It sounds less drastic than the visual changes seen in the iOS 6 to iOS 7 transition, though. He writes “the company is indeed working to update the design of iOS as early as this year, but I don’t believe it will be a total overhaul that mirrors visionOS”. While Gurman says we can expect to see changes in iOS 18 this summer, the work on macOS has only just started and won’t be ready until 2025 or 2026.
Since Apple Vision Pro operating system was first unveiled, many people have wondered whether Apple will update the design of its other operating systems to match the visionOS aesthetic of 3D buttons and and glassy background textures. This doesn’t necessarily hold, as the visionOS design is specific to a platform that revolves around passthrough video. Being able to see the context of the world around you ‘through’ the open app windows is a concept that doesn’t really apply to iOS.
However, it has been a while since we’ve seen major design changes come to the iPhone and iPad. A visual refresh of any kind would make for an exciting release, that is also set to include significant AI-powered features.
Indeed, Mark Gurman previously said that Apple sees iOS 18 as its “ambitious and compelling” with major new features and designs. The company will officially unveil its next-generation operating systems at the annual WWDC conference in June. iOS 18 will be in beta over the summer and release for everyone in September, assuming Apple follows its usual traditions.
With the latest beta updates to Android 14, Google seems to have drastically sped up how fast Pixel devices can install an OTA update. Now, we’re getting a closer look at how that’s been accomplished.
First spotted with Android 14’s QPR2 Beta 1 update, the “Seamless Updates” feature has gotten a whole lot faster on Pixel phones.
Where Google’s updates used to take upwards of 20-40 minutes to install a simple OTA, the new process could be as quick as 10-15 minutes, perhaps even less. It’s extremely impressive and would make anyone wonder how Google pulled it off.
On Twitter/X, APKMirror founder, Artem Russakovskii, discusses a few main points of improvement that seem to be responsible for faster seamless updates. Russakovskii cites “Google’s tests” and Google’s David Anderson (a software engineer working at the company since 2018), but Google itself doesn’t seem to have publically shared this data.
That starts with compression operations, which Android is now parallelizing for a speed boost of 26% in Google’s own tests, Russakovskii explains. OTA updates on Android require the compression of thousands of “small blocks” of data, so putting those operations in parallel certainly speeds things up.
Related to that, Android is now batching operations for those same blocks. Where the OS previously would make 200 separate writes of 4KB files, it now makes a single write of one 800KB file. Google apparently found a 24% reduction in install time with this method.
Finally, the biggest improvement comes in newer Pixels switching from the GZ compression method to the LZ4 method. Google describes LZ4 as “extremely fast compression,” and it certainly shows here.
This apparently results in a 50% reduction in install time but only applies to specific devices. Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, Pixel 8, and Pixel 8 Pro are the only devices eligible for this new compression method, as older Pixels will stick with the slower GZ method. It’s unclear why this is the case, but it could have something to do with the chip. Mishaal Rahman highlighted on Twitter/X that, when installing Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1, Pixel 8 Pro was taking advantage of Tensor G3’s mid-cores to speed things along, and Google specifically notes that LZ4’s faster compression is “scalable with multi-cores CPU.”.
Google is, according to Russakovskii, changing its guidance for other Android OEMs with this new method in mind, so there’s a chance we could see similar improvements outside of Pixel in the future.
3. Google switched the Pixels (I'm getting clarification on exactly which, but at least P7) to use LZ4 compression instead of GZ. This resulted in a 50% (!!) decrease in install time.
All of these combined take a ~25 min install time down to around 6 minutes.
In addition to new features like the ability to log and access Health data with Siri, this week’s watchOS 10.2 update also makes it easier to switch watch faces on your Apple Watch. Here’s how to enable the option to swipe between Apple Watch faces with watchOS 10.2.
What’s new in watchOS 10.2 is the ability to swipe left or right on watch faces to easily switch between different configurations. Prior to this week’s update, watchOS 10 required that users long-press on their watch faces, and then swipe left or right.
