iPhone 12 models will not include EarPods or a power adapter in the box, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in a research note obtained by MacRumors. This lines up with a prediction shared by analysts at Barclays earlier this week.
Kuo said that Apple will instead release a new 20W power adapter as an optional accessory for iPhones and end production of its existing 5W and 18W power adapters later this year. The form factor of the new 20W power adapter is said to be similar to the 18W version, with USB-C Power Delivery for fast charging, as seen in the leaked photo below.
Kuo believes that iPhone 12 production costs will significantly increase due to 5G support, but he expects Apple to sell the new models at a comparable price to its iPhone 11 lineup, and removing the EarPods and power adapter from the box is one way to reduce costs. Apple would likely also tout the environmental benefits of such a move.
Barclays still expects Apple to include a Lightning to USB-C cable in the box as the only accessory included with iPhone 12 models.
Kuo also expects that Apple will stop including a 5W power adapter with the second-generation iPhone SE later this year, but he said that a 12W power adapter will continue to be included with current generations of the 10.2-inch iPad, iPad Air, and iPad mini.
Now that WWDC week is winding down, it's good to take a step back and look at all of the biggest announcements and smaller details, as Apple had an awful lot to say about its operating systems, the direction of future Mac hardware, and more.
While we didn't get any new hardware launches, Apple certainly made an impact with its software news, including some significant changes for iOS 14 with Home screen widgets and tons of new features, an updated look for the Mac with macOS Big Sur, and much more. And of course, Apple's long-rumored transition of its Mac lineup to the company's own Arm-based chips is finally upon us, with Apple starting to lay out its move to Apple Silicon with tools for developers to help them get ready.
Check out our video above and read on below for more on this week's biggest stories!
Everything Apple Announced at WWDC20 in 13 Minutes
Be sure to read our WWDC20 roundup for detailed coverage of all of Apple's announcements throughout the event.
iOS 14 Announced With All-New Home Screen Design Featuring Widgets and More
Apple this week took the wraps off of iOS 14 with dozens of new features, including customizable home screen widgets, the App Library, App Clips, pinned conversations and mentions in iMessage, a new Translate app, digital car keys in the Wallet app, picture-in-picture mode for videos and FaceTime calls, the ability to set third-party browser and email apps as default, and more.
iOS 14 is currently available in beta for registered Apple developers, with a public beta to follow next month. The software update will be released to all users with an iPhone 6s or newer in the fall. As always, it is best to install beta software on a secondary device if possible due to potential bugs.
The update is significant enough that Apple decided to brand it as macOS version 11.0, marking the end of an era for Apple's desktop platform. For nearly two decades, every major release of macOS (known as OS X until 2016) was an increment of version 10, from 10.0 "Cheetah" in 2001 through 10.15 "Catalina" in 2019.
macOS Big Sur is available in beta for registered Apple developers, with a public beta to follow next month. The free software update will be released to all users with a compatible Mac in the fall.
Apple Transitioning Macs to Custom Chips With 'Incredible' Performance Starting Later This Year
Following years of rumors, Apple has confirmed its plans to switch to custom processors for Macs, promising industry-leading performance per watt. Apple said that it plans to ship the first Mac with its own silicon by the end of the year and complete the transition to Arm-based architecture in about two years.
The first Mac with Apple silicon could be a redesigned 24-inch iMac in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. 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.
Developers can apply for a modified Mac mini with the iPad Pro's A12Z chip to test and develop apps on a Mac with Arm-based architecture. The program costs $500 and includes a comprehensive set of resources and one-on-one technical support. Apple says availability is limited.
watchOS 7 Announced With Enhanced Face Customizations, Handwashing Detection, and More
Apple Watch will be getting several new features with watchOS 7 this year, including more customizable watch faces, sleep tracking, four new workout types that can be tracked, a handwashing coach with a 20-second countdown, and more.
watchOS 7 is available in beta for registered Apple developers, and for the first time, a public beta will be available next month. The software update will be released to all users with an Apple Watch Series 3 or later in the fall.
