MacRumors

Bang & Olufsen today announced Beoplay EQ, the Danish audio outfit's first true wireless headphones with adaptive active noise cancelation.

To achieve maximum noise cancelation, the buds use adaptive ANC that combines active noise cancellation with passive sealing. Six microphones allow for automatic adjustment of ANC levels and also make use of directional beamforming technology to improve call and speech quality.

The Beoplay EQ will retail for $399 (£349/€399), so they're $150 more expensive than Apple's AirPods Pro, but apart from the premium look, they do pack some solid features, including 20 hours' battery life when used in conjunction with the charging case, and 6.5 hours of playtime with ANC turned on (versus ‌AirPods Pro‌'s 4.5 hours). They also include a fast charge feature, so 20 minutes in the aluminum case gets you two hours of playtime.

The compact case supports both USB-C and Qi wireless charging, while the buds themselves are more reminiscent of Beats Studio Buds than AirPods, with a small profile and an ergonomic fit. They're IP54 dust and water resistant, and come with interchangeable ear tips in different sizes.

Wireless specs-wise, they support the aptX adaptive codec and the latest Bluetooth 5.2, and the set-up process is simplified on both Android and Apple devices thanks to the inclusion of Microsoft Swift Pair and Made for iPhone licenses.

Beoplay EQ come in Black Anthracite and Sand colors and will be available to purchase from August 19 via Bang & Olufsen's website and in Bang & Olufsen retail stores.

Zens today announced the launch of a new 4-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger that's designed to work with Apple's latest iPhone 12 models.

The 4-in-1 charger offers a magnetic charging puck that is compatible with the ‌iPhone 12‌. Zens says that it is a 15W magnetic charger, but it's worth noting that third-party chargers that are not using Apple's official MagSafe solution are limited to 7.5W Qi charging speeds.

The magnetic charger can be used with an iPhone in either portrait or landscape mode, and it places the ‌iPhone‌ at an ideal angle for watching videos, FaceTiming, and more.

In addition to the magnetic charging surface for an ‌iPhone 12‌, there's also a 5W charging pad that can be used for a second ‌iPhone‌ or for the AirPods.

For the Apple Watch, there's an included (and removable) Apple Watch charging puck, and along with these three charging options, there's a built-in USB-A port for charging a fourth device. The 4-in-1 charger comes with a 30W PD power adapter.

The 4-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger can be purchased from the Zens website for 139.99 euros, which is right around $165. Zens offers worldwide shipping.

There are some major improvements to Siri in iOS 15, with Apple introducing features that iPhone users have long asked for. On devices with an A12 chip or later, ‌Siri‌ can do on-device processing and there's support for offline requests.

This guide highlights all of the new ‌Siri‌ features that are available in iOS (and iPadOS) 15.

On-Device Speech Processing and Personalization

Starting in ‌iOS 15‌, speech processing and personalization are done on-device. This makes ‌Siri‌ faster at processing requests, but also more secure. Most audio requests made of ‌Siri‌ are kept entirely on the ‌iPhone‌ and are no longer uploaded to Apple's servers for processing.

‌Siri‌'s speech recognition and understanding of commands improves as a device is used, with ‌Siri‌ learning the contacts most interacted with, new words typed, and topics preferred, with all of this information kept on device and private.

On-device speech processing and personalization is enabled through the Apple Neural Engine and it is available on iPhones and iPads that have an A12 Bionic chip or later.

On-device processing is available in German (Germany), English (Australia, Canada, India, UK, U.S.), Spanish (Spain, Mexico, U.S.), French (France), Japanese (Japan), Mandarin Chinese (China mainland), and Cantonese (Hong Kong).

Offline Support

With on-device processing now available, there are a wide range of ‌Siri‌ requests that can be handled offline. ‌Siri‌ can create (and disable) timers and alarms, launch apps, control audio playback, and access Settings options.

Apple says ‌Siri‌ can also process Messages, sharing, and Phone requests.

Sharing via Siri

When you come across something that you want to share like a photo, web page, Apple Music song, or podcast, you can ask ‌Siri‌ to send it to a friend or family member and ‌Siri‌ will do so.

