Starting sometime this fall, you'll no longer need an Apple Watch to use Apple Fitness+. The service will be available on iPhone in all 21 countries where Apple currently offers it. Apple said at WWDC that a Watch-free iPhone Fitness app was on the way, so the news isn't exactly unexpected.

When Apple debuted Fitness+ in 2020, the experience centered entirely around its smartwatches, which seemed a little egregious for workouts that you could view on Apple TV. Soon, though, iPhone-only users will be able to access the full Fitness+ service, including 3,000 workouts and meditations that are guided by trainers. Your iPhone will estimate the calories that you burn, which will count toward progress on the Move ring (Apple Watch will almost certainly provide more accurate stats, though). While you'll need an iPhone to join Fitness+, you will be able to access it on iPad and Apple TV as well.

Moreover, Apple will release more Time to Walk episodes this fall. Time to Walk is an audio experience designed to prompt people to get out and walk more often. The fourth season will include stories from Regina Hall, Nicky Jam, Constance Wu and Meghan Trainor. Time to Run, meanwhile, will offer Fitness+ subscribers virtual running routes from the likes of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming; Mexico City; Anchorage, Alaska; Monterey, California; and Seattle. Both Time to Walk and Time to Run will be available in the iPhone Fitness app as well.

Starting September 12th, Fitness+ users will gain access to more Artist Spotlight workouts featuring music from the likes of Mary J. Blige, The Rolling Stones and The Weeknd. There were also be a fresh collection of Pilates workouts designed to strengthen the entire body, along with classes with a new yoga trainer. On Apple Watch, select Fitness+ workouts will have extra onscreen guidance and trainer coaching.  

Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.

Just before the new generation of Apple Watches (including the fancy Apple Watch Ultra) arrives later this month, current smartwatch owners will be able to upgrade to watchOS 9. Apple says it will roll out the operating system on September 12th, the same day that iOS 16 will arrive.

You'll need an iPhone 8 or later or second-gen iPhone SE or later running iOS to install watchOS 9. Apple Watch Series 3 owners will miss out on the upgrade, which is compatible with Series 4 and later devices. It's worth noting that not all of the watchOS 9 features will be available on every Apple Watch and in every region. 

There are notable upgrades to the fitness features, including heart rate zones for sleep and workouts, multisport workouts and a way to monitor your personal best performances. You'll be able to track atrial fibrillation events and receive alerts when it's time to take medication. Other new features include a new-look Siri, a revamped Calendar app, Quick Actions gestures and more watch screens. 

Meanwhile, we've already had a chance to go hands-on with the Apple Watch Ultra. You can check out our first impressions now.

Three years after Apple released the AirPods Pro, the company is at long last ready to talk about the second incarnation of the earbuds at its big September hardware event. Previous reports indicated that AirPods Pro 2 wouldn't have significant design changes, with most of the changes reserved for the interior. But there's one big update to the exterior: touch controls. You'll be able to control audio playback with swipe gestures on the AirPods Pro's stems.

The earbuds are powered by a new chip, the H2. Apple claims this will help AirPods Pro cancel out up to twice as much noise. There's a new driver that could help to improve the audio quality, and there's spatial audio support. You'll be able to use your iPhone's camera to set up a custom spatial audio profile.

Developing...

Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.

Microsoft is rolling out an Xbox update that includes handy consoles and cloud gaming features. There's a new way to hop into a game. When a friend shares a screenshot or game clip that catches your eye, you'll be able to tap the play button on a computer or mobile device and fire up the game in a browser. 

For instance, if you're on your phone and see a cool Forza Horizon 5 clip that your friend posted, you can start playing the game just by clicking the button. Given that this is a cloud gaming function, you'll need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership to use it.

Xbox's take on the feature doesn't seem quite as advanced as Stadia's State Share, however. The latter allows you to join a game at the same point as someone else and experience a world exactly as they left it just by clicking a link.

Microsoft

There's another welcome feature that's available on Xbox Series X/S starting today: noise suppression for party chats. Microsoft says it can keep sounds like controller clicks, your breathing and background noise out of your friends' ears.

Noise suppression, which Xbox started publicly testing back in May, will be enabled by default. If you want your pals to hear music you're playing in the background, you can switch it off from the Parties and Chats options in the guide. Microsoft plans to bring the feature to more devices in the near future.

Microsoft

It's time once again for Apple to show off a bunch of new gear. The company's "Far Out" iPhone event starts today at 1PM ET and, as ever, you'll be able to watch it live. The stream will be available on Apple's website and YouTube channel, as well as the Apple TV app. Alternatively, you can simply hit the play button on the video below.

