Apple is extending support for spatial audio to macOS and tvOS. The feature will work with the company’s high-end AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, using the devices’ built-in accelerometers and gyroscopes to create a 3D audio effect that tracks the listener’s head movements.
Apple initially announced spatial audio for the AirPods Pro last year and impressed us with the feature’s immersive quality. At this year’s WWDC, the company extended support for spatial audio to Apple Music and FaceTime calls.
According to a press release from Apple, spatial audio for macOS will only work with the AirPods Pro and Max on Macs with the company’s latest M1 chip and the macOS Monterey operating system. During this week’s WWDC presentation, Apple said spatial audio would arrive on tvOS sometime “this fall,” offering a “full-surround experience” and “dynamic head tracking.”
Some outlets are reporting that spatial audio on tvOS will only work with the Apple TV 4K, and it’s not clear what apps on the Apple TV will support the feature. Or when support for spatial audio through other headphones on either platform will be available. We’ve reached out to Apple to find out more and will update this story if we hear back.
Apple’s WWDC event always feels like roulette when it comes to whether or not the company will announce any new devices or big software updates. For the past few weeks, rumors have been swirling that Apple might announce new MacBooks or the follow-up to its successful M1 chip today, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. We did get news on the latest incarnation of MacOS, called Monterey, but the rest of today’s stream was mostly spent on new iOS and iPadOS features (many of which are already present in Android).
(Image credit: Apple)
Monterey, the latest version of MacOS, was today’s biggest announcement outside of the mobile space, although it’s not shaping up to be as major of an update as last year’s Big Sur. It mostly focuses on bringing continuity across your MacBook and other Apple devices, including the ability to control an iMac, iPad and iPhone all with your MacBook’s keyboard and touchpad (or vice versa, presumably). It’ll also introduce new features that are coming to iOS and iPadOS to MacOS devices, but these are the most concrete details we know for now.
Apple did discuss that it’s going to be moving away from Automator and towards interspersing manual task shortcuts throughout the OS. Sort of like Windows Tiles, these shortcuts will let you open different apps from panels, but they’ll also take the form of buttons that show up in other programs and let you easily perform certain tasks. For instance, you might be able to make a gif straight from a photo editing program with a shortcut. It’s unclear exactly how intrusive or useful these shortcuts will be, especially since Apple said Automator would still be supported.
Safari is also getting tab groups, similar to the latest versions of Chrome and Firefox, and will also add Chrome Sync-like features to allow you to browse more easily across your MacBook and your iPhone (which will also get a tab redesign).
(Image credit: Apple)
Speaking of iPhones, iOS 15 is adding a bunch of new features to the device, mostly focused around sharing content. These include spatial audio that tries to cancel ambient noise around you on video calls, plus grid and portrait mode options for FaceTime. FaceTime is also getting links you can send to participants that they can click on to join future calls, much like Zoom or Google Meet.
What’s more interesting are the new content-sharing features. Facetime will now let users watch content from a streaming app together, each having control of the play and pause functions for perfect, automatic syncing. This also applies to music, plus FaceTime will be adding screensharing support as well. While we don’t normally cover phones, these functions are worth nothing as they will be coming to MacOS, too.
Aside from these features, there was a lot of talk about privacy promises, more niche updates like changes to iCloud (iCloud+) and the health app, and sections covering Apple Watch and smart home devices. Plus, iOS will be introducing translation features and other quality-of-life changes that are similar to what’s already on other platforms.
But if, like me, you were hoping for more substantial information on what’s next for Apple Hardware, you’re going to have to wait a little longer. Still, if you want to check out any of these OS changes, a limited developer beta starts today and a public beta starts next month.
We’ve had not one, but two big Apple Spatial Audio announcements during today’s 2021 WWDC keynote. The first is that Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio for Apple Music is rolling out now.
The second is that Apple is bringing spatial audio to tvOS and MacOS. This means you’ll be able to use your AirPods Pro and AirPods Max wireless headphones to take advantage of surround sound and 3D audio from the new Apple TV 4K and any Macs equipped with Apple’s high-tech M1 chip. You’ll also be able to experience dynamic head tracking which means that the sound always stays relative to the screen, even when you move your head.
Apple said that Spatial Audio for tvOS and MacOS will arrive “this Fall”, so we’re assuming it will be September, around the same it’s expected that Apple’s new iOSv15 will roll out.
MORE:
Apple spatial audio: what is it? How do you get it?
Apple Music’s spatial audio with Dolby Atmos launches today
Apple Music lossless: which devices will (and won’t) play lossless and Spatial Audio
There were times during Rift Apart, the latest entry in the Ratchet & Clank series, when I felt like treasure hunter Nathan Drake. Buildings collapsed around me as I made my way through perfectly tuned action set pieces, and I’d manage to jump out of the way of each explosion at just the right second. The only difference, of course, is Rift Apart is much cuter — think of it like a sci-fi, family-friendly take on Uncharted.
A combination of shooter and platformer, Ratchet & Clank has always been a series closely associated with PlayStation, and the last game — a 2016 reboot of the original — showed that it could also be a technical showcase. Rift Apart, meanwhile, might just be the most pivotal entry in the franchise to date. Thanks to cross-generation releases, true PS5 exclusives still remain vanishingly rare, even months into the console’s life. But Rift Apart is exactly that: a game you can only play on Sony’s next-gen console and one that actually takes advantage of the new hardware. It also happens to be an extremely fun adventure.
Though the series dates back to 2002, Rift Apart is largely a standalone story. It stars a fuzzy little fox creature named Ratchet (he’s actually an alien called a Lombax, believed to be the last of his kind) and his adorable robot companion Clank. As a nice intro for new players (and a refresher for longtime fans), the game starts with the pair being honored for their past achievements in a parade-like setting in front of a huge crowd of adoring onlookers. It even serves as a clever mini-tutorial — but it’s not long before the celebration is interrupted when longtime villain Dr. Nefarious attacks.
