Just a few minutes ahead of the keynote presentation at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple has updated its TestFlight app with support for iOS 11 beta development.
With the updated app, now at version 1.5.1, developers can now issue beta builds of their apps for testing on iOS 11 devices. AS you know, iOS 11 will be previewed at the conference today and released as a developer-only beta later in the day.
Apple's Siri design patent in the European Union and Hong Kong has been updated ahead of today's live-streamed WWDC keynote to also cover “smart glasses” as a category. As noted by PatentlyApple, the patent now lists “smart glasses” under the “remote control for” category.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo gave the rumored standalone Siri speaker a 70 percent chance of being formally unveiled during the keynote presentation, but he had nothing to say about any kind of Apple-branded smart glasses.
A sketchy report that appeared on Reddit this weekend, attributed to an alleged Foxconn insider, leaked more info about the purported Google Glass-like augmented reality accessory.
Apparently code-named “Project Mirrorshades,” the glasses are said to include polarized or prescription lens with smart optics from German maker Carl Zeiss, noise-cancelling microphones, a light sensor, bone-induction modules, an accelerometer sensor for tracking steps and head movement, magnetometer for navigation, a capacitive panel on one side, a ceramic battery, an Apple-designed chipset and more.
The bone conducting modules would presumable allow for Siri command and hands-free phone calls, among other features. The poster mentions there's a 65 percent chance that the project is cancelled so take the report with a pinch of salt.
Another new entry covers making hotel reservations. Siri can currently make a reservation at a restaurant, but not a hotel. The Cupertino technology giant is expected to announce plans today to make Siri work with a larger variety of apps, Reuters reported yesterday.
The updated patent is no guarantee that Siri could be used to control the rumored smart glasses or that Apple's voice assistant could play a major role in its augmented reality plans.
All shall be revealed in less than an hour and a half.
Any predictions?
Apple's annual developers conference is set to kick off with a live-streamed keynote at 10am Pacific Time and several developers have now shared images of the swag they've received at this year's conference. As reported by AppleInsider and MacRumors, the company is giving out custom Levi's jean jacket and an assortment of collectible Apple-themed pins.
The black jacket, provided in sizes for both men and women, is embellished with a custom WWDC17 logo and has two interior pockets that Twitter users reported being large enough to fit an iPhone 7 Plus. To add to the WWDC swag, Apple is also including some sweet pin packs, plus a personalized pin for each developer to signify their home country.
Some of the designs for these collectible pins include the vintage rainbow-themed Apple logo, the Swift logo, the “hello” Mac greeting, the original Macintosh image, the Metal logo and an emoji with sunglasses. Separate pin collections are available, too, featuring a thumbs up emoji, an iMessage heart bubble, Activity rings and more.
https://twitter.com/_dskuza/status/871487325380812800
WWDC Scholarship attendees are receiving Apple TV development kits, too.
Apple is also promoting the conference with a custom WWDC-themed Snapchat geofilter that appears for users who are near San Jose's McEnery Convention Center.
A set of WWDC-branded stickers for iMessage is available via the official WWDC app.
Apple's online store is currently down ahead of the keynote, indicating some form of new or refreshed hardware announcement is likely.
With the live-streamed WWDC keynote almost upon us, Apple has now created a bespoke Snapchat geofilter to help promote this year's developers conference. The sponsored WWDC 2017-themed geofilter automatically appears for Snapchat users who find themselves near the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose.
As first noted by 9to5Mac, the filter is available when sharing photos or videos with other Snapchat users. Simply choose it from the list of Snapchat filters to have Apple's official WWDC 2017 banner design applied to your item. Again, this is a filter that uses geofencing so only people attending this year's developer conference will see it in Snapchat.
The same stickers can be found in iMessage via Apple's official WWDC app, as shown above.
Snapchat is available at no charge from App Store.
Aside from spotting interesting references to a drag-and-drop feature for iPad and an all-new dedicated Files app, developer Troughton-Smith also noticed a placeholder listing for Apple's stock Activity app on App Store.
This is the first time the app has appeared as a downloadable item on App Store, suggesting Activity could be removable in iOS 11. The listing has since been removed from App Store.
No additional screenshots, descriptions or other information were provided.
Introduced as part of the iOS 9 update two years ago, the Activity app is one of the few stock apps that cannot be hidden from a user's Home screen. Check out Apple's support document for the full list of built-in iPhone and iPad apps that can be removed from the Home screen.
The Activity app only appears on the Home screen if a paired Apple Watch is present. Apple could be making Activity a downloadable item so that non-watch users could optionally download it and fill their Activity rings with other fitness tracking devices.
Like clockwork, Apple takes its online store offline ahead of any major new production introductions. Today's live-streamed WWDC keynote is no exception: with just a few hours left until the keynote presentation begins, Apple Online Stores around the world have gone offline with a message saying “We'll be back. We're busy updating the Apple Store for you. Please check back soon”.
