MacRumors

Apple has revamped the song queuing system in the Music app on iOS 18, and early reaction to the changes has been overwhelmingly positive.

Notable changes include a new "Add Songs to Queue" button at the bottom of the queue, an option to clear the entire queue all at once, and the ability to change the currently playing song without having the queue disappear. In addition, the former "Play Last" menu option has been replaced with "Add to Queue." While listening to a playlist, it is now possible to add a song to the queue for immediate playback after the current song, whereas the song would previously get added to the end of the playlist.

These changes bring Apple Music's queuing system on iPhone more in line with Spotify, and the Android version of the Apple Music app. It also brings Apple Music's queuing system more in line with how it worked back on iOS 9.

iOS 18 is currently available in beta for members of the Apple Developer Program, with a public beta to follow in July. The update should be widely released in September, allowing everyone to try out the new queuing system.

iOS 18 includes a small but interesting change for the buttons on the iPhone, adding more of a visual element when changing volume, activating the Action button, or locking the screen. When you press an ‌iPhone‌ button in ‌iOS 18‌, the display bezel bulges outward slightly.

This feature is available for the volume buttons, Action button and the power button, and it will also likely be used for the Capture button that's rumored for the iPhone 16 models. With the ‌iPhone 16‌, Apple is adding a dedicated button to make it easier to film and take photos in landscape orientation.

The button will be on the bottom right side of the ‌iPhone‌, a good distance below the power button. Rumors suggest that the Capture button could be capacitive and flush with the side of the ‌iPhone 16‌, so having the display pop out a bit when it's used would provide a useful visual indicator.

This small feature can be seen on iPhones running ‌iOS 18‌, but Apple did not include it on the iPad. As of right now, ‌iOS 18‌ is available for registered developers, but Apple plans to release a public beta in July.

Earlier this year, we reported that "Apple ID" would be renamed to "Apple Account," and this change has now been officially announced.

Apple confirmed the change in a press release today, with "Apple Account" branding now used across iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and watchOS 11:

With the releases of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and watchOS 11, Apple ID is renamed to Apple Account for a consistent sign-in experience across Apple services and devices, and relies on a user's existing credentials.

There are still some places where Apple ID branding remains for now, such as the Apple ID sign-in page on the web. The transition to "Apple Account" will likely be completed by time iOS 18 and the other software updates are publicly released later this year.

"Apple Account" is certainly a more straightforward name, but "Apple ID" had been used for over two decades and had a lot of sentimental value.

Apple's stock price has crossed the $200 mark and reached a new all-time high in intraday trading, one day after the company unveiled its Apple Intelligence suite of AI features coming with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.

Apple's stock price has split five times since the company went public, including on a 4-for-1 basis in 2020 most recently. This means that Apple's stock price would be over $45,000 today if it had never been split, and all other things being equal.

Generative AI has been a hot topic ever since ChatGPT debuted in 2022, and investors had been waiting for Apple to unveil its own plans for the technology.

Nvidia briefly surpassed Apple to become the world's second most valuable company last week, amid strong demand for its AI server chips, but Apple has now regained second place with a $3.1 trillion market cap as of writing. Apple now trails only Microsoft, which has a nearly $3.2 trillion market cap as of writing.

Apple Intelligence features are not included in the first developer betas of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, but they will be available this summer. Even when the features launch to the public later this year, they will still have a beta label. Read our coverage of the Apple Intelligence announcement to learn more about the new capabilities.

Apple has shared updated iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 adoption figures, revealing how many iPhones and iPads were running those software versions before WWDC.

These adoption numbers are based on iPhones and iPads that transacted on the App Store on June 9, the day before WWDC began, according to Apple.

The statistics are as follows:

• 77% of all iPhones were updated to iOS 17.
• 68% of all iPads were updated to iPadOS 17.
• 86% of all iPhones introduced in the last four years were updated to iOS 17.
• 77% of all iPads introduced in the last four years were updated to iPadOS 17.

These will be the final iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 adoption figures given that Apple has since made the first betas of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 available to developers.

