In iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, Apple has added a new "Keep Downloaded" option when browsing items in iCloud, allowing users to designate which files and folders should remain permanently available locally on their device.
In previous versions of iOS and macOS, users had limited control over which files and folders were kept offline. iCloud's automatic management system would offload files from the device to free up space, potentially removing files that you might want to keep available at all times.
Apple offered no straightforward way to prevent this – until now. In macOS Sequoia, when browsing iCloud Drive in Finder, right-clicking a file or folder reveals the new "Keep Downloaded" option. When enabled, the cloud symbol next to the item is opaque instead of transparent, indicating that it will remain on the device.
In iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, the same option can be found in the Files app when a file or folder is long pressed to bring up the contextual menu. Users can now explicitly mark files to remain on their device, regardless of how much storage they take up.
The ability to prevent iCloud items from being offloaded should be particularly welcomed by users who need to frequently access documents or files during travel or in areas with poor connectivity. macOS Sequoia, iOS 18, and iPadOS 18 are available in a beta capacity right now, and are limited to developers. The new option should be available to all users when the software launches to the public this fall.
Apple is rumored to be planning a revamp of the Apple Watch for the device's tenth anniversary, and 91mobiles claims to have sourced CAD renders of what could be the "Apple Watch X" or Apple Watch Series 10 from industry insiders.
The site claims that the renders are of a "larger" model featuring a 2-inch display. The current Apple Watch Series 9 has a 1.7-inch display, while the Apple Watch Ultra has a display size of 1.93-inches, so this would be the biggest screen on an Apple Watch so far.
That said, its dimensions are said to measure roughly 46 x 39.7 x 11.6mm, which would make it bigger overall than the Series 9 but smaller than the Ultra. Otherwise, the renders suggest a design similar to the Series 9, with a Digital Crown and Side button, and a square display.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said a significantly overhauled "Apple Watch X" would launch in either 2024 or 2025, to mark the tenth anniversary of the device, so this could be the anniversary device, or it could be the Apple Watch Series 10. The original Apple Watch was announced in September 2014 and released in April 2015.
Gurman said the "Apple Watch X" would be equipped with a thinner case. The Bloomberg reporter also said it would potentially have a magnetic band attachment system, although there's no evidence of that in the renders.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently claimed that Apple Watch Series 10 will be thinner and come in larger screen sizes than previous models. Kuo said the screen size options on the next-generation Apple Watch will increase from 41mm to 45mm, and from 45mm to 49mm, while being encased in a thinner design. For reference, the Apple Watch Ultra has a 49mm case.
It's unclear at this point whether the CAD renders are accurate, but either way Apple typically launches new Apple Watch models around September alongside its latest iPhone lineup. Apple is said to be planning to incorporate blood pressure monitoring this year, with the watch able to detect hypertension, while sleep apnea detection is also said to be coming to the 2024 Apple Watch model.
According to the document, today's firmware updates address a security issue that could have allowed an attacker within Bluetooth range to spoof the details of a device you've previously connected your headphones to, allowing the attacker to gain access to your headphones.
Apple usually mentions in its support documents if a security issue is known to have been exploited in the wild, but the company has not indicated that this is the case with this issue. Still, it's a good idea to update the firmware on your headphones as soon as possible as others could be inspired to attempt to replicate an exploit of the issue now that its existence has been publicized.
There is no straightforward mechanism for initiating a firmware update for AirPods and Beats headphones, with Apple simply stating that the updates are "automatically delivered while your headphones are paired with and in Bluetooth range of your iPhone, iPad, or Mac."
With the second beta of iOS 18 that came out yesterday, Apple added an RCS toggle, but RCS messaging was not working at that time. RCS support appears to now be rolling out, based on reports from iOS 18 users.
Some testers who have iOS 18 installed have confirmed that they are able to send RCS messages to Android users, with RCS features available. Texts that are RCS-based instead of SMS/MMS-based are denoted with an RCS label.
RCS, or Rich Communication Services, allows iPhone and Android users to exchange higher quality photos and videos, audio messages, and larger file sizes. Features like read receipts and real-time typing indicators are supported too, with a full list of what's new available below.
Support for higher resolution photos and videos.
Support for larger file sizes and file sharing.
Audio messages.
