Have you spotted this comet that’s been making headlines this month? If you’re in the northern hemisphere and want to catch the photogenic comet in the night sky before it disappears, read on as we explain the best way to hunt down NEOWISE with your iPhone.
NASA describes the comet as a “fuzzy star with a bit of a tail” so you have an idea of what to chase.
For those hoping to catch a glimpse of Comet NEOWISE before it’s gone, there are several observing opportunities over the coming days when it will become increasingly visible shortly after sunset in the northwest sky. If you’re looking at the sky without the help of observation tools, Comet NEOWISE will likely look like a fuzzy star with a bit of a tail, so using binoculars or a small telescope is recommended to get the best views of this object.
Have an iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro? You may also try your luck at capturing the comet using Night Mode on iPhone 11. Just hold your phone firmly or use a tripod for best results, and don’t expect professional results like those produced by multiple images stacked from astronomical photographers. An iPhone shot still makes for a neat souvenir, of course!
What’s NEOWISE?
Comets are icy bodies from deep in the Solar System that create a trail called a coma when they near the Sun. This is caused when the comet warms and gasses are released in what’s called an outgassing phase.
Comet C/2020 F3 was discovered on March 27 through infrared images from the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer telescope, thus its common name NEOWISE.
The NEOWISE project was founded by NASA’s Planetary Science Division to measure and catalog asteroids and comets. Over 980,000 infrared measurements of 37,009 solar system objects have been made so far — and now the C/2020 F3 comet is one of them.
Observers in the Northern Hemisphere have been able to see the NEOWISE comet with the naked eye this month, and you still have a chance to see it if you can find a clear night sky.
With the help of neowise.whatsupin.space, an online resource developed by Tony Rice, you can enter your city or ZIP code to find the right range of hours when the the NEOWISE comet will be visible in the sky. The tool shows upcoming days and the estimated local times when the C/2020 F3 comet can best be seen.
Comet NEOWISE is seen, upper left, before sunrise over Washington, Sunday, July 12, 2020. Source: NASA
iPhone apps
There are also fantastic iPhone apps that can guide you to find the comet using location and augmented reality to show you where to look. These apps have topped the free and paid App Store charts because of NEOWISE.
Other high-ranking apps climbing the charts because of the the C/2020 F3 comet include Stellarium PLUS (#13) for viewing a realistic night sky and NightCap Camera (#14) for night photography on the iPhone.
Weather apps including Dark Sky (recently acquired by Apple) are also useful for determining weather conditions before heading out to a viewing site with a clear view of the sky.
Source: NASA
Viewing tips
NASA has also shared recommendations for those who want to see the Comet NEOWISE before disappears for 6,800 years. This includes finding a location away from lights and looking to the northwest sky:
Find a spot away from city lights with an unobstructed view of the sky
Just after sunset, look below the Big Dipper in the northwest sky
If you have them, bring binoculars or a small telescope to get the best views of this dazzling display
New tools for educators help students from grade school to college learn how to code from anywhere.
Apple today announced a new set of tools to help educators teach coding to students from grade school to college. In addition to significant enhancements to the Develop in Swift and Everyone Can Code curricula, Apple is also starting a new professional learning course for Develop in Swift, available to educators at no cost. The course is designed to supplement the need for computer science educators in the US, and helps instructors of all skill levels build foundational knowledge to teach app development with Swift. In addition, with many institutions operating remotely, Apple is adding resources for educators and parents to help ensure they have the tools they need to help students learn and grow from anywhere.
“Apple has worked alongside educators for 40 years, and we’re especially proud to see how Develop in Swift and Everyone Can Code have been instrumental in helping teachers and students make an impact in their communities,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Markets, Apps, and Services. “We’ve seen community college students build food security apps for their campus and watched middle school educators host virtual coding clubs over summer break. As part of our commitment to help expand access to computer science education, we are thrilled to be adding a new professional learning course to help more educators, regardless of their experience, have the opportunity to learn coding and teach the next generation of developers and designers.”
The all-new “Develop in Swift Explorations” student guide is available today in Apple Books.
Apple is enhancing its Develop in Swift and Everyone Can Code coding curricula. Develop in Swift is geared toward high school and higher education students, and teaches both Swift, a powerful and intuitive open-source programming language designed by Apple, and Xcode on Mac to new and experienced coders. Everyone Can Code introduces coding to students in grades 4 through 8, and uses puzzles and games to help teach the building blocks of Swift through the Swift Playgrounds app.
“The new Develop in Swift curriculum helps our students develop the technical and soft skills employers are looking for,” said Bill Skrzypczak, who teaches a two-year associate degree program in mobile app design and development at McHenry County College in Illinois. “I’m proud that 100 percent of our graduates have gained employment with an average salary of $70,000 to $100,000, including both our returning adult and traditional students.”
The Develop in Swift curriculum is now completely redesigned to meet student learning styles, based on educator input continuously sourced by Apple. The new series includes four books: “Develop in Swift Explorations,” “Develop in Swift AP CS Principles,” and “Develop in Swift Fundamentals,” which are all live today, and “Develop in Swift Data Collections,” which will be available this fall. The curriculum is available free in Apple Books.
