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WWDC21 Everything Apple Announced This Week!

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WWDC21 and Apple have announced a slew of new features for iOS, MacOS and WatchOS. Lots of features aimed at improving your social side of life, both with connecting with others and reducing the amount of time that you spend on your devices!

iOS15 – WWDC21

Apple showed off updates to FaceTime, a new way to reduce distractions, enhanced on-device intelligence to discover information. Plus there’s also updates to Maps, Weather and Wallet!

Facetime

FaceTime gets an update to help make conversations on screen feel more natural over video calls. Spatial Audio helps to make the voices from who you are talking to sound as if they are coming from where the person is positioned on screen. There are also new microphone modes to separate the voice from the background noise. Portrait mode also comes to FaceTime and is designed specifically for video calls so users can blur their backgrounds and keep themselves in focus. Furthermore in Group FaceTime there is a new grid mode which enables participants to see more faces at the same time.

FaceTime entertianment

Make FaceTime more entertaining with SharePlay. You can now listen to Apple Music, Watch a TV show or Movie in Sync and even share your screen with them! SharePlay works across iPhone, iPad and Mac. Users are also able to share playback controls so anyone can play, pause or jump ahead. SharePlay can even connect to Apple TV, so users can watch content on the big screen. All while keeping your devices in sync. Disney+, ESPN+, HBO Max, Hulu, MasterClass, Paramount+, Pluto TV, TikTok, Twitch, and many others are integrating SharePlay into their apps.

FaceTime calls can now extend beyond Apple devices with the ability to create a FaceTime link and share it through Messages, Mail or any 3rd Party app. Anyone can join a FaceTime call from their web browser or Android and Windows devices. FaceTime calls on the web remain end to end encrypted so privacy is not compromised.

Focus

Distraction will be a thing of the past in iOS15. Focus is a new feature that filters notifications and apps based on what the user wants to focus on. Users can set their device to help them focus by creating a custom Focus or select a suggested Focus. The device will use on-device intelligence to suggest which apps and people are allowed to notify them. It will be suggested to them based on a users context, like during work hours or while they are winding down for bed. Focus can be set on one device and then extend across all their Apple devices. Home Screen pages can also be created with apps and widgets to moments of focus and only display relevant apps and reduce temptation. When you are restricting incoming notifications, their status is displayed to others in Messages. Letting others know that you are not currently reachable.

Notifications

Notifications have also been redesigned. Contact photos for people and larger icons for apps make them easier to identify. Reducing distraction a new notification summary will collect non-time-critical notifications for delivery at a more opportune time. Such as in the mornings or in the evenings. The on-device intelligence will arrange notifications by priority, with the most relevant notifications rising to the top. All based on a user’s interactions with their apps. Urgent messages will be delivered immediately. While it is easy to temporarily mute any app or messaging thread for the next hour or day.

Cool On-Device Intelligence Tech

Live Text will use on-device intelligence to recognise text in a photo and let users take action on that. For example, users can search for and locate the picture of a handwritten recipe, capture a number from a store front. Then using Apple Neural Engine can either copy and paste the recipe or call the number that was on the store front.

With Visual Look Up, users can learn more popular art and landmarks around the world, plants and flowers found in nature, breeds of pets and even find books. Spotlight will alsu use intelligence to search photos by location, people, scenes and objects using Live Text. It can even find text and handwriting in recent conversations, shared photos and even location if shared through Find My. Photos also has an update to Memories. With a new look, interactive interface and integration with Apple Music.

Safari

Safari gets a cool new redesign making it easier to control and reach with one hand. The tab bar is now compact and lightweight and now has been moved to the bottom of the screen. Therefore making it easier to swipe between tabs. Tab Groups also allows users to save tabs and easily access them at any time on any device. There is now a customisable start page and web extensions on iOS.

Apple Maps

Apple Maps now will be significantly enhanced with new details in cities for neighborhoods, commercial districts, elevation, buildings and new road colors, labels, custom designed landmarks and a new night mode.

While using and navigation with Apple Maps on iPhone or Car Play, Maps will feature a 3D city driving experience. With new road details, therefore making it easier to understand improtant details. Such as when to turn lanes, medians, bike lanes and pedestrian crosswalks. Transit riders can now find nearby stations more easily and pin favorite lines. Maps will automatically follow along a selected transit route, notifying users when it’s nearly time to disembark. Furthermore in iOS15, users can hold up their iPhone and Maps will generate a highly accurate position to deliver walking directions in augmented reality.

New Keys and State ID’s in Apple Wallet

Apple Wallet now has support for additional types of keys! Last year Apple introduced digital car keys, with BMW being the first manufacturer to take advantage of this tech. Digital Car Keys get even better with support for Ultra Wideband Technology, making it easy for users to securely unlock and lock their supported vehicle without having to take their iPhone from a pocket or bag. Futhermore iPhone can also be used to unlock a user’s home, office or hotel room. All with keys stored in the Wallet.

For those in the US, participating states will allow users to add their drivers license or state IDs to Wallet. TSA is working to enable airport security checkpoints to be the first place that customers can use their digital Identity card in wallet. ID cards in Wallet are encrypted and stored safely in the Secure Element. Using the same tech that makes Apple Pay private and secure.

Privacy

iOS15 now has even more privacy controls. On-device speech recognition, audio of Siri requests is now processed entirely on iPhone by default. Mail Privacy Protection stops senders from learning whether an email has been opened and hides IP addresses so senders can’t learn a user’s location and use it to build a profile. App Privacy Report will also offer an overview of how apps use the access that has been granted to location, photos, camera, microphone and contacts in the last 7 days and which other domains have been contacted.

Weather and Notes

Weather gets a nice new facelift and adds graphical displays of weather data, full screen maps and dynamic layouts which change based on conditions. Animated backgrounds more accurately reflect the sun’s position and precipitation and notifications highlight when rain or snow starts and stops.

Notes will add user created tags that make it easy to quickly categorise notes and mentions allow members of shared notes to notify each other of important changes. While an all-new Activity view shows the history of a shared note.