If it's something that can't be shared, like a Messages thread, ‌Siri‌ will make a screenshot and send that. All you have to do is say "Send this to [person]" and ‌Siri‌ will confirm the request and then send it along.

This feature works with ‌Apple Music‌, Apple Podcasts, Apple News, Maps, web pages, photos, Messages, and more.

Improved Context Between Requests

‌Siri‌ in ‌iOS 15‌ can better maintain context between voice requests. So if you ask something like "How late is the Taco Bell open?" and then "How long does it take to get there?" ‌Siri‌ will understand that "there" is the Taco Bell from the previous request.

This tends to work only when there's a single option, because in a situation with multiple Taco Bells, ‌Siri‌ needs clarification. For that reason, the contextual improvements are limited.

Contacts

‌Siri‌ also understands that if there's a contact on the screen, that's the person that you want to talk to.

So if you have the contacts app open to a specific person, are chatting with someone in Messages, get a Message notification, or miss a call, you can say something like "Message them I'm on my way" and ‌Siri‌ will know to send it to the relevant contact that you've just interacted with or have open.

HomeKit Improvements

‌Siri‌ can now be used to control a HomeKit device at a specific time. So if you want your lights to turn off right when at 7, you can say something like "Hey ‌Siri‌, turn off the bedroom lights at 7.p.m." This command also works for geolocation, so you can say things like "Hey ‌Siri‌, turn off the air conditioning when I leave."

When you ask ‌Siri‌ to control a ‌HomeKit‌ product this way, it creates an automation in the Home app under the "Automation" section. If you want to delete an Automation ‌Siri‌ has created, you can do so in the Home app.

‌HomeKit‌ developers can also add ‌Siri‌ support to their products in ‌iOS 15‌, but using ‌Siri‌ commands with third-party devices does require the user to have a HomePod to route requests through. With ‌Siri‌ integration, customers will be able to use their ‌HomeKit‌ products for ‌Siri‌ commands like setting reminders, controlling devices, broadcasting messages, and more.

Announce Notifications

‌Siri‌ has been able to announce calls and incoming messages when using AirPods (or Beats headphones) for some time now, but in ‌iOS 15‌, that feature is expanding to all notifications.

‌Siri‌ can automatically announce Time Sensitive notifications when ‌AirPods‌ are connected if you toggle the feature on in the Settings app (in either the ‌Siri‌ or Notifications sections), and there are also options to have ‌Siri‌ announce notifications on an app-by-app basis if you want to hear notifications from a particular app but those notifications aren't Time Sensitive.

Announce Messages in CarPlay

There's now a feature to have ‌Siri‌ announce your incoming messages when your ‌iPhone‌ is connected to a CarPlay setup.

There's an option to turn announcements on or off when a message is read, and ‌Siri‌ will remember your preference. This feature can also be toggled on or off using the Settings app.

Announce Reminders With AirPods

In addition to notifications, ‌Siri‌ can also announced reminders that come up when wearing ‌AirPods‌ or compatible Beats headphones.

Add Siri Suggestions to Safari Start Page

With Start Page customization in ‌iOS 15‌, there is an option to add a section for ‌Siri‌ Suggestions for websites you might want to visit or content you might want to view.

Language Improvements

Neural text-to-speech voices have expanded to Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, and Finnish in ‌iOS 15‌.

Apple has also added mixed English and Indic language support. ‌Siri‌ can process commands in a mix of Indian English and native languages, with support for Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, and Punjabi.

Siri for Developers

Apple is tweaking its SiriKit interface and is eliminating some of the ‌Siri‌ commands that developers were able to use with third-party apps.

Starting with ‌iOS 15‌, customers will no longer be able to use ‌Siri‌ in third-party apps to do things like book a ride with Uber, make a bill payment, or create new task lists in to-do apps. Many of these ‌Siri‌ functions may be replaced by Shortcut options that can be activated with ‌Siri‌ voice commands.

Guide Feedback

Have questions about ‌Siri‌ in ‌iOS 15‌, know of a feature we left out, or want to offer feedback on this guide? Send us an email here.