The core of Rift Apart is a device that can open up portals between dimensions. After yet another defeat, Nefarious uses the device to go to a dimension where he always wins — and he accidentally brings Ratchet and Clank along in the process. The two become separated. Ratchet is on his own for a while before befriending a tiny bot named Kit, while Clank teams up with another Lombax named Rivet. It’s a clever setup that has the new duos jumping across planets, searching for sci-fi MacGuffins to fix the device and return the dimensions back to normal. The setup is also great because it allows you to play as both characters in a way that feels organic; often, you have a choice of which planet to explore, and you’ll control whichever Lombax is closest.
Ratchet & Clank isn’t exactly a series known for its narrative, but Rift Apart pushes things quite a bit forward. The new characters, in particular, are a great addition, turning it from a wise-cracking caper into a story with real heart (though there are still lots of wisecracks). Rivet starts out as a pessimistic loner, but you get to watch her slowly learn how to trust and work with people, thanks to Clank’s calming presence. Likewise, for most of the game, Kit has a hard time connecting with anyone for reasons that become clear once you learn her surprisingly dark backstory. But this leads to some heartbreaking moments. At one point, in a fit of frustration, she yells, “Why do none of you understand? I am broken. I will always be broken!” This is not the level of emotional awareness I expected from a series with a character named Skidd McMarx. There are even side missions where you can learn more about Lombax lore.
The film-like quality of Rift Apart is heightened by the visuals. Simply put, the game looks incredible. I’ve said this about past games in the series, most notably the 2016 release on PS4, but it’s even more true now: playing Rift Apart is like being inside a gorgeous animated film. There’s a level of detail that you rarely see in games. You’ll venture through a densely packed sci-fi city that puts anything in Cyberpunk 2077 to shame and glide across desert wastelands, creepy underwater research facilities, and an incredibly charming gas station in space. It’s all rendered in a kid-friendly way but also with a sense of realism, whether it’s the gleam of a metallic robot or the fuzz on an alien sheep. Every time I saw Ratchet’s furry ears up close, I wanted to give him a pet and tell him he’s a good boy.
Rift Apart doesn’t just look great, but it runs incredibly well, too. I didn’t experience any slowdown during my time with the game, despite the fact that battles get pretty wild, with dozens of enemies on-screen and all kinds of projectiles flinging about. Ratchet is a series defined in part by its inventive weaponry; you’ll have guns that shoot razor blades, encase enemies in blocks of ice, and — my personal favorite — a grenade that launches a sprinkler, covering everything it touches in beautiful green foliage. Battles involve constantly switching between weapons and firing off all kinds of strange bombs and bullets, and yet I didn’t experience a single hiccup or stutter while playing. (Rift Apart also offers three different graphics options: “fidelity,” which runs at 30fps and features ray tracing, better lighting, and 4K support; “performance RT,” with 60fps and ray tracing, but lower resolution and fewer details and visual density; and “performance” which runs at 60fps but features increased resolution in place of ray-tracing.)
Perhaps even more impressive is that this happens with barely any noticeable load times. When you venture to a new planet, there’s a brief clip showing your ship taking off, but once you’re in a level, there’s no loading whatsoever. Likewise, the game transitions between cutscenes and gameplay seamlessly, to the point that sometimes I didn’t realize I had to pick the controller back up. One of the most impressive things in the game are the titular rifts. Essentially they’re cracks between dimensions, and you can see — and often enter — them to head to a completely different world. It’s wild standing in front of one and just staring through at a totally different location and then jumping into it without any friction whatsoever.
At its most basic, Rift Apart is a fairly standard action platformer. There are some nice diversions, including a side story involving a spider-bot that kills computer viruses, and a series of tricky puzzle rooms that reminded me a bit of the shrines from Breath of the Wild. But for the most part, you’re running around and shooting things. It’s straightforward, but it works: the gunplay is fun, there’s an almost overwhelming amount of variety in the weapons, and lots of cool spaces to move around in. At one point, you’re even riding a dragon. But all of this is elevated by how beautiful the game looks and how well it runs. Rift Apart is the kind of game where I keep stopping just to ogle at seemingly simple things like waves in water or the reflection on a glass cockpit. It shows the importance of aesthetics and style.
That said, the game is relatively linear. For the most part, that’s not an issue. The levels are big enough that you can still poke around and you never really feel boxed in. It also helps keep you from getting lost. (If you do, you can see your destination with a simple click of the right stick.) But what this does mean is that, much like in Uncharted, the big action set pieces follow a very specific path. When it works, it’s incredible, like you’re controlling an action movie sequence in real time. But if you miss a step or are unsure of what to do, everything falls apart. There were multiple times where I had to replay the same sequence a whole bunch of times because I missed the best way to time a jump or didn’t see a ramp with a speed boost on it. These moments are relatively rare, but they stand out because everything else is so seamless.
I should also note that Rift Apart makes great use of the PS5’s controller. In fact, aside from launch showcase Astro’s Playroom, it might be the best DualSense game so far. In one early sequence, for example, you have to find a dance club in a bustling alien city, and you’re able to do it by following the music through vibrations you feel in your hands. I especially loved how some of the weapons made use of the two states of the controller’s triggers; one lets you give a slight press to activate a shield, but when you push it all the way down, that shield turns into a destructive blast. It’s an intuitive way to add depth to the controls.