Apple also previewed tvOS 14 with the ability to watch YouTube videos in 4K on the Apple TV 4K, Audio Sharing for AirPods, and more.
iPhone 12 Rumor: No EarPods in Box and Possibly Not Even a Charger
Oddly enough, the analysts also heard that iPhone 12 models might not ship with a power adapter of any kind, leaving only a USB-C to Lightning cable in the box. If true, Apple would likely position the move as good for the environment, but it would certainly be inconvenient for customers without a spare charger.
Earlier this week, the anonymous Twitter user Mr. White shared photos of a 20W power adapter that he suggested will be included with iPhone 12 models, so there are some conflicting rumors about this right now.
On a separate note, prominent mobile leaker Ice Universe claimed that the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max models will include displays with 120Hz refresh rates, allowing for a smoother visual experience. We've previously heard mixed rumors about whether the feature, known as ProMotion on its iPad Pro models, so we're still uncertain which, if any, iPhone 12 models may adopt it later this year.
MacRumors Newsletter
Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.
As part of an ongoing antitrust inquiry into Apple's App Store policies, U.S. antitrust regulators are looking into the 30 percent cut that Apple takes from in-app subscriptions, reports Bloomberg.
Government lawyers have been meeting with developers over the course of the last several months, and in meetings as recent as last week, developers have been asked questions about Apple's subscription rules.
Apple requires developers to use its App Store payment system for subscriptions, an issue that was in the spotlight recently when email app "Hey" was rejected for requiring users to purchase a subscription on its website because the app's developers did not want to pay Apple's subscription fees. The problem was ultimately resolved, but it led to multiple developer reports about unfair treatment from Apple.
Developers have been questioned by government officials about the App Store review process, and at least one developer was asked if Apple lowering its 30 percent cut would solve concerns, but the developer in question told the DoJ that the problem is not the commission, but the fact that Apple doesn't allow for alternate payment systems.
Representative David Cicilline, Chairman of the U.S, House Subcommittee on Antitrust that's looking into Apple's App Store policies, earlier this month called Apple's fees "highway robbery" and said that Apple's rules are unfair to developers and hurt consumers.
The U.S. investigation into Apple's App Store practices is in the early stages, according to Bloomberg, with the U.S. Justice Department focusing most of its resources on a separate investigation into Google's dominance in digital advertising. The case against Apple has been described as "serious," however, but the inquiry is ongoing and no decisions have been made.
At the conclusion of the investigation, the antitrust committee will generate a report with recommendations on legislative action.
Apple is also facing a European antitrust complaint over its 30 percent cut on ebooks in the App Store, brought about by Rakuten's Kobo subsidiary. Kobo said that Apple's rate is anti-competitive because of Apple's own Books service, which does not have to pay the same fee.
WWDC was held online this year, but it was still packed with announcements, including iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS Big Sur, watchOS 7, tvOS 14, and Apple confirming its long-rumored plans to transition to its own custom-designed processors for future Macs. Sadly, there was no sight of a redesigned iMac, but that is still on the table for later this year.
With so many rumors shared every week, it can be hard to remember exactly what was leaked ahead of a particular Apple event. For that reason, we have put together a list of accurate and inaccurate rumors in relation to everything announced this week. The list is not comprehensive, but it covers many of the biggest leaks and rumors that surfaced.
iMessage's new mention function in iOS 14 was reported by MacRumors. Some other features that Apple was testing, including the options to retract a message or mark a conversation as unread, did not make the cut. Typing indicators were also not implemented directly in group chats and instead appear next to profile pictures for pinned conversations.
Just hours before the WWDC keynote, the anonymous Twitter account L0vetodream leaked several accurate details, including macOS Big Sur's name and redesign, tvOS 14's Home app, watchOS 7's hand washing monitoring, and more.
