Blink and you'll miss it: Apple just confirmed that RCS support will be in iOS 18 via a three-word update at the end of Craig Fedherigi's update on the new software. I wish this post was longer, with more details, but they said literally nothing else about it! We'll just have to wait until the iOS 18 beta is out there, I guess.

Catch up here for all the news out of Apple's WWDC 2024.

WWDC is always where we learn about the year's biggest updates to Apple's operating systems. Given that the iPhone is Apple's most important product, it's no surprise that iOS takes up a major chunk of the attention each June. WWDC 2024 is no exception, as Apple had a ton of new features and updates to go over, many of which concerned AI (or Apple Intelligence, as the company is calling it).

First up, Apple focused on customization. You'll be able to make the home screen look more like your own vibe than ever. You'll be able to change the colors of app icons, which can automatically get a different look when you have Dark Mode enabled. Your apps won't need to be locked within a rigid grid anymore either. Your home screen can look almost as messy as you want.

Control Center is getting some big changes. You'll be able to access things like media playback and smart home controls from here. Developers will be able to take advantage of this and offer Control Center management for their apps too. It'll be possible to pin custom controls to the home screen for your most frequently used apps and functions (so you'll be able to switch out the flashlight control for something else, for instance). Custom controls can also be mapped to the physical action button as you see fit.

When it comes to Messages, there's another nice update in the form of scheduling. When you're catching up on things late at night, you'll be able to time a message to send in the morning, for instance. Those who use emoji reactions in Messages (aka Tapbacks) are getting a nice update too. You'll be able to choose from any emoji instead of the five basic reactions Apple has offered for years. Text effects (the little animations that show up when you type a certain phrase) are getting an upgrade as well. 

This being Apple, of course it has some privacy features to go over. There are some new privacy controls for apps in iOS 18. You'll have the option to lock apps behind an authentication method (i.e. your PIN or Face ID) so that when you pass your iPhone to someone to show them your camera roll, they can't go snooping in your Messages. You can also hide apps — perhaps ones you use for dating — in a locked folder too. Elsewhere on the privacy front, you'll be able to decide which of your contacts an app has access to instead of absolutely everyone's phone numbers and personal information.

Developing...

Catch up here for all the news out of Apple's WWDC 2024.

While we’re not expecting Apple to announce any new hardware at its Worldwide Developers Conference this week, there’s always a chance that the company may have a modest refresh or two up its sleeves. Perhaps Apple is trying to clear out existing stock to make way for new models, which could be the reason why the M2 Mac mini has dropped to a record low of $479. That’s $120 off the regular price of $599.

This lil' desktop machine has eight CPU cores (with a CPU speed of 3.2 GHz) and 10 GPU cores in its M2 chipset, along with 8GB of unified memory, so it should be able to handle basic to moderate tasks with relative ease. It also has 256GB of onboard storage. (The 512GB model is $100 off at $699, with a clippable coupon shaving off another $9.01.)

On the connectivity front, the M2 Mac mini has dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, gigabit ethernet support and a headphone jack. You'll still need to add on peripherals such as a mouse, keyboard and monitor to get it up and running, but the M2 Mac mini is a nice Mac desktop for the price.

Those looking for some more power, however, may be more interested in the M2 Pro Mac mini. It's $150 off at $1,150 (be sure to redeem the $50 clippable coupon!). We reviewed this model in early 2023 and gave it a score of 86. We liked the performance, design, quiet operation and array of ports (you get an additional pair of USB-C slots here). However, upgrading beyond the base model is expensive, while we found having to reach around to the back to plug anything in somewhat cumbersome.

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Microsoft showed off three new Xbox models yesterday at Summer Game Fest 2024, but anyone following the mass of leaks last year may have been surprised at how little changed for this mid-cycle refresh.

In case you didn’t follow the FTC-Microsoft trial last year, things went pretty well for Microsoft, ending in the company acquiring Activision Blizzard. One thing that didn’t go so well was redaction. Nestled among the court filings was a trove of internal documents, including one on the future of Xbox — or at least, one potential future, considered by Microsoft in May 2022.

Xbox head Phil Spencer told the FTC in October 2022 that the Roadmap to 2030 document was “a presentation from our devices organization to the gaming leadership team,” and said he disagreed with some of its projections. The slide deck outlined the team’s plan for its mid-cycle console refresh, codenamed Fairhaven, and its next-gen console. Essentially a pitch deck, then, comprising some things that were definitely happening and others that needed funding to become reality.