Additional features WWDC21

  • Siri now can announce notifications on Airpods and the ability for users to share what’s on their screen just by asking
  • Shared With You. Will work across Apple Devices to show articles, music, tv shows, photos and more which are shared in Messages and display them conveniently in the appropriate app. Photos in Photos app, TV shows in Apple Tv and Podcasts in Apple Podcasts for example.
  • iCloud+ can now hide your email, expanded HomeKit Secure Video support, new innovative internet privacy service, iCloud Private Relay all at now additional cost.
  • Health App now allows you to share health data with family, caregives, your doctor or a care team. Trends will also give users a way to focus on meaningful personal health metrics.
  • Find My allows uers to locate a device that has been turned off or erased as well as live-streaming locations for family and friends who have turned on sharing their location. Seperation alerts will notify a user of they leave an AirTag, Apple Device or Find My network accessory behind in an unfamiliar location. A new Find My Widget also offers an at-a-glace view directly from the Home Screen.
  • Translate also adds a new Live Translate feature which makes conversation flow naturally across languages. Systemwide translation allows uers to translate text anywhere on iPhone.
  • Apple TV will now feature a row titled “For All of You” which will showcase a collection of movies and TV shows based on everyone’s tasets from within a select group of people or household using the data discovered through each Apple ID.

iPad OS15 WWDC21

iPad gets a new and easier way to multitask, a new home screen design with widgets, the App Library, systemwide note taking with Quick Note, SharePlay and a redesigned Safari Experience and new tools to stay focused.

MultiTasking

iPadOS 15 makes working with multiple apps much easier. There is a new multitasking menu at the top of apps, letting you go into Split View or Slide Over with a simple tap. You can now have quick access to the Home Screen when using Split View, making it easier to get to the right app. Furthermore there is a new Shelf section where you can multitask with apps which have multiple windows such as Safari or Pages. Furthermore there is an experience with external keyboard which allows users to get more done with keyboard shortcuts and a redesigned menu bar. You can quickly set up and switch between Split View and Slide Over with new shortcuts for multitasking right from the keyboard.

Widgets and App Library

Users can now place widgets much like they can on iPhone on Home Screen pages. Providing more information at a glance and offering a more personalised experience. Designed specifically for the larger display of the iPad, there is a new larger Widget size for showcasing videos, music, games and photos. The App Library is also coming to iPad, automatically organising apps into helpful categories, like Productivity, Games, Recently added and more. Allowing users to access all their apps right from the Dock.

Note Taking

Note taking on iPad gets even better with new features which make it easier to capture thoughts and ideas. Notes goes systemwide with Quick Note. A new fast and easy way to take notes anywhere on the system. Whether that is browsing on Safari or finding a restaurant on Yelp. You can bring up the Quick Note feature anywhere and jot down a thought. Even add links and provide an easy way to get back to what you were doing.

Notes will also organise, collaborate and capture information easier and better. Tages make it easy to categorise notes and quickly find them with an all new Tag Browser and tag-based Smart Folders. For those working in Shared Notes, mentions creates a way to notify collaborators and link them back to the note. There is also a new Activity View to show recent updates.

FaceTime

iPadOS 15 gets the same FaceTime update as iOS 15 and makes conversations more natural with spatial audio and share experiences with SharePlay. Share songs on Apple Music, Watch a Tv Show in sync and view apps together with sharing your screen. Also share playback controls and let anyone play, pause or jump forward or rewind.

Safari

Safari gets a new tab design, like the iOS 15 Safari update, you can now see more of the page as you browse. A new tab bar takes the colour of the page that you are browsing. Tabs are now combined with the tool bar and search field into a single compact design. Tab Groups offer a new way to easily save and manage tabs. Great for planning trips or shopping. Tab Groups are also synced across Mac and iPhone and other Apple devices. So users can continue their project from anywhere. Safari on iPad now lets you add web extensions to them available from the App Store.

Find Focus

Much like on iOS 15, iPad OS 15 delivers powerful tools to keep you focused. Focus is a new feature that filters notifications based on what a user is doing. You are able to set your device to help you be in the moment by creating a custom Focus setting or a suggested on based on their context. Such as during work hours or while your winding down for bed. You can also create Home Screen pages with apps and widgets that apply to moments of focus to only display relevant apps to reduce temptation. A new notification summary will organise a collection of notifications which can be delivered at any time the user chooses. Such as in the morning or after work.

New Photos Experience

iPadOS15 uses the same on device intelligence to recognise text in a photo and let them copy and paste text or call a phone number from a picture. With Visual Look Up, users can identify objects within a photo such as a type of dog or flower. Spotlight can now seatch the Photos app and web images and has all-new rich results for contacts and context like recent conversations, shared photos and location if shared through Find My. Using Live Text, Spotlight can also look up a photo of a public transit map, receipt or a screenshot of a cooking recipe. It can also work with handwritten text, great for searching text on whiteboards or notes.

Translate

Translate app now comes to iPad with new features that make conversations easier and natural. Auto Translate will detect when someone is speaking and in which language, so users can converse naturally without having to tap a microphone button. Face to face view allows people to sit across from each other with iPad inbetween them and see translations of the conversation on their side. Text can now be translated from anywhere on the iPad by slecting it and tapping translate. Handwritten text can also be translated! You can even translate text in photos!

Additional Features WWDC21

  • Universal Control lets users work with a single mouse and keyboard to move between iPad and Mac for a seamless experience, with no setup required. Users can even drag and drop content back and forth between devices — great for sketching a drawing with Apple Pencil on iPad and placing it into a Keynote slide on Mac.
  • Photos gets an update to Memories with integration with Apple Music and a fresh new look.
  • Maps gets the same update as iOS 15 allowing you to navigate more with new road colours, elevation, enhanced details in cities for neighbourhoods, commercial districts, elevation, and buildings, new road colours and labels, custom-designed landmarks, and a new night-time mode with a moonlit glow.
  • Siri now can announce notifications on Airpods and the ability for users to share what’s on their screen just by asking
  • Shared With You. Will work across Apple Devices to show articles, music, tv shows, photos and more which are shared in Messages and display them conveniently in the appropriate app. Photos in Photos app, TV shows in Apple Tv and Podcasts in Apple Podcasts for example.
  • iCloud+ can now hide your email, expanded HomeKit Secure Video support, new innovative internet privacy service, iCloud Private Relay all at now additional cost.
  • Privacy gets an update with Mail Privacy Protection help to stop trackers from snooping on an email, and App Privacy Report provides transparency into how apps are sharing information with other companies

macOS Monterey – WWDC21

Monterey adds new ways to connect with friends and family, work smarter across devices, and stay focused!

