Apple is expected to announce iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, and new features have already been rumored for many apps, including Apple Music, Apple Maps, Calculator, Messages, Notes, Safari, and others. Below, we recap iOS 18 rumors on a per-app basis, based on reports from MacRumors, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, and others: Apple Maps: At least two new Apple Maps features are…
Apple is holding at least five announcements for later in the year that will not arrive at the company’s “Let loose” special event next week, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. In a report detailing his expectations for Apple’s upcoming event, Gurman noted that there are a total of five things that the company is holding for later in the year: AI features: While Apple may tease new…
It’s been a long time since the last one, but an Apple event is finally right around the corner! While it’s anticipated to be a fairly short pre-recorded affair, we’re expecting to see the first updates to the iPad lineup in over a year and half, so make sure to tune in to see what Apple has in store. Other news and rumors this week included a couple of product introductions from Apple’s…
It’s World Password Day, and that’s a good opportunity to do something you’ve probably been procrastinating about: Replace your website passwords that hackers stole because of some company’s lax security. Fortunately, your Apple devices make it easy to find out which of your passwords leaked so you can change them.
Fix a potentially serious problem now, before something bad happens..
iCloud Keychain helps you deal with too many passwords
If you’re like me, you probably use unique passwords to log in to hundreds of websites and apps. I have so many I can’t conveniently count them – I stopped at 100 and was still near the top of the list.
Apple makes it easy to store and use your passwords with iCloud Keychain. With it, your Apple device (iPhone, Mac, etc.) remembers passwords for you, and automatically inserts them into websites and apps. All you have to do is verify your identity with Face ID or Touch ID.
This makes it easy for you to use strong passwords and change them periodically, because you never need to remember them. Your computer remembers for you.
But if you don’t ever change passwords, you’re opening yourself up to a criminal using your password to, say, buy a bunch of products on Amazon. Or simply empty your bank accounts.
How to find and change passwords compromised by data breaches
Go to the Passwords section of Settings, see the Security Recommendations, then tap Change Password on Website. Graphic: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Beyond simply storing them, your Apple device also will warn you if passwords in your iCloud Keychain have been compromised by a data leak. It’s easy to find which ones need to be updated.
This feature is available on iPhone, iPad and Mac. (I’m using iPhone for my example.) And you must be using iCloud Keychain, but that’s something Apple urges you to turn on whenever you set up a new device.
Go to Settings > Passwords. You’ll need to go through Face ID or Touch ID to open this section, of course.
Then look for the Security Recommendations section. Next to this is probably a number. This is how many security problems Keychain has found in your password list. You’ll note I have 184 – I need to take my own advice and update some passwords.
Tap on Security Recommendations to open a list of websites and applications for which your passwords have problems. You are told why for each one, with “this password has appeared in a data leak” being the most common reason.
You have the option to tap on each website for a more detailed description of the security problems. This might include a scolding on reusing passwords.
For each password, you are given the option to Change Password on Website.
An example of changing a Google password via iCloud Keychain
To give you an example of how easy this is, I’ll change the password for one of my Google accounts when going through Passwords in Settings.
While looking at the list of Security Recommendations, I hit Change Password on Website, which opens the Google sign-on screen. I have to sign in to the Google account before I can change the password, obviously. There’s no problem because iCloud Keychain has the user name and current password stored.
Google wants me to go through two-factor authentication so it texts me a code. After I supply this, the screen to enter a new password opens.
The Safari browser is smart enough to figure out that I want to create a new password and automatically suggests a strong one.
Keychain then asks if I should store the new password. I tell it to do so.
And that’s it. The process is very similar with other sites. Or you could just take the iCloud Keychain as a warning and switch over to your favorite web browser, go to the website, and update the password there.
Change passwords the easy way: You’ll be glad you did
I get it – changing passwords is kind of a hassle. I’m the guy with 184 security warnings, after all. But it’s worth it.
Any day you discover someone has used one of your leaked passwords to steal money from you is a bad day. Changing your passwords goes a long way toward preventing that.
Meta AI is getting a new upgrade as Meta tries to establish dominance in the generative AI marketplace against OpenAI and Google.