Let’s look at what was (un)announced:

Chronologically, May 2024 was to be a debut month for Sebile, the codename for an all-new controller. Sebile would ship with new wireless tech, which the document referred to as “Xbox Wireless 2,” and a Stadia-like cloud connection for reducing input latency when playing games on Xbox Cloud. More exciting for gamers, it would also have advanced haptics like the Switch and PS5 controllers, and a Stadia-like direct-cloud connection for reducing input latency on Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Microsoft

Then, Xbox’s big summer ’24 show (which in the real world happened yesterday) would bring a pair of new Xbox consoles. First, a cylindrical Xbox Series X redesign codenamed Brooklin, which was set to be a $500 2TB all-digital device with WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 and a Sebile controller packed in. Second, Ellewood, a $300 Series S refresh with 1TB of storage, with the same improved wireless connectivity and the Sebile controller, but no big redesign.

Microsoft

The document noted that all three of these devices were “funded” but also gave two eventualities: one that would “limit Fairhaven investment” and another that would deliver the “full Fairhaven vision.” The former would pare down the new controller’s features and cloud connections, but would supposedly include a new industrial design.

Microsoft

Fast forward to Summer Game Fest 2024, where we appeared to get neither of these futures. We already figured that the Series S wouldn’t be refreshed, given Microsoft has been selling a $350 1TB version since last fall. But Microsoft’s vision for the Series X was unclear, and what we ended up with was a pretty weird pair of configurations: a 1TB all-digital Series X console priced at $450 and a 2TB special edition Series X with a disc drive, priced at $600. If there’s improved wireless connectivity Microsoft hasn’t mentioned it, and we’ve currently heard nothing of Sebile; the new consoles were announced with standard Xbox controllers.

Taken alone, these are fine refreshes. But Microsoft was in the unenviable position of competing with not only Sony and Nintendo, but also itself, in the form of those leaked plans.

Microsoft

A $450 all-digital 1TB console and $600 2TB special edition are disappointing in comparison to Brooklin, the 2TB $500 all-digital console with a shiny new controller the leaked deck was pitching. The $450 console is almost a price increase, given Microsoft and third-party retailers regularly sell the original 1TB Series X for that price. (It should be mentioned that Sony has actually increased the price of the PlayStation 5, with the discless model priced at $450 vs. the $400 it cost at launch.) The $350 1TB Series S is essentially the same console we got last fall, but that too represents bad value compared to the leaked $300 refresh.

Plans change, especially plans dated May 2022. But how they change can give an idea of how Microsoft is thinking about Xbox right now. Back in 2022, Series X and S sales were broadly keeping pace with Xbox One. That is no longer the case. Estimates put the total number of Xbox Series consoles sold since the November 2020 launch between 28 and 29 million. Even in the US — Microsoft’s strongest market by far — retail analysts Circana say the Xbox Series consoles are trailing Xbox One by 13 percent.

One particularly telling slide in the May 2022 document predicted 25-29 million of the mid-cycle consoles could be sold in three years. As of today, that would mean more-than doubling the lifetime sales of the platform. At the time, Microsoft’s hardware team was probably not expecting sales to be as dismal as they currently are. Microsoft ended the last console generation with around 58 million Xbox One consoles sold, which was a marked decline from the 85-plus million Xbox 360s it moved.

Microsoft

Microsoft doesn't talk console sales figures unless it has something positive to say, but third-party analysis suggests a typical week for Xbox in 2024 involves moving 60-80K consoles, with Nintendo doubling that figure and Sony often tripling it. Put in plain words: Xbox falls further and further behind every week. It’s unlikely we’ll find out what Microsoft’s expectations for the refreshed consoles are, but it’s probably not 25-29 million.

The tough thing for team Xbox is Sony and Nintendo are broadly walking their own road and doing pretty well at it. Sony has sold 58 million PlayStation 5s and is preparing to launch a pro variant that will be significantly more powerful than the Xbox Series X. It’s also opening up to publishing on PC and just announced a game that’s coming to Nintendo Switch. Nintendo has sold over 140 million Switches, regularly outsells Xbox and has pre-announced a sequel console that will assumedly be able to handle current-gen games (including Call of Duty!) with fewer cutbacks. Meanwhile, Microsoft is struggling to sell its existing consoles, faltering in its plan to grow Game Pass subscriptions and seemingly squashed its hardware team’s dream of a bold mid-cycle refresh.

