now, Macs have a Boot Camp feature that allows Windows to be run on them, but Apple has announced no similar feature for Macs equipped with Apple silicon. Kernel extensions also aren't able to be translated by Rosetta.

Rosetta can translate most Intel-based apps, including apps that contain just-in-time (JIT) compilers. However, Rosetta doesn't translate the following executables:

- Kernel extensions
- Virtual Machine apps that virtualize x86_64 computer platforms

Rosetta translates all x86_64 instructions, but it doesn't support the execution of some newer instruction sets and processor features, such as AVX, AVX2, and AVX512 vector instructions. If you include these newer instructions in your code, execute them only after verifying that they are available. For example, to determine if AVX512 vector instructions are available, use the sysctlbyname function to check the hw.optional.avx512f attribute.

Along with Rosetta, Apple has launched a new Universal App Quick Start Program for developers, which provides "tools, resources, and support" for testing and optimizing universal apps for macOS Big Sur.

Developers can apply to participate in the program, which provides a Developer Transition Kit that looks similar to a Mac mini but is equipped with an A12Z Bionic chip from the iPad Pro as well as 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD, among other features.

The DTK will allow developers to begin creating apps that work with both Intel chips and Apple silicon, while Rosetta will provide support during the transitionary period. Apple said it will introduce the first Mac with a custom chip in 2020, and that it would take two years to transition the entire Mac lineup to its own chips.

More information on Rosetta, how it works, and the exclusions can be found on Apple's developer website.

Apple today shared a video with more details about the availability of iPhone and iPad apps on future Macs with custom Apple processors.

Macs with custom Apple processors will share the same Arm architecture as iPhones and iPads, meaning that they will be able to run many iOS and iPadOS apps without any modifications or recompilation. Like traditional Mac apps, these iPhone and iPad apps will be distributed through the Mac App Store, with in-app purchase options carrying over.

A notice in Apple's developer portal says that all new and existing compatible iPhone and iPad apps will be made available in the Mac App Store on Macs with Apple silicon, unless developers uncheck the "iOS App on Mac" box in App Store Connect. There is no obligation for developers to extend their iPhone and iPad apps to the Mac.

Following years of rumors, Apple confirmed its plans to switch to custom processors for Macs during its WWDC keynote this week, promising industry-leading performance per watt. Apple said it plans to ship the first Mac with its own silicon by the end of the year and complete the transition in about two years.

Apple said that it will continue to support and release new versions of macOS for Intel-based Macs for years to come, and it also confirmed that it still has some new Intel-based Macs in development in the interim.