MacRumors

Apple today released a second beta of visionOS, the software that will run on the future Vision Pro headset. The first beta came out in June, so it has been available to developers to experiment with for a full month.

Because no developers have access to Vision Pro headsets at this time, testing on an actual Apple device is not possible. As of now, the SDK can be accessed through the latest Xcode beta in a virtual capacity.

Apple plans to provide select developers with Vision Pro headsets for app development purposes in the coming weeks. Apple yesterday began accepting applications from developers who are hoping to get one of the development kits. Apple will give developers Vision Pro "loaner" headsets that can be used to develop and test apps. The headsets will need to be returned to Apple at some point, and Apple is asking developers to keep the headsets locked up when not in use.

App development must be done in a private, secure workspace accessible only by the developers who are approved to work with the Vision Pro, rules that will perhaps keep additional headset details from leaking. Registered developers can apply for a test kit on Apple's website.

Apple plans to evaluate each application and priority will be given to applicants developing apps that take advantage of visionOS features and capabilities. Vision Pro is expected to launch sometime in early 2024, so developers have six to nine months to work on apps.

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of the upcoming macOS 14 Sonoma update to developers for testing purposes. The beta comes two weeks after the launch of the third beta.

Registered developers can download the beta through the Apple Developer Center and after the appropriate profile is installed, with the betas available through the Software Update mechanism in System Settings.

macOS Sonoma introduces new Apple TV-like screen savers that also serve as wallpapers after you log in, plus it moves widgets to the desktop. You can use the new widget gallery to choose from a range of widgets, and then drag them to your Mac's desktop.

Widgets can be arranged in any way that's useful, and when you're using an app, they are designed to fade into the background so they're less distracting. ‌Widgets‌ are more interactive than before, so you can use them to do things like play music, turn off the lights in your home, and more. Through Continuity, your iPhone's widgets can also show up on your Mac's desktop.

Video conferencing has improved with a new Presenter Overlay view that shows your desktop or project in new ways, plus Safari now supports web apps for the Dock and the option to create Profiles so you can separate personal browsing from work browsing.

Other new features include improved search that's faster and more responsive, password and passkey sharing, a revamped stickers interface for the Messages app, PDF integration in notes that makes it easier than ever to manage PDFs, and more.

macOS Sonoma will be in beta testing for several months, with a public release coming this fall.

Apple today seeded the fourth betas of upcoming iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming two weeks after the release of the third betas.

Registered developers are able to opt into the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to the Software Update section, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option, and toggling on the iOS 17 Developer Beta. Note that an Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta.

iOS 17 is a major update that introduces a customized look for each person that calls, with the person who places the call able to customize their look. Live voicemails let you see a transcript of a message someone is leaving in real time so you can choose to pick up the phone if you want, and voice messages people send in iMessage are now transcribed into text. You can also record a video or audio message when someone misses your FaceTime call, and ‌FaceTime‌ works on the Apple TV through Continuity functionality.

In Messages, apps have been moved to a new tucked-away interface for a cleaner look, and there is a new Check In feature that is designed to let your friends and family keep an eye on you when you're traveling. Check In automatically notifies friends or family members when you arrive at a destination, such as home. Locations can also now be shared directly from the Messages app.

In a group chat, there's a catch-up arrow so you can see the first message you haven't seen in a conversation, and with search filters, you can more easily find what you're looking for. Stickers have been overhauled, and all emoji are now stickers, living alongside sticker packs and Memoji. Using the remove from background feature in iOS 17, you can turn the subject from any image into a sticker.

With StandBy, an iPhone placed horizontally turns into a little home hub that displays information like the calendar, time, home controls, and more, and Live Activities can be displayed in full screen too.

Widgets on the Home Screen are interactive, so you can do things like check off an item on a to-do list or turn off the lights without having to open an app. AirDrop has been improved and there's a NameDrop function for sharing contacts quickly, plus you can hold two iPhones together to start a SharePlay session. SharePlay also now works with CarPlay so passengers can play their music in the car too.

Other new features include a journaling app coming later this year, AirPlay in select hotel rooms, improvements to AirPods Pro 2 thanks to a new Adaptive Audio feature, offline Maps, Siri that does not require the "Hey" activation, and improvements to search and spotlight.

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming watchOS 10 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software update coming two weeks after the third beta.

To install the watchOS 10 update, developers will need to open the Apple Watch app, go to the Software Update section under "General" in Settings, and toggle on the watchOS 10 Developer Beta. Note that an Apple ID linked to a developer account is required.