For the most part, Rift Apart doesn’t stray far from what has made Ratchet & Clank so enduring. The formula remains the same: silly characters, great graphics, and lots of interesting guns to play with. But virtually every element is better than it’s ever been, from the touching-if-goofy story to the frantic action set pieces. And through this Rift Apart becomes a showcase for why someone might go through all the trouble to secure a PS5. It shows how more detailed worlds and faster load times can elevate a tried-and-true formula — and it might even make you care about Lombax lore in the process.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart launches on the PlayStation 5 on June 11th.
Amazon’s midsize Echo Show 8 is the best smart display in its lineup. It is larger and more capable than the diminutive Echo Show 5, while costing far less than the larger Echo Show 10. The Echo Show 8 is handy for watching video, listening to music, getting weather reports, controlling smart home devices, making video calls, and more.
So it’s no surprise that the second-generation model, which sells for $129.99 and is shipping this week, doesn’t rock the boat. It’s largely the same smart display as before but with slightly faster performance and an improved video calling camera. It has the same display, same design, same speaker system, and the same set of features as its predecessor.
Improving the video calling capabilities makes sense, given how much video calling has been done while everyone was (and for large part, still is) stuck at home during the pandemic. The new Echo Show 8 borrows the 13-megapixel camera from the flagship Echo Show 10, replacing the pathetically low-resolution, mediocre 1-megapixel camera that was in the first gen. As before, there’s a mechanical privacy shutter you can slide in front of the camera to both disable it and block its view.
The improvements in video calls are immediately noticeable. You can use the Echo Show for video calls to the Alexa app on phones or other Echo Show devices, or you can join Skype, Zoom, or Amazon’s Chime calls from it. In my testing with Zoom calls, the image is much sharper and more pleasant to look at, with better color and much more detail.
The Echo Show 8 doesn’t have the motorized base on the bigger Echo Show 10, but it still can automatically frame you and follow you around as you move thanks to its high resolution. The autoframing isn’t as good as the new iPad Pro’s Center Stage feature, and it moves much slower and tends to constantly reframe itself, like you’re the star of a Ken Burns documentary. But the Echo Show is a $130 smart display, not an $800 tablet, so it’s hard to complain, so long as you stay relatively still during video calls. If you don’t want the camera to autoframe, you can say “Alexa follow off” to disable it.
You can use the Echo Show 8 for Zoom calls, but it works best for one-on-one calling, not groups
That said, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. The new camera has a much wider-angle lens, which allows it to do those auto-framing tricks. But it can also cause the image to look distorted at times and isn’t always very flattering.
The Echo Show 8’s eight-inch display works fine for one-on-one video calls, but it’s too small to comfortably use for a group call. If you are on a call where someone is sharing a screen, it’s hard to see what’s happening, and while you can view messages posted to a chat, you can’t type any out yourself on the Echo Show’s display. Joining Zoom calls can be done entirely by voice, but it’s much easier to call up the Zoom app on the Echo Show by saying “Alexa, open Zoom” and then typing in a meeting code or starting one yourself from the touchscreen.
I also observed an echo of my own voice in several Zoom calls, both with individuals and group calls, which made it hard to use the Echo Show for anything work related. Other parties on the line also said there was an annoying echo of my voice whenever I unmuted my mic. Amazon says it is looking into this problem and I will update this review if a solution is found.
The new processor in the second-gen Echo Show 8 does make the smart display respond quicker to taps and swipes than its predecessor. It’s not a huge difference, and Amazon’s software still has a long way to go to make it more useful via touch, but when compared side by side, the new one opens menus and screens quicker.
Elsewhere, the changes are either nonexistent or very minor. The wedge-shaped design is exactly the same; you can still get it in the same white or black color options as before. (Annoyingly, both colors come with a white power cord.)
The display has the same 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, but now it can adjust its color and white balance to the lighting in the room. Like the new processor, the difference isn’t huge, but the new model is slightly warmer and more pleasant to look at when the adaptive color setting is enabled. I’m still more impressed by the ability of Google’s Nest Hub to mimic the look of a printed photo by adapting its color to the lighting in the room.
The dual-driver speaker system is unchanged and it’s as loud and full sounding as the first gen. The Echo Show 8 can fill a small room with sound surprisingly well, and its bass response is better than expected. At times, it might even sound too bassy, but you can adjust the EQ in the Alexa app easily enough to compensate for that. Unfortunately, Amazon dropped the 3.5mm output jack on the back of the new model, so it’s not possible to hook it up to a larger speaker system with a wire.
You can watch Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Netflix on the Echo Show, but Disney Plus, Peacock, HBO Max, and many other streaming services aren’t available. YouTube is available through the Echo Show’s Silk browser, but it’s not as seamless of an experience as available on Google’s Nest Hub, and you can’t easily cast videos from your phone to the Show’s screen.
The Echo Show 8’s software is the same as what debuted on the Echo Show 10 earlier this year. Amazon is starting to make better use of the display, with split screens that show weather data alongside news, but it still feels very much like a voice-first device. Though the new Echo Show 8 is faster, it’s still a chore to tap through all of the screens to get to the smart home controls, and managing what shows up in the rotating information screens on the display requires a lot of menu diving and trial and error to get what you want. (And even then, you’ll still probably get nagged about new Alexa Skills or other Amazon promotions you don’t care about.)
There are of course many, many other things you can do with an Echo Show smart display — far too many to cover in the scope of this review. The things that I find it most useful for are weather reports, managing a grocery shopping list, and viewing the video feed from a doorbell or security camera.
The Echo Show 8’s main competition is the second-gen Nest Hub from Google, which has a slightly smaller seven-inch screen and costs $30 less. The Nest Hub supports more video streaming services, has a more useful touch interface, can track your sleep, and works with the Google Assistant instead of Alexa. But it doesn’t have a camera for video calling, its single speaker is blown away by the Echo Show’s dual speakers, and it’s much slower and laggy to use. Ultimately, the choice comes down to how you want to use the smart display and which smart assistant you prefer.