Xcode on Mac is the center of the Apple development experience, and Swift is Apple’s powerful, intuitive open programming language that lets everyone build amazing apps.
Apple is also releasing the next set of books in its Everyone Can Code curriculum today. “Everyone Can Code Adventures” is designed for students who have already completed “Everyone Can Code Puzzles” and offers more advanced opportunities to build with Swift code. Students will learn about important programming concepts used in app development as they work through more challenging lessons in Swift Playgrounds.
“Coding gives my middle school students the opportunity to build computational thinking skills and allows them to develop creative solutions for issues they care about most,” said Jessica Bibbs-Fox, who teaches eighth grade science and math at Kelly Elementary School in the Compton Unified School District in California. “Many of them are working through trauma in their communities, and these skills are essential in helping them grow into effective problem solvers both in and out of school.”
Bibbs-Fox has been using the Everyone Can Code curriculum with her students for three years, and has learned to code alongside them, with real-world results. She thinks the new Adventures series will allow schools to plan coding programs that span multiple grade levels.
“The Adventures content is built to help students understand the more advanced coding concepts,” Bibbs-Fox said. “Students can go further in Swift Playgrounds to build more experience with Swift coding, which will really help in their transition to Xcode and the Develop in Swift curriculum.”
The new “Everyone Can Code Adventures” teacher guide is available today in Apple Books.
The “Everyone Can Code Adventures” student and teacher guides are now available for free in Apple Books.
The Computer Science Teachers Association notes that fewer than 50 percent of all American high schools offer computer science classes and many college students aren’t able to get into the computer science courses needed to graduate, partly due to an ongoing shortage of educators available to instruct them. In an effort to help, Apple will begin offering a new, free online professional learning course for educators. Taught by Apple experts, the course will help instructors with all levels of ability acquire the skills they need to teach Swift and Xcode, making this an ideal introductory course for teaching the Develop in Swift curriculum. Interested educators can sign up today to participate in the course, which will be available July 13 through the Canvas Learning Management System.
To support parents with kids learning to code at home, Apple is adding a new guide to its set of remote learning resources. “A Quick Start to Code” is now available and features 10 coding challenges designed for learners ages 10 and up, on iPad or Mac. Additional resources are available on Apple’s new Learning from Home website, launched this spring, where educators and parents can access on-demand videos and virtual conferences on remote learning, and schedule free one-on-one virtual coaching sessions, all hosted by educators at Apple. New videos are being added all the time as part of the Apple Education Learning Series — including videos about using Apple’s industry-leading accessibility features.
In 2016, Apple launched Everyone Can Code, a comprehensive program and curriculum to help students of all abilities, from kindergarten to college, learn coding to solve problems and prepare them for the workforce. Develop in Swift was released in 2019, and today more than 9,000 K-12 and higher education institutions worldwide are using the Everyone Can Code and Develop in Swift curricula from Apple.
Apple News+ audio stories, a new daily audio briefing, and curated local news collections are all available now in Apple News.
Apple is introducing several new features for Apple News and Apple News+, including audio stories of some of the best feature stories from Apple News+, a daily audio news briefing hosted by Apple News editors, and curated local news collections beginning in five cities and regions and expanding to more areas in the future. Apple News is also adding more top local and regional news outlets for readers and subscribers, including The Charlotte Observer, the Miami Herald, and The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina).
“Apple News showcases so much great journalism, and we’re excited to help bring it to life in new ways with Apple News+ audio stories and a new daily news show, Apple News Today,” said Lauren Kern, editor-in-chief of Apple News. “We also greatly value our many local news partners — our new local news feature highlights their work for readers who live, and are interested, in those communities.”
Apple News+ Audio Stories
Beginning today, Apple News will produce about 20 audio stories a week across a wide range of interests. Narrated by professional voice actors, these are audio versions of some of the best feature reporting and long-form pieces published by Esquire, Essence, Fast Company, GQ, New York magazine, Sports Illustrated, TIME, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Wired, and more, and newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal. Audio stories are now available to Apple News+ subscribers in the US.
Apple News+ audio stories are audio versions of some of the best feature reporting from a variety of publications.
Apple News Today
With Apple News Today, a daily audio news briefing, Apple News editors and co-hosts Shumita Basu and Duarte Geraldino guide listeners through some of the most fascinating stories in the news — and how the world’s best journalists are covering them. Apple News Today is free to all listeners and available mornings Monday through Friday directly in the News app in the US and on Apple Podcasts.
Audio stories and Apple News Today can both be found in the newly added Audio tab, located at the bottom of the News app, where users can manage their queue and get personalized recommendations. Both new audio features are available on iPhone, iPod touch, and CarPlay.
Apple News Today is hosted by Apple News editors Shumita Basu and Duarte Geraldino.
Apple also introduced support for the News app in CarPlay, so users can listen to audio stories and Apple News Today while driving. Users will be able to sync listening progress across devices: Start listening to an audio story with CarPlay from your iPhone and pick up listening to or reading it later at home.
CarPlay now supports the News app, so users can listen to audio stories and Apple News Today while driving.
Curated Local News
Apple News introduced a new curated local news experience currently available in the Bay Area, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, featuring a variety of content from a diverse collection of local publishers, including a major newspaper in each city and region. Local news collections in Apple News include coverage of topics most important to local communities, such as sports, dining and restaurants, weather, news and politics, and more, with curation by local Apple News editors as well as personalization for each user.
