Apple and Microsoft address Orlando, avoid gay community
Early Sunday morning, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., became the home of the deadliest mass shooting in US history. The following morning Apple CEO Tim Cook and Microsoft’s Phil Spencer took the stage at separate, preplanned press conferences to offer support from “the Apple community” and “the gaming community,” respectively, before launching into their regularly scheduled hyperbolic outpourings of consumer enthusiasm. In doing so, they not only undermined the tragedy, they ignored the community it most affected.
I have no doubt that the people behind Apple and Microsoft had the best intentions in calling for a moment of silence. But best intentions aside, some things are better left unsaid.
Consumer brands have an uncomfortable relationship with tragedy. On Sept. 11, 2013, AT&T sparked a social media firestorm with a tweet featuring a disembodied hand holding a smartphone, an image of the 9/11 memorial lighting its screen. The tweet read simply, “Never Forget.” The judgement was swift and unforgiving. As the internet hive mind saw it, AT&T exploited one of the greatest American tragedies to hawk cellphones. The company quickly apologized and pulled the tweet.
When Cook took the stage at Apple’s developer conference this morning and called for a moment of silence, the response was largely positive. At first glance, this may seem like an apples v. oranges debate. After all, Cook’s comments can be seen as personal, given that he is a gay man speaking just one day after the shootings, while AT&T’s tweet came 12 years to the day after the Sept. 11th attacks. AT&T seemingly used a tragedy to promote its business, while Cook used his platform to draw attention to a tragedy. In both cases, the offense is all about the context.
WWDC may not be a consumer-facing event. It is a developer’s event first and foremost, but it is, nonetheless, an advertisement of sorts. Like AT&T’s Twitter account, Apple uses its WWDC keynote to get fans and developers excited about upcoming products. It promotes its latest operating systems, software developments and potential revenue streams for developers with hyperbolic back-patting, impromptu dance routines, and, yes, dad jokes. In that sense, today’s event was business as usual. Aside from its opening moments, there was no evidence of a great national loss or any sign that Apple and its top brass felt anything but excitement over incremental innovation.
Considering what followed, Cook’s call for a moment of silence felt like a token nod to tragedy before getting to the good stuff. As for his personal connection to the events, I have no doubt that as a gay man, Cook has very complicated feelings about what happened in Orlando. I think we all do. That said, his moment of silence wasn’t for our community; it was addressed instead to “the Apple community.”
“It was a senseless, unconscionable act of terrorism and hate, aimed at dividing and destroying. The Apple community is made up of people from all around the world, from all different backgrounds, and all different points of view. We celebrate our diversity. We know that it makes us stronger and moves everyone forward. Please rise and join us in a moment of silence to honor the victims and the people who love them.” — Apple CEO Tim Cook, WWDC 2016
I appreciate Cook’s sentiments, and I’m all for gay people in positions of power drawing attention to the hate and discrimination our community faces every day, but there is a time and place for serious discussion and reflection. The opening moments of what is essentially a self-congratulatory, hourlong advertisement isn’t it. Forcing these two things together is as tone-deaf and seemingly self-serving as AT&T’s 9/11 fail.
That said, it’s nowhere near as poorly thought-out as Microsoft’s own shout-out to the victims of the Orlando shooting, a similarly milquetoast moment of somberness before a multimedia assault promoting, among other things, hyperviolent video games that glamorize gun violence. Just minutes after addressing the Orlando attacks, Spencer turned the stage over to creators of Gears of War 4, for a bloody, guns-blazing demo of the game.
“To everyone affected by the recent tragedy in Orlando, our hearts are with you. And you should know, you are not alone, the gaming community mourns with you.” Head of Xbox Phil Spencer, E3 2016
Tragedy isn’t an opportunity for brand awareness. Apple’s new OS and Microsoft’s latest console may be hot shit, but they’re not symbols of hope or unity. They are symbols of selfish consumerism and multibillion-dollar profits. While the individuals who drive these brands no doubt feel very strongly about what happened in Orlando, brands aren’t people. They don’t have feelings, they have products. Attempting to connect the two in the context of a tragedy is tone-deaf at best.
The Orlando shootings were an act of violence against the gay community; yet when Apple and Microsoft attempted to show their support, there was no mention of that community. In avoiding the identity of the victims and the nature of the violence, these corporations betrayed their underlying allegiances. As Cook and Spencer’s carefully worded speeches show, today’s keynotes weren’t about the gay community, no matter how well-intentioned.
Get all the latest news from WWDC 2016 here!