Safari

Safari gets a redesign and reimagines the browsing experience with a new tab design, which allows users to see more of the webpage as they scroll. The tab bar gets a facelift and takes on the colour of the webpage that you are on. It also combines tabs, tool bar and search field into one single compact design. Tab Groups offer a new way to easily save and manage tabs. Tab Groups will also sync across all devices.

Shortcuts

Shortcuts is now on Mac. Helping users to automate everyday tasks and achieve peak productivity. Just like shortcuts on iPhone and iPad, Shortcuts on Mac lets users quickly accomplish tasks with the apps which you use the most. There is a rich gallery full of pre-build actions designed just for Mac, users can share files, make animated GIFs and much more. While power users can take things further and use the Shortcuts Editor to match workflows. Shortcuts is intergrated throughout macOS, including the menu bar, Finder, Sportlight and even hands free with Sir. Users of Automator can import their existing workflows into Shortcuts too.

Notes

Notes can help users stay organised, collaboirate and create notes from anywhere. With Quick Note much like on iPadOS15, users can jot down notes from anywhere in any app or website. Making it easy to capture thoughts and ideas whenever. You can even links from an app to a Quick Note to create context or even an address in Maps. Add mentions and see everyone’s edits in Acitivity View and categorise Notes with Tags to quicklt and easily find them in the new Tag Browser and tag-based Smart Folders.

Focus

Focus on Mac can stay in the moment by filtering unwanted notifications unrelated to what they are doing. You can signal your status to let others know when you are focusing and not available. When you are in Focus on one device you are in Focus across all Apple devices. All of this is custom to their current activity too.

FaceTime

Much like FaceTime updates to iPadOS 15 and iOS15, Mac OS Monterey also has the same new upgrades:
  • FaceTime now includes a suite of new audio and video features that make calls feel more natural and lifelike. With spatial audio, voices in a FaceTime call sound like they are coming from where the person is positioned on the screen, while Voice Isolation ensures the user’s voice is crystal clear and uses machine learning to eliminate background noise, and Wide Spectrum allows all the sound in the area to come through so participants can hear everything. Portrait mode taps into the Apple Neural Engine in the M1 chip to blur the user’s background for a stunning video effect, and a new Grid View shows participants in same-sized tiles.
  • SharePlay is a powerful set of system features that enables users to have shared experiences while on a FaceTime call. Users can share their favourite music, TV shows, movies, projects, and more with friends and family in real time — kicking off a shared listening party, watching movies and shows, collaborating in apps through screen sharing, and more. With an API built for easy adoption, third-party developers can bring their own apps right into FaceTime.
  • Shared with You makes it easy to locate and enjoy all the great content that’s shared through Messages, including photos, videos, articles, and more, right from a Shared with You tab within Photos, Safari, Apple Podcasts, Apple News, and the Apple TV app.

Continuity

Universal Control will let users work with a single mouse and keyboard and move between Mac and iPad for a seamless experience, with no setup required! Users can even drag and drop files between each of your devices. You can sketch on iPad and then move it to a Keynote slide on Mac! AirPlay to Mac allows you to play, present and share anything from their iPhone or iPad to their Mac! The Mac can also be used as an AirPlay speaker, so users can play music on their Mac or use their Mac as a secondary speaker for multi-room audio.

Additional New Features of macOS Monterey WWDC21

  • Maps gets the same update as iPadOS15 and iOS15 but it also has a new interactive globe too!
  • LiveText features in iPadOS15 and iOS15 also come to MacOS Monterey
  • iCloud+ also is available
  • Use your Airpods Pro and Airpods Max to deliver a new experience with Spatial Audio with Macs which have the M1 Chip
  • The all new Privacy features from iOS15 and iPadOS15 are also available.

WatchOS 8 – WWDC21

watchOS 8 now offers better access to your Wallet, more capabilities with the Home app, new workout types, and an updated Breathe app.

Wallet

Apple Watch and watchOS8 can now have access to unlicking their car from a distance and start it from the drivers seat with supported vehicles. You can now have access to the keys that are in your Wallet which control the house, office and hotel. While in participating states in the US, you can add your drivers or state ID to Wallet. So watchOS 8 will have access to that too!

Home

Home app in watchOS 8 has even better conenient access to accessories and scenes needed in a particular moment and the ability to control accessories by room. For example, with a HomeKit enabled camera you can view who is at the door directly on your wrist. Also, you can also tap the Intercom to quickly broadcast a message throughout the home or to individual rooms via HomePod, HomePod Mini or other personal devices.

Workout Types

watchOS 8 introduces Tai Chi and Pilates to the workouts app. While, the new workouts are supported by powerful validate custom-built rate and motion algorithms to provide users with accurate metrics.

Mindfulness

Furthermore, the Breathe app has been reimagined as the Mindfulness app and will feature and enhanced Breathe experience and a new experience, Reflect. Reflect will offer a mindful intention to focus on as little as one minute and can be done at any time. Each Reflect session welcomes the user to think with a positive frame of mind. So, for example the app may ask you to “Recall a time when you recently felt a sense of calm. Bring that feeling into this moment”.

Sleep

Apple Watch can help users meet their sleep goals by establishing a pre-bedtime routine and will track metrics like time asleep, heart rate and blood oxygen. watchOS 8 will give users more insight to their sleeping respiratory rate, which is the number of breaths per minute. While, it does this via the in built accelerometer to measure respiratory rate whilst sleeping. It can be viewed along with trends over time on the Health app on iPhone.

Watch Faces

watchOS 8 introduces new ways to engage with your favourite photos. The new Portraits watch face brings to life stunning portrait photos which are shot on iPhone. With an immersive, multi-layered effect. Intelligently recognising faces in photos and cropping in to highlight the subject. The photos app is also redesigned. So, it will offer new ways to view and navigate collections, memories and featured photos which sync to Apple Watch.

Messages

Also, you can now combine the use of Scribble, dictaion and emoji all within the same message. For dictated messages you’ll have the option to edit the presented text. You can now also simply enter a word or phrase and select from loads of GIFs. Contacts app is now available on watchOS8 too! While, allowing you to browse, edit, add and share contacts directly from the app.

