Meta is introducing new parental supervision features for Quest virtual reality headsets and Instagram. The VR safety tools, which were announced in March, are rolling out worldwide.
The parental supervision process needs to be initiated on a teen's account (the minimum age to have a Facebook account is 13). A Parent Dashboard in the Oculus app will allow parents and guardians to block apps (including web browsers), see a list of apps on the teen's account and view their friends list. A teen can ask to buy an age-restricted app, then their parent can approve or deny the request. Parents can also view headset screen time, receive alerts when an app is purchased and block the Link and Air Link features to stop teens from using PC content on their headset.
On top of that, Meta is debuting a parent education hub, which includes information about the VR supervision options. The company says it worked with industry experts, teens, parents and policymakers on these controls. It will refine the tools over time.
At the start of this year, the Information Commissioner's Office in the UK said it would hold talks with Meta over how Quest 2 complies with a children's code that's designed to protect young users. These new measures could go some way toward addressing the watchdog's concerns.
Meanwhile, Instagram's parental supervision tools, which launched in the US in March, will arrive in the UK, Japan, Australia, Ireland, Canada, France and Germany this month with some expanded options. Parents can now invite teens to set up supervision tools (rather than requests solely coming from teen accounts).
Parents and guardians can limit access to Instagram at certain times by scheduling breaks. They can view more details about an account or post their teen reports, including the person in question and the type of report. They can also see which users their teen follows and who follows them. Instagram plans to roll out the tools globally later this year.
In the UK and Ireland, Instagram is testing a nudge feature. Teens will be encouraged to look at different posts if they spend too much time with the same kind of content in the Explore tab. The aim is to prompt them to be more mindful of their Instagram use. As part of a different test, teens in certain countries may see a prompt to turn on the Take a Break feature after watching Reels for a while.
Elsewhere, Instagram is adding more resources to its educational Family Center. There's a new page that provides teens with details about privacy settings for Quest, Instagram, Facebook and Messenger. Parents and guardians can access information about how to talk to kids about online safety issues.
Google has helped app creators make better use of Assistant voice commands over time, but its longstanding Conversational Actions framework for those commands has had its limits. It's primarily meant for conventional Android mobile devices, and it's voice-only — the technology won't help much on your smartwatch, or when you need some on-screen interaction. The company is taking steps to make voice control more useful across all its platforms, though. It's expanding the App Actions framework to be more helpful for the entire Android ecosystem, and it's phasing out the old system in the process.
The company is in the midst of integrating App Actions across all Android-based platforms, including automotive platforms and wearables. Assistant can now point you to the relevant apps for a given command even when you don't mention an app's name, or when you're looking for the right software in "All Apps" on a Pixel 6. And if you don't have the app necessary for a command, you'll be taken to the appropriate Play Store page. These will help developers by boosting demand for their apps, of course, but they'll also help you focus on accomplishing tasks rather than crafting the exact phrase you need.
Developers will have a strong incentive to embrace the newer technology. Google is sunsetting Conversational Actions in June 2023, and plans to "turn down" features like console analytics at that point. The extra year will give app producers the time to learn App Actions and otherwise transition away from the earlier approach.
You might have seen this shift coming. Conversational Actions was introduced five years ago, only to be supplemented by App Actions (in an initially limited form) in 2019 — Google has been priming itself for a handover like this for a while. And with Google committing to major expansions of platforms like Android Auto and Wear OS, upgraded voice functionality is that much more important for the company.
Those unlockable Telegram features that showed up with the app's beta version in May will soon be available for paying users. Telegram founder Pavel Durov has confirmed that the app is launching a subscription plan called Telegram Premium sometime this month. While Durov didn't discuss the specific benefits that come with the plan, he said it will give paying users extra features, speed and resources, as well as first access to the app's latest offerings.
Durov explained that a lot of people have been asking the service to raise the limits on its chats, media and file uploads. However, doing so for everyone would lead to massive traffic and server costs beyond what it could afford. Telegram apparently came to the conclusion that the only way it could give its "most demanding fans" more while keeping its existing features free is to offer those raised limits as a paid option.
The service's founder has also assured users in his announcement that Telegram will still be releasing new free features despite having a paid tier. Further, even free users will be able to enjoy some of the Premium option's new futures, including being able to view larger-than-usual documents, media and stickers sent by paying members. A previous report by tech publication Beebom says Premium subscribers will have the capability to upload files up to 4GB in size and will enjoy up to twice a non-paying users' limits when it comes to the number of channels they can join, among other things. Beebom also says a Premium subscription will cost $5 a month, though we won't know for sure until the option launches.
