What's new with Apple

00:46S1

Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from June the 11th, 2024. I'm Stephen Jolley. Great to have you with us listening perhaps through Vision Australia radio associated stations of RPH Australia or maybe the Community Radio Network. There is also the podcast. To catch that, all you need to do is search for the two words Talking Tech and download, can all come usually on a Tuesday afternoon just after it's been produced. Another option is to ask your Siri device or smart speaker to play Vision Australia Radio talking tech podcast... Vision Australia Radio talking tech podcast.

With me, someone who can explain all this tech stuff really well: Vision Australia's national advisor on access technology David Woodbridge. David's been working very hard from early this morning because this is the week of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. The keynote address taking place around 3 a.m. in Australia on Tuesday. David, welcome.

01:48S2

Hello. Hello, hello. I'm still still bright eyed and bushy tailed, which is actually quite amazing.

01:53S1

So tell us about the event. What's your overall impression of the presentation?

01:57S2

Well, as usual it was an excellent event. Again, Apple did it because it's all, you know, pre-packaged up in a video presentation all done online. And of course that meant also that it was all audio described. So whenever they talked about certain things or certain things were happening that didn't have any talking over it, it was all audio described. It was absolutely fantastic. As with all Apple keynotes, you can just sit back and relax and take in both what they're talking about and also the audio description.

02:27S1

Over the next little while, we'll take you through what was covered and to put it into context, these are really announcements for the interested public and for software developers that we really won't see for some time.

02:41S2

So the thing to remember is that the initial stuff coming out this week is for developers only. So if you have a developer account, you can get access to all the different operating system betas straight away. If you're a developer, the public betas, which is for the rest of the general public, they don't become available until next month, and then quite a few of the features won't become available until the spring out time. So whilst they did make these announcements, not all the functionality they talked about will be actually coming out in beta one, beta two, beta three, etc. so this is all the stuff that got planned. That does not mean it's going to be available straight away.

03:20S1

So let's go through Apple Vision Pro, Apple iOS 18, the watch OS 11, the iPad OS 18, the new Mac operating system. And then we'll talk a very interesting topic towards the end, Apple intelligence. Let's go back to the Apple Vision Pro. What's news there?

03:40S2

So it's basically now going to be Vision Pro 2. Remember I say these versions are all beta. And with the vision Pro of course which is a virtual headset. It's not smartglasses. They're updating stuff to do with spatial video, spatial photos. They're also bringing up more gaming spatial applications for it as well, including video and audio spatial stuff. And one interesting thing which I thought, I wonder what the difference is. So when you're in an aircraft, there's a mode called Airplane mode, which is you can watch, you know, a movie in front of you on your supposed big screen, but it's really the Vision Pro. Well, they've also got one called Train Mode coming out. So I'm just wondering, I wonder what the difference between between the actual airplane mode and the train mode will be. So, stand by for that one. But that was the main stuff to do with the Vision Pro itself.

04:33S1

Just as an aside, Apple Vision Pro is coming to Australia fairly soon.

04:38S2

July 12th - and listen to next week's show, because I'm really going to go into the fact the differences between what's an AR VR headset, which is what the Vision Pro is, and smart glasses, they're completely different systems. So if you think your Vision Pro is going to do certain things, it may not.

04:57S1

For iPhone people, the new operating system, iOS 18.

05:01S2

So with iOS 18 there's a lot of updates to the home screen. So you can change the look at look of it quite dramatically. There's a lot more controls available that you can add to the control panel, which is actually really amazing. And they've done a lot more with messages. So you can do things like you can generate your own. I think they call them gen emojis, as in generated emojis based on stuff in your own photo library. And you can do all sorts of weird and wonderful things. They've also updated stuff to do with what stuff is shared. So normally when you use an application, you've got to actually say what's going to be shared. Well, now you've got more control over that. 

