After unveiling its latest Pixel 6 smartphones with a custom Arm-based Google Tensor chip last month, Google is also developing its own Arm-based processors for future Chromebook laptops and tablets, according to Nikkei Asia.
Google plans to roll out its own processors for Chromebooks in around 2023, according to the report. Chromebooks are laptops, tablets, and detachable devices that run Google's Chrome OS operating system, and they are available from brands such as Google, Samsung, Lenovo, Dell, HP, Acer, and ASUS in several markets.
The report claims that Google was particularly inspired by Apple's success in developing its own chips for not only iPhones, but also Macs following the introduction of the Apple-designed M1 chip last year. The first Macs with Apple silicon chips were released in November 2020 and Apple previously said the transition away from Intel-based processors for its Mac lineup would take about two years to be completed.
The latest Mac to transition to Apple silicon is the base model iMac, which was updated with the M1 chip, a colorful new design, and a larger 24-inch display in April. Apple is also rumored to be planning redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with a faster version of the M1 chip for release later this year, with multiple reports having stated the notebooks are likely to be released in October or November.
Apple is planning to add a raft of new health features to the Apple Watch, including blood-pressure trends, a thermometer for fertility and sleep tracking, sleep apnea detection, and diabetes detection, as well as a number of updates for existing models, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Sources who claim to be familiar with Apple's plans and have access to internal company documents told the Wall Street Journal about the company's development of a large number of new Apple Watch health features in detail. Most of these new health monitoring functions are not expected to arrive before 2022.
Apple is said to be considering adding a thermometer to the Apple Watch for health monitoring purposes as soon as next year. The thermometer's features are purportedly based around fertility planning to give women insights into their ovulation cycle and improved detection of patterns when tracking sleep. Further in the future, there are also plans for this sensor to detect when a user has a fever.
The blood-pressure monitoring feature reportedly detects when pressure is increasing and can highlight the presence of hypertension. Apple intended to release the feature next year but has experienced difficulties in perfecting the technology, according to the report.
As opposed to the common methods that measure blood pressure using an inflatable cuff wrapped around the upper arm, Apple's system measures the speed of the wave of a heartbeat through a user's arteries using sensors. The Apple Watch would then show a user how their blood pressure is trending, but would not be able to provide a baseline systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurement, leading some Apple employees have to raise questions with managers over the usefulness of the feature.
Apple is also purportedly studying blood-pressure monitoring with an additional cuffless device that could provide a more precise reading without inflating.
Further in the future, the company apparently has plans to implement detection for sleep apnea using the existing blood-oxygen sensor, but there have been challenges with taking readings often enough without draining the Apple Watch's battery life. Apple also intends to provide medical guidance when the Apple Watch detects low blood-oxygen levels.
Plans to bring detection of diabetes to the Apple Watch are also underway, but the company is said to have faced challenges with non-invasive blood glucose measuring and struggled to make progress. Apple is apparently working with the National University of Singapore on a research project to examine lifestyle coaching for pre-diabetic people who wear blood-glucose monitoring devices made by other companies.
The report cautioned that these new Apple Watch health features are currently under study and development at Apple and could ultimately be delayed or canceled.
Separately, Apple is also reportedly putting pressure on the FDA to approve a number of updates for existing Apple Watch models. One update would allow people with atrial fibrillation to use the Apple Watch to track their condition over time. Another update would allow the Apple Watch to alert users if their blood-oxygen levels drop.
Currently, the Apple Watch can only look for signs of atrial fibrillation in people who do not have the condition and blood-oxygen monitoring can only provide a reading without alerts for changes.
Apple today announced the first U.S. states that will be rolling out the ability for residents to add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch. Arizona and Georgia will be the first states to support the feature, with Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah to follow, according to Apple.
Apple said select TSA security checkpoints in participating U.S. airports will be the first locations where customers can present their mobile driver's license or state ID in the Wallet app. Participating states and the TSA will share more information at a later date in regards to when and where mobile driver's licenses and IDs will be supported.
Apple is already in discussions with many more U.S. states as part of its plan to offer the feature nationwide in the future, according to Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, but no timeframe was provided.
The ability to add a driver's license or ID to the Wallet app is a feature of iOS 15, which will be publicly released later this year. Once a participating state begins offering this capability, customers will be able to tap the plus sign at the top of the Wallet app to begin adding their license or ID, and then simply tap their iPhone or Apple Watch on an identity reader at a TSA checkpoint, without taking out their physical card.