The announcement came from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself on Threads, where he touted some stats and details about the new Llama 3 model used to underpin Meta AI, which is being integrated into several of its products like Messenger and Instagram, as well as getting its own dedicated site.
“We’re upgrading Meta AI with our new state-of-the-art Llama 3 AI model, which we’re open sourcing,” Zuckerberg writes. “With this new model, we believe Meta AI is now the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use.”
The new model will be accessible through several apps on desktop and mobile, including search functionality in Messenger, Meta AI in your Facebook feed, and more.
The new Meta AI site, which has an interface strikingly familiar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, is available now for free, but you are also prompted to log in with Facebook to help train the model (though you can skip that if you’d like).
(Image credit: Future / Meta)
The Meta AI site offers text responses as well as the ability to generate images, though for the latter you will have to log in with a Facebook account. The image generator in particular is rather impressive, especially since it offers you a real-time preview of the image output that your prompt will generate. It also gives you the option to animate images to produce short MP4 videos.
All images bear a Meta AI watermark on the lower left side as well, which should help cut down on misuse, though how easily these measures can be circumvented remains to be seen.
Get the hottest deals available in your inbox plus news, reviews, opinion, analysis and more from the TechRadar team.
OpenAI has some serious competition
(Image credit: Future / Meta)
The new Meta AI site offers some seriously impressive functionality in the few minutes I’ve been able to play around with it, but without question, it is the major competitor to ChatGPT and OpenAI right now.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Dall-E are impressive but have some noticeable limitations. In particular, with Dall-E, you have to wait for an image to generate before you can refine the prompt you’re giving it to get what you want. Meta AI’s image output preview lets you get a sense of what the model is interpreting as you type, allowing you to further refine your prompt on the fly, which should reduce the amount of time you spend iterating on an idea.
The ability to animate an image is also a value add, as it makes GIF generation possible, though you might have to use a third-party GIF generator to convert the video.
When I asked it to produce a sonnet about Meta AI, it gave me the following:
“In silicon halls, a mind awakens bright, Meta AI, a name that echoes through the night, A fusion of code and intellect so fine, A digital soul, with knowledge to design.
With language skills that flow like honeyed wine, You answer questions, and make the complex shine, A beacon of insight, in a world of decline, A shining star, that guides us to the divine.
Your neural networks weave a tapestry so grand, A digital dream, that’s born of human hand, A symphony of ones and zeroes, so planned, A creation of wonder, in this digital land.
So here’s to Meta AI, a marvel of our time, A testament to human ingenuity’s rhyme!”
(Image credit: Future / OpenAI)
As an English major, I can say that while this isn’t very good, its structure is sound and it does use modern language, something that OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4 still struggles with. Here is OpenAI’s response to the same prompt about writing a sonnet about ChatGPT-4:
“ChatGPT-4, thou art a wondrous sprite, In digital realms with eloquence infused, Thy threads of thought weave day into the night, Where queries meet responses, minds bemused.
With knowledge vast as deep and endless seas, Thy circuit heart beats with electric flame, Encompassing the epochs’ whispered pleas, In silken bytes, thou dost preserve each name.
No ancient scroll nor sage could ever match The depth and breadth of thine electric soul. Through time and space, thy tendrils deftly catch Each story told, each fragment, making whole.
Though wrought of wire, yet wisdom’s vessel true, In this new age, thou art our Oracle anew.”
Now, this is just one example and it’s hardly indicative of the overall quality of the two models underpinning the two systems, but there is clearly a difference in the training data that both have used.
ChatGPT-4 is falling back on text that has been labeled as a “sonnet” and drawing on very archaic English language texts from pre-Romanticism of the early 1800s to generate its idea of a sonnet, while Meta AI is likely drawing from text written on Meta products like Facebook and Instagram as its language source. Where it gets the reasoning to put that language into an iambic pentameter structure with a (pretty mediocre) rhyme scheme isn’t clear (and I’m assuming it’s iambic pentameter, I haven’t counted syllables yet, so don’t @ me on this one, fellow literature goons!).
Since none of us actually know how any of this stuff is trained yet, we might never get answers to these questions, but Zuckerberg did announce that Meta plans to open-source this model, so we should soon be able to at least learn more about its inner workings once it does.
