Microsoft has been hard at work further integrating Android devices into Windows 11, recently allowing users to draft in their phones as makeshift webcams. Riding the same wave of inter-device connectivity, a new feature is apparently in the works that will allow you to see and use your smartphone directly in Windows 11’s File Explorer – just like it was an external drive.
According to reputable leaker @PhantomOfEarth on X, the groundwork is present in Windows 11 for the ‘Cross Device Experience Host’ to be able to link File Explorer on the desktop to your smartphone. This will allow File Explorer direct access to the files on your smartphone, or the ability to shift files the other way, from your PC to phone.
Looks like the Cross Device Experience Host will let you make your device show up in File Explorer in a future update, a toggle for this has been hidden in the app for some time. pic.twitter.com/9zwomWwdTzJune 8, 2024
Once you turn on the feature – note that it’s still hidden in test versions of Windows 11 – @PhantomOfEarth observes that you’ll be asked to grant file access permissions, after which you’ll be good to go.
Here’s a permission request dialog related to this feature. pic.twitter.com/sCYeFDY7qSJune 8, 2024
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Exciting times
Sadly, there isn’t anything else revealed about the feature, and we don’t even know the basics of how it’ll actually work. We’re assuming it’ll use Wi-Fi, maybe, to connect your phone and PC, so that your smartphone is always there in File Explorer whenever you sit at your computer with it (with both on the same Wi-Fi network). That’s pure speculation, mind.
We expect to see this functionality make an appearance in the Windows Insider Program, where devs and enthusiasts test out potential new features in preview builds of Windows 11. Until we have official word from Microsoft to confirm the feature is happening, though, we won’t know for sure – so don’t get your hopes up too high.
That being said, it’s still a pretty cool ability to look forward to! Not only could you move documents, photos, or other files between your PC and phone a lot more quickly and conveniently, but as noted, it seems like once you’ve set permissions your device should automatically register in File Explorer.
This is definitely a feature I would have enjoyed when I was a student and had to search and scramble between my phone and my laptop to make sure I had all the relevant research in one organized place. While I won’t allow myself to get too excited yet, I will wait patiently and hope to see the feature on my PC before too long.
Windows 11 has a new preview version out, and it introduces a batch of settings relating to user profile pictures, complete with fresh AI tricks to try out. These settings are included in the latest Windows 11 preview in the Canary channel for testers, albeit they are hidden away in Build 26231.
This development was spotted and shared on X by @PhantomOfEarth, who is a keen Windows Insider. As you can see in the screenshot provided by @PhantomOfEarth, the profile picture options are located in a new section of the Accounts page (in Settings) called ‘Your info,’ and they allow you to apply effects and filters to your profile picture.
Looks like a new profile picture editor experience is being added to Settings, letting you make changes like adding effects and filters to the image before applying it. (disabled by default, build 26231.)vivetool /enable /id:45189370,47364920 pic.twitter.com/s3vYaIXJq9June 6, 2024
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As noted, they are hidden away in the preview build, and you’ll need to use ViVeTool (a Windows configuration tool) to get them to appear.
As Windows Latest observes, the new customization options and AI effects include the ability to blur your profile picture’s background, add portrait lighting, and upscale the resolution of the image.
There are also filters you can use to give your picture a distinctive appearance, similar to those you might benefit from on apps like Instagram. Windows Latest reports that there are currently six different filters you can try out. As well as those filters, you can also transform your profile picture by rotating it clockwise or anticlockwise, or zooming in closer.
If you do enable these hidden options in Build 26231, keep in mind that there could still be bugs, as this is all still in testing (and early testing for that matter). We expect that issues will be ironed out when it comes to the final version of the feature, naturally.
(Image credit: Shutterstock/Ham patipak)
A solid but unexciting addition to Windows 11
This seems a solid enough feature on the face of it, but I can’t say it particularly excites me as a Windows 11 user. Furthermore, I can foresee some people possibly getting annoyed that Microsoft is pushing AI into yet another corner of Windows 11 where it’s not necessarily improving things. It’s a neat enough demonstration of AI-assisted capabilities, but a niche thing really, and I don’t see how it improves Windows 11’s quality-of-life experience for users at its core.
Other changes that have arrived in this preview build include a new Copy button in Windows Share that lets you copy files to the clipboard more easily, along with the auto-saving of captured recordings in the Windows 11 Snipping Tool. As you’d expect, there are a bunch of bug fixes for existing issues here, too.
