MacRumors

As expected, Apple today revealed a multitude of features coming to iOS 12 that will improve the user's digital health and "help you limit distractions." These features will be built into iOS 12 and feed back into a new area of the Settings app called "Screen Time," found under Do Not Disturb.

Beginning with a new Do Not Disturb during Bedtime feature, you'll now be able to "get a better night's sleep" by dimming the iPhone display and hiding all notifications until prompted in the morning. When enacted, DnD during Bedtime enhances the time and date to act as more of a bedside alarm clock as well.

In an effort to reduce interruptions, iOS 12 will give you more options for controlling how notifications are delivered as well. You can instantly manage notifications so they can be turned off completely or set them to be delivered directly to the Notification Center, bypassing the lock screen.

Over time, Siri will "intelligently make suggestions" to alter notifications based on your interactivity with these new granular controls and by judging how long it's been since you've opened or used an app. Notably, iOS 12 also introduces Grouped Notifications to iPhones and iPads, which Apple says will "make it easier to view and manage multiple notifications at once."

In the new Screen Time settings, you will find a detailed daily and weekly Activity Report that breaks down device usage across categories of apps, how many notifications you receive, how often you pick up your device, and more. With App Limits, you can set a specific amount of time to be in an app, and a notification will warn you when time's almost up.

Screen Time is built for both individual users and families, allowing parents to see their kid's Activity Reports right from their own iOS device. Other parental controls include features like Downtime, to set a block of time to limit a child's iOS device usage, and the ability to choose specific apps that can be used during Downtime, like Books or Phone.

"In iOS 12, we're offering our users detailed information and tools to help them better understand and control the time they spend with apps and websites, how often they pick up their iPhone or iPad during the day and how they receive notifications," said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. "We first introduced parental controls for iPhone in 2008, and our team has worked thoughtfully over the years to add features to help parents manage their children’s content. With Screen Time, these new tools are empowering users who want help managing their device time, and balancing the many things that are important to them."

Shifting from digital health features to a few augmented reality-focused updates, iOS 12 is updating Animoji with numerous overhauls this year. The big new addition is "Memoji" for iPhone X, where you can build your own personal Animoji character to look just like you and add in fun accessories like glasses and hats. Then, the Memoji can be used like normal Animoji in Messages, but also as a filter in FaceTime and video Messages.

The existing set of Animoji is also expanding with Ghost, Koala, Tiger, and T-Rex, and all Animoji and Memoji characters now feature winks and "tongue detection" so that they can capture even more of your facial expressions.

iOS 12's augmented reality features will be powered by the new "ARKit 2," enabling shared experiences, persistent AR experiences tied to a specific location, object detection and image tracking, and more that will make AR apps "even more dynamic." Apple worked with Pixar to create a new open file format, USDZ, so that it's easy to experience AR "nearly anywhere in iOS," ranging from apps like Messages to Safari, Mail, Files, News, and more.

Then there's Group FaceTime, which will enable audio and video chats with multiple people (up to 32) at the same time. Apple explains that participants can be added at any time, join later if the chat is still active, and choose to join using video or just audio from an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch (for audio).

In other new app news, there's "Siri Shortcuts" which aims to help users build fully customizable workflows from third-party apps. In the app, you'll be able to customize Shortcuts by building a voice command that initiates the task, or use the UI of the app to simply tap your personal Shortcuts and begin the series of actions you have created.

In Photos, Apple is making the app a bit more akin to Apple Music and Apple News with a "For You" tab that surfaces favorite moments in one place. A new sharing suggestions feature will make it easier to send photos and videos to friends, and iOS 12 will prompt friends who receive photos to share back any of their own that they took from the same trip or event. Otherwise, there's also improved search so you can combine multiple terms "to find just the right photos."

In general, Apple says that iOS 12 is "faster and more responsive" and has been designed to make everyday tasks much more streamlined. According to the company, the Camera launches up to 70 percent faster, the keyboard appears up to 50 percent faster and typing is more responsive, and apps launch up to twice as fast.

The company also promises that enhanced privacy and security "remain a top priority in iOS 12." For Safari, this means that Intelligent Tracking Prevention will block social media "Like" or "Share" buttons and comment widgets from tracking you without permission. The app will also automatically create, autofill, and store strong passwords when users create new online accounts and flags reused passwords to point out when you should be a bit more secure.

Below you'll find a list of a few other features coming to apps like Books, News, Wallet, and more in iOS 12:

- Apple Books is redesigned to make it easier to discover and enjoy books and audiobooks, and the Book Store tab makes it easy to explore new titles and browse the top charts, curated collections and special offers.
- Apple News is redesigned to make it easier to discover new channels and topics or jump straight to favorites, and on iPad, a new sidebar makes navigation even simpler.
- Stocks comes to iPad and illustrates how the market is moving with easy-to-understand quotes and high-quality news (pulled from Apple News).
- CarPlay adds support for third-party navigation apps displayed right on the car’s dash — joining music, messaging, calling and automaker apps.
- Voice Memos is now available on iPad and adds iCloud support to sync recordings and edits across devices. A new design makes it easier to capture, share and edit recordings.
- Siri translation expands to more than 40 language pairs and brings more knowledge of sports, celebrities, food and nutrition. Siri can also surface favorite photos by person, place, event, time and topic.
- Wallet on iPhone and Apple Watch adds support for student ID cards, making it more convenient to access everything on campus.

