MacRumors

Just months after naming AllTrails the iPhone App of the Year in 2023, Apple has added new hiking features of its own to the Maps app on iOS 18.

Apple Maps users in the U.S. can browse thousands of hikes across all 63 national parks in the country, filtered by length, elevation, and route type. Users can also create and save their own custom walking and hiking routes, with one-way, out-and-back, and loop routing options to choose from where available.

Apple Maps added topographic maps on the Apple Watch with watchOS 10 last year, and these maps are now available on the iPhone too with iOS 18. Topographic maps and hikes can be saved for offline access with turn-by-turn voice guidance.

These features are mostly limited to the U.S., but topographic maps are also available in Japan, according to fine print on Apple's website.

Here is how Apple describes all of the features:

Apple Maps introduces even more ways to explore the world, including hikes and custom walking routes. Users can browse thousands of hikes across national parks in the United States — filtered by length, elevation, and route type — and save them to use while offline. Users can also create their own custom walking routes with just a few taps to plan everything from a local exercise route to a full-day walking tour in a new city. Additionally, they can save their favorite national park hikes, custom walking routes, and places to an all-new Places Library, and add personal notes about them.

MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris exclusively revealed that these features were coming to Apple Maps on the iPhone earlier this year.

iOS 18 is currently in beta and should be released in September.

iOS 18 includes a new LockedCameraCapture framework for developers, which will bring some useful new functionality to third-party apps with camera features. The update will let a third-party camera app be opened directly from the Lock Screen.

The expansion of Control Center in iOS 18 allows for third-party apps to be added to Control Center for quick access, and Control Center integrates with both the Lock Screen and the Action button. With this integration, third-party camera apps such as Halide will be able to create a Control Center camera button, which can then be added to the Control Center and stored in the new Control Center gallery.

The Lock Screen's standard Camera and Flashlight quick access buttons can be replaced with other Control Center integrations, including third-party ones, plus the Action button can be set to a Control Center control. So the ultimate result of all of this interconnection is the option to have a quick access camera button for a third-party camera app on the Lock Screen, rather than being limited to Apple's built-in Camera.

Further, with the specific LockedCameraCapture framework, the third-party camera app will be able to be opened into camera mode while an iPhone is locked, mimicking the functionality that's available with the standard Camera app.

Use the LockedCameraCapture framework to create an extension that allows people to launch your app's camera experience and capture content quickly when the device is locked. This extension makes your camera experience accessible to people from Control Center, the Lock Screen, or the Action button.

The framework allows for a button that opens directly into the camera of an app, even if the camera is not the app's only feature. Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and similar social networks could use this option to create a Control Center camera button able to be added to the Lock Screen that will allow for the quick capturing of photos and videos that could then be uploaded after unlocking a device.

Note that this would not upload content directly, as there is wording in the framework that requires the iPhone to be unlocked to view or complete a task with the video or photo captured from a locked iPhone.

This option will also be useful for iPhone users who prefer to capture images with a third-party camera app like Halide, as it will make the Halide camera feel much more like a default camera app able to be opened up by means other than activating it from the Home Screen.

Developers will need to add this framework to their apps, so it is a capability that we'll start seeing in action following the public launch of iOS 18 this fall.

iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models have an Action button in place of the Ring/Silent switch on older iPhones, and iOS 18 makes it even more useful.

iOS 18 allows the Action button to be assigned to one of the dozens of controls available in the new Control Center gallery, allowing the Action button to invoke Dark Mode, Airplane Mode, Personal Hotspot, and more. Options like Low Power Mode and Orientation Lock do not appear to be available as of iOS 18 beta 1, but the Shortcut action already allows the Action button to be assigned to those options if desired.

These new options are in addition to the actions that were already available for the Action button on iOS 17, including Ring/Silent, Do Not Disturb, Camera, Flashlight, Voice Memo, Magnifier, Translate, Shortcut, and Accessibility. Some of the new Control Center options were already possible with the Shortcut or Accessibility options.