It feels like we're at a tipping point for AI video generators, and just a few months on from OpenAI's Sora taking social media by storm with its text-to-video skills, a new Chinese rival is taking social media by storm.
Called Kling AI, the new “video generation model” is made by the Chinese TikTok rival Kuaishou, and it's currently only available as a public demo in China via a waitlist. But that hasn't stopped it from quickly going viral, with some impressive clips that suggest it's at least as capable as Sora.
You can see some of the early demo videos (like the one below) on the Kling AI website, while a number of threads on X (formerly Twitter) from the likes of Min Choi (below) have rounded up what are claimed to be some impressive early creations made by the tool (with some help from editing apps).
(Image credit: Kling AI)
As always, some caution needs to be applied with these early AI-generated clips, as they're cherry-picked examples, and we don't yet know anything about the hardware or other software that's been used to create them.
This is wild.Chinese AI KLING is breaking the Internet while OpenAI Sora is sleeping.People with access are already generating AI videos and short films.The videos look insane.1. “Zootopia Grand Prix”pic.twitter.com/pmCZctsMtTJune 9, 2024
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Still, those caveats aside, Kling AI certainly looks like another powerful AI video generator. It lets early testers create 1080/30p videos that are up to two minutes in length. The results, while still carrying some AI giveaways like smoothing and minor artifacts, are impressively varied, with a promising amount of coherence.
Exactly how long it'll be before Kling AI is opened up to users outside China remains to be seen. But with OpenAI suggesting that Sora will get a public release “later this year”, Kling AI best not wait too long if it wants to become the TikTok of AI-generated video.
The AI video war heats up
Now that AI photo tools like Midjourney and Adobe Firefly are hitting the mainstream, it's clear that video generators are the next big AI battleground – and that has big implications for social media, the movie industry, and our ability to trust what we see during, say, major election campaigns.
None of them are yet perfect, and it isn't clear how long it takes to produce a clip using the likes of Sora or Kling AI, nor what kind of computing power is needed. But the leaps being made towards photorealism and simulating real-world physics have been massive in the past year, so it clearly won't be long before these tools hit the mainstream.
That battle will become an international one, too – with the US still threatening a TikTok ban, expect there to be a few more twists and turns before the likes of Kling AI roll out worldwide.
Windows 11 24H2 has apparently been pulled back from testing for the time being, with Microsoft hitting the pause button presumably due to issues with the major update due to land later this year.
If you recall, the 24H2 update was sent out to the Release Preview channel back on May 22, but Windows Latest noticed that on a PC in that testing channel, the update was no longer being offered.
After further investigation into why that might be, the tech site stumbled across an update (from the end of last week) to the original blog post introducing the preview build, where Microsoft states: “We are temporarily pausing the rollout of Windows 11, version 24H2 to the Release Preview Channel. We will resume the rollout in the coming weeks.”
That’s all Microsoft has said on the matter, leaving the question of why the update has been yanked open to debate. Well, we say that, but there’s a fairly obvious reason you can discern from examining the posts in Microsoft’s Feedback Hub about the 24H2 update, and it’s seemingly had quite a few problems.
Windows Latest observes that there’s a notable bug with a ‘RunDLL’ error box that keeps popping up annoying testers, and much more in terms of general stability issues, with apps and games freezing, stuttering, or crashing. Nasty.
Analysis: Time to fret about a delay? We don’t think so
This all sounds a bit worrying, and might make you wonder whether the Windows 11 24H2 update might even be delayed – if there are gremlins crawling around the inner workings serious enough to get the upgrade pulled from testing for the time being. Microsoft’s timeframe of the “coming weeks” for the return of the final test version (Release Preview) of 24H2 doesn’t sound too comforting either – hinting at a lengthier pause, perhaps.
Then again, we shouldn’t read too much into that statement – it’s standard language commonly used in these kinds of situations. Also, remember that the 24H2 update is still a good way off. It’s not expected to arrive until September 2024 or October, or thereabouts, so there’s still a lot of time to iron out any issues.
Rather than expecting that things are delayed, what’s more likely the case here is Microsoft was a bit too early in deploying Windows 11 24H2 to Release Preview. After all, we were a bit surprised when it emerged last month, and Microsoft did note that it was a very limited rollout initially (in an update to the blog post at the end of May). In other words, the company was being cautious here, and we can see why now.