Cross-platform emoji reactions.
Real-time typing indicators.
Read receipts.
Ability to send messages over cellular or Wi-Fi (SMS is cellular only). There is no cost to send an RCS message over Wi-Fi.
Improved group chats.
RCS messages can be enabled in the Messages section of the Settings app, and are toggled on by default. At the current time, RCS messaging is only available to those in the United States who have a carrier that supports RCS. T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon users running iOS 18 should have the RCS toggle available, but those with MVNOs and smaller carriers will not be able to use the feature yet.
Not all iOS 18 users with T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon are seeing RCS enabled, so it appears that support is still rolling out.
iOS 18 is available in a beta capacity right now, and it is limited to developers. RCS will be available to all iOS 18 users when the software launches to the public this fall.
The ChatGPT app for Mac is now available to all users, OpenAI announced today. The app first came out in mid-May, but it saw a slow rollout that was limited to ChatGPT Plus subscribers until now.
OpenAI says that the ChatGPT Mac app is meant to make it easier for users to access ChatGPT and to ask questions about email, screenshots, websites, and content on the Mac. With the ChatGPT app installed, you can press Option + Space on the keyboard to bring up a chat interface for asking ChatGPT a question.
There's a built-in Voice Mode for having voice conversations with ChatGPT, a search feature for looking through past conversations, and more. With the wider rollout, no subscription plan is necessary for using ChatGPT on the Mac. OpenAI has made the latest version of ChatGPT, GPT-4o, available for free, but for a limited number of requests.
The ChatGPT desktop app for macOS is now available for all users.
Get faster access to ChatGPT to chat about email, screenshots, and anything on your screen with the Option + Space shortcut: https://t.co/2rEx3PmMqgpic.twitter.com/x9sT8AnjDm
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) June 25, 2024
Apple has established a partnership with OpenAI that will see ChatGPT integrated into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. With user permission, Apple's built-in Siri personal assistant can hand complicated requests over to ChatGPT, relaying the information to the user.
Apple today released new firmware update for several products, including the Lightning and USB-C versions of the AirPods Pro 2, the first-generation AirPods Pro, the AirPods Max, the second and third-generation AirPods, the Beats Fit Pro, and the PowerBeats Pro.
The second-generation AirPods Pro models, the PowerBeats Pro, and the Beats Fit Pro now have firmware version 6F8, up from 6F7, while the other models have firmware version 6A326, up from 6A321.
Apple does not often provide details on what features might be included in the refreshed firmware beyond "bug fixes and other improvements," so it is unclear what's new in the update.
Apple doesn't offer instructions on how to upgrade AirPods software, but firmware is generally installed over-the-air while the AirPods are connected to an iOS device. Putting the AirPods or Beats in the case, connecting to a power source, and then pairing the AirPods or Beats to an iOS device or Mac should force the update.
You can check your AirPods firmware by following these steps:
Connect your AirPods to your iOS device.
Open the Settings app.
Tap General.
Tap About.
Tap AirPods.
Look at the number next to "Firmware Version."
If we learn more about what's new in the firmware release, we'll update this article.
Amazon this week has a collection of discounts on the Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Ultra 2, providing near all-time low prices on both of these wearables.
Apple Watch SE
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Apple's 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE is available for $189.00 today on Amazon, down from $249.00. This is just $10 higher compared to the all-time low price on the wearable. This deal is available in all three aluminum color options, and only Amazon has the discount.
You can also get the 44mm GPS Apple Watch SE on sale right now, available for $219.00 on Amazon, down from $279.00. This is another near all-time low price that's just $10 away from the lowest price on the Apple Watch SE, and it's also available in all three aluminum colors.
This model of the Apple Watch SE launched in September 2022 and remains Apple's most affordable Apple Watch. The Apple Watch SE lacks some of the upgraded features you'll find in some Series 9 or Ultra 2 models, like temperature sensing and ECG functionality, but it will otherwise provide you with all key Apple Watch features, and at the cheapest price possible.
Apple Watch Ultra 2
Finally, we're also tracking a solid deal on one model of the Apple Watch Ultra 2. You can get the model with the Indigo Alpine Loop (Small) for $714.00 on Amazon, down from $799.00. While this is the only model at $714.00, Amazon also has a bigger collection of Ultra 2 models at $719.00, a solid second-best price.