Facebook’s 10-inch Portal is another option if you plan to use a smart display primarily for video calling, but it loses to the Echo Show 8 in effectively every other aspect.
If you do prefer Alexa, the new Echo Show 8 remains the best smart display to get, as it has a big enough screen to read from across the room, doubles as a great speaker, and comes with a host of camera-related features, including the aforementioned video calling and security camera features. It’s also over $100 less than the motorized Echo Show 10, while still providing many of the same features and capabilities. And given Amazon’s frequent discounts, you’ll likely be able to find the new Echo Show 8 for less than its sticker price quite often.
The new Echo Show 8 doesn’t redefine what a smart display can be, but it’s still a very good virtual assistant with a screen for an attractive price.
Apple just wrapped up its WWDC 2021 keynote, and it was jam-packed with news and announcements, including our first looks at iOS 15, the new macOS Monterey, big improvements to FaceTime, and more.
Our live blog has moment-by-moment commentary on what Apple announced from Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn. But if you just want to know the big-ticket items from the show, we’ve got you covered right here.
iOS 15 brings big improvements to FaceTime, updates to notifications, and more
Apple announced iOS 15, which brings improvements to FaceTime such as spatial audio, a new “SharePlay” feature that lets you share media with people on FaceTime virtually, updates to Messages, a new look for notifications, the ability to set different “Focus” statuses, updates to Memories in Photos, a redesign to the weather app, and much more.
Apple is building video and music sharing into FaceTime
Apple’s new SharePlay feature will let you watch or listen to content with others virtually. Apple is also introducing a SharePlay API so that other developers can build apps that support the feature.
Apple is going to use AI to read all the text in your photos
Apple’s new Live Text will digitize text in your photos, which can let you copy and paste text from a photo, for example, or call a phone number that’s in a photo. Apple says it uses “on-device intelligence” for the feature.
You’ll soon be able to use your iPhone as your ID at the airport
Image: Apple
Apple’s Wallet will soon let you store your ID in a digital form (in participating US states), which you’ll then use as identification in US airports.
iPadOS 15 lets you drop widgets on the homescreen and brings changes to multitasking
With iPadOS 15, Apple will let you add widgets to the homescreen and access to the app library, which debuted last year on iPhone with iOS 14. Apple is also introducing improvements to multitasking, with new controls that make it easier to manage your apps, and you’ll be able to build apps with Swift Playgrounds.
Apple adds welcome privacy features to Mail, Safari
Apple announced new privacy-focused features at WWDC, including that Apple Mail will block tracking pixels with Mail Privacy Protection and that Safari will hide IPs. Apple is also introducing a new section in settings called the “App Privacy Report.”
Apple’s Siri will finally work without an internet connection with on-device speech recognition
Apple will let Siri process voice requests on device, meaning audio won’t be sent over the web, and Siri can accept many requests while offline.
Apple lets users see family members’ Health data
Apple is introducing a number of new health-focused features, such as the ability to share health data with your families and with healthcare providers.
Apple is making AirPods easier to hear with and find
Apple is making some new changes to AirPods, such as making it easier to find them on the Find My network and the ability to announce your notifications.
Apple’s iCloud Plus bundles a VPN, private email, and HomeKit camera storage
Apple’s iCloud is getting a new private relay service and the ability to create burner emails called “Hide My Email.” These will be part of a new iCloud Plus subscription, which will be offered at no additional price to current iCloud paid users.
Apple announces watchOS 8 with new health features
Apple’s upcoming watchOS 8 has new health features, including a new Mindfulness app, improvements to the Photos watchface, and more.
Siri is coming to third-party accessories
Apple will let third-party accessory makers add Siri to their devices, Apple announced during WWDC. The company showed it on an Ecobee thermostat in its presentation.
macOS Monterey lets you use the same cursor and keyboard across Macs and iPads
Apple’s next big macOS release is called Monterey. One big new feature is the ability to use the same mouse and keyboard across your Mac and your iPad. Apple’s Shortcuts app is also coming to the Mac. And Monterey adds improvements to FaceTime, SharePlay, and Apple’s new “Focus” statuses that are coming to Apple’s other software platforms.
Apple redesigns Safari on the Mac with a new tab design and tab groups
Apple is redesigning Safari with a new look for tabs and tab groups. And on iOS, the tab bar will be at the bottom of the screen to be in easier reach of your thumb. Web extensions are also coming to iOS and iPadOS.
Apple is bringing TestFlight to the Mac to help developers test their apps
Apple announced that it will let developers use TestFlight to test their apps on the Mac. The company also announced Xcode Cloud, which lets you test your apps across all Apple devices in the cloud.
Siri is finally coming to third-party devices. Apple announced at its WWDC keynote that HomeKit accessory makers will be able to integrate Siri voice control into their products starting later this year. The voice assistant will be routed through a HomePod if the devices are connected to your network.
Apple hasn’t released a comprehensive list of devices and brands that will support Siri. The company demoed it on an Ecobee thermostat during its WWDC keynote presentation. It also announced support for Matter — a new interoperability standard that has big players like Amazon, Google, and Samsung on board — will come with iOS 15.
Apple also revealed a number of smaller smart home features. Home Keys, which allow you to remotely lock and unlock doors by tapping your iPhone or Apple Watch, are coming to Wallet app, as are work keys and hotel keys.
Image: Apple
The HomePod Mini will support lossless audio in Apple Music later this year and will be able to function as a speaker for the Apple TV 4K (as does the discontinued full-size HomePod). Apple also announced that the HomePod Mini will ship to more countries this month — including Austria, Ireland, and New Zealand — as well as Italy by the end of the year.