As mentioned above, not all of the iMessage features in testing that were reported by MacRumors made the cut, including the options to retract a message or mark a conversation as unread. Typing indicators were also not implemented directly in group chats and instead appear next to profile pictures for pinned conversations.
iOS 14's renamed Fitness app does not yet allow users to download guided workout videos, a feature that was in testing according to MacRumors and CNBC.
In the Photos app, there's an option to use pinch gestures to zoom in to photos to see details up close, and in iOS 14, Apple lets you zoom in further than ever before.
The image as taken, max zoom on iOS 13, and max zoom on iOS 14
Zooming super far into iPhone photos doesn't always produce the clearest image, but it lets you inspect images more closely.
There have been tricks to zoom in further on images in the Photos app like using the rotate tool to unlock a zoom level not normally allowed, but in iOS 14, there's no need to use any trick to zoom in further.
For those who like to pixel peep at iPhone photos to see different elements of images, the new zooming options will be a welcome and convenient change. There's still a limit on zooming, so the rotate trick still works if you need to zoom in even further than iOS 14 allows. Further zoom will be entirely pixellated though, so most people shouldn't need to zoom in beyond what's permitted by default.
iOS 14 introduces some other changes for the Photos app, such as support for captions for the first time. A complete list of everything new in the Photos app can be found in our iOS 14 roundup, which also covers all of the other new features added in the update.
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Woolnut to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a leather case designed for one of Apple's newer iPhones.
Slim in fit and priced affordably at 32.50 to 40 euros or $36 to $45, Woolnut's iPhone cases are made from a high-quality vegetable retanned full-grain leather sourced from Scandinavia. The soft pebble-textured leather will age and darken over time, taking on a rich patina that's unique to each individual user, plus it provides grip.
Microfiber that matches the leather of the case lines the interior of the case to provide protection for the glass exterior of the iPhone, and a leather lip extends over the edge of the iPhone to keep the display safe when it's face down.
Buttons remain covered but usable, and at the rear of the case, the leather frames the camera cutout while protecting the camera. The tapered design of the case leaves the Lightning port accessible, and wireless charging is supported.
Woolnut's cases are available in black, green, and cognac, depending on the iPhone model. We have 12 iPhone cases to give away, with the winner to pick a case that fits their iPhone.
To enter to win our giveaway, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumorsFacebook page.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
The contest will run from today (June 26) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on July 3. The winners will be chosen randomly on July 3 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
In iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, Apple has added an accessibility feature called Sound Recognition that enables iPhones and iPads to listen for certain sounds, like a doorbell or a baby crying, and alert the user if they're detected.
The feature is designed to help people that are hard of hearing, but Apple cautions that it shouldn't be relied upon in circumstances where the user may be harmed or injured, in high-risk or emergency situations, or for navigation.
With that caveat in mind, here's how to enable Sound Recognition on a device running iOS 14 or iPadOS 14.
How to Enable Sound Recognition on iPhone and iPad
Launch the Settings app on your device.
Tap Accessibility.
Under Hearing, select Sound Recognition.
Toggle the switch for Sound Recognition to the green ON position and wait a moment for the feature to download. Note that enabling the option requires 5.5MB of on-device storage.
Tap Sounds.
Select which sounds you want your device to listen for by toggling the switch next to each option.
Once the feature is enabled, your iPhone or iPad will continuously listen for the sounds you selected, and using on-device intelligence, will notify you when those sounds are recognized.
How to Add Sound Recognition to the Control Center
Once you've enabled Sound Recognition, you can add it to your device's Control Center to make it easier to switch on and off.
Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap Control Center
Under More Controls, tap the green plus (+) button beside Sound Recognition to add it to the list of Included Controls above. You can use the hamburger handles on the far right of the controls list to arrange them in the order you want.
