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Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge

There were almost two different WWDCs this year. First, Apple did its classic platform whiparound, detailing all the new ways you can add stuff to your homescreen, share stuff with your friends, watch stuff on your TV, calculate stuff on your tablet, and more. In a normal year, that would have been the show. We would have talked about app icons for 45 minutes and gone home.
The second act of WWDC was the Apple Intelligence show, in which Apple began to unveil its AI strategy. We saw a lot of features and ideas about how things might work — including a new and pretty exciting vision for Siri — but also got a sense of how Apple is planning to approach this potentially disruptive new category. We heard a lot of buzzwords! But also a lot of ideas.

On this episode of The Vergecast, we gather in a house just down the street from Apple Park to sort it all out. We compare Apple’s AI approach to Google, OpenAI, and others in this space. We talk through all the news from all the platforms and discuss why things like RCS and a Control Center redesign could be game-changers. (Here at The Vergecast, we love a customizable widget system.) We also go through the features we’re personally most excited to get on our devices this fall — and the ones we couldn’t care less about. And of course, we talk Calculator.

If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started on all things WWDC:

Apple WWDC 2024: the 13 biggest announcements
Apple Intelligence: every new AI feature coming to the iPhone and Mac
Apple is giving Siri an AI upgrade in iOS 18
Apple announces iOS 18 with new AI features and more customizable homescreen
Apple is bringing RCS to the iPhone in iOS 18
Apple’s AI can make custom emoji and images
iOS 18 introduces satellite capabilities to its iMessage app
The iPhone’s new Game Mode makes it faster and more responsive
Apple announces iPadOS 18 with a built-in calculator and customizable homescreen
Apple made an iPad calculator app after 14 years
Apple announces watchOS 11 with new training features and Live Activities

Apple announces macOS Sequoia at WWDC 2024

Apple’s standalone Passwords app syncs across iOS, iPad, Mac, and Windows
Apple’s AirPods are being upgraded with powerful accessibility features
Apple’s InSight feature for Apple TV Plus will tell you who that actor is
Apple teases new seasons of Severance and Silo
Apple announces visionOS 2 with 3D photo transformations and an ultrawide Mac display

Canon made a special lens for the Apple Vision Pro’s spatial videos

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge

There were almost two different WWDCs this year. First, Apple did its classic platform whiparound, detailing all the new ways you can add stuff to your homescreen, share stuff with your friends, watch stuff on your TV, calculate stuff on your tablet, and more. In a normal year, that would have been the show. We would have talked about app icons for 45 minutes and gone home.

The second act of WWDC was the Apple Intelligence show, in which Apple began to unveil its AI strategy. We saw a lot of features and ideas about how things might work — including a new and pretty exciting vision for Siri — but also got a sense of how Apple is planning to approach this potentially disruptive new category. We heard a lot of buzzwords! But also a lot of ideas.

On this episode of The Vergecast, we gather in a house just down the street from Apple Park to sort it all out. We compare Apple’s AI approach to Google, OpenAI, and others in this space. We talk through all the news from all the platforms and discuss why things like RCS and a Control Center redesign could be game-changers. (Here at The Vergecast, we love a customizable widget system.) We also go through the features we’re personally most excited to get on our devices this fall — and the ones we couldn’t care less about. And of course, we talk Calculator.

If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started on all things WWDC:

Apple WWDC 2024: the 13 biggest announcements
Apple Intelligence: every new AI feature coming to the iPhone and Mac
Apple is giving Siri an AI upgrade in iOS 18
Apple announces iOS 18 with new AI features and more customizable homescreen
Apple is bringing RCS to the iPhone in iOS 18
Apple’s AI can make custom emoji and images
iOS 18 introduces satellite capabilities to its iMessage app
The iPhone’s new Game Mode makes it faster and more responsive
Apple announces iPadOS 18 with a built-in calculator and customizable homescreen
Apple made an iPad calculator app after 14 years
Apple announces watchOS 11 with new training features and Live Activities