The new curated local news experience in Apple News is currently available in the Bay Area, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.
Even More Local News
Apple News recently added even more top local and regional newspapers to the Apple News+ catalog: A subscription to Apple News+ in the US now includes access to The Charlotte Observer, the Idaho Statesman, The Kansas City Star, the Miami Herald, The News & Observer, and The State (Columbia, South Carolina). In Canada, leading French-language newspaper Le Devoir is now available to Apple News+ subscribers, and The Globe and Mail, one of the country’s most prestigious national newspapers, will be available to subscribers later this summer.
Apple News draws over 125 million monthly active users in the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada, and has revolutionized how people access news from all their favorite sources. Apple News+ is a single subscription that provides access to written and audio content from hundreds of the world’s top magazines and major newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal, as well as many local and regional newspapers including the Houston Chronicle and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Pricing and Availability
Apple News is available for free in the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada on iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices. To access the new audio features, users must update to iOS 13.6. To access the new local news features, users must update to iOS 13.6, iPadOS 13.6, and macOS 10.15.6.
Apple News+ is available in the US for $9.99 a month, Canada for $12.99 CAD a month, the UK for £9.99 a month, and Australia for $14.99 AUD a month. Customers can sign up for a free one-month trial, and the plan automatically renews after the trial ends. To subscribe to Apple News+, customers must update to iOS 12.2 or later and macOS 10.14.4 or later. Through Family Sharing, up to six family members can share one Apple News+ subscription.
Winners are recognized for outstanding app design, innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement
The Apple Design Award trophy, created by the Apple Design team, is a symbol of achievement and excellence.
Apple today named eight app and game developers receiving an Apple Design Award, each one selected for being thoughtful and creative. Apple Design Award winners bring distinctive new ideas to life and demonstrate deep masteryof Apple technology. The apps spring up from developers large and small, in every part of the world, and provide users with new ways of working, creating, and playing.
“Every year, app and game developers demonstrate exceptional craftsmanship and we’re honoring the best of the best,” said Ron Okamoto, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “Receiving an Apple Design Award is a special and laudable accomplishment. Past honorees have made some of the most noteworthy apps and games of all time. Through their vision, determination, and exacting standards, the winning developers inspire not only their peers in the Apple developer community, but all of us at Apple, too.”
Apple Design Award Winners: Apps
Darkroom, from Bergen Co., is a powerful photo and video editor whose interface is as beautiful as it is easy to use. It delivers great performance with super-intuitive controls and a layout that both casual and pro photographers can truly appreciate. With Apple technologies including photo and camera APIs, Home Screen quick actions, contextual menus, and haptics, Darkroom is a shining example of a high-end mobile editing tool.
Darkroom, from Bergen Co., based in Los Angeles.
Looom, developed by iorama.studio, is an animation playground that takes inspiration from music creation tools. Looping hand-drawn stop-motion animation in this playfully creative interface is designed for pros and consumers alike. The app’s deep functionality and intuitive interface are complemented by novel custom controls. Made for iPadOS, Looom uses Apple technologies including Apple Pencil and Dark Mode to their fullest.
Looom, developed by iorama.studio, with locations in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Stockholm.
Shapr3D, from Shapr3D Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, is a powerful CAD app for iPad that has the potential to drastically transform the architectural and technical drawing workflow. There’s no need for a desk, so inspiration can hit anytime, anywhere. Using only an iPad and Apple Pencil, technical designers have access to a robust modeling toolset to easily create complex 3D models. Designed exclusively for iPad, Shapr3D takes advantage of ARKit and drag and drop. Later this year, the app will use the LiDAR Scanner to automatically generate an accurate 2D floor plan and 3D model of a room, which can be used as the basis to design remodels or room additions. The new design can then be previewed in real-world scale using AR right in the room scanned.
Shapr3D, from Shapr3D Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, based in Budapest, Hungary.
StaffPad, from StaffPad Ltd., brilliantly converts handwritten musical notations into digital sheet music. Designed for composers who want an easy solution for writing and composing music digitally, the app uses Apple technologies such as Apple Pencil, drag and drop, and Core ML to transform each bar into beautifully typeset music notation that can be edited using intuitive touch or Apple Pencil tools.
StaffPad, from StaffPad Ltd., based in London.
Apple Design Award Winners: Games
“Sayonara Wild Hearts,” from developer Simogo and publisher Annapurna Interactive, has been lauded for outstanding design since its launch. A pop album video game that is hopeful, gorgeous, and unique, “Sayonara Wild Hearts” gets players’ adrenaline pumping and makes their spirit soar. The game delivers vibrant and surreal landscapes, mesmerizing visuals and motion, and thrilling and kinetic gameplay. It makes extensive use of Apple technologies including Metal, Game Center, spatial audio, and game controllers.
“Sayonara Wild Hearts,” from developer Simogo, based in Malmö, Sweden, and publisher Annapurna Interactive, based in Los Angeles.