Apple said the feature is designed with privacy and security in mind. When adding a driver's license or state ID card to the Wallet app, customers will be required to take a photo of their face, which will be securely provided to the issuing state for verification. As an additional measure, Apple said users will be prompted to complete a series of facial and head movements during the setup process.
Upon tapping their iPhone or Apple Watch on an identity reader, customers will see a prompt on their device displaying the specific information being requested by the TSA. Only after authorizing with Face ID or Touch ID is the requested identity information released from their device, according to Apple. Users do not need to unlock, show, or hand over their device to a TSA security officer to present their ID, the company added.
Apple said its mobile ID implementation supports the ISO 18013-5 standard, which sets clear privacy guidelines for presenting an ID through a mobile device.
Apple today announced that it's expanding its "Creative Studios" initiative, part of Today at Apple, to Washington D.C. and Chicago, offering "career-building programming and creative resources to underrepresented communities."
The new initiative will launch in collaboration with local and community partners and non-profits to enable writers, photographers, and others to have access to hands-on experiences in their fields. The initiative will launch in Chicago on September 18, and in Washington D.C. on September 20.
Launching September 18, Today at Apple Creative Studios - Chicago will work with youth in Little Village to amplify up-and-coming talents' unique stories through photography and illustration. In collaboration with community partners Yollocalli Arts Reach, Instituto Justice and Leadership Academy, and Chicago Architecture Biennial, Apple will provide free arts and cultural programming across five weeks to aspiring artists and photographers, offering the tools they need to embark on their creative journey.
The program, which officially begins September 20, aims to diversify the landscape of children's and youth literature, and is presented in collaboration with local nonprofit Shout Mouse Press — a writing workshop and publishing house with a mission to amplify marginalized voices — and students from the Latin American Youth Center. Through Shout Mouse Press's authorship program, students from the LAYC have authored a collection of four bilingual children's books. Over the six weeks of programming, the students will take these stories through illustration and audio production to reach new audiences and expand their capacity for storytelling.
Apple's senior vice president of retail and people, Deirdre O’Brien, said that Apple is so "excited to be able to connect young people from underrepresented communities with artists and mentors to guide and inspire them in Washington and Chicago."
Telegram Messenger has received a major update that expands support for live video streams, allowing streams to be watched by an unlimited number of viewers.
Version 8 of the popular messaging platform uncaps the previous live stream audience limit of 1,000 viewers for groups and channels, and includes more customization options when forwarding messages, plus a shortcut to switch between channels.
The change makes the previous update that brought group video calls all the more powerful for live broadcasts. "The power to run your own TV station is here, right in your pocket," says Telegram in a blog post, underlining the possibilities.
When forwarding messages, there's a new option to remove captions, and sender names can now be hidden. Meanwhile, at the bottom of a text channel, there's a new option to quickly swipe up and jump to the next unread channel.
This update also makes stickers easier to find, with trending stickers now shown above the "Recently Used" sticker panel, and there's now an unread messages counter in comment threads.
Apple TV+ has debuted "9/11: Inside the President's War Room," a new documentary special that recounts the timeline of the U.S. presidency in the immediate hours after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York and The Pentagon in Virginia.
The documentary commemorating the 20th anniversary of the attacks is available to stream on Apple TV+ worldwide with the exception of the United Kingdom, where it is available to watch on BBC iPlayer. The documentary premiered on British terrestrial TV channel BBC One on Tuesday evening.
Narrated by Emmy Award winner Jeff Daniels, the documentary recounts the 12 hours after the attacks, offering rare and unique insight into the dilemmas faced by key decision makers who responded for the United States, according to Apple.
The documentary features never-before-heard testimony with former U.S. President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, national security advisor Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and others. It also features nearly 200 photographs that have never previously been published, as well as filmed archives.
Apple has returned to in-person Today at Apple sessions in its retail stores in Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, and Brussels, offering local communities a chance to gather once again to learn, collaborate, and explore the world of Apple's devices and services.
Apple, due to the global health crisis, halted in-person Today at Apple sessions last year. The company was originally hoping to return to normalcy in its stores in the United States on August 30; however, concerns regarding the health and safety of staff and customers pushed the company to delay the return to in-person Today at Apple sessions.
In replacement of in-person sessions, Apple has been producing and publishing Today at Apple sessions for YouTube, ranging from photography to drawing and art. Apple customers in Europe can now reserve and participate in Today at Apple sessions by checking the website for date, time, and availability for their local store.