Once beta updates have been activated, watchOS 10 can be downloaded under the same Software Update section. To install software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life and it must be placed on an Apple Watch charger.

watchOS 10 adds a whole new widget-focused interface. You can access a widget stack from any watch face using the Digital Crown, swiping through them to get to relevant information. Control Center can be activated from any app by pressing the side button, and these new quick access controls are meant to let you use watch faces that support less information while still putting everything you need at your fingertips.

There are new Palette and Snoopy watch faces, updates to Cycling and Hiking workouts, and mental health integrations. Users can log their state of mind and mood using the Apple Watch, with the device providing insights into mental health over time.

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming tvOS 17 beta to developers for testing purposes, with the update coming two weeks after Apple introduced the third beta.

Registered developers are able to download the tvOS 17 update by opting in to the beta through the Settings app on the Apple TV. A registered developer account is required.

tvOS updates don't typically garner as much attention as updates to iOS and macOS, and are never as feature rich, but tvOS 17 brings FaceTime to the TV for the first time. The ‌Apple TV‌ 4K can connect to an iPhone or iPad that serves as the camera, with the ‌FaceTime‌ interface showing up on the TV's screen.

All of the ‌FaceTime‌ features are available, including Center Stage to keep you front and center, plus there are new gesture-based reactions that let you use your hands to generate on-screen effects. For example, if you make a heart with your hands, the screen will display hearts.

Split View for ‌Apple TV‌ lets users watch television with friends and family using SharePlay, and there are controls for transferring calls between the TV and an ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ as needed. Third-party apps like Zoom will also be able to take advantage of this functionality, so those apps will also work on the TV screen.

Control Center on ‌Apple TV‌ has been revamped and it is easier for users to access key settings and information, plus there is a new feature that allows the ‌iPhone‌ to locate a Siri Remote that's been misplaced.

tvOS also features a range of new aerial screen savers, adds support for third-party VPN apps, introduces Dolby Vision 8.1 on compatible devices, and more. Details can be found in our Apple TV roundup.

Popular flight tracking app Flighty was today updated to version 3.0, with the developers behind the app introducing useful new sharing functionality that's free to use.

Flighty Friends allows Flighty users to send their flight information to family and friends in a quick, easy to parse format. Flight details are easy to follow, so family members can monitor a flight, see if there are delays, and know when you land.

To use Flighty Friends, you just need to connect with a person, and then you can see each other's trips automatically, eliminating the need to send over flight data like airline, flight number, and arrival times. The app will send regular notifications for events like delays, takeoffs, and landings, and there are customizable notifications so each user can decide how much info they want to see.

A live flight map displays the flight locations of every person that you've connected with, so you can keep track of flight progress in real-time. Flight sharing is a free feature of the Flighty app for all users, and flight sharing can be toggled off or on as needed.

Flighty is free to download and use, but there is a "Pro" upgrade that adds features like instant push alerts, FAA delay alerts, Lock Screen widgets, live inbound plane tracking, delay predictions, an arrival forecast, and more. Flighty works on the Mac, iPhone, and iPad, and can be downloaded from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Meta today started rolling out a highly-requested "Following" tab in its Threads app, allowing users to view posts from accounts they follow in reverse-chronological order. The app continues to show algorithmically recommended posts under the "For you" tab.

The addition of a "Following" tab brings Threads more in line with its rival Twitter, and it will make the app more useful for keeping track of the latest posts in real time. The new tab is still in the process of rolling out as a server-side change, so it is not yet visible to all users, but updating the app and tapping the home button in the bottom menu might help.

Meta launched Threads earlier this month as an alternative to Twitter, which has faced several controversial changes since being acquired by Tesla CEO Elon Musk last year. Earlier this week, Twitter changed its name to "X" and said it would become a platform for "everything," including audio, video, messaging, payments, and more.

Threads is integrated with Instagram, resulting in the platform already becoming the largest Twitter alternative, with over 100 million users signed up.

Apple is considering releasing a foldable iPad in the future, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report shared today.

"Apple, who is rumored to have been working on foldable smartphones for several years, reportedly is considering extending the effort to the tablet sector," the preview says, citing sources from the upstream supply chain.

The report corroborates existing rumors about a foldable iPad. In January, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that a foldable iPad would launch in 2024, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Display Supply Chain Consultants CEO Ross Young said they had not heard anything about such a device at the time. Kuo said the foldable iPad would feature an all-new design and a lightweight and durable carbon fiber kickstand.