Apple today announced that Tap to Pay on iPhone is available in Germany, providing a way for independent sellers, small businesses, and larger merchants in the country to use an iPhone as a contactless payment terminal.
Retailers can take advantage of the NFC chip in the iPhone to accept credit and debit card payments, Apple Pay, and other tap-based payment methods. Tap to Pay on iPhone works similarly to hardware-based payment systems like the Square Reader, but it does not require additional hardware to work.
When a customer makes a purchase, a merchant that supports Tap to Pay on iPhone can accept a payment by having the customer bring a credit card, debit card, prepaid card, iPhone, Apple Watch, or other digital wallet close to the merchant's iPhone. The transaction is completed through NFC, with processing done using the Secure Element for security purposes.
Tap to Pay on iPhone is available to payment platforms and payment app developers in Germany. Adyen, Commerz Globalpay, myPOS, Nexi, SumUp, and Viva support Tap to Pay on iPhone starting today, with mollie, PAYONE, Revolut, Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, and Stripe set to implement support later in the year.
Since Tap to Pay on iPhone first launched in the United States in February 2022, Apple has been working to expand it to additional countries. It is now available in 12 countries, including United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Brazil, Italy, France, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Germany.
Tap to Pay on iPhone is compatible with the iPhone XS and newer, so iPhones manufactured since September 2018 can use it. Tap to Pay also requires a contactless card or device, and it is compatible with cards from American Express, Global Discover Network, Diners, Mastercard, and Visa.
macOS Sequoia expands a long-existing accessibility feature on the iPhone and iPad to the Mac: Headphone Accommodations.
On the macOS Sequoia beta, the Headphone Accommodations options are in the System Settings app under Accessibility → Audio. The settings allow you to customize the audio for all AirPods and select Beats headphones. For example, Apple says you can amplify soft sounds and adjust certain frequencies to help music, phone calls, and more sound more crisp.
When a user configures Headphone Accommodations settings for second-generation AirPods Pro on macOS, the adjusted audio will persist when the headphones are connected to other audio sources, according to a note on Apple's developer website.
These settings were previously only available in the Settings app on the iPhone and iPad.
macOS Sequoia is currently in beta for developers, with a public beta to follow in July. The update will likely be widely released in September or October.
Launched in 2012 before Beats was acquired by Apple, the original Beats Pill shook up the portable Bluetooth speaker category with fun colors and well-regarded sound quality. The speaker got an upgrade in 2015 with the launch of the Pill+ under Apple's ownership, but over time it appeared to become an afterthought for Beats compared to headphones and earphones, and the Pill+ was eventually discontinued in early 2022.
After several months of teasing, Beats is officially announcing the return of the Beats Pill today with a host of upgrades and a lower price point of $149.99. The new Pill features a completely redesigned speaker system consisting of a single tweeter and a single racetrack woofer, a removable lanyard, USB-C and Bluetooth connectivity, 24 hours of battery life, and IP67 water and sweat resistance.
Available in Matte Black, Champagne Gold, and Statement Red color options, the new Beats Pill features a soft-touch silicone housing with a metal speaker grille and a Beats "b" logo, with several subtle physical buttons along the top for on-device controls. The new removable lanyard slips easily around the wrist to help secure it while being carried or even to let the speaker dangle from, although it can't be tightened up for additional security.
Compared to the previous Pill+, the reengineered single racetrack woofer in the Beats Pill uses stronger neodymium magnets to drive 28% more motor force, allowing the woofer to displace 90% more air volume, while radial ribbing around the edges minimizes low-end distortion. The new Pill also moves from dual tweeters to a redesigned single tweeter in its own housing for extra stability and to similarly reduce distortion. Both speakers are aligned to give the Pill a 20º inclined tilt, which provides better sound projection with less reflected sound.
If you have two Beats Pill speakers, you can pair them up in either Amplify Mode, which gives you bigger overall sound for larger spaces, or Stereo Mode, which separates the sound output into left and right channels sent to the different speakers.
The Beats Pill can serve as a speakerphone for your connected devices, with a noise-learning algorithm that suppresses ambient sound to target the user's voice, and full duplex support helps ensure your conversations are intelligible to both sides. Voice assistant support for connected devices is also include, so you can activate Siri or Google Assistant with the press of a button.
