Apple's decision to allow ratings for its own apps is producing... mixed results. As developer Kosta Eleftheriou and The Verge have noticed, the official Podcasts app has flipped from an abysmal 1.8-star rating to over 4.8 in the space of just a few weeks thanks to a surge of reviews. As you might have guessed, though, this wasn't the results of a (non-existent) feature update during that period. Rather, the blame appears to rest on app prompts and more than a little confusion.

The iPhone maker told The Verge that iOS 15.1 started prompting users for ratings and reviews "just like most third-party apps." However, many people thought they were rating the show they were listening to, not the app — and that led to a flood of scores and reviews for podcasts.

This issue hasn't affected many other first-party apps, such as Apple Maps (2.8 stars as of this writing). Even iTunes Store ratings, while high (4.8 stars), include reviews that largely focus on the app rather than the content.

The prompts do bring functional consistency to Apple's apps — it's easy to trash them if you like. At the same time, though, the mixups are inflating Podcasts' value and rendering the scores useless for many people deciding on podcast clients. The shift also underscores the problem with trusting ratings and reviews regardless of platform. It's still relatively easy for misguided users, activists and fraudsters to skew that feedback.

Apple has rolled out iOS 15.1.1, and you may want to install it if your iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 has been dropping calls. The update comes with bug fixes specifically for Apple's more recent phone models, including one meant to improve their call drop performance. This release comes almost a month after the tech giant launched iOS 15.1, which enabled its long-awaited SharePlay feature. SharePlay lets you watch movies and shows or listen to music with friends on a FaceTime call. You can also send whatever you're watching on the iPhone to an Apple TV. 

While iOS 15.1.1 is a fairly minor update — unless you've been having major issues with dropped calls on your phone — iOS 15.2 is expected to bring some more significant features. As MacRumors has reported, the upcoming software will add playlist search to the Apple Music app and the capability to bulk rename tags in the Reminders app. It will also show when a game is from Apple Arcade if you search for it and will tweak the Macro mode toggle. 

iOS 15.2 is still in beta testing, but you can now get iOS 15.1.1 by going to Software Update under General in the Settings app. 

Instagram will shut its standalone Threads messaging app by the end of the year. Following reports of the potential shutdown last week, the company confirmed it was moving forward with the decision in a statement to TechCrunch.

“We’re now focusing our efforts on enhancing how you connect with close friends on Instagram, and deprecating the Threads app,” a spokesperson for Instagram told the outlet. “We’re bringing the fun and unique features we had on Threads to the main Instagram app, and continuing to build ways people can better connect with their close friends on Instagram.”

Instagram will start notifying users of the impending sunset on November 23rd. The notification will direct those individuals to use the company’s mainline app to continue chatting with their friends. When Instagram discontinues support for Threads, it will remove the software from the App Store and Google Play. It will also log users out of the experience.

It’s not a surprise to see Threads join the Meta (formerly Facebook) graveyard. Despite some interesting features and the fact it’s been around since 2019, it never attracted a dedicated user base. What’s more, Meta’s messaging ambitions have evolved significantly since the app’s debut. In 2020, it started unifying Instagram and Facebook Messenger, allowing users on the two platforms to message one another. At that point, there wasn’t much of purpose to Threads.

Microsoft has built a new media playback app for Windows 11 to supplant both Windows Media Player, which hasn't really changed since 2009, and the Groove Music app. Windows Insiders can start testing the creatively named Media Player for Windows 11 now.

The app is designed for both music and video playback. If you've been clinging onto the Groove Music app to manage your library of tracks, even after Microsoft axed Groove Music services in 2017, you'll be able to update it to the new Media Player. Your library and playlists will automatically migrate over, as Gizmodo notes.

Microsoft

Microsoft says users will be able to quickly browse their library to find what they want to listen to, and create and manage playlists. During playback, you'll see album art and "rich artist imagery" in both full screen and mini-player modes. The app will add files from your PC's music and video folders too. Through the settings, users can tell Media Player where else to look for things to bring to the library.

There are accessibility-focused options in the app too. Microsoft says those include "improved keyboard shortcut and access key support for keyboard users and with other assistive technologies."

Media Player currently has a couple of issues, Microsoft notes, including ones that affect playback from some network locations, editing album metadata and library content with accented characters. You'll still be able to access the old version of Windows Media Player through Windows Tools.

Of course, the Media Player design reflects the clean aesthetic of Windows 11. The app looks nice and it's the cherry on top of a long, long-awaited overhaul of Windows Media Player. It's a bit of a shame that Microsoft chose such a boring name for the new app, but at least users shouldn't be confused about what it does.

Sony has updated the PS Remote Play app on Android, which now has some extra controller features for Android 12 users. You can now connect a DualSense controller and use it to play PlayStation 5 games remotely. Sony brought DualSense support to the iOS version of the app earlier this year.