Apple revealed that 81% of all iPhones were updated to iOS 16 as of May 30 last year, so iOS 17 adoption peaking at 77% of all iPhones as of a later June 9 date this year means that iOS 17 adoption was not quite as high as iOS 16.

All attention now turns to iOS 18, which will be publicly released in September.

With the first beta of iOS 18 now in the hands of developers, there are a handful of smaller changes and quality-of-life improvements being discovered in Apple's iPhone software that are worth highlighting.

First up, Apple has improved the flashlight controls. In iOS 18, turning on the Flashlight via the Lock Screen or Control Center now brings up a small interface that lets you adjust the flood of light from the LED. In other words, you now have granular control over not only the intensity of light, but also the breadth of illumination.

In the new Passwords app, you can generate QR codes for saved Wi-Fi passwords, allowing them to be shared more easily with others.

In the Settings app, usually you scroll down to get to settings for individual apps installed on your iPhone. In the iOS 18 beta, Apple has moved settings for apps to a separate screen, so now you tap "Apps" at the bottom of the menu to access a separate searchable list.

In the redesigned Control Center, which now extends to multiple screens, tapping a new + icon in the top-left corner (or long-pressing on an empty area) reveals minus icons that let you remove individual buttons, similar to how you remove apps from the Home Screen, and there's a new Add a Control option at the bottom. There are also anchors that let you resize buttons or cards like the media player. So if you've always wanted to make the Shazam icon a 4x4 button, for example, now you can.

Apple in iOS 18 has also added a new Power button to the top-right corner of the Control Center, so you don't have to physically hold the Side button to bring up the "Slide to power off" screen.

In the Weather app, you can show forecasts for separate Home and Work locations. The new Home and Work labels can be toggled in Settings ➝ Apps ➝ Weather, under a new "Locations" section. Home and work locations can be updated by editing your Contacts card.

The first developer beta of iOS 18 is now available, with a public beta following in July. Apple will officially release the new iPhone operating system to the public in the fall.

In addition to text effects and scheduled messages, iOS 18 adds a small but helpful change to iMessage: link card previews for more types of content.

When you paste a link for a social media post into the text field in the Messages app, the associated link card now appears before you send the message, whereas it previously only became visible after the message was sent.

It was already possible to see a link card preview before sending a message in some situations on iOS 17 and earlier, such as when sharing a website link directly from the Safari app or other browsers. The expansion of link card previews to more types of content, and to links pasted directly in the Messages app, is a nice improvement.

The first developer beta of iOS 18 is available now, and a public beta will follow in July. The update should be widely released in September.

As part of its Apple Intelligence feature set, Apple on Monday announced a partnership with OpenAI that will allow Siri to access ChatGPT directly in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia to provide better responses in relevant situations.

In conversation with reporters after the WWDC keynote, Apple's senior VP of software engineering Craig Federighi revealed that as Apple Intelligence evolves, the company eventually wants to give its users a choice between different AI models, and suggested that Google Gemini could be an option in the future.

"We think ultimately people are going to have a preference for certain models they want to use, maybe one that's great for creative writing or one that they prefer for coding," said Federighi. "Maybe Google Gemini in the future. I mean, nothing to announce right now, but that's our direction."

Federighi said that Apple's decision to start with ChatGPT was because the company wanted to "start with the best." ‌Siri‌ will leverage GPT-4o for free, with no need to create an account. Requests are not logged and IP addresses are obscured, while ChatGPT subscribers will also be able to access paid features within the experiences.

Apple Intelligence features are not included in the first beta of iOS 18, and instead will become available for testing over the U.S. summer. iOS 18 is expected to be publicly released in September.

During its WWDC 2024 keynote on Monday, Apple introduced a new Calculator app for iPad that includes a new Math Notes feature, and there are similar changes to be found in the Calculator app in iOS 18.

The Calculator app on iPhone now has an additional button to switch between Basic, Scientific, and Math Notes in portrait or landscape view. Meanwhile, there's a useful new History feature that helps you keep track of previous calculations.