Apple says that iOS 12 will be available this fall as a free software update for the iPhone 5s and later, all iPad Air and iPad Pro models, iPad 5th generation and 6th generation, iPad mini 2 and later, and iPod touch 6th generation.

Apple today previewed macOS Mojave during its keynote event at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California. Version 10.14 of the Mac operating system introduces a slew of new features, including a Dark Mode, Dynamic Desktop wallpapers, Desktop Stacks, a redesigned Mac App Store, and more.

The new optional Dark Mode lets users shift their desktop to a darkened color scheme that touches almost every part of the OS, including System Preferences, Messages, Mail, Maps, Photos, Calendar, and more. Developers will be happy to learn that the newest version of Xcode coming in Mojave also supports the new Dark Mode, and Apple is making an API available so developers can implement Dark Mode in their own apps.

"macOS Mojave is a major update that introduces powerful new features for a wide range of Mac users, from consumers to pros," said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. "Dark Mode brings a dramatic new look to macOS that puts your content front and center, familiar iOS apps come to the Mac for the first time and the redesigned Mac App Store makes finding new apps easier and more enjoyable than ever."

Mojave's Dark Mode also includes a new Dynamic Desktop feature that automatically transitions new desktop wallpapers to match the time of day.

Meanwhile, a new Desktop Stacks feature is designed to keep your desktop more organized. The new Stacks feature organizes messy desktops by automatically stacking files into neat groups based on file type. Users can customize their Stacks to sort based on other file attributes like date and tags.

In addition, a new Gallery view for Finder makes it easier to preview files visually, including images, video, presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs, and more. It also comes with a new Finder sidebar that offers media metadata and Quick Actions, which allow users to do things like create and password-protect PDFs and run custom Automator Actions on files.

Finder's Quick View has also been updated with new Markup tools, and will allows users to rotate and crop images, mark up PDFs, and trim video and audio clips without ever opening an app.

macOS Mojave also introduces desktop versions of a number of iOS apps, including News, Stocks, Voice Memos and Home. The apps were were brought to Mac using iOS frameworks that have been adapted to macOS. Apple says that starting in late 2019, these additional frameworks will be available for developers to bring their iOS apps to macOS.

An all-new redesigned Mac App Store is also coming with macOS Mojave. Like the iOS App Store, the redesigned Mac App Store has a new look and includes rich editorial content to help app discovery. The new design also highlights new and updated apps in a Discover tab, while tabs for Create, Work, Play and Develop aim to help users find apps for a specific project or purpose.

Apple has also focused on improving security and privacy in macOS 10.14. For example, the new Safari browser includes enhanced Intelligent Tracking Prevention to help block social media "Like" or "Share" buttons and comment widgets from tracking users without permission.

In addition, Safari now presents simplified system information when users browse the web, preventing them from being tracked based on their system configuration. In another security measure, Safari will automatically create, autofill, and store strong passwords when users create new online accounts, and flag reused passwords so users can change them.

Group FaceTime is another feature exclusive to macOS Mojave, and enables users to initiate chat sessions with up to 32 people at the same time. FaceTime users can also join later if a conversation is still active and choose to join using video or audio from an iPhone, iPad or Mac, or using FaceTime audio via Apple Watch. Group FaceTime is also available on iPhones and iPads running iOS 12.

Elsewhere, in an extension of Apple's existing Continuity features, a new function called Continuity Camera allows the Photos app in macOS Mojave to access still shots and video captured from nearby iOS devices. Screenshots in macOS will also include new on-screen controls for accessing existing but hidden screenshot options as well as new video recording and photo editing capabilities.

macOS Mojave will be available this fall as a free software update for Macs introduced in mid-2012 or later, plus 2010 and 2012 Mac Pro models with recommended Metal-capable graphics cards.

At WWDC this morning, Apple previewed watchOS 5, the newest version of the Apple Watch operating system. The update adds a number of new fitness and communications features that Apple says will help Watch owners "stay healthy and connected."

Auto-workout detection is a major quality of life improvement for those who use their Apple Watch devices for fitness. In watchOS 4 and prior versions, users needed to manually begin a workout in the Workout app — and failing to do so meant missing out on tracking and other data related to their workout. watchOS 5 will use heart rate and movement data to determine if the user might be working out, and pop up an alert to the user to start the workout and even give retroactive credit to the start of the workout. It will also prompt users to end workout sessions if the user forgets to turn the app off.

Also new is an "activity competition" mode, that will allow fitness-focused friends to challenge each other to seven-day competitions, with users getting points for closing activity rings over the course of a week. Smack talk and achievements are, naturally, tightly integrated.

Yoga and hiking have been added to the types of workouts supported, taking into account elevation change and heart rate to accurate measure calories burned and total exercise minutes.