Apple announces macOS Sequoia at WWDC 2024

Apple’s standalone Passwords app syncs across iOS, iPad, Mac, and Windows
Apple’s AirPods are being upgraded with powerful accessibility features
Apple’s InSight feature for Apple TV Plus will tell you who that actor is
Apple teases new seasons of Severance and Silo
Apple announces visionOS 2 with 3D photo transformations and an ultrawide Mac display

Canon made a special lens for the Apple Vision Pro’s spatial videos

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Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Spotify is getting ready to launch a premium add-on that offers access to high-fidelity audio, according to a report from Bloomberg. The new tier will reportedly cost $5 extra and will also come with tools to help users create playlists and manage music libraries.
A source familiar with Spotify tells Bloomberg that users will be able to add the HiFi audio tier to their existing plans. If added to the Spotify Premium plan, which goes up in price to $11.99 next month, it will cost $16.99. Bloomberg reports that the add-on will also give users the ability to generate custom playlists for specific activities, dates, and times of year. The Verge reached out to Spotify with a request for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.

Spotify initially said its HiFi audio feature would arrive in 2021, but that never happened. Since then, we’ve heard many rumors about Spotify’s work on the tier, including last year’s report from Bloomberg that revealed the service is working on a higher-priced “Supremium” HiFi plan. Another report from The Wall Street Journal indicates that Spotify could bundle a remix feature to speed up tracks within the add-on.
Code spotted within the Spotify app last year also suggests that the tier could come with 24-bit lossless audio, the ability to create playlists with AI, a feature that filters songs in a playlist by mood, and more. In April, a Reddit user spotted a string of code in the app that says “lossless has arrived,” while another Redditor later posted leaked UI elements mentioning lossless quality of up to 2,117kbps and the availability of 24-bit / 44.1kHz for “limited songs” using the FLAC audio format.

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Spotify is getting ready to launch a premium add-on that offers access to high-fidelity audio, according to a report from Bloomberg. The new tier will reportedly cost $5 extra and will also come with tools to help users create playlists and manage music libraries.

A source familiar with Spotify tells Bloomberg that users will be able to add the HiFi audio tier to their existing plans. If added to the Spotify Premium plan, which goes up in price to $11.99 next month, it will cost $16.99. Bloomberg reports that the add-on will also give users the ability to generate custom playlists for specific activities, dates, and times of year. The Verge reached out to Spotify with a request for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.

Spotify initially said its HiFi audio feature would arrive in 2021, but that never happened. Since then, we’ve heard many rumors about Spotify’s work on the tier, including last year’s report from Bloomberg that revealed the service is working on a higher-priced “Supremium” HiFi plan. Another report from The Wall Street Journal indicates that Spotify could bundle a remix feature to speed up tracks within the add-on.

Code spotted within the Spotify app last year also suggests that the tier could come with 24-bit lossless audio, the ability to create playlists with AI, a feature that filters songs in a playlist by mood, and more. In April, a Reddit user spotted a string of code in the app that says “lossless has arrived,” while another Redditor later posted leaked UI elements mentioning lossless quality of up to 2,117kbps and the availability of 24-bit / 44.1kHz for “limited songs” using the FLAC audio format.

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Image: Yahoo

Yahoo is updating Yahoo Mail on the desktop with new AI capabilities and other features to help simplify email and task management.
One of the highlights is brief AI-generated summaries of emails. These summaries come complete with bulleted lists that highlight proposed tasks and other actions. It’s located under the new Priority inbox tab, which — like Gmail’s — uses AI to highlight what Yahoo thinks are your most important messages. Gmail recently announced a similar summaries feature for its mobile app, but it’s behind a paywall for Workspace and Google One AI Premium subscribers.

Image: Yahoo
The new AI-generated feature attempts to summarize any potential responses needed.

Along with AI-powered summaries, Yahoo is also making it easier to quickly access and act upon emails. Quick action buttons will now appear directly inside the inbox, letting users quickly add an event to a calendar, check in for flights, and track packages. Meanwhile, a new persistent “starred view” panel lets users quickly see and access their most important tasks or other things they’d like to revisit.

Image: Yahoo
Yahoo Mail offers quick-tab shortcuts, so you can perform various tasks like adding events to calendars without navigating away from your inbox.