Apple WatchOS 3 update: Control Center, Dock, Scribble, and more
Apple has kicked off its Worldwide Developer Conference with some news about the next major operating system update for its Apple Watch.
The update, called WatchOS 3, will be available later this year, but to get you excited for what’s coming, Apple has announced some standout upgrades, including a new feature that lets you write on the screen, a stress-relieving app that helps you with breathing, and an improved navigation experiences, thanks to the introduction of a Dock button and Control Center. Keep reading to learn more about this update.
WatchOS 3: New features
Faster experience
Apple
Apple has brought speed improvements to its wearable. It focused on optimisations in app-launch time, meaning your apps should now respond instantly, and your information should be updated the minute you go look so you’re not waiting. Apple said it’s going to accomplish this by keeping your favourite apps in memory and reporting background updates and data, and then it’ll refresh that information, all of which will apparently lead to an instant launch for any app. Apple demoed launching the Onefootball app from a WatchOS 2-powered app, and the actual launch seemed to take a few seconds, but then Apple demoed the same app-launch with a WatchOS 3-powered watch, and the result was 7x faster.
Messaging options
Message replies are a lot faster now, too, as WatchOS 3 will offer responses without requiring you to tap a button. You will see reply options right in an app, which include a new Scribble feature. This will let you write on-screen, so you can spell out words that are not picked up by dictation. Scribble works in both English and Chinese.
Dock button and Control Center
Apple
Apple has rebranded the Apple Watch’s side button to Dock button. If you press this button, you will now be brought to an area where you can arrange your favourite apps. The Dock area also allows you to multi-task on Apple Watch, because it lets you easily switch between apps. All apps in the Dock are live, so you can get your info without actually having to open the app. To complement all this, Apple has introduced a Control Center. You can activate it by swiping up – just like you do on the iPhone.
Watch faces
Apple
Apple can’t update its wearable without launching new watch faces. It’s therefore rolling out a new Activity watch face, which you’d glance at to see your progress and how your movement is being tracked throughout the day. Activity sharing will also now show your friends and family’s exercise progress to help motivate you. If you want to see more details, tap on any name to get a better look at their activity rings, workouts, step counts, etc. Once you’re done creeping their stats, you’ll be able to send them voice messages within the app using quick replies. You can even launch your own workouts directly from the Activity ring watch face. During a demo, Apple showed how you can swipe between all watch faces too. That’s right. Edge-to-edge swiping will now change faces. And you can get more complications for watch faces, opening up customisation possibilities.
New apps
Apple
Apple quickly revealed new Apple Watch apps are coming. Two of the apps were already available to iPhone and Mac users: Reminders and Find My Friends. The first app lets you set alarms and notifications for remembering different things, while the latter app lets you locate friends nearby. Apple said Find My Friends takes advantage of background updates to make sure you always have the latest locations for my friends and family.
Apple also demoed a third app called Breathe. It’s designed to guide you through simple, deep breathing sessions. It’ll help you to deal with stress, apparently. You can launch the app from your watch face, your dock, or you can set reminders via Stand reminders. You can also change the amount of time you want to do your session (from 1-5 minutes). You’ll be guided by visuals that make it easy to follow along, and you’ll get gentle taps from haptic feedback.
Apple Pay
Apple Pay can now be used in WatchOS apps.
SOS
Apple
Apple Watch finally offers emergency features. You can call 911 using your iPhone signal (or directly via Wi-Fi). It’ll work internationally as well. Once the call has gone through, all your emergency contacts will be notified. Your watch can send your location and MedicalID data too. To access this SOS feature, press and hold the side button, and it will count down to let you know it’s ready to call 911.
Support for wheelchair users
Apple
Apple has added support for wheelchair users to WatchOS 3. This support replaces stand time with roll time, and it brings wheelchair-optimised activity rings and workouts and apps.
WatchOS 3: Release date
Apple said WatchOS 3 is coming this autumn (probably alongside the Apple Watch 2 and iPhone 7).
Apple opens Siri up to third-party apps
Apple has announced that the latest version of its mobile operating system will allow developers to access Siri. It means that third-party apps will be able to add functionality to the voice-based assistant, such as WeChat and Uber. Rather than having to touch your display and open an app, you can simply bark a command and have your phone do the work for you. So, should you want to a hail a ride from Uber, Lyft or Didi, then you’ll be able to do so by asking your smartphone to get you somewhere. Apple executive Craig Federighi even mentioned that payments would work in the same way, although we imagine the potential for muggers to demand you hand them money simply by talking.
