Apple reveals plans to replace car keys, ditch Facebook trackers, and use its own computer chips
Apple has made some of the biggest changes to its products in company history and it will change the way we interact with Facebook and even when we should wash our hands in a post-COVID world. See the main changes here.
Gadgets
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gadgets. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Apple has unveiled plans to get rid of car keys, ditch more web and privacy spies, track users’ sleep, and automatically detect and improve their handwashing skills in its first ever virtual developers’ conference this morning.
But the tech giant saved its biggest business announcement for last, revealing the company planned to move on from Intel and create its own computer chips for future devices, introducing Macs run by Apple Silicon later this year.
The announcements were made out of Apple’s spaceship-styled campus in Cupertino, California, this morning (AEST) but the only way to see them was by streaming video due to travel and social restrictions forced upon them by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company revealed new software for all of its devices at the event, from Mac and iPad to iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, in updates that will be available for public testing from next month.
In a nod to 2020, updates will include the addition of face masks for Memoji avatars, and handwashing recognition for the Apple Watch. This feature will use the Watch’s microphone and accelerometer to detect when users are washing their hands and prompt them to keep washing for a full 20 seconds.
The tech giant also revealed plans to replace car keys in future, starting with next year’s BMW 5 Series vehicles.
Rather than fumbling for keys, owners will be able to unlock their cars with a CarKey feature enabled when they tap their iPhone against an NFC chip in the car’s door handle.
Drivers will also be able to grant others drivers full or restricted permission to drive their car — but only if they also use an iPhone.
Apple software engineering senior vice-president Craig Federighi also introduced new privacy controls for Apple devices at WWDC that appear to be aimed at the likes of Facebook and Google.
Rather than limiting privacy controls to the web, Apple revealed it would extend privacy alerts to apps in a bid to warn users when and how their data was being used.
“We believe tracking should always be transparent and under your control,” Mr Federighi said.
New privacy alerts will ask users for permission when apps seek to “track you across apps and websites owned by other companies,” he said.
Developers will also be asked to create what Apple described a “nutrition label for apps” that shows users a brief summary of what information each app collects and tracks.
The company will also change the location data available to third parties, from a user’s precise location to an “approximate” whereabouts, and will display an orange dot to indicate when a user’s device’s microphone or camera was being used.
A new Privacy Report button in Apple’s web browser, Safari, will also show a list of known “trackers” and give users the option to block them. This could include the Facebook Pixel.
Other Apple software changes previewed at the event included sleep-tracking for its smartwatch, a surround-sound update for AirPods, handwriting translation for the Apple Pencil, and widgets for the iPhone’s home screen, in a move that mimics Google Android.
A public beta of the software changes will be launched next month, with a final product coming in Spring.
But Apple chief executive Tim Cook saved the company’s big hardware announcement until last at the WWDC keynote, revealing that Apple would move away from using Intel chips and instead use its own in future Macs.
“The Mac has had three major transitions in its history: the move to PowerPC, the transition to Mac OS X, and the move to Intel,” he said.
“Now it’s time for a huge leap forward for the Mac because today is the day we’re announced that Mac is transitioning to our own Apple Silicon.”
The move to bring more of Apple’s hardware in-house won’t be immediate, however, with the first Apple Silicon-powered computers due at the end of the year, and plans to continue supporting and launching Intel-based Macs in future.
BIGGEST CHANGES OUT OF APPLE’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE
• Apple Silicon: The tech giant said it would build its own chips to power its Mac computers to create a “common architecture” that integrates them into the same ecosystem as Macs, the iPhone and iPad.
• New privacy controls: Apple revealed it would extend privacy alerts to apps in a bid to warn users when and how their data was being used by companies such as Facebook.
• New homescreen for iPhones: All installed apps will go into an App Library, which sorts them into large folders.
• CarKey: Apple’s new contactless CarKey feature allows your iPhone to unlock a car using NFC. Next year’s BMW 5 Series vehicle will support the new technology when they tap their iPhone against an NFC chip in the car’s door handle.
• Widgets: Apple is adding widgets to their iPhone homescreens for the first time ever.
• AirPod update: Apple is updating the software running on AirPods to let them connect automatically to whichever paired Apple device starts playing audio.
• iPadOS 14: The iPad is getting a major overhaul, with new features designed to take advantage of the larger surface area. iPadOS 14 will include a new compact design for incoming FaceTime and phone calls and Siri interactions.
• WatchOS7: The Apple Watch has a range of new features that include sleep tracking, a reminder to wash your hands in a post-COVID world, new workout types and a hearing health feature.
• Messages: You’ll be able to pin messages to the top of your screen in the iMessages app, and make WhatsApp-style @-mentions. Group chats will also be improved.
• Maps: Apple’s Maps will feature more international options as well as cycling routes and electric vehicle directions with charging information.
• Siri: New updates are intended to make it smarter and less cumbersome, helping it fend off rival voice- activated concierges made by Google and Amazon.
• iPhone 12: Analysts believe the release of the iPhone 12 will be come later than usual, but are expecting it still will be on sale well before the pivotal holiday shopping season.
Originally published as Apple reveals plans to replace car keys, ditch Facebook trackers, and use its own computer chips
Major change to speed cameras in one state
Changes will be made to the setup of speed cameras on two major Australian highways, in a bid to reduce the escalating road toll.
Yes, your devices are listening to you
While the gadgets you use in your home are helpful, they’re also quietly collecting a lot of data about you, an Australian tech expert warns.