MacRumors

Apple's software chief Craig Federighi often does a series of interviews following WWDC events, and 2020 has been no exception. Federighi was on the The Talk Show with Daring Fireball's John Gruber, and he also spoke with tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee.

In a video published today, Federighi and Brownlee discussed some of the new features in iOS 14 and answered questions from Apple fans.

On New iOS Features

• Default apps - Apple is letting users set third-party mail and browser apps as the default in iOS 14, but this doesn't extend to Maps and other app categories. Federighi said that when Apple looked at the top things people wanted to configure, "those two rose to the top," so it's where Apple started.
• Siri - Siri has a new compact UI that leaves the background of the iPhone's display visible, but it can't be interacted with. This is intentional, according to Federighi. "We tried it both ways internally. We had prototypes where you would scroll behind the Siri answers as you brought them up. Initially, we thought that was going to be really great so we implemented it that way, and then what we found was that for most of the interactions we were having with Siri, it then created this extra heaviness to it." Apple will listen to people during the beta period, and this could change.
• macOS Big Sur 11.0 - macOS Big Sur is macOS 11, rather than macOS 10.16. Federighi said that between the new design and Apple Silicon, macOS Big Sur serves as a "real renewal of the platform" and Apple is excited to "mark it as the next chapter."
• macOS Big Sur design - macOS Big Sur brings the first major redesign the Mac has seen in years. Federighi says that after you get used to the change, "it feels natural, fresh and yet clearly, distinctly Mac." Federighi says he looks forward to hearing feedback from people who have used it for a few weeks. The rounding "may seem arbitrary" but it's "extremely consistent" throughout the OS. Curves feel more natural and organic compared to straight edges that feel more manufactured.

Fan Questions

• iPad Calculator and Weather - Federighi was asked why there's no Calculator app or Weather app on the iPad. "There are some things we have not done because to do it, we would want to do something really distinctly great in that space." Apple wants to wait to do it well, and hasn't "gotten around to doing it great." Federighi said the day "may come."
• Apple Watch for iPad - On the topic of why the Apple Watch doesn't work with the iPad (thereby requiring an iPhone), Federighi said it's a "sensible point" that some people would want that feature, but it's not something Apple has pursued yet. "I wouldn't rule it out," he said.

While we covered the highlights of the interview in this article, the full video up above is worth watching, as is the complete one hour and 20 minute podcast that features even more discussion about WWDC.

Apple's iOS 14 update adds several new features to the Photos app, including an option to add captions to images right from the iPhone, which is something that ‌Photos‌ users have been wanting for quite some time.

The ‌Photos‌ app for Mac previously supported captions through the Description field, but on the ‌iPhone‌, there has been no method for adding similar information. In iOS 14, entering a caption is quick and easy.

Tap to view any photo full screen on the ‌iPhone‌, and then swipe up to get to the caption field. Tap the field, type the caption, and press enter.

Captions in iOS 14 sync across all devices if iCloud Photo Library is enabled, and the Description field in macOS Big Sur has been renamed to Captions for continuity.

Adding a caption to a photo using iOS 14 allows for an additional level of tagging and organization because captions can be searched for using the ‌Photos‌ search interface. There's still no native option for editing metadata for photos, but Captions make it easier to add labels that are visible cross device.

There are a few other useful improvements to the ‌Photos‌ app, such as filters for viewing all images or albums by Favorites, Edited, ‌Photos‌, and Videos, sorting inside albums, and better autoplay for Live Photos. Navigating through photos also lets you zoom in and out on all albums, much like you can do with the "All ‌Photos‌" interface in iOS 13, so it's easier to find specific images that you're looking for.

Ford's F-series pickup is the best-selling vehicle in the U.S., and last night the carmaker unveiled the redesigned 2021 F-150, which includes Ford's new SYNC 4 infotainment system with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto.

Ford announced SYNC 4 last October, with the first announced vehicle to include it being the upcoming electric Mustang Mach-E. With the F-150, Ford will be kicking off inclusion of the new system in its more mainstream vehicle lineup.

The 2021 F-150 comes with SYNC 4 and wireless ‌CarPlay‌ standard, but there are two different sizes of infotainment screens available: an 8-inch screen that's standard on the lower XL and XLT trims and a larger 12-inch screen that's available as a package option on the XLT trim and standard on Lariat and higher trims.

Wireless ‌CarPlay‌ has been relatively slow to trickle out and has largely been limited to premium brands like BMW, Porsche, and Audi, although we're on the cusp of seeing much broader rollouts with Ford, GM, and Fiat Chrysler all announcing support for the feature in select 2021 models launching later this year.