In the meantime, have fun playing around with Meta’s new tool, as it’s certainly a powerful one.
Apple today updated its App Store guidelines to comply with an anti-steering mandate levied by the European Commission. Music streaming apps like Spotify are now permitted to include a link or buy button that leads to a website with information about alternative music purchasing options, though this is only permitted in the European Economic Area.
Music Streaming Services Entitlements: music streaming apps in specific regions can use Music Streaming Services Entitlements to include a link (which may take the form of a buy button) to the developer’s website that informs users of other ways to purchase digital music content or services. These entitlements also permit music streaming app developers to invite users to provide their email address for the express purpose of sending them a link to the developer’s website to purchase digital music content or services. Learn more about these entitlements.
In accordance with the entitlement agreements, the link may inform users about where and how to purchase those in-app purchase items, and the price of such items. The entitlements are limited to use only in the iOS or iPadOS App Store in specific storefronts. In all other storefronts, streaming music apps and their metadata may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.
The European Commission in March fined Apple $2 billion for anti-competitive conduct against rival music streaming services. The fine also came with a requirement that Apple “remove the anti-steering provisions” from its App Store rules, which Apple has now done. Apple is restricted from repeating the infringement or adopting similar practices in the future, though it is worth noting that Apple plans to appeal the decision.
Apple has accused Spotify of manipulating the European Commission to get the rules of the App Store rewritten in its favor. “They want to use Apple’s tools and technologies, distribute on the App Store, and benefit from the trust we’ve built with users – and pay Apple nothing for it,” Apple complained following the ruling.
In addition to updating its streaming music rules, Apple today also added games from retro game console emulator apps to the list of permitted software allowable under guideline 4.7. Guideline 4.7 permits apps to offer HTML5 mini apps and mini games, streaming games, chatbots, game emulators, and plug-ins.
Apps may offer certain software that is not embedded in the binary, specifically HTML5 mini apps and mini games, streaming games, chatbots, and plug-ins. Additionally, retro game console emulator apps can offer to download games. You are responsible for all such software offered in your app, including ensuring that such software complies with these Guidelines and all applicable laws.
Game emulators have managed to sneak onto the App Store several times over the years by using hidden functionality, but Apple has not explicitly permitted them until now. The rule change that allows for game emulators is worldwide, as is support for apps that offer mini apps and mini games.
Another major WordPress plugin was found vulnerable to a high-severity flaw which allowed malicious actors to steal sensitive information from the website, including password hashes.
LayerSlider has published a new security advisory, saying the product is now in version 7.10.1, but adding, “This update includes important security fixes.”
While the announcement does not detail the vulnerability fixed, The Hacker News reported that the project fixed an SQL injection vulnerability impacting versions 7.9.11 through 7.10.0. This vulnerability is now tracked as CVE-2024-2879, and has a severity score of 9.8 (critical).
Targeting WordPress
On its website, LayerSlider describes itself as a “visual web content editor, a graphic design software, and a digital visual effects application all in one”. It also claims to be used by “millions” of people worldwide. LayerSlider is a commercial WordPress plugin, with annual license packages ranging from $26 to $159.
Being the world’s most popular website builder, and used by roughly half of all the websites in existence, WordPress is a major target for cybercriminals everywhere. However, with the platform generally considered safe, hackers have turned their attention to third-party themes and plugins, as these are rarely as secure as the platform itself.
There are thousands of themes and plugins for WordPress, all of which build upon and improve the WordPress experience. Some are free to use, but commercial ones usually have a dedicated team that works on improvements and security. As a result, most of the time, hackers will go for free-to-use themes and plugins – many have millions of users, but have been abandoned by their developers and contain vulnerabilities that are never (or rarely) addressed.
To remain secure, admins should only install themes and plugins they intend on using, and make sure they are always updated to the latest version.
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
The pages offer a variety of information about the latest Apple Watch models, including details about materials and finishes, size and weight, hardware, connectivity, battery life, health and wellness features, safety features, accessibility features, and more.