It’s a smart move from Apple, which has seen its ostensible “lead” in the voice-assistant game lag behind Google’s competing product. By letting developers leverage Siri’s voice comprehension, the feature should start to regain some important ground. Siri, of course, is also gaining positional intelligence and will be able to scan your messaging conversations to predict your behavior. In one of the onstage examples, Siri would know that if you were talking to someone about getting dim sum later, then you’ll need to find a dim sum place nearby.
It’s not the only previously reserved feature from iOS that’s now open to developers, with Maps another option now included. Similar to Siri, app creators can add in services that can connect to your location information, such as OpenTable when you’re looking for some food. You can, surprise surprise, also request a ride from inside Maps, like an Uber, and pay with Apple Pay without leaving the app. All in all, these moves should cover some of Apple’s more notable blind spots, like poor location data in Maps and Siri’s lack of utility with non iOS-native apps. It should also reduce the amount of time spent touching your device, which is probably good for your battery life.
Get all the latest news from WWDC 2016 here!
Apple Music redesign makes it easier to find tunes you want
Back in early May, rumors circulated that Apple was planning on a big redesign for its music streaming service at WWDC. Well, those reports were correct. During today’s keynote, SVP Eddy Cue showed off a much more streamlined interface that should make using the service a bit less of a headache, “redesigned from the ground up.” The rumored black and white design is indeed here with a splash of color, placing more focus on the album artwork. Oh, by the way: Apple Music now has 15 million paid subscribers, and Cue said it was the fastest music streaming service to achieve that feat.
When you first launch the app now, your Library is what you’ll see first. There’s a special section for any music you’ve purchased and a “Recently Added” summary for all the new stuff. From there, launching a song taps into the new music-focused UI, where a mostly black and white color scheme (there’s some color) helps the album artwork pop on that screen. After you start a song and move on to another section, a thumbnail of the album art, song title, play/pause and skip controls stay just above the menu for easy access. Those lyrics are also easily accessible from the main player screen, should you need to settle a bet over what Future really said on “Commas.”
Library is also the first tab across the bottom, followed by “For You,” “Browse,” “Radio” and “Search” from left to right. That “For You” section sill offers a curated selection of music based on your listening habits. It also has a “Recently Added” menu as well, so you’ll know what’s been added since the last time you looked. “For You” also has a “Discover Mix” as part of its suggestions, a collection that seems to be similar to Spotify’s popular “Discover Weekly” feature. Spotify’s version compiles a new playlist every week based on what you’ve been listening to recently.
The “Browse” tab is where you’ll find those useful charts, a list of new releases and more if you’re just perusing what’s available. It also replaces the “New” tab users are likely familiar with. As you might expect “Radio” is direct access to the Beats1 internet stream alongside a listing of featured and upcoming shows. As we mentioned during our liveblog, this info about Beats1 seems to be geared towards folks who may not have given the radio option a chance.
While Apple Music on the desktop only got a brief mention, Apple showed off the new interface on a Mac. Music was discussed during the iOS portion of the event, after all. This means that the new look will make its way to the app there as well, where it’s tucked inside iTunes. There are also new Apple Music links inside iMessage, making for handy song previews inside the chat app. We’ll reserve any final judgement until we can spend some quality time with the updated version of the streaming service, but on the surface, the refreshed interface and re-organizing should make Music less of a chore to use. The changes will be part of iOS 10 which will be released to all users in the fall, following a public beta that begins next month.
Get all the latest news from WWDC 2016 here!
Apple WatchOS 3’s SOS feature alerts emergency services anywhere
Apple’s formidable WatchOS 3 will launch as a free upgrade in the fall, the company announced today at WWDC. Among the slew of new features is SOS, a feature that users hold down the Apple Watch’s button to alert local emergency services without needing to know your current country’s version of 911.
Users can also set up SOS to ping preset contacts and, bigger still, send them a map of their current location. Obviously, this is a huge development for travelers who don’t know how to get help wherever they are, but it could be key to surreptitiously alert the authorities during dangerous situations.
Lastly, SOS pulls up the user’s Medical ID they uploaded into the Health app onscreen to display data and known health conditions for emergency responders.
Get all the latest news from WWDC 2016 here!
Source: Apple WWDC
Apple iOS 10 uses AI to help you find photos and type faster
Apple is making artificial intelligence a big, big cornerstone of iOS 10. To start, the software uses on-device computer vision to detect both faces and objects in photos. It’ll recognize a familiar friend, for instance, and can tell that there’s a mountain in the background. While this is handy for tagging your shots, the feature really comes into its own when you let the AI do the hard work. There’s a new Memories section in the Photos app that automatically organizes pictures based on events, people and places, complete with related memories (such as similar trips) and smart presentations. Think of it as Google Photos without having to go online.