Long-time Apple Watch users may remember that the ability to swipe left and right to switch watch faces isn’t actually new. The feature was available for years, but Apple removed it with watchOS 10’s release in September. This led to an influx of complaints from Apple Watch users, and Apple has now reversed its decision.
Still, the default behavior in watchOS 10.2 requires the long-press gesture. To enable the ability to swipe without long-pressing first, follow these steps:
Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
Scroll down and choose “Clock”
Toggle on the “Swipe to Switch Face” setting
“Switch between your watch faces by swiping left or right from the edge of the screen,” Apple explains.
watchOS 10.2 beta 3 brings back gesture to swipe between watch faces
Apple has made many changes to the Apple Watch operating system interface with watchOS 10. Among these changes, watchOS 10 no longer lets users quickly swipe between different watch faces, frustrating some users. Luckily, this gesture is back with the latest beta of watchOS 10.2.
Swipe to switch Apple Watch faces with watchOS 10.2
As noted by Aaron on X (formerly Twitter), watchOS 10.2 beta 3, released earlier this week to developers and public beta testers, brings back the option to swipe on the Apple Watch screen to switch between watch faces. In previous versions, changing the watch face requires pressing the screen for a second and then scrolling through the list using the Digital Crown.
watchOS 10.2 beta 3 adds back the feature that allows you to swipe between watch faces!
I was upset that Apple had removed this gesture – I even filled out a radar during the first watchOS 10 betas, and the company told me this was an intentional change. However, it seems that more users missed this gesture on the Apple Watch.
But there are a few things to keep in mind. At least in this beta, the gesture is not enabled by default. Instead, it requires you to enable it manually in the Clock settings. The toggle is also only available on the Apple Watch – you can’t find it using the Watch app on the iPhone. At least it’s back and working like it used to.
The current version, watchOS 10.1, was released last month and introduced NameDrop, which lets users share their contact details with other people simply by holding their Apple Watch near another Apple Watch or iPhone. watchOS 10.1 also enables the Double Tap gesture for the latest Apple Watch models.
However, the watchOS 10.2 update comes along with iOS 17.2, which brings some nice improvements for iPhone users.
iOS 17.2 includes Apple’s new Journal app, first announced at WWDC. There’s also support for collaborative playlists in Apple Music, changes to Tapback reactions, and new widgets for Clock and Weather. The update also enables recording Spatial Videos for Apple Vision Pro using iPhone 15 Pro.
Apple is expected to release iOS 17.2 and watchOS 10.2 to the public by the end of the year.
For years, it’s been possible to share a playlist you’ve made on Apple Music with others. However, a new feature allows for shared, editable playlists in iOS 17.2. Here’s how to use Apple Music collaborative playlists.
Two new features come to Apple Music with iOS 17.2 (currently in beta) – collaborative playlists and a new automatic “Favorites” playlist.
To find the latter, you can head to Library > Playlists in Apple Music and swipe down to find the new auto-generated Favorites playlist.
While Spotify has often led Apple Music in terms of social features, it’s great to see collaborative playlists arrive with iOS 17.2, let’s dig into how they work.
How to use Apple Music collaborative playlists
iOS 17.2 is available now in beta – read more on how to install it for free on your device
Running the iOS 17.2 beta, open Apple Music on iPhone or iPad
Choose the Library tab at the bottom, then tap Playlists
Select a playlist that you’ve created (or create a new one – this does not work for now with Apple Music’s playlists that you’ve saved)
Tap the … icon in the top right corner
Now choose Collaborate (second from the top)
You can choose if collaborators need to be approved or not
Tap Start Collaboration to invite people
You can head back to the playlist and tap the … icon to get the Manage Collaboration option
Here’s how the process looks to use Apple Music collaborative playlists on iPhone:
Now you’ll see the new Collaborate option. Apple notes anyone you share a collaborative playlist link with will be able to edit and reorder songs and change the name and photo of the playlist.
According to a public-facing comment, Google is set to launch its first preview of Android 15 later this week.