Durov ended his announcement with:
"While our experiments with privacy-focused ads in public one-to-many channels have been more successful than we expected, I believe that Telegram should be funded primarily by its users, not advertisers. This way our users will always remain our main priority."
TikTok is rolling out more screen time controls to help users manage how much time they are spending in the app. With the change, the company is adding a new in-app dashboard that will more closely track how long people are spending in the app.
The dashboard will show statistics like how much time you spend in the app, when you sue the app most and how often it’s opened. Additionally, TikTok users will now be able to set screen time limits for how long they can use the app in any one sitting.
Previously, the the app has offered screen time controls that time out after a designated daily limit. But with the new setting users can, for example, opt to have the app remind them to “take a break” if they have had it open for an extended period of time.
TikTok
The changes come as TikTok and its peers have faced questions about their apps’ impact on teens. Earlier this year, lawmakers in the Senate introduced a bill that would increase the study of social media addiction in an effort to put up more “guardrails” to protect younger users.
Notably, TikTok now says it’s introducing additional screen time restrictions for teens between the ages of 13 and 17. Teens will now see weekly “digital well-being prompts” and get additional screen time reminders when they have spent more than 100 minutes in the app on a single day.
Twitter is introducing another shopping feature as it slowly tries to ramp up its in-app commerce features. The company’s latest experiment is product drops, which allows users to get notifications ahead of in-demand product launches.
The company says the feature is meant to capitalize on how Twitter is already used to build hype for limited edition or particularly in-demand products. Companies using product drops will be able to tweet links to upcoming launches and users can sign up for in-app notifications to be reminded ahead of the launch. As with other Twitter shopping features, the app won’t actually handle the transaction, it just directs users’ to the retailer or brands’s website.
Initially, product drops will only be available in the United States to people using the Twitter app in English. The first brands to get their hands on the feature include Dior, Home Depot and Fossil’s collabs with designer Jeff Staple.
Compared with most of its peers, Twitter has been pretty late to bring e-commerce features into its app, though the company has said it sees the area as a significant opportunity. Twitter has also experimented with shopping in livestreams and allowing retailers to create in-app storefronts on their profiles.
Many students have returned to in-person classes, but that isn't stopping Google from making online education more viable. The company has updated Classroom and Workspace for Education with a host of features that improve life for teachers and students alike. In Workspace, for instance, you can now auto-transcribe Meet calls directly into Google Docs — helpful if you want to quickly produce lesson material or help students catch up when they miss lectures. You can also host polls and Q&A sessions in Meet sessions, livestream public events (think school assemblies) to YouTube and use picture-in-picture to manage class presentations without losing sight of your pupils.
Teachers using Classroom, meanwhile, now have access to previously beta-only add-on support that extends functionality beyond what Google can offer. You can get an EdPuzzle add-on to automatically integrate and grade assignments, while a Pear Deck extension can create assignments using lessons from the Pear Deck library. The Classroom updates also make it easier to add YouTube videos to lessons, export grades and get updates through email notifications. An update later in 2022 will let teachers reply directly to students from Gmail notifications.
Google is expanding access to its Read Along app, too. It's rolling out a beta for a new web version over the next month, so students might not need to lean on their phones as they improve their literacy skills.
The announcements come alongside Chrome OS updates that include improved casting and optimizing educational apps like Figma. Although these updates might not matter much as the pandemic (hopefully) winds down, they could still be useful as schools increasingly rely on internet-based lessons and coursework.
In its ongoing push to corner the education market, Google is introducing new classroom-specific features to Chrome OS. The first of those is Screencast, a new built-in app that allows teachers to build a video library of lessons and demos students can turn to if they miss a class or need help with a homework assignment. Available as of Chrome OS version M103, the software includes tools for trimming and transcribing clips.
Google points out that students can also use the app to create video reports and share ideas with classmates. Additionally, Screencast supports stylus input, allowing both teachers and students to write and draw on their videos. Sharing is done through Google Drive, allowing students to access content their teachers upload both at school and at home.
The other feature Google introduced today is a new cast moderator mode designed to give teachers more control over onscreen presentations and other content shared wirelessly within their classroom. With the help of an access code, the feature gives educators the power to turn off disruptive screencasts. Before making the feature widely available, Google plans to run a pilot program to trial the feature with a select group of schools this summer. Once it’s available, it will work with the company’s Chrome browser, Chrome OS and Google TV devices.