Like foldable smartphones from brands such as Samsung and Google, a foldable iPad would have a hinge that allows the device to be opened and closed like a book, resulting in a much larger display than existing models when it is unfolded. A foldable iPad would likely be positioned above the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which starts at $1,099.

Apple has yet to release any devices with foldable displays, but rumors suggest the company is considering all options over the long term, including a foldable iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It remains to be seen if Apple ever releases any of these devices, or if the plans will remain limited to the research and development stage.

The iPhone 15 lineup will feature a glass-plastic hybrid lens with an ƒ/1.7 aperture before Apple expands the technology with next year's iPhone 16 models, according to a recent claim from the Twitter user "RGcloudS."

The upgrade will apparently make the ‌iPhone 15‌ series the first global smartphones with a hybrid lens design, since existing devices with this technology from the likes of Xiaomi are only sold in China. The hybrid lens will reportedly feature a single glass element and six plastic elements. Currently, the wide camera across the iPhone 14 lineup has seven plastic lenses.

The ‌iPhone 15‌ lineup's main camera will also feature an ƒ/1.7 aperture, a slight increase over the ƒ/1.79 aperture offered on the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro models. The ‌iPhone 15‌ and ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus models are expected to be equipped with the 48-megapixel rear camera introduced on the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max last year. The ‌iPhone‌ 14 and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus feature a ƒ/1.5 aperture, meaning that the ‌iPhone 15‌ and ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus could be looking at an aperture downgrade this year.

While the devices are expected to use the same 48-megapixel Sony IMX sensor as the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max, the larger aperture will enable the wide camera to capture up to 20 percent more light. Allowing more light into the camera enables better performance in low-light conditions and the ability to use faster shutter speeds. It can also create a shallower depth of field, which can emphasize the subject of an image by blurring the background more.

With next year's iPhone 16 Pro Max, Apple will reportedly upgrade the wide camera to an eight-part hybrid lens design with two glass elements and six plastic elements. It will also introduce five- and six-element hybrid lenses on the telephoto and ultra wide cameras, supplied by Sunny Optical Technology.

Last week, the Twitter user claimed that the ‌iPhone 15‌ lineup could feature stacked battery technology for increased energy density and prolonged lifespan. Now, they have clarified that this upgrade is instead apparently destined for the ‌iPhone 16‌ series, alongside 40W wired charging and 20W charging via MagSafe. Apple purportedly wishes to introduce larger image sensors and stacked battery technology simultaneously.

The "RGcloudS" account mainly focuses on Android leaks and its track record for Apple rumors is unclear, so it should be treated with some skepticism at the current time.

Apple's 64GB Wi-Fi 10.9-inch iPad has returned to its all-time low price of $399.00 on Amazon, down from $449.00. The last time we tracked this record low price was during Prime Day, and right now Amazon has all four colors on sale.

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

In terms of delivery dates, the fastest option arrives on August 3, so there is about a week-long delay on these tablets. As of writing, only the 64GB Wi-Fi model is matching its all-time low price, although you can find some solid discounts on cellular models.

This iPad launched in October 2022 with a complete redesign, larger display, USB-C port, A14 Bionic chip, 12-megapixel camera, and more. It's sold alongside the 9th generation iPad, which retains the Home Button and a large bezel design, and is generally sold for much cheaper ($279.00 right now on Amazon).

Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.

Apple last month announced that its "My Photo Stream" service is set to shut down on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, which means customers who are still using that feature need to transition to using iCloud Photos before that date. Keep reading to learn what it means for you and whether you need to take action.

What is My Photo Stream?

Originally launched in 2011, My Photo Stream is a free service that when enabled temporarily uploads images (up to 1,000 at any given time) to iCloud, making them accessible across your Apple devices and available for importing to your library on any device. Photos remain in My Photo Stream for 30 days and are then automatically deleted from ‌iCloud‌.

My Photo Stream was later replaced by iCloud Photo Library (now ‌iCloud Photos‌) and Apple is now shutting down the My Photo Stream service on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.

To prepare for the shutdown, Apple stopped photo uploads to My Photo Stream on June 26, 2023, so any images uploaded to the service before that date will remain in ‌iCloud‌ for the usual 30 days until the shutdown point.

What Do I Need to Do?

If you already use ‌iCloud Photos‌, you don't need to do anything – your photos are already uploaded and stored in ‌iCloud‌. However, if you're not sure, you can check that ‌iCloud Photos‌ is enabled on all of your devices.

