MacRumors

Apple TV's karaoke feature is about to get more immersive. Starting with the tvOS 17 update launching later this year, Apple Music Sing will support Continuity Camera, allowing users to see themselves on their TV via a wirelessly-connected iPhone camera.

Apple said users will be able to apply all-new camera filters as they sing along to the lyrics of their favorite songs to add to the experience.

Apple previously announced that FaceTime is launching on Apple TV with tvOS 17. This will also be enabled by Continuity Camera, allowing for people to use a wirelessly-connected iPhone or iPad camera to participate in a video call on their TV. FaceTime on tvOS requires a second-generation Apple TV 4K released in 2021 or newer.

The new Apple Music Sing feature was announced in a press release highlighting several services-related features coming to iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17. Other new features include recurring Apple Cash payments, and the ability for businesses to accept iPhone IDs for proof of age and identity later this year.

Apple today announced that iOS 17 will include an option to set up recurring Apple Cash payments on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis, a feature that will be useful for kids allowances and regularly shared expenses, such as rent payments.

Alongside this feature, users will have the option to automatically top up their Apple Cash balance when it runs low, according to Apple.

Apple revealed this addition in a press release highlighting a long list of new services-related features coming to iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17. Another feature announced was the ability for iPhone users to present an ID stored in the Wallet app at participating businesses later this year.

Apple today announced that iPhone users will be able to present a driver's license or ID stored in the Wallet app at participating businesses and venues starting later this year. Users will simply hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near the business's iPhone to verify their age and identity for things like alcohol, rental cars, and more.

Users will be shown what information is being requested and whether the receiving party will be storing the information, according to Apple. Users will then be asked to authenticate and consent by using Face ID or Touch ID. No additional hardware beyond an iPhone is required for the business to offer this functionality.

Apple announced this feature in a press release covering several new services-related features coming to iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17 later this year. Another feature announced includes the ability to set up recurring Apple Cash payments in the Wallet app, on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis.

The iOS Camera app offers a few optional settings to help you line up your shots, most notably a Grid that can be overlaid on the screen to help apply the rule of thirds.

And for the last few years, the Grid mode has included a somewhat-hidden leveling feature for top-down photos, popping up a floating crosshair to help make sure you're lined up properly above your subject.

With iOS 17, Apple is enhancing the camera leveling functionality, separating it out from the Grid mode to its own option and expanding it to include a horizontal level for more traditional straight-on photos.

Turning the Level option on will pop up a broken horizontal line on the screen when your iPhone senses you're lining up for a straight-on shot and you tilt your device slightly out of horizontal. The line appears white while your phone is out of level and then turns yellow once you achieve a level orientation to indicate success.

The leveling pop-up only appears for a brief time and only within a narrow range of angles close to horizontal (in either portrait or landscape orientation), so it's not intrusively popping up when you're intentionally trying to take a photo at an angle.

The new option appears to be off by default if you don't have Grid mode turned on before upgrading, but is on by default if you're already a Grid mode user. The option can be toggled in the Camera section of the Settings app.

The new Level feature is just one of a number of enhancements to photos in iOS 17, including one-tap cropping, pet recognition, animated sticker creation, and Visual Look Up for recipes from photos.

(Thanks, Jake!)

Apple's new Vision Pro headset can scan a user's face and use advanced machine learning to create a photorealistic "Persona" of them for video calls. And in a future visionOS update, these avatars will become even more realistic.

In its Platforms State of the Union video for developers this week, Apple announced that it is working on "Spatial Personas" that will allow Vision Pro users to "break out of the familiar FaceTime tile and feel more present, like they are gathered in the same physical space." Spatial Personas will have a transparent background and be able to display more movement and body language for a more lifelike experience.

Spatial Personas will be available on FaceTime calls, including for SharePlay sessions.

"In a SharePlay session, Spatial Personas let you feel present with others in a way technology has never enabled before," said Apple, in a related WWDC video. "You can look your friends in the eye, express yourself naturally with movement and body language, and best of all, enjoy a shared activity together using your app."

Apple said a developer preview of Spatial Personas will be available later this year, but it did not indicate when the feature will be publicly released. Vision Pro does not launch until early 2024 in the U.S. and will be priced at $3,499.

In the wake of the announcement of the new 15-inch MacBook Air, this week we've been tracking fresh all-time low prices on older models. Yesterday we saw the 2020 256GB M1 MacBook Air at $799.99 on Amazon, which is still available, and today B&H Photo has the 2022 256GB M2 MacBook Air at $999.00, down from $1,099.00.

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.

This 13.6-inch MacBook Air has a new starting price of $1,099.00 thanks to the introduction of the 15-inch model. So while this is just a $100 discount now, it is the best price we've ever tracked on the model to date and a solid new entry price for the M2 models of the MacBook Air.