“Sky: Children of the Light,” from thatgamecompany, has players flying across sweeping landscapes in a magical kingdom to help celestial beings find their way back to the heavens. With its clever multiplayer integration and adventurous graphical showcase, “Sky: Children of the Light” is a groundbreaking social quest. The team used Apple technologies including a custom Metal engine, haptics, Game Center, and spatial audio.
“Sky: Children of the Light,” from thatgamecompany, based in Los Angeles.
“Song of Bloom,” from indie developer Philipp Stollenmayer, is a unique game with a nonlinear tale packed with clever puzzles. Players explore a story told in rapidly changing art styles as they progress though the game. “Song of Bloom” delivers an innovative, handcrafted gameplay experience with great design.
“Song of Bloom,” from indie developer Philipp Stollenmayer, based in Riedstadt, Germany.
“Where Cards Fall,” from developer The Game Band and publisher Snowman, is a slice-of-life adventure game in which players build houses of cards to bring formative memories to life. The game takes advantage of Apple technologies, including Metal, haptics, Game Center, and iCloud, to bring to life its dreamlike spatial puzzles, immersive audio, and unique miniature-art style.
“Where Cards Fall,” from developer The Game Band, based in Los Angeles, and publisher Snowman, based in Toronto.
More than 250 developers have been recognized with Apple Design Awards over the past 20 years. The recognition has proven to be an accelerant for developers who are pioneering innovative designs within their individual apps and influencing entire categories. Previous winners such as Pixelmator, djay, Complete Anatomy, HomeCourt, “Florence,” and “Crossy Road” have set the standard in areas such as storytelling, interface design, and use of Apple tools and technologies.
A daily roundup of developer sessions, demos, and more from WWDC20
On Monday, Apple kicked off its all-online Worldwide Developers Conference in Cupertino, California, with millions of developers joining from around the world. Tuesday, we dropped 46 engineering-led sessions that covered topics from exploring WidgetKit to designing more dynamic, responsive interfaces on iPad, as well as integrating more accessibility elements into apps.
Developers are diving deep into the newest capabilities coming to macOS Big Sur, iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14, and engaging with more than 1,000 Apple engineers via the all-new Developer Forums and one-on-one Developer Labs.
This week, we’re showcasing the biggest moments from WWDC20, including highlights from developer sessions, the most talked-about demos, the newest design features and capabilities across Apple platforms, and conversations with Apple executives. Check back here daily for what to Watch, Listen, Learn, and Play. And for a complete rundown of the Developer Forums, Labs, and 100+ engineering sessions, visit the the Apple Developer app.
Listen: WWDC20 Playlist Collection
Discover the power of music in Apple’s developer community with this in-depth look at how music has inspired WWDC20 artists, developers, and Swift Student Challenge winners. Read the Apple Music feature in the Apple Developer app, and check out one of the specially curated WWDC20.
Learn: Build Trust Through Better Privacy
Developers learn about Apple’s privacy pillars and its approach to privacy. In this session, they discover how to adopt the latest privacy features across Apple platforms that can help create more personal experiences while giving users greater transparency about tracking and permissions, when their app is using the microphone or camera to record, control over location with approximate location, and much more. Visit developer.apple.com to learn more about the latest privacy features coming to all Apple platforms.
Users can now choose to share their approximate location with app developers, rather than their precise location when granting an app location access in iOS 14.
Learn: WWDC20 Coding and Design Starter Kit
Developers of all ages try their hand at building an app in SwiftUI from scratch, creating widgets for the new Home Screen on iPhone, and solving coding problems with accessibility and music in mind. Sessions will be held all week. For more information on the WWDC20 Coding and Design Starter Kit collection, visit developer.apple.com.
Jordyn Castor shares the latest accessibility features in SwiftUI, including VoiceOver.
Play: Detect Body and Hand Pose with Vision
Developers take the new Vision framework, which enables apps to detect body and hand poses in photos and video, for a test drive at Apple Park. To see the session, visit developer.apple.com.
New APIs in the Vision app enable body and hand pose detection.
Here’s how developers reacted to the beautifully redesigned macOS Big Sur and new features coming to iPhone with iOS 14.
Highlights of Monday’s biggest news across iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS Big Sur, watchOS 7 and tvOS 14 from WWDC20.
Craig Federighi kicks off WWDC20 with a preview of the beautiful redesigns to the Home Screen in iOS 14.
Watch: Platforms State of the Union
Join Apple’s engineering leaders as they unveil the latest innovations and design features of macOS Big Sur, iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14 during the Platforms State of the Union. For more information, visit developer.apple.com.
Andreas Wendker unpacks the newest developer tools announced at WWDC20 during the Platforms State of the Union.
Learn: Tim Cook Surprises Swift Student Challenge Winners
During the Swift Student Challenge winner meetup, Tim Cook and Esther Hare dropped by for a 15-minute Q&A session. To learn more about some of the WWDC20 Swift Student Challenge winners, visit apple.com/newsroom.
Tim Cook and Esther Hare said a digital hello to WWDC20 Swift Student Challenge winners from nine countries around the world.
Here’s how developers reacted to the groundbreaking features in iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS Big Sur, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14.
Palash Taneja, Devin Green, and Sofia Ongele are all WWDC20 Swift Student Challenge winners.