One thing it does have is game developers making games. Outside of the underwhelming new console SKUs, Microsoft’s big Summer Game Fest was a reminder of just how much of the industry it now owns, and how many games it currently has in development. We got updates on Fable, Perfect Dark and the future of Gears of War. We got a new Call of Duty and a new Doom. There are still countless developers under its wing that don’t have an “announced” project, and big games previously announced that didn’t make an appearance, like Marvel’s Blade from Arkane Lyon, The Outer Worlds 2 from Obsidian, Everwild from Rare and Hideo Kojima’s OD. Microsoft’s game studios have a lot going for them, but with all of their titles coming to PC (and several to PlayStation and Switch) great games might not turn into great console sales.

Phil Spencer has spoken on last year’s leaks a couple of times. He nearly-immediately took to Twitter to say that “so much has changed” — which was clearly true, though maybe not for the better. Separately, he told a court something pretty wild about Microsoft potentially leaving the gaming business if Game Pass didn’t get a better mix of players by 2026 or 2027. Game Pass growth, as of February this year, has been seriously tapering off, so… uh-oh?

I don’t for a second think Microsoft would spend the best part of $100 billion on developers to exit gaming, but I do sincerely believe that its console business is on life support, and it doesn’t need shiny new hardware to make a ton of money on gaming. The gaming leadership team that was pitched Sebile, Ellewood and Brooklin in May 2022 clearly agrees.

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote is imminent. The festivities kick off later today — Monday, June 10 at 1PM ET. The keynote address is available to the public and you can watch it via Apple’s event website or on the company’s YouTube channel. And if you don't want to click away, the latter feed is embedded directly below.

This is WWDC, so it’ll be a software-focused event. Expect that Apple will showcase updates across its full panoply of operating systems, including iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, as well as watchOS, macOS and even visionOS, which is the operating system behind the Vision Pro headset.

But the big news is expected in the AI space, where Apple has has to elevate its games to compete with the likes of Microsoft and Google. To that end, per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is expected to spend nearly half of the keynote's running time touting a bevy of new AI initiatives, some of which are expected to be powered by a new partnership with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. If Gurman is right, and he usually is, we’ll see Siri getting some long overdue AI upgrades, including the ability to issue commands inside specific apps. 

As for software updates, it looks like iOS 18 will finally bring RCS support to Messages. This messaging protocol offers end-to-end encryption and better media sharing. It’ll also improve texting compatibility with Android devices. Rumors indicate that Apple Music may get an OpenAI-powered tool that auto-generates playlists and Notes might get a voice-recording option. Other apps like Mail, Fitness and Health are expected to get new features, too. (Again, hit up that recent preview from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, which is chock full of details.)

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

There’s also those ever-tantalizing words of “just one more thing.” Last year, the company used WWDC to officially unveil the Vision Pro. Apple won’t introduce a new device category this year, the AVP was its first since Apple Watch, but there should be a Vision Pro global availability announcement and some updated features.

Despite last year's Vision Pro reveal, we're not expecting a lot of hardware news. It’s possible we’ll get a new Apple TV streaming box and, if we’re lucky, an AirPods Max refresh with USB-C. Don’t hold out hope for new tablets or laptops, as Apple recently released both iPads and MacBooks — though Apple could drop the just-released M4 chip in the MacBook Pro. The Mac mini and Mac Studio are both overdue for an update, as well. But it's possible we get none of the above. There won’t be new iPhones until September, and the same goes for Apple Watch.

It’s Treyarch’s turn at bat for a big ol’ Call of Duty game, which means it’s time for a new Black Ops. Today we learned that Black Ops 6 will have a full campaign set in the 1990s that picks up (broadly) where the ‘80s-infused Cold War left off. Raven Software is actually handling the campaign, and is promising “globetrotting missions along with stealth gameplay mixed with blockbuster action. ” Sure sounds a lot like Black Ops!

Locations for the storyline include the Middle East, southern Europe, Russia and the US. For those deeply entwined in Blops' gripping storyline, Frank Woods and Russel Adler will return for 6, and the story will be tied to the 1980s flashbacks in Black Ops 2. The campaign will branch out from an “expanded campaign hub” set in a safehouse where you’ll be able to “learn about allies, explore and solve puzzles, gather lore and upgrades” and, of course, select missions.

Multiplayer is the main event for most Call of Duty players, and is also the area where Treyarch typically excels. This year, the developers are talking up “omnimovement,” which will seemingly deemphasize linear strafing and movement in favor of a more fluid chained system. We didn't see this in action — check the livestream above for that — but here’s a description from Activision:

“Omnimovement lets players sprint, slide, and dive in any direction, along with the new Supine Prone, the ability to rotate while prone, granting Black Ops 6 players more freedom of movement and tactical flexibility.”