Focus

watchOS8 supports Focus which is on iPadOS 15, iOS 15 and Mac OS Monterey. Helping you to reduce distraction, it will filter notifications based on what you are doing. While, Focus will use on-device intelligence to make suggestions based on usage patterns.

Additional watchOS 8 Updates – WWDC21

  • Multiple Timers can now be set and given a label, for example Cooking Timer and Laundry Timer.
  • More Apple Watch Apps support Always-On display such as Maps, Phone, Podcasts, Stop Watch and more.
  • While, Assistive Touch enables one arm usage of Apple Watch by sensing hand gestures to interact without touching the display.
  • Furthermore, Find My is available on Apple Watch allowing users to locate tagged items using the Find My Network. The Find Devices app which is new helps users locate Apple Devices. Which are signed in using the same Apple ID.
  • While, Apple Music App has been redesigned
  • Weather App now supports severe weather notifications, displaying government alerts about certain severe weather events. As well as Next Hour Precipitation alerts and updated complications.
  • Also, later in June, Fitness+ introduces a new series of workouts featuring Jeanette Jenkins. A new Artist Spotlight Series with workouts featuring entire playlists from Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Alicia Keys.
(Apple)
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Apple September Event 2020 – Rundown

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Apple have just tied up their Apple September Event 2020 and boy oh boy did they announce some interesting things!

Apple September Event 2020 –  The Apple Watch Series 6

The Apple Watch Series 6 delivers breakthrough Wellness and fitness capabilities with a revolutionary Bloody Oxygen feature that offers wearers more insight into their wellness.

Also included is a S6 System in Package and next generation always-on altimeter. Furthermore there’s even more colour with new cases and finishes and bands. WatchOS7 brings Family Set Up, sleep tracking, automatic hand washing detection, new workout types and the ability to curate and share watch faces.

Blood Oxygen Sensor and App

Apple Watch Series 6 expands what Apple Watch can do with a new feature that will measure the oxygen saturation of a wearers blood. Oxygen saturation or SpO2 represents the percentage of oxygen that is being carried in red blood cells from the lungs to the rest of the body. While it indicates how well this oxygenated blood is being delivered around the body.
Apple Watch Series 6 will compensate for natural variations in the skin and improved accuracy the sensor employs four clusters of green red and infrared LEDs, alongside the four photodiodes on the back crystal of the Apple Watch. Measuring the light that is reflected back from blood. The Apple Watch then uses an advanced custom algorithm built into the Blood Oxygen app. To measure blood oxygen between 70% and 100%.  On demand measurements can be taken whilst a user is still and periodic background measurements occure when they are inactive. Even during sleep. All data is visible in the Health app. Allowing users to track trends over time and see how their blood oxygen levels change.

Design

Apple watch Series 6 uses a new dual core processor that is based on the A13 Bionic that is found in the iPone 11. The upgraded S6 SiP runs at 20% faster, allowing apps to launch 20% faster, whilst maintaining an 18 hour battery life. Apple Watch Series 6 also featuers the U1 chip and Ultra Wideband antennas. As this will enable short range wireless location support for new experiences such as digital car keys. Apple Watch Series 6 can also achieve a full charge in under 1.5 hours! The always on display is also 2.5 times brighter than Apple Watch Series 5 outdoors when the user’s wrist is down. Furthermore you can also now access Notification Center and Control Center, tap on complications, and swipe to change faces without having to wake their watch screen.

Always-On Altimeter

A brand new always-on altimeter provides real-time elevation all day long. By using the new more power efficient barometric meter. Also in conjunction with GPS and nearby WiFi networks. Allowing the Apple Watch Series 6 to detect small elevation changes above ground level, up and down to the measurement of a foot! It can be shown as either a new watch face, complication or workout metric.

Apple Watch Collection

There is now more choice than ever, blue is now available alongside silver, space grey and gold aluminium case options. As well as a (PRODUCT) RED Apple Watch.
Stainless steel models are now available in graphite — a rich grey-black hue with a striking high-shine finish — and an updated classic yellow gold colour. Apple Watch Edition is available in natural and space black titanium.
There’s also new band style options. Such as the Solo Loop. A brand new continuous strechable band design, that comes in either soft silicone or braided yarn. They come in a range of different sizes (9) to fit your wrist. Also available is a first-of-its-kind Leather Link wraps elegantly around the wrist, effortlessly attaching on the other side with flexible moulded magnets.
Apple Watch Nike also comes with new colours for the Nike Sport Band and Nike Sport Loop. A new Nike Compact watch face is also available which allows for multiple Nike Run Club complications.

watchOS 7
Some more information was announced about watchOS7. New watch face options such as Stripes, Chronograph Pro, GMT and Artist! New health and fitness features was also announced such as low-range VO2 Max, sleep tracking, automatic hand washing detection, and new workout types, can help users better understand overall well-being. 

Family Setup and Optimised Features for the Entire Family
Family Set up in watchOS 7 allows more people to enjoy Apple Watch. Some members may not have an iPhone. So Family Set Up will help with that. Those without an iPhone. Such as the younger or older members of the family. Can benefit from the important health and safety features of Apple Watch, like Emergency SOS, while Maps, Siri, Alarms, and the App Store and all their data is securely encrypted. They even get their own personal phone number, through a seperate cellular plan using their own Apple ID. You can follow their schedule using calendar. Set reminders for them. View photo albums synced from a guardian’s iPhone and more!

Apple Pay

Plus with the new Apple Cash Family, parents can send their kids money to spend on their watch using Apple Pay! Parents can choose to receive notifications when their kids pay and view their child’s purchases in the Wallet on their own iPhone.

Kids are also able to take advantage of the communication and personalisation capabilities, access Emergency SOS, Activity Rings and a new mode for the younger members of the family, Schooltime. Which will help them stay focused and attentive while learning at home or at school.

For the older members of the family, simplified onboarding and configuration processes. A refreshed X-Large face that shows the time and a rich complication at a glance. Health Checklist in the health app on the iPhone. This allows the ability to track whether health features have been enabled in one centralised view.