Once that's done you can access the Sound Recognition button by launching Control Center on your iOS device: On an iPad or with a Home button, double-tap the Home button; on iPhone 8 or earlier, swipe up from the bottom of the screen; and on a 2018 iPad Pro or iPhone X and later, swipe down from the upper right of the screen.
Tap the Sound Recognition button to turn it on or off. You can also long press the button and change which sounds your device should listen for.
Apple's software chief Craig Federighi often does a series of interviews following WWDC events, and 2020 has been no exception. Federighi was on the The Talk Show with Daring Fireball's John Gruber, and he also spoke with tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee.
In a video published today, Federighi and Brownlee discussed some of the new features in iOS 14 and answered questions from Apple fans.
On New iOS Features
Default apps - Apple is letting users set third-party mail and browser apps as the default in iOS 14, but this doesn't extend to Maps and other app categories. Federighi said that when Apple looked at the top things people wanted to configure, "those two rose to the top," so it's where Apple started.
Siri - Siri has a new compact UI that leaves the background of the iPhone's display visible, but it can't be interacted with. This is intentional, according to Federighi. "We tried it both ways internally. We had prototypes where you would scroll behind the Siri answers as you brought them up. Initially, we thought that was going to be really great so we implemented it that way, and then what we found was that for most of the interactions we were having with Siri, it then created this extra heaviness to it." Apple will listen to people during the beta period, and this could change.
macOS Big Sur 11.0 - macOS Big Sur is macOS 11, rather than macOS 10.16. Federighi said that between the new design and Apple Silicon, macOS Big Sur serves as a "real renewal of the platform" and Apple is excited to "mark it as the next chapter."
macOS Big Sur design - macOS Big Sur brings the first major redesign the Mac has seen in years. Federighi says that after you get used to the change, "it feels natural, fresh and yet clearly, distinctly Mac." Federighi says he looks forward to hearing feedback from people who have used it for a few weeks. The rounding "may seem arbitrary" but it's "extremely consistent" throughout the OS. Curves feel more natural and organic compared to straight edges that feel more manufactured.
Fan Questions
iPad Calculator and Weather - Federighi was asked why there's no Calculator app or Weather app on the iPad. "There are some things we have not done because to do it, we would want to do something really distinctly great in that space." Apple wants to wait to do it well, and hasn't "gotten around to doing it great." Federighi said the day "may come."
Apple Watch for iPad - On the topic of why the Apple Watch doesn't work with the iPad (thereby requiring an iPhone), Federighi said it's a "sensible point" that some people would want that feature, but it's not something Apple has pursued yet. "I wouldn't rule it out," he said.
While we covered the highlights of the interview in this article, the full video up above is worth watching, as is the complete one hour and 20 minute podcast that features even more discussion about WWDC.
Apple's iOS 14 update adds several new features to the Photos app, including an option to add captions to images right from the iPhone, which is something that Photos users have been wanting for quite some time.
The Photos app for Mac previously supported captions through the Description field, but on the iPhone, there has been no method for adding similar information. In iOS 14, entering a caption is quick and easy.
Tap to view any photo full screen on the iPhone, and then swipe up to get to the caption field. Tap the field, type the caption, and press enter.
Captions in iOS 14 sync across all devices if iCloud Photo Library is enabled, and the Description field in macOS Big Sur has been renamed to Captions for continuity.
Adding a caption to a photo using iOS 14 allows for an additional level of tagging and organization because captions can be searched for using the Photos search interface. There's still no native option for editing metadata for photos, but Captions make it easier to add labels that are visible cross device.
There are a few other useful improvements to the Photos app, such as filters for viewing all images or albums by Favorites, Edited, Photos, and Videos, sorting inside albums, and better autoplay for Live Photos. Navigating through photos also lets you zoom in and out on all albums, much like you can do with the "All Photos" interface in iOS 13, so it's easier to find specific images that you're looking for.
Ford's F-series pickup is the best-selling vehicle in the U.S., and last night the carmaker unveiled the redesigned 2021 F-150, which includes Ford's new SYNC 4 infotainment system with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto.