The other big enhancement. Course, as far as I'm concerned to do with iOS 18 is the fact that you will now, as in the iPhone 14 Pro and above, be able to send messages or SMS messages via satellite. So that's actually pretty amazing. And the other one that stood out for me was the mail categorisation. So it will try and put your mail messages in the categories. And also it will try and do a digest, which means it'll group all the same emails from the same company all together, so you don't have to go and find them. So they were the main ones that stood out for me for iOS 18.

06:17S1

And like with emails, you'll now be able to schedule messages for a particular time.

06:23S2

That's actually quite a good one. I like that one because sometimes I remember, oh yep, it's so and so's birthday tomorrow, or anniversary. So you can schedule that to pop out the next day or whenever it might be.

06:33S1

So that's iOS 18. Let's talk the watch now, watch OS 11 G. They put a lot of emphasis on health, don't they?

06:41S2

They do. I get a bit annoyed sometimes because they're always talking about the elite sports, the runners and high end people that training all the time. I just wish they would make it for us. You know, general plebby type people that do general exercise. But I think for me, the main thing that stood out for me about watch 11 is the fact that it's got a new app in it called Vitals. So what that will do is it will actually try and put all the stuff to do, because we've still got it here in Australia. Your heart rate, your calorie intake, your exercise. And it will keep generating summaries based on your past activities and that sort of stuff. So it's sort of like a... more simplified version of the health app on your iPhone. But it looks really interesting. So for me, that was probably the main thing that stood out for me the most on, watch OS 11.

07:35S1

So that's the watch iPad OS 18.

07:38S2

So the thing to remember about iPad OS is that it's actually really an updated version of iOS 18. So iPad OS 18 has all the things in it. Of course, that will be on your iPhone. The calculator will be coming to the iPad, which they made a big deal about, and of course this new thing called smart handwriting mode. So if you use an Apple Pencil to write on the iPad, it will tidy up your handwriting and make it look like your own handwriting. So I thought that was pretty nifty as well. And lots of other stuff to do. Like I've already mentioned with iOS 18. So again, incremental improvements and it's always moving on to, you know, what they're trying to achieve with these operating systems.

08:21S1

The big announcement with the Mac, the name of the new operating system, Sequoia.

08:27S2

I know I had to actually use my autocorrect to actually find out how to spell that. I wish they'd stop using weird names that nobody else knows how to spell outside the US. But at any rate, I talked about Safari and they talked about photos, and they talked about maps and they talked about messages and everything else. But the really cool thing for me in particular, which I found extremely interesting, was the thing about the continuity feature where you can control or access stuff from your Mac to your iPhone, and I thought, that's going to be looking very nice when I get my hands on it.

08:59S1

So the operating system, Sequoia, Sequoia, there's a lot about connectivity across the Apple devices that continues, doesn't it?

09:10S2

That's right. That's when they mentioned the continuity stuff to do with controlling your iPhone from your Mac. And they also had another little feature, which I don't know where it's going to be accessible for blind people in particular, but it's you can remote into somebody's iOS device. Now, they did mention the iPad, not the iPhone, and you can circle with your Apple Pencil on the screen about what the person needs to pay attention to. Or you can completely take control over that person's remote iPad and assist them in doing certain things, like adding a widget to the desktop and that sort of stuff. So I thought that was also quite remarkable as well.

09:47S1

And I guess the one that the tech media are really going to talk about is Apple Intelligence.