Apple says that it will ask all participants, including kids, to wear a mask, adhere to social distancing, and additional health and safety measures based on local conditions.
On Tuesday, Nikkei Asia published a report claiming the upcoming Apple Watch Series 7 will feature blood pressure measurement capabilities, and that this is one of the reasons why production of the device has hit snags as manufacturers adjust to the more complex design.
Later the same day, Bloomberg cited its own sources corroborating Nikkei's main claim that the new model had brought manufacturing challenges which could lead to supply constraints or shipment delays, but the subsequent report by Debbie Wu and Mark Gurman made no mention of Nikkei's claim about a blood pressure sensor being one of the causes of the production snags.
However, if there was any doubt, Gurman has now put to bed Nikkei's key assertion in a tweet, saying that there's "no chance" the Apple Watch Series 7 will have a blood pressure sensor.
That's not to say another future Apple Watch model won't have blood pressure smarts. Earlier this year, Apple was revealed to be the largest customer of the British electronics start-up Rockley Photonics, which develops non-invasive optical sensors for detecting multiple blood-related health metrics, including blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood alcohol levels.
Rockley's disclosure that its biggest client is Apple came about as the company prepared to go public in New York. Given the growth of Rockley Photonics and the scale of Apple's partnership with the company, it seems to be virtually inevitable that the company's health sensor technology will be coming to the Apple Watch at some stage, just not this year.
Apple is widely rumored to be planning an all-digital event for the middle of this month, where the company is expected to announce the iPhone 13 and Apple Watch Series 7, the latter of which is expected to have a new flat-edged design, larger case sizes, a faster processor, and battery improvements. For all the details, check out our Apple Watch rumor roundup.
Google is rumored to be working on a new wireless charging stand that could deliver 23W of charging power to its upcoming Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones, according to a leaked inventory image published by Android Police.
If true, that would beat the iPhone 12's maximum 15W wireless charging speed (or 12W on iPhone 12 mini) using Apple's MagSafe charger, and would be another one-up for the Pixel 6 phones, which are already shaping up to be a respectable rival to the upcoming iPhone 13 expected to launch this month.
With a MagSafe charger and Apple's 20W power adapter or another appropriate 20W+ PD 3.0 charger, it takes about an hour to charge an iPhone 12 from zero to 50 percent, which is double the time that it takes to charge using a USB-C to Lightning cable and a 20W+ USB-C power adapter.
Charging with a MagSafe charger is faster than charging with a Qi-based charger, which maxes out at 7.5W, but for the fastest charging speed a wired charging connection using a Lightning to USB-C cable is still the best.
For iPhones, that is. Last year's OnePlus 8 Pro came with a 30W "Warp" charger, and this year's OnePlus 9 Pro will support 50W wireless charging speeds thanks to the next-generation Warp charger, which is capable of charging a dead phone to full power in 43 minutes – faster than an iPhone plugged directly into a 20W charger.
Apple's longtime goal has been an iPhone with no external ports or buttons for a clean, streamlined device, but until it can improve the maximum 15W charging speed of MagSafe or come up with another wireless alternative, that's unlikely to happen.
In 2016, Apple was rumored to be partnering with Energous to deliver a "true wireless charging" solution, but nothing has come from it so far. Apple is still believed to be researching new wireless charging technologies, and with the advent of MagSafe on iPhone 12 models, the company is clearly still interested in innovating ways to power devices.
The iPhone 13 and future iPhones are expected to continue to use Lightning ports with the option of MagSafe until a more viable wireless charging solution comes along that allows for a portless iPhone design.
Starting today, the popular Philips Hue smart lights will feature a deep integration with the Spotify streaming music service, allowing Hue users to sync their lights to their Spotify playlists.
The Philips Hue system will use an algorithm to analyze the metadata of each song in real time to make Hue lights flash, dim, brighten, and change colors while matching with the beat, mood, genre, and tempo of music on Spotify. The algorithm even takes into account factors like loudness, segments, pitch, and more.
With the Sync tab in the Philips Hue app, users can personalize the Spotify integration experience. There are tools for starting and stopping the sync, changing the brightness and intensity of the lights, and choosing a palette to change the colors of the lights.
Spotify integration is free to use, requiring a Hue Bridge and color-capable Hue lights like the White and Color Ambiance Smart Bulbs. The feature works through the Philips Hue app and it does not require a microphone to react to the music, so the syncing experience can be done with no background noise and while leaving the phone free to be used for other tasks.