USB-C comes to the Beats Pill for the first time, allowing for lossless audio over a wired connection, easy recharging, and the ability to charge other devices from the Pill's internal battery. The Pill itself has up to 24 hours of battery life, and a 10-minute Fast Fuel delivers up to two hours of playback. A black USB-C to USB-C cable is included in the box.
The new Pill has four buttons along the top edge, a Power button, a Center button, and Volume Up/Down buttons. Each of the buttons serves multiple purposes, so you can control a fair amount of features without needing to dig into your iPhone. A press of the Power button turns the speaker on or off, while a brief tap lights up an adjacent LED for battery status, a double tap activates Siri, and a triple tap reverses the charging direction when connected via USB-C. Pressing and holding the Power button while plugging the Pill in via USB-C activates wired audio input.
The Center button is for your usual media controls, with a single press playing or pausing your audio, a double press skipping forward, and a triple press skipping backward. The Center button is also used in combination with the Volume Up/Down buttons to configure the paired speaker modes. Holding the Center buttons on two speakers activates Amplify Mode, and holding Center and Volume Up on one of them then activates Stereo Mode with that speaker becoming the left channel. The same combination returns to Amplify Mode or holding Center and Volume Down can be used to break the speaker group entirely.
A proprietary chip platform from Beats offers seamless access across both Apple and Android platforms, with one-touch pairing, automatic setup across all devices connected to an iCloud or Google account, and support for Find My and Find My Device tracking based on the speaker's last connected location.
The new Pill does have some heft, weighing in at 24 ounces (~680 grams), although that is 10% lighter than the Pill+. It measures a little over 8.5 inches (~22 cm) long by 2.8 inches (~7 cm) deep and high, just fractionally larger than the Pill+. It's certainly portable and you can easily toss it in a bag, but you're not going to want to carry it in your hand wherever you go.
The revamped Beats Pill is priced at $149.99 and is available to order today in all three colors, with shipping beginning this Thursday, June 27.
Amazon today announced that its annual Prime Day sale event will take place beginning Tuesday, July 16 and run through Wednesday, July 17. Amazon began Prime Day back in 2015, and since 2019 the event has been running for two days straight every summer.
Shoppers can expect massive discounts on an array of products, including Apple devices. Some deals will last the entire run of the sale, but there will also be lightning deals that drop every 30 minutes and last for select periods, or until they sell out.
To get in on these Prime Day deals, you will need to be an Amazon Prime member. If you aren't, you can join Prime to participate in this year's Prime Day. Once your initial free trial is over, Prime membership will run for $14.99/month or $139/year. For students, that's $7.49/month or $69/year, with a six month free trial for new students.
Amazon is already highlighting early Prime Day deals that you can shop now, weeks ahead of the event. For now, this mainly includes Amazon devices like Kindles, Echo Dot, Fire TVs, and other Amazon branded products.
Once Prime Day kicks off, Amazon's website will be filled with lightning deals on everything from tech products to home appliances, clothing, toys, and much more. We'll be covering all of the best deals you can get throughout Prime Day, particularly on all of the Apple products that appear, so be sure to keep an eye on the MacRumors front page starting July 16.
Prime Day discounts will be available to Amazon Prime members in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Amazon held two Prime Day events last year, one in July and a second in October. Given that we're only now hearing about the July event, we don't know yet if the retailer will again host a second Prime Day, which it called "Prime Big Deal Days," in the fall. If and when that is announced, you can also expect us to cover all of the deals that come out.
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OLED iPad Pro panel maker LG Display has begun mass producing the industry's first 13-inch tandem OLED panel designed for laptops, the Korean company announced this week.
LG Display supplies the majority of OLED panels for Apple's latest M4 iPad Pro models, which use a similar tandem structure. Tandem OLED panels combine two stacks of red, green, and blue (RGB) organic light emitting layers, which together offer better durability and performance compared to single-layer OLED panels such as the one used in Apple's iPhones.
LG has been developing the panels for the automotive industry since 2019, and says that efficiency gains mean they reduce power consumption by up to 40%, and enable up to three times the brightness. By designing the components and enhancing the structure of the 13-inch tandem OLED panel, LG Display says it has also been able to make it around 40% thinner and 28% lighter than existing OLED laptop screens, allowing for a sleek design and greater portability.