In a comment posted to the Android Open Source Project on Tuesday morning, a Google developer said that the first preview of Android 15 is “scheduled for” this Thursday, February 15, 2024. The developer calls it “Android V,” which refers to the release’s internal dessert codename, “Vanilla Ice Cream.”
Maybe makes sense to wait until Android V will be available? Its first Developer preview is scheduled for Feb 15
If the timing holds, the first Android 15 Developer Preview will arrive just over a week after the launch of Android 14 QPR3 Beta 1. Somewhat notably, Android 15’s first preview is arriving later than last year’s preview, which was released on February 8, 2023. By comparison, though, Android 13’s second quarterly update was still being tested at the time.
It’s safe to assume that only Pixel devices will be eligible for the Android 15 Developer Preview, as was the case in years past. Those enrolled for beta updates will likely stay on Android 14 for the time being, as “Developer Preview” releases are typically less stable and not ready for public use.
This Android 15 Developer Preview should afford our first solid look at what to expect from the next annual release of Google’s mobile OS. That said, we have gotten quite a few hints over the last year in the form of features that our APK Insight team has found/enabled that Google has yet to launch. Chief among these is the “Private Space” feature that will allow you to hide and lock certain apps from appearing in your app list.
Want to try out the latest iPhone security feature – Stolen Device Protection for iPhone? Read along for how to install iOS 17.3 beta for free, as well as where to turn on the new iPhone protection that requires biometric authentication and more.
Apple has made the first iOS 17.3 beta available for both public and developer testers.
The major new feature to arrive with the test software is Stolen Device Protection for iPhone. It adds a layer of security for your Apple ID and more in the rare event your iPhone is stolen and your device passcode is also compromised.
After you follow the steps below to install the free iOS 17.3 public or dev beta, you’ll be able to:
Open the Settings app.
Swipe down and tap Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode).
Now choose Stolen Device Protection.
How to install iOS 17.3 beta – public
Make a fresh backup of your iPhone or iPad.
You may need to sign in with your Apple ID at beta.apple.com if you haven’t before.
Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad (running at least iOS 16.4).
Tap General > Software Update.
Choose the new Beta Updates button (it may take a moment to appear).
Now, choose iOS 17.3 Public Beta.
If you need to change your Apple ID associated with the beta, you can tap that at the bottom.
Choose Back when done.
Look for iOS 17.3 Public Beta to appear; choose Download and Install.
If you’re not seeing the option to turn on beta updates or iOS 17.3 appear:
Try quitting and relaunching the Settings app.
Double check you’re running iOS 16.4 or later. (If not, you’ll need to update before getting the in-Settings beta option.)
Sign in with your Apple ID at beta.apple.com for free, then try the above steps again.
How to install iOS 17.3 beta – developer
A paid Apple Developer account is no longer needed – but you may need to sign in with your Apple ID at developer.apple.com if you haven’t before.
Make a fresh backup of your iPhone or iPad.
Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad (running at least iOS 16.4).
Tap General > Software Update.
Choose the new Beta Updates button (it may take a moment to appear).
Now, choose iOS 17.3 Developer Beta.
If you need to change your Apple ID associated with the beta, you can tap that at the bottom.
Choose Back when done.
Look for iOS 17.3 Developer Beta to appear, choose Download and Install.
If you’re not seeing the option to turn on beta updates or iOS 17.3 appear:
Try quitting and relaunching the Settings app.
Double check you’re running iOS 16.4 or later. (If not, you’ll need to update before getting the in-Settings beta option.)
Sign in with your Apple ID at developer.apple.com for free, then try the above steps again.
Apple launches Stolen Device Protection for iPhone with iOS 17.3 beta, here’s how it works
On the heels of iOS 17.2 being released to the public yesterday, Apple has seeded developers with the first iOS 17.3 beta. Notably, a brand new security feature is available to test with the update called Stolen Device Protection for iPhone.
Earlier this year, WSJ’s Joanna Stern investigated a rise in iPhone thefts in public places like bars. The tactic usually involved attackers observing victims entering their passcodes before stealing their iPhones and then using that to immediately change their Apple ID password and lock the owners out of their accounts and even iCloud backups.