B&H Photo also has the 512GB model for $1,299.00, down from $1,399.00. This is a solid second-best price on the higher storage model. Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.

The first developer beta of iOS 17 includes code-level references to a new MagSafe Battery Pack with model number A2781, and a new MagSafe Charger with model number A3088, according to tech enthusiast @aaronp613.

No further details are known about the accessories at this time. Last year, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the MagSafe Battery Pack would be updated with a USB-C port for charging in the foreseeable future, alongside the iPhone 15 series moving to USB-C. The current MagSafe Battery Pack has a Lightning port.

As for the MagSafe Charger, one potential improvement could be Qi2 support, which could allow for up to 15W charging of non-Apple devices instead of the current 7.5W limit. The first Qi2-certified chargers are expected to launch later this year. It's unclear if the MagSafe Duo Charger with an Apple Watch charging puck would also be updated.

Apple released the MagSafe Battery Pack in 2021, while the MagSafe Charger has been available since 2020. The accessories have not been updated since then, but they have received several firmware updates with optimizations over the years. Last month, it was discovered that Apple prototyped the MagSafe Charger in several different colors, but it's unclear if the additional colors would ever be made available to the public.

In iOS 17, Apple has made a small but notable change to the App Store app so that it now tells users how long an app download will take once it's started.

When the "Get" app button is tapped in an app listing and the circular download symbol appears, the time remaining for the download to complete is displayed beside it in minutes and seconds. If the installation is likely to take only a brief moment, the time remaining is not shown.

Obviously the time it takes for a given app to download will depend on the user's internet speed and the app's file size, which is why users might only see how long it will take once the download has been initiated and the ‌App Store‌ server connection is established.

Still, it gives users a more accurate idea of how long a download is likely to take than a circular downloading symbol does, and users can always opt to cancel the download by tapping the cancel button within the circular icon if the remaining time is considered to be too long.

(Thanks, Dimitri!)

Apple made a wide range of hardware and software announcements during its WWDC keynote on Monday, introducing its long-awaited AR/VR headset Vision Pro, new Macs, iOS 17, macOS Sonoma, and much more. As always, there were many rumors leading up to the event that gave us an idea of what to expect, but not all of them were accurate.

Below, we have recapped some of the bigger hits and misses from the WWDC rumor mill.

Hits

• Many hardware-related details about Apple's headset were accurately reported, including the external battery pack connected with a wire, the ability to see the wearer's eyes, the M2 chip, eye and hand tracking, and an Apple Watch-like Digital Crown for switching between augmented reality and virtual reality.
• Apple announced a 15-inch MacBook Air equipped with the M2 chip.
• Apple updated the Mac Studio with M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips.
• Apple updated the Mac Pro with the M2 Ultra chip, although there was uncertainty about whether it would be announced at WWDC or later.
• The new Mac Pro features the same overall design as the previous Intel-based model.
• iOS 17 features a new StandBy mode that can show info like the time, calendar, and widgets when an iPhone is charging in a landscape position. While the StandBy name never leaked, the feature was accurately rumored.
• iOS 17 features a new Journal app.
• iOS 17 drops support for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X.
• Apple added new mental health and vision health features to the Health app on iOS 17, and expanded the app to the iPad.
• Apple shortened the "Hey Siri" phrase to "Siri."
• AirPlay will soon work with supported TVs in hotel rooms.
• watchOS 10 features widgets that can be scrolled through, and redesigned apps that take advantage of larger Apple Watch displays.

Misses

• Reality Pro was considered a potential name for Apple's headset based on a trademark application, but it ended up being named Vision Pro.
• It was reported that Apple's headset operating system would be named xrOS, but it ended up being named visionOS. Apple does refer to the operating system as xrOS in its WWDC session videos, so the name may have been a placeholder, or perhaps there was a last-minute change.
• Vision Pro was widely rumored to cost around $3,000, but it is priced at $3,499.
• Vision Pro is launching in early 2024, not late 2023. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo did mention the possibility of early 2024 at the last minute.
• A sketchy rumor claimed Apple's headset would be available in six colors.
• Nearly all claims made by previously-accurate Twitter account @analyst941 were false, including iOS 17 having a redesigned Control Center and Wallet app.
• 15-inch MacBook Air was initially rumored to feature an M3 chip.
• The new MacBook Air has a 15.3-inch display, not a 15.5-inch display.

With so many rumors shared leading up to WWDC, this list is far from comprehensive, so feel free to discuss other hits and misses in the comments section.

Apple in iOS 17 improved the image recognition capabilities of the iPhone, which means the Photos app is now able to recognize pets in addition to people.