Runners have received a number of new features that will help keep them on track. A cadence or steps-per-minute metric that works on both indoor and outdoor runs has been added, and outdoor runners gain a new pace alarm that alerts if they are ahead of or behind a target pace. Finally, a rolling mile pace shows the pace for the immediately preceding mile, on top of the current and average pace displays.

A new Walkie-Talkie app lets users send push-to-talk messages (like an old-school Nextel phone) to each other from watch-to-watch, and a new Podcasts app has been added as well. That will allow subscribed podcasts to automatically sync to the device for offline listening, and music and audiobooks from apps like Pandora and Audible will sync to the Apple Watch for offline playback as well.

The Siri watch face has been updated with better shortcuts and suggestions, including sports scores or commute time ahead of your drive home. And actions for supported third-party apps will show up as well.

Finally, the Apple Watch will support on-device Student ID cards, allowing students access to buildings, to pay for food and laundry on campus, and more. It's supported by a number of major universities at launch including Duke, the University of Alabama, and the University of Oklahoma this fall, with others — including Johns Hopkins and Temple University — offering support by the end of the year.

Apple also released a new rainbow-colored Pride watch band and watch face, which is available today.

watchOS 5 is expected to be released later this fall.

Apple today announced tvOS 12, which will introduce support for Dolby Atmos surround sound technology in the Apple TV 4K. When the update appears later in the year, iTunes will automatically update compatible movies with Dolby Atmos support for free.

With the addition of Dolby Atmos, Apple said that this makes the Apple TV 4K the only streaming box with support for both 4K and Atmos. Additionally, iTunes will become the "home to the largest collection of Dolby Atmos-supported movies anywhere" after the update.

Apple also reiterated the Apple TV as a game-changer for the television market, announcing that cable company Charter Communications will begin offering the Apple TV 4K to its customers this year (in a similar vein to promotions from DirecTV Now). Secondly, customers will have access to live channels and thousands of on-demand programs through a new Spectrum TV app on tvOS and iOS.

Apple is upgrading Single sign-on for Apple TV and iOS with "zero sign-on," wherein the Apple TV detects the user's broadband network and automatically signs them in to "all the supported apps they receive through their subscription - no typing required." Zero sign-on support will launch with Charter in 2018 and roll out to other providers "over time."

The company is also upgrading Aerial screensavers in tvOS 12 with new Earth footage captured in collaboration with the International Space Station National Lab and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space. The screensavers have been taken by NASA astronauts and filmed in 4K HDR, and all Apple TV Aerial screensavers will now be more interactive with location information and swipe-to-change features through the Siri Remote.

A few other tvOS 12 updates include:

- With iOS 12, users can securely AutoFill passwords from iPhone and iPad to Apple TV to easily sign in to Apple TV apps.
- The Apple TV Remote will be automatically added to Control Center on iPhone or iPad for Apple TV users, giving users quick access to Apple TV controls.
- Home control systems like Control4, Crestron and Savant can be used to control Apple TV, including using Siri for voice search and control.

tvOS 12 will launch for all users as a free software update for the 4th generation Apple TV and Apple TV 4K in fall 2018.

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starts today at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, with the traditional keynote kicking things off at 10:00 AM Pacific Time.

Apple is providing a live video stream on its website and via Apple TV. iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 are expected to be the main focus as usual, with Apple itself leaking macOS details heading into the weekend.

In addition to Apple's video stream, we will be updating this article with live blog coverage and issuing Twitter updates through our @MacRumorsLive account as the keynote unfolds. Highlights from the event and separate news stories regarding today's announcements will go out through our @MacRumors account.

WWDC live blog in chronological order ahead…

➜ Click here to read rest of article...

Well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has returned today with his first Apple-related research note for his new firm TF International Securities. According to Kuo, Apple's pricing strategy will be "more aggressive" for the three iPhones rumored for September 2018, an effort to boost shipments of the models this year.

Now, Kuo states that the 6.5-inch OLED "iPhone X Plus" will be $900-$1,000, the second generation OLED iPhone X will be $800-$900, and the new 6.1-inch LCD iPhone will be $600-$700. Kuo reiterates that all 2018 iPhones will have a full-screen design and Face ID. The analyst also outlined more reasons behind Apple's new pricing strategy:

We forecast that Apple will adopt a more aggressive price policy for the following reasons: (1) concern over the negative impact of a higher price in a mature smartphone market on selling momentum, (2) improved cost structure, which is mainly attributed to assembly yield improvements of end product & 3D sensing and cost reduction of components, and (3) increasing users of Face ID benefiting the promotion of the Apple service and ecosystem.

Secondly, Kuo believes that Apple will announce all three new iPhone models at an event in September. Furthermore, all three iPhones will launch in September, including the LCD model which some reports have previously pegged for a November debut.

This is Kuo's first research note since departing KGI Securities in April. At the time, it was believed he would lessen his focus on Apple to look at other emerging industries, but it seems we can still expect reports on Apple and its supply chain from Kuo.