Granted, there is a slight concern due to the issues present sounding pretty bad here, but for now, this feels like a misstep with an early release, rather than the alarm bells sounding for Windows 11 24H2 not being ready for its roughly rumored launch timeframe later this year.
Are you ready to stare down skyscraper-size Behemoths, box your way through Shardfall’s terrors, and power wash a time-traveling DeLorean?
This past month that’s what I’ve been up to thanks to the help of my Meta Quest 3 (and the new Quell immersive fitness system), and I’m here to break down my experience playing them all. Slight spoiler, this month’s VR games and apps were all superb – I highly recommend you pick up at least one of these as soon as you can.
So let’s get into what I thought of Behemoth, Power Wash Simulator and its Back to the Future DLC, and the new Quell game Shardfall. But first, something a little different.
Batman: Arkham Shadow
Usually, I reserve this column for games and apps I’ve played at some point in the past few weeks. But after that explosive Summer Games Fest trailer, we need to talk about Arkham Shadow – the VR Batman game coming exclusively to Meta Quest 3.
Ahead of the trailer reveal I had the pleasure of chatting with Ryan Payton – the Studio Director of Camouflaj (the team behind the game) – to find answers to my most burning questions.
Payton revealed that the main villain isn’t Ratcatcher like we expected – instead, he’s merely a follower of the actual big bad, the Rat King. He described the gameplay to me in great detail, calling Arkham Shadow a VR Translation of everything that made Arkham Asylum the smash hit it was – from the exploration to the story and characters to the dynamic combat. Payton also outlined why this game had to be a Meta Quest 3-exclusive.
You can read my full chat with Ryan Payton on Arkham Shadow for a more in-depth look at these topics, but just know that I’m even more hyped for this game than I was already. Its ‘Holiday 2024’ release date can’t come soon enough.
Behemoth
This past month I was lucky enough to try an early demo of Behemoth. The roughly 15-minute slice of the game introduced me to some of the enemies, weapons, puzzles, and monstrosities the game has in store for players.
My victory over the demo’s Behemoth was slightly lessened when I was told the boss was nerfed a little for the experience. However, the team tried to boost my spirits by explaining that’s because players would usually face it after a few hours rather than 10 minutes – so they’d be prepared for a tougher fight. I guess I’ll just have to try the full game so I can prove myself in a full-power rematch – and I can’t wait.
You can think of it as a virtual reality version of Shadow of the Colossus (to be a little reductive). You’re on a quest to hunt and kill massive behemoths that roam the lands, with the boss fights feeling more like action-based puzzles than a typical brawl.
That’s not to say you won’t get your fill of Dark Ages-style duels. As you adventure you’ll face off against many human-sized enemies looking to finish you off before you even have a chance to spy one of the beasts you’re searching for.
Yes, they’re a lot less imposing, but fighting these smaller foes is still challenging and exhilarating thanks to Behemoth’s sandbox approach to combat. You’re given access to a good variety of weapons to whirl around, as well as techniques to string together, like blocking, parrying, and grapple-hook acrobatics, to find interesting ways of decimating your foes.
Alternatively, you can rage out, dealing massively powerful hits for a limited time, and just blow your enemies away.
(Image credit: Skydance Interactive)
Speaking to Shawn Kittelsen, Vice President of Creative at Skydance Interactive for Behemoth, after the demo, he explained that after working on The Walking Dead Saints & Sinners the team wanted to basically make the complete opposite of that game.
“The Walking Dead Saints & Sinners has all these dark intimate spaces, and you never know if a Walker is waiting around the corner to grab you. We thought, what if we take our arc of motion physics that players love, our experience designing different weapons and enemy varieties, and apply that to something completely different – an epic fantasy game with wide open arenas.”
When the team considered what enemies players would find in these large spaces the answer was clear, Behemoths. From here the team crafted these antagonistic puzzles for players to best – giving them a few nasty tricks like player responsiveness. This means that rather than simply cycling through attacks these monsters will react to your actions.
This is something I noticed in my demo as my decision to run under the monster to dodge the giant ball and chain it wielded merely resulted in it choosing to kick me instead.
If you’re interested in trying Behemoth when it launches, it’ll be coming to Meta Quest 3, Oculus Quest 2, PSVR 2 and PCVR.