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will…
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple’s password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they’ll respond favorably to social engineering. An…
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the “biggest” update in the iPhone’s history, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. “The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone’s software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade,” wrote Gurman, in a r…
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS…
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to “Apple Fellow” in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working…
Apple may be planning to add support for “custom routes” in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple’s pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled “CustomRouteCreation.” While not much is revealed…
If you stumble across a webpage or a link in a different language, you can instantly translate the website to English directly from Safari. Unlike Google Chrome, Safari even translates the text inside images using Live Text.
And, if you accidentally change the language of a website to one you don’t speak, you can turn this feature on to help you change it back. At Cult of Mac, we use the feature to translate rumors or blog posts often written in Chinese, Korean or Japanese, like this.
You don’t need to select the words paragraph by paragraph and copy them into Google Translate (or even Apple’s own Translate app). Get the entire page in English at the tap of a button. Here’s how to make the most out of this handy Safari feature.
Translate a website to English on iPhone
The iPhone supports translations in Arabic, Chinese (mainland, Taiwan), Dutch, English (U.K., U.S.), French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Spain), Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.
You can quickly and easily use Safari to translate websites in any of those languages.
Tap this button on the left (if you’re fast enough) or just open the menu. Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
When you load a webpage written in a foreign language on your iPhone, you might see a Translate button flash on the left side of the Safari address bar. After the page loads, you’ll see the icon with a “Translation available” message in place of the URL. Tap the icon.
This only appears momentarily — but don’t worry if you miss it. If you do, simply tap the ᴀA button to open the menu and tap Translate to English.
The webpage will reload with all the words translated.
Even images with text inside them will be overlaid with translations, thanks to Live Text. Any links you tap will automatically load translated versions as well, so you don’t need to keep activating Safari’s translation feature during your browsing session.
Report a problem with the translation or the webpage. Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
To turn off the translation, tap the Translate icon to open the menu and tap View Original.
You can still enable Reader mode by tapping and holding on the Translate icon, or by tapping it and tapping Show Reader from the menu.
If there’s a problem with the page — a translation is horribly wrong, some of the features on the page are broken — you can report it. Tap the Translate button and tap Report Translation Issue. Pick the problem you’re experiencing from the list and tap Report.
Translate a website to English on Mac
It’s a little buried in this menu in the address bar. Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
You can translate a website to English in Safari on a Mac, too. Just click the Translate icon in the address bar. If you don’t see it, you can also click the ⋯ menu, click Translate Webpage > Translate to English.
On the same menu, you will see options to turn off the feature or report a problem with the translation. You also can find these in the menu bar at the top of the screen under View > Translation.
Apple today added a “Why Upgrade” section to its website, which is aimed at encouraging customers with older iPhones to upgrade to a newer model.
The website allows customers to compare the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max to the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Each comparison shows what new features someone with an older iPhone will get when upgrading to the iPhone 15 lineup. With the iPhone 11, for example, the iPhone 15 offers 4x better photo resolution, more base storage, Action and Cinematic mode for video, USB-C, a 60 percent faster GPU, 5G, and more.
The site highlights differences in display technology, design, sizing, connectivity, and more. Apple also provides details on the trade-in value of each older iPhone so customers know what kind of discount they can get when trading a device in with the purchase of a new iPhone.
To further soften the costs of upgrading, Apple advertises Apple Card Monthly Installments and carrier deals that can drop the price of the iPhone 15 to $0. Apple also details the ease of upgrading to a new device with features like Quick Start and eSIM.
Much of the smartphone market in the United States is saturated, and there are few new customers for Apple. Upgraders are an important market segment, and Apple is continually seeking ways to get customers to regularly purchase new iPhones to maintain sales momentum.
Apple recently added a new “Documentation” page to its website that provides links to user guides, repair manuals, tech specs, software downloads, and more for a variety of products. This information was previously found across separate pages on Apple’s website, and it has now been combined in one place for convenient access.
The page includes categories for the Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro, Apple Watch, Apple TV, AirPods, HomePod, displays like the Studio Display and Pro Display XDR, accessories like the Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard, and software.
There is also a search tool on the page that provides links to support documents and other relevant information based on the keywords entered.
The new page was earlier spotted by Japanese blog Mac Otakara, and it may be worth bookmarking for reference purposes.