Customers who visit U.S. Apple Stores will once again be required to wear masks at most retail locations, reports Bloomberg.

Apple dropped its mask requirement for vaccinated customers and employees back in June, but earlier this month, Apple began requiring employees in select regions to wear masks and encouraged other employees to do so.

Now both customers and employees in areas where the COVID-19 virus is prevalent will need to wear masks when inside an Apple retail location, and this also pertains to those who are vaccinated. Masks will be required in select stores starting on Wednesday, July 29. The Delta variant is more infectious than original COVID-19 strains and cases have been spiking across much of the United States.

Apple informed employees about the change in a memo:

"After carefully reviewing the latest CDC recommendations, and analyzing the health and safety data for your local area, we are updating our guidance on face masks for your store. Starting July 29, face masks will be required in store for customers and team members - even if they're vaccinated." The company added it is making the change "out of an abundance of caution."

In addition to requiring most employees to wear masks, Apple is also asking retail staff to get vaccinated. "Apple encourages everyone who is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, to take it," reads Apple's memo. At this time, the vaccine is not required.

Apple has not yet shut down any of its retail stores nor does it seem to have plans to, but the company last week announced that its corporate employees will not be returning to offices until October at least. Apple had originally planned to have employees back in the office three days a week starting in September.

Nintendo today announced that it is sunsetting Dr. Mario World for iOS, a game that launched just two years ago. According to Nintendo, service for Dr. Mario World is set to end on Monday, November 1.

As of today, diamonds, the game's in-app currency, are no longer available for purchase. Starting on November 1, Nintendo says an end-of-service notification will be displayed and the game will not be playable.

Players will be able to look back at their player history in "Dr. Mario World Memories," a web page that Nintendo plans to launch later this year. This website will use player history, and customers can avoid being included by deleting their save data in the app.

Dr. Mario World is a puzzle game based on the well-known Dr. Mario Nintendo title. Players are tasked with matching capsules with viruses in order to clear out all the viruses on the board, and Nintendo characters like Peach, Bowser, Koopa Troopa, and Goomba appear in the game.

Like Nintendo's other titles, Dr. Mario World is a free-to-play game that included optional in-app purchases, but apparently the game failed to catch on.

Bloomberg last year said that Nintendo is "retreating" from its mobile game plans, focusing on already-released titles rather than debuting new games. Nintendo has had success with games like Fire Emblem Heroes and Dragalia Lost, but has not been able to maintain sales momentum.

Nintendo previously discontinued Miitomo, Pokémon Duel, and Pokémon Rumble Rush. Fire Emblem Heroes, Dragalia Lost, Super Mario Run, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, and Mario Kart Tour continue to be available.

Since AirTags were just released earlier this year and are expected to have a year-long battery life, it may be some time yet before AirTag users need a replacement battery, but when the time comes for a refresh, Apple is warning customers not to buy batteries with a bitter coating.

‌AirTags‌ use coin-shaped CR2032 batteries, which happen to be a size that's easy to swallow. Some battery makers like Duracell have begun putting a bitter coating on CR2032 batteries to prevent children from eating them.

According to Duracell, hundreds of lithium coin batteries are accidentally swallowed by children each year, and these batteries can cause a harmful chemical reaction. The non-toxic bitter coating reacts with saliva and is meant to deter swallowing.

As The Loop points out, Apple's AirTag battery replacement support document that was published earlier this month specifically warns against bitterants and says that these coatings might cause the battery not to work.

CR2032 batteries with bitterant coatings might not work with AirTag or other battery-powered products, depending on the alignment of the coating in relation to the battery contacts.

The alignment of the coating in relation to the battery contacts is at issue, so to ensure the battery will work, AirTag users should buy replacement CR2032 batteries that do not have any kind of coating.

Apple's use of the CR2032 battery has been an issue in Australia, and some Australian retailers have refused to sell ‌AirTags‌ because of the easy access to the battery. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission sent out a press release urging parents to keep ‌AirTags‌ out of the reach of children because of safety concerns about the "accessibility and security of the button battery inside the product."

