Sometime in the near future, Apple is going to launch the next major update to its desktop operating system. With macOS 12 Monterey, the company is welcoming plenty of changes to the software. Including some tweaks to the user interface and overall aesthetic. And that will apparently be the case for the iWork app icons as well.
It should come as no surprise that Apple has had to go out of its way a bit to offer more context related to some of the newest features coming soon to its major platforms. With it being centered around child protections, but using some invasive efforts to get there, people are concerned the company might be overstepping. In an effort to assuage fears and concerns, Apple's tried to shine as much light on the new features as possible.
Apple can make waves with all sorts of types of announcements. Take for example its recent unveiling of new Expanded Protections for Children. This is a suite of features, three in total, that are aimed at helping protect children from abuse and exploitation. It's also meant to give even more information and resources to those who might be at risk.
Early today, Apple released a dedicated frequently asked questions (FAQ) document regarding Expanded Protections for Children. This is the company's new initiative to help protect children against exploitation and abuse. While the intentions are good, it has ruffled a lot of feathers. Especially regarding one feature in the new protections.
Every once in a while, Apple manages to do something that is Very Controversial. It doesn't happen all the time, and usually it's hardware related. Like the butterfly keyboard. Or the Touch Bar. Or how you charge a Magic Mouse 2. Things like that.
Apple this week revealed a new initiative that's meant to help protect children. The Expanded Protections for Children effort is three-fold, each feature baked into Apple's major platforms. Two of the new additions appear to be going over well enough, but it's the other one, the photo scanning one, that's ruffled a lot of feathers.
With the release of macOS 12 Monterey, Apple has finally brought system-wide translation to the Mac. You can try out the feature if you've installed the latest macOS 12 Public beta. However, the translation is still not system-wide as Apple stated. The feature works in some apps, and can be glitchy at times. Not to worry though, as all these limitations and kinks should be ironed out in the final release.
Yesterday, Apple unveiled new child safety features that are going to be baked into iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS 12 Monterey, and watchOS 8. The goal is to help protect minors from being abused, seeing explicit material, and more. However, to reach that goal, the company has to implement some intrusive features.
User privacy and security is a major focal point for Apple. Safety, too. Making sure that a user is able to keep their data safe, for instance, is one of the selling points of iOS in general. So it makes sense that Apple would want to broaden that scope, especially as it relates to protecting children.
Apple added several new features and redesigned the look for Safari in iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and macOS 12 Monterey. The Apple browser now comes with Tab Groups, which allows easy management of tabs in Safari. You can create tab groups, rename them, delete, move tabs around, and more. These Tab Groups will also sync across all your devices, making them accessible everywhere.
Back in June, Apple unveiled the next major versions for all of its most popular platforms. Since then, Apple has been working on the public launch as it normally does: by seeding betas. And today, the newest prerelease software is now available for public beta testers trying out iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS 12 Monterey.
With iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS 12 Monterey, Apple's FaceTime has finally become a cross-platform service. You can now start a FaceTime call with your friends who don't have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. The non-Apple users will be able to join the call from their Android or Windows device.