The "People" album is now the "People and Pets" album, because the ‌Photos‌ app can detect animals, and specifically, animals that are important to you because of the number of photos that you have of them.

Animals that you have one or two photos of won't show up in this section, but if you have multiple images of the same animal, you'll see the pet listed in the album. You can add a name for the pet and confirm additional photos.

In this album, you'll see all of the images you have of that animal, which is handy, and this function also allows specific memories of the pet to show up in the For You section.

The pet recognition feature seems to be accurate, and it is able to tell pets apart that have the same coloration. It was able to distinguish between two white cats, two orange cats, and two tabby cats with no issues and no mistakes.

Pets are now denoted by more accurate icons with the Look Up feature, and the app will try to better determine a specific species.

Apple has also improved the iOS 17 ‌Photos‌ app with Visual Look Up for food items, which brings up recipes for similar dishes, and an option to look up information about the subject of a photo when you remove it from the background. Visual Look Up also now works in videos.

The changes to the ‌Photos‌ app are available to developer running the iOS 17 beta, with Apple planning to release an iOS 17 public beta next month.

The Messages app on the iPhone and iPad has supported stickers for several years now, but Apple in iOS 17 is overhauling the sticker experience to make them more important.

All emoji are now considered stickers and can be used in the Messages app like stickers, with emoji listed right alongside Memoji stickers and sticker packs that you've downloaded from the App Store.

In addition, you can make your own stickers using the remove subject from background tool that Apple added for images in iOS 16.

In any of your images in Photos (or images from Safari or another location), you can long press on the subject of the photo to highlight it and to bring up an options interface.

Choosing the "Add Sticker" option ports the selected subject into the sticker interface. From there, you can add an effect or delete it. Effects include adding a white sticker outline, a "puffy" sticker effect, a glittery effect, and more. Subjects pulled from Live Photos have the option of animating.

Stickers that you have created can be used through the sticker interface in the Messages app, accessible by tapping on the "+" button and then "Stickers." You can insert stickers as single images, or add them to messages and photos, which is how stickers have worked since the feature was introduced.

Apple Vision Pro is a standalone hardware device that has its own processors and does not require a connection to a Mac or an iPhone to operate, but it is able to interface with other Apple devices. With the Mac, for example, the Vision Pro can serve as a Mac display.

Apple says that there's a Mac Virtual Display feature that works wirelessly with the Mac. You can bring your Mac's display into Vision Pro and "place it anywhere in space." You can see each of your Mac apps individually, arranging them in a way that works for you.

According to Apple, the Vision Pro is meant to serve as a "private, portable 4K display" when used with a Mac. Connecting is as simple as looking at a compatible Mac while wearing the Apple Vision headset.

You can connect Mac accessories to the Vision Pro, including the Magic Keyboard and the Magic Trackpad for input purposes. Attaching Bluetooth accessories allows for a typical Mac workflow to continue to be used, with the display replaced by Vision Pro.

Vision Pro is set to launch in early 2024, so we won't know more about how it functions as an actual Mac display replacement until closer to that date. The headset is priced starting at $3,499.

Starting with iPadOS 17, the built-in camera on the Studio Display and other external displays can be used with iPads for FaceTime calls and other video purposes. This functionality is available on any iPad model equipped with a USB-C port.

As it turns out, this feature actually goes beyond external displays. In its Platforms State of the Union video for developers, Apple revealed that any USB-C webcam can now be used with iPads on a plug-and-play basis, as demonstrated in the video below from Stephen Robles. USB-A webcams are also supported with an adapter.

iPadOS 17 is available in beta for anyone with an Apple developer account, and the update will be publicly released later this year.

Rumors about Apple's Vision Pro headset have been circulating for years, but something that was never quite clear was how it would be controlled. There were some early rumors of control devices, which eventually faded away as leaks focused more on gesture control, and as it turns out, that's the way Apple went.

The Apple Vision Pro uses hand gestures, eye movements, and spoken commands for navigation. You can choose something on the display by looking at it, for example, and then select it by tapping your fingers together. Scrolling is done with a quick flick, and only small movements are required. You can look at the microphone button in a search field and then start speaking in order to dictate text, and Siri voice commands can be used to open and close apps, play songs, and more.

Reviewers have said that the Vision Pro navigation experience takes time to get used to, so there will be an adjustment period. Most other headsets on the market use some kind of handheld control mechanism, so the gesture-based control system will be unfamiliar to almost everyone.

Typing can be done with a connected iPhone or Bluetooth keyboard, but there's also a virtual keyboard to type on, and dictation can be used as an alternative as well.