Fitness+

Apple also announced a Peloton style Fitness app, called Fitness+. It’s built into the Apple Fitness app, arrives later this year and intelligently incoroporates the metrics from Apple Watch for users to visualise on the iPhone, iPad or Apple Tv. Whilst offering a first of it’s kind workout experience. You can access studio style workouts, taken by world class trainers, alongside your music from Apple Music, whilst viewing your stats from your Apple Watch in the top corner.
The workouts are tuned to you too. You’ll get personalised recommended workouts based on previously completed workouts. So, it will match the workout you select the most and something fresh to help balance your routine. While you may also filter what workouts are most important to you, whether that’s a workout type, the duration of the workout or the type of music you select. Apple Music subscribers can also save the playlists and listen to it at a later date or time!
Fitness Plus is $9.99 P/M or $79.99 Per year.

Pricing and Availability

  • Apple Watch Series 6 (GPS) starts at £379 and Apple Watch Series 6 (GPS + Cellular) starts at £479
  • Apple Watch Series 6 (GPS) is available to order today from apple.com and in the Apple Store app, with availability beginning Friday, September 18, in the US, Puerto Rico, and 27 other countries and regions.
Apple September Event 2020
Apple September Event 2020
Apple September Event 2020
Apple September Event 2020

Apple September Event 2020 – Apple Watch SE

Apple Watch SE was also announced. A cheaper more affordable Apple Watch.

It packs all the features you love such as Fall Detection, Noise App, Emergency SOS all into a modern design. All at an affordable price. It features the same accelerometer, gyroscope and always on altimeter as the Apple Watch Series 6.

Apple Watch SE features a retina display with thin borders, curved corners which is 30% larger than Series 3. This allows for large and easy to read app icons and fonts. While fonts and complications are precise and informative. New Watch faces are optimised for the display so users can easily view notifications and text messages.
It has the S5 System in Package and dual core processor. Apple Watch SE delivers fast performance that is up to 2 times as faster than the Apple Watch Series 3. The digital crown has haptic feedback and has the latest speaker and microphone.

Pricing and Availability

  • The Apple Watch SE (GPS) starts at £269 and Apple Watch SE (GPS + Cellular) starts at £319.
  • Apple Watch SE (GPS) is available to order today from apple.com and in the Apple Store app, with availability beginning Friday, September 18, in the US, Puerto Rico, and 27 other countries and regions.

The Apple September Event 2020 – Apple One

Apple offered a solution that is cheaper and simpler to follow if you like a lot of their subscription services. Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud, and more services in one simple plan

Starting in the fall, customers can pick the right Apple One plan for them so they can save money. All from any Apple device and get more for less:
  • Individual includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud storage for £14.95 per month.
  • Family includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 200GB of iCloud storage for £19.95 per month, and can be shared among up to six family members.
  • Premier, where available, includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and 2TB of iCloud storage for £29.95 per month, and can be shared among up to six family members.
You even get a 30 day free trial for any service that customers don’t already have. Users will also only recieve one invoice per month and can change plan at any time. Family and Premier plans allows up to 6 mombers to access all the included services with their own personal accounts and preferences:

Services

With Apple One you can access the following:
  • Apple Music, with over 70 million songs, thousands of playlists, daily selections from the world’s best music experts, the groundbreaking Apple Music radio, and innovative features like time-synced lyrics.
  • TV+, home to Apple Originals from today’s most imaginative and respected creators. Apple TV+ has already earned over 100 awards recognitions, including 18 Emmy nominations, for its originals — more than any other streaming service in its first 10 months.
  • The Apple Arcade, which gives players unlimited access to more than 100 incredibly fun games across iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and Apple TV, all with no ads or in-app purchases.
  • Also Apple News+, which provides premium access to leading newspapers and hundreds of magazines.
  • Apple Fitness+,the first fitness experience built for Apple Watch, arriving later this year. Apple Fitness+ intelligently incorporates metrics from Apple Watch for users to visualise right on their iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, offering a first-of-its-kind personalised workout experience. Everyone from beginners to committed exercisers can access studio-style workouts delivered by inspiring world-class trainers and underscored by motivating music from renowned artists.
  • iCloud, which keeps customers’ photos, videos, files, and more safely stored and available across their devices.

Pricing and Availability

  • Starting this fall, the Apple One Individual and Family plans will be available in over 100 countries and regions. The Premier plan will be available in Australia, Canada, the UK, andthe US, where Apple News+ is available, and Apple Fitness+ will join later this year.
  • Once subscribed, customers can enjoy the services included with Apple One on any platform where the services are available.
  • The Apple One Individual plan offers a savings of almost £6 per month, while the Family plan offers a savings of over £7 per month, and the Premier plan offers a savings of £22 per month. Savings based on standard monthly pricing.

Apple September Event 2020 – iPad 8

Apple announced iPad 8 with the A12 Bionic with Neural Engine, amazing speed for an entry level iPad! It’s £329 and has a 10.2″ Retina display, improved cameras and great all day battery life! Pre-Order right away and it becomes available on Friday 18th September.
The A12 Bionic Chip delivers a 40% faster CPU performance and 2 times the graphics capability. Making the iPad 8, up to 2 times powerful than the top selling Windwos laptop, up to three times faster than the top-selling Android tablet and up to six times faster than the top-selling Chromebook. Also for the first time on iPad, the A12 Bionic introduces the Neural Engine to help with next level machine learning capabilities. Including people occlusion and motion tracking in augmented reality (AR) apps, enhanced photo editing, Siri performance, and more.
Pricing and Availability
  • The new iPad (8th generation) is available to order starting today on apple.com and in the Apple Store app in more than 25 countries and regions, including the US. iPad will be available beginning Friday, September 18, with a starting price of £329 for the Wi-Fi model and £459 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model, and comes in silver, space grey, and gold finishes in 32GB and 128GB configurations.

Apple September Event 2020 – iPad Air

A brand new iPad Air with A14 Bionic was announced today too. Ir features the same iPad Pro sleek looks, with an all new all screen design. A larger 10.9 inch display, a new 12MP rear camera and next generation Touch ID sensor in the power button!

The new iPad Air also comes in new five finishes. Silver, Space Grey, Rose Gold, Green and Sky Blue. The new screen is a large 10.9″ Retina Display with 3.8M pixels and advanced technologies including full lamination, P3 wide colour support, True Tone and an anti-reflective coating. iPad Air is compatible with the Magic Keyboard, Smart Keyboard Folio and new Smart Folio covers. As well as the Apple Pencil, which can connect magnetically to the side for easy pairing, charging and storing.