On iPhone and iPad

1. Open the Settings app and tap your Apple ID at the top of the menu.
2. Tap iCloud.
3. Make sure that it says "On" next to Photos.

On Mac

1. Click the Apple symbol () in your Mac's menu bar and choose System Settings.
2. Click your ‌Apple ID‌ name at the top of the sidebar.
3. Click iCloud.
4. Make sure that it says "On" next to Photos.

What to Do If You Don't Use iCloud Photos

‌Photos‌ in My Photo Stream are already stored on at least one of your devices in their original format, so as long as you have the device, you won't actually lose any photos when the service shuts down.

However, what you will lose is the ability to access these images on any device. If any photos you want aren't already in your library on a particular iPhone or iPad, one option is to turn on ‌iCloud Photos‌ using the steps above.

Note that ‌iCloud Photos‌ requires a paid ‌iCloud‌ subscription to go beyond the free 5GB ‌iCloud‌ storage limit, and it‌ is only available on iPhones and iPads running iOS 8.3 or later and Macs running OS X Yosemite or later.

Alternatively, you can save photos in My Photo Stream to your library on a particular device, as long as you do it before July 26. The following steps show you how.

Saving 'My Photo Stream' Photos to Your Photo Library

1. Open the ‌Photos‌ app and tap Albums.
2. Tap My Photo Stream, then tap Select.
3. Tap the photos that you want to save, then tap the Share button (the square with an arrow pointing out).
4. Choose Save Image.

If you own a Mac, you don't have to do anything – My Photo Stream photos automatically import to your library.

Apple has become the target of a £785 million ($1 billion) class action lawsuit on behalf of over 1,500 developers in the UK over its App Store fees, reports TechCrunch.

The suit accuses Apple of abusing a dominant position by charging a 15% to 30% fee on in-app sales in the ‌App Store‌, a policy that has been criticized by antitrust regulators in other countries.

It also argues UK consumers are missing out because developers are being deprived of money that could be spent on research and development to help drive app innovation.

The lawsuit is being brought by Sean Ennis, a professor at the Centre for Competition Policy at the University of East Anglia, on behalf of app developers.

"Apple's charges to app developers are excessive, and only possible due to its monopoly on the distribution of apps onto iPhones and iPads," said Ennis in a statement. "The charges are unfair in their own right, and constitute abusive pricing. They harm app developers and also app buyers."

The lawsuit is an opt-out class action. In other words, UK-based developers don't have to register to be included in any potential winnings, which would be calculated based on their app business.

Apple has been accused of or investigated for anticompetitive practices in several other countries over the past few years, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Japan, the United States, and more, with many of the complaints related to the ‌App Store‌. As a result, Apple has been forced to make changes to the ‌App Store‌ in some countries, such as allowing developers to offer alternative payment systems in South Korea.

Apple's ‌App Store‌ terms and conditions are also being probed by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which opened its investigation in March 2021.

In the European Union, Apple is gearing up to accommodate the Digital Markets Act, which will require it to allow apps to be downloaded on the iPhone using sideloading or alternate app stores in iOS 17.

For Apple's part, it says the ‌App Store‌ is not the only way for developers to reach users, since they can also do so over Safari and other web browsers, where Apple rules do not apply. The company also says the majority of developers don't even pay any commission, while of those who do, many benefit from the ‌App Store‌ Small Business Program which requires them to pay only 15% fees.

Apple has also been keen to point out that over the past 15 years it has not raised commission rates or added fees, while twice in the last two years, federal courts have said Apple is entitled to charge a commission for access to its platform and rejected the assertion that the ‌App Store‌ gives the company monopoly power. Apple often also highlights the success of third-party apps on the ‌App Store‌ and their investments in developers' success, as well as the quality and security of the ‌App Store‌ itself.

In a support document published last month, Apple said certain SATA hard drives might unexpectedly disconnect from the 2023 Mac Pro after the computer wakes from sleep. Apple said it was aware of the issue and would fix it in a future macOS update, and the company followed through on that promise today.

Apple updated the support document today to indicate that the issue has been resolved in the macOS Ventura 13.5 update released today, so users simply need to update their Mac. The issue will also likely be resolved in the macOS Sonoma beta.

The Issue

While the Mac Pro is configured with SSD storage, it has SATA ports for connecting internal hard drives, and sometimes the drives could disconnect due to a bug.