And a screenshot called BO6_Multiplayer_Omnimovement.jpg that Activision sent over:

Activision

Rad! In terms of multiplayer modes, there’ll be 16 basic maps — 12 for six-on-six battles, and four Strike levels that support two-on-two and six-on-six matches. As pre-launch rumors suggested, Black Ops 6 marks the return of the classic Prestige gameplay for the most advanced players. Round-Based Zombies will also be in the game at launch with two all-new maps, Liberty Falls and Terminus. Activision promises more maps and modes post-launch.

Expect to hear a ton more about Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 as we get closer to its launch date — October 25, 2024. There’ll be a free Open Beta, with pre-orders granting early access as usual. It’s coming to PC (Battle.net, Microsoft Store and Steam), Playstation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series consoles. No Nintendo Switch this time around — I guess Microsoft’s deal with Nintendo is predicated on the Japanese company having a console more powerful than a mid ‘10s smartphone.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

TikTok says it has fixed a vulnerability that allowed for a cyberattack that targeted high-profile accounts, as reported by Axios. A TikTok spokesperson added that the company is currently working to restore access to impacted users.

The social media giant hasn’t announced how many accounts were hit by the attack, but we do know that CNN and Paris Hilton were targets. The hack involved sending messages to users that were filled with malicious code. When the user opened up the message, the code went to work and took over the entire account. Oddly, the impacted accounts didn’t post anything while they were compromised.

It remains unclear who was behind the attack and what their ultimate goal was, aside from taking over celebrity TikTok accounts. TikTok also remains mum as to the specifics regarding the vulnerability that allowed for the attack in the first place. This type of hack is extremely rare, however, so it shouldn’t be a big concern for average users. 

The hack is known as a zero-click attack, meaning that you don’t have to click on anything to get infected. In this case, users just had to open up a direct message. The method used here is similar to zero-click spyware attacks, only those hackers target high-profile government officials and journalists for the purpose of secretly gathering information. This attack took over the whole account for unknown purposes.

This isn’t the first big TikTok hack. Last year, over 700,000 accounts in Turkey were compromised due to insecure SMS channels. Researchers at Microsoft discovered a flaw back in 2022 that let hackers overtake accounts with just a single click. Later that same year, an alleged security breach allegedly impacted more than a billion users. That’s a whole lot of people.

We're still a ways out from Amazon's upcoming Prime Day sale and most Memorial Day promotions have ended, but this week, we still found a decent amount of discounts on gadgets we've reviewed and recommend. Searches turned up a surprising number of deals on Apple stuff. Does that have anything to do with the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next week? I have no idea. What matters is you can now get a new iPad Air, the latest Apple Watch, the second-gen Apple Pencil and a pair of AirPod Max headphones for less than you'd pay otherwise. If you could care less about Apple, there are plenty of other deals to check out, including discounts on Samsung Bluetooth trackers, the Google Pixel 8 Pro and some great earbuds for running. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.    

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A year since Apple unveiled the Vision Pro, and about four months since its muted launch, the spatial computing headset still feels surprisingly undercooked. Simple features, like the ability to organize icons in the visionOS home screen, are nowhere to be found. Content that truly shows off the Vision Pro's immersive capabilities is still rare (the recent Marvel experience was just a glimpse of what's possible).

According to the latest report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the company will show off visionOS 2 at its Worldwide Developers Conference ((WWDC 2024), but the update will mostly focus on polishing the Vision Pro experience. We can expect native Vision Pro versions of Apple software (right now the headset uses iPad versions of many apps), as well as a Passwords app and new environments. Apple's major AI push will also reportedly be called "Apple Intelligence," a cheeky way of colonizing the term "AI."

Beyond minor polishing and bug fixes, here's what I'd like to see on the Vision Pro at WWDC 2024 (or really, anytime in the next year, Apple!).

iPhone and iPad screen mirroring

Perhaps the most baffling aspect of the Vision Pro is how it refuses to play well with the iPhone. If you ever need to unlock your phone to use an authentication app, or quickly peep a Slack message, you'll either have to remove the Vision Pro to use FaceID, or type in your PIN and squint through the headset's middling cameras. Why?!

If Apple can already deliver sharp and lag-free macOS mirroring, it's not a huge leap to give us something similar for iPhones and iPads. Sure, ideally you'd be able to manage your text messages and other tasks in the Vision Pro without relying on other devices. Realistically, though, the Messages app doesn't always receive texts as quickly as your iPhone, and its history of texts and contacts often differs too.

