The Big Changes Coming to Your iPhone, iPad and Mac

Apple is hosting its annual Worldwide Developers Conference virtually for the second year in a row. I tuned in from home for the Monday keynote, where company execs outlined a slew of new updates for Apple devices due this spring via iOS 15, iPadOS 15, WatchOS 8 and MacOS Monterey.

The most exciting announcements are aimed directly at improving our experiences at home, where much of our work and play will continue even after the pandemic. FaceTime will get Zoom-like talents, plus the ability to share videos and music with other video-chat participants. And there are more iOS and watch features designed to increase focus and reduce stress.

The event is where Apple historically has expanded its walled garden, by announcing capabilities that will keep customers within its tightly locked hardware-software ecosystem. Sure enough, to get the most out of the newest Mac features, you will need an iPad, an iPhone and maybe even a second Mac. However, the company countered that narrative with a few other announcements: FaceTime now works in web browsers, so you can start up a video chat with people on Windows and Android devices, too. And Siri can be spoken to via other manufacturers’ HomeKit devices (though you will still need to own a HomePod).

In any case, the event is a reminder that Apple’s garden can be a pretty nice one. Many changes, available by way of a free software update in the spring, ought to add functionality to aging devices, including the six-year-old iPhone 6S. Some, of course, are reserved for only the newest Apple products. Here’s a breakdown of the most interesting announcements.

Chat and Productivity

FaceTime, Apple’s video chat app, is getting features already popular in competitors: blurred backgrounds, grid view for group calls, background-noise reduction, screen sharing and meeting links. The new functionality is available on both iOS and Mac devices. And, for the first time, Android and Windows users can join a FaceTime call via a Chrome or Edge web browser.

When there are multiple people on screen, the audio will sound like it is coming from the direction of the person who is speaking on screen. That feature—along with the Portrait Mode blurred background—is available only on iOS devices with A12 Bionic chips or newer, and 2018 Macs or newer.

In addition to sharing what is on your screen in FaceTime, you also can watch a video or listen to audio together. For now, supported apps include Disney+, TikTok and Hulu. Notably missing: Netflix.

Content shared in Messages will now show up in relevant apps. For example, if someone texts you photos, the images will be grouped in a new “Shared With You” tab in your Photos app. But images the app detects as memes or screenshots will be left out.

On the iPad, you still can manage two apps at the same time using Split View and Slide Over (as well as the single-app Full Screen). But instead of having to remember how to make that happen, a new pop-up menu will let you quickly switch between the setups. And a bottom “Shelf” lets you move between different windows in supported apps such as Safari and Pages.

For those with both an iPad and Mac, you can use your Mac’s mouse, trackpad and keyboard to control what is on your iPad, and even drag and drop files between them.

Safari gets a new feature that might convert you from Chrome or another browser: Tab groups, which can be easily accessed from Safari on any of your devices, let you store clusters of related websites.

The most productivity-boosting feature may involve extending your Mac’s battery life. That’s right, “low power mode,” found in iPhones, will be available in MacOS Monterey.

Focus and Mindfulness

The Away message is back, in the Messages app. When you turn on Do Not Disturb, Messages contacts will be able to see you have gone dark in their in-app conversations with you.

Notifications are getting smarter. You will be able to set up different focus modes, such as “Personal” or “Work,” which allow notifications from specific sets of apps and people for a custom duration (or even location). When you turn on a focus mode on one device, it will apply to all your other compatible Apple devices, too. In theory, it is designed to limit distractions—but it will likely take some tinkering to ensure that urgent calls from VIPs still come through.

If you want to be less bogged down by notifications, you can set all non-time-sensitive pop-ups to be bundled into a daily delivery.

AirPod Pro Improvements

My personal favourite announcement? Find My AirPods is finally useful—as long as you have Apple’s pricier buds. If you have AirPods Pro or Max, you can soon ping your earbuds—even if they are closed in their case. (Previously, this only worked if the buds were out of their case.) A new separation alert will also send you a notification if you leave the ’Pods behind in an unfamiliar location.

Conversation Boost is a capability designed for people with mild hearing loss. It focuses the AirPods’ audio on the person talking in front of you, and has controls to further reduce ambient noise.

The headphones also can be located through the global Apple Find My network, and their surround-sound audio mode, called Spatial Audio, which was formerly only compatible with recent iPhones and iPads, also will be available on Macs with the M1 chip.

On-Device Smarts

On-device artificial intelligence has many benefits over systems that depend on cloud processing. It is faster and more secure since, for instance, your voice commands don’t have to travel to company servers to be interpreted.

In its keynote, Apple showed off some Siri requests, such as setting a timer or switching to dark mode, that can work without an internet connection. Systemwide translation of text in languages such as Mandarin, Spanish and French, and Live Text—which can recognize text and numbers in photos or even live via the camera—also work on the device. They do require devices with the A12 Bionic chip or a newer processor, however.

Family-Wide Health

The Health app is where you will find data such as daily steps, heart rate and sleep. The coming version will allow you to share that data with others in your family. The thinking is that you can monitor an aging parents’ stats, and let them know if you are concerned, for example, about an increase in resting heart rate.

More Privacy Protections

Built-in privacy features have long been a part of Apple devices. But, for the first time, the company is including new privacy capabilities as part of its paid iCloud storage plans—now called iCloud+. Private Relay will act like a virtual private network, or VPN, by encrypting all your website traffic. The user is assigned an anonymous IP address, and the address of the destination website is encrypted. Apple says it doesn’t even know which site you are visiting.