"Certain models of internal SATA drives might unexpectedly disconnect from your computer after your Mac wakes from sleep," said Apple. "This can occur if your Mac automatically goes to sleep or if you manually put your Mac to sleep. If you see a message that your disk was not ejected properly, you can restart your Mac to reconnect to the drive."

New Mac Pro

Unveiled at WWDC last month, the new Mac Pro features Apple's M2 Ultra chip. The desktop tower has the same design as the Intel-based model from 2019, but lacks graphics card support and user-upgradeable RAM due to Apple silicon's unified architecture. Customers who do not need PCIe expansion should consider the Mac Studio instead.

The iOS 16.6, iPadOS 16.6, macOS Ventura 13.5, watchOS 9.6, and tvOS 16.6 updates that Apple released today address a long list of security vulnerabilities, including two that Apple says may have been actively exploited.

Apple today also released iOS 15.7.8, iPadOS 15.7.8, macOS Monterey 12.6.8, and macOS Big Sur 11.7.9 for devices that are not able to run the current release versions of the Mac, iPhone, and iPad software. These updates contain the same security improvements.

There are several fixes for kernel vulnerabilities, including one that could allow an app to modify a sensitive kernel state. This is the vulnerability that Apple says may have been actively exploited, but Apple's wording indicates that it only received reports of active exploits against versions of iOS that were released before iOS 15.7.1. It is, however, patched on all platforms.

The updates also fix a WebKit vulnerability that Apple says could have been actively exploited, but Apple first addressed this issue with the iOS 16.5.1 (c) and macOS Ventura 13.4.1 (c) Rapid Security Responses, so some ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, and Mac users may have already had protection from this issue.

Because these new software releases include so many security fixes, it is a good idea to install them as soon as possible. A full list of the patches that Apple has implemented can be found on Apple's security support website.

Apple today released macOS Ventura 13.5, the fifth major update to the macOS Ventura operating system that was released in October. macOS Ventura 13.5 comes a month after the launch of macOS Ventura 13.4, an update that brought minor features to the Apple News app and bug fixes.

The ‌‌‌macOS Ventura‌‌‌ 13.5 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings.

According to Apple's release notes, macOS Ventura 13.5 introduces important bug fixes and security updates. Apple recommends that all users install the software.

There are no notable feature changes or standout bug fixes in macOS Ventura 13.5, and work on the operating system is wrapping up. Apple is shifting its focus to macOS Sonoma, the next-generation version of macOS that's coming this fall.

Apple today released iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6, the sixth point updates to the iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 operating systems that first came out last September. The launch of iOS 16.6 comes over a month after the release of iOS 16.5, an update that brought minor changes to Apple News.

‌‌iOS 16‌‌‌.6 and iPadOS 16.6 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes for the updates to propagate to all users because of demand. Apple has also released an iOS 15.7.8 update for those who are not able to update to iOS 16.

According to Apple's release notes for the update, it includes unspecified bug fixes and security improvements. No new features were found during the beta testing period, and Apple's notes on the software provide no insight into what's included.

Apple's work on iOS 16 is winding down now that iOS 17 is available for beta testers and set to launch in September alongside new iPhones.

Apple today announced the release of Apple Vision Pro developer kits, with developers able to apply to receive a kit starting today. Developers will be provided with an Apple Vision Pro "loaner" that will allow them to develop and test apps.

Along with a Vision Pro, developers will get help with device setup and onboarding, check-ins with Apple experts for UI design and development guidance, and help with app refining. Each developer who receives a kit will be provided with two additional code-level support requests for troubleshooting code issues.

Apple says that ‌Apple Vision Pro‌ headsets are Apple-owned development devices, and will need to stay where they are shipped in a private, secure workspace that is accessible only by the developers who were approved to work with one. Apple plans to be in regular contact with developers using the kit, and the kit will need to be returned at Apple's request.

Developers can apply on Apple's website. Apple will collect details about each team's development skills and existing apps, with priority given to applicants creating an app that takes advantage of visionOS features and capabilities.

Apple today released watchOS 9.6, a minor bug fix update for the Apple Watch. watchOS 9.6 is a free software update that comes a month the launch of watchOS 9.5, an update that brought the new 2023 Pride watch face.

watchOS 9.6 can be downloaded for free through the Apple Watch app on the iPhone by opening it up and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it needs to be placed on a charger, and it needs to be in range of the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌‌‌‌.

According to Apple, the update includes bug fixes and security improvements for Apple Watch owners, with no new specific features.

watchOS 9 will soon be replaced with watchOS 10, the next-generation version of watchOS that Apple is currently beta testing.