Barring a major surprise, we'll get our first official look at the iPhone 14 lineup, which is expected to once again include four models (even if we may have seen the last of the Mini). Reports suggest Apple has a "complete redesign" in store, with Pro models having hole-punch cutouts for the front-facing camera and Face ID sensor. Pro models may also have always-on screens. 

It's also likely that Apple will reveal the next Watch models. Rumors indicate we'll hear word of the first Apple Watch Pro, with a larger screen and a new button. AirPods Pro are due for a refresh, three years after Apple released the first model, and the company is expected to show off the next-gen version today. As for iPad, there could be some news on that front, but we might have to wait until later this fall for the company's next tablets.

With other virtual reality headset makers expected to bring face- and eye-tracking functions to their upcoming models, HTC is looking to keep pace with new accessories for its Vive Focus 3. The company says the add-ons will offer “more natural and immersive VR experiences” and enable accessibility functions such as gaze control.

The $99 Facial Tracker uses a mono camera to capture expressions from the wearer's lips, jaw, cheeks, chin, teeth and tongue. The idea is to replicate “lifelike facial expressions and mouth movements” from the user on avatars in real-time.

HTC says the Facial Tracker has a 60Hz tracking rate and can "synchronize lips to voice with minimal latency" — the system has a response time of under 10 milliseconds. The device plugs into the headset's USB-C port and weighs around 11.6 grams, so it shouldn't weigh your head down.

HTC

As for the $249 Eye Tracker, it has a dual camera system that can capture gaze direction and origin, blinks and your pupil size and position. It weighs around 54 grams and it attaches to the headset magnetically. HTC notes that "realistic" eye activity can improve non-verbal interactions in VR. What's more, the eye-tracking module can be used for research purposes.

The company suggests that presentation coaching, training and customer service management are good use cases. HTC, which released a wrist tracker accessory for the headset earlier this year, adds that eye and facial tracking could be helpful for fostering better engagement in virtual social settings, such as events, remote meetings and hanging out.

The attachments might even be employed for motion capture to help animate characters' faces in TV, film and games. HTC says developers can integrate users' biometric data into applications with the help of the Vive Wave SDK and upcoming OpenXR support. There's also Unity, Unreal Game Engine and Native integration.

HTC isn't the only VR company that's embracing face and eye tracking. Meta's next headset, which the company will reveal in October, will have eye and face tracking as well. Accessibility functions like gaze control are definitely welcome, but whether most users are comfortable with headsets monitoring their eyes and facial expressions remains to be seen.

Ring is expanding its end-to-end encryption (E2EE) offering to battery-powered cameras and doorbells, which the Amazon-owned company says are its best-selling products. It brought E2EE to several wired models last year.

"We believe we should offer a full range of privacy options to as many customers as possible," a Ring blog post reads. "And we know that different devices make sense for different living situations. That's why we've worked hard to bring this industry-leading privacy feature to as many of our camera and doorbell products as possible."

With E2EE enabled, only you will be able to access videos captured by your Ring camera. Ring and Amazon won't be able to see them. It recently emerged that Amazon has given US law enforcement footage from Ring cameras on several occasions without a court order or user consent. E2EE should prevent that from happening.

Recordings will only be accessible from a single mobile device. According to Ring's white paper, a direct connection is made between the Ring device and the phone over WiFi, with cryptographic keys and identity certificates used to establish trust between the two, and to encrypt and decrypt videos.

There are some tradeoffs for those who use E2EE. You won't be able to access Ring footage on other devices, such as Echo Show. Other features will be disabled, including the Event Timeline, Quick Replies, Alexa Greetings and Bird’s Eye View, which debuted on the Video Doorbell Pro 2 last year.

Elsewhere, Ring is making it easier to save videos when you get rid of one of its devices. Via the Deactivated Device State feature, subscribers will be able to save recordings from the doorbell or camera to their Ring account. Until now, the only officially supported way to retain the videos was by downloading them to a computer. If you cancel your subscription, Ring will delete all the videos and events from your account, but you'll be able to download the recordings first.

The Biden administration has revealeddetails of how it plans to invest $50 billion into kickstarting the US semiconductor industry, a month after President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act. The Commerce Department says the funding will "revitalize the domestic semiconductor industry and spur innovation while creating good-paying jobs in communities across the country."

Over half (roughly $28 billion) of the CHIPS for America Fund has been earmarked for boosting production of logic and memory chips in the US using the most advanced processes available. The agency plans to disburse the funds through grants and loans, which will be used to build and expand facilities for making, testing, assembling and packaging chips.