09:53S2

Isn't it lovely that the I just happened to mesh with Apple intelligence rather than Artificial Intelligence? So the way they presented this was a very deep integration across the operating system itself and across all your applications. So not just Apple apps, but across all the applications. And there were very much focusing on language processing, text transcribing and image processing. So they went into sort of quite depth about all three of those, the tech stuff. People might remember the stuff in particular to do with ChatGPT. So you can do things like you can rewrite something, you can proofread something, you can ask it to summarize something. Um, you can get it to generate images based on what you type in, uh, because it's got a new app called Image Play. So you can actually. Creating your own images from typing in text. Um, it will do a lot of stuff privately, locally on your device. It will not go out to the internet, uh, only in certain situations, but your privacy will be absolutely maintained. Uh, so they were very careful to point out that, you know, it's all integrated. Siri, of course, will be using Apple intelligence, and you'll be able to actually have context when you talk to Siri now. So rather than it not knowing what you just talked about, you'll be able to have conversations with it. So they have done a lot to do with it. But again, it was a bit weird because it's all in built in, you know, it's machine learning in the background. I guess it wasn't so exciting as the Lawrence of, you know, ChatGPT or Gemini or those sort of ones that we've previously seen.

Isn't it lovely that the I just happened to mesh with, um, Apple intelligence rather than artificial intelligence? So the way they presented this was a very deep integration across the operating system itself and across all your applications. So not just Apple apps, but across all the applications. And there were very much focusing on, uh, language processing, um, text transcribing and image processing. So they went into sort of quite depth about all three of those, the tech stuff. People might remember the stuff in particular to do with ChatGPT. So you can do things like you can rewrite something, you can proofread something, you can ask it to summarize something. Um, you can get it to generate images based on what you type in, uh, because it's got a new app called Image Play. So you can actually. Creating your own images from typing in text. Um, it will do a lot of stuff privately, locally on your device. It will not go out to the internet, uh, only in certain situations, but your privacy will be absolutely maintained. Uh, so they were very careful to point out that, you know, it's all integrated. Siri, of course, will be using Apple intelligence, and you'll be able to actually have context when you talk to Siri now. So rather than it not knowing what you just talked about, you'll be able to have conversations with it. So they have done a lot to do with it. But again, it was a bit weird because it's all in built in, you know, it's machine learning in the background. I guess it wasn't so exciting as the Lawrence of, you know, ChatGPT or Gemini or those sort of ones that we've previously seen.

11:30S1

But really the biggest change for Siri since it first came out in 2011. Yep.

But really the biggest change for Siri since it first came out in 2011. Yep.

11:35S2

So it's probably about time it got updated. Um, it's been around for a long time, so hopefully it'll be it'll be up and running. But again, this integration of AI across the Apple operating system and applications is one of the things that's not going to be available to spring our time. And right at the end of the keynote, they did say they will be able to integrate it with ChatGPT. So if you want to get a menu or a story idea, you can ask Siri and then Siri will go, well, I don't know about that. I'll then go and launch ChatGPT with your permission and get that information and give it back to you.

So it's probably about time it got updated. Um, it's been around for a long time, so hopefully it'll be it'll be up and running. But again, this integration of AI across the Apple operating system and applications is one of the things that's not going to be available to spring our time. And right at the end of the keynote, they did say they will be able to integrate it with ChatGPT. So if you want to get a menu or a story idea, you can ask Siri and then Siri will go, well, I don't know about that. I'll then go and launch ChatGPT with your permission and get that information and give it back to you.

12:07S1

And this Apple intelligence stuff will roll out progressively over the year, won't it? We won't be hit with everything at the start.

And this Apple intelligence stuff will roll out progressively over the year, won't it? We won't be hit with everything at the start.

12:14S2

No, they didn't mention exactly when stuff will be coming out, but they did say welcome to the new age of AI. I have a fun time with us on this journey, at least over the next 12 months or so.

No, they didn't mention exactly when stuff will be coming out, but they did say welcome to the new age of AI. I have a fun time with us on this journey, at least over the next 12 months or so.

12:25S1

What phones will you be able to get it all on?

What phones will you be able to get it all on?

12:27S2

As far as the AI is concerned, um, it has to be the A17 chip and above. So that's the iPhone 15 and above or anything else with an a Apple silicon chip in it. So that's the M1, the M2, the M3 and M4. Um, so if you've got those types of devices, you'll be fine. Uh, but unfortunately, if you have an iPhone 14 Pro, you won't be able to use the AI stuff.