Most Powerful iPad Air with A14 Bionic

iPad Air is so powerful with the A14 Bionic. You can now edit 4K videos faster, create artwork, play games and more. IT uses breakthough 5-nanometer process technology with 1.8 billion transistors for increased performance and power. Bringing with it a 40% boost in CPU performance and a new 4-core Neural engine architecture for a 30% boost in graphics performance. The A14 Bionic also includes a new 16-core Neural engine that is twice as fast and can perform up to 11 trillion operations per second. Also A14 Bionic includes 2nd generation machine learning accelerators in the CPU for 10x faster machine learning calculations. So when combined with the CPU learning accelerators, high performance GPU enables for a powerful device for image recognition, natural language learning and  more!

Upgraded Camera and Immersive Audio

iPad Air now features a 12MP rear camera! That is also featured in the iPad Pro for high resolution photos and 4K video capture. It also features stereo speakers in landscape more, elevating the audio experience, allowing users to enjoy wide stereo sound while watching video.

iPad Air now features a USB-C port for up to 5Gbps data transfer, which is 10 times faster,2 for connecting to cameras, hard drives, and external monitors up to 4K.
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Apple Watch Pride 2020 Bands!

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Apple are celebrating PRIDE month by releasing some special Apple Watch Nike Sport Bands!They’re made from a custom high performance fluoroelastomer with compression-moulded perforations for breathability. This gives a durable, strong and soft finish to these beautiful bands. The smooth dense material will sit on your wrist and fit comfortably on your skin. Whilst providing a secure and safe fit with an innovative pin and tuck closure.

Apple is supporting LGBTQ advocacy organisations working to bring about positive change, including Encircle, Gender Spectrum, GLSEN, PFLAG, SMYAL, The National Center for Transgender Equality and The Trevor Project in the US, and ILGA World internationally. Plus pair beautifully your Apple Watch Pride band with new matching Pride Watch faces that are coming soon as a part of watchOS 6.2.5!

Through this effort, Apple and Nike are proud to support LGBTQ organisations doing vital advocacy and community-building worldwide, including GLSEN, PFLAG, The Trevor Project, Gender Spectrum, The National Center for Transgender Equality, and ILGA World, which brings together more than 1,500 member organisations in more than 150 countries and regions.

Apple Watch
Apple Watch
Apple Watch
Apple Watch
Apple Watch

(Apple)

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6 Ways An Apple Watch Can Keep You In Shape!

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Apple Watch is a great way to help you stay fit, it’s a great fitness helper and an incredible gadget too! So, why not get involved and find out how the Apple Watch can help you stay fit. While not just in lockdown but also when we return to regular old normal day to day life!

1. Activity Sharing


At times like this, people feel more isolated. So why not get involved with the Activity Sharing features! While this is a great time to try it out with your friends. As it’s a way to make keeping in shape fun! Furthermore it can boost your spirits. As it can be just as much about being active. As it is about staying connected and social! Get out there and challenge your friends and family!

 

 


2. Activity Competitions

So as we stated in #1, you can set competitions. While more specifically, activity competitions! Yet, it doesn’t have to be about winning and losing. So just set a goal that is easy to hit. Therefore aim to tie each other or max out the points for a certain number of days. Simple! Therefore a simple shared goal can be a fun addition to the week for you and your friends. Help each other stay connected. Motivate one another. While staying fit!

3. Stand Reminder

Also, don’t forget to pay attention to the stand reminder! Use it as an encouragement to get active. Not just a notification to ignore! Just walk around the house/flat if you can’t go out. So just do a few minutes every hour over 12 hours. Therefore it can really add up over the course of the whole day

4. Awards

So, remember competitions? Check out Awards tab in the Activity app on iPhone. Compete with yourself and go for an award you haven’t received yet

5. Mindfulness

While, the Breathe app is an easy way to take a few minutes during the day to reset. As your mental health is just as important as your physical!  Furthermore, there are also many guided meditation apps on the App Store to select!
Also, whilst you’re doing so, why not check out new podcasts on Apple Podcasts or playlists on Apple Music!

6. Apps


While it’s a great time to explore the App Store on iPhone or Apple Watch, get moving! Download apps which encourage group fitness classes or live classes! Experiment with activities and try some in the privacy of your own home!

 

 

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21 Apps for Fitness While In Lockdown

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First of all, fitness has never been more important than ever now we’re all in lockdown. So our good friends at Apple have curated a great collection of iPad/iPhone Apps to stay active during this time. Also, Apple Watch also is important during this time as it helps to keep us all meeting our daily goals.

Work Out at Home: 

“You’ll find a great mix of body-weight exercises and workouts that require minimal equipment — with trainers to guide you through the routines. Get moving! Now you have no excuses.” So, explore the full collection here.

 

1.Fiit

So Fiit, lets you take high quality workouts with leading personal trainers on your iPhone or iPad, with the option to connect to your TV. While there are hundreds of home workouts with top personal trainers, all in one place.

2. Wakeout! 

(Andres Canella) – So this was in the App of the Day & Best of 2017 selection: “Having trouble getting out of bed? Feeling lethargic? Furthermore are you stuck in your head? Wakeout’s short, energizing workouts can give you the jolt you need.”

 

 

 

3. Nike Training Club

App Store Editor’s Choice: “Getting in shape can be a challenge, so making exercise fun and engaging is crucial to staying on the right track. This Nike fitness app features a polished collection of visual workouts, hosted by celebrity athletes like Serena Williams. It’s equally effective at home or at the gym. While each lesson can be taken on its own, Nike Training Club also features month-long structured programs that’ll help you achieve even better results.” So, why not try the free fitness videos in categories like “Workouts in Small Spaces.”

 

4. Zova

App Store Editor’s Choice: “This Apple Design Award winner focuses on one thing—fitting short, achievable exercises into every week—and does it really well. The custom-shot videos are presented in a clean, thoughtful interface. So, this impressive fitness trainer really shines on Apple TV by creatively using Siri Remote to make workouts (almost) painless.”

 

5. Aaptiv

#1 Audio Fitness App & App Store Editor’s Choice: “Let’s say you’re doing a treadmill exercise. You know, the kind where you occasionally change the speed and incline. Do you really need a video of someone telling you “it’s time to go faster?” Nah. Aaptiv packs great audio-only classes for all those workouts that just don’t make sense for video. Smart design, great music, and a huge library of classes make even the most hardcore exercises enjoyable.“

6. Centr, by Chris Hemsworth

Whatever your goal, age, sex or fitness level, this app puts the world’s best trainers, chefs and well-being experts in the palm of your hand so you can get it done. And it’s all tailored to you; your goal, fitness level and diet preferences. It’s your PT, dietician, chef and wellness coach all in one.