The battery in the AirTag is accessible by pressing and twisting the accessory open, which the ACCC believes is simple enough for children to figure out. In addition to avoiding batteries with coatings, AirTag users should also make an effort to keep them away from kids.

Apple has not decided whether or not it will require vaccines for corporate employees that return to work this October, according to CNBC's Josh Lipton.

Cook reportedly told Lipton that Apple is primarily focusing on when to have employees return, but the company is "monitoring things daily" to determine whether a vaccination requirement "is the right answer or not."

Google today announced that it is requiring all employees who return to the company's offices to be vaccinated, and it's possible that Apple and other tech companies will also make that decision in an effort to protect employees.

Google has more than 130,000 employees, and the vaccination requirement pertains to anyone who comes into one of Google's offices. Like Apple, Google has delayed a return to work until mid-October.

Apple initially planned to have employees return to work for three days a week starting in September, but earlier this month, the company announced that it would not ask employees to return until "at least October."

Apple and Google have delayed office returns due to the prevalence of the Delta variant, which is more transmissible than original COVID-19 strains and has led to surging infection rates across the United States.

When employees are required to return to Apple campuses, Apple says it will give at least a month's notice.

Apple's return to work plan has been unpopular with some employees who have grown accustomed to working remotely and who have discovered that much of their jobs can be done from home. Many tech companies plan to allow employees to continue to work remotely on a permanent basis, but Apple is eager to get employees back to the office and has argued that in-person collaboration is essential to its culture and to future product development.

Apple today seeded the third public beta of the macOS 12 Monterey beta to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to test the new macOS Monterey software ahead of its public release. The third beta comes two weeks after Apple released the second macOS Monterey public beta.

Public beta testers can download the macOS 12 Monterey update from the Software Update section of the System Preferences app after installing the proper profile from Apple's beta software website.

‌macOS Monterey‌ introduces quite a few major updates for the macOS operating system. Universal Control, for example, lets a single mouse, trackpad, and keyboard be used across multiple Mac or iPad devices, and it's now possible to AirPlay directly to a Mac from an iPhone, ‌iPad‌, or even another Mac.

Safari has an updated tab bar and support for Tab Groups to keep tons of tabs organized, and FaceTime now features support for spatial audio, Portrait Mode (M1 Macs only) and Voice Isolation for cutting out background noise. A SharePlay ‌FaceTime‌ feature lets Apple TV users watch TV, listen to music, and share their screens with one another.

Shared With You, another new feature, keeps track of the music, links, podcasts, news, and photos that people are sent in Messages, highlighting it in the relevant apps. Notes has a new Quick Note feature for jotting down thoughts, and the Shortcuts app is now available on the Mac.

A dedicated Focus mode helps people stay on task by cutting out background distractions based on what's going on, and there's an updated Maps app with a whole slew of new features. With Live Text, Macs can now detect text in photos or provide details on animals, art, landmarks, plants, and more in images. The new beta adds Live Text support for Intel Macs.

Mail Privacy Protection hides IP and prevents tracking through invisible pixels, and iCloud Private Relay keeps Safari browsing protected. There are many other new features in ‌‌macOS Monterey‌‌, with a complete overview available in our ‌macOS Monterey‌ roundup.

Apple today seeded the third betas of iOS and iPadOS 15 to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to download and test the new updates ahead of their fall release. The third public betas come two weeks after Apple released the second public betas.

Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program can download the iOS and ‌iPadOS 15‌ updates over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website.

iOS 15 is adds new features for FaceTime, tools for reducing distractions, updated notifications, and privacy enhancements. ‌FaceTime‌ supports SharePlay for watching TV, listening to music, or screen sharing with friends, while a Shared with You feature keeps track of the songs, website links, pictures, and more that friends send you.

Focus is designed to help keep you on task by cutting out notifications you don't want while you're busy, and there's a new notifications summary feature that prevents you from being inundated with unimportant notifications throughout the day.

Safari has a redesigned look with a compact tab bar that's located at the bottom of the screen, plus Tab Groups let users save open tabs for later. Maps has a new zoomed out globe view and a new 3D view in select cities, plus there's more road detail and an AR-based walking direction feature.