It has been rumored that the Action button will be expanded to all four iPhone 16 models later this year, so these new controls will come to even more devices.

iOS 18 is currently in beta and should be released in September.

Following the WWDC keynote on Monday, Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed Apple Intelligence and more with popular tech content creators Justine Ezarik (iJustine), Marques Brownlee (MKBHD), and Safwan AhmedMia (SuperSaf). The videos are now on YouTube.

Cook touched on how Apple Intelligence features are designed to improve the lives of customers, with strong privacy safeguards in place.

Apple Intelligence will allow users to summarize text and notifications, create custom emoji and images, and more. Siri is also getting smarter with Apple Intelligence, with richer language understanding and more per-app controls. These features will require an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, or a Mac or iPad with an M1 chip or newer.

Apple Intelligence will be available when iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia are released later this year, but the features will have a beta label at launch. Developers will be able to start testing the features on the iOS 18 beta later this summer.

Cook also discussed Apple Intelligence with The Washington Post's Josh Tyrangiel, with that interview shared in written form.

On iPhone 15 models, iOS 18 will recommend that users set a particular charging limit for their device based on their recent usage habits, with the aim of potentially improving their iPhone battery's lifespan by reducing the time that the battery is fully charged.

All four iPhone 15 models feature a setting that prevents the devices from charging beyond 80% while toggled on, and iOS 18 expands the feature by adding new 85%, 90%, and 95% charging limit options. With the new limit options, iOS 18 now takes a proactive approach to improving battery longevity by recommending a specific charging limit to users via a notification.

The recommendation also appears in the Settings app under Battery → Charging. The charging limit feature remains exclusive to the iPhone 15 lineup on the first iOS 18 beta, with the option not found on the iPhone 14 Pro or older.

In a related change, anecdotal reports suggest that iOS 18 could be recalibrating some devices' maximum battery capacity percentage. In Settings ➝ Battery ➝ Battery Health, "Maximum Capacity" is a measure of battery capacity relative to when the device was new. Lower capacity can result in fewer hours of usage between charges.

• How to Get the iOS 18 Developer Beta on Your iPhone

The first iOS 18 beta is available for Apple Developer Program members, and a public beta will follow in July. After beta testing is complete, the update should be widely released to all users with an iPhone XS or newer in September.

Apple Vision Pro launches in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the U.K. on Friday, July 12, and you will be able to try out the spatial computer at your local Apple Store in those countries starting on the same day next month.

Starting on Friday, July 12 at 8 a.m. local time, until the end of the day on Sunday, July 14, Apple Stores in the five aforementioned countries will allow customers to receive a Vision Pro demo on a first-come, first-served basis. As happened in the U.S., demos will likely shift to an appointment basis starting on the following Monday.

Given that the Vision Pro costs thousands of dollars, the 30-minute demo provides customers with a free way to experience spatial computing without having to spend a fortune. During the demo, customers will learn how to navigate the visionOS operating system, and explore built-in apps such as Apple TV, Photos, and Safari.

Vision Pro will be available to pre-order in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the U.K. starting Friday, June 28 at 5 a.m. Pacific Time. The spatial computer is also launching in China, Japan, and Singapore, with pre-orders starting on Thursday, June 13, at 6 p.m. Pacific Time in those countries, ahead of a June 28 launch.

visionOS 1.2 adds support for languages in these additional countries and regions, and visionOS 2 with a range of new features will be available later this year.

Vision Pro first launched in the U.S. in early February.

Amazon has nearly every AirPods model on sale this week, with two versions hitting their all-time low price. Additionally, we're tracking solid deals on a few Beats headphones, including $70 off the new Beats Solo 4 and $170 off the Beats Studio Pro.

AirPods

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Prices start at $79.99 for the AirPods 2, down from $129.00 and about $10 cheaper than the last time we tracked this deal.

Amazon also has the higher-end AirPods on sale, including the AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C for $189.99, down from $249.00, and the AirPods Max for $449.00, down from $549.00. The latter model is available at this price in all five colors: Space Gray, Silver, Sky Blue, Pink, and Green.