 

 

7. Jillian Michaels Fitness App

Sweat to the free 7 minute workout or get beach body ready with unlimited access to Jillian Michaels Fitness award winning personalized health and fitness app with the most advanced dynamic workout planner along with diet plans, calorie counter, and weight loss programs in the Jillian Michaels Fitness Advanced Meal Planner System (AMP)!

 

8. Playbook – created by trainers

Playbook is a mobile marketplace where your favorite trainers, social media influencers, and athletes share their real-time workouts. Each trainer/influencer/athlete has their own channel, which allows them to publish their workout programs directly to you in real-time. You only get their 10 latest workouts – it’s always new, but also means you have to keep up!

9. Tone It Up: Workout & Fitness

Whether you exercise at home, head to the gym or are just getting started with a workout routine, Tone It Up is the fitness app for you. Tone It Up offers daily workout and customized workout programs built by top personal trainers for incredible results.

 

10. Seven – 7 Minute Workout

Getting fit has never been this easy – or this much fun. Seven’s workouts are based on scientific studies to provide the maximum benefit in the shortest time possible. With personalized workout plans Seven also makes sure you get the most out of your training. Want to Get Fit, Lose Weight or Get Strong? Just set your goal and fitness level, and let Seven take care of the rest.

11. Fitplan: Gym & Home Workouts

Get top-tier personal training for a fraction of the price with Fitplan. Work out one-on-one with professional athletes Alex Rodriguez, Christian McCaffrey and Ryan Lochte, celebrity trainers Melissa Alcantara, Corey Calliet and Mike O’Hearn, and fitness leaders Jen Selter, Michelle Lewin, Linn Löwes, Jeff Seid and more.

12. Fitbod Gym & Home Workout Log

Get stronger, lose weight or gain muscle mass with Fitbod! When you hit your gym or living room, Fitbod’s innovative training algorithm will guide you through the right sets, reps, and weight to reach your fitness goals.

Yoga

Yoga for Everybody: “Whether your headstand form is impeccable or you’ve never heard the word ‘vinyasa’ there’s a yoga app to suit your needs. We’ve picked out a few of our favourites for all experience levels.” Explore the full collection here.

13. Asana Rebel: Get in Shape

From losing weight to building strength, from high-intensity workouts to moving meditations: each piece of Asana Rebel is meant to fit every goal into your lifestyle.

 

14. Yoga Studio: Mind & Body

App of the Day & App Store Editor’s Choice: “As anyone who has ever worn stretchy pants and nervously wandered into a studio can attest to, yoga involves countless poses across multiple skill levels—some of which can seem frighteningly out of reach. Fortunately, Yoga Studio covers the full gamut with 65 video classes that can be done from the comfort of home. There are general classes for beginners. Prenatal classes for expectant moms. Yoga classes for mental health, yoga classes set to hip-hop, and yoga classes specially designed to combat back pain. There’s even a Desk Series you can do during a break at work.”

 

15. Lotus

App of the Day & App We Love: “Use your newfound body awareness and the Lotus app to create a practice just for you. Set parameters such as preferred style, duration, and level of expertise and the app will customize your sequence.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

16. SWEAT: Kayla Itsines Fitness

App Store Editor’s Choice: “Yogi Sjana Elise Earp has a 12-week vinyasa-style program in Sweat. Subscribe for access to her class and other video workouts.”

 

 

17. Yoga & Meditation by Glo

Glo is online yoga, Pilates, and meditation designed to help you feel better in body and mind. Practice at home or on the go with the world’s best teachers. Yet, with classes for every life stage, level, and need, we’ll help you create a practice that’s uniquely your own.

 

Fitness Live Apps

Try Live Fitness Apps: “If you have some open floor space (and nonjudgmental roommates), you have everything you need to join these exercise classes, each with a live instructor to motivate you every step, stretch, and spin of the way.” So why not, explore the full collection here.

Weights

18. Peloton — Live workout classes

So, Transform your fitness routine at home, at the gym or on-the-go with live and on-demand classes.

 

 

 

 

19. Tone It Up: Workout & Fitness

Whether you exercise at home, head to the gym or are just getting started with a workout routine, Tone It Up is the fitness app for you. As, Tone It Up offers daily workout and customized workout programs built by top personal trainers for incredible results.

Running

20. Charge Running: Live Coaching

Charge hosts LIVE running classes from the comfort of your own neighborhood or treadmill. While, each live run brings runners from all over the world together in one class where you can run, chat, and compete on our Live Leaderboard for the #1 spot!

 

 

 

 

 

Yoga

21. Yogaia: Yoga & Meditation

Furthermore, download the Yogaia app and experience yoga, meditation, cardio workouts, and strength training right in the convenience of your own home. So why not reach your wellbeing goals with our international team of stellar yoga teachers, mindfulness instructors, and personal trainers.

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September Apple Event: new products!

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First of all, we were very impressed! As TON of new products was announced at this years September Apple Event, including an impressive Apple Watch Series 5 and a brand new PRO line up of iPhones!

September Apple Event, a run down

Apple Arcade

At tonight’s Apple event, they revealed a price and a launch date for it’s subscription based Netflix style gaming service. It launches on the 19th September and will cost $4.99 p/m for a Family plan. Including a Frogger game from Konami, an underwater adventure game called Shinsekai from Capcom and a music based game from AnnaPurna, SayonaraWildheart. – Apple Arcade is US only at the moment, here’s hoping it comes the UK not too soon after launches in the US!

AppleTv+

Apple’s Netflix style film and tv show service, Apple TV+, now has a release date. 1st November 2019. It’s incredibly cheap at $4.99 and will begin streaming in over 100 countries. Nothing was mentioned about non Apple exclusives, so we’re going to assume that’s all that’s going to be available. Tim Cook stated during the keynote that each month new shows will be added to the platform.

Plus if you purchase an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Tv you’ll get a whole year for FREE!

Much like Disney’s service, Apple will be releasing a new episode each week, with 3 episodes being available at launch. While some shows will dump the whole season on you at once.