There are also some upgrades for those who use a DualShock 4 (the PS4 controller) with the app. There's now support for the touchpad, motion sensor and rumble features, as well as a battery indicator. Although those features are only available to those on Android 12, the controller is compatible with Android 10 and 11 as well.

In September, Sony added the option to stream PS4 and PS5 games to the app over a mobile data connection, in addition to WiFi. So, wherever you are, you might be able to sneak in some Deathloop or Returnal with a DualSense.

Amazon has released a Prime Video app for Mac, and you can now get it for free from the App Store. You can use the app to download videos for offline viewing on your computer, which sounds especially useful for long business trips and vacations. The Verge reports that the app will let you choose the quality of the video you're streaming or downloading, and it supports native macOS features such as Picture-in-Picture and AirPlay. Within the app, you'll find a dedicated tab where you can rent and purchase content, as well. You'll just have sure you're running macOS Big Sur or later to be able to access the application.

The company has also released a redesigned version of its Photos app for iOS and the web, which now let you search for people, places and years. It shows the faces of people that usually appear in your photos as clickable options, so you can see all the photos they've appeared in. If you want to narrow down the results, you can choose the year and the places where the pictures were taken, as well. The refreshed apps also come with a new interface, which you can get a glimpse of in this video:

Amazon's Photos app gives you unlimited storage for full-resolution images and for up to 5GB of videos if you're a Prime member. If you don't have Prime, you'll still get 5GB of free storage for your media overall. 

After iOS 14 really shook up the iPhone’s interface with stackable widgets and an app library, iOS 15 at launch didn’t seem so dramatic. Given that several major features, like SharePlay were delayed, little seemed different from the public beta. But now, with iOS 15.1, everything seems to be in full working order. It’s time to put Apple’s latest mobile OS through its paces.

SharePlay is finally here

Mat Smith/Engadget

We had to wait until iOS 15.1 for SharePlay — one of the few significant features inside this otherwise quiet update. All things SharePlay are underpinned by the FaceTime app. We’ve got a guide on using SharePlay right here, but the major point is that not all apps are compatible.

You need to start a FaceTime call before doing anything SharePlay. Then, once connected to someone, you can open a supported app and you'll see an alert at the top of the screen asking if you want to stream your content to your FaceTime contact. They will then see a pop-up, asking them to join you.

Shared shows and content are impressively lag-free and can be navigated by anyone watching, so your friends can pause a TV show if they need to make a snack run. A picture-in-picture box offers a view of all the callers. It’s a little tight on an iPhone, but works well on Apple TV and iPads. When shows offer multiple subtitles and audio options, everyone can listen/read in their chosen languages.

There are also a few games compatible with SharePlay, but you’ll probably tend toward the free-to-play options, like the charades-based game, Heads-Up. (Testing it out with other Engadget editors was far more fun than it had any right to be.)

Fitness Plus, Apple’s on-demand workouts service, also works with SharePlay. Of course, you’ll need an Apple Watch to participate, but it’s a fun way to share a workout, and have someone to complain along with you. The app did an excellent job dipping out the Fitness Plus audio when my companion talked. Sometimes it’d pick up ambient noise, like distant door slams, but it was cool to be able to hear that someone else was sweating (and swearing) along with me, while still being in the privacy of my apartment.

Unfortunately, your favorite streaming service may not work on SharePlay. There’s currently no YouTube or Netflix, but Apple has managed to rope in TikTok, HBO Max, Hulu, Showtime, Paramount Plus, and the NBA. There are some third-party fitness apps (including SmartGym), but nothing hugely notable.

There is potential here, I just wish it wasn’t joined at the hip to FaceTime. I would have appreciated the ability to SharePlay from say, Apple TV+, and then put in the details of whoever I wanted to share with once I’d picked something — That order would make more sense.

While I might not be a FaceTime regular, I can appreciate the upgrades in iOS 15. For example, you can share your FaceTime calls beyond Apple’s walled garden, to anything with a web browser. This works best on Apple devices, but it’s relatively stable compared to the open beta we tried earlier this year. You’ll also immediately notice the new grid view that brings Apple up to parity with other video call services, like Google Hangouts or Zoom.

There’s also spatial audio — which makes each person on your FaceTime call sound like they’re coming from a particular direction. It’s not life-changing, but it’s a nice flourish. What’s even better are the new voice isolation and wide modes, the latter of which intentionally draws in more ambient noise. Those are also available outside of Apple’s own video call app. I inadvertently turned it on for some WhatsApp video calls with family while trying to console a cranky toddler — the caller had no idea that my niece was having a complete meltdown. Naturally, noise-cancellation effectiveness can vary, but in general, I found it impressive.