The Wallet app will support IDs and more kinds of keys in ‌iOS 15‌, and Photos gains updates to Memories and a new Live Text feature that uses on-device intelligence to recognize the text in an image, making it searchable and copyable. Spotlight is better than ever, and processing for Siri requests is now done directly on device.

Mail Privacy Protection in the Mail app stops senders from seeing your IP address and knowing if you've opened up an email, and an App Privacy Report gives you details on how often apps use permissions like camera and location access.

There are a ton of other new features available in iOS and ‌iPadOS 15‌, with full details available in our roundup. Today's beta introduces additional tweaks for Safari, adds MagSafe Battery Pack support, and more.

Apple has also seeded new public betas of tvOS 15 and watchOS 8 to its public beta testing group. tvOS 15 can be downloaded by opening up the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌, navigating to the Software Updates section under "System," and then toggling on "Get public Beta Updates" after signing up to beta test on Apple's public beta website.

‌watchOS 8‌ can be downloaded can be downloaded after upgrading your iPhone to the public beta version of ‌iOS 15‌. After installing ‌‌iOS 15‌‌, the proper ‌‌watchOS 8‌‌ profile from Apple's beta software website must also be installed. The software can be accessed by going to General > Software Update in the Apple Watch app on ‌‌iPhone‌‌. To update, ‌Apple Watch‌ needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌.

Google today updated its Google Maps app for the iPhone to add support for widgets that can be added both to the Today View and the Home Screen.

There are two separate widget options. The first allows users to check traffic conditions, store opening times, restaurant reviews, and more for a given location, while the second is designed to let users find places that are nearby like restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores.

The widget can be used to get quick access to home directions as well, and it has a search interface available for inputting directions right from the ‌Home Screen‌.

The Google Maps widget can be accessed using the "+" button either in the Today View or on the ‌Home Screen‌ after downloading the latest version of the app. [Direct Link]

Apple chip supplier TSMC is planning to manufacture chips with a 2nm fabrication process by 2024, according to Nikkei Asia.

TSMC plans to build a new factory on 50 acres of land for two-nanometer chips in Hsinchu, Taiwan, scheduled to begin manufacturing operations in 2024. Construction has been cleared to begin in early 2022, with equipment being installed in 2023.

For context, if Apple continues with its current naming system for its custom silicon chips, we may tentatively expect the first 2nm Apple chips to be the "A18" or the "M5." While there have not been any reports of Apple planning to move to a 2nm process yet, it seems inevitable that the company will do so in tandem with TSMC since it is Apple's sole processor supplier with an expansive manufacturing capacity.

TSMC's manufacturing capabilities are also considerably more advanced than rival companies like Intel, which have been mired by delays and stagnation with older manufacturing processes, enabling Apple, as a major TSMC client, to maintain a competitive edge with its custom silicon chips. Earlier this week, Intel announced plans to make chips for Qualcomm.

The A14 and M1 chip debuted in devices last year and were Apple's first chips to be manufactured with a 5nm fabrication process. Apple is believed to have already booked an order with TSMC for 4nm custom silicon chips, which are due to begin production this year, ahead of the supplier offering 3nm chips from 2022. 2nm chips in 2024 would be another progression of this miniaturization process.

TSMC is undergoing a rapid global expansion to meet demand, building a 5nm chip facility in Arizona and expanding its 28nm factory in Nanjing, China, while also weighing up the possibility of opening new factories in Japan and Germany.

Sonnet in June announced a new DuoModo series of mix and match modular Thunderbolt expansion options both for the desktop and for rack installation, and we thought we'd take a hands-on look at the new offerings for MacRumors readers who are looking to power up their desktops.

There are three interchangeable expansion modules that are part of the DuoModo line, including a three-slot PCIe card system, an eGPU card system, and a Mac mini mounting system with an integrated Thunderbolt storage dock, plus a series of enclosures. Since these are mix and match you can pick and choose, but Sonnet also offers a few preconfigured options.

The DuoModo Echo III includes one x16 and two x8 PCIe slots that connect to a Mac's Thunderbolt port, along with a 400W power supply and a 75W auxiliary power connector for cards that require additional power.