(CNET)

Apple Watch Series 5

Apple Watch Series 5 was announced at September’s Apple Event, this time the Apple Watch comes with a brand new “Always On” display.

The screen will never go to sleep, allowing owners to always see the time and if you have fitness complications, see what your fitness stats are. While the screen will dim, it will always be visible. The display will help with power usage too, reducing the refresh rate down from 60hz to 1hz while not being used. The new Apple Watch will also have an ambient light sensor to adjust the brightness to your surroundings.

Features

The Apple Watch Series 5 comes with a built in compass with tools like an altimeter. Cellular owners of the Apple Watch Series 5 will have free emergency calling without needing to be linked to an iPhone. The Apple Watch has a noise meter on it to make sure your hearing isn’t affected. Also announced is a new Research App, where users can opt in to record their health data to be used in things such as the Apple Hearing Study, Apple Heart and Movement Study and Apple Women’s Health Study.

The Aluminium version comes in black, gold, polished metal and will be made out of 100% recycled aluminium. As with other generations of the Apple Watch, it’s also available in Stainless Steel, Titanium and ceramic models.

Prices in the US Start at $399 for regular and $499 for cellular. Series 3 gets a price cut to $199. So expect UK prices to be similar.

Apple Watch Series 5 pre-orders start today and will go on sale on 20th September.

(Gizmodo)

iPad Gen 7

The most popular iPad to date got a slight refresh at the September Apple Event, most notably bumping the screen from 9.2″ to 1o.2″

It comes with iPad OS built in, which means that there’ll be greater support for one handed use, extra gestures and improved support of the Apple Pencil. The new iPad 10.2″ comes equipped with the A10 chipset, improved smart connector for Keyboard Support, 8MP camera, AR support, Picture in Picture support and much like the Apple Watch Series 5, made from 100% recycled aluminium.

$329 so expect pricing in the UK to be about the same. Pre-orders open today and will ship at the end of the month.

(Gizmodo)

iPhone 11

The iPhone 11 is here and there is a HUGE focus on cameras. The iPhone 11 comes with a dual camera system, a 12MP 9f/1.8) lens and a 12MP (f/2.8) ultra wide angle lens.

Apple says that this has the capability of the equivalent of a 2x optical zoom out! The camera can also shoot 4k 60 fps on both the back AND front cameras. Including slo-motion on the front camera. Apple even showed off a quirky “slofies” promo video.

Other camera based features include automatic night mode detection, shooting video whilst in photo mode (simply hold the camera shutter down) and a zoom wheel.

Furthermore Apple showed off something called a Semantics Processor and “multiscale tone mapping.” So this means that the camera will be better at focusing on people and not blowing out the highlights. Apple also noted that the portrait mode will be better at taking portrait photos of pets.

Inside the iPhone 11 is the fastest CPU and GPU in any Smartphone the A13 bionic. Also, battery life has also improved by 1hr over the XR. The iPhone 11 also has spacial audio, Dolby Atmos and toughened glass on the front and back.

Prices start at $699 and will be available in purple, white, yellow, green, black and Product (Red)

Pre-Orders start on Friday ready for Sept 20th pick up.

(Gizmodo)

iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max

The powerful models to the iPhone 11 were announced at this years Apple Event too. The iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Slightly different to the iPhone 11, the Pro models have a “surgical-grade stainless steel” case and matte finish and a lot more power on the insides.

Cameras

For example the iPhone 11 Pro models have an extra wide angle lens to the telephoto and standard camera. Similar to how the telephoto lens zooms in, the wide angle will allow uses to zoom out. Allowing you to capture more of your shot, without needing to step back. Therefore giving users a lot more flexibility and control when taking photos.

A new mode called “Deep Fusion” will take 9 photos across all three cameras, stitch them together, creating a single high quality image. Furthermore the third party app Filmic Pro will allow you to record from multiple cameras at once, including the selfie photo. So you’ll be able to get footage from the front shooter right alongside the rear camera, all at the same time! Much like it’s smaller counterpart. The iPhone Pro versions also have access to the night mode and slow motion features.

Insides

The Pro iPhones are powered by the A13 Bionic Processor, they also have brand new screens. Super Retina OLED screens which have a 2Million to one contrast ratio and have up to 1,200 nits of brightness. Which Apple claim are 15% more energy efficient than ever before. They also have HDR10 support and Dolby Vision. Furthermore they also have Dolby Atmos and Spacial audio much like the normal 11.

Furthermore, battery life has vastly improved over the XS, the 11 Pro will get 4hrs over the XS and the 11 Pro Max gets 5hrs more.

The iPhone 11 Pro starts at $999, the 11 Pro Max $1,099. Pre-orders start on Friday 13th Sept at 1pm BST and they’ll be available for pick up on Sept 20th.

(Engadget)

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Apple Shelves Walkie Talkie Feature

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The walkie talkie feature on Apple Watches has been a well received feature and Apple were looking to bring a similar feature to iPhones! The new technology would have let people send text messages to other iPhones over a 900MHz radio spectrum. A spectrum that is typically used for dispatchers in the utility and manufacturing industry. The new feature would have brought walkie talkie esque abilities to iPhones. Without the need for WIFI of Mobile internet according to The Information.

However, the feature would have been different to the current walkie talkie feature on the Apple Watch. The information reports that Apple and Intel were working together on the project. It would have seen intel chips in future iPhones before it was shelved. Internally it was reportedly known as Project OGRS “ogres”. This would most likely have been in reference to patents which were filed a year ago which eluded to an Off Grid Radio Service.

Why did Apple Shelve it?

Why was it shelved? Well, The Information report says that the the internal champion on the project Rubén Caballero, left Apple earlier on in the year. Coupled with Apple settling with Qualcomm, and Apple’s expected move from Intel modems to Qualcomm put an end to it. Apple going with Qualcomm over Intel was so significant it caused Intel to sell it’s entire smartphone modem business. Which Apple purchased for $1Bn

This feature does sound pretty cool to be fair and maybe we’ll see this type feature in the future. Maybe with that there would be no excuse to not texting back, “I didn’t receive your text” wouldn’t fly.

(The Verge)

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Episode 333 James Haskell

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What’s In James Haskell’s Bag?

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Episode 301 Gadget Show’s Georgie Barrat

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