Focus modes

Mat Smith/Engadget

Apple’s attempt to help us claw back some of our life from our smartphones is a welcome one. Compared to Screentime, which came along with iOS 12, Focus seems more robust. It’s better equipped to help you steer away from your phone, and less about telling you about what you already know — you spent over 40 minutes reading Reddit when you should have been sleeping.

Focus offers multiple different profiles, evolving the single Do Not Disturb toggle from before. There are three placeholders to start with: Work, Bedtime and Personal, but there’s no stopping you from adding more focus modes to cover perhaps, gym trips or when you offer your phone to your kids.

There’s also a toggle within the Focus menus that allows compatible apps (there aren’t many) to notify anyone trying to contact you that messages were “delivered quietly.” If it’s very important, they can “send anyway” and it’ll still ping you. Of course, this is only when dealing with iOS users. Android users won’t have any hint that their message won’t be read.

In iOS 15, you can automate the transitions so that your device ‘locks you out’ when you should be filing your review draft and not mired in the latest Apple Arcade game. This can be based on location, time or even on AI smarts. The phone learns from when you manually switch between modes and will suggest the same transition, hopefully, before you do it yourself. 

Mat Smith/Engadget

Inside the Focus settings, you can approve both apps and contacts. If they’re not on the list, notifications are corralled away until you swap modes.

You can also use Focus modes to customize your interface. Inside the settings for each mode, you’ll need to make each new home screen page as an additional panel. Once enabled, you’ll only see the panels enabled in that particular Focus mode — though the app drawer is always just a few swipes away…

If it’s any kind of endorsement, I set up a ‘sleep’ focus mode that interrupts messages and most things after 10 PM, protecting myself from some of the chaos of an international Engadget team and friends that are very much night owls. So far, it’s worked well.

A smarter iOS, again

Apple’s machine learning takes a few more steps forward in iOS 15. They’re small additions, but they point to where Apple is taking its mobile OS.

A handful of them are based on imaging. Visual Look-up will, er, look up photos on your iPhone, identifying people, places and more. It’s something that Google’s done for years on Lens — which you could also have used on your iPhone.

Live Text is a little more compelling. It can identify and pull text from a photo, which you can then paste into emails or notes. You can even translate this text in real-time, making it useful for menus and signs as we gradually venture beyond our own borders again.

Spotlight in iOS 15 has also been given some machine-learning smarts. You can now search your Photos app without having to open the app. Type in dog, ramen or baby and you’ll see your own images of whatever you type in, if you have them. This also works for people, if you’ve assigned their faces to photos. Even more impressive, it’ll search the text within your photos, although I haven’t needed it yet. This can backfire though: I have a photo of a Lulu Lemon tote bag (don’t ask), which is covered in random words. Apple has indexed all of them.

Mat Smith/Engadget

Across iOS 15, you’ll notice a new “Shared with You” section that’s based entirely on your Messages app and what content and links people have sent you. You’ll see it across Safari, Photos, Podcasts, Apple Music, and more.

Any content that someone shares with you on Messages will populate in the corresponding app. It works seamlessly, but it’s also only for all things Apple. I got the most use from sending and receiving photos, but I could see the utility being heavily tied to how many of my friends and family are watching TV Plus — or are iPhone users to begin with.

Safari got some surprising changes too. Yes, the address bar has now been relocated to the bottom of the screen — closer to fingers on ever bigger iPhones. While it’ll take a while to remember that’s where the URL box lives now, it makes sense. And, if you absolutely can’t tolerate it, you can turn off this design change. It’s a rare bit of flexibility from Apple.

Mat Smith/Engadget

Safari on iOS 15 also introduces extensions, like Safari has on Macs. Sadly, the best extension (and the only one I’m using) is Noir which tries to force a ‘dark mode’ effect on any websites you browse on Safari. It’s another area that could be more compelling in a year’s time.

Many of Apple’s other apps have picked up subtle upgrades too. Apple Maps continues its slow path to redemption with improved transit instructions and augmented-reality walking instructions. There’s a deeper level of detail for several cities, including New York, San Francisco and London, including bike lanes.

With the Weather app, you can now set up notifications for when it’s about to rain or snow, borrowed from Dark Sky, a weather app that Apple recently bought. And the Health app does a better job of notifying you of trends, like weight and physical activity. This week, I got a notification saying that my VO2 levels have improved since taking up daily HIIT classes, meaning that regardless of weight loss or what I see in the mirror, my cardiovascular system is getting stronger.

If you’re paying for iCloud, or Apple’s One service, you’ll get a few extras with iOS 15. It now includes a baked-in private relay that will scramble traffic at both ends of your internet connection — iOS will flag when it is turned on or off. It’s useful simply because it’s so entrenched within the OS, with no need to toggle it on or off. The paid-for service also adds the ability to make your own “burner” email addresses that auto-forward to your main email account. These work in places where the Sign in with Apple feature, which does a similar thing, isn’t supported.