Ford announced SYNC 4 last October, with the first announced vehicle to include it being the upcoming electric Mustang Mach-E. With the F-150, Ford will be kicking off inclusion of the new system in its more mainstream vehicle lineup.
The 2021 F-150 comes with SYNC 4 and wireless CarPlay standard, but there are two different sizes of infotainment screens available: an 8-inch screen that's standard on the lower XL and XLT trims and a larger 12-inch screen that's available as a package option on the XLT trim and standard on Lariat and higher trims.
Wireless CarPlay has been relatively slow to trickle out and has largely been limited to premium brands like BMW, Porsche, and Audi, although we're on the cusp of seeing much broader rollouts with Ford, GM, and Fiat Chrysler all announcing support for the feature in select 2021 models launching later this year.
In addition to wireless CarPlay and Android Auto with SYNC 4, the F-150 includes a number of other technology enhancements such as standard over-the-air updates that can improve performance, add new features, and reduce needed maintenance and repairs over time.
The F-150 also includes many of the driver-assist technologies that have become common in recent years, and in the third quarter of 2021 will receive a software update to support Active Drive Assist, which will allow for hands-free driving on over 100,000 miles of divided highways throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The 2021 F-150 will start rolling out to dealers this fall.
Earlier in June we kicked off a 30% sitewide sale in partnership with Zagg, and now that promotion is set to end next week on Tuesday, June 30. This includes sitewide discounts across Zagg, Mophie, Braven, Invisible Shield, iFrogz, Gear4, and Halo.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Zagg. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
To get the discount, head to Zagg's website, browse for an item, add it to your cart, and when you do you'll notice a pop-up on the right where you can view your cart. Here you can enter the promo code MACRUMORS30 and click apply to see the 30 percent discount taken off the item in your cart. This coupon code will not work on items that have already been discounted, and can only be applied to regularly priced products.
Mophie and the rest of Zagg's brands have a wide variety of useful accessories for Apple products, including battery cases, Lightning and USB-C cables, Bluetooth headphones and speakers, and screen protectors. We've rounded up a few examples of the deals you can find on Mophie, Braven, Invisible Shield, and more in the list below.
Apple today announced that it will co-produce neo-noir psychological thriller "Losing Alice" from creator, writer, and director Sigal Avin. The series will debut on Apple TV+, but a release date has yet to be provided.
Apple describes "Losing Alice" as a "thrilling cinematic journey that uses flashbacks and flash-forwards in a satisfyingly complex narrative that takes the viewer through the conscious and subconscious of its protagonist's mind." The series will follow Alice, a 48-year-old female film director who "feels irrelevant since raising her family."
After a brief encounter on the train, she becomes obsessed with a 24-year-old screenwriter femme fatale, Sophie (played by Lihi Kornowski), and eventually surrenders her moral integrity in order to achieve power, relevance and success.
Through the prism of this female Faust, the series explores issues such as jealousy, guilt, fear of aging, and the complex relationships women have among themselves and each other. But above all, "Losing Alice" is a love letter for the still-too-rare female director.
Woot today is offering a refurbished model of Apple's 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2019 (128GB) for $889.99, down from an original price of $1,299.00. Sales on this notebook have previously reached down to around $1,049.00 for a new model, making Woot's refurbished sale notable for anyone willing to invest in a previous generation MacBook Pro.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Woot. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
You can also get the 256GB model for $999.99 on Woot today, and both of these are the MacBook Pro models with a butterfly keyboard. Woot notes that these MacBook models have been refurbished by Apple, but they don't include an Apple warranty. Instead, buyers will get a one year Woot warranty. Additionally, the MacBook Pros are packaged in a generic white box.
