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watchOS 8 adds new Mindfulness app and Portrait watch face

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watchOS introduces a new Portrait mode watch face with depth effect
watchOS introduces a new Portrait mode watch face with depth effect
Photo: Apple

We got our first glimpse of the OS that will be gracing everyone’s wrists this fall when Apple showed off watchOS 8 during Monday’s WWDC keynote.

This update looks like more of an evolution than a revolution. Text editing gets a little easier.  And we’ll get various small enhancements for the apps we already know and love, like photo sharing and a redesigned Music app.

Siri will work offline and come to third-party devices this year

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Apple’s AI-driven voice-controlled digital assistant Siri
Siri is finally expanding its reach.
Photo: Apple

Siri will soon be able to handle many of your questions and requests offline. When Apple’s next-generation software updates roll out this fall, on-device speech recognition will negate the need for a data connection.

Apple is also opening Siri up to third parties, paving the way for its virtual assistant to be integrated into all manner of smart devices in the future.

Apple Music with Spatial Audio can be enjoyed now [Updated]

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Apple Music Spatial Audio could debut on Monday
Songs that offer a surround sound experience could be right around the corner for Apple Music subscribers.
Photo: Apple

Apple launched the promised new Spatial Audio service for Apple Music on Monday. The feature was announced in May, and the wait is over. Spatial Audio allows songs seemingly come from all around the listener, even from above. If the track has been mixed to support it, of course.

macOS Monterey brings Universal Control, Shortcuts, and Safari improvements

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macOS Monterey
Big Sur is dead. Long live macOS Monterey!
Photo: Apple

macOS Monterey will bring a plethora of nifty new abilities to Mac — and, in the process, help make Macs work even better with iPhones and iPads.

Announced Monday during the Worldwide Developers Conference’s opening keynote, it will be the first new Mac operating system following the arrival of Apple Silicon across the entire product line. This year’s update isn’t close to the giant redesign that was 2020’s macOS 11 Big Sur. But macOS Monterey 12 nonetheless boasts a bevy of exciting new features.

Apple adds powerful new privacy features to Mail and more

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Apple Privacy Slide from WWDC 2021
Apple is taking even more shots at advertisers in the WWDC 2021 Privacy updates
Screenshot: Apple

Apple is bringing big privacy-focused changes to its Mail app and other parts of its ecosystem, the company said Monday.

“At Apple, we believe privacy is a fundamental human right,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior VP of software engineering. “We don’t think you should have to make a tradeoff between great features and privacy. We believe you deserve both.”

iCloud+ makes your online activities more secure on Apple devices

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iCloud+
Included at no extra cost with a premium iCloud subscription.
Photo: Apple

iCloud+ is a new service that promises to make your online activities more private and more secure. It’s included at no extra cost with a premium iCloud subscription, and it works across all your Apple devices.

Here’s what Private Relay, Hide My Email, and HomeKit Secure Video in iCloud+ can do for you.

iOS 15 brings welcome enhancements to FaceTime, notifications, more

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iOS 15 brings welcome enhancements to FaceTime, Notifications, more
Apple took the wraps off iOS 15 on the opening day of its WWDC conference.
Screenshot: Apple

iOS 15 just made the jump from rumor to reality. Apple is bringing major new features to FaceTime, Messages, notifications, and more. Many of the applications that come bundled with iPhone are getting updates, like Apple Maps and Weather.

However, some features people had been hoping for didn’t make the cut, like interactive widgets.

iPadOS 15 will revamp iPad’s clunky multitasking system

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iPadOS 15 will revamp app multitasking system
The current iPadOS multitasking system is useful but limited. Improvements are expected in iPadOS 15.
Photo: Apple

The iPad software upgrade expected to be unveiled Monday will improve the way users work with multiple on-screen applications, according to a last-minute report from a reliable source. iPadOS 15 also will include widget improvements and other changes.

Apple stock jumps nearly 2% to snap its losing streak [Updated]

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Apple.logo.paris.store
Do I understand it? Nope.
Photo: Josh Davidson/Cult of Mac

Apple is the world’s most valuable public company, days from unveiling new software and hardware at WWDC, in the middle of its hottest iPhone cycle in years, and having just debuted its biggest iMac redesign in years. So all is good, then?

Well, apparently not. In fact, a report Friday notes that Apple stock is currently on track for its longest weekly losing streak in more than two-and-a-half years. Because the stock market works in mysterious ways.

Update: AAPL closed at $125.89 Friday, up $2.35 (or 1.9%). So much for the losing streak.

Mysterious ‘homeOS’ platform leaks in Apple job listing [Updated]

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HomePod mini lives up to its name
Apple could ramp up its focus on smart home devices.
Photo: Apple

There’s macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and tvOS. How about homeOS, signaling a ramping up of Apple’s smart home ambitions?

That is one take-home from a new Apple Music job posting spotted online. It references a hitherto-unannounced mobile operating system called “homeOS.” While Apple rolled out its HomeKit smart home platform in 2014, it has — to date — been a part of iOS/iPadOS, rather than its own fully fledged operating system. That could change soon.