HomePods also now support commands for the Apple TV (so you can ask Siri to play shows), and SharePlay now works with Apple TV, which will enable you to watch shows synchronously with friends over FaceTime.
Speaking of Apple TV, tvOS now includes a “Share with You” row, where friends can share shows with each other via text messages. Another new row called “For All Of You” is intended to help families find shows to watch together — it will curate suggestions that combine every user’s viewing history.
Apple
And the Apple Watch now supports the HomePod’s intercom feature, which will allow you to talk to HomeKit-enabled doorbells and access package detection from your wrist. You’ll be able to control nearby HomeKit accessories in camera view.
Spatial audio is coming to Apple Music today, Apple has confirmed at its WWDC (Apple Worldwide Developers Conference).
Last month, Apple announced that Dolby Atmos-powered spatial audio tracks would soon be coming to its music streaming service alongside CD-quality and hi-res lossless audio for no additional cost, and while we patiently await a release date for lossless quality, “thousands” of spatial audio songs will be available to Apple Music subscribers from today.
Spatial audio with Dolby Atmos is designed to deliver surround sound and 3D audio via your headphones; to put “multidimensional sound and clarity” between your ears. This experience works with Apple’s AirPods, as well as any headphones. That’s right, Apple Music’s spatial audio tracks will play on all headphones (and here’s how to enable it).
Unlike the spatial audio feature that initially launched as part of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, the new Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos for Apple Music doesn’t require the sensors in Apple’s own headphones to enable head-tracking (which helps position the sound accurately). The implementation for Apple Music of spatial audio is sound-only, and this opens it up to more devices. For example, while the Apple TV can’t output spatial audio to a pair of headphones (a feature we’d very much like to see added in the future), it will support Dolby Atmos tracks from Apple Music when connected to an Atmos-capable sound system.
So keep your eyes peeled for today’s update, Apple Music subscribers, because this is sure to be a freebie worth checking out. And when will lossless audio quality follow? Very soon, we expect. Last week, some users reported seeing lossless and hi-res icons appear on the service, suggesting its arrival is imminent.
MORE:
With Apple and Amazon offering lossless streaming for no extra charge, what now for their rivals?
Apple Music lossless: which devices will play lossless and Spatial Audio
Apple spatial audio: what is it? How do you get it?
Weeks after introducing its most powerful iPad Pro devices ever, Apple is today announcing the latest version of iPadOS — and there’s a clear focus on making Apple’s tablets more capable productivity machines. At least if you find yourself using split-screen mode a lot, that is. Otherwise, there aren’t any radical changes for the platform.
As rumored, iPadOS 15 will make the homescreen more customizable and allow for more flexible placement of widgets. You can now stick them anywhere you’d like, a capability that came to iOS 14 last year. But iPadOS 14 didn’t offer the same functionality, and widgets could only be placed in the Today View sidebar despite the tablet’s vast screen real estate.
Apple is also bringing the App Library to iPadOS. Much like on the iPhone, it will let you maintain a less-cluttered homescreen by filing away the apps you rarely use to an automatically organized section of folders. On iPads, the App Library is located in the dock.
Multitasking is also getting some much-needed refinement. New icons will make it simpler to go into split-view mode, and Apple also mentioned a “shelf” feature that makes it easier to jumble different tasks. It’s a significant change to how multitasking currently works on iPadOS, and it seems like a major improvement.
Multitasking is getting more intuitive in iPadOS 15.Image: Apple
QuickNote is a new convenience that will let you attach notes to webpages and other areas of iPadOS, making them easier to get back to.
Finally, the standalone Translate app is also now coming to iPadOS.
New tricks shared with iOS 15 on the iPhone
iPadOS 15 will also share many of the new features and experiences that are coming to iOS 15. FaceTime calls will now support spatial audio for more lifelike, natural sound. A voice isolation feature will let your voice cut through background noise, and a “wide spectrum” option will pick up more sound than before. Portrait mode is also coming to FaceTime, resulting in a blurred background that keeps the focus on your face.
Apple is introducing a new SharePlay feature for FaceTime that allows people to share media — music, movies, etc. — together on a group call. SharePlay will leverage iOS features like picture-in-picture, iMessage, and more for a seamless experience across multiple devices at the same time.
The new iPad software update includes new tools meant to help you focus, like revamped notifications that are easier to identify and a “notification summary” section that recaps your less-than-essential notifications. You can also customize which notifications you’ll see at different points of the day, allowing you to separate work and personal alerts. Focus preferences are synced across Apple devices.
Memories in the Photos app can now synced up with music tracks with automatic filters and effects applied based on the vibe of the song, and Spotlight search is also getting some deeper search capabilities. Live Text is a feature that uses on-device intelligence to let you select text from photos you’ve taken and those in your camera roll. It supports seven languages.
Apple punts for another year on “pro” requests
The M1-powered iPad Pros are on equal footing with Apple’s latest iMac, MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini in terms of sheer performance. Their release has only fueled calls for Apple to evolve iPadOS into a platform that can properly take advantage of all that power for those trying to use the devices as laptop replacements. Using an iPad is a fantastic experience that can regularly turn frustrating when you run into its software limitations.
On the pre-WWDC wishlist of some users were things like multi-user support, a more advanced Files app, better support for external displays, and pro-caliber apps like Final Cut and Logic making their way to the iPad. Apple didn’t address many of those wants in today’s keynote. The most “pro” capability announced was the ability to create and ship apps using Swift Playgrounds. So we’ll have to see what other improvements and surprises iPadOS 15 may hold as it enters beta in the coming weeks.
Developing… we’re adding more to this post, but you can follow along with our WWDC 2021 live blog to get the news even faster.
