There are also more options for bearded people, and a number of new emoji skin tone combinations in the context of relationships
Due to delays caused by COVID-19, the 2021 emoji update will be smaller than in years passed
Our take: This is the smallest year-over-year emoji update that I ever remember seeing. Still, the addition of new breathing, swirly eyes and in the clouds emojis certainly reflect life in the past year.
The news: The Apple Watch Series 6 is a very different watch than the Series 5, at least internally, according to a teardown by iFixit.
The battery received a “3.5% increase for the 44mm battery, and an even bigger 8.5% increase for the 40mm”
Force Touch has been removed, contributing the the Series 6 being 3.16% thinner
A larger Taptic Engine is present inside the new watches, too
Our take: It’s always fascinating to learn what really changed on the inside of some new products. Super cool to see that there is a physically larger battery on the inside!
The leak: Apple’s naming for this year’s iPhone lineup will include a different moniker for the first time ever on the lineup, according to L0vetodream (88.7% accurate).
Here’s what the highly-accurate leaker thinks the naming will be:
5.4-inch model: iPhone 12 mini
6.1-inch model: iPhone 12
6.1-inch model: iPhone 12 Pro
6.7-inch model: iPhone 12 Pro Max
Our take: Apple has never used ‘mini’ to describe an iPhone before. Where have we seen it? On the iPod, iPad and on the Mac. This seems like the perfect way to market it as it is the smallest higher-end iPhone in years.
Apple’s first hardware event of the year didn’t include new iPhones. Here’s how sources are stacking up on the AppleTrackleaderboard after the Apple Watch and iPad focused keynote.
Note: As you may have noticed, no source is 100% accurate. That’s because all sources get some info right and some info wrong: do not harass anyone for their track record. The leaderboard functionality on AppleTrack is here only to help average enthusiasts better understand how likely a rumor really is.
As always, if you notice a discrepancy on someone’s record, let us know.
The news: Following yesterday’s release of iOS 14, Apple pushed out a new Xcode beta that directly references iOS 14.2, tvOS 14.2 and watchOS 7.1.
The upcoming software releases were mentioned in the release notes for Xcode 12.2 beta
Apple has teased a number of features coming to an iOS 14 update coming later this year, like camera support for scanning App Clips
Our take: It’s a bit odd that Apple is publicly referencing iOS 14.2 with no mention anywhere of iOS 14.1. It’s hard to decipher what’s up here, but perhaps they’re just getting a head-start on development for that update.
The news: Apple just released major iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7 and tvOS 14 updates to everyone following their September 15 event.
Home screen widgets, picture-in-picture and the new App Library make using your iPhone so much more intuitive
Messages includes mentions, along with the ability to pin your favorite contacts front-and-center
Siri, Maps and Safari have additionally seen significant updates
Full changelog
iOS 14 updates the core experience on iPhone, includes significant app updates, and other new features.