Google
Google also announced today it’s partnering with Figma, a collaborative graphic design tool, to optimize its software for Chromebooks. With the partnership, schools in the US can download a free beta of the software through the Google Admin Console.
When iOS 16 arrives, iPhone owners won't have to deal with full software installs for the latest security patches. Apple is launching a new feature with the mobile OS called Rapid Security Response, which enables the company to automatically apply security fixes to users' devices in between its standard software updates. It's one of the security features the tech giant has announced at WWDC this year, along with Safety Check that gives users a quick way to see which contacts have access to their location and calendar info. Safety Check will also show them the permissions used by every app on their device.
As MacRumors notes, iOS 16 will add a new section under Automatic Updates in Settings called "Install System and Data Files." When toggled on, users can get software fixes that aren't tied with full updates, installed automatically and without them having to restart their phones or lift a finger altogether. It's switched on by default upon upgrading to the new OS, so those who don't want automatic installs will have to remember to toggle it off.
Apple's iOS 16 brings a bunch of other new features to iPhones, including a more customizable lock screen, the ability to edit texts and the ability to use Face ID even when the device is in landscape mode. The public beta of the mobile platform will come out in July, though it'll no longer support the iPhone 6S, 7 and the first-gen SE.
Apple packed a lot into its annual developer's conference keynote. On the WWDC stage, company execs touted the latest improvements coming to iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 in the fall, plus forthcoming enhancements to macOS, watchOS and others. Apple also announced new hardware at the keynote this year: a new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro powered by the new M2 processor. Here are the biggest announcement to come out of WWDC 2022.
iOS 16
Apple
The next iteration of the iPhone's operating system will include new intelligence, sharing and communication features, plus new ways to customize your smartphone. Key among the latter is the completely designed Lock Screen, which lets you personalize most elements you'll see before unlocking your iPhone. You'll be able to tap on any element of your Lock Screen and customize it, changing the color and font of the time, adding widgets from the widget gallery and changing the backdrop with filters. If you prefer to have a photo as your Lock Screen backdrop, you'll be able to now set a "photo shuffle" as your background, which will cycle through multiple photos throughout the day.
Also coming to the Lock Screen are Live Activities, which are essentially widgets that will update in real time as events happen. They'll let you better keep track of things like sports games that are going on right now, Uber rides, workouts and more. The new Lock Screen will also better support different Focus modes, allowing you to customize which alerts and notifications you receive on your Lock Screen when you're in a particular Focus mode. So, for example, you'll be able to make a work-specific Lock Screen that will accompany your Work Focus mode.
iOS 16 will also bring some highly anticipated updates to Messages, namely message editing, undo send and mark as unread. You'll be able to edit sent messages so you can get rid of any typos, undo messages you just sent and mark Message threads unread, in case you want to go back to them with fresh eyes. Apple's also extending SharePlay's abilities into Messages, allowing you to share things like videos and watch them with friends while sending messages back and forth.
Apple
iPhone users will also have access to a new feature dubbed Apple Pay Later in iOS 16. This splits purchases into four equal payments and spreads them out over many weeks, with zero interest and fees applied. That should make it easier to pay for big purchases over time, and it'll accompany the new Order Tracking feature, which will let you monitor where you're shipments are before they actually arrive at your doorstep.
Apple has a number of Family sharing updates planned for iOS 16, including easier ways for parents to manage their kids accounts and devices. The new Quick Start setup process will let parents more easily set up a new Apple device for their child with all the necessary parental controls and restrictions in place. A more general new feature coming to Family Sharing involves Photos — within your family, you'll be able to have a dedicated iCloud Shared Photo Library, a separate space into which you can share specific photos that you want everyone in your family to see. The Photos app will even give you sharing suggestions based on who's in the photo and other factors, allowing you to more easily pick and choose which images you want everyone to be able to access.
There are a bunch of other updates coming to Wallet, HomeKit, CarPlay and more, but the other new feature in iOS 16 that we wanted to touch upon here is Safety Check. It's a new privacy feature that will let you review and reset access you've granted to others. In case you ever need to remove someone's access, you'll be able to use Safety Check to do things like stop location sharing via Find My and reset permissions you previously granted for certain apps.
MacBook Air M2, 13-inch MacBook Pro M2
Apple
Uncharacteristic for WWDC, Apple unveiled a new piece of hardware at today's keynote: the new MacBook Air M2. As the name suggests, the laptop runs on the company's updated M2 chipset, which Apple promises to provide up to 18 percent faster CPU performance and 35 percent faster GPU performance than M1 chipsets. The new MacBook Air also has a totally new design — gone is the wedge shape from the previous model, as it's been replaced by a more squared-off design that remains quite svelte at 11.3mm thick and only 2.7 pounds.