The new panel combines convenience and performance with high definition. It boasts a WQXGA+ (2880×1800) high resolution and accurate color expression that meets 100% of the DCI-P3 standard color area established by the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI), allowing high-definition content to be presented with increased clarity.
With OLED's characteristic self-emissive pixels and infinite contrast ratio, it has also been certified as Display HDR (High Dynamic Range) True Black 500 by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). This confirms its ability to show both bright and dark images so well that it enhances their three-dimensionality and produces a display quality that is as close as possible to what the human eye naturally sees.
There are currently no Macs with OLED displays. However, according to a November 2023 report by analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong International Technology Research, Apple is actively developing an OLED screen for the MacBook Air, although the release of an OLED MacBook Pro is expected to come first.
An earlier report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claimed that a new MacBook Pro with an OLED display could be the first touchscreen Mac in 2025. Notably LG Display says that it has also embedded a touch sensor inside its latest tandem OLED panels to improve touch performance.
Starting with macOS Sequoia, app downloads and installations from the Mac App Store will no longer require double the amount of local storage space available. Instead, the free space requirement now matches the final install size of the app, plus a small buffer, according to Apple.
The new space requirement in macOS 15 should significantly benefit users who download large games. Currently in macOS Sonoma, users have to ensure they have double the space available, which is often a challenge for games that can take up tens or even hundreds of gigabytes.
But in macOS 15 beta 2, you only need to have enough space for the game's final size, plus the small buffer, as per the release notes. By aligning the free space requirements more closely with actual app sizes, macOS 15 should give users a better idea ahead of time of whether they can install an app from the Mac App Store, which will make general storage management easier.
Apple has told developers to update any messaging related to app size requirements to reflect the change, which should reduce confusion about how much free space is needed for new app installations. macOS Sequoia is currently in its second developer beta, with a public beta expected in July, followed by a general release in the fall.
Apple is delaying plans for a major new campus located in North Carolina, reports the Triangle Business Journal. Back in 2021, Apple said it would invest more than $1 billion in North Carolina, a project that included a new engineering and research center in the Research Triangle area of Raleigh and Durham.
Assemblage of seven properties in Research Triangle Park owned by Apple
A limited amount of progress on the campus has been made since the announcement, and Apple has not provided updates on construction until now. Apple told Triangle Business Journal that it has paused work on the campus, and it is working with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and the North Carolina Department of Commerce to extend the project's timeline by four years.
No reason was given for the delay, but Apple said that it is still committed to building in North Carolina.
Apple has been operating in North Carolina for over two decades. And we're deeply committed to growing our teams here. In the last three years, we've added more than 600 people to our team in Raleigh, and we're looking forward to developing our new campus in the coming years.
Apple last year filed development plans for the first phase of construction, but the specific timeline for the project has never been clear. Apple's plans for Research Triangle Park include six buildings and a parking garage totaling 700,000 square feet of office space, 190,000 square feet of accessory space, and close to 3,000 parking spaces spanning 41 acres.
Apple owns 281 acres of land in the area where it plans to build its campus, so there could ultimately be several phases of construction. As it prepares to build the NC research center, Apple is leasing more than 200,000 square feet of office space in Cary, North Carolina.
Apple turned down an AI partnership with Facebook parent company Meta due to privacy concerns, according to a report from Bloomberg. Meta and Apple had a brief discussion about a possible partnership in March, but the talks did not progress and Apple does not plan to integrate Meta's large language model (LLM) into iOS.
Over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal suggested that Apple and Meta were in active discussions about integrating Llama, Facebook's LLM, into iOS 18 as part of Apple Intelligence. The report suggested that the discussions were ongoing had not been finalized, but Bloomberg's follow-up indicates Apple never seriously considered a partnership.
Preliminary talks happened at the same time that Apple began discussions with OpenAI and Google parent company Alphabet, but Apple decided not to move on to a more formal discussion because "it doesn't see that company's privacy practices as stringent enough."
Apple did end up signing a deal with OpenAI, and ChatGPT will be integrated into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. Users can opt-in to ChatGPT, with Siri able to hand some requests off to the more sophisticated AI model. Apple is also working on a deal with Google to integrate Gemini into its operating systems, and it is holding discussions with AI company Anthropic.