In addition, a new Convert option supports unit conversions for length, weight, currencies, and more. Here's the full conversions that are supported:

• Angle
• Area
• Currency
• Data
• Energy
• Force
• Fuel
• Length
• Power
• Pressure
• Speed
• Temperature
• Time
• Volume
• Weight

In iPadOS 18, the new Calculator app lets users type or write out mathematical expressions with an Apple Pencil and see them solved in their own handwriting. These Math Notes are automatically accessible in the Notes app in a new Math Notes folder that can be accessed on both iPhone and iPad.

The first developer beta of iPadOS 18 is now available, with a public beta following in July, and official release to the public in the fall.

Among the slew of iOS 18 updates announced during Apple's WWDC 2024 keynote, the company revealed a new way of paying for things with Apple Cash, called Tap to Cash.

As the name suggests, Tap to Cash lets users pay for things simply by tapping two iPhones together. The feature is reminiscent of NameDrop, where users can exchange contacts by tapping their devices together.

Tap to Cash is an extension of Apple's Tap to Pay feature, and uses the same NFC functionality. Apple says that Tap to Cash allows users to transfer money without sharing any personal information, ensuring privacy is maintained.

Apple also announced a few updates coming to Apple Wallet with iOS 18, including support for displaying information about rewards cards, such as points and redeemable gifts. Tickets for events will also gain better integration with the Wallet app, allowing users to see concert seat numbers, shortcuts for directions, and other information about events.

As part of its Home Screen customization overhaul, iOS 18 lets iPhone users hide the labels on app icons for a cleaner look.

Turning off the labels causes the icons to expand and take up the space where the text usually appears underneath. Here's how it currently works in the iOS 18 Developer Beta.

1. On the Home Screen, press and hold on an empty area.
2. Tap Edit in the top-left corner.
3. Tap Customize.
4. In the customization menu that appears, tap the Large button.
5. Tap anywhere on the Home Screen to save your preference.

As things stand, it's not possible to hide labels and keep app icons small, but this could change in succeeding beta versions.

In addition to hiding app labels, other new Home Screen customization options in iOS 18 include the ability to place app icons anywhere, and a dark tint option for app icons.

Read our iOS 18 announcement coverage for more details about the update, which is now available in beta for members of the Apple Developer Program.

Apple crammed an overwhelming number of new features into its WWDC 2024 keynote event, introducing Apple Intelligence, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, visionOS 2, watchOS 11, and tvOS 18. It was hard to keep up with everything that Apple highlighted, so we did a video of all of the new additions you won't want to miss.

We've also got a full recap of all of today's WWDC keynote coverage for a more in-depth look at each announcement.

Apple Intelligence

• 'Apple Intelligence' Personal AI Unveiled for iPhone, iPad, and Mac
• Apple Unveils 'Image Playground' On-Device AI Image Generator
• Siri Can Access ChatGPT Directly With iOS 18
• Apple Intelligence Features Coming to iOS 18 Beta Testers This Summer
• iOS 18 Apple Intelligence Feature Will Have Waitlist During Initial 'Limited Preview'

iOS 18 and iPadOS 18

• Apple Announces iOS 18 With New Customization Features, Redesigned Photos App, and More
• Apple Unveils iPadOS 18 With New Calculator App, Tab Bar, and More
• iOS 18 Home Screen: Place Apps Anywhere and Dark Mode for Icons
• iOS 18: New Control Center Features Multiple Customizable Screens
• Apple Reveals New Head Gestures Coming to AirPods Pro Later This Year
• Apple Unveils Calculator App for iPad With Math Notes, Apple Pencil Support
• iMessage on iOS 18 Features Bold, Underline, Italics, and Text Effects
• iOS 18's New 'Genmoji' Feature Lets You Create Your Own Emoji
• Apple Releases New AirPods Pro 2 Beta Firmware With Support for iOS 18 Features
• Apple Introduces Standalone 'Passwords' App
• RCS Coming to Messages in iOS 18 for Improved Texts With Android Users
• You Can Send Texts via Satellite in iOS 18
• iOS 18 Lets You Swap Out Lock Screen Camera and Flashlight Buttons
• iOS 18 Introduces More Charging Limit Options on iPhone 15 Models: 85%, 90%, and 95%
• iOS 18 Brings New Insights, Widgets, and Health Integration to Apple's Journal App
• iOS 18 Can Record and Transcribe Your Phone Calls
• iOS 18 Lets You Lock and Hide Your Apps for Added Privacy
• HomeKit in iOS 18 Includes Guest Access, Hands-Free Unlock, Electricity Usage Integration and More