All-new widgets
Redesigned widgets can be placed right on the Home Screen
Small, medium and large widget sizes allow you to pick the amount of information to display
Widget stacks make the most of your Home Screen space and the Smart Stack uses on-device intelligence to surface the right widget at the right time
Widget gallery includes all available widgets to browse and choose from
Redesigned Apple widgets for Weather, Clock, Calendar, News, Maps, Fitness, Photos, Reminders, Stocks, Music, TV, Tips, Notes, Shortcuts, Battery, Screen Time, Files, Podcasts, and Siri Suggestions
App Library
The App Library automatically organizes all of your apps into categories
The Suggestions category uses on-device intelligence to show apps you’re likely to be looking for based on factors like time of day or location
The Recently Added category shows apps that were recently downloaded from the App Store, as well as App Clips that were recently launched
Ability to hide Home Screen pages to get to the App Library even faster by tapping on the dots at the bottom of the screen while in jiggle mode
Compact design
Incoming Phone and FaceTime calls appear as a banner at the top of the screen
Siri has a compact design that allows you to refer to information onscreen and seamlessly launch into your next task
Picture in Picture enables watching a video or taking a FaceTime call while you use another app
Messages
Pinned conversations keep up to nine of your favorite message threads at the top of the list
Mentions let you direct a message to an individual in a group conversation
Inline replies let you reply to a specific message and see all related messages in their own view
Group photos can be customized for a shared group look
Memoji
11 new hairstyles and 19 new headwear styles to customize your Memoji
New Memoji stickers to send a fist bump, hug or blush
Six added age options
Face covering options
Maps
Cycling directions provide routes along bike lanes, bike paths, and bike-friendly roads, taking into consideration elevation or how busy a street is
Guides offer recommendations for places to eat, meet friends, or explore, curated by a selection of trusted brands
Electric vehicle routing helps you plan trips with supported electric vehicles and automatically adds charging stops along your route
Congestion zones help you route around or through active zones in cities like London or Paris
Speed cameras let you know when you’re approaching speed and red-light cameras along your route
Refine Location enables a highly accurate location and orientation when in urban areas with a poor GPS signal
App Clips
An App Clip is a small part of an app that developers can create and that is discoverable at the moment you need it, and focused on a specific task
Small by design, App Clips are usable in a few seconds
Discover App Clips through tapping NFC tags or scanning QR codes, from Messages, Maps, and Safari
Recently used App Clips show up in App Library’s Recently Added category, and you can download the full version of the app if you want to keep it around
Translate
The new Translate app is designed for conversations and can work completely offline so your conversations stay private
A split-screen design in conversation mode has a single microphone button that automatically detects which of the selected languages is being spoken and transcribes the original and translated text on the correct sides of the screen
Attention mode shows translations in larger text so you can capture someone’s attention
Voice and text translations are supported for any combination of 11 languages
Siri
A new compact design allows you to refer to information onscreen and seamlessly launch into your next task
Expanded knowledge brings 20x more facts than three years ago
Web answers help find answers to a broader set of questions using information from across the internet
Audio messages can be sent with Siri on iOS and CarPlay
Expanded language support for the new Siri voice and Siri translation
Search
One place where you can find everything: search for apps, contacts, files, quick information like weather and stocks, common knowledge questions about people or places, or even quickly start a web search
Top Hit results show the most relevant information including apps, contacts, knowledge, points of interest and websites
Quick Launcher allows you to launch an app or website by typing a few characters
As-you-type search suggestions show more relevant results as soon as you start typing
Web search suggestions to launch Safari and get the most relevant web results
Start a search in apps like Mail, Messages and Files
Home
Suggested automations help you set up automations with just a tap
A visual status at the top of the Home app gives you a summary of accessories that require your attention
Dynamic suggestions of the most relevant accessories and scenes appear in Home controls in Control Center
Adaptive Lighting automatically adjusts the color of your smart light bulbs throughout the day to maximize comfort and productivity
Face Recognition for video cameras and doorbells uses on-device intelligence to let you know who is there based on the people you’ve tagged in your Photos app and recent visitors you identify in the Home app
Activity Zones for video cameras and doorbells captures video or sends you a notification only when motion is detected in areas you define
Safari
Improved performance with an even faster JavaScript engine
A Privacy Report shows cross-site trackers that are being blocked by Intelligent Tracking Prevention
Password monitoring securely screens your saved passwords for any that may have been involved in a data breach
Web page translation (beta) translates entire web pages in English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, French, German, Russian or Brazilian Portuguese
Weather
Next-hour precipitation chart shows a minute-by-minute forecast of the intensity of rain or snow over the coming hour for the U.S.