With iOS 17.3, Apple is debuting a clever solution to this rare but frustrating threat: Stolen Device Protection for iPhone.
How Stolen Device Protection for iPhone works
Here’s how Apple describes the new security feature in iOS 17.3:
Testing is now available for Stolen Device Protection. This new feature adds an additional layer of security in the unlikely case that someone has stolen your phone and also obtained your passcode.
Accessing your saved passwords requires Face ID to be sure it’s you.
Changing sensitive settings like your Apple ID password is protected by a security delay
No delay is required when iPhone is at familiar locations such as home and work
Apple has thoughtfully created a two-tier system of how Stolen Device Protection works that offers a balance of user-friendliness while enhancing security.
For example, with the feature turned on, actions like using passwords or passkeys, applying for an Apple Card, turning off Lost Mode, erasing an iPhone, and using payment methods saved with an iPhone will require biometric authentication – no passcode fallback when away from familiar locations.
But for even more sensitive actions like changing your Apple ID password, updating Apple ID security settings, changing passcode or Touch/Face ID settings, and turning off Find My or Stolen Device protection, the one-hour security delay will come into play away from familiar locations. That means a second biometric authentication will be required after that delay.
How to turn on Stolen Device Protection for iPhone
Make sure you’re running the iOS 17.3 beta on your iPhone.
Open the Settings app.
Swipe down and tap Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode).
With Android 14, developers can build share sheets with app-specific actions, and Google Photos is now replacing its custom implementation with a native one.
When sharing an image in Google Photos, a “Sharing image” sheet slides up the screen. “Modify” in the top-right corner lets you select more images to share using a grid.
The first section shows a preview of the selected picture(s) with the pencil icon in the corner launching the Markup tool to quickly crop, add text, draw, and highlight. The carousel below it links to various Google Photos actions, which is what Android 14 makes possible: Create Link, Send in Photos, Add to album, and Create album.
Direct Share targets — which use more signals from apps to improve relevance — appear next, along with frequently used apps. Nearby Share might appear in the first position. Scrolling up takes you to the full grid.
We’re seeing this new share sheet rolled out with version 5.65 of Google Photos today on Android 14 Pixel phones. It’s not yet appearing on large-screen (Pixel Tablet) devices that we checked this afternoon. The share sheet will presumably remain unchanged on Android 13 and earlier.
This follows Chrome, which was a big holdout, also dropping its custom implementation for Android 14 in August.
Google Photos redesign with new Memories feed rolls out
Last August 2023, Google announced a redesign to Photos that revamps the Memories feature, tweaks the bottom bar, and makes other changes. It’s now seeing wider availability in the US.
This redesign starts by moving the “Google Photos” wordmark to the left, while the Print store, Sharing, and your account avatar are at the right.
Sharing in the bottom bar makes way for “Memories,” with Library next and Search being the final tab. (This will certainly disrupt muscle memory.) A similar reorganization is live on tablets, while the “Utilities” tab has been removed from the navigation rail.
The most significant change is the Memories feed with its scrapbook-like timeline — which is not particularly well-optimized for tablets, as padding is just applied to the left and right — that uses AI for automatic curation and organization. Google aims to let you “easily relive, customize and share your most memorable trips, celebrations and daily moments with your loved ones.”
Users can create memories, which are pseudo albums from an editing and sharing perspective, from a rather tiny FAB (floating action button) that only appears when you scroll down. Meanwhile, generative AI is used to offer “customized title suggestions.” “Help me title” slides up a sheet that lets you add a “hint” to guide the generation.
Google started rolling this out in mid-August, but the revamp is only now seeing wide availability with version 6.54. If it’s not yet live on your device, try using the “Force stop” option on Google Photos from App info. It does not appear to be live on iOS yet.
This Google Photos redesign and Memories feed is coming first to the US and is set for global availability in the “coming months.”
Google Photos gets updated upload UI on the web
A small tweak to the Google Photos website in recent days modernizes the interface for uploading images and videos.