The interface won't be easy to get used to for many, but on the plus side, the app layout and navigation will be immediately recognizable to those who have used an ‌iPhone‌ or an iPad. Apps are arranged in a "Home View" that's similar to the Home Screen so not everything will be unfamiliar.

Apple's developer betas have historically been limited to developers who have a paid account that costs $99 per year, but with the launch of the most recent betas, that's changing.

Anyone can now enroll in the free version of the Apple Developer program and get access to beta releases. All that's required to download betas is an Apple ID.

"OS beta releases" is now listed as an available resource even for those who are not members of the Apple Developer Program.

This change means that anyone with an ‌Apple ID‌ can download and install the iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma betas without waiting for the public betas to launch.

Of course, it is not a good idea to install these betas on a main device as there can be notable bugs and issues with early software. More information can be found on Apple's membership page.

Apple's decision to make betas free follows a beta installation change introduced in iOS 16. Apple began requiring an ‌Apple ID‌ linked with a developer membership to prevent people from using profiles and other means of getting the beta without being a registered developer. Apple will now be able to keep track of everyone who is installing the developer betas with the ‌Apple ID‌ link.

With watchOS 9 on the Apple Watch Ultra, Apple introduced a new battery feature called Optimized Charge Limit, which uses on-device machine learning to analyze your daily usage and dynamically set a maximum charge limit for your watch.

Available now as a developer beta and coming to all users later this year, watchOS 10 will extend this Optimized Charge Limit to additional Apple Watch models, including Apple Watch SE, Series 6, Series 7, and Series 8. Any new models released later this year alongside the public release of watchOS 10 will undoubtedly also support the feature.

Optimized Charge Limit is an extension of the Optimized Battery Charging feature that waits to fully charge your battery until just before your device expects you to need your Apple Watch, in order to limit battery degradation due to overcharging. Optimized Charge Limit augments this by predicting how much battery life you are likely to need on any given day and only charging up to a level sufficient for your expected needs.

As a result, on some days your Apple Watch may charge all the way to 100%, while on other days it might charge to only 80% or 90%. The feature is optional but on by default, and it only engages in locations where you spend a lot of time such as at home or at work, recognizing that less frequently visited locations are more likely to have unpredictable impacts on your watch usage and charging patterns.

You can also manually override a planned Optimized Charge Limit by tapping the open charging icon after connecting to a charger and selecting the "Charge to Full Now" option.

For more details on how to manage Optimized Charge Limit, check out our how-to on the feature.

(Thanks, @aaronp613!)

Just a day after Apple debuted its Vision Pro headset, The Verge reports that Apple has acquired AR headset startup Mira, a firm most known to the public for providing some of the lens technology found in headsets used on Mario Kart rides in Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood.

The Verge says Mira CEO Ben Taft shared a private photo on Instagram showing a number of Apple employee badges with the comment "Excited for Mira’s next chapter, at Apple :). 7 year journey from dorm room to acquisition." At least 11 Mira employees have reportedly joined Apple, which essentially confirmed the acquisition by issuing its standard press statement to The Verge, saying only that "we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

In addition to the Mario Kart ride partnership, Mira has also been involved in military contracts and has promoted its headsets for use in manufacturing and mining settings, but it's unlikely most of these efforts will continue under Apple's ownership.

Apple has obviously already developed significant expertise in augmented and virtual reality, so it's unclear exactly why it has acquired Mira, but it's likely to be related to continuing to bolster its talent in the area or perhaps intellectual property rights.

Update June 7: This article has been updated to clarify Mira's contributions to the Mario Kart ride headset.

It looks like Apple's Vision Pro headset is only going to come in silver, despite rumors of multiple color options, but some level of customization will be available through the headset accessories.

There is a "Light Seal" that attaches magnetically to the headset display, creating a tight fit between the device and the wearer's face in order to block out light, and there's also a headband that fits at the back of the head to hold the headset in place. Both are removable and can be replaced.

Apple plans to offer the Light Seal in a wide range of size and shape options. The magnets in the Light Seal adhere to the curved display, and it's important to have the right size. The Light Seal needs to fit firmly against the face to keep light out.

The headband snaps on to the Audio Straps that include speakers that provide spatial audio. Apple designed the headband from a flexible, 3D knitted material with a ribbed structure that is designed to be comfortable to wear. It is breathable while offering stretch, and a fit dial customizes the size to each individual's head.

Apple when introducing the Vision Pro said that the headband can be removed and exchanged for a different size, indicating headbands will also come with size options. Apple also said a "different kind of band" could be used, so there is an open possibility for Apple to make other Apple Vision bands in the future.

There are also opportunities for third-party manufacturers to create seal and band accessories for Apple Vision, and we've already seen some third-party band options. In the future, Apple Vision may work a lot like the Apple Watch, with a multitude of bands to choose from.