Severe weather information displays government-issued alerts about certain severe weather events including tornados, winter storms, flash floods and more, for the U.S., Europe, Japan, Canada, and Australia
AirPods
Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking on AirPods Pro places sounds anywhere in space, creating an immersive surround sound experience
Automatic device switching transfers audio from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac
Battery notifications let you know if you need to charge your AirPods
Privacy
A recording indicator is displayed whenever an app has access to the microphone or camera
Approximate location can now be shared with an app, rather than sharing your precise location
Limited Photos library access gives you the option to share only selected photos with an app whenever an app asks for access
App and web developers can now offer the option for you to upgrade your existing accounts to Sign in with Apple
Accessibility
Back Tap is a quick way to trigger accessibility features by tapping on the back of your iPhone
Headphone accommodations amplify soft sounds and adjust certain frequencies, customized for an individual’s hearing
Sign language prominence in FaceTime detects when a participant is using sign language and makes the person prominent in a Group FaceTime call
Sound Recognition uses on-device intelligence to detect and identify important sounds such as alarms, and alerts you to them using notifications
VoiceOver Recognition uses on-device intelligence to recognize elements on your screen to improve VoiceOver support for app and web experiences
Image descriptions read complete-sentence descriptions of images and photos within apps and on the web
Text recognition speaks the text identified within images and photos
Screen Recognition automatically detects interface controls to aid in navigating apps
This release also includes other features and improvements.
App Store
Important details about each app are displayed in a glanceable, scrollable view, including a way to see the games your friends are playing
Apple Arcade
Coming Soon gives you a sneak peek at upcoming Apple Arcade games and you can automatically download them as soon as they’re released
See All Games is improved with sorting and filtering by release date, updates, category, controller support and more
Achievements are browsable right from within the Apple Arcade tab
Continue Playing makes it easy to resume recently played games across devices
Game Center dashboard showcases your profile, friends, achievements, leaderboards and more, all from within your game
Apple Cash Family
Apple Cash can be enabled for up to five family members under 18
Send money to your child through Messages or by asking Siri
Notifications for purchases or person to person payments as they occur
Parental controls to limit who your children can send money to
Option to turn off Apple Cash for family members under 18
Shared oversight with another adult in your Family Sharing group
Augmented Reality
Location Anchors in ARKit 4 enables apps to place AR experiences at a specific geographic coordinate
Extended face tracking support is extended to the new iPhone SE
Video textures in RealityKit enable apps to apply video to any part of a scene or virtual object
Camera
Improved shot-to-shot performance speeds up the time to first shot and makes shooting photos even faster
QuickTake video can now also be captured on iPhone XS and iPhone XR when in Photo mode
Quick toggles in Video mode to change video resolution and frame rate from the Camera app
Updated Night mode capture experience on iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro provides guidance to help you stay steady throughout the capture, as well as an option to cancel the shot mid-capture
Exposure compensation control lets you lock an exposure value for an entire camera session
Mirror front camera lets you capture selfies that match the front camera preview
Improved QR code reading to scan codes, even if they are small or wrapped around objects
CarPlay
New categories of supported apps for parking, EV charging, and quick food-ordering
Wallpaper options
Share ETA and send audio messages with Siri
Horizontal status bar support for cars with portrait screens
Chinese and Japanese keyboard support gives users an additional option to search for points of interest
FaceTime
Improved video quality with up to 1080p resolution on iPhone X and later
New eye contact feature uses machine learning to subtly adjust the position of your eyes and face to make video calling more natural even when you’re looking at the screen instead of the camera
Files
APFS encryption support for external drives
Health
Wind Down helps you create a pre-bedtime routine with apps and shortcuts, like listening to a relaxing playlist
Custom sleep schedules help you meet your sleep goals with bedtime reminders and wakeup alarms
Sleep mode minimizes distractions during Wind Down and Bedtime by turning on Do Not Disturb and simplifying your Lock screen
Health Checklist helps you track and manage health and safety features in one place
New Mobility category in the Health app, including metrics like walking speed, double support time, step length, and walking asymmetry
Keyboard and International
On-device dictation helps protect your privacy by performing all processing completely offline. Dictation in search uses server-based dictation in order to recognize terms you may be searching for from across the Internet.