Woot's sale will last today only, and Amazon Prime members can get free shipping when purchasing a MacBook Pro. You can find even more discounts on other MacBooks by visiting our Best Deals guide for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. In this guide we track the steepest discounts for the newest MacBook models every week, so be sure to bookmark it and check back often if you're shopping for a new Apple notebook.
Microsoft today announced that it is permanently closing its physical stores worldwide. The company's retail employees will continue to serve customers through Microsoft's corporate offices and remotely, providing sales, training, and support.
Microsoft will continue to operate its online storefront, and it also has plans for reimagined "Experience Centers" for customers in New York City, London, Sydney, and at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
"Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location," said Microsoft Corporate Vice President David Porter. "We are grateful to our Microsoft Store customers and we look forward to continuing to serve them online and with our retail sales team at Microsoft corporate locations."
Microsoft opened its first store in Scottsdale, Arizona in October 2009, eight years after Apple's first stores opened in Glendale, California and the Washington, D.C. area.
Apple's upcoming "iPhone 12 Pro" and "iPhone 12 Pro Max" will feature displays capable of up to 120Hz refresh rates, allowing for a smoother on-screen experience, according to a reliable mobile leaker.
A reliable source, if there is no accident, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max have basically determined the maximum 120Hz refresh rate.
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) June 26, 2020
"A reliable source, if there is no accident, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max have basically determined the maximum 120Hz refresh rate," tweeted Ice Universe this morning.
The leaker, who goes by the Twitter handle @UniverseIce, doesn't usually comment on Apple's plans, but is a well-regarded source of Samsung rumors. Samsung has supplied Apple with OLED panels for the iPhone X, iPhone XS, and the most recent iPhone 11 series.
On a related note, some users of the iOS 14 developer beta are seeing an accessibility setting that limits the frame rate of the device to 60 frames per second. The setting, which does not appear for all beta users, suggests that future iPhones could be capable of higher frame rates. Current iPhones have a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz.
Apple already uses variable refresh rate technology in its iPad Pro models, but they still use LCD panels rather than OLED. Bringing it to a new breed of OLED iPhones would raise the smartphone performance bar even higher.
Apple markets the iPad Pro-exclusive tech under the moniker "ProMotion," which it says dynamically adjusts the display to the movement of content for fluid scrolling, greater responsiveness, and smoother motion. It does all this on the fly, which means it also conserves battery life.
Apple's adaptive ProMotion IAPs also reduce Apple Pencil latency, and reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said that Apple Pencil support is a possibility for a future iPhone.
Leaker Max Weinbach has also suggested that the iPhone 12 Pro, rumored to come in 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch sizes, will feature a high refresh-rate 120Hz ProMotion display.
Apple is expected to release four iPhones this fall. Rumors suggest the 6.7-inch iPhone and one 6.1-inch model will be higher-end OLED devices with triple-lens cameras, while a 5.4-inch model and another 6.1-inch model will be lower-end iPhones with dual-lens cameras and a more affordable price tag.
A new feature in iOS 14 alerts users when apps read the clipboard, and it turns out some apps have been reading clipboard data excessively.
Image via Jeremy Burge
TikTok users who upgraded to iOS 14, for example, quickly noticed constant alerts warning them that TikTok was accessing the clipboard every few seconds. After being caught, TikTok now says that it's removing the feature.
Okay so TikTok is grabbing the contents of my clipboard every 1-3 keystrokes. iOS 14 is snitching on it with the new paste notification pic.twitter.com/OSXP43t5SZ
— Jeremy Burge (@jeremyburge) June 24, 2020
In a statement to The Telegraph, TikTok said that it accessed the clipboard to identify spammy behavior.
"Following the beta release of iOS 14 on June 22, users saw notifications while using a number of popular apps.
"For TikTok, this was triggered by a feature designed to identify repetitive, spammy behavior. We have already submitted an updated version of the app to the App Store removing the anti-spam feature to eliminate any potential confusion.
"TikTok is committed to protecting users' privacy and being transparent about how our app works."
