Apple WWDC 2021 keynote: Live updates – CNET [CNET]

Privacy, privacy, privacy

[10:56 a.m. PT] Apple’s increasingly pushed privacy as a way to stand out from its competitors. In iOS 15, Apple said it’s going to begin obscuring IP addresses of its users — meaning that companies won’t be able to use your internet address to identify and track you.

Apple said its IP obfuscation will be on the Mail App and Safari, but it’s a good bet this will expand.

Apple also said it’s going to tell you every time an app uses other features of your iPhone. So, you might see for example how many times an app accessed your camera, microphone or address book.

And Apple said it’ll start tracking other websites and services app send data to. So, you’ll see which advertising companies an app connects with, for example. 

WWDC: Apple updates Wallet app in iOS 15 for storing driver’s licenses, hotel keys

Build apps on the iPad

[10:48 a.m. PT] Apple’s Swift Playgrounds app started as a way to teach people how to code. But now, Apple’s making it possible to build apps too.

Apple said that with iPadOS 15, people will be able to write code, test it out and even submit apps to the App Store — all within Swift Playgrounds.

Apple still hasn’t gone the next step of adding its Xcode developer tools to the iPad, but this is definitely a move toward that. It’ll be interesting to see how developers feel about it.

Apple revamps iPad multitasking with shelves

[10:52 a.m. PT]

As the iPad’s become more powerful, it’s gotten just that much more computer-like. But it’s still more iPhone than Mac.

Though Apple isn’t going to push the iPad more into Mac-world, it is revamping the way multitasking works. With iPadOS 15, Apple said it’s adding a “shelves” feature, which will show open “windows” within an app. So, in an email app, the shelves could be your open emails or draft messages.

Apple said this’ll make multitasking much easier on the iPad. We’ll see. 

Revamping iPad widgets

[10:40 a.m. PT]

Last year, with iOS 14, Apple added widgets to its iPhone’s homepages. This year, Apple’s doing that with the iPad too.

The iPad-based widgets have a different feel too, of course. Apple said its newest widgets can be larger, making it easier to interact with them.

Apple’s also adding its “App Library” feature to the iPad. But unlike the iPhone, where you have to swipe many times to the right to get there, Apple’s adding the “App Library” to the bottom dock. 

Find My AirPods

[10:37 a.m. PT]

Apple’s AirTags offered a new way to track devices, but when it comes to Apple’s own accessories, the company’s taking it a step further. The company said AirPods will now send out a “bluetooth beacon” so that Find My network devices can help you find AirPods if you’re not near them.

And in the case of AirPods Pro, the Find My app will help you pinpoint their location just like they do with AirTags.

Apple said it’s adding a “separation alert” to the AirPods as well, sending a notification to your phone if you leave your AirPods behind. No word yet on whether they’ll show puppy dog eyes if you’re going out for the evening and the AirPods feel left alone at home. 

Better maps

[10:39 a.m. PT]

Since launching in 2012, Apple Maps has been trying to take on Google Maps and its Waze app. This year, Apple says it’s revamping what Apple Maps looks like, with more colorful visuals and more detail like showing pedestrian walkways and turn lanes in the map as you’re driving.

Apple’s also adding augmented reality to its walking directions in its Apple Maps. This is something Google’s offered for a couple years, but it’s another way Apple’s hoping to catch up. 

• Apple overhauls notifications with summaries and focus tools
• Apple Live Text takes on Google Lens, can read your photos

Better Wallet

[10:31 a.m. PT]

Apple’s Wallet app has always felt like more promise than reality. But with iOS 15, Apple’s pushing its Wallet app further — bringing corporate keycards and driver’s licenses to its app. That’s right, you can carry your ID in your iPhone. Whether you want to or not is another issue, but Apple says it’ll be encrypted and that the US TSA is already working on ways to accept it in airports.

Apple says you’ll be able to scan in your driver’s license just by snapping a photo in the Wallet app. Here’s hoping my real-world Wallet’s days are numbered. 

You could store a digital driver’s license on your phone soon. Here’s how it works

Live Text

[10:30 a.m. PT]

Apple’s expanding its artificial intelligence technology in iOS 15, and the most dramatic way is with something it calls “Live Text.” What it does is automatically perceive what you want to do with text on the web if you click on it, or if you hold up the camera on a white board.

Apple said Live Text works with its photos app too, attaching its automatically generated photo tags to its device-wide spotlight search feature. So you can search for “beach” on Spotlight and it’ll show you photos there too, not just in the photos app. 

• Apple’s iMessage gets new sharing features at WWDC 2021
• Apple FaceTime getting spatial audio for ‘more natural’ calls

Fixing notifications

[10:22 a.m. PT]

Many of us are living in an avalanche of notifications on our phones, and Apple says it’s working on ways to fix that. The biggest change is something called “focus” — which allows you to decide which apps can send you notifications at specific times. And you can create a home screen to match it too.

So, for example, a “work focus” would allow email and messages apps to send you notifications, but keep Facebook quiet.

“Focus is a new way to match your device to your current mindset with focus,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s head of software engineering, said. “All you have to do is choose what you want to focus on. You can carve out time in your day for work or your personal life.” 

FaceTime gets Zoom-like with scheduled calls and Android, Windows support in browser

Share, share away

[10:16 a.m. PT]

Apple’s spent years experimenting with sharing photos, videos and music. In iOS 15, Apple said it’s building in new features to “share” a video or song in the Messages app. People will be able to share a song in Spotify, for example, and listen to it with friends at the same time.

Apple said it’s also working with Disney Plus to let you watch movies too. 

And if you receive links in a Messages conversation, now Apple will automatically add them to a list in its News app.

Apple brings FaceTime to non-iPhone users

[10:14 a.m. PT]

FaceTime is already a popular feature on Apple products, in part thanks to the fact that it’s built in by default. It also offers end-to-end encryption, something that’s helped it stand out from SMS. This year, Apple’s planning a bunch of changes for it in iOS 15. 

The biggest change is that FaceTime will work on the web, allowing people to participate in video chats if they’re using a non-Apple device. The way it works is that FaceTime users can share a link to their friends, which they then click on and then they’ll be brought to a webpage that looks similar to the FaceTime app on an iPhone. 

It isn’t FaceTime for Android, but it’s Apple limited way of making FaceTime more open.

Apple head of software Craig Federighi, said the company’s also adding features to make it easier to participate in calls. One is called sound isolation, which cuts out background noise. Another is “spatial audio,” which is Apple’s term for surround sound. In this case, people will sound like they’re coming from different parts of a room, based on where their FaceTime tiles are shown.

Finally, Apple’s adding a “portrait mode” to video — so you don’t have to look at everyone’s dirty socks in the background.

WWDC21: Apple previews iOS 15 for the iPhone

Tim Cook kicks off WWDC

[10:06 a.m. PT]

Apple’s CEO started his keynote speech for Apple’s biggest developer event by talking about what Apple’s been doing to attract more people to tech. He noted that last year, nearly 25 million people watched WWDC for free online (though he didn’t offer any comparable data from 2019).

He also noted how Apple’s hosting entrepreneurs, and supporting black and female developers.

“We are committed to being a force for change as we seek to make the world a better place full of opportunity for all of us,” he said. 

Let’s get this party started

[9:48 a.m. PT]

It’s 30 minutes until the start of WWDC and our live show, with hosts Iyaz Akhtar, Claire Reilly, Lexy Savvides and Patrick Holland, has begun.