According to Philips Hue parent company Signify, the integration works with any Spotify-compatible audio device, which includes speakers, computers, and smartphones. All that's required is linking a Spotify account and a Philips Hue account in the Hue app, and the lights will perform whenever you play a Spotify song.
The Philips Hue and Spotify integration will begin rolling out as an early access program for Philips Hue App 4 users beginning on September 1.
Those who have the current version of the app can tap on the "What's New" update with the Spotify card and can select "Early access" to try it out. After October 2021, Spotify integration will be a permanent feature in the Philips Hue app.
Philips Hue parent company Signify today announced several new Hue lighting options, the most exciting of which feature the gradient technology that was added to the Philips Hue Play Lightstrip last year.
The new Philips Hue Play Gradient Light Tube is designed to sit above or below a TV, adding a blend of multiple lighting colors in a single lighting fixture. The Light Tube comes in either black or white to match home theater setups.
Gradient lighting functionality is also coming to an upgraded version of the Philips Hue Signe floor and table lamps and the Philips Hue Ambiance Gradient Lightstrip, which can be used anywhere.
Other lighting updates are also coming. There's a new White Filament E14 Candle Bulb, and the Hue Filament bulbs on the whole are now available in White ambiance, so users can select any shade of warm-to-cool light. Prior Filament bulbs were limited to a warm yellow light.
White and Color Ambiance bulbs are coming in 1100 and 1600 lumen varieties (75W and 100W equivalent) so users can choose the brightness level that they need.
New Philips Hue Infuse Ceiling Lights are set to launch in 2022, offering up white and colored light with indirect light on the ceiling.
Signify is launching a major update for the Philips Hue app that will add new dynamic scenes. With dynamic scenes, lights in a room will slowly transition through the different colors in the scene. The update is also when when a new Philips Hue Spotify integration will launch, allowing Philips Hue lights to change colors and brightness based on Spotify songs that are playing.
In the fall, the Hue app will get a new Hue scene gallery with scenes that are designed to run for 24 hours. These scenes will change in brightness as time passes, mimicking the sun's movement over the course of the day. Signify is also planning a software update for the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box that will add compatibility with the 120Hz refresh rates of the latest game consoles. The Sync Box can support 120Hz with an image resolution of 1080p and 1440p. 4K will be limited to 60Hz as it is now.
The new products will be available starting today and will be available for purchase from the Philips Hue website. The White, White Ambiance, and White and Color Ambiance 1100 lumen (75W bulbs) are launching today and pricing will start at $14.99, $24.99, and $49.99, respectively for a single bulb.
The White Ambiance Hue Filament Bulbs and the Filament candle are also available today and are priced between $29.99 and $49.99. On October 1, the Hue Ambiance Gradient Lightstrip will be available for $169.99, with an extension available for $69.99.
The Philips Hue Gradient Signe Floor and Table lamps will launch on October 12 and will be priced at $200 (table) and $300 (floor). The White, White Ambiance, and Color Ambiance 1600 lumen (100W) bulbs will be available on October 12 and will be priced at $19.99, $39.99, and $59.99, respectively.
Apps created for the Mac don't often receive as much attention as apps designed for iPhones and iPads, so we have a video series that highlights useful Mac apps worth checking out. Our August picks feature apps for drawing with the trackpad, managing music, keeping track of passwords, and more.
SigmaOS ($10/Month) - SigmaOS is a browser that's aimed at those who do a lot of their work on the web. It allows websites and web apps to be organized into different workspaces or projects, and it supports multitasking with two active pages at one time. Workspaces that you don't need can be snoozed temporarily, and for those who often collaborate, you can send pages directly to another user's browser. SigmaOS is free to try, but it costs $10 per month for unlimited workspaces, pages, actions, and cross-device syncing.
MiniKey ($1.99) - MiniKey is a lightweight one-time password app for the Mac that's designed as an alternative to apps like Authy or Google Authenticator. It lives in the Mac's menu bar and can be used to store all of your two-factor authentication codes. You can click to copy or drag and drop from the drop down menu where your authentication codes are stored.
Magic Drawing App (Free) - Magic is designed to let you create drawings with your Mac's trackpad. It has pressure sensitivity when used with a MacBook's Force Touch trackpad, and there are customizable brushes to choose from.
Sleeve ($5) - Sleeve is a desktop music player that works with Apple Music, Spotify, and Doppler. It's deeply customizable and lets you create a little desktop music widget that lets you know what's playing, provides album art, and offers up playback controls. You can decide just how much information you want to see and where you want it.