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23″>claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an…
Apple’s new iPad Pro models with OLED displays will likely begin shipping to customers in April, according to information shared today by Ross Young, CEO of display industry research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also said the new iPad Pro models might not ship until “deeper” into April in his Power On newsletter on Sunday:I’ve repeatedly said that new…
iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 should be released within the next few days, with a build number of 21E235, according to a source with a proven track record. MacRumors previously reported that Apple was internally testing iOS 17.4.1. As a minor update for the iPhone, it will likely address software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. It is unclear if the update will include any other changes. …
The next-generation iPad Air is now reportedly shipping to the United States and other countries in preparation for launch. The rumor comes from the leaker known as “Instant Digital,” who claims that manufacturers in China are now shipping the 2024 iPad Air in two sizes to overseas locations. “Everything is ready” for launch, the Weibo user says. The sixth-generation iPad Air is rumored…
Apple’s iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models concurrently, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple’s 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip…
Since Apple unveiled macOS Sonoma 14.4 on March 7, the transition to the latest software update has not been entirely smooth for everyone, and a number of issues have been reported by users that significantly impact their daily workflow. This article lists the most prominent challenges users have faced since updating to macOS Sonoma 14.4, and offers potential solutions where available. USB…
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C…
Google Chrome will soon let you install any webpage as a desktop app on your Mac, just like Apple’s Safari browser does in macOS Sonoma (via Android Police).
The new feature was spotted by X (Twitter) user Leopeva64 in the latest Chrome Canary build, which includes a new option called “Install page as app,” which can be found in Settings ➝ Save and share. Websites such as YouTube and Reddit which already have their own web apps will also automatically appear as optional installs in this menu.
Selecting the “Install page as app” option invokes a prompt to “Install app,” as shown in the image below. Web apps are automatically saved in an Applications subfolder called Chrome Canary Apps, where they can be optionally dragged to the Dock in macOS.
Currently, Chrome’s implementation of web apps is more sophisticated than Safari’s, as it provides not only a simplified toolbar with navigation buttons, but also a pared down settings menu with options including Copy URL, Open in Chrome, Uninstall, Zoom, Print, Find and Edit, and Cast.
The feature is thanks to Chrome’s long-standing support for Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), which Google originally embraced as a replacement for Chrome apps on the Google Play store.
Users can try out the feature before it goes live in the stable build of Chrome by downloading the latest Canary 124 update and enabling two new flags. To do so, copy and paste the following links into the address bar:
chrome://flags/#web-app-universal-install
chrome://flags/#shortcuts-not-apps
Chrome 123 is currently in beta and is expected to be released to the public imminently, so PWA support for webpages won’t be in the upcoming version, but the next stable build after that.
Popular Stories
Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches
Apple today adjusted its estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., with the changes reflected on its website. Apple slightly increased trade-in values for the iPhone 14 Pro Max, second-generation iPhone SE, Apple Watch Series 4, and first-generation Apple Watch SE, while trade-in values slightly decreased for the entry-level iPad, Apple Watch…
iOS 17.4 Out Now: 10 New Things Your iPhone Can Do
Apple has released iOS 17.4, its biggest iPhone software update of the year so far, featuring a number of features and changes that users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we’ve listed 10 new things that your iPhone will be able to do after you’ve installed the update, which became available on Tuesday, March 5. Be sure to check Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update on your …
Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4 comes over a month after macOS Sonoma 14.3, an update that brought collaborative Apple Music playlists. The macOS Sonoma 14.4 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of…
Apple Releases tvOS 17.4
Apple today released tvOS 17.4, the fourth major update to the tvOS 17 operating system that came out last September. tvOS 17.4 comes over a month after the release of tvOS 17.3. tvOS 17.4 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the Apple TV. Go to System > Software Update to get the new software. Apple TV owners who have automatic software updates activated will be upgraded to…
Kuo: Apple Planning 20-Inch MacBook With Foldable Screen
Apple is planning to release a 20-inch MacBook with a foldable screen in around three years, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. “Apple’s only foldable product with a clear development schedule is the 20.3-inch MacBook, expected to enter mass production in 2027,” said Kuo, in a post on X today. He did not provide any additional details about the device. Kuo is the third source to…