As far as the AI is concerned, um, it has to be the A17 chip and above. So that's the iPhone 15 and above or anything else with an a Apple silicon chip in it. So that's the M1, the M2, the M3 and M4. Um, so if you've got those types of devices, you'll be fine. Uh, but unfortunately, if you have an iPhone 14 Pro, you won't be able to use the AI stuff.

12:51S1

One more thing I'd like to ask you about Apple AirPods.

One more thing I'd like to ask you about Apple AirPods.

12:54S2

Yeah, this was actually really, really cute. And I'm assuming it's going to be the AirPods Pro second edition, because what it was was if you have an incoming call, you can either nod to answer the call or shake your head to dismiss or hang up the call. And I just thought, now that's really, really cool because what they said, sometimes it's been embarrassing. If you have to try and fumble for your phone and get it out, or try and say to the person, you can't talk now, or you need to do now when you get a phone call is even. Like I said, nod to answer it or shake your head to actually dismiss it. Pretty, pretty cool.

Yeah, this was actually really, really cute. And I'm assuming it's going to be the AirPods Pro second edition, because what it was was if you have an incoming call, you can either nod to answer the call or shake your head to dismiss or hang up the call. And I just thought, now that's really, really cool because what they said, sometimes it's been embarrassing. If you have to try and fumble for your phone and get it out, or try and say to the person, you can't talk now, or you need to do now when you get a phone call is even. Like I said, nod to answer it or shake your head to actually dismiss it. Pretty, pretty cool.

13:27S1

So you'll be looking at this stuff over the next few months and telling us about it. As you progress.

So you'll be looking at this stuff over the next few months and telling us about it. As you progress.

13:33S2

I will, um, I do have a developers account, so as soon as I get an email from Apple saying the developer stuff is ready to get downloaded, I'll be jumping straight in.

I will, um, I do have a developers account, so as soon as I get an email from Apple saying the developer stuff is ready to get downloaded, I'll be jumping straight in.

13:43S1

There's other good material available for people to find out more about the event today, the Tech Doctor Podcast, and also the Living Blind, fully from Jonathan Mohsen.

There's other good material available for people to find out more about the event today, the Tech Doctor Podcast, and also the Living Blind, fully from Jonathan Mohsen.

13:52S2

And also if you want a good summary of it, uh, if you go to Apple.com, don't go to the Australian one. At the moment at least. Apple.com also has a really good rundown of all the major features across what they talked about in WWDC today.

And also if you want a good summary of it, uh, if you go to Apple.com, don't go to the Australian one. At the moment at least. Apple.com also has a really good rundown of all the major features across what they talked about in WWDC today.

14:06S1

So we'll be talking more about these new features in the Apple products over the coming weeks, and look forward to telling you about the new hardware when it gets announced in September. Indeed, before we go, a reminder of whether the details of what we've been talking about in this and previous editions of the program.

So we'll be talking more about these new features in the Apple products over the coming weeks, and look forward to telling you about the new hardware when it gets announced in September. Indeed, before we go, a reminder of whether the details of what we've been talking about in this and previous editions of the program.

14:23S2

As always, you can check out my blog site, which is David Wood Itbayat podbean podbean.

As always, you can check out my blog site, which is David Wood Itbayat podbean podbean.

14:28S1

Com David Wood budget podbean podbean. Com to write to the program, you can.

Com David Wood budget podbean podbean. Com to write to the program, you can.

14:36S2

Write to me at Vision Australia where I work, which is David Dot Woodbridge how it sounds at Vision australia.org.

Write to me at Vision Australia where I work, which is David Dot Woodbridge how it sounds at Vision australia.org.

14:43S1

David Woodbridge at Vision Australia. Org this has been talking tech with me has been Vision Australia's national advisor on access technology David Woodbridge I'm Stephen Jolly take care. We'll talk more tech next week. See you.