Beats

Amazon has a few notable discounts on Beats headphones this week, headlined by a new record low price on the Beats Solo 4 at $129.95, down from $199.99. These headphones launched at the end of April and feature upgraded performance and fit, longer battery life, USB-C, 50 hours of playback, and more.

Another big discount is on the Beats Studio Pro, which are matching their Black Friday 2023 price at $179.95, down from $349.99. Amazon has this big discount available in all four colors of the headphones, with delivery available as soon as this Friday, June 14 for Prime members.

• Beats Studio Buds - $79.99, down from $149.95
• Beats Solo 4 - $129.95, down from $199.95
• Beats Fit Pro - $159.95, down from $199.95
• Powerbeats Pro - $159.95, down from $249.95
• Beats Studio Pro - $179.95, down from $349.99

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

In macOS Sequoia, Apple has some additional features in Safari 18 that are likely to be welcomed by Mac users. Here's a quick rundown of what's new.

Safari's headline feature in macOS 15 is something called Highlights, which aims to make it easier to discover information on the web.

Highlights can be accessed via a new site menu icon that appears in the address bar, from which you can quickly pull up relevant information about a site, such as directions, summaries, or quick links to learn more about people, music, movies, and TV shows.

As of writing this, Highlights does not appear to work outside of the United States, so it is likely to be region-specific at this early state. However, there are other changes to Safari that are live wherever you are located.

The Reader mode in Safari has received an overhaul, and now offers more customization options once you have enabled it on a site using the Reader button in the address bar.

If you click the button again, a dropdown menu lets you change the theme (white, off-white, gray, black) and choose your preferred font (Athelas, Charter, Georgia, Iowan, New York, Palatino, San Fransisco, Seravek, and Times New Roman).

In this menu, you can also find text size options by percentage (from 50% to 300%), as well as a "Find..." option to find a word or phrase on a page, and a button to Hide Reader mode.

Apple says that Reader can also provide a summary of an article, along with a table of contents in a sidebar, but we could not get this to work, likely because it is an aspect of Apple Intelligence, which will not be introduced until later in the year.

Meanwhile, when Safari detects a video on the page, a new Video Viewer mode puts the media front and center, which allows you to adjust the window without obscuring the video. It also helpfully presents system playback controls within an overlay, including Picture in Picture.

In other Safari-related changes, macOS Sequoia beta adds support for opening links directly in web apps. Now, when you click a link, that link should open in the web app instead of your default web browser. You can also now personalize web apps on Mac with Safari Web Extensions and Content Blockers.

Lastly, Safari 18 beta for iOS, iPadOS, visionOS, macOS Sequoia and macOS Sonoma brings inline predictive text to the web, and you can now set which Safari profile should be used to open particular websites.

Apple's stock price continues to surge following its WWDC keynote this week, where it introduced an Apple Intelligence suite of AI features coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. In intraday trading today, Apple overtook Microsoft to become the world's most valuable company again, but the two tech giants may trade places throughout the day.

Apple's stock crossed the $200 mark and set a new all-time high on Tuesday, and it has rose another 3% today as of writing. Generative AI has been a buzz topic for investors since ChatGPT debuted in 2022, and Apple finally unveiling its own strategy for the technology has likely contributed to this surge.

Apple Intelligence features will allow users to summarize text, create custom emoji and images, receive priority notifications, and more. Siri is also getting smarter with Apple Intelligence, with richer language understanding and more per-app controls. The features will require an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, or a Mac or iPad with an M1 chip or newer.

Apple had a market cap of $3.28 trillion as of writing, compared to $3.25 trillion for Microsoft.

Apple in iOS 18 has added a new multicolor swatch to the Font & Color customization options on the Lock Screen, so now you can display the time in rainbow colors against your chosen wallpaper.