Sonnet's DuoModo eGPU Module, which is what most MacRumors readers may be interested in, supports full-length, full-height 2.5-slot width GPU cards, and it has built-in variable-speed fans for cooling purposes. It's future proof with an 800W power supply. We used an AMD Radeon 6800 in the eGPU with an Intel ‌Mac mini‌ and saw OpenCL and Metal scores of 97499 and 132543, respectively, vastly outperforming the 4561 OpenCL and 4522 Metal scores from the integrated Graphics 630 card.

There's also a DuoModo xMac mini Module that holds an Intel or M1 ‌Mac mini‌ and allows it to be mounted in an enclosure. There's a built-in Thunderbolt 3 storage dock with two 10Gb/s USB-C ports, one USB-A port, and one 40Gb/s Thunderbolt 3 port. It also has two M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD sockets to let users add up to 16TB of storage.

These modules can go in one of Sonnet's enclosures, such as the Dual-Module Desktop Enclosure. Sonnet's dual enclosure holds any two of the DuoModo modules, and there's also a single-module option.

Sonnet's DuoModo system is comprehensive, versatile, and easy to use for those who need professional expansion options. Make sure to check out our video up above to see the DuoModo in action.

A new "Today at Apple" session shared on YouTube today explores how to shoot and edit "otherworldly" photos in Night mode on an iPhone with the help of photographer Maria Lax and Landon, a Creative at Apple Grand Central in New York City.

Apple says its free "Today at Apple" sessions are meant to inspire hands-on creativity in photography, art, design, video, coding, music, and more using Apple products and accessories like the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Pencil. Initially hosted exclusively at Apple Stores, the sessions started to be offered online during the pandemic, and Apple also started uploading sessions to YouTube earlier this month.

This is the second "Today at Apple" session uploaded to YouTube, with the first exploring how to draw yourself as a "Peanuts" character in the Pages app using an iPad and Apple Pencil, with the help of "The Snoopy Show" storyboard artist Krista Porter.

Apple has sent a cease and desist letter to a leaker based in China as part of its continuing attempts to curtail leaks of unreleased products, according to Vice.

A Chinese citizen who shared images of stolen Apple prototypes on social media was sent a warning letter from Fangda Partners, Apple's law firm in China, on June 18, 2021. An extract from the letter read:

You have disclosed without authorization a large amount of information related to Apple's unreleased and rumored products, which has constituted a deliberate infringement of Apple's trade secrets. Through investigation, Apple has obtained relevant evidence about your unauthorized disclosure of Apple's unreleased and rumored products. Your intentional infringement is specifically manifested as: publishing unpublished information about Apple's new products through social media platforms, including but not limited to the design and performance of these new products.

The letter went on to ask the seller to stop obtaining, advertising, and selling leaked Apple devices and requested information about anyone who provided them with leaked devices. The leaker was also asked to sign a document agreeing to comply with the requests within 14 days of receiving the letter. It is not clear who the Chinese citizen was that leaked the prototype devices in this particular case.

A previous Vice investigation revealed that there is a gray market fueled by Chinese Apple or Foxconn employees who sneak unreleased hardware out of factories, which allows resellers to acquire devices to sell to collectors, some of who post images on social media.

Elsewhere, the original Twitter account of the leaker known as "Mr. White," with the handle @laobaiTD, was deleted around June 11. There is a new Mr. White account on Twitter posting images of Apple prototypes, but the original @laobaiTD was responsible for images purporting to depict a shorter, third-generation Apple Pencil and second-generation AirPods Pro circuitry.

Mr. White leaked accurate images of the iPhone 12 Pro's rear glass, an iPhone 12 mini display unit, the A14 chip, the iPad mini 5's chassis, and more, all before their official release, as well as leaked images of unreleased products such as a black ceramic Apple Watch Series 5, a Jet Black iPhone X, and a fifth-generation iPod Touch with an alternate design.