In addition to wireless ‌CarPlay‌ and Android Auto with SYNC 4, the F-150 includes a number of other technology enhancements such as standard over-the-air updates that can improve performance, add new features, and reduce needed maintenance and repairs over time.

The F-150 also includes many of the driver-assist technologies that have become common in recent years, and in the third quarter of 2021 will receive a software update to support Active Drive Assist, which will allow for hands-free driving on over 100,000 miles of divided highways throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The 2021 F-150 will start rolling out to dealers this fall.

Microsoft today announced that it is permanently closing its physical stores worldwide. The company's retail employees will continue to serve customers through Microsoft's corporate offices and remotely, providing sales, training, and support.

Microsoft will continue to operate its online storefront, and it also has plans for reimagined "Experience Centers" for customers in New York City, London, Sydney, and at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

"Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location," said Microsoft Corporate Vice President David Porter. "We are grateful to our Microsoft Store customers and we look forward to continuing to serve them online and with our retail sales team at Microsoft corporate locations."

Microsoft opened its first store in Scottsdale, Arizona in October 2009, eight years after Apple's first stores opened in Glendale, California and the Washington, D.C. area.

Apple's upcoming "iPhone 12 Pro" and "iPhone 12 Pro Max" will feature displays capable of up to 120Hz refresh rates, allowing for a smoother on-screen experience, according to a reliable mobile leaker.

"A reliable source, if there is no accident, ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro and ‌iPhone 12 Pro Max‌ have basically determined the maximum 120Hz refresh rate," tweeted Ice Universe this morning.

The leaker, who goes by the Twitter handle @UniverseIce, doesn't usually comment on Apple's plans, but is a well-regarded source of Samsung rumors. Samsung has supplied Apple with OLED panels for the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ X, ‌iPhone‌ XS, and the most recent ‌iPhone‌ 11 series.

On a related note, some users of the iOS 14 developer beta are seeing an accessibility setting that limits the frame rate of the device to 60 frames per second. The setting, which does not appear for all beta users, suggests that future iPhones could be capable of higher frame rates. Current iPhones have a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz.

Apple already uses variable refresh rate technology in its iPad Pro models, but they still use LCD panels rather than OLED. Bringing it to a new breed of OLED iPhones would raise the smartphone performance bar even higher.

Apple markets the iPad Pro-exclusive tech under the moniker "ProMotion," which it says dynamically adjusts the display to the movement of content for fluid scrolling, greater responsiveness, and smoother motion. It does all this on the fly, which means it also conserves battery life.

Apple's adaptive ProMotion IAPs also reduce Apple Pencil latency, and reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said that ‌‌Apple Pencil‌‌ support is a possibility for a future ‌‌iPhone‌‌.

Leaker Max Weinbach has also suggested that the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro, rumored to come in 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch sizes, will feature a high refresh-rate 120Hz ProMotion display.

Apple is expected to release four iPhones this fall. Rumors suggest the 6.7-inch ‌iPhone‌ and one 6.1-inch model will be higher-end OLED devices with triple-lens cameras, while a 5.4-inch model and another 6.1-inch model will be lower-end iPhones with dual-lens cameras and a more affordable price tag.

A new feature in iOS 14 alerts users when apps read the clipboard, and it turns out some apps have been reading clipboard data excessively.

TikTok users who upgraded to iOS 14, for example, quickly noticed constant alerts warning them that TikTok was accessing the clipboard every few seconds. After being caught, TikTok now says that it's removing the feature.

In a statement to The Telegraph, TikTok said that it accessed the clipboard to identify spammy behavior.

"Following the beta release of iOS 14 on June 22, users saw notifications while using a number of popular apps.

"For TikTok, this was triggered by a feature designed to identify repetitive, spammy behavior. We have already submitted an updated version of the app to the App Store removing the anti-spam feature to eliminate any potential confusion.

"TikTok is committed to protecting users' privacy and being transparent about how our app works."

An update to remove the feature has already been submitted to the App Store, and a download of the new update confirms that TikTok no longer appears to be accessing the clipboard.

TikTok did not say whether the feature would be removed from Android devices, nor whether clipboard data was ever stored or moved from user devices. Other apps have also been called out for reading the clipboard, including Starbucks, Overstock, AccuWeather, several news apps, and more.

Prior to when iOS 14 was released, a pair of developers sounded an alarm letting users and Apple know that iPhone and iPad apps were quietly accessing the clipboard. Apple's new iOS 14 feature appears to have been added in response, and apps are no longer able to read the clipboard without users knowing exactly what's going on.

iOS 14 is limited to developers at the current time, but Apple plans to release a public beta version next month ahead of the software's fall launch. Clipboard reporting is just one of the many new privacy features in iOS 14, with a full list available in our iOS 14 roundup.