Unlike the other color swatches, the multicolor option does not currently apply to widgets and the date, which turn white when the rainbow effect is applied. However, there's a good chance this is something Apple intends to implement but has not yet got around to doing so in the developer beta.

iOS 18 also allows users to change the two Flashlight and Camera shortcut buttons on the Lock Screen to an action of their choice for the first time.

The ability to change these Lock Screen controls is part of a wave of new customization features in ‌iOS 18‌, which includes app icon color-changing capabilities and more. The first public beta is set to arrive in July and the official release of iOS 18 is scheduled for the fall.

With macOS Sequoia, Apple has introduced a new window tiling management feature that aims to make it easy to arrange open windows into a layout that works best for you.

PC users have had tiling since at least Windows 7 and Aero Snap, and if you've ever used those, the new window tiling feature in macOS Sequoia will be familiar. In the absence of the feature, Mac users have relied on several third-party tools like Magnet, Moom, and Rectangle to achieve similar results, but as things stand, in beta 1, window management in macOS still needs some work before it can approach the utility of those apps.

When you drag a window to the edge of the screen, macOS Sequoia suggests a tiled position by displaying a frame, and you release the window to drop it right into place. This way, you can quickly arrange two app windows side by side, or place four windows in corners to keep several apps in view at once. When a window has been dragged to tile on one side or the other, dragging it back immediately resizes it to its original width and height, which is a nice touch.

The dragging system is far from infallible though. If you drag a window to the side of the screen and hold it for more than a couple of seconds, you can sometimes unintentionally switch to an adjacent desktop space if one is active. It can also be quite tricky to place certain app windows so that they snap to corners.

Also, some apps by design will not reduce down beyond a certain size, so you can end up with tiled windows overlapping each other or falling off the screen. If you have a group of apps that play nice together when tiled, the tiling system can leave unsightly gaps between the windows where the desktop wallpaper is exposed, but there's a setting that can rectify this.

In System Settings, you'll find tiling options in a new section in the Desktop & Dock menu. For example, tiling can be activated by holding the Option key while dragging windows. You can also toggle off "Tiled windows have margins," which reduces gaps between windows.

macOS 15 also adds new tiling options to the green traffic light in the top corner of windows. Hover your pointer over the green button, and a menu appears with options to move and resize or fill and arrange all open windows. These options generally seem to work better than the drag-to-snap tiling system in its current state.

Overall, tiling windows in macOS Sequoia does not feel properly implemented yet, but this is developer beta 1, and Apple will surely refine its functionality before we get to the public release of macOS 15 in September.

Alogic today introduced several new display options that it plans to ship out later in 2024, including a 5K 27-inch touchscreen display, several ultrawide displays, and portable touchscreen monitors.

The Clarity Touch 5K 27" UHD Monitor has a resolution identical to that of the Studio Display or the LG UltraFine 5K, but with the added benefit of touch integration. We previously reviewed a pair of 4K Clarity displays with touchscreen capabilities and found the touchscreen to be useful in certain circumstances for scrolling through websites, accessing controls, and performing simple tasks in apps. The touchscreen can be interacted with using a finger or a stylus.

Alogic's 5K touchscreen display supports HDR 400, is able to charge a connected Mac at up to 65 watts over USB-C, and it includes several connectivity options. There are two HDMI 2.1 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4 port, a USB-C port, two USB-A ports with 7.5-watt charging for accessories and 5 Gb/s data transfer speeds, and a 3.5 mm audio jack. Slim bezels maximize display area and there is an adjustable stand that works in either landscape or portrait orientation.

There are also three new ultrawide displays coming from Alogic, including the 34-inch Edge Ultrawide QHD Monitor, the 40-inch Ultrawide QHD Monitor, and the 34-inch Horizon Ultrawide QHD Touchscreen. The two Edge displays each have a 3440x1440 resolution and a slim design that prioritizes aesthetics, while the Horizon has a 3440x1440 touch display and a foldable stand so that it can be converted into a tablet mode.