Slapdash (Free) - Slapdash aggregates the capabilities from all of your apps into one easy access spot that can be reached with a single keyboard command (command + J). You just open up Slapdash and search for what you want if it's not already in the quick access list. Slapdash is customizable and there are team features for companies. Slapdash is free for limited use, but unlocking all of the features requires a $12/month subscription.
Know of a must-have Mac app or game that we haven't highlighted yet? Let us know in the comments below and we might feature it in a future video. Many of our Mac apps that we share are recommended by MacRumors readers. For more of our Mac app picks, check out our Mac apps archive.
Apple today seeded a new public beta of the macOS 12 Monterey beta to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to test the new macOS Monterey software ahead of its public release. The updated beta comes just a day after Apple released the sixth macOS Monterey developer beta.
Public beta testers can download the macOS 12 Monterey update from the Software Update section of the System Preferences app after installing the proper profile from Apple's beta software website.
macOS Monterey introduces quite a few major updates for the macOS operating system. Universal Control, for example, lets a single mouse, trackpad, and keyboard be used across multiple Mac or iPad devices, and it's now possible to AirPlay directly to a Mac from an iPhone, iPad, or even another Mac. Universal Control isn't out yet, but we're still hoping it makes it into the Monterey launch.
Safari has an updated tab bar and support for Tab Groups to keep tons of tabs organized, and FaceTime now features support for spatial audio, Portrait Mode (M1 Macs only) and Voice Isolation for cutting out background noise. A SharePlay FaceTime feature lets Apple TV users watch TV, listen to music, and share their screens with one another.
Shared With You, another new feature, keeps track of the music, links, podcasts, news, and photos that people are sent in Messages, highlighting it in the relevant apps. Notes has a new Quick Note feature for jotting down thoughts, and the Shortcuts app is now available on the Mac.
A dedicated Focus mode helps people stay on task by cutting out background distractions based on what's going on, and there's an updated Maps app with a whole slew of new features. With Live Text, Macs can now detect text in photos or provide details on animals, art, landmarks, plants, and more in images. The new beta adds Live Text support for Intel Macs.
Mail Privacy Protection hides IP and prevents tracking through invisible pixels, and iCloud Private Relay keeps Safari browsing protected. There are many other new features in macOS Monterey, with a complete overview available in our macOS Monterey roundup.
Apple has also released new public betas of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and tvOS 15, and a fifth beta of Safari 15 for macOS Big Sur and macOS Catalina users.
Twitter's latest beta update introduces support for providing content creators with Bitcoin tips using the "Tip Jar" feature that Twitter introduced earlier this year. Bitcoin isn't yet available to select as a tip option for beta users, but code in the beta suggests that Twitter is in the process of rolling it out.
When the Tip Jar was first introduced, Twitter allowed users to add Bandcamp, Cash App, Patreon, PayPal and Venmo links to their Twitter profile, but soon, there will be a Bitcoin option. The addition of a Bitcoin tipping option comes after Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey told investors in July that Bitcoin was important to the company and would be coming to the Tip Jar in the future.
Details in the latest Twitter beta indicate that users will be directed through a Bitcoin tutorial that includes details on the Bitcoin Lightning Network and custodial and non-custodial Bitcoin wallets.
Twitter gives Strike, Blue Wallet and Wallet of Satoshi as examples of custodial wallets and Muun, Breez, Phoenix and Zap as examples of non-custodial wallets. Twitter also informs users that a Strike account is required. "We use Strike to generate Bitcoin Lightning invoices so you'll need to connect your account to accept Bitcoin tips" reads the text.
Twitter also appears to be working on "Cheer," "Haha," "Hmm," "Like," and "Sad" reactions to tweets that users will be able to activate using a press and hold gesture on the current like button.
Bitcoin support for tips is limited to the Twitter beta at this time and is not yet available for all beta users, so it is not yet clear when the Bitcoin feature will see an official release. There's also no word just yet on when the new reactions will launch.
Apple today released a revised version of the AirTags firmware that was first provided to AirTags owners last week. The new internal build number is 1A291c, up from 1A291a.
We don't know what's included in the new firmware and no new features were found following the first release, so it likely focuses on bug fixes and other under-the-hood improvements.
There is no way to force an AirTag update, as it's something that's done over-the-air through a connected iPhone. To make sure the update happens, you can put your AirTag in range of your iPhone, but you have to wait for the firmware to roll out to your device.