When discussing the power difference between these hardware systems, Kittelsen assured me that while the PS5 and PC-powered experiences will offer better visuals (and a few extra immersion features like PSVR2’s headset rumble) the Quest 2 experience will feel the same in terms of gameplay and with smooth framerate. He added, “It was important that we didn’t leave Quest 2 players behind.”
PowerWash Simulator & Back to the Future DLC
After my experience with Lawn Mowing Simulator, I was a little reluctant to try out another chore sim – my girlfriend even laughed at me when she heard I’d be spending my time doing virtual busywork for a second month in a row. But PowerWash Simulator manages to deliver everything I expected from Lawn Mowing Simulator and more. It’s a cathartic cleaning experience that I’ve been oddly addicted to since downloading it a couple of weeks ago.
Yes, the main game is very simple. With enough patience, and some help from the in-game checklist and dirt viewer, you can wave your cleaning wand over every surface and get the van/house/playground dinosaur looking as good as new with no difficulty. But there’s something meditative about meticulously scrambling over surfaces looking for the last specs of dirt you need to wipe off.
For those of you after more of a challenge, some modes task you with recleaning every level under a time restraint and water restriction, respectively. I’ve given these modes a whirl but feel my cleaning prowess is not yet up to snuff – the water trials are particularly challenging, requiring a level of cleaning precision I currently lack.
To continue my training, PowerWash Simulator offers additional bonus levels. Some are included in the base game, while some licensed locations are available via paid DLC – like the recently released Back to the Future pack.
While it’s not quite the immersive Back To The Future experience fans of the series might have hoped for, if you enjoy what PowerWash Simulator has to offer then these themed levels are a delight. I hope we’ll see more.
Despite my reaction being the reverse of how I felt about Lawn Mowing Simulator, I’ll admit that this monotonous chore sim won’t be for everyone. Trying to compare it to an action-packed hit like Behemoth it seems almost a little boring.
But at the same time, I’ve found PowerWash Simulator to be deceptively moreish. Whenever I try to put it down I want to slip my Meta Quest 3 back on and get straight back to cleaning.
Quell & Shardfall
Okay, so Quell isn’t a Meta Quest 3 game. It’s not even a VR game. But I needed to talk about it here as I feel it’s a great alternative to the VR fitness apps I’ve been talking about since I did my month-long VR workout challenge back in April.
This fitness-first gaming platform offers a lot of what I’ve fallen in love with from VR apps like Supernatural. Rather than working out just for the sake of it (something that can be a struggle for motivation), there’s a gamified element.
In Quell’s case, that’s the enemies you face off against in its first game Shardfall – a high-fantasy adventure. It’s not just an upper-body workout. You also have to jog, sprint, squat and jump your way past obstacles that occupy the space between fights. Because this adventure isn’t in VR, the team’s been able to incorporate these elements without as much risk of the player injuring themselves, or feeling nauseous.
It’s also added resistance bands – with three difficulty levels – which make punching more challenging. When I first tried Quell I was surprised how much more effort I was putting into my shadow boxing.
For a more in-depth look at this new immersive fitness experience, I’d recommend checking out my full feature about my experience with Quell. But TL;DR I’ve really enjoyed using it, even though I had the occasional frustrating issue with the tracker not syncing perfectly with my movements.
If you’ve struggled to get into VR fitness, or more traditional workouts then Quell could be what you’re after. But do think if Quell is definitely for you before you buy it as it is a little pricey at $ 339 / £299 (it’s, unfortunately, not available in Australia), with a subscription on top that’s $ 9.99 / £9.90 per month or $ 79.90 / £79.90 for a year. When it comes to dedicated fitness equipment this isn’t an unreasonable amount, though.
Windows Recall has proven to be a highly controversial AI feature ever since it was first announced in May. What it does is it constantly takes screenshots of everything you do on your PC and then places the images into a searchable on-device database. And yes, that includes pictures displaying sensitive information.
People were quick to call it a “security nightmare” after Microsoft openly admitted the software would not hide “passwords or financial account numbers.” The company attempted to defend its decision but has recently decided to make multiple safety improvements to Recall before its quickly approaching June 18 launch.
Arguably, the most important of these changes is that Recall will no longer be turned on by default upon activating your PC. According to a recent post on the Windows Experience Blog, the feature will instead be off by default, meaning you’ll have to enable it yourself during a computer’s setup process.