For extra display space on the go, Alogic has also introduced the Xtend 15-inch and Xpand 17-inch Portable 5K Touchscreen Monitors, both of which have a tablet-like design and a cover that folds out into a small stand. Pressure-sensitive stylus input is supported, with Alogic aiming these displays at artists and traveling workers.

Alogic's final new display, the Slate 28-inch Double Vertical QHD Monitor, has a 16:18 resolution and it looks like two 2560x1440 resolution displays stacked vertically. It is ideal for web browsing, coding, and similar applications, and Alogic says it works well as secondary display.

The two Edge displays and the Clarity 5K will launch in August, while the rest of the display options are set to come out in September 2024. More information can be found on the Alogic website.

Apple introduced a new design for the iOS 18 Photos app that replaces the Library and For You sections with a more integrated all-in-one view, and part of that redesign includes an overhauled Utilities section that makes it easier to find different types of images.

Rather than being limited to Imports, Duplicates, Hidden, and Recently Deleted as in iOS 17, the Utilities section of the app has all of the following categories:

• Hidden
• Recently Deleted
• Duplicates
• Receipts
• Handwriting
• Illustrations
• QR Codes
• Recently Saved
• Recently Viewed
• Recently Edited
• Documents
• Imports
• Maps

You've been able to search for things like receipts in prior versions of iOS, and still can, but having them in a dedicated Utilities section makes them quicker to locate.

Along with Utilities, the ‌Photos‌ app also features Media Types, and while this section is largely the same, there is a new Animated category. The Animated category and the Illustrations utility section may be aimed at the image generation tools that are coming to iOS 18 as part of the Apple Intelligence feature set.

Apple also added a "Pinned Collections" section to ‌Photos‌, which houses things that you might want quick access to like Videos, Favorites, Screenshots, and Selfies. Collections are a repeat of content that can be found elsewhere in ‌Photos‌, but you can customize it to your liking so you see your preferred content at the top of the app. These changes to ‌Photos‌ are in iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia as well as iOS 18.

Apple updated the Battery section of the Settings app in iOS 18 to add a feature that lets you know if you charged your iPhone with a "slow" charger.

Periods of slow charging are shown with an orange bar in the portion of the Battery settings that show battery usage and charging over the past 24 hours or the past 10 days.

We saw the slow charging notice after charging with a 5W wireless charger, as did a Redditor who highlighted the feature. It's not clear what exactly is considered "slow," but the designation is useful for those who are seeing slow charging speeds and aren't sure why.

Many wireless chargers claim to be MagSafe while being limited to Qi speeds or below, so this feature could help iPhone users understand why their devices aren't charging at optimum speed. There does not appear to be an option to enable an alert when charging from a slow charger, which could be an arguably better feature because the battery settings are somewhat hidden.

There is a tappable information button that accompanies slow charging notices, but as of right now, it goes to a support document that does not yet exist.

In iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, Apple revamped the iCloud section of the Apple Account (formerly Apple ID) that's available in the Settings app. The redesigned interface has much of the same functionality, but a "Saved to ‌iCloud‌" feature makes it clearer how storage is being used.

Saved to ‌iCloud‌ replaces Apps Using ‌iCloud‌, and it provides more information at a glance. Rather than just listing whether ‌iCloud‌ is on for an app, you can see how much storage space Messages takes up, how many Notes are stored, how many Photos are in ‌iCloud‌, and more.

Tapping into each section provides additional detail and tools for managing storage, much of which was available before. While the main interface no longer shows where the majority of ‌iCloud‌ storage is going by file type, tapping the Storage bar shows the full breakdown and list of apps using the most storage.

If you subscribe to ‌iCloud‌+, there's a new "Subscriber Edition" icon, which is similar to the icon that Apple uses for Apple News+. ‌iCloud‌+ features can be listed and managed through the ‌iCloud‌+ section.

There's also a more prominent "Recommended For You" suggestions interface that recommends things like deleting inactive backups, upgrading to a new ‌iCloud‌+ plan, and more, along with quicker access to ‌iCloud‌ backups.