The popular endless hopper Crossy Road from Hipster Whale is coming soon to Apple Arcade. A release date has not been announced at this time, but users can sign up to be notified when the game becomes available through the App Store.
Similar to Frogger, Crossy Road tasks players with crossing a road bustling with traffic and obstacles, and there are many adorable characters to choose from, ranging from a chicken to a penguin. As with all games available through the service, the Apple Arcade version of Crossy Road will not have any ads or in-app purchases available.
Crossy Road was among the first games announced for the fourth-generation Apple TV alongside the introduction of the tvOS App Store back in September 2015. However, it appears the Apple Arcade edition of the game will be limited to the iPhone and iPad.
A variation of the game titled Crossy Road Castle, an endless runner/platformer combo, launched on Apple Arcade in February 2020.
Priced at $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year, Apple Arcade provides access to a catalog of over 200 games without ads or in-app purchases across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV, with additional titles added periodically.
Apple today seeded the eighth betas of iOS and iPadOS 15 to developers for testing purposes, with the updates coming one week after Apple released the seventh betas.
Registered developers can download the profile for the iOS and iPadOS betas from the Apple Developer Center, and once the profile is installed, beta updates will be available over the air.
iOS 15 is a major update that introduces a slew of new features focused on cutting down on distractions and spending more time with friends and family.
FaceTime has a revamped interface with new SharePlay features for listening to music, watching videos, and sharing your screen with your friends and family members, though this is delayed until after the launch of iOS 15. In Messages, if something like a url, photo, news article, or song is shared with you, you can see the content in Apple's dedicated apps through a new Shared With You Feature.
Focus lets you create custom notification modes that hide irrelevant apps and notifications when you're doing things like working or spending time with your family so you can better focus on the activity at hand, and there's a new notification summary that de-prioritizes less important notifications so you're not constantly inundated with information.
Maps includes a new 3D view in select cities that lets you see 3D landmarks, there are immersive AR directions when walking, and driving directions are better than ever, especially at complex interchanges.
Safari has been redesigned with a new look that moves the Tab Bar to the bottom of the interface (though this is optional), plus it now supports Tab Groups for improved organization, and extensions can be used in Safari for iOS devices for the first time. Later this year you'll be able to add your ID card to the Wallet app in some U.S. states, and Apple is making it easier to add key cards for hotels, smart home locks, and more to the Wallet app.
Spotlight is better than ever and can bring up more tailored search results, and Photos has a "Live Text" feature that lets you take a photo of something with text like a receipt to translate it into typed text on your iPhone. Photos can also identify landmarks, books, plants, and pets, so you can snap a photo of a plant and get information on what it might be.
Apple has also added multiple privacy improvements, such as a new App Privacy report coming to the iPhone that will let you know how often apps access sensitive info like your location, a Mail feature that hides your IP address, and Siri processing that's done on device.
For a complete overview of everything that's new in iOS 15, we have a dedicated roundup that walks through all of the new features, and Apple has been adding feature refinements throughout the beta testing period. The sixth beta, for example, overhauled the design of Safari and added a toggle to disable changes introduced in earlier betas. In the seventh beta, Apple said that iCloud Private Relay will be introduced as a beta feature at launch.
Apple today seeded the eighth beta of the upcoming watchOS 8 update to developers for testing purposes, with the update coming one week after Apple released the seventh watchOS 8 beta.
To install watchOS 8, developers will need to download the configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once installed, watchOS 8 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software update.
To update to new software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it needs to be in range of the iPhone. It's not recommended to install watchOS 8 on a main Apple Watch as the software may be unstable at this early date.
watchOS 8 has several new features that are extensions of new features introduced in iOS 15. There are improvements to Wallet that allow it to hold keys for unlocking hotel, car, and home doors, plus Apple will let U.S. users add their IDs to Wallet later this year.
Apple overhauled the Home app, and for the Workout app, there are new Tai Chi and Pilates workout types, and the Breathe app has been renamed to Mindfulness thanks to a new Reflect session that invites users to get into a positive state of mind. When sleeping, the Apple Watch now measures respiratory rate.
Focus mode from iOS 15 syncs to the watch so users can stay on task, and in the Messages app, Scribble, dictation, and emojis can be combined within the same message, making it easier to communicate. Dictated text can be edited, and GIFs can be sent right from the watch.
There's a new Portrait watch face, and the Photos app has been updated with support for Memories and Featured Photos. A new Find My app lets items be located right on the wrist, and there are also new updates for Music, Weather, Timers, and more, along with a new Contacts app.