Like before, you can start uploading by dragging files into the window, or by tapping “Upload” in the top-right corner and selecting “Computer” to get a system file picker. Google Drive (pre-Workspace logo) is also still listed, but that’s now joined by “Add from other places,” which can also be found in the mobile app:
Transfer from photo collections: Facebook, iCloud
Transfer from photography services: Pixieset, Pic-Time, image.canon
Digitize physical photos: Photomyne, Capture, CVS
Back up from your computer: Google Drive for desktop
Scan photos with your phone: PhotoScan
The more notable change today is to the bottom-left corner progress UI. When uploading, you’ll get an estimate of how much longer it will take with a blue “Stop” button to end the process. “Show more” will expand this UI to provide a list of what’s in the queue.
Once complete, you just get “Add to album” as the available action, with “Saved album” removed. Overall, the UI is smaller than before.
Meanwhile, the redesigned Google Photos app on Android and iOS has yet to widely launch.
Google Photos Locked Folder sync starts rolling out
Announced at the end of August 2023, the ability to sync the Google Photos Locked Folder across devices signed in to your Google Account is rolling out more widely.
As of this morning, we’re seeing a prompt to “Back up Locked Folder” at the top of Google Photos. (Try Force stop from App info if it doesn’t appear, but this is not fully launched yet.) That takes you to a screen that explains how “Backing up Locked Folder keeps your hidden photos & videos safe when you change devices or delete the app.”
You have the option to “Turn on backup” or “Do not back up,” which keeps the feature unchanged from today. The Locked Folder grid will show a cloud icon in the top-right corner. That menu will let you disable sync at any time.
After turning it on, everything will start uploading to the cloud. Locked Folder can be enabled on a per-device basis. In this case, it appears that previously synced photos will appear on a disabled device, but any additions won’t. A cloud icon appears in the bottom-right corner of image previews in those cases.
Meanwhile, “Locked Folder” appears in the photos.google.com sidebar just above “Trash.” To access, you will have to sign in to your account, including 2-Step Verification (2FA).
This is getting a wider rollout today — photos.google.com/lockedfolder — but it’s not yet fully available. We’re also now seeing Locked Folder with sync in Google Photos for iOS today. Meanwhile, the broader bottom bar redesign and AI-powered Memories is not yet seeing broad availability.
Apple has delivered iOS 17.2 to all users and with it comes a brand new security feature for iMessage. Called Contact Key Verification (CKV), the capability gives users more certainty they’re messaging with the people they think they are. Follow along for what this feature is, how it works, and how to turn on Contact Key Verification on for iMessage.
Contact Key Verification background
When enabled, the opt-in Contact Key Verification gives automatic alerts if the iMessage key distribution services return device keys that have not been verified (e.g. if an unrecognized device has been added to an iMessage account).
And even more security is available by using CKV in person, on FaceTime, or via another secure method. You can read more on the details of how CKV works in our full coverage here.
Apple has not seen an attack like this – which would be quite advanced – but CKV arriving with iOS 17.2 means Apple is staying a step ahead of hackers and giving users more peace of mind.
Even though a very small percentage of iPhone users may need security of this level, the neat part is turning it on doesn’t reduce the functionality of your iPhone or iMessage – so it could end up being more widely used than something like Lockdown Mode.
How to turn on iMessage Contact Key Verification
Important: All devices signed into your iCloud account need to be running iOS 17.2, macOS 14.2, or watchOS 10.2 before enabling this(or you can sign out of iMessage on those devices that you don’t want to enable the feature).
Running iOS 17.2, open Settings on your iPhone
At the top, tap your name
Swipe to the very bottom
Choose Contact Key Verification
Tap the toggle next to Verification in iMessage
Follow the prompts to enable Contact Key Verification
Last month, it was reported that iOS 17.1.1 broke in-car wireless charging for a number of GM drivers with an iPhone 15. In today’s release notes for iOS 17.2, which will be released to everyone next week, Apple says it has solved this problem…hopefully.
