Latest news with #iPad
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
WWDC 2025 — watchOS 12 and tvOS 19 both just tipped for major redesign
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. We've heard plenty of rumors about iOS 19's upcoming design changes, but it sounds like Apple won't stop there. In fact, the new design could make its way to other Apple platforms, including tvOS and watchOS. This report comes from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, who says that the redesign won't be restricted to the three "main" Apple operating systems: iOS, iPadOS and macOS. It should instead be available elsewhere, to cover almost the entire Apple ecosystem as we know it. Gurman notes that the design is supposed to be inspired by visionOS, so there won't be such drastic changes to the mixed reality software. However, the upcoming visionOS 3 is said to be receiving "some adjustments" for areas where "changes make sense for a headset." Gurman also noted that Apple is looking for consistency across its devices, particularly with iPadOS and macOS. We had heard rumors that Apple was hoping to make iPads more like Macs with the launch of iPadOS 19, and a new Mac-like design would certainly help that. On top of that, iPads could be in line for improvements to multitasking, app window management and productivity. Not to mention a Mac-style menu bar that appears whenever an iPad is connected to one of Apple's Magic Keyboards. As someone who has had to work on an iPad on the go, I can attest to the fact that it's not a great experience. Certainly not on the cheaper models, which lack some of the premium flourishes available to the iPad Pro series. If Apple can offer a better and more laptop-like experience on its tablets, then that can only be a good thing, especially if you need to both work and travel light at the same time. Gurman mentions that the iOS 19 redesign is codenamed "Solarium," after the glass-walled rooms that allow more sunlight in. With that in mind, the rumors that design could be inspired by visionOS and its translucent interface make a lot of sense. He also claims that it's "clicker and more modern" than the current iteration of iOS. The change has also been referred to as the "most dramatic overhaul" in Apple's history, that is, "aiming to transform the interface of the iPhone, iPad and Mac for a new generation of users." Needless to say, the pressure is on for Apple to get things right. So let's hope that the controversial design leaks we've seen so far aren't quite as bad as what the internet first thought. We should see it all on show at WWDC 2025 in the next couple of weeks, so we don't have too long to wait. We're just weeks away from an iOS 19 preview — these are the 5 rumored changes I'm looking forward to Forget iPhone 17 — iPhone 18 tipped to hide Face ID below the screen Future iPhone could match this incredible Galaxy S25 Ultra feature — here's what we know
Fast Company
8 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Why Meta decided to finally embrace the iPad
Meta has spent 15 years shunning the iPad. Now, it seems they're finally ready to embrace the tablet lovers. WhatsApp users can finally text from the big screen. On Tuesday, Meta announced that the popular messaging app is finally available on iPadOS devices, including expanded features for multitasking. Meanwhile, reports indicate that Meta is finally building Instagram for the iPad as well. It's a curious time to embrace tablets. While still a high-volume sales item, the iPad is losing its popularity. The device has endured a yearslong backslide in growth, comprising only 6.8% of Apple's revenue in 2024 compared to the boom of more than 15% in the early 2010s. Still, an iPad expansion opens Meta apps up to a broader swath of consumers. Meta's iPad expansion WhatsApp has been mobile-first since its 2009 launch. Meta purchased the app $19 billion in 2014, mostly leaving it alone to rake in revenue from its then 600 million active users. That number now sits closer to 3 billion, a rival to Facebook and beating out Instagram (Meta doesn't split their revenue reports by app, but experts estimate that WhatsApp now generates nearly $20 billion annually). Recently, though, Meta has been taking a more active role in WhatsApp's development. They added messaging functions like emoji reactions, built access via Mac and Windows computers, and broke down privacy barriers by tying WhatsApp to other Meta properties.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
WWDC 2025: What we expect Apple to reveal including new iOS, macOS, Apple Intelligence and more
Apple's big 2025 software reveal is nearly upon us. On June 9, the Worldwide Developers' Conference (WWDC) keynote will showcase the changes coming with its 2025 software. That includes — deep breath — iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16, watchOS 12, tvOS 19 and visionOS 3. Leaks suggest this year will be a biggie. In addition to the requisite Craig Federighi gags, expect a significant visual overhaul — one of Apple's biggest ever — and (shocker) new Apple Intelligence features. The company is reportedly set to unveil a platform-wide visual overhaul. The revamp is said to be a dramatic change, drawing inspiration from Apple's mixed reality headset. According to Front Page Tech's Jon Prosser, that may even include (nearly) round icons on the home screen and in Control Center. He also noted subtler changes, like a redesigned tab view within apps and the search box in Messages being