Search within the Emoji keyboard using a word or phrase
Keyboard displays AutoFill suggestions from Contacts for email addresses, phone numbers, and more in apps
New dictionaries for French-German, Indonesian-English, Japanese-Simplified Chinese, and Polish‑English
Wubi input method for Simplified Chinese
Autocorrection support for Irish Gaelic and Norwegian Nynorsk
Redesigned Japanese Kana keyboard with easier input for numbers
Mail supports email addresses using non‑Latin languages
Music
A new Listen Now tab for playing and discovering your favorite music, artists, playlists and mixes
Autoplay keeps music playing when you reach the end of a song or playlist by finding similar songs to play
Search now showcases music for your favorite genres and activities, and shows helpful suggestions as you type
Library filtering helps you find artists, albums, playlists and other items in your library even faster
Notes
Enhanced actions menu provides easy access to locking, scanning, pinning and deleting
Top Hits in search surfaces your most relevant search results
Pinned Notes list can be collapsed or expanded
Shape recognition enables drawing perfect lines, arcs and other shapes
Enhanced scanning captures sharper scans and more precise auto-cropping
Photos
Filter and sort your collection to more easily locate and organize your photos and videos
Pinch and zoom to quickly find your photos and videos in more places, like Favorites and Shared Albums
Photos and videos caption support
Live Photos taken using iOS 14 or iPadOS 14 will autoplay with improved stabilization in Years, Months and Days View
Memories enhancements provide a more relevant selection of photos and videos and a larger music selection for Memory movies
Redesigned image picker in apps uses the same smart search from the Photos app to help you easily find content to share
Podcasts
Listen Now is smarter and includes your personal episode queue and new episodes picked for you
Reminders
Assign reminders to people you share lists with
New reminders can be created from the lists screen without having to enter a specific list
Smart suggestions let you add dates, times and locations with a tap
Personalized lists with emoji and newly added symbols
Rearrange or hide smart lists
Settings
Option to set your default email and web browser
Shortcuts
Starter Shortcuts let you get started with a built-in folder of shortcuts, tailored for you
Shortcuts automations are suggested based on your usage patterns
Folders let you organize your shortcuts and can be added as widgets to the Home Screen
New compact design for running shortcuts keeps you in context while you use another app
New Automation triggers can run shortcuts based on receiving an email or message, your battery level, closing an app and more
Wind Down Shortcuts provide a collection of relaxing shortcuts to help you get ready for a good night’s sleep
Voice Memos
Folders help organize your Voice Memos recordings
Favorites lets you mark your best recordings and quickly access them later
Smart Folders automatically group together Apple Watch recordings, recently deleted recordings and recordings you marked as Favorites
Enhance Recording reduces background noise and room reverberation
Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222
The leak: Ahead of a rumored release later this year, our first ever hands-on images of AirPods Studio have leaked from Fudge (66.7% accurate).
Apparently this is the ‘sport’ version, with a more breathable, mesh head pad
The headphones pictured here closely match descriptions of what other sources have described
Our take: Something tells me that these images are legitimate. Yes, they do look a bit odd. But I think retro is what Apple is going for with these. And I kind of dig it.
AirPods Studio (codename: B515)
– High quality leather / metal – Magnetic ear cups – Reversible – detects R/L ear – No headphone jack – USBC port
News: Apple iPad Air with its 4th Generation will launch at $599. It will be stunningly powerful.
Full lamination
A14 Bionic chip (5-nanometer chip)
10.9-inch Liquid Retina Display
Power button Touch ID
12MP rear camera/ 7MP front-facing camera
Generation 2 Apple Pencil Support
USB-C Charging
Our Take: An iPad that was developed for a strong leap in performance. As showcased with the recent launch event for the Apple iPad Air. The iPad is shown to be outperforming most mid-range laptops offered by Microsoft and Samsung tablets. As always from Apple, artists and performers have a profound love for the iPad Air, but with exciting features for even the most simple of uses in taking notes, it is a great tablet for any user.