Next, enrolling into Windows Hello is now a requirement to activate Recall and to view your screenshot timeline. This means you’ll have to authenticate yourself as the primary user through a biometric input or PIN before accessing the feature.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
As for the final update, Microsoft is beefing up security by adding extra “layers of data protection [including] ‘just in time’ decryption” from Windows Hello ESS (Enhanced Sign-in Security). As a result, snapshots can only be viewed whenever a user proves their identity. Additionally, Recall’s search index database is now encrypted.
What's strange is this suggests the database that would’ve stored images containing bank account numbers was initially unprotected and vulnerable to outside forces. It may surprise you to hear how unsafe it was, but at least they’re fixing it before launch and not after.
Analysis: Remaining skeptical
The rest of the blog post reiterates the security functions of Windows Recall that were previously known. For example, snapshots will be stored locally on your computer and not uploaded to Microsoft servers. An icon representing the feature will sit in the system tray, “letting you know when Windows is saving” images. Plus, users can “pause, filter, [or] delete” snapshots whenever they want.
Microsoft also stresses that Recall will only be available on the upcoming Copilot Plus PCs since they have robust security to ensure privacy.
Does this mean we can totally trust Windows Recall to maintain data security? No, not really.
Jake Williams, VP of R&D at the cybersecurity consultancy Hunter Strategy, told Wired he “still sees serious risks [as well as] unresolved privacy problems.” People could be hit with a subpoena forcing them to cough up PINs to gian access to Recall databases.
Although Microsoft claims it can’t see snapshots, who’s to say the tech giant can’t change its mind a year or two down the line and decide to harvest all that sensitive information. They may find some legal loophole giving them carte blanche to do whatever they want with Recall data. It’s scary, though.
If you're looking for ways to improve your online security, check out TechRadar's massive list of the best privacy tools for 2024.
We are just a few days out from Apple's WWDC 2024 (Wordwide Developers Conference) event, and we expect to learn about macOS 15, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, Apple's AI innovations for products like Siri (possibly in collaboration with companies like OpenAI or Google for its Gemini technology), and developments for Apple's flagship apps like Photos, Notes, Maps, Calculator, and others.
The WWDC keynote presentation will start at 10 am PT 1pm ET / 6pm BST, which is 3am AEST on June 11 for those in Australia. Check out our guide on how to watch WWDC 2024.
You'll have to tune it to find out exactly what features and changes macOS 15 will include and what its official name will be, but we have a strong suspicion that it'll have a substantial amount of AI-related updates. This would bring Apple more in line with its peers like Microsoft, which has been pressing on in this direction for over a year by adding AI features to its rival Windows 11 operating system.
Ahead of WWDC 2024, we've collected all the news and rumors so far about macOS 15, and if you've not updated to the latest version of the Mac operating system, check out our guide on how to install macOS 14.
All about AI
iOS is expected to be one of the bigger focal points at WWDC, with its digital assistant, Siri, rumored to be getting a big AI boost that will make it better at conversation, understanding, and personalization. This will probably be thanks to Apple's recently reported partnership with OpenAI to integrate its technology, including ChatGPT, which is expected to be integrated into iOS 18.
This isn't the only Apple operating system that's slated to get AI capabilities, with iPadOS and macOS 15 reportedly getting some sort of AI boost as well. According to MacRumors, these new AI features will be opt-in and users will only have to adopt them if they want to. Additionally, if iPadOS and macOS users want to be able to use AI features, their devices will be required to have at least M1 chips. This could mean that macOS 15 will be the first version that is exclusive to Apple silicon Macs, which would certainly disappoint people who still use older Intel-based Macs.
OpenAI's tools and technology is rumored to be used to power new and existing features of Apple products, but there's also talk of Apple's own ChatGPT-like chatbot made in partnership with OpenAI. We expect to find out exactly what this will look like at WWDC.
Apple is supposedly readying several cross-platform AI-powered features, as relayed by MacRumors, including:
AI-generated Apple Music playlists
AI-assisted writing in Pages
AI-assisted slide deck creation in Keynote
AI code writing features in Xcode
We're looking forward to seeing Apple's first big move into consumer AI products in general, and it's due to take up about half of the WWDC keynote, so there'll be plenty to look forward to.
macOS 15 release date
(Image credit: Apple)
Based on previous launches of macOS, we think it's a pretty safe bet that Apple will announce macOS 15 at WWDC 2024, including its release date, and make a developer beta version available very soon after the presentation (possibly the same day). You'll have to pay a fee to try that, or you could wait until later in the year, possibly July, to try a public beta version for free. Then, later in 2024, either in September or early October, we expect the full macOS 15 public release rollout, again, based on what Apple has done with previous macOS releases.