At WWDC, Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that Apple wants to provide users with a choice between different AI models, with the company planning to establish deals with multiple providers.
Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.
Safari Technology Preview 197 includes fixes and updates for Canvas, CSS, Forms, JavaScript, Media, Rendering, Security, SVG, Web Inspector, WebDriver, and WebGL.
The current Safari Technology Preview release is compatible with machines macOS Sonoma and the macOS Sequoia beta, the newest version of macOS that Apple is beta testing.
The Safari Technology Preview update is available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences or System Settings to anyone who has downloaded the browser. Full release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.
Apple's aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.
The Information today reported that shortly after COVID-19-related lockdowns and protests in China impacted iPhone assembler Foxconn in late 2022, Apple's senior vice president of operations Sabih Khan instructed managers to reduce the number of workers on iPhone assembly lines by as much as 50% over the following few years.
To achieve this goal, Apple allegedly began approving high-cost automation projects for iPhone assembly that it previously shied away from. The report claims these efforts resulted in a "significant amount" of automation being involved for iPhone 15 production, but automation has still posed challenges for Apple due to manufacturing complexities.
For example, the report claims that Apple had to cancel some automation processes for the iPhone 16 series due to a "high rate of defects":
This year, Apple sought to build on some of its automation successes by using machines to install the iPhone's buttons, receiver, speaker and main logic board into its chassis, according to three people who worked in Apple's supply chain. But the machines stumbled in properly fastening those components, which have to be carefully screwed into position at odd angles, the people said.
Apple's push for automation could allow it to move even more iPhone assembly to countries outside of China, such as India, Vietnam, and Thailand, as part of the company's efforts to diversify its supply chain in Southeast Asia.
Apple today released the second betas of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 to developers, and the software adds support for new features that Apple is working on, plus it tweaks some of the interface changes that have been made in the updates.
Apple will refine iOS 18 over the course of the next few months, with multiple changes and refinements expected from now until September. We've highlighted everything new in the second iOS 18 beta.
iPhone Mirroring
When paired with a Mac running macOS Sequoia beta 2, iOS 18 beta 2 supports the Mac-based iPhone Mirroring feature. With iPhone Mirroring, you can control your iPhone using your Mac.
iPhone Mirroring can be enabled by clicking on the new iPhone Mirroring icon on a Mac and following the instructions. It lets you open and use apps, manage notifications, and more, all while your iPhone is locked.
RCS Toggle
iOS 18 beta 2 adds a toggle for the new RCS messaging protocol that will replace SMS and MMS, but RCS is not yet functional. Right now, the RCS toggle only shows up for U.S. iPhone users who have a carrier that supports RCS, which includes T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T.
RCS will improve text messaging conversations with Android users, allowing for higher-quality images and videos, read receipts, typing indicators, Tapback support, and more.
Home Screen
The App Store icon on the Home Screen now has a dark mode, which changes the background color of the app. There's also a wallpaper tinting toggle that can be used in automatic mode, something that wasn't an option before. The toggle makes the wallpaper you've chosen darker.
For some icons, the second beta improves the contrast of the tint feature by adding more dark areas.
Note that tinting and icon color changes seem to be quite buggy in beta 2, and sometimes tints won't deactivate until the iPhone is restarted.
Widgets
There's a new Connected Card Wallet widget app, but it does not appear to be functional as of yet. Connected Cards integrate with the Wallet app to display total card balance and transaction history. In the United States, this feature only works with Discover at the current time.
Passwords App
There's a "+" button in the main view of the Passwords app when you open it, so you can add a new item without having to tap the "All" icon.
Control Center
The power button in the Control Center has a more pronounced haptic feel when pressing it, and it only triggers with a press rather than just a tap. The change will prevent the power button from accidentally being activated when using Control Center.
EU App Ecosystem Changes
In the European Union, the iPadOS 18 beta adds support for alternative app marketplaces and downloading apps from websites. These are the same changes that Apple made to the iPhone in iOS 17.4, with the updates now extended to the iPad as required by the European Commission.
More New Changes
Know of a new feature in beta 2 that we left out? Let us know in the comments below.
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Assemblage of seven properties in Research Triangle Park owned by Apple