An update to remove the feature has already been submitted to the App Store, and a download of the new update confirms that TikTok no longer appears to be accessing the clipboard.
TikTok did not say whether the feature would be removed from Android devices, nor whether clipboard data was ever stored or moved from user devices. Other apps have also been called out for reading the clipboard, including Starbucks, Overstock, AccuWeather, several news apps, and more.
Prior to when iOS 14 was released, a pair of developers sounded an alarm letting users and Apple know that iPhone and iPad apps were quietly accessing the clipboard. Apple's new iOS 14 feature appears to have been added in response, and apps are no longer able to read the clipboard without users knowing exactly what's going on.
iOS 14 is limited to developers at the current time, but Apple plans to release a public beta version next month ahead of the software's fall launch. Clipboard reporting is just one of the many new privacy features in iOS 14, with a full list available in our iOS 14 roundup.
Apple's upcoming iPadOS 14 update has many of the same features that are available in iOS 14, but there are a handful of functions that are designed specifically for the larger display and the Apple Pencil, such as Scribble.
Scribble is one of the most notable new features in iPadOS 14, and we checked it out in our latest YouTube video. With Scribble, you can use an Apple Pencil to write in any text field on the iPad, with the written text then converted to typed text.
The functionality lets you use the Apple Pencil throughout the operating system without having to swap over to a keyboard when you need to compose an email, write a Calendar event, visit a URL, send an iMessage, or conduct a search. You can, for example, go to Safari and write in MacRumors.com, and it'll convert to the proper URL so you can get to the site.
Scribble is decent at recognizing all kinds of handwriting, even when it's messy, but it does not work well with cursive. It interprets capitals and proper spacing, so once you get the hang of handwriting in text fields, it's a fairly seamless experience.
If you make a mistake when you're writing something, you can just scribble it out with the Apple Pencil and it deletes, which is a handy feature. If you need to select text, you can just circle it.
Scribble works in any text field as mentioned, but it's also been built into the Notes app. Just tap on the toolbar and select the pen that has the little "A" on it. This tool will convert all your handwritten text in notes to typed text.
To go along with Scribble, there are a few other useful tools. Smart Selection lets you select all of your handwritten text as if it was typed text, and if you copy it and paste it into an app that doesn't support handwriting, it will be converted into typed text.
You can also select handwritten text and paste it into other notes, or make changes to the style and the color of the written text. Handwritten phone numbers, links, addresses, and more also turn into clickable links like they do when typed. So if you write out a phone number, you can tap it to call it because the iPad is able to detect the numbers and convert them on the fly.
With a Shape Recognition tool, if you clumsily draw a standard shape like a circle or a star, iPadOS 14 will recognize the shape you're trying to make and convert it into a perfect version, which is useful for note taking and diagrams.
With iPadOS 14, the iPad can be used almost entirely with touch and tools, and there's little need to type. If you're someone who prefers writing by hand, iPadOS 14 introduces tools that enhance the experience.
What do you think of Scribble and the other features in iPadOS 14? Let us know in the comments, and for more on iPadOS 14, make sure to check out our roundup.
Apple hosts a Swift Student Challenge ahead of WWDC each year, tasking students with creating an innovative Swift Playgrounds project. Apple has been highlighting Swift Student Challenge winners in 2020, and today shared some of the projects students created on the Apple Developer site.
Brazilian student Henrique Conto, for example, created a three-minute Touch Bar game where players help a young developer escape from a cave.
French student Louise Pieri designed Meep, a two-level game where one level is normal and the second level is upside-down, and 18-year-old Devin Green created an AI bot named Stanny.
Apple chose 350 winners in 2020, and each winner received an exclusive WWDC20 jacket and pin set. In past years, winning the challenge has been more valuable as it included a $1,599 ticket to Apple's physical WWDC event. WWDC 2020 was, however, a digital-only event that was free for everyone.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Zagg. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Woot. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