A fix for GM drivers
Following my report last month, GM acknowledged the problems in a statement to The Verge. “We are aware of this concern and are investigating. There’s nothing we can confirm at this point,” a company spokesperson said.
Here’s what Apple’s release notes for iOS 17.2 say: “Fixes an issue that may prevent wireless charging in certain vehicles.”
Unfortunately, there aren’t any additional details about the scope of this fix. Apple doesn’t specifically mention that iOS 17.2 addresses the problem for GM drivers, but that feels like a safe assumption to make.
This is the second time Apple has had to address issues in iOS 17 specifically affecting in-car wireless chargers. iOS 17.1.1, released at the beginning of November, included a fix for wireless charging and NFC problems affecting BMW drivers.
iOS 17.2 is currently available in beta for developers and public beta users. It’s expected to be released to the general public in about a week.
iPhone 15 wireless charging apparently broken in many GM cars with iOS 17.1
While iOS 17.1.1 last week was released to fix iPhone 15 wireless charging problems for BMW drivers, the same can’t be said for GM drivers. A number of GM drivers have taken to Reddit and other online forums to report that they are unable to wirelessly charge their iPhone 15 in their car after updating to iOS 17.1.
iPhone 15 wireless charging problems: BMW first, now GM
After mounting complaints, Apple finally acknowledged a bug impacting wireless charging for iPhone 15 users in some BMW cars last month. In these instances, the problem would also temporarily disable NFC features of the iPhone 15, such as Apple Pay. Apple rolled out a fix for BMW wireless charging issues as part of iOS 17.1.1 last week.
In the meantime, however, GM drivers say that they are no longer able to use their in-car wireless charging pads to charge their iPhone 15 after updating to iOS 17.1. There are a number of complaints from GM drivers on Reddit, GM forums, and Apple’s support forums. These issues, however, don’t appear to impact NFC features.
It’s not immediately clear how widespread these problems are, nor is it clear which specific GM cars are affected. There are complaints from Bolt drivers, Silverado drivers, Sierra drivers, and more scattered across the web.
GM drivers say that last week’s iOS 17.1.1 update did not fix their wireless charging problems, nor does the current iOS 17.2 beta cycle. Two different GM drivers say that they spoke to Apple about the problems, and Apple told them to talk to GM about it. The key, however, is that wireless charging for these people worked prior to updating to iOS 17.1, so it’s clearly something tied to that update.
Based on these bizarre wireless charging problems that have affected GM and BMW drivers, paired with experiences using in-car wireless chargers, Starting to question the usefulness of wireless charging in cars. It clearly seems to be a fickle solution in a lot of cases, even though there are some convenience benefits, particularly if you have a car with wireless CarPlay.
With Android 14, Google removed the ability to long press an icon on the homescreen to quickly see notifications from that app.
Previously, you’d be able to see any available notifications from an app by holding down on the icon in the launcher or grid. Only one was shown in its entirety with a counter in the corner if there were more. Besides opening it from there, you could also swipe it away.
This was useful if your notification tray was overflowing with alerts, while it went hand-in-hand with the notification dot, which continues to feel like an iOS trait more than an Android one.
In Android 14, long pressing on an icon just shows app shortcuts, as well as App info, Pause app, and Widgets. In fact, now that notifications no longer appear there, Google made it so that those three shortcuts appear as a full list at the top instead of being merged together. The Android team presumably decided to remove notifications and then introduced the tall list.
Android 13 vs. 14
This change was brought up during the Android 14 Beta Program over the summer. In August 2023, Google said the removal of notifications was the new intended behavior and that it “won’t fix.” There’s no reason behind this change, but the company presumably has usage stats.
With the stable launch of Android 14 on Pixel last month, there have been over a hundred new comments requesting the capability be brought back.
Personally, I didn’t notice the removal and have never used that app menu for anything beyond shortcuts and quick access to the App info page. Most users are presumably all in on the notification tray. However, Google does not seem to really be doing anything major with the app long press menu in Android 14, so the restoration of notifications doesn’t seem like it would be overly disruptive.