When the Apple 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off on June 22 in a new virtual format, a global community of 23 million developers will have the opportunity to join from around the world for free through the Apple Developer app and the Apple Developer website. Now in its 31st year, WWDC20 will bring together the largest group of innovators and entrepreneurs ever assembled to connect, share, and create.
Among them will be 350 Swift Student Challenge winners from 41 different countries and regions. The students were chosen based on their original Swift playground submission, part of Apple’s annual WWDC student challenge, which recognizes and celebrates the next generation of coders and creators.
They include Sofia Ongele, Palash Taneja, and Devin Green. These teens share a life goal best summed up by Ongele: “Make some tech and do a whole lot of good along the way.” All three view challenges in the world as opportunities to effect change. Every problem is a call to action — and they are answering, loud and clear.
Sofia Ongele hopes to one day be a judge or run for political office.
For Sofia Ongele, 19, who just finished her sophomore year at New York’s Fordham University, her focus for change lies at the intersection of tech and social justice. ReDawn, her first iOS app, is a powerful example. After one of her college friends was sexually assaulted during her freshman year, Ongele created ReDawn to help survivors access resources in a safe, easy, and sensitive way.
“I wanted to make something that makes this process less isolating,” says Ongele, who has been approached by organizations that want to partner with her on the app. But the most important feedback she has received came from the friend who was assaulted. “She thinks it has the potential to impact people, and that’s what matters most to me.”
Ongele was introduced to coding in 2016 when she attended a Kode With Klossy boot camp, a free coding course for girls ages 13 to 18. Ongele says that learning to code transformed her world.
“There was a 180-degree paradigm shift within my brain — I was like, this is what I want to do,” says Ongele, who went on to teach with the program. “I’m so passionate about passing on that knowledge to more women, and women of color, so that they wouldn’t feel that this is a field that’s too out of reach for them to pursue.”
Ongele counts Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as heroes, and is trying to decide between law school or politics — or both. Regardless of the path she chooses, she knows that her coding skills will be part of the journey: “At the end of the day, I just want to be able to use tech for social good.”
Sofia Ongele’s app ReDawn helps sexual assault survivors access resources.
Palash Taneja, 19, grew up in New Delhi, India. Four years ago, he contracted a severe case of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne virus that left him hospitalized.
“That whole experience of two to three months of suffering — I think that really inspired me to learn programming and to use it as a problem-solving tool,” says Taneja, who just finished his freshman year at the University of Texas at Austin.
Palash Taneja drew on his own experience with illness to help others.
He went on to create a web-based tool that uses machine learning to predict how mosquito-borne diseases like dengue fever would spread. And for his Swift Student Challenge submission this year, created against the backdrop of COVID-19, Taneja designed a Swift playground that teaches coding while simulating how a pandemic moves through a population, showing how precautions such as social distancing and masks can help slow infection rates. He created it to help educate young people, after he saw others not taking warnings seriously.
Taneja is also passionate about education. In India, while still a teenager himself, he volunteered teaching English and math at a school for students whose families couldn’t afford to pay tuition. Before he left for college in the US, he created a program that translates popular online education videos into roughly 40 languages, so that children who don’t have physical access to quality education can learn on the web.
“I really enjoy working with children, and I think education is one of the things that can create the biggest impact in someone’s life,” says Taneja, “especially someone in a developing country.”
Devin Green loves solving problems with technology and looks to his surroundings for inspiration. While finishing his senior year of high school at home due to COVID-19, he used his bedroom in Castro Valley, California, as a laboratory.
Devin Green’s apps and inventions are inspired by the world around him.
The 18-year-old, who will start his freshman year at Stanford in the fall, was having trouble waking up in the mornings, so he designed a program using a pressure mat under his bed. If weight is still on the mat after he’s supposed to be up, an alarm goes off and won’t stop until he uses his phone to scan a QR code.
“There are 12 different QR codes around my house, and it’s randomized every morning,” says Green. “So I never know exactly where I have to go to shut the alarm off.”
This same spirit of innovation permeates everything that Green creates. His winning Swift Student Challenge playground features an artificial-intelligence robot named Stanny that can recognize and respond to 63 different comments and questions.
Green also has two apps on the App Store, the first of which he built when he was 13. The second, called Slight Work, is a homework app that uses the Pomodoro Technique to maximize work time with structured breaks. He and his high-school classmates used it throughout their senior year, as did friends in college.
When Green thinks about the future, he hopes to use his problem-solving skills to effect change on a much larger scale.
“Social justice and politics are areas I really want to contribute to,” says Green. “Giving people access to the materials they need to stay educated about current social matters or access to voter registration or basic citizenship rights — solving those problems is really important to me.”
Devin Green’s app Slight Work helps students manage their time using a special formula.
Apple is proud to support and nurture the next generation of developers through its annual WWDC student program — and it’s just one of the many ways that WWDC20 is recognizing and celebrating coders and innovators of all ages and backgrounds. For the first time ever, there will be a special collection of curated sessions perfect for budding coders and designers, and daily Swift Playgrounds challenges that anyone can participate in and enjoy.
After releasing the golden master to developers earlier this week, Apple is releasing iOS 13.5 to the general public today. The update brings quite a few changes and new features prompted by COVID-19, including the Exposure Notification API, Face ID enhancements, and much more.