Apple is bringing video and music sharing to FaceTime through a feature it’s calling SharePlay. Using SharePlay, people will be able to watch or listen to content in sync with everyone else on the call, either by casting the content to an Apple TV device while staying on the call or by watching both on the same screen using Picture in Picture.
SharePlay won’t be limited to just Apple TV Plus and Music, though — it’s an API that other developers can integrate their services into, and Disney Plus, Hulu, TikTok, and more are already on board (though Netflix is notably absent).
These services will support SharePlay.
The feature will even be supported for users who are joining the call using the newly announced FaceTime for the web.
Developing… we’re adding more to this post, but you can follow along with our WWDC 2021 live blog to get the news even faster.
Being able to sample audio from other users’ videos is one of TikTok’s greatest strengths. It allows memes to percolate across the platform and lets users discover new content by watching videos with the same sound. Soon, YouTube will expand this feature in its TikTok competitor, Shorts, letting users sample sounds from any content uploaded to YouTube.
YouTube officially announced this feature last month in a community support post, but tells The Verge it should now be available for the first time in new markets as part of the launch of Shorts in the UK, Canada, and a number of Latin American countries (including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela). The YouTube-sampling tool will then roll out to other Shorts markets including the US in the coming weeks.
Shorts users can already sample sounds from other Shorts videos (as well as from a library of licensed music). But this update will greatly expand the audio they have easy access to. The feature will funnel YouTube users into its Shorts feature via a new “Create” button in the mobile app. This will appear underneath videos next to the like and dislike buttons. Clicking it will give users the option to sample the video’s audio in Shorts. Shorts viewers will also be able to tap the audio in any video to head back to the original source in YouTube proper.
Shorts videos sampling audio from YouTube will link back to the original source. Image: YouTube
This feature will allow longform creators “to benefit by allowing the community to find something interesting in their video,” YouTube’s product lead for Shorts, Todd Sherman, tells The Verge. Shorts users can create something with the sample audio, he says, and the creators of the audio will “get perhaps inbound traffic or exposure from that. From the longform creator perspective I think a lot of folks are excited to have their things remixed.”
Not all creators are happy about this, though. After YouTubers noticed a new check-box in the settings for their video uploads that gives Shorts users access to their audio, many complained that this would let people “steal” their content. Search for “YouTube Shorts permissions” on YouTube itself and you’ll find plenty of videos worrying about exactly this scenario, with thumbnails posing questions like: “YouTube legalized video stealing?”.
The permissions box seems to have been introduced before Shorts users were actually able to sample audio from YouTube videos. Right now it has to be unticked manually for each video, but Sherman tells The Verge the company is working on a bulk opt-out option.
IMPORTANT: YouTube suddenly automatically checked “Yes” on EVERY YouTube video to allow them to be re-uploaded as Shorts on OTHER channels ???
Please let your YouTuber friends know that they have to go through and uncheck this setting on every video or risk stolen content… pic.twitter.com/b4rjiwmE2c
— Mysticat #Mysty200k (@MysticatLive) April 30, 2021
A YouTube-sampling feature could create other problems, too. A huge array of content has been uploaded to YouTube over the years, much of it sensitive or personal in nature. The uploaders of this content won’t necessarily want their videos to be sampled as this could enable harassment or abuse. Despite this, the sampling feature will be opt-out rather than opt-in. That means all YouTube videos will be sampleable by default, and creators will have to specify which videos they don’t want to be used in Shorts.
Sherman says YouTube is aware of these potential problems, but that the company’s discussions with creators has indicated more excitement. “There is some concern about examples of videos that you might think are personal or sensitive and that’s why creators have asked for the ability to opt out. But they also seem to recognize that it sort of doesn’t work if it’s very selectively an opt-in,” he says.
YouTube originally launched Shorts last September in India before bringing the feature to the US in March. Last month, the company announced plans to pay $100 million to creators to use the app, though exactly how much individual creators can earn isn’t clear.
Apple appears to have planned a dedicated event on Apple Music’s upcoming spatial audio feature for later today. According to a video that MacRumors says was uploaded to Apple Music as a teaser — it’s since been removed — Apple will broadcast a special event called “Introducing Spatial Audio.” The event doesn’t appear on the Worldwide Developers Conference schedule but is set for 3PM ET.
That is, of course, immediately after the presumed conclusion of Apple’s much anticipated 1PM ET keynote to kick off this year’s online WWDC, where the company is expected to announce its annual updates to each of its operating systems. Later in the afternoon at 5PM ET Apple will give its usual “State of the Union” presentation, which is more focused on developers than the opening keynote and addresses various technical aspects of the company’s platforms.
Apple announced spatial audio for Apple Music last month alongside the addition of lossless files to the streaming service. Spatial audio will work with AirPods, built-in speakers on Apple devices, and third-party headphones, and should provide more immersive Dolby Atmos mixes compared to regular stereo audio. Apple previously said the feature would launch in June, so a mention of the release date at the WWDC keynote wouldn’t have been surprising, but it seems the company wants to give it a little more time in the spotlight.
For more on what to expect at WWDC today, here’s our preview.
Record Store Day 2021, which brings together over 250 independent record shops across the UK, is gearing up for two big drops on Saturday 12th June and Saturday 17th July. And for the first time, Meantime Brewing Company is proud to become the ‘Official Beer Partner’ for the auspicious musical occasion.
In celebration of the unique event that was founded 14 years ago, the Greenwich-based brewery is launching an exclusive Meantime 33:45 beer. Proceeds from the special batch will be donated to War Child, the specialist charity for children affected by conflict – and the official charity partner of Record Store Day.