If you're particularly enthusiastic or an early adopter, or you're a Mac app developer, a beta version might be especially interesting for you. However, you should keep in mind that beta versions of software are generally more prone to bugs and instability, potential rollbacks of changes and features by Apple, and hardware risks. We'd recommend only installing a beta version if you're using a spare Mac device or are comfortable troubleshooting your device.
For everyone else, we'd recommend you wait for the stable public release. Also, be sure to check back here as we'll update you the moment we know more about macOS 15's release date.
macOS 15 name
We expect to find out macOS's official name at WWDC 2024, and the trend for macOS names since 2013 has been names of California landmarks. Many of these have already been trademarked by Apple over the past decade, although not all of these have been used yet. Trademarked possibilities include: Redwood, Grizzly, Sequoia, Mammoth, Pacific, Rincon, Farallon, Miramar, Condor, Diablo, and Shasta.
Alternatively, Apple could go for a non-trademarked name, which it has also done before.
Names of previous iterations of macOS in honor of California landmarks include: Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura, and Sonoma.
macOS 15 availability
If reports are correct, you'll need to make sure your Mac has an M1 Apple silicon chip or newer to be able to take up Apple's new AI features.
However, it might be possible that some older Macs will be able to run macOS 15, probably without the AI features, and we expect Apple to clarify this point at WWDC. The Mac models capable of running what's currently the latest version of macOS, Sonoma, are:
2019 or later iMac
2017 iMac Pro
2019 or later Mac Pro
2022 or later Mac Studio
2018 or later MacBook Air
2018 or later Mac mini
2018 or later MacBook Pro
macOS 15 features
Apple hasn't always been the “first” to introduce a product or feature, but it's known for methodically working on products while competitors rush to be first across the line. Then, when Apple does finally release its version, it often achieves mainstream success.
Here are some of the features we expect and would like to see:
A revamp of System Settings: This is one of the most anticipated developments for macOS 15, hopefully delivering a redesign of the operating system’s menus and apps. Many users are hoping to see a refreshed design which could bring a sense of novelty while preserving what makes macOS intuitive.
A smarter Siri for Mac devices: Once the more intelligent and upgraded Siri makes its way onto iOS devices, we could see a new version of the digital assistant for desktop as well. It may not have all of the mobile version’s features and capabilities, but there is still room for improvement that users would like to see.
Improved gaming capabilities for Macs: If Apple wanted to make its devices better suited for gaming, and to make use of its newest M3 and M4 chips, it could present advancements that would make it more lucrative for game developers to make versions of games for macOS.
We’ve learned from Tim Cook’s comments and countless reports that Apple is working on AI features for all of its devices and platforms. And we’re almost certain that the technology giant will unveil it during the opening keynote of WWDC 2024.
Now, though, we have an idea of how Apple will be branding the AI features – and no, it won’t be artificial intelligence or “Absolutely Incredible,” as Greg Joswiak, Apple’s SVP of Marketing, teased in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, it will be called “Apple Intelligence,” which certainly has a nice ring to it. It’ll apparently be the central location to opt-in to the new features built into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15. As predicted, it will likely be all about integrating AI functionality into current apps and services, ones that someone could use daily and provide value.
As Gurman notes, “the company is less focused on whiz-bang technology — like image and video generation — and instead concentrating on features with broad appeal.”
(Image credit: Apple)
These will likely become summarization powers for navigating a crowded inbox or getting the gist of a webpage on the fly. Similar to Samsung’s Galaxy AI or Google’s Gemini feature set, they will extend to summarizing notes, automatically transcribing voice recordings, and even providing a simple digest of notifications.
In Messages, suggested replies should get an upgrade, and Siri will seemingly get the equivalent of a new brain, hopefully making it much more useful. The upgrade could integrate a large-language model to let the virtual assistant control functions and features within apps and multi-step queries. Bloomberg’s latest reporting also notes that Apple will partner with OpenAI and that its tools will be used to power some features.