Apple and Google have been developing the Exposure Notification API with close guidance from public health officials. When a user enables the feature and has an app from a public health authority installed, the device will regularly send out a beacon via Bluetooth that includes a random Bluetooth identifier. From there, the Exposure Notification API will download a list of the keys for the beacons that have been verified as belonging to people confirmed as positive for COVID-19 and check against that list. If there is a match, the user may be notified and advised on next steps.
Apple and Google say that as of today, a handful of U.S. states and 22 countries across five continents have requested and received access to the Exposure Notification API. The two companies say they have consulted with and briefed a number of different public health teams, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC Foundation, the Association of Public Health Laboratories, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, and the Public Health Informatics Institute of the Taskforce for Global Health.
The release of iOS 13.5 today means that public health agencies around the world can begin deploying their applications that take advantage of Apple and Google Exposure Notification API.
Key changes made to the Exposure Notification API based on feedback from public health agencies include:
Public health agencies can define what constitutes an exposure event
Public health agencies can determine the number of exposure events a person has had
Transmission risk of positive cases can be factored into the definition of an exposure event
Public health agencies can contact exposed users based on a combination fo the API and data that users voluntarily choose to input into the app
Apple and Google also say that they have made further privacy enhancements to the Exposure Notification API:
Temporary Exposure Keys are now generated randomly instead of being derived from a tracing key
All metadata associated with Bluetooth is now encrypted to make it more difficult to identify a person
Apple and Google elaborated on the need for this Exposure Notification API in helping slow the spread of COVID-19. The goal, the companies say, is to offer rapid notifications to exposed users. Again, Apple and Google both emphasize that what they’ve built is not an app, but rather an API that public health agencies can incorporate into their own apps.
One of the most effective techniques that public health officials have used during outbreaks is called contact tracing. Through this approach, public health officials contact, test, treat and advise people who may have been exposed to an affected person. One new element of contact tracing is Exposure Notifications: using privacy-preserving digital technology to tell someone they may have been exposed to the virus. Exposure Notification has the specific goal of rapid notification, which is especially important to slowing the spread of the disease with a virus that can be spread asymptomatically.
To help, Apple and Google cooperated to build Exposure Notifications technology that will enable apps created by public health agencies to work more accurately, reliably and effectively across both Android phones and iPhones. Over the last several weeks, our two companies have worked together, reaching out to public health officials scientists, privacy groups and government leaders all over the world to get their input and guidance.
Starting today, our Exposure Notifications technology is available to public health agencies on both iOS and Android. What we’ve built is not an app — rather public health agencies will incorporate the API into their own apps that people install. Our technology is designed to make these apps work better. Each user gets to decide whether or not to opt-in to Exposure Notifications; the system does not collect or use location from the device; and if a person is diagnosed with COVID-19, it is up to them whether or not to report that in the public health app. User adoption is key to success and we believe that these strong privacy protections are also the best way to encourage use of these apps.
Today, this technology is in the hands of public health agencies across the world who will take the lead and we will continue to support their efforts.
Among the first states to commit to adopting the Apple and Google Exposure Notification API are North Dakota, South Carolina, and Alabama. Leslie A. Lenert MD, Assistant Provost for Data Science and Informatics and Chief Research Information Officer, Medical University of South Carolina, said:
“The Department of Health and Environment Concerns (DHEC) and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) are building the SC-Safer-Together COVID-19 risk management app, which is designed to let people know anonymously that they may have been exposed to the virus and giving them the option to connect with public health officials. Built to tough medical privacy protection standards by health care providers, the SC Safer Together app, using the Apple-Google system, protects users’ privacy and will help South Carolina safely get back to work. MUSC is also proud to be working with Clemson University and the University of California San Diego on smart and private extensions that will further enhance the app’s capabilities.”
Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama State Health Officer, said the state is working to accelerate the development of an exposure notification system:
“The State of Alabama’s priority as we fight the COVID-19 pandemic together is the health and safety of its citizens as well as their privacy. In partnership with Apple and Google, the Alabama Department of Public Health, University of Alabama System, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, we are harnessing technology to accelerate exposure notification to slow the spread of COVID-19 so that we can all be safe together.”
The CDC:
This technology may help identify people that could have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2. Public health partners are exploring how this may be used to support COVID-19 pandemic response efforts.
And finally, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum:
“North Dakota is excited to be among the first states in the nation to utilize the exposure notification technology built by Apple and Google to help keep our citizens safe. The CARE19 Exposure app will help us improve contact tracing and continue our ND Smart Restart by notifying people who may have been exposed to COVID-19, reaching the greatest number of people in a way that protects their privacy. As we respond to this unprecedented public health emergency, we invite other states to join us in leveraging smartphone technologies to strengthen existing contact tracing efforts, which are critical to getting communities and economies back up and running.”
Apple and Google are continuing to publish resources for privacy-preserving contact tracing. You can find the details, with revision history, here. The sample code is available on Apple’s developer website.