The table beer (3.5% ABV) has been brewed especially for RSD and is apparently inspired by the American west coast to offer “a turn-table IPA with Cascade, Chinook and Simcoe hops’ citrus, pine, and floral hits for a truly two-speed player.”
Record Store Day and Meantime’s 33:45 beer will be available from Meantime’s new e-shop from today, and in select participating stores from 12th June.
Vinyl lovers visiting their local record store on the official days will also receive limited edition Meantime t-shirts and tote bags at participating record stores as a thank you for their support and contribution, while stocks last. For those who miss out, Record Store Day Meantime 33:45 official merchandise will be available to buy from Meantime’s e-shop.
Meantime’s collaboration with Record Store Day is, says RSD, a message of solidarity for the independent record sector and its stores which, throughout the challenges of the past year, have found creative, flexible, and inventive ways to keep serving the music lovers in their communities.
More than 250 independent record stores will be celebrating in every corner of the UK with an array of special and limited-edition vinyl releases – more on this below.
MORE:
Miles Davis, The Clash among 2021 Record Store Day releases
Record Store Day’s free docuseries celebrates UK indie record store owners
Record Store Day 2021 launch to feature ‘live to vinyl’ recording
The specs and feature highlights are appealing but the Halo falls short when it comes to subtlety
For
Excellent black depth
Bright for the money
Handy portable features
Against
Blunt contrast control
Poor speaker placement
If you’ve ever had to pull an all-nighter for work, then you’ll know the taste of the 4am cup of coffee – strong and effective, much like the Xgimi Halo portable projector. Subtlety is not its strongest suit, but it most certainly gets the job done.
Chinese brand Xgimi has been making smart projectors and laser TVs since 2013. Now armed with an impressive array of seven portable projectors, ranging from standard-definition up to 4K, it’s here to take on Epson, BenQ and, most notably, Anker Nebula as the go-to brand for your all-in-one big screen needs.
The Xgimi Halo is just about the midpoint of the series. With its wireless speaker-sized frame, built-in battery, 800 ANSI-lumens LED light source and 1080p HDR output, it could be the home and away portable projector that meets all your needs.
Build
(Image credit: Future)
Squint and you could be forgiven for mistaking the Xgimi Halo for an aluminium Sonos One, though the Halo is a little larger at 11cm tall and 15cm wide, and it weighs 1.6kg. It’s about as large as you’d want a portable projector to be before it becomes a hassle to carry around.
Xgimi Halo tech specs
(Image credit: Future)
Resolution 1080p, HDR, 4K input support
Internal storage 16GB
Brightness 800 ANSI Lumens
Throw ratio 1.2:1
Battery life 2-4 hours
Dimensions (hwd) 11 x 15 x 17cm
Weight 1.6kg
Inside is a 2x 5W Harman Kardon sound system and a DLP projector set-up with a 0.33in DMD (digital micromirror device) at its core. The LED light source is rated to last for 30,000 hours of viewing which translates as eight hours of use per day for the next 10 years – hopefully enough for almost everybody’s needs.
The light is focused by a fixed lens with a 1.2:1 throw ratio that can produce a picture of between 30 and 300in, with a 100in image possible at a distance of 2.67m.
On the outside, there is a single HDMI port (ARC-enabled), a USB and a 3.5mm headphones socket. You can plug in most games consoles, disc players and external speakers, and play files on USB sticks, hard drives, and even from the 16GB of internal storage space. Two-way Bluetooth is available, too, so you can play music through the Halo sound system from your phone or output the projector’s audio signal to a bigger external wireless speaker.
Control of all this and more is through the rather tasteful voice remote control. It includes buttons for direct access to the settings menu and input selection as well as the usual navigation, volume and focus controls too.
There are two other helpful items included. The first is a built-in battery that offers two to four hours of video use, depending on brightness settings, and eight hours of audio playback. Also, tucked underneath is a little kickstand that is useful for angling the Halo up to the right position. The weight of the machine feels quite a lot for a little flap like this and, though it’s fine during our testing, we’re not convinced it would hold up in the longer term.
Features
(Image credit: Future)
Like many portable smart projectors, the Halo uses Google’s Android TV 9.0 OS to take care of the apps and menus. Google Assistant provides an effective voice search, and there is also the Chromecast screen sharing technology to fill in most app gaps.
There are a fair few of those, with Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Apple TV, ITV Player, All 4, Now, Apple Music and BBC Sounds all missing. Chromecast can’t stream the Apple services but there are other, free Android TV apps available to help mirror content from iOS.
Setting up the picture projection itself couldn’t be easier. The Halo is fitted with autofocus and auto-keystone. Each time you turn it on, or when its internal gyroscopes detect that you’ve moved it, the 10,000-point AF system springs into life and produces something close to the best possible image, with an impressive keystone correction of up to +/-40 degrees vertically and horizontally.
Like most portables, the Halo runs far quieter than a traditional home cinema projector. It’s rated at less than 30dB and we’re never once distracted by the sound during testing. It’s also 3D-enabled. All you need is some content and a pair of active shutter glasses.
Picture
(Image credit: Future)
The minute you switch on the Halo, you get a good idea of just how bright this projector can go. There’s certainly less luminance on the table than with traditional home cinema projectors, but the Halo is a clear step ahead of the entry-level portables, such as the Anker Nebula Mars 2, and pretty much on a par with the more expensive Epson EF-12.
The big, white Xgimi logo is quite blinding with the lights off. We don’t struggle to see what’s going on when we add some ambient lighting and that bodes well for outdoor cinema use, as well as watching sports with friends.
Popping Bumblebee on 4K Blu-ray into our player, that translates to a good, strong picture with plenty of colour saturation. The early scene at the boardwalk funfair is a real treat. The sky is a beautiful sapphire blue, the candyfloss a brilliant synthetic pink and the paintwork of the 1980s cars is a line-up of some wonderful teals, burnt oranges and assorted metallics. At its best, the Halo even has enough skill with colour handling to have skin tones not look out of place either.