macOS Sequoia

• Apple Unveils macOS 15 Sequoia With iPhone Mirroring, Passwords App, More
• macOS Sequoia and iPadOS 18 Drop Support for These Macs and iPads
• iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia Add 'Rotate Wi-Fi Address' Option to Cut Down on Tracking
• iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia Let Websites and Apps Automatically Update Existing Logins to Passkeys

watchOS 11

• Apple Previews watchOS 11 With New Health and Workout Features
• watchOS 11 Drops Support for These Apple Watch Models

tvOS 18

• tvOS 18 Adds 'InSight' to Identify Actors and Songs in Apple TV+ Shows, Plus 'Enhanced Dialogue' Feature and More
• tvOS 18 Compatible With Apple TV HD Released Nearly Nine Years Ago

visionOS 2

• Apple Announces visionOS 2 With Ultra-Wide Mac Virtual Display, Travel Mode on Trains, and More
• Apple Launching Vision Pro in These 8 Countries by Mid-July

Other Announcements

• WWDC 2024 Apple Event Live Keynote Coverage: iOS 18, Apple's AI Push, and More
• iOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and More Available in Public Beta in July
• Apple Recaps 18 Key Announcements From WWDC 2024 Keynote in Short Video
• Apple Releases First Betas of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, tvOS 18, watchOS 11, and visionOS 2
• Elon Musk Threatens to Ban Apple Devices Over ChatGPT Integration
• Apple and Canon Announce Mirrorless Camera Lens Designed for Spatial Video Capture
• Apple Provides Updated Look at Next-Generation CarPlay at WWDC 2024

‌iOS 18‌, ‌macOS Sequoia‌, and Apple's other updates are available to developers right now, with Apple planning to introduce a public beta in July. For more on what's new, stay tuned to MacRumors for additional coverage throughout the week as WWDC continues.

With the new Passwords app in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, there's a feature that is designed to allow websites and apps to upgrade existing accounts to passkeys automatically.

Enabled by default, the feature will speed up the adoption of passkeys, which are more secure than a traditional login and password. Passkeys log you in with Face ID or Touch ID rather than a password, and because on-device authentication is required, passkeys put a stop to online attacks like phishing. There's no password to steal or authentication code that can be intercepted.

Several popular websites and services have implemented Passkey support since Apple started using passkeys in 2022, including Twitter, Google, WhatsApp, TikTok, PayPal, Best Buy, Microsoft, PlayStation, and eBay.

Passkeys are supported in the new Passwords app that's available in ‌iOS 18‌, ‌iPadOS 18‌, ‌macOS Sequoia‌, and Windows PCs through iCloud for Windows.

Apple today shared a few WWDC 2024 coding sessions related to its upcoming next-generation CarPlay system ahead of its launch later this year.

The sessions include lots of updated next-generation CarPlay images, with one revealing new Vehicle, Media, and Climate apps in action for the first time. MacRumors previously discovered evidence of these apps in the iOS 17.4 beta.

Next-generation CarPlay will be highly customizable, allowing automakers to tailor the design of the system to uniquely match their vehicles. Apple revealed a variety of different design options and layouts that will be possible, as shown below.

Other images provide a closer look at the Vehicle and Climate apps, which will house vehicle settings and climate controls, respectively.

Next-generation CarPlay will allow automakers to show custom alerts related to an electric vehicle's charging status, an available software update for the vehicle, and more. In addition, it will feature rear-camera integration, as shown below.