The MacBook Air M1 will sport a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display that's 25 percent brighter than the screen on the previous model and has support for one billion colors. It also has a 1080p webcam, a four-speaker sound system, a TouchID keyboard with a full Function row and a fanless interior design. Unfortunately, there are still only two Thunderbolt ports on this machine, but Apple did bring back MagSafe charging with a dedicated power port, so at least you will not tie up one of the two Thunderbolt ports with a charging cable. As for battery life, Apple estimates up to 18 hours of video playback on the MacBook Air M2. The new laptop will be available next month starting at $1,199.
The M2 chipset will also hit the 13-inch MacBook Pro soon, providing a similar performance boost to another one of the company's most popular laptops. The MacBook Pro M2 will have an 8-core CPU and a 10-core GPU, support for up to 24GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage, plus a battery life of up to 20 hours. The updated 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 will also be available next month and it starts at $1,299.
macOS Ventura
Apple
The upcoming version of macOS, dubbed Ventura, will bring a handful of new organization and collaboration features to Macs. Stage Manager presents a new way to organize app windows on desktop, automatically putting the app you're currently working in front and center. Other active apps will be highlighted in a separate side dock into which you can drag and drop files to share, copy/paste and more.
Mail will get similar updates to Messages in iOS 16, like rescind send, schedule send and reminders to come back to emails at a later time. Elsewhere in Safari, it'll be easier to share multiple tabs with friends and family, and collaborate with them in real time. For example, if you're planning a camping trip with many people, you can share multiple tabs with camping gear, locations, information and more with your group, see which tabs they're actively looking at and more.
New Handoff and Continuity features are coming to FaceTime on macOS, too. For the former, you'll be able to hand off a FaceTime call you started on your iPhone to your Mac seamlessly, allowing you to use a larger screen when you need it. The new Continuity Camera feature present an interesting way for you to use your iPhone as a webcam. Using in-development magnetic stands, you'll be able to attach your iPhone to your Mac's screen and use its camera array as your webcam for FaceTime, Zoom, Microsoft Team and other video calls. Also, this process is completely wireless, so you won't have to worry about hogging one of your computer's ports for this like you would a standard external webcam.
Also worth noting here are Apple's new passkeys, or digital keys securely stored on your device. Designed to replace passwords, these unique passkeys aren't stored in the cloud, which Apple claims makes them much less susceptible to phishing and theft attempts. Passkeys will integrate with TouchID and FaceID on Apple devices for biometric authentication, and they can be synced with other Apple devices via iCloud Keychain.
iPadOS 16
Apple
Many of the new features that will hit iPadOS 16 are those we've discussed from iOS 16 and macOS Venture. But iPads will also gain things like new collaboration perks, updated Game Center profiles and sharing capabilities and its own version of macOS' Stage Manager feature. The latter is arguably the most interesting new feature as it pushes helps push the iPad further into the desktop-alternative realm. Stage Manager on iPad will let users resize app windows for the first time and overlap app windows as well, making them more similar to browser and program windows you'd use on desktop. Add in full external display support and the iPad inches even closer to being a true laptop-replacement device.
watchOS 9
Apple
Apple Watches will gain a number of handy new exercise features in watchOS 9. Most of these are confined to the Workout app, where you'll be able to keep track of heart rate zones while exercising and even set goals based on the heart rate zone you want to stay. Runners will appreciate the new trackable metrics available in the Workout app, including vertical oscillation, stride length and ground contact time. When you're tracking a run, you'll be able to see more on your Watch's screen by using the Digital Crown to scroll through various screens with different data recorded on them. Apple will also add a Custom Workout feature to the app, which lets users create exercise routines with specific goals that they can go back to on certain training days.
Sleep tracking on Apple Watch will also get better in watchOS 9 thanks to the addition of sleep stages. The Watch will now be able to monitor when you're in REM, core and deep sleep, recording the amount of time you spend in each phase, as well as the amount of time you spend awake each night.
Finally in the health and fitness realm, Apple's new Medications app will make it easier for Watch users to track the medications, vitamins and supplements they take and how often they take them. It has a reminders feature, which will use the audio and haptic alerts on the Watch to ping you when you need to take one of our medications throughout the day.
Apple is working on a new whiteboard-style app to enable people to collaborate in real-time. Called "Freeform," the app allow groups to work together via FaceTime. Freeform will be available on iPadsOS 16 "later this year," and will also be available on macOS and iOS.
