Couple of notable features announced during Keynote and Platform State of the Union

First day of WWDC23 was packed with announcements. Here is a list of announcements captured by media.

Optic ID

Apple Vision Pro will have its own biometric authentication based on iris. iOS and iPadOS apps running on headset which use Face ID or Touch ID for authentication will automatically switch to Optic ID for seamless experience.

Siri

Siri now drops "Hey" part of activation phrase. Moreover, you can now do follow-up requests to speed up interaction.

Vision Pro

Apple to provide developers with Development Kit later this year.

Headset will have support for prescription lenses, not all prescriptions will be supported though.

Safari

Safari gains extensive support for web apps in macOS 14 Sonoma. Safari also brings support for spatial computing with <model> tag providing easy way of displaying 3D content alongside with web page.

Health

Follow up notifications to take medications are added. Mental health and vision control features are also built in. Device will now notify users if they're holding device too close to their face.

Various enhancements

  • Autocorrect and predictive text were significantly improved in iOS/iPadOS 17.
  • iPadOS 17 adds support to external webcams, not just those which are embedded into display.
  • AirTags now could be shared between multiple users.
  • Used SMS verification codes could be automatically removed.
  • App Store Review Guidelines now target fake and "bad" apps.
  • Optimized charging comes to more Apple Watch models.
  • Developers without paid membership now could install developer betas.
  • Stickers in Messages now could be created from photos.
  • Video conferencing features with presenter overlay would be available to different applications.
  • iOS Photos will recognize pets.

Apple Newsroom: Apple previews new features coming to Apple services this fall

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Apple unveils a tool for businesses to control their presence in Maps, Messages and other places

Today Apple announced availability of Apple Business Connect.

With Business Connect, businesses around the world can now directly manage their information in the interactive Apple Maps place card, including adding and updating photos and logos; inviting customers to take actions like ordering food or making a reservation directly from Maps; and presenting customers with special promotions.

Apple Newsroom

New feature will allow also to provide more info and relevant actions which could be performed at specific place, allowing better mobile app or website promotions.

Showcases, a new feature in the place card, helps businesses present customers with offers and incentives, like seasonal menu items, product discounts, and more. Businesses can easily update the Showcase section of their place card through Business Connect. Showcases are available to businesses in the US beginning today, and will be available to businesses globally in coming months. 

Businesses can also provide customers with useful information by highlighting actions for them to take directly from the Maps place card, like ordering groceries via Instacart, making a hotel reservation through Booking.com, or reserving a spot for dinner with OpenTable, and more, with just a tap.

Apple Newsroom

Apple Business Connect

Apple Newsroom: Introducing Apple Business Connect

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Beta 4 for iOS 16 and other platforms is out, Live Activities are in

Apple releases beta 4 for iOS/iPadOS 16, macOS 13 Ventura, watchOS 9 and tvOS 16. Most notable addition is support for Live Activities.

Live Activities and ActivityKit won't be included in the initial publicly released version of iOS 16, but will be publicly available in an update later this year. Once they're publicly available, you can submit your apps with Live Activities to the App Store.

Apple Developer

There are also updates on edit and unsend functionality in Messages:

  • Unsend is available only for two minutes after messages was sent;
  • Edited messages now show the log of edits.

Beta download: Operating Systems

Apple Developer:

Release notes:

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