The Spotify update we’ve been waiting for since the launch of iOS 13 has landed. The latest version of the app finally adds Siri support, so you can ask the virtual assistant to play artists, tracks, and more.
Spotify and Siri are finally a team. Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac
You will soon be able to ask Siri to play your favorite tracks from Spotify.
The world’s biggest music streaming service just started testing Siri support in iOS 13. It comes after Apple’s latest updates introduced new SiriKit audio APIs that allow third-party access.
Siri should be a lot smarter. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
In the battle of digital voice assistants, people often mock Siri for lagging behind competing products from Amazon and Google. During Monday’s WWDC 2018 keynote, Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, glossed over those failings, calling Siri the “world’s most-used digital assistant.”
What he neglected to mention was the increasing frustration of Siri users expecting more from a voice assistant. From simple requests returning inaccurate results to the inability to performthat he compound actions, Siri was in desperate need of attention going into WWDC. But will the Siri upgrades in iOS 12 do the trick?
HomePod will launch in December, but supplies will be constrained. Photo: Apple
Apple’s latest firmware for the unreleased HomePod revealed a new set of sounds that the smart speaker will use to indicate various user interactions.
The new tones for the Siri-powered speaker sound different from the ones leaked in a previous firmware build. They also serve different purposes. While the sounds are simple, they are quite lovely — and worthy of a $350 speaker.
Apple is giving developers advance notice to get their apps ready for the HomePod experience.
Along with releasing new firmware for the unreleased HomePod smart speaker, Apple also notified developers that iOS 11.2 adds SiriKit for HomePod as a way to integrate voice-only experiences into the app.
Siri has received a lot of love in the latest iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra update. Photo: Cult of Mac
Apple’s digital assistant is under new management.
Along with updating its corporate leadership page to include its two newest VPs, Apple also revealed that it has replaced Eddy Cue as Siri’s boss and given the task over to software VP Craig Federighi.
Apple's got some new beta software out. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
A new batch of beta updates are ready for developers just one day after Apple published its first big software releases of 2017 to the public.
The first beta builds of iOS 10.3.2, macOS 10.12.5, tvOS 10.2.1 and watchOS 3.2.2 are available to download for the first time ever, bringing a host of new bug fixes and performance improvements to every single Apple platform.
A new iOS 10.3 beta is ready to be installed. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Three new beta software updates have been seeded to developers by Apple today, adding a bunch of bug fixes and performance improvements to Apple’s platforms.
The new builds come one day after Apple seeded a new build of macOS 10.12.4 to developers. The fifth beta builds of iOS 10.3, tvOS 10.2 and watchOS 3.2 can be downloaded by registered developers directly from the Apple’s dev portal.
Over 82 hours of instruction will get you caught up to coding for Apple's mobile devices. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
One of the most marketable skills you can have these days is the ability to code and develop for mobile. If you’re interested in learning the ins and outs of coding for iOS, we’ve got a deal for you.
This bundle of lessons covering iOS 10 and Swift 3 clocks in at more than 80 hours of instruction and usually costs hundreds of dollars. But right now, you can get the iOS 10 and Swift 3 Starter Bundle for just $22.50 at Cult of Mac Deals. Better still, if you enter the code “LEARN50” at checkout, you’ll save an additional 50 percent.
Theatre mode finally makes its way to the Apple Watch. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple’s latest beta software for Apple Watch brings two new handy features in addition to the general bug fixes we expect to see with each release. Check out the video below to see watchOS 3.2 beta 1 in action.
SiriKit is one of the biggest features in watchOS 3.2. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
The first beta build of watchOS 3.2 has finally been made available to developers today, less than a week after iOS 10.3 beta 1 and macOS 10.12.4 beta 1 came out.
Among the new features in watchOS 3.2 beta 1 is a new Theater Mode that makes wearing an Apple Watch in movie theaters a little less annoying for fellow film watchers.
Theater Mode is coming to Apple Watch first. Photo: Apple
The first beta for watchOS 3.2 hasn’t even been made available yet, but developers are eagerly anticipating two new features that will come with it: Theater Mode and SiriKit.
It's Cyber Monday. Check out these deals on Mac software and development courses. Image: Cult of Mac Deals
Before you’ve shaken off the post-Thanksgiving tryptophan daze, Cyber Monday is already upon us. We’ve rounded up three deals on software that’ll give you a reason to get moving, from a massive bundle of top-shelf Mac apps to a comprehensive coding course and access to a powerful virtual private network.
Apple lays out the future of its evolving ecosystem at WWDC 2016. Photo: Apple
With absolutely no new hardware to show off, Apple focused on software — the glue that binds together its increasingly powerful and interconnected platforms — during the Worldwide Developers Conference kick-off event Monday.
“Our North Star has always been about improving people’s lives by creating great products that change the world,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook, addressing thousands of developers in San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. “Today for the very first time, we are going to talk to you about four Apple platforms. Each of these platforms is category-defining and world-changing.”