Offering a quick pop-up of your iPhone's screen would erase those issues, and it would keep you within the flow of whatever you're working on in the Vision Pro. As for the lack of FaceID, Apple could tie authentication of your iPhone together with your Apple ID. You already have to sign into your Vision Pro with a PIN or Optic ID scan, as well as log into your ID itself, so Apple already knows who you are.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

When it comes to iPads, screen mirroring could be just as useful as it is on Macs. If you were typing away on a document on an iPad Pro with a Magic Keyboard, why shouldn't you be able to continue doing that on the Vision Pro? Supporting less powerful iPads could also be useful, since they could mirror downloaded media or games. Why burden the headset's M2 processor when you could tap into an M2 chip on an iPad Air?

Taking this concept a step further, it would also be nice to have Apple Watch mirroring eventually. Imagine lifting up your wrist and having a glanceable view of notifications or media controls while using the Vision Pro. What if you could immediately see a 300-inch version of your Apple TV's home screen as soon as you sit down on your couch. Apple has the potential to shape reality itself while using its headset, so why not lean into that for its own devices?

Apple

More native Vision Pro apps

Recent rumors suggest we'll see native versions of Apple's apps on the Vision Pro (many are just repackaged iPad apps right now), but I'm hoping to see more developers jump on the platform. There still aren't any Vision Pro apps for Netflix, YouTube or Spotify. If you want to use those services, you'll have to log into a web browser, or rely on a third-party app like Supercut. This isn't the seamless spatial computing future I was promised, Apple.

Now I'm sure it'll be tough for Apple to get YouTube to play nice with the Vision Pro, especially as Google just recently struck a mysterious partnership with the AR headset company Magic Leap. But not being able to get Netflix and Spotify on the headset remains a huge problem for Apple. Without the apps we live with every day, Vision Pro will always seem undercooked.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Cast audio to speakers and home theater systems

The Vision Pro's built-in speakers are fine, but they lack the depth of a proper pair of bookshelf speakers or Apple's own HomePod. And they certainly don't have the low-end kick you'd get from a complete home theater system and subwoofer. So why can't we just send audio easily to those devices?

Let us AirPlay to HomePods on a whim! Let me sit in my home theater and enjoy the massive speakers surrounding me, while watching Fury Road at near-IMAX scale on the Vision Pro! While I enjoy using AirPod Pros for immersive audio on the go, they can't hold a candle to the Dolby Atmos-equipped towers in my basement.

I'm sure home theater users aren't a high-priority consideration for Apple, but at the moment, who else is known for spending way too much money on hardware that isn't meant for everyone?

Apple has been holding its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) for over 30 years and frankly — other than no one calling them out for abbreviating it with two Ws in that span of time — I don't have strong feelings about them. Launch a new thing. Shovel AI bloatware into whatever. It's big tech's world and I'm just as trapped in it as anyone else. Imagine thinking iterative updates to a goddamn computer are a core part of your identity. Couldn't be me! 

But my world-weary ears perked up when I saw this little tidbit from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman ahead of Monday's keynote: 

In the latest iPhone operating system — iOS 18, codenamed Crystal — app icons will no longer have to remain in a neat grid. Instead, users will be able to place icons wherever they choose on their home screen. Moreover, icon colors will be customizable for the first time.

Reader, it's time to make your home screen look like a complete disaster. 

Sure, there's a version of this new freedom where someone could really maximize their productivity on Apple devices (ew) or achieve a unique aesthetic that spits in the face of Apple's sanitized design language (closer, but still no). Instead, lets bask in the glory of letting our apps resemble a teenager's bedroom. Give me an overstuffed closet of defunct weather software. An unfinished homework pile of workout trackers. An unmade bed of Temple Run clones pressed uncomfortably close to a junk drawer of ad-laden Maps alternatives. 

Of course you could "make all [your] social media apps blue or finance-related icons green" as Gurman suggests. Or you could turn ever app the same shape and color, rename them all to 'Gmail' and spend part of every day trying to solve the awful puzzle you've turned your user experience into. 

I'm told this is the sort of functionality Android users have had for a while. If so, why haven't you people been taking advantage of this?? None of us enjoy using these horrible things. Let disarray delight you.

Why do we climb mountains? For the same reason we stick the cup under every single spout in the soda machine and see what they taste like together. The purest of human instinct guides them both.