moved to the bottom of the screen. One of Apple's core goals with the new software is to unify the design language of its operating systems. The idea is to make it less visually jarring to hop between devices. If executed well, jumping from iPhone to iPad to Mac (and so on) will feel like touring different flavors of the same OS. Apple's last big macOS makeover was with 2020's Big Sur. For the iPhone's software, you have to go all the way back to 2013. That's when iOS 7 kicked skeuomorphic design to the curb, replacing it with a flat, minimalistic look. Minus some iterative changes, it's still the UI you see today. Could 2025 be the year the iPad Pro starts to feel… Pro? The high-end versions of Apple's tablet have been more than capable on a hardware level for generations. (Especially when they switched to M-series chips.) But the software has held it back. That's presumably because the company doesn't want to cannibalize Mac sales. After all, if the iPad Pro can truly replace a laptop, then fewer people would buy both. The bad news for those wanting a full-on Mac experience: The iPad won't switch to macOS. The good news: iPadOS may get much more Mac-like. This year's update will reportedly focus on productivity, featuring improved multitasking and app window management. It's not that Apple hasn't inched the iPad's software in that direction. It incrementally did so with Stage Manager in iPadOS 16. The year before, it added the multitasking menu at the top of app windows. But for many, those tweaks fell far short of the full-on productivity overhaul they craved. Will it be enough this time? Bloomberg's Mark Gurman thinks it will "likely go far enough" for most power users. (Is that a "Hallelujah!" I hear?) Even if leaks hadn't already suggested as much, this one would be a no-brainer. After all, AI has been every tech company's obsession since ChatGPT took the world by storm over two years ago. Expect a healthy portion of the keynote to be devoted to Apple's AI advances. These will reportedly include improvements to existing features and a few new ones. Remember when Apple promised a more personalized Siri at last year's conference? The one that many wished would come ahead of the visual overhaul? Well, we're still waiting on that. The last official update we heard was in March, when the company toldDaring Fireball, "It's going to take us longer than we thought." (Oops!) Apple expects the new Siri features to arrive "in the coming year," a clear-as-mud description if ever there was one. A report from The Information last month hinted that the upgraded Siri was nowhere near ready. The 2024 demo, where Siri condensed minutes of multi-app planning into mere seconds, reportedly came as a surprise to team members working on Siri. (Never an encouraging sign.) Separate reporting this month from Bloomberg sheds a bit more light, adding that we probably won't hear much about those Siri upgrades at WWDC 2025. The publication described those updates as being months away from shipping. The company is also reportedly separating its Apple Intelligence and Siri marketing. The logic behind this is that users are so fed up with Apple's assistant that it's hurting Apple's AI push. The company's 2024 presentation was undoubtedly impressive. It showed a more context-sensitive Siri that better understands what you're doing. It pulled info from various apps and spliced them together in a seamless flow. It recorded a specific type of video in a third-party app. It shared a meeting summary via email with a teammate. And it found missing information the user remembered reading... somewhere. It even controlled system settings and explained them when needed. The bottom line: If or when Apple pulls off what it promised last year, that's big news for Siri. But don't hold your breath for it to show up at WWDC 2025. According to Bloomberg, the Siri updates we do see will be much subtler. These would include adding the option to use Gemini instead of ChatGPT with the assistant. Another iOS 19 scoop points to an Apple Intelligence feature that's easy to get behind. A new AI-powered battery management mode will reportedly analyze how you use your phone. It can then use that to make power-saving adjustments on the fly. If it works well, that could be pretty nifty. It may also be a key ingredient to a new device: the "iPhone Air." Whatever Apple calls it, the rumored ultra-slim handset is expected to join Apple's lineup this year. Without this feature, the phone's smaller battery might struggle to make it through a typical day. (According to Gurman, it would last several hours less than Apple's other iPhones.) But with the AI battery feature activated, the svelte iPhone could become more practical. Will we see this slim-jim iPhone at WWDC? Well, let's say you have as good a chance of Valve randomly showing up to announce Half Life 3 at Apple's conference. First, the svelte handset is expected to be part of the iPhone 17 lineup, which typically arrives around September. Second, Apple hasn't unveiled a new iPhone at WWDC since Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone 4 in 2010. So, in short, nope. Apple is reportedly working on a virtual health coach. Allegedly codenamed Project Mulberry, the AI feature would pair a refreshed Health app with an AI-powered coach. Bloomberg says the feature would, to some degree, give you advice you'd usually seek from a doctor. The virtual coach would collect data from your Apple devices and use AI to provide personalized health advice, chatbot-style. Apple is reportedly training the AI agent with data from company physicians. Meanwhile, outside experts would shoot educational videos. In March, Bloomberg's Gurman said the virtual coach could arrive as early as iOS 19.4, which wouldn't likely come until early to mid-2026. But a quick aside in a report this month from Gurman and Drake Bennett mentioned that it could be a point of focus at WWDC. