Appleviews – 26th May 2023
iOS17 news
We are starting to get more flesh on the bones about what we can expect from Apple’s iOS17 which will be announced at WWDC on Monday 5th June.
It seems that several apps will be updated this year including Wallet, Find My, and AirPlay.
Although the Wallet app is rumoured to have some of the biggest changes, little is known about what those changes actually are. The Find My app is getting a raft of location improvements.
With the mixed reality headset looming, updates are not surprisingly coming to the SharePlay app which enables you to watch content with family and friends over a FaceTime call. Apple has also been in discussions with hotel groups to improve the ability to AirDrop content to their TVs and devices in the rooms.
That’s smart
There was one other big iOS17 story this week too.
The Lock Screen is about to get an update which will turn it into a smart home display. When not in use, in a horizontal position and charging on a MagSafe charger, the phone’s Lock Screen will show information such as calendar appointments, weather data, notifications, and – and allowing it to serve as a home data hub too.
This latest feature is building on last year’s widget options and will make the Lock Screen heavily resemble a Google Nest Hub. Apple wants the iPhone to be more useful when not in use and charging.
Rather fitting
Apple Fitness Plus will be celebrating this year’s Pride by introducing new workouts that highlight the LGBTQ+ community with a featured artist – Madonna.
The Artist Spotlight series means that all the tracks in a given workout are from just one artist. Come Monday 5th June (the same day as WWDC starts) there will be HIIT, Rowing, Cycling, Core, Treadmill, Strength, Dance, and Yoga workouts all featuring the music of Madonna. There will be playlists celebrating her music across the decades from the 80s through to the 2010s.
Each trainer that is leading the sessions will be wearing an outfit inspired by one of Madonna’s – the mind truly does boggle!
The party starts early though – this coming Monday 29th May Apple will roll out seven new workouts and meditations that will honour the LGBTQ+ community. The workouts will even have special lighting that will be inspired by the rainbow flag.
And if you want to show your support Apple has just released this year’s Pride Watch Edition Band with a matching wallpaper.
A way of winning
Even though Apple seems to be keeping mum with their entry into the AI wars, that’s not to say that they aren’t making money from it – in true Apple fashion!
ChatGPT is now available as an iPhone app through Apple’s App Store. Within days it predictably climbed to the number one position in the store’s free app category. Apple further endorsed this achievement lauding it with the honour of being a ‘must-have’ app under its Essentials category.
Now bear in mind the 30% cut developers have to hand over under the Apple Tax system which means Apple is pocketing $6 on every $20 dollar sale.
Should keep the tills ticking over then!
Bucking the trend
Apple has generally kept their interest in bringing more adverts to their devices and ecosystem pretty low-key.
Large media expos often even see Apple execs going as far as flipping over their lanyards to avoid any unwanted attention or speculation. But that status quo has been flipped on its head at this week’s Cannes Lions advertising festival.
At this year’s festival, Apple was very much front and centre having secured a large space at the Carlton Hotel which is located prominently on the Croisette promenade.
There have been several gatherings, lunches and dinners and rumours have been swirling. The timing of all these high-profile meetings, just ahead of WWDC has led to speculation that it could be directly related to news that will break at the conference in a week.
Others at the trade show were said to be curious about how Apple will integrate more advertising into their business yet remain true to their privacy statement. Apple released a new video called Privacy on iPhone this week too – odd timing.
Watch out for this
It looks as if Apple TV+ has another potential hit on its hands – this time with Platonic.
There will be ten episodes that will be released weekly and stars Hollywood heavy-hitters Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne. There is a charm to it that kind of reminds me of Bad Sisters.
The story centres around Sylvia (Byrne) who plays a former lawyer, now a full-time mum and is embarrassed by her lack of career success as she rekindles her college relationship with Will (Rogen).
The series compassionately explores the themes of ageing, friendship and gender dynamics. The series was created by Bad Neighbours director Nicholas Stoller along with Francesca Delbanco and the first episode is available to watch now on Apple TV+.
Samsung and Apple…really?
The mentions of Samsung and Apple in the same sentence are rare.
Samsung who makes displays for Apple, this week sent out a press release and there was some info in there that could point to a foldable iPad coming sooner rather than later. I know just because Samsung is developing the new screen doesn’t mean Apple will start to use the displays, but it nonetheless it does give us some clues.
The screen that took my attention was the Rollable Flex display. The OLED display will expand more than 5x from 49mm to 254.4mm in length.
In the same press release, they also mentioned the Flex In & Out display which is a new foldable phone concept that can be folded both inward and outward 360 degrees. Samsung claims this will lead to ”the possibility of lighter and thinner foldable phones.”
And for the larger tablets, there is the Flex Hybrid panel. These displays are designed to slide and unfold allowing tablets to go from 13 inches to 17 inches.
You couldn’t make it up
If you live here in the UK you may be aware that the M6 motorway in the Midlands has been undergoing a £20 million facelift. They had assumed that everything had been thought of – but it appears not!
The M6 is a toll motorway, but as drivers reached for their smartphones to pay, they found they were denied.
The reason is that cell phones are banned from use in the UK’s motorway network meaning payments via a cell phone were illegal. A spokesman said;
“Accepting mobile phone payments has actually required a change to the Highway Code as it’s illegal to use a mobile phone while driving, and our toll lanes are classed as a live motorway.”
Getting involved…
Guess what – if you look forward to my articles & blogs landing each day, you can help that happen! By clicking via this link, you can join Medium, and get my blogs every day, the moment I publish them. And, you can even get email notifications about them too.
Before you go – join my mailing list here.