In addition to the first version of the Exposure Notification API, iOS 13.5 also includes a few other changes. With the update, your iPhone or iPad will now skip Face ID authentication and skip directly to the passcode screen if it detects you are wearing a mask. You can also now disable the automatic face zooming feature in a Group FaceTime call.
iOS 13.5 beta makes it easier to skip Face ID if you’re wearing a mask
Apple releases iOS 13.5 beta with first version of its COVID-19 exposure notification API
Busy Group FaceTime call? iOS 13.5 lets you turn off automatic face zooming
In the release notes, Apple says the update also makes bug fixes for streaming video, the Mail app on iPad, and the share sheet. Here are the full release notes for the update:
iOS 13.5 release notes:
iOS 13.5 speeds up access to the passcode field on devices with Face ID when you are wearing a face mask and introduces the Exposure Notification API to support COVID-19 contact tracing apps from public health authorities. This update also introduces an option to control automatic prominence of video tiles on Group FaceTime calls and includes bug fixes and other improvements.
Face ID and Passcode
Simplified unlock process for devices with Face ID when you are wearing a face mask
Passcode field automatically presented after swiping up from the bottom of the Lock screen when you are wearing a face mask
Also works when authenticating with the App Store, Apple Books, Apple Pay, iTunes, and other apps that support signing in with Face ID
Exposure Notification
Exposure Notification API to support COVID-19 contact tracing apps from public health authorities
FaceTime
Option to control automatic prominence on Group FaceTime calls so video tiles do not change size when a participant speaks
Emergency Services
Option to automatically share health and other essential information from your Medical ID with emergency services when you place an emergency call (US only)
This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements.
Fixes an issue where users may see a black screen when trying to play streaming video from some websites
Addresses an issue in the share sheet where suggestions and actions may not load
You can update to iOS 13.5 and iPadOS 13.5 on your iPhone or iPad by heading to the Settings app, then choose General, then Software Update. The update should start rolling out very soon if you don’t yet see it on your device.
Submissions for the Swift Student Challenge Are Now Open Through May 17
Apple has announced that its first-ever virtual WWDC will start on June 22 this year and that it will be free for all developers through its Developer app and Developer website. There’s also a new event this year, a Swift Student Challenge for young developers 13 and older.
We learned back in March that Apple would still hold WWDC this June but as a virtual event. However, it didn’t share an actual date.
Today Apple unveiled the June 22 start date for the online WWDC in a Newsroom post and gave a few more details on this year’s developer conference that’s being impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Going virtual this year means it’s the first time that the event is free for all developers. Traditionally, it’s a paid event for most attendees after submitting for tickets through a lottery system.
Showcase your love of coding by creating an incredible Swift playground on the topic of your choice. Winners will receive an exclusive WWDC20 jacket and pin set. This challenge is open to students around the world.
SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi highlighted the importance of students at WWDC:
“Students are an integral part of the Apple developer community, and last year WWDC saw attendance from more than 350 student developers spanning 37 different countries,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “As we look forward to WWDC20, although our gathering will be virtual this year, we want to recognize and celebrate the creative contributions of our young developers from around the world. We can’t wait to see this next generation of innovative thinkers turn their ideas into a reality through the Swift Student Challenge.”
Apple’s SVP Phil Schiller shared positivity around the opportunity to take WWDC online:
“WWDC20 will be our biggest yet, bringing together our global developer community of more than 23 million in an unprecedented way for a week in June to learn about the future of Apple platforms,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We can’t wait to meet online in June with the global developer community and share with them all of the new tools we’ve been working on to help them create even more incredible apps and services. We look forward to sharing more details about WWDC20 with everyone as we get closer to this exciting event.”
Apple didn’t share specifics about how exactly the virtual WWDC will work beyond accessing it through its Developer app and website. Fortunately, the company still has a month and a half to figure out the logistics of converting everything to a digital format while preserving key elements of the WWDC experience.
Cupertino, California — Apple today announced it will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference virtually, beginning June 22, in the Apple Developer app and on the Apple Developer website for free for all developers. The company also announced the Swift Student Challenge, an opportunity for student developers to showcase their love of coding by creating their own Swift playground. Now in its 31st year, WWDC20 will be an opportunity for millions of creative and innovative developers around the world to get early access to the future of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS, and to learn from Apple engineers as they work to build app experiences that enrich the lives of Apple customers around the globe.
“WWDC20 will be our biggest yet, bringing together our global developer community of more than 23 million in an unprecedented way for a week in June to learn about the future of Apple platforms,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We can’t wait to meet online in June with the global developer community and share with them all of the new tools we’ve been working on to help them create even more incredible apps and services. We look forward to sharing more details about WWDC20 with everyone as we get closer to this exciting event.”
“Students are an integral part of the Apple developer community, and last year WWDC saw attendance from more than 350 student developers spanning 37 different countries,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “As we look forward to WWDC20, although our gathering will be virtual this year, we want to recognize and celebrate the creative contributions of our young developers from around the world. We can’t wait to see this next generation of innovative thinkers turn their ideas into a reality through the Swift Student Challenge.”
Swift Playgrounds is a revolutionary app for iPad and Mac that makes learning the Swift programming language interactive and fun. Now through 11:59 p.m. PDT on May 17, student developers from all over the world can submit to the Swift Student Challenge by creating an interactive scene in a Swift playground that can be experienced within three minutes. Winners will receive an exclusive WWDC20 jacket and pin set. For more information, visit developer.apple.com/wwdc20/swift-student-challenge.