The government is looking to ramp up production of older chips as well. Approximately $10 billion will go toward building semiconductors for cars, communications tech, medical devices and defense, as well as other critical commercial sectors. On top of that, the Commerce Department says $11 billion of the funding will go into research and development.

The agency plans to start accepting applications by early February. It says loans and grants will be provided on a rolling basis, as soon as it can "responsibly" process, evaluate and negotiate applications. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told The New York Times that the department could start releasing the funds as soon as next spring.

It will likely take a few years before domestic production of chips meaningfully increases, as it will take some time to build or expand semiconductor fabs. The impact of the CHIPS and Science Act, which passed with bipartisan support, could help mitigate any fallout from tensions between the US and China over Taiwan, where more than two thirds of the most advanced semiconductors are built. The Commerce Department notes that the US currently makes "zero percent" of the planet's supply of state-of-the-art semiconductors, even though many are designed in the country.

Sci-fi arena shooter Splitgate exploded in popularity after it hit consoles last summer, two years after it debuted on PC. It racked up more than 10 million downloads in the space of a month thanks to its blend of Halo and Portal gameplay. The fact it's free-to-play didn't hurt. However, developer 1047 Games is now winding down feature development, effectively putting the game into maintenance mode. Although Splitgate will move out of beta with its next update, that will be the game's "last major iteration," the studio said.

Splitgate became much more successful than 1047 expected. The studio attempted to turn a "college dorm dream project into a AAA game" that could compete with the biggest titles around. "But this also meant that as we've brought on top-tier talent from across the industry, we've spent a lot of our time trying to rework old content and systems that were originally built by a handful of people," 1047 wrote in a statement. "We are, in a way, bailing water while also trying to keep everyone who bought a ticket to board our ship happy, while also trying to turn our boat into a rocket ship."

The studio is now focused on its next project. It will again be a free-to-play shooter with portals and it's set in the same universe. 1047 will build the upcoming game from scratch in Unreal Engine 5.

Meanwhile, Splitgate, which has now been downloaded more than 18 million times, will stay online for the foreseeable future. As a thank you to players, 1047 will add a free battle pass with an infinite number of levels and new skins and characters when the final season starts on September 15th. 1047 will continue to make fixes and roll out smaller updates for Splitgate, but the game won't get any new features after the next big patch.

“After careful consideration and much deliberation the 1047 team has determined that in order to build the game that fans deserve — and to build it in a way that isn’t trying to retrofit our existing game — we are turning our attention away from iterative, smaller updates and going all-in to focus on a new game in the Splitgate universe which will present revolutionary, not just evolutionary, changes to the gameplay,” 1047 Games CEO and Splitgate creator Ian Proulx said in a statement. “Splitgate will remain online and supported for our dedicated community who have been the backbone of our studio from our earliest playtests on PC. Our community means everything to us and we can’t wait to share what’s next with them.”

Meanwhile, in an FAQ, 1047 acknowledged that players put time, effort and money into acquiring skins and other items. While it suggests that fans won't be able to carry those over to the next game, "we want to reward your efforts and time in Splitgate and we take that seriously. How we will do that is not decided at this time, but know that it is something we are focused on as we discuss the next game." It's also not clear whether the Splitcoin virtual currency will transfer over.

Ableton makes one of the most popular digital workstations (DAWs) around and if you’ve been waiting for a decent discount to pick up the music production suite, now might be the right time. The company has slashed the price of its software, including Ableton Live 11, by 25 percent for Labor Day weekend. The sale runs until September 6th.

Ableton Live 11 Intro has dropped from $99 to $74. It’s a decent way to dip your toes into what Ableton has to offer, since it has all the essentials. You'll get more than 1,500 sounds, 21 audio effects and 11 MIDI effects.

If you’re ready to splurge a little more to unlock nearly all of the DAW’s features and gain access to some extras, you can opt for Live 11 Standard, which is down from $449 to $337. It offers a few hundred sounds more than the Intro bundle, and you'll be able to use unlimited audio and MIDI tracks, in addition to having as many scenes as you desire.

At the higher end is the Live 11 Suite, which is $187 off the regular price at $562. This is billed as the complete integrated studio. It includes access to more than 5,000 sounds, for instance. If you already have a Live package, it's worth noting that you can save 25 percent on upgrades as well. Ableton also offers the option to split the cost of Live over six months at the discounted rate.

Although students and educators can get Live for 40 percent off the regular price, it's not often that we see Ableton run sales on its products. This is likely the best deal you'll find on the DAW unless you're a teacher or in school. After all, Ableton typically sticks to the same 25 percent discount on Black Friday.

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