Apple AirPods get automatic switching, 'Spatial Audio'

Apple adds some new features for its AirPods earbuds, which it announced at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference. One useful addition is automatic switching. As the name suggests, it automatically switches audio inputs based on the Apple device you're using through your iCloud account. So, from your iPhone to your iPad to your Mac, it'll be a seamless transition. And if you get a call on your iPhone, then it'll automatically switch back to your phone. The feature is coming to the AirPods Pro, second-generation AirPods, Powerbeats, Powerbeats Pro, and Beats Solo Pro via a firmware update.

On top of that, the AirPods Pro is getting a new "Spatial Audio" feature. It provides 3D, surround sound-like audio for these earbuds to offer what Apple calls a "movie theatre experience." The AirPods Pro will continuously recalibrate according to the position of your head as well as how you position your device.

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Apple's World Wide Developer's Conference will take place as an Online Event on June 22

With standing shelter-in-place (SIP) and lockdown initiatives in place to keep people safe and flatten the curve during this COVID-19 pandemic, many of the major product launches and massive developer events have either been cancelled, postponed, or moved online in some form or another. Apple's World Wide Developer's Conference, which Canadian Reviewer has covered live various times in the past, will be reimagined as an online-only event to faciliate remote meeting protocols and keep developers and Apple employees safe. 

Apple today announced it will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference virtually, beginning June 22, in the Apple Developer app and on the Apple Developer website for free for all developers. This makes WWDC, which previously used a lottery system to limit the number of attendees, a lot more inclusive.

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Concerns raised over the new ‘Sign in with Apple’ feature

At WWDC 2019, one of the new features introduced as part of iOS 13 is a privacy tool called “Sign in with Apple.” Like what Google and Facebook offer, you will be able to sign into third-party apps using your Apple account now. Unlike what the two tech companies offer, Apple will give you the option to share or hide your email address from the developer. If you choose to hide your email address, Apple will generate a single-use email address for you to use within the app. Any emails from the developer will be forwarded to you by Apple. Now, if you decide to deactivate to opt out of emails, the single-use email address can be deactivated. And as 9to5Mac points out, since Apple already knows what apps you’re using, so you aren’t passing on new information to anyone new.

It’s great for consumers, but it might make its developers a bit wary. A condition for the Sign in with Apple feature is that developers who offer other third-party sign-in (like those offered by Google and Facebook) will need to offer Apple’s version, too. And they would need to place Apple’s option before its rivals’. While the latter isn’t a formal requirement to get approval, a lot of developers believe one way to get approved on the App Store is to follow these “suggestions.” And with Apple currently under scrutiny for alleged anti-competitive practices, these do raise some questions. Once this feature does roll out, is it something you’ll find yourself using?

watchOS 6 uncouples Apple’s wearable with the iPhone

A common theme that seems to be running at WWDC 2019 is Apple unbundling a lot of its devices’ reliance on each other. With the iPad getting its own operating system of sorts, watchOS 6 is introducing some new features that will make the Apple Watch a bit more independent from the iPhone. The apps on the wearable can now be run locally without having a companion app installed on a paired iPhone. There are new apps being introduced including audiobooks, voice memos, and a calculator. New APIs will let apps stream audio directly to the watch. watchOS 6 will also make it possible to read data for longer periods than before. This new version of watchOS will also bring an actual App Store where you can browse, pay, and download apps right on the watch.

On a cosmetic level, there are new watchfaces to choose from. There are also new health features you might find useful. watchOS 6 can track your hearing health in noisy environments and track a woman’s cycle right from the watch. iPhone users will also get this feature within the Health app (without needing the Apple Watch). This version of watchOS is coming to developers this week with a public launch set this fall. All Apple Watch models will get the new OS update, but not all features will make it to all versions.

Source: The Verge