The report notes that “Apple Intelligence” features will be entirely opt-in and not turned on by default – additionally, they may be labeled as “a beta version.” This hint suggests that Apple plans to improve them over time and potentially add additional features.
It seems you’ll need a Mac or iPad with an M-Series chip or newer. For the iPhone, it will reportedly be supported on forthcoming models introduced in 2024 as well as the iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max. The A15 Bionic or later will likely be the requirement, but it will be interesting to see if it’s needed for all features or just specific elements.
(Image credit: Future)
Like other services, the processing will either be on a device or cloud-based computing; the latter would be a change for Apple, which always focuses on users' privacy and security. To that point, the report notes that WWDC will focus on what “precautions” Apple is taking, such as “security features on the chips that it’s using in its data centers,” and that user profiles based on customer data will not be built.
With either processing route, it’s clear that privacy will be front and center, and Apple will use it to differentiate itself from competitors. It could also help push more folks to actually opt-in to Apple Intelligence, and that, paired with actually useful features that are viewed as helpful, could help to turn the tide here. After all, useful upgrades to applications and tools we use daily can help speed through workflows and make tasks easier.
We’ll have to wait and see what Apple unveils at WWDC 2024’s kickoff and how it positions AI, err, Apple Intelligence. You can see the five things we expect Apple to unveil, including a round-up of all of our news leading up to the kick-off at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST on June 10 (3am AEST, June 11).
If you’ve been waiting for a Calculator app for iPad, it seems this is the year. VisionOS 2.0 will also bring more environments to Vision Pro, and we'll also apparently get new Mac, iPhone, and iPad wallpapers, a dedicated app for managing passwords, and the ability to create emojis on the fly.
WWDC 2024 doesn’t officially begin until June 10, but Apple is letting some news out a few days in advance, including its 2024 Apple Design Award winners, celebrating 14 apps and games that excel in design, innovation, and technical achievement.
The 14 titles were chosen from 42 finalists across seven categories: Delight and Fun, Inclusivity, Innovation, Interaction, Social Impact, Visuals, Graphics, and Spatial Computing – as you might imagine, that last category, which was a new addition for 2024, highlights an app for Apple Vision Pro. Each category highlights one app and one game as a winner.
Scoring an Apple Design Award is a high honor for developers, and the list of winners – and indeed the list of finalists – is a great place to start if you want to find new apps to try on your iPhone, iPad, MacBook or Mac, Apple Watch, or Vision Pro.
Delight and Fun winners
Within the Delight and Fun category, two winners delivering engaging and satisfying experiences beat out the seven finalists. First is Bears Gratitude, a journaling app focusing on self-reflection through daily prompts and routine building.
Second is an unsurprising winner, considering the highly active fanbase that plays Wordle. NYT Games is home to many addictive puzzles and word games, including the classic crossword and Connections, all designed to keep you coming back every day.
Inclusivity winners
(Image credit: Apple)
Apple has selected two Inclusivity category winners. Oko uses the onboard camera to help pedestrians with low to no vision navigate by indicating the signal of lights and other traffic signals through haptic and audio alerts. It’s even built using Apple’s VoiceOver and Dynamic Type technologies.
Crayola Adventures is the other winner in the category and is designed for all ages with the ability to create and solve puzzles. You can adjust skin tone, body types, pronouns, and abilities within the character creation steps and get a full game narration.
Innovation winners
(Image credit: Apple)
Recently featured during Apple’s May 7, 2024, iPad-focused event, Procreate Dreams is walking away with an Apple Design Award. Described as a “marvelously designed tool” by Apple, it lets creatives design 2D animations from freehand, built-in templates, or even the Apple Pencil. Procreate even supports some of the more advanced features introduced with the Apple Pencil Pro, including haptic feedback and squeeze functionality.
Lost in Play is an exciting and visually impressive graphic novel-style adventure game for the iPhone. The graphics are all hand-drawn, and the gameplay focuses primarily on discovery through point-and-tap.
Interaction winners
As you might suspect, Interaction is all about a compelling, intuitive interface and application controls. Crouton is an app for recipe curation; it makes it easier to complete recipes by providing an ingredient list and step-by-step directions.
Rytmos is a puzzle game controlled through drag gestures, with each level upping the challenge. It also pairs it with vibrant, impressive visuals that get more complex based on the level.