The rumor-mill, Apple analysts and pundits have been saying that the iPhone maker will unveil some new hardware products at WWDC, which is normally a software-centric event.
Some of the gadgets that could be formally introduced at WWDC include a dedicated Siri speaker, a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro model, as well as refreshed MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro notebooks with Intel's Kaby Lake chips and updated system architecture.
Though Apple's been criticized for its seeming inability to update store listings without taking the whole web store down, risking losing potential sales, this is now more of a marketing vehicle designed to drum up excitement ahead of major events than it is a technical issue.
Apple's own Feedback app, that iOS beta testers use for reporting bugs, contains references to a drag and drop feature, as first spotted by developer Steven Troughton-Smith this morning.
An entry labeled “Split View/Drag and Drop” now appears in the list of preset options when filing a bug using the Feedback app. iOS, of course, lacks any drag and drop features that would admittedly be tremendously useful, especially in Split View mode.
That said, it's unclear that the Cupertino technology giant will formally announce drag and drop functionality in iOS 11 during today's live-streamed WWDC keynote.
Ukrainian developer Readdle's popular iOS apps were updated last week with the ability to drag and drop content between them in iOS's Split View multitasking mode on iPad, providing an early preview of how Apple's version of system-wide drag-and-drop might work in iOS 11.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epzh9-rd-AI
MacStories editor Federico Vittici and his team painstakingly created some awesome iOS 11 productivity concepts, imagining new productivity features for iPad. Among them is—you guessed right—drag and drop functionality. “Because drag-and-drop would be fully multitouch-enabled, it wouldn’t block the iOS interface,” Vittici explained.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyFUDQ5LLZw
“Another finger could be used to navigate in a different 'drop area' of an app, or a user could keep dragging until the Split View app picker is shown and drop an item onto an app’s icon, opening a contextual action menu.”
Late Sunday, Troughton-Smith discovered a placeholder listing for Apple's unreleased Files app on App Store. It's since been removed and no screenshots or official descriptions were provided, but we do know it's going to require iOS 11 and 64-bit support.
A placeholder listing for a new Apple Files app has briefly appeared on App Store ahead of today's live-streamed WWDC keynote, as spotted by iOS developer Steven Troughton-Smith late Sunday. It's surfaced in the Utilities section of App Store and has since been removed.
No screenshots or the official description were provided.
The app requires iOS 11 and 64-bit support and is designed for both iPhone and iPad. It sports a blue file folder icon resembling the design for folder icons in macOS. It's entirely possible that the new Files app is really just a rebranded version of the existing iCloud Drive app.
It's unclear if the forthcoming app will be a new stock item in iOS 11 or an optional download. If I had to guess, I'd say it will likely come pre-installed with iOS 11. Since iOS 10, Apple has allowed users to hide most of the stock apps from their Home screen.
To help users easily re-install any removed stock apps, Apple has provided all of its first-party iOS apps that are removable as downloadable App Store items. iOS 11 will be previewed at WWDC later today along with tvOS 11, watchOS 4 and macOS 10.13.
Tomorrow, we await the media event during the kick off at WWDC 2017. The live stream (how to), which starts at 10:00AM Pacific, will bring us first glimpses of new hardware. It has been about three years since Apple last announced new hardware at the developer event, in addition to the standard operating system updates. While getting new iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS platforms is awesome, nothing really excites like getting a new device in-hand.
While we wait to hear whether Siri power speakers, 10.5" iPads, or any number of calculated guesses from Sébastien and Cody appear, update your iPhone wallpapers to celebrate with these WWDC 2017 wallpapers.
Apple is expected to announce plans next week to make Siri work with a larger variety of apps, reports Reuters. Currently the digital assistant integrates with apps from just six categories: ride sharing, messaging, photo search, payments, fitness and auto infotainment.
The move will make Siri more competitive against other assistants, such as Amazon's Alexa, which is capable of handling some 12,000 different tasks. Apple has taken criticism for lagging behind other tech giants in the AI space, and next week it looks to close the gap.
In addition to announcing improved app support for Siri, Apple is also expected to unveil an Echo-like speaker featuring the assistant. Reports have said that it is cylinder in shape, like the latest Mac Pro, and it features a high-end sound system and a dedicated touch panel.
Apple's WWDC keynote begins on Monday, June 5 at 10am PDT. Be sure to join us as we cover the event, and all subsequent announcements, live. Also make sure you check out our inaugural WWDC Fantasy Draft.
Source: Reuters
Apple will be live-streaming its WWDC 2017 event, just as they have for the last several years, so the world can tune in and see what’s new in the world of iOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and more.
No matter what type of device you’re using the day of the event, you can live-stream the keynote. In this piece, we'll go over all the methods on how for every operating system and platform.
Various images are currently popping up on social media as Apple begins decorating the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California for next week’s WWDC 2017 event.
Among the decorations are a large banner at the front and sides of the building and various smaller banners on nearby light posts and street signs signifying exactly what’s taking place starting Monday, June 5th at 10 A.M. local time (1 P.M. Eastern time).