Developers are encouraged to download the Apple Developer app where additional WWDC20 program information — including keynote and Platforms State of the Union details, session and lab schedules, and more — will be shared in June. Information will also be made available on the Apple Developer website and by email.
The App Store, now in 175 countries and regions, is the world’s safest and most vibrant app marketplace, with more than half a billion people visiting each week. It is the best place for users to discover new apps and allows developers of all sizes to distribute their apps to customers around the world. The App Store features many ways for developers to build their businesses, and since its launch in 2008, developers have been creating innovative apps that influence culture and change lives.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apple’s five software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Apple has launched its COVID-19 screening app and website that were designed in partnership with the CDC, FEMA, and the White House. The software makes it easy for anyone to get free information and guidance on whether you or a loved one should seek professional medical advice, self-isolate, try to take a test, and more. Read on for how to check coronavirus symptoms on iPhone and more with Apple’s screening app and website.
In typical Apple fashion, the app and website to check coronavirus symptoms were designed for a really user-friendly experience for anyone to quickly and easily get help with questions and advice about coronavirus/COVID-19 as well as concrete next steps via the app or web screening for those who may be ill.
Like it does with its products and services, Apple’s free app and website also respect user privacy by not collecting answers from the screening, and they don’t identify users.
On the landing page you’ll see sections for more info on COVID-19, “What You Can Do”, and “COVID-19 testing”
If you need to figure out next steps for yourself or someone else who is ill, choose the blue Start Screening button
Pick if you are taking the screening for yourself or someone else
Follow the prompts and answer all the questions to the best of your ability
At the end of the screening, you’ll get a recommendation on the next steps to take
Here’s how the process looks on iPhone:’
You can start by reading more about COVID-19, what you can do, or testing or if needed jump right into the screening process.
Apple made the app and website look almost identical, choose Start Screeningon the landing page of to begin the process for yourself or someone else (you can use the screening as many times as you want).
When you complete the screening, you’ll see one of a few different results including “You Should Practice Social Distancing,” “You Should Self-Isolate,” and “Contact Your Healthcare Provider.”
Look for the Next Stepssection below the result.
Once you’ve used the screening, you can view past results at any time by heading back to the app’s main screen. You can also start a new screening.
Apple releases new COVID-19 app and website based on CDC guidance Tools Offer Up-to-Date Guidance and Information for People Across the US
Apple today released a new screening tool and set of resources to help people stay informed and take the proper steps to protect their health during the spread of COVID-19, based on the latest CDC guidance. The new COVID-19 app,available on the App Store, and website were created in partnership with the CDC1, the Coronavirus Task Force and FEMA to make it easy for people across the country US to get trusted information and guidance at a time when the UShealthcare system is feeling the heavy burden of COVID-19.
The COVID-19 app and website allow users to answer a series of questions around risk factors, recent exposure and symptoms for themselves or a loved one. In turn, they will receive CDC recommendations on next steps, including guidanceon social distancing and self-isolating, how to closely monitor symptoms, whether or not a test is recommended at this time, and when to contact a medical provider. This new screening tool is designed to be a resource for individuals anddoes not replace instructions from healthcare providers or guidance from state and local health authorities.
The app and website also offer access to resources to help people stay informed and get the support they need. Users will receive answers to frequently asked questions about COVID-19, including who is most at risk and how to recognizesymptoms. In addition, they will learn the most up-to-date information from the CDC like best practices for washing hands, disinfecting surfaces and monitoring symptoms.
Along with the new COVID-19 app and website, customers across the US may also ask Siri, “How do I know if I have coronavirus?” to access guidance and resources from the CDC and a curated collection of telehealth apps available on theApp Store. This week, travelers landing at select international airports throughout the US started receiving notifications on their iPhone to remind them of current CDC guidance tostay home and monitor their health.
Consistent with Apple’s strong dedication to user privacy, the COVID-19 app and website were built to keep all user data private and secure. The tools do not require a sign-in or association with a user’s Apple ID, and users’ individualresponses will not be sent to Apple or any government organization.
Anyone in the US who is 18 years or older can access the screening tool and resources today by downloading the COVID-19 app on the App Store or visiting apple.com/covid19.
Apple has released version 3.0 of its COVID-19 screening app. The latest update includes tips for using cloth masks as well as the updated symptoms and recommendations from the CDC.
A few weeks ago, Apple updated its coronavirus screening app with guidance from state health authorities. Now, version 3 of the app brings tips for how to best use cloth masks to keep yourself safe as well as cleaning them, and the latest recommendations and symptoms to look out for as detailed by the CDC.
Apple highlights in the new info among other mask tips:
To sanitize your mask, routinely wash it in the washing machine in hot water.
Version 3.0 of Apple’s COVID-19 screening app is still propagating in the App Store, so check back a bit later if you’re not seeing the update now.
Earlier this week the CDC added these symptoms to its official page on COVID-19: chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and new loss of taste or smell.
Release notes:
This update includes additional language support, bug fixes and improvements, including:
• Updated symptoms and recommended actions to align with latest CDC guidelines
• Tips for using a cloth mask to protect yourself and others