Apple's upcoming iPadOS 14 update has many of the same features that are available in iOS 14, but there are a handful of functions that are designed specifically for the larger display and the Apple Pencil, such as Scribble.

Scribble is one of the most notable new features in iPadOS 14, and we checked it out in our latest YouTube video. With Scribble, you can use an ‌Apple Pencil‌ to write in any text field on the iPad, with the written text then converted to typed text.

The functionality lets you use the ‌Apple Pencil‌ throughout the operating system without having to swap over to a keyboard when you need to compose an email, write a Calendar event, visit a URL, send an iMessage, or conduct a search. You can, for example, go to Safari and write in MacRumors.com, and it'll convert to the proper URL so you can get to the site.

Scribble is decent at recognizing all kinds of handwriting, even when it's messy, but it does not work well with cursive. It interprets capitals and proper spacing, so once you get the hang of handwriting in text fields, it's a fairly seamless experience.

If you make a mistake when you're writing something, you can just scribble it out with the ‌Apple Pencil‌ and it deletes, which is a handy feature. If you need to select text, you can just circle it.

Scribble works in any text field as mentioned, but it's also been built into the Notes app. Just tap on the toolbar and select the pen that has the little "A" on it. This tool will convert all your handwritten text in notes to typed text.

To go along with Scribble, there are a few other useful tools. Smart Selection lets you select all of your handwritten text as if it was typed text, and if you copy it and paste it into an app that doesn't support handwriting, it will be converted into typed text.

You can also select handwritten text and paste it into other notes, or make changes to the style and the color of the written text. Handwritten phone numbers, links, addresses, and more also turn into clickable links like they do when typed. So if you write out a phone number, you can tap it to call it because the ‌iPad‌ is able to detect the numbers and convert them on the fly.

With a Shape Recognition tool, if you clumsily draw a standard shape like a circle or a star, iPadOS 14 will recognize the shape you're trying to make and convert it into a perfect version, which is useful for note taking and diagrams.

With iPadOS 14, the ‌iPad‌ can be used almost entirely with touch and tools, and there's little need to type. If you're someone who prefers writing by hand, iPadOS 14 introduces tools that enhance the experience.

What do you think of Scribble and the other features in iPadOS 14? Let us know in the comments, and for more on iPadOS 14, make sure to check out our roundup.

Apple hosts a Swift Student Challenge ahead of WWDC each year, tasking students with creating an innovative Swift Playgrounds project. Apple has been highlighting Swift Student Challenge winners in 2020, and today shared some of the projects students created on the Apple Developer site.

Brazilian student Henrique Conto, for example, created a three-minute Touch Bar game where players help a young developer escape from a cave.

French student Louise Pieri designed Meep, a two-level game where one level is normal and the second level is upside-down, and 18-year-old Devin Green created an AI bot named Stanny.

More about the projects of some of the Swift Student Challenge winners can be found on Apple's developer site, on Apple Newsroom, and in the App Store.

Apple chose 350 winners in 2020, and each winner received an exclusive WWDC20 jacket and pin set. In past years, winning the challenge has been more valuable as it included a $1,599 ticket to Apple's physical WWDC event. WWDC 2020 was, however, a digital-only event that was free for everyone.

Apple is continuing with store closures in areas that are experiencing significant spikes in coronavirus infections, and tomorrow, 14 retail locations in Florida will be shut down.

The Galleria, The Falls, Aventura, Lincoln Road, Dadeland, Brickell City Centre, Wellington Green, Boca Raton, The Gardens Mall, Millenia, Florida Mall, Altamonte, International Plaza, and Brandon will close tomorrow, and customers with devices being repaired at those locations should initiate pickups today.

Apple today closed seven retail stores located in the Houston, Texas area, where coronavirus cases are surging. Highland Village, First Colony Mall, Houston Galleria, Memorial City, Willowbrook Mall, Baybrook, and the Woodlands in Texas are now closed with no planned reopening date.

Last week, Apple shuttered stores in Florida, Arizona, North Carolina, and South Carolina, even as it worked to reopen stores in other locations across the United States. With the additional store closures in Florida, just two stores in the state will remain open -- St. Johns Town Center in Jacksonville and University Town Center in Sarasota.

U.S. Apple Stores began reopening in May, and ahead of when store closures restarted last week, more than 150 of the 271 stores in the United States had reopened. When stores started opening again, Apple's retail store chief Deirdre O'Brien made it clear that Apple would not hesitate to close stores again if additional outbreaks demanded it.