Apple's website continues to say that the first vehicles with next-generation CarPlay will arrive in 2024, but it has yet to provide a more specific timeframe, and it did not provide any timing-related updates in the WWDC coding sessions. Aston Martin and Porsche previewed next-generation CarPlay vehicle designs late last year.

For more details about next-generation CarPlay, read our previous coverage.

The Apple Intelligence features that will be introduced later during the iOS 18 beta testing process will have a waitlist at first, according to code in ‌iOS 18‌ found by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris.

In ‌iOS 18‌, ‌Apple Intelligence‌ is codenamed Graymatter. There are references to a waitlist, with specific strings that say "Join the Graymatter Waiting List" and "Joined Waitlist." There is also wording that refers to it as a "limited preview."

"While Graymatter is in limited preview, you may experience unusually slow responses when not in a supported region."

Apple plans to introduce ‌Apple Intelligence‌ during the iOS 18 beta testing period this summer, so the limited preview and waitlist may be something that Apple will use during the beta testing period.

It is possible, however, that there will be a waitlist when ‌Apple Intelligence‌ launches publicly in ‌iOS 18‌ given some of the issues that other AI services like ChatGPT have experienced at times due to demand. While iPhone users will need an iPhone 15 Pro or later to access ‌Apple Intelligence‌, it will also be available on all iPhone 16 models, which will launch with ‌iOS 18‌ installed, increasing the number of people using the feature at launch.

International Day of Yoga is set to take place on Friday, June 21, and Apple is celebrating with an Activity Challenge that will let Apple Watch users earn a yoga badge and a set of animated yoga stickers.

Find your flow on International Day of Yoga. On June 21, do a yoga workout of 10 minutes or more and you’ll earn this award. Record it with the Workout app or any app that adds workouts to Health.

To earn the in-app award on June 21, Apple Watch owners must record a yoga workout of 10 minutes or more.

Apple holds Activity Challenges for various holidays and events throughout the year, and began offering awards for International Day of Yoga back in 2019.

Any yoga workout will fulfill the requirement, as long as you select the yoga workout type from the Workout app on the Apple Watch or use an app that adds yoga workouts to the Health app.

HomeKit and the Home app weren't focused on much during Apple's WWDC keynote, but there are several new features that are coming in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.

With Customize Access, you can manage how and when people can access your ‌HomeKit‌ devices like garage openers, alarm systems, and door locks. You can create guest schedules and specific accessories that your guests can use, limiting times that your home is accessible. A home hub is required for this feature.

You can enable Express Mode for unlocking door locks automatically as you approach with an iPhone or an Apple Watch, so you don't need to tap your device to the lock to get it to open. You'll need an ‌iPhone‌ or Apple Watch with an Ultra Wideband chip for this to work, along with an Ultra Wideband lock.

Later this year, Apple plans to add support for robot vacuum cleaners. The Home app will support the core functionality of robot vacuums, like power control, cleaning mode, vacuum, mop, and charge status. The vacuums can also be used in automations and scenes, and respond to Siri requests.

Apple is adding electricity usage integration into the Home app, but it's only available to select Pacific Gas and Electric Company customers in the United States to begin. With this feature, users can see their home electricity usage from the Home app, along with rate plan.

Electricity usage integration is coming later in 2024, and Apple also plans to add other providers in the future.

Apple and Canon today announced the development of a new mirrorless camera lens designed to capture spatial video for the Vision Pro headset.

Canon's RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens is specifically intended to capture spatial video content, tailored for use with Apple's Vision Pro headset. The new lens is designed for the Canon EOS R7 camera and features dual optics, mimicking the human field of view.

The RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens features a high-speed autofocus mechanism, ensuring that even in challenging lighting conditions, videographers can capture clear spatial video. After recording, the footage can be processed using Canon's EOS VR Utility app, which transforms the video into spatial content optimized for the Vision Pro.

The announcement marks a significant step in the effort to create more content for the Vision Pro. The RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens is set to be available later this fall, with pricing details yet to be announced.