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman is predicting that Apple will introduce a centralized, pre-installed app for gaming on the Mac, iPad, iPhone and Apple TV. It'll include some of the features in the long-neglected Game Center service like leaderboards and matchmaking and pair them with a dedicated game launcher and editorial content including recommendations —including a push towards the Apple Arcade service. It wouldn't be an Apple keynote without some wacky Craig Federighi hijinks. Last year, Apple's software lead strapped on a hair-shaped helmet and skydived into Apple Park. At previous events, he showed off his parkour skills, summoned an iPad like he's a Jedi and jammed out on a three-necked guitar. Say what you will about "Hair Force One." Federighi knows how to sell a sight gag. (With maybe just a teensy bit of help from Apple's visual effects artists.) Following Apple's typical schedule, you can expect the first developer betas to arrive after the conference ends. (Likely the same day!) Public betas would follow early this summer. And you can expect the final versions of iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16 and so on to arrive alongside new iPhones this fall. While Apple's developer conference will be jam-packed if they serve up even a fraction of the expectations above, there are a few things we can pretty confidently take off the board, too. With the possible exception of the Mac Pro, nearly all of Apple's hardware lines have either just finished an upgrade cycle (consumer Macs, most iPads) or are going to get updated in the fall as usual (iPhone, Apple Watch). As such, we're not expecting any major hardware announcements. Apple has talked about the Mac Pro at past WWDC events, but that computer is updated so infrequently that it's hard to say with any confidence that we'll see any changes.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Apple Readies New Gaming App Across Devices
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) plans to roll out a standalone gaming hub app on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV later this year, Bloomberg reports. The new launcher will replace Game Center and centralize game discovery, in-app achievements, leaderboards and player chat, while surfacing editorial picks and promoting Apple Arcade. It'll be preinstalled across devices and integrate with the App Store's existing game catalog. Bloomberg adds that Apple has already snapped up RAC7the two-person studio behind Sneaky Sasquatchto bolster exclusive content. Apple hasn't commented publicly, but this move underscores its ambition to capture more of the $200 billion mobile-gaming market, where it currently earns roughly 30% of in-app spending. By embedding a dedicated gaming portal, Apple can drive engagement, spotlight premium titles and potentially lift Services revenuenow nearly $80 billion annually. Investors should care because a unified gaming destination could boost user stickiness and spur higher in-app purchases, while giving Apple more leverage in negotiating with developers. On a side note, Apple is making it easier for users to fix their own devices. Starting May 29, iPad owners can access repair manuals, genuine parts, and tools through the company's Self Service Repair program. The update includes newer models like the iPad Air (M2) and iPad Pro (M4). Apple also shared updates on its parts distribution program for independent repair shops. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Apple Readies New Gaming App Across Devices
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) plans to roll out a standalone gaming hub app on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV later this year, Bloomberg reports. The new launcher will replace Game Center and centralize game discovery, in-app achievements, leaderboards and player chat, while surfacing editorial picks and promoting Apple Arcade. It'll be preinstalled across devices and integrate with the App Store's existing game catalog. Bloomberg adds that Apple has already snapped up RAC7the two-person studio behind Sneaky Sasquatchto bolster exclusive content. Apple hasn't commented publicly, but this move underscores its ambition to capture more of the $200 billion mobile-gaming market, where it currently earns roughly 30% of in-app spending. By embedding a dedicated gaming portal, Apple can drive engagement, spotlight premium titles and potentially lift Services revenuenow nearly $80 billion annually. Investors should care because a unified gaming destination could boost user stickiness and spur higher in-app purchases, while giving Apple more leverage in negotiating with developers. On a side note, Apple is making it easier for users to fix their own devices. Starting May 29, iPad owners can access repair manuals, genuine parts, and tools through the company's Self Service Repair program. The update includes newer models like the iPad Air (M2) and iPad Pro (M4). Apple also shared updates on its parts distribution program for independent repair shops. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