However, when the light levels drop, the Halo comes unstuck. Black depth itself is decent, but the detail within those dark zones is scant. The Standard preset gets the most out of the shadows, but even so, we struggle to find much in the way of individual hair strands on Charlie’s head as she rides her scooter off to the scrapyard.
There are similar problems in other areas of this tonally mixed scene. The brightness in the sky behind her is quite blown-out for whites and the shadows in the foreground are strong patches rather than careful shades. There just isn’t enough care in handling the contrast on offer.
The contrast problem is particularly hard going with a film that has any kind of added aesthetic such as Fury in Full HD. The grainy WWII drama is a hard watch on the Halo and there aren’t enough adjustments available to get a picture that’s consistently bright and detailed.
One moment, we have the external scene of the ruined German town square exactly where we want it – some texture to the masonry, a sense of daytime – and the next we’re plunged into a chequerboard of jarring light levels in the apartments where the dead Nazi officers are slumped in their chairs.
It’s even more problematic with standard-def content. We watch Up In The Air on DVD and the upscaling is handled relatively well. Any noise is easily reduced by taking the sharpness setting down and applying a light touch to the Noise Filter, but that heavy contrast is tough to take, with detail even thinner on the ground than before.
The Halo struggles to produce any difference in the blocks of black or navy blue in the suits of the business people in this film. The moment the characters sit on any dark furniture, everything bleeds together and half of each frame can be lost. As impressive as this projector can be at times, at the first sign of a difficult frame the Halo’s big, punchy strengths turn out to also be its most significant weaknesses.
Sound
(Image credit: Future)
Sound is a genuine consideration when buying a portable projector. While we’d always recommend upping the ante with a soundbar, headphones or wireless speaker, the 2x 5W Harman Kardon sound system in the Xgimi Halo is largely well appointed and makes an acceptable stopgap for AV and music listening needs.
The Bumblebee soundtrack is a pleasure to listen to through the projector alone. Steve Winwood’s Higher Love provides a real moment of joy as Charlie drives away in her first car, thanks to the decent dynamic ability of the system. There’s plenty of weight and a clear tonal balance that never threatens to get too bright even when we push the volume towards its limits.
Unfortunately, Xgimi has chosen to have the drivers facing forwards on the Halo and that seems an odd choice. The throw distance means you’ll most likely be sitting behind this projector and so the sound will be going the wrong direction. It makes the audio more muffled than it should be but, even in front of the Halo, it is still a touch soft and lacking a little precision compared with the Epson EF-12.
The clicks and whirrs aren’t quite as crisp as they could be when Bumblebee transforms from car to robot in the garage. There is some good spatial sense to the sound as the yellow bot’s metal parts unfold. Details might be placed more clearly in the soundscape if the Halo had a little more organisational know-how.
For this price, it’s the dynamic ability we’re most pleased with. Listening to Know Your Enemy by Rage Against The Machine, there are plenty of dramatic ups and downs and appropriate attacks and crescendos to make the song exciting.
Verdict
The Xgimi Halo makes a good stab at a serious step-up device from entry-level portable projectors, but it doesn’t quite reach a rich and complex level of performance.
Its brightness, battery, storage, speakers and connectivity options mean that, at first glance, it looks the part of a punchy and convenient travel projector. It’s still small enough to throw into your bag, but big enough to give some impact around the house or even in the garden.
But, while it is a decent option for social watching situations, its picture quality just isn’t up to the same standards as those around it. Spend a bit more on the Epson EF-12 and you get a far more sophisticated portable projector. If you need something with a built-in battery, then the Anker Nebula range seems to provide more image subtlety and at a lower price too.
Nanoleaf, the company best known for illuminated panels that you stick to your wall, has announced the new Nanoleaf Elements line, a set of wall panels that are designed to look as nice turned off as they do when on. The new Elements line accomplishes this through a wood-like veneer that allows the light to shine through when its on but doesn’t look blank when the light isn’t in use.
Aside from the new veneer, the Elements lights are very similar to Nanoleaf’s other hexagonal light panels. They glow from both the front and back of the panel, allowing for a double lighting effect, and can be programmed with different lighting patterns and effects. The Elements do not have a full color spectrum LED, but they are adjustable from warm to cool white. Nanoleaf includes 11 preset lighting effects, or you can use the app to program your own. The touch-sensitive panels can also be synced to music or adjust their white temperature automatically throughout the day based on circadian rhythms.
The Elements are designed to look good both on and off.Image: Nanoleaf
The base $299.99 Elements Smarter kit includes seven panels that can be arranged in whatever pattern you’d like. Add-on packs of three more light panels are available for $99.99 each.
With this new design, it appears that Nanoleaf is attempting to make its product more accessible in more homes, as the wood veneer and lack of full RGB lighting effects have less of a nightclub vibe than previous products. But the basic premise remains the same: unlike standard lighting that is mostly meant to provide illumination, the Elements are purely decorative and meant to change the mood of a room, not brighten it.
The new Nanoleaf Elements products are available through the company’s website starting today, June 3rd, and will be at Best Buy stores later this month.
In addition, Nanoleaf has announced that its light panels will become Thread border routers, allowing them to act as a hub on a Thread network and extend the signal throughout the home. The company already supports Thread in its Essentials line of smart lights and light strips and it says it will be possible to add Thread devices from other manufacturers to the Nanoleaf border routers. Thread is the main technology in the forthcoming Matter smart home standard, which aims to unite smart home devices and platforms and allow for more interoperability. Nanoleaf says the Thread compatibility will be added through a software update this month.
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