AI plays a role even when you’re punching out a message, for that matter. QuickType text suggestions now lean on Siri intelligence to understand the broader context of what you’re trying to say. It’ll be aware of what you’re doing that day, and suggest things based on elements like your contacts or your location. If a friend asks for someone’s email address or wonders where you are, you can share it with one tap. QuickType is better at handling multiple languages and schedules, as well.
These features were somewhat expected — until now, Apple was one of the few big tech companies that wasn’t focusing heavily on AI as a helper for all your day-to-day tasks. We’re not going to knock a serious upgrade, though, and that local support might come in handy for those times when internet access isn’t always guaranteed.
Get all the latest news from WWDC 2016 here!
Apple introduces Home app to control your connected devices
Apple’s connected home platform HomeKit got its very own app today called Home. Apple’s senior VP of software engineering, Craig Federighi announced at WWDC that the new IoT application for iOS will give users quick access to all their HomeKit-supported devices.
The new app can control individual devices and groups of items called scenes. It also includes features like, access to connected cameras from the lock screen, access from Control Center, geofencing, automation, Siri commands and Apple Watch support.
Apple announced HomeKit back in 2014 with products finally making it to market in 2015. Since then third-party developers have created their own apps that control a home’s devices. With today’s news Apple is taking a larger leadership role within its own connected-home platform.
Get all the latest news from WWDC 2016 here!
Apple is getting serious with Messages
Apple announced at WWDC 2016 on Monday that it is drastically changing the way its Messages app operates. Don’t worry, it’s a good thing. Users will now be able to add a bunch more context to their conversations beyond colorful language.
You can add photos and live video feeds to the transcript or drop in rich links. And lo, the emojis. They now appear three times larger than before, so you don’t have to squint at the screen as hard. Apple is also integrating an emoji search engine directly into Messages’ keyboard, a la Google’s gBoard. What’s more, the keyboard will also automatically notice and highlight “emojiable” words so you simply tap on the word to replace it with an emoji. Hopefully, there’s a reversible process for parents so they can have some idea of what their kids are typing at them.
Additionally, you’ll be able to add scalable “bubble effects” that adjust the font size of your text, simulating whispers and shouts. Plus, you can now add your own handwriting as well as small special effects — think, fireworks or strobe lights — to individual texts that briefly take over the screen. Because that won’t get irritating after the first dozen times.
And, like Facebook’s Messenger app, Apple’s Messages now allows you to overlay text atop images. The difference here is that Apple allows you to add actual handwriting rather than fonted text, similar to what Snapchat does. You can expect more new features and functionality in the coming months as Apple is opening up the Messages platform to developers. This is going to be awesome.
Get all the latest news from WWDC 2016 here!
iOS 10 will transcribe voicemails and show calls made in apps
Not many of us send voice messages anymore, and most folks sure hate checking them. Apple’s trying to solve that with voicemail transcription, a new beta feature on iOS 10 revealed at WWDC 2016. Instead of listening to Aunt Edna drone on for 10 minutes, you can get the gist by scanning a transcript of the message in text form. At the same time, you can still listen to the message visual voicemail-style, call her back or delete the message.
Another related feature is an API for VoIP apps, which will help developers like Cicsco incorporate their apps into favorites, recents and the lockscreen. So if someone calls on a VoIP app when your iPhone is locked, for instance, you’ll see their picture on the lockscreen. Other than mentioning Cisco, Apple hasn’t said which, if any, apps will support it yet, but developers will soon get their hands on the API.
Get all the latest news from WWDC 2016 here!
Apple’s Swift Playgrounds is an app that teaches kids how to code
Apple just introduced a iPad app that teaches kids how to code in its Swift programming language. It’s called Swift Playgrounds, and in it, you’re tasked to guide a character called Byte to collect gems. To do so, you essentially give the character directions using Swift code. The demo on stage at WWDC shows an app with bright colors and and big photos designed to make coding kid-friendly.
Instructions are on the left while the interactive world is on the right. Coding is as simple as dragging a command from the bottom — think of it as a QuickType keyboard but for Swift code — and dropping it in the coding area on the left. You can also select which lessons you want a Learn to Code drop-down. Some of the lessons have pre-prepped code to help you get started. This is interesting because it teaches kids actual real code, so when they become more comfortable with it, they can try experimenting with entering code manually.
Swift Playgrounds is available in the developer preview starting today, and it’ll be in the App Store when iOS 10 ships in the fall.
Get all the latest news from WWDC 2016 here!
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