The company also announced features that don’t require a subscription. Your driver’s license can be encrypted and stored in the Wallet app. The Transportation Security Administration is even working on using the digital IDs for security screening. However, it will initially only be available for license holders in select U.S. states.

The new version of the Mail app will block invisible pixels that collect information when you open an email. And a new settings page, called the App Privacy Report, shows how frequently apps use data such as location, access to the device’s microphone or contacts. It also will provide potentially creepy extras, such as all of the third-party domains your apps interact with.

As usual, Apple has targeted this massive software drop for the spring, which we expect to mean the September/October time frame when new iPhones traditionally arrive. The company didn’t announce any new hardware Monday, and we aren’t expecting much until the spring, when these new features—especially the ones that only work with the latest and greatest Apple gear—will drive up the temptation to upgrade.

As Paris makes its final preparations for the Olympic games, its residents are busy with their own—packing their suitcases, confirming their reservations, and getting out of town.

Worried about the hordes of crowds and overall chaos the Olympics could bring, Parisians are fleeing the city in droves and inundating resort cities around the country. Hotels and holiday rentals in some of France’s most popular vacation destinations—from the French Riviera in the south to the beaches of Normandy in the north—say they are expecting massive crowds this year in advance of the Olympics. The games will run from July 26-Aug. 1.

“It’s already a major holiday season for us, and beyond that, we have the Olympics,” says Stéphane Personeni, general manager of the Lily of the Valley hotel in Saint Tropez. “People began booking early this year.”

Personeni’s hotel typically has no issues filling its rooms each summer—by May of each year, the luxury hotel typically finds itself completely booked out for the months of July and August. But this year, the 53-room hotel began filling up for summer reservations in February.

“We told our regular guests that everything—hotels, apartments, villas—are going to be hard to find this summer,” Personeni says. His neighbours around Saint Tropez say they’re similarly booked up.

As of March, the online marketplace Gens de Confiance (“Trusted People”), saw a 50% increase in reservations from Parisians seeking vacation rentals outside the capital during the Olympics.

Already, August is a popular vacation time for the French. With a minimum of five weeks of vacation mandated by law, many decide to take the entire month off, renting out villas in beachside destinations for longer periods.

But beyond the typical August travel, the Olympics are having a real impact, says Bertille Marchal, a spokesperson for Gens de Confiance.

“We’ve seen nearly three times more reservations for the dates of the Olympics than the following two weeks,” Marchal says. “The increase is definitely linked to the Olympic Games.”

Worried about the hordes of crowds and overall chaos the Olympics could bring, Parisians are fleeing the city in droves and inundating resort cities around the country.
Getty Images

According to the site, the most sought-out vacation destinations are Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique, a seaside region in the northwest; le Var, a coastal area within the southeast of France along the Côte d’Azur; and the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean.

Meanwhile, the Olympics haven’t necessarily been a boon to foreign tourism in the country. Many tourists who might have otherwise come to France are avoiding it this year in favour of other European capitals. In Paris, demand for stays at high-end hotels has collapsed, with bookings down 50% in July compared to last year, according to UMIH Prestige, which represents hotels charging at least €800 ($865) a night for rooms.

Earlier this year, high-end restaurants and concierges said the Olympics might even be an opportunity to score a hard-get-seat at the city’s fine dining.

In the Occitanie region in southwest France, the overall number of reservations this summer hasn’t changed much from last year, says Vincent Gare, president of the regional tourism committee there.

“But looking further at the numbers, we do see an increase in the clientele coming from the Paris region,” Gare told Le Figaro, noting that the increase in reservations has fallen directly on the dates of the Olympic games.

Michel Barré, a retiree living in Paris’s Le Marais neighbourhood, is one of those opting for the beach rather than the opening ceremony. In January, he booked a stay in Normandy for two weeks.

“Even though it’s a major European capital, Paris is still a small city—it’s a massive effort to host all of these events,” Barré says. “The Olympics are going to be a mess.”

More than anything, he just wants some calm after an event-filled summer in Paris, which just before the Olympics experienced the drama of a snap election called by Macron.

“It’s been a hectic summer here,” he says.

Hotels and holiday rentals in some of France’s most popular vacation destinations say they are expecting massive crowds this year in advance of the Olympics.
AFP via Getty Images

Parisians—Barré included—feel that the city, by over-catering to its tourists, is driving out many residents.

Parts of the Seine—usually one of the most popular summertime hangout spots —have been closed off for weeks as the city installs bleachers and Olympics signage. In certain neighbourhoods, residents will need to scan a QR code with police to access their own apartments. And from the Olympics to Sept. 8, Paris is nearly doubling the price of transit tickets from €2.15 to €4 per ride.

The city’s clear willingness to capitalise on its tourists has motivated some residents to do the same. In March, the number of active Airbnb listings in Paris reached an all-time high as hosts rushed to list their apartments. Listings grew 40% from the same time last year, according to the company.

With their regular clients taking off, Parisian restaurants and merchants are complaining that business is down.

“Are there any Parisians left in Paris?” Alaine Fontaine, president of the restaurant industry association, told the radio station Franceinfo on Sunday. “For the last three weeks, there haven’t been any here.”

Still, for all the talk of those leaving, there are plenty who have decided to stick around.

Jay Swanson, an American expat and YouTuber, can’t imagine leaving during the Olympics—he secured his tickets to see ping pong and volleyball last year. He’s also less concerned about the crowds and road closures than others, having just put together a series of videos explaining how to navigate Paris during the games.

“It’s been 100 years since the Games came to Paris; when else will we get a chance to host the world like this?” Swanson says. “So many Parisians are leaving and tourism is down, so not only will it be quiet but the only people left will be here for a party.”