The letter from Apple lines up with others sent last month to the reliable leaker known as "Kang," "CConceptCreator," who created leaker Jon Prosser's accurate renders of AirPods Max before they were released, and others. Another leaker called "Jin Store" on Twitter, who leaked images of accurate molds of the iPhone 12 lineup, told Vice that he had not received a letter from Apple.

While it seems that many of these letters were sent just over a month ago, it is increasingly clear that June saw a fierce and widespread attempt from Apple to cull information coming from individual leakers outside the United States.

Starting with iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, and watchOS 8, Apple will cut back on integration between Siri and third-party apps, drastically reducing the type and number of commands users will be able to invoke through the virtual assistant for third-party apps.

On a developer support page, Apple says that a number of SiriKit intents and commands will no longer be supported with the public release of all of its upcoming operating systems this fall. Apple lists a total of 22 SiriKit commands that will no longer be supported, with the most notable one being that users will no longer be able to book a ride, such as with Uber.

Alongside removing support for ride-booking apps to integrate with ‌Siri‌, Apple is also cutting back on ‌Siri‌'s ability to integrate with to-do apps. With the new changes, users of popular to-do and note apps, such as Things 3 or Todoist, will no longer be able to create a new task list, delete a task, or amend a note by simply asking ‌Siri‌. The ability to create new tasks, however, will remain.

Additional changes include the deprecation of SiriKit intents that allow users to make bill payments with third-party apps, search for bills, or transfer money between two accounts within a specific app. Apple is also cutting back on several CarPlay intents, removing the ability for users to use ‌Siri‌ to set an audio source in a car, adjust climate, seat, or defroster settings.

Ahead of when these changes go into effect, Apple advises that developers update their apps to remove any marketing material, such as graphics or instructional material, that informs users of the ability to use ‌Siri‌ to conduct certain tasks. Apple further notes that developers will not need to remove the soon to be deprecated SiriKit APIs from their apps code but will receive warnings when attempting to compile their apps with Xcode.

Make plans to update any promotional activities that highlight the functionality provided by these APIs in your app. Please note that the symbols will remain in the SDK, so you don't need to remove the API calls from your app. However, you'll receive compile-time warnings alerting you to the deprecation going forward.

Apple is rather quiet on why it's deciding to suddenly limit ‌Siri‌'s integration with third-party apps, especially as the company is in the midst of growing concerns around anti-competitive conduct. Several developers, companies, and governments are investigating Apple regarding alleged actions that stifle competition from third-party developers, and at the same time, further promote first-party apps and services.

The latest round of changes to SiriKit may spark additional concerns, as some large developers will no longer be offered features that are available to first-party apps made by Apple.

Alternatively, the latest move by Apple may be part of its plan to consolidate users and developers into using Shortcuts. Shortcuts allow users to create a custom phrase that triggers a specific task for a third-party app. Developers can expose a specific task, such as sending a message through Instagram to Shortcuts, allowing users to create a specific phrase that triggers the task when invoked through ‌Siri‌.

With the new updates, if a user attempts to make a command not supported for third-party apps, ‌Siri‌ will respond by saying that the command cannot be completed. ‌iOS 15‌, alongside ‌iPadOS 15‌, ‌macOS Monterey‌, and ‌watchOS 8‌, are all set to be released this fall and are currently in beta testing with developers and public beta testers.

During today's earnings call for the third fiscal quarter of 2021 (second calendar quarter), Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked how Apple decides what components to purchase and what components to develop, and Cook said that Apple asks if it can be done better.

We ask ourselves if we can do something better. If we can deliver a better product. If we can buy something in the market and it's great and it's as good as what we can do, we're going to buy it. We'll only enter where we have an ability to do something better and therefore make a better product for the user.

Cook went on to explain that the M1 chip is a great example of that. "We have the ability within our silicon team to make a product that's appreciably better than what we could buy," he said.

Response to the ‌M1‌ chip has been "unbelievable," and has been powering Mac and iPad sales that are constrained. "That's how we look at that and whether we should enter a market or not," said Cook.

The ‌M1‌ chip has allowed Apple to cut ties with Intel, and Apple is no longer reliant on Intel technology or Intel release timelines. In the future, Apple is also planning to come out with its own modem chips, reducing its reliance on Qualcomm.