Social Impact winners
Like the rest of the categories, the Social Impact category has two winners: Gentler Streak Fitness Tracker and The Wreck. The former is a fitness tracker designed for everyone, regardless of lifestyle or how much one might work out. It pairs physical fitness and mental wellbeing into one app and integrates with Apple Health. You can see TechRadar’s report on Gentler Streak here.
The Wreck is a visual novel with a story focused on navigating and reflecting on stressful situations.
Visuals and Graphics winners
Visuals and Graphics had many terrific titles, including some AAA games, in the finalists, and Apple narrowed it down to two winners. Rooms lets you play in a 3D space with immersive and highly detailed visuals throughout the experience. You start with a blank space or room and can add from there and view other users' work.
Lies of P for the Mac is a highly immersive, well-reviewed game that plays on the idea of imagination. You play as the robot Geppetto on a quest to find the marker. Developer NEOWIZ utilized MetalFX for great visuals across a range of Mac models.
Spatial Computing winners
(Image credit: Apple)
Last but not least is the newest addition to Apple’s Design Awards, which spotlights the $ 3,500 (starting) Vision Pro. Spatial Computing first highlights djay pro, which places a DJ turntable directly in front of you in your reality or a highly immersive environment. I’ve used this one, and you can reach out to adjust volume levels, scratch the discs, adjust speed, and even mix two tracks together.
Second in Spatial Computing is Blackbox, a puzzle game that overlays the world around you. Puzzles of various elements and even words will appear all around you. It’s a fun experience.
Adobe has been under fire lately, having been called out for its “shocking dismissal of photography” by the American Society of Media Photographers for some tone-deaf Photoshop ads it ran a few weeks ago. And now the software giant has been forced to defend itself again, after a social media outcry over some new Photoshop terms and conditions that started rolling out this week.
Over the past few days, a number of high-profile Photoshop users have expressed their dismay on X (formerly Twitter) about a new 'Updated Terms of Use' pop-up that they've been forced to accept. The new small print contains some seemingly alarming lines, including one that states “we may access your content through both automated and manual methods, such as for content review”.
Adobe has now defended the new conditions in a new blog post. In short, Adobe claims that the slightly ambiguous legalese in its new small print has created an unnecessary furore, and that nothing has fundamentally changed. The two key takeaways are that Adobe says it “does not train Firefly Gen AI models on customer content” and that it will “never assume ownership of a customer's work”.
On the latter point, Adobe explains that apps like Photoshop need to access our cloud-based content in order to “perform the functions they are designed and used for”, like opening and editing files. The new terms and conditions also only impact cloud-based files, with the small print stating that “we [Adobe] don’t analyze content processed or stored locally on your device”.
Adobe does also admit that its new small print could have been explained better, and also stated that “we will be clarifying the Terms of Use acceptance customers see when opening applications”. But while the statement should help to allay some fears, other concerns will likely remain.
One of the main points raised on social media was concern about what Adobe's content review processes mean for work that's under NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). Adobe says in its statement that for work stored in the cloud, Adobe “may use technologies and other processes, including escalation for manual (human) review, to screen for certain types of illegal content”.
That may not completely settle the privacy concerns of some Adobe users, then, although those issues are arguably applicable to using cloud storage in general, rather than Adobe specifically.
A crisis of trust?
(Image credit: Adobe)
This Adobe incident is another example of how the aggressive expansion of cloud-based services and AI tools is contributing to a crisis of trust between tech giants and software users – in some cases, understandably so.
On one hand, the convenience of cloud storage has been a massive boon for creatives – particularly for those with remote teams spread across the world – and AI tools like Generative Fill in Photoshop can also be big time-savers.
But they can also come at a cost, and it remains the case that the only way to ensure true privacy is store your work locally rather than in the cloud. For many Photoshop users, that won't be an issue, but the furore will still no doubt see some looking for the best Photoshop alternatives that don't have such a big cloud component.
As for AI tools, Adobe remains the self-appointed torch-bearer for 'ethical' AI that isn't trained on copyrighted works, though it's landed in some controversies. For example, last month the estate of legendary photography Ansel Adams accused Adobe on Threads of selling AI-created imitations of his work.
In fairness to Adobe, it removed the work and stated that it “goes against our Generative AI content policy”. But it again shows the delicate balancing act that the likes of Adobe are now in between rolling out powerful new AI-powered tools and retaining the trust of both users and creatives.
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