iPhone

RCS isn’t in the current iOS 18 developer beta but that hasn’t stopped one enterprising tinkerer from getting it working. It’s early days so what we’re seeing now likely isn’t final, but file transfers and read receipts appear to be operational. Oh, and those bubbles are definitely still green, but we knew that would be the case.

As seen in MacRumors, iOS 18 beta testers can set a new Siri wake word using Vocal Shortcuts, a new accessibility feature. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Vocal Shortcuts > Set Up Vocal Shortcuts, then find and tap “Siri” to try it.

It won’t work with HomePods. And your iPhone won’t acknowledge it unless you pause after saying the word. That’s good; otherwise, you learn just how frequently you say a word like “computer.”

TechCrunch has put together a list of features announced during WWDC that are already available on Apple devices via third-party services. That notably includes the new password app (1Password, LastPass), voice transcription (Otter, AudioPen), the ability to mirror iPhones on a Mac (Bezel), and more.

While Apple has to keep up with its competitors, “Sherlocking” developers at WWDC is a long-running and well-documented tradition.

Apple is announcing the new feature at WWDC 2024 on Monday, according to MacRumors. It would work with built-in apps like Mail, Notes, or Messages, adding another layer of security to the phone in addition to Apple’s Stolen Device Protection setting that rolled out last year.

The Android 15 beta has something similar in “private space,” a lockable section of the app drawer.

Journalist Veronica de Souza had her phone stolen and immediately replaced it, but the thieves very much wanted her to unlock her old iPhone as it was effectively useless without her password.

So they asked her to unlock. Repeatedly.

Sean Fletcher, a UI designer who makes skins for the Delta emulator for iOS, announced a series of Pride-themed skins (pictured in the gallery below).

You can pay what you want, but Fletcher says June 2024 proceeds from this particular set will go to Rainbow Railroad, a non-profit devoted to aiding LGBTQI+ people around the world who face persecution. Here’s a guide for installing Delta skins.

According to Mark Gurman, noted Apple whisperer, we can expect a Settings redesign in iOS 18. Which, have you seen the settings menu in iOS recently? It’s chaos. We’d already heard that MacOS 15 might come with a settings overhaul, but news of a possible iOS cleanup is music to my ears.

I’ve been intrigued by Rabbit’s so-called “large action model” that trains an AI assistant to use your favorite apps on your behalf. That didn’t quite work out with the Rabbit R1, but now Apple’s taking a crack with Siri according to Mark Gurman’s latest scoop.

The new system will allow Siri to take command of all the features within apps for the first time [...] using AI to analyze what people are doing on their devices and automatically enable Siri-controlled features. It will be limited to Apple’s own apps at the beginning, with the company planning to support hundreds of different commands.

So, I guess my colleague Allison Johnson was right, the future of AI gadgets is just phones.

There are some disheartening drawbacks like getting teased at school and being left out of group chats. But these teens were quick to point out some benefits of being smartphone-free, like having more time to spend with family or to read lots of books. As 17-year-old Greta put it: “I think I’m better adjusted.”

We’re expecting a bunch of AI features at WWDC, but phones can only run limited AI functions on-device. How will Apple square the need to process user data off-device with privacy?

According to The Information, the answer might be a “virtual black box.” By using custom M2 chips, it could claim user data remains just as secure as if it were processed on-device. That’s one way to think different.