Wrap-up

Mat Smith/Engadget

iOS 15 is a quiet update. It can be hard to spot what’s changed unless you’re actively seeking out the differences. This isn’t a getting-rid-of-the-home-button edition of iOS.

Instead, Apple is both focusing on sharing as a way to court people outside of iOS while keeping those already committed to its apps deeply entrenched.

With FaceTime web links, SharePlay, and those new Shared With You sections, the company is coaxing you into sharing photos in Messages, stretching in a Fitness Plus yoga session with friends, or watching the latest season of Ted Lasso with family hundreds of miles away.

Apple wants you doing all those things Apple’s way, instead of through WhatsApp, Netflix or Peleton. That’s still a big ask, but Apple has weaved all these often disparate parts together so well, it’s easy to see what it’s trying to achieve, even if the content or flexibility isn’t quite there.

Qualcomm is betting it can become a cornerstone in the augmented reality world. The chipmaker has unveiled a Snapdragon Spaces platform that helps developers create apps for "next generation" AR glasses. The toolset includes tech to help understand environments and users (including gesture and hand tracking from the newly acquired HINS), software kits for 3D engines like Unreal, OpenXR support and hooks for platforms like Niantic's Lightship and Unity's AR Foundation.

The ultimate aim is to make AR more accessible. Ideally, developers will make apps directly available to you through mobile app stores, using glasses tethered to smartphones. You might not see Snapdragon Spaces used for stand-alone glasses, at least not at first.

The manufacturer support will be there. Spaces won't be widely available until spring 2022, but Qualcomm has lined up partners like Lenovo (including Motorola), Oppo and Xiaomi. Carriers like T-Mobile and NTT DoCoMo will help build "5G experiences" using Spaces. Lenovo will be the first to make use of the technology, pairing its ThinkReality A3 glasses with an unnamed Motorola phone.

It's too soon to know if Snapdragon Spaces will have a meaningful effect on AR. While this should streamline app work, that will only matter if there are both compelling projects and AR glasses people want to buy. This also won't be much help for iPhone owners waiting on possible Apple AR devices. Efforts like this might lower some of the barriers, though, and it's easy to see a flurry of AR software in the near future.

Back in 2018, the Google Arts & Culture app introduced a feature that looks your doppelgänger in works of art. It's searched for matches for more than 120 million selfies so far. Now, the app can look for animals in art that resemble your pets too.

Using a machine learning algorithm, Pet Portraits matches a snap of your furry, finned or feathered friend against tens of thousands of works from Google's partner institutions. The app might determine that the best match for your pet is in a piece of street art from Mexico or a cat figurine from ancient Egypt.

You can share your Pet Portraits as still images or choose a few of them to turn into a GIF slideshow. To get started, tap the rainbow camera button at the bottom of the screen on the Google Arts & Culture app, which you can download on iOS or Android.

The Pet Portraits feature wasn't available at the time of writing, so unfortunately I wasn't able to test it out with snaps of the Engadget team's pets. However, Google has shared a few examples of the tool in action, including one or two that maybe aren't super close to being a perfect match.

Google

Google

Google

Niantic Labs is offering everyone the chance to get their hands on the tech behind Pokémon Go and Pikmin Bloom so they can build their own augmented reality and "real-world metaverse" apps. Developers can start using the Niantic Lightship platform today. The company also announced a $20 investment fund to back developers that "share our vision for the real-world metaverse and contribute to the global ecosystem we are building."

Developers can use Ninatic's toolkit to create real-time 3D mesh maps so apps can understand the surfaces and topography of the world surrounding a device. Other APIs will help apps know the difference between different aspects of an environment, such as the ground, sky, water and buildings. The toolkit also enables developers to make apps that allow up to five players to take part in the same AR multiplayer session, keeping all of their content and interactions in sync.

The tools are mostly free. The multiplayer APIs will be available at no cost for the first six months no matter how many users an app has. After that, Niantic will charge a fee if the APIs are used in an app with more than 50,000 monthly active users.

Several notable brands have taken part in a private beta of the development kit, including Universal Pictures, PGA of America and Warner Music Group. Coachella has created an AR experience that its festival attendees will be able to check out next year. They'll be able to see a large version of Coachella's butterfly landing on the seven-story Spectra rainbow walkway tower.

Meanwhile, Shueisha is working with developer T&S to bring characters from One Piece and other manga into the real world with AR. That app will be available in 2022.

Niantic's vision of the metaverse is very much different from the virtual reality-centered future Facebook's parent company Meta has in mind. In a blog post in August, CEO John Hanke suggested that the "real-world metaverse" is about connecting the physical and digital worlds, rather than existing purely as a virtual experience. With that in mind, his company has been working on AR glasses with Qualcomm over the last couple of years.