"These are not decisions we rush into - and a store opening in no way means that we won't take the preventative step of closing it again should local conditions warrant," O'Brien said.

Apple's decisions on store closures and store openings are based on data evaluation, such as local cases, near and long-term trends, and guidance from national and local health officials. Apple is continuing with store reopenings in areas where Covid-19 infections are dropping. In the Greater Toronto Area, for example, Apple retail stores are opening up on Monday, June 29, which will mean all stores in Canada will be up and running.

In stores that have reopened, Apple is implementing safety measures that include mandatory masks, social distancing, frequent cleaning, temperature checks, and more. In some locations, stores are open only for repairs and curb-side pickup, while others are open but with a limited number of people allowed in at one time.

OWC today introduced the Envoy Express, which it describes as the first Thunderbolt 3 certified bus-powered storage enclosure for Macs and PCs.

Designed to support any 2280 M.2 NVMe SSD, the key benefit of the Envoy Express is that users can install their own drive in it, including OWC's Aura SSDs with up to 4TB of storage or larger-capacity options in the future.

The Envoy Express supports sustained data transfer rates of up to 1553 MB/s and has an integrated 10.2-inch Thunderbolt 3 cable.

The Envoy Express can be pre-ordered on OWC's website now for $68.

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

Daring Fireball's John Gruber typically hosts a live episode of his The Talk Show podcast during the week of WWDC, featuring high-level Apple executives to dig further into some of the details on Apple's major announcements, and while the all-online format of this year's conference changed things up a bit, Gruber was still able to get Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak to participate in a video podcast.

The 90-minute discussion touched on a number of topics, including a brief statement from Joswiak on Apple's relationship with developers in light of recent concerns sparked by the "Hey" email app controversy, a thorough dive into Apple's perspectives on macOS Big Sur and the Apple Silicon transition, and briefer tidbits on iPadOS and Apple Pencil, iOS 14, and privacy.

Some of the more interesting bits of the discussion include thoughts on all of the different ways Apple has now for developers to build Mac apps, including Catalyst, UIKit, AppKit, and SwiftUI, as well as Apple's emphasis on virtualization with Boot Camp going away for Apple Silicon-based Macs.

While avoiding direct mention of Windows, Federighi acknowledges that you won't be able to boot directly into x86 operating systems on these Macs. As it stands, Windows can't be directly supported on the Arm-based chips of ‌Apple Silicon‌ via virtualization, but Federighi made clear that Apple is well aware of the situation, without tipping his hand on what developments may appear on that front in the coming months.

Apple is widely expected to release four new iPhone 12 models later this year, and ahead of time, analysts at British bank Barclays have outlined their expectations for the devices based on discussions with multiple Apple suppliers.

In a research note obtained by MacRumors, the Barclays analysts said that iPhone 12 models will not come with EarPods in the box, in line with a prediction shared by Ming-Chi Kuo last month. Oddly enough, the analysts also heard that iPhone 12 models might not ship with a power adapter of any kind, leaving only a USB-C to Lightning cable in the box.

While there would certainly be environmental benefits to Apple not including a power adapter with the hundreds of millions of iPhones it sells each year, such a move would obviously be inconvenient for customers without a spare USB-C charger. Apple's basic 5W power adapter can be purchased separately for $19, while the 18W power adapter included with iPhone 11 Pro models can be purchased for $29.

Earlier this week, the anonymous Twitter user Mr. White shared photos of a 20W power adapter that he suggested will be included with iPhone 12 models, which clearly contradicts with what Barclays analysts are hearing.

Barclays estimates that mass production of iPhone 12 models is four to six weeks behind schedule compared to a usual year. The analysts believe that Apple will still announce the new lineup in September, but at least some models might not be available to order until October or November, as was the case with the iPhone X and iPhone XR in recent years.

The analysts expect the two higher-end iPhone 12 Pro models to feature a triple-lens camera system with a LiDAR Scanner, first introduced on the iPad Pro. This would pave the way for new augmented reality experiences.

Barclays also said that it has heard about a potential iPad Pro refresh later this year, but it has no further details right now.

Last, the analysts expect third-generation AirPods to launch in early 2021.

Barclays analysts have a mixed track record in relation to Apple rumors. Their accurate predictions have included True Tone coming to the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, the removal of the headphone jack adapter with iPhone XS and iPhone XR models, and the removal of 3D Touch on all iPhone 11 models, while they were incorrect about the iPhone XS possibly having a smaller notch and the base iPhone 11 having 4x4 MIMO.