Since there was so much to take in at yesterday's WWDC keynote event, we thought we'd revisit iOS 18 and highlight some of the most exciting features that Apple introduced.

Note that we've left out Apple Intelligence, which is what Apple is calling the AI features that it plans to add. ‌Apple Intelligence‌ will be limited to Apple's newest iPhones, but the features we've listed will be available on older iPhones, too.

Check out our video and let us know what your favorite iOs 18 feature is in the comments below.

macOS Sequoia has a fun new Macintosh dynamic wallpaper and screensaver combination that highlights classic Mac icons. Basic Apple Guy shared some high resolution screenshots of the new wallpaper, which can be used on other Apple devices.

On device, the Macintosh wallpaper animates and shifts through different retro graphics, with color options that include Spectrum, Accent, Blue, Red, Purple, Yellow, Dark Gray, Gray, Green, Orange, and Random.

Macintosh isn't the only new macOS Sequoia wallpaper, with Apple also adding "Helios," which is featured in macOS Sequoia marketing materials and Apple images. Helios animates with a gradient design.

To see the wallpapers in their full glory, macOS Sequoia is required. The operating system update is available to developers right now, with a public release scheduled for the fall.

iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia will all have built-in "Apple Intelligence," and one of the new AI features includes an Image Playground. With ‌Image Playground‌, you can generate an image from a prompt, similar to what you can do with OpenAI's ChatGPT. While you can come up with anything, Apple will provide a selection of suggested concepts in categories like themes, costumes, and places.

‌Apple Intelligence‌ isn't out yet, but iOS 18 does provide some insight into the concepts that Apple will suggest to users, as MacRumors contributor Steve Moser discovered. Apple's suggestions will be personalized, so if you're chatting with friends about going on a hike, you might see it pop up options like mountains and hiker. Note that this list is not exhaustive because it is missing some examples that are in Apple's marketing materials, but these are the options in the beta right now. Apple will also likely add new suggestions on an ongoing basis.

Nature and Environments

• Mountains
• Desert
• Forest
• Garden
• Prairie
• Rainforest
• Waterfall
• Volcano
• Space
• Starry Night

Seasons

• Autumn
• Spring
• Summer
• Winter

Costumes and Characters

• Alien
• Artist
• Astronaut
• Chef
• Farmer
• Hiker
• Healthcare Worker
• Mechanic
• Pilot
• Rancher
• Racecar Driver
• Robot
• Royalty
• Scientist
• Superhero
• Vampire

Themes

• Adventure
• Birthday
• Graduation
• Halloween
• Masquerade
• Party
• Disco
• Fantasy
• Fireworks
• Love

Places

• Art Studio
• City
• Couch
• Library
• Lighthouse
• Museum
• Stadium
• Stage

Items and Accessories

• Baseball Cap
• Beanie
• Beret
• Bike Helmet
• Book
• Bowtie
• Crown
• Flower Crown
• Guitar
• Hard Hat
• Magic Wand
• Microphone
• Party Hat
• Rubber duck
• Scarf
• Sunglasses
• Surfboard
• Sweatband
• Top Hat

Beverages and Foods

• Champagne Glass
• Coffee
• Tea

‌Image Playground‌ is available as a standalone app, but it's also baked into apps like Notes and Messages. Images that are generated can include your contacts, and many of Apple's suggestions are tailored to that idea. Your iPhone can take a photo of a contact that's on your device and use it to generate a fun cartoon-like image that you can share with them.

Apple adds a style to each image, and there's no option to generate something that looks real. There are three styles to choose from, including Animation, Illustration, and Sketch. Image generation is done on-device, so there's no limit on experimentation.

In the Notes app, ‌Image Playground‌ has a neat added feature that allows it to take a quick sketch you've made and turn it in to something more detailed, plus it can add images based on the context provided in your notes.

‌Image Playground‌ and other ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features require an iPhone 15 Pro with A17 Pro chip, or an iPad or Mac with an M1 or better chip. Apple plans to start testing Artificial Intelligence in the iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia betas this summer.