Last but not least, Yahoo Mail users can now link their inbox to other email accounts, including Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, and AOL, so users can send and receive all their emails from within Yahoo Mail.
“People are craving better ways to streamline the daily activities that often bog us down like managing multiple email accounts, sorting out their schedules, reading through long messages, and tracking orders. The new features we’re launching are aimed at making life that much easier for anyone that relies on email,” said Kyle Miller, Yahoo Mail’s VP of product.

The features will be available to new users in the US and roll out to existing US users on an opt-in basis starting today. They’ll come to Yahoo Mail’s mobile app in the future.
This isn’t Yahoo Mail’s first dip into the AI world. Last summer, Yahoo Mail added a slew of generative AI capabilities. These included an improved search mode, the Shopping Save feature to help users find forgotten gift cards and discount codes, and a writing assistant to help users craft emails using the appropriate tone.

Image: Yahoo

Yahoo is updating Yahoo Mail on the desktop with new AI capabilities and other features to help simplify email and task management.

One of the highlights is brief AI-generated summaries of emails. These summaries come complete with bulleted lists that highlight proposed tasks and other actions. It’s located under the new Priority inbox tab, which — like Gmail’s — uses AI to highlight what Yahoo thinks are your most important messages. Gmail recently announced a similar summaries feature for its mobile app, but it’s behind a paywall for Workspace and Google One AI Premium subscribers.

Image: Yahoo
The new AI-generated feature attempts to summarize any potential responses needed.

Along with AI-powered summaries, Yahoo is also making it easier to quickly access and act upon emails. Quick action buttons will now appear directly inside the inbox, letting users quickly add an event to a calendar, check in for flights, and track packages. Meanwhile, a new persistent “starred view” panel lets users quickly see and access their most important tasks or other things they’d like to revisit.

Image: Yahoo
Yahoo Mail offers quick-tab shortcuts, so you can perform various tasks like adding events to calendars without navigating away from your inbox.

Last but not least, Yahoo Mail users can now link their inbox to other email accounts, including Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, and AOL, so users can send and receive all their emails from within Yahoo Mail.

“People are craving better ways to streamline the daily activities that often bog us down like managing multiple email accounts, sorting out their schedules, reading through long messages, and tracking orders. The new features we’re launching are aimed at making life that much easier for anyone that relies on email,” said Kyle Miller, Yahoo Mail’s VP of product.

The features will be available to new users in the US and roll out to existing US users on an opt-in basis starting today. They’ll come to Yahoo Mail’s mobile app in the future.

This isn’t Yahoo Mail’s first dip into the AI world. Last summer, Yahoo Mail added a slew of generative AI capabilities. These included an improved search mode, the Shopping Save feature to help users find forgotten gift cards and discount codes, and a writing assistant to help users craft emails using the appropriate tone.

Read More 

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

As slick and polished as macOS is, it can slow down over time, as you add file after file and program after program to your Apple system. After a few years of heavy use, the idea of wiping your Mac and starting again from a factory-fresh clean slate starts to make more and more sense.
This isn’t just something to do if you want to clear out the clutter and fix persistent problems, though: resetting your Mac is also important when you’re selling it or passing it on. You don’t want anyone else poking around in your files or your web browsing data, and a reset stops that from happening.

Resetting a Mac is fairly straightforward, but you do need to make sure everything on it is backed up before you get started (or at least everything you want to keep). You should already have backups in place, but if you haven’t yet got around to setting them up, we’ll explain what your options are ahead of running a full reset.
How to back up macOS
There are plenty of ways to do this, so pick the one that works best for you. Even better, pick two: strictly speaking, you should always have a couple of copies of your most important data — otherwise, if one of your backups goes down for whatever reason, you’re left without a safety net. As a result, putting together some combination of cloud and local backups is usually a good idea.

Screenshot: Apple
iCloud can back up key folders and app data.

iCloud is now the default backup option for macOS, though you only get a measly 5GB of room for free, so you’ll probably have to upgrade to back up your entire Mac: pricing starts at $0.99 per month for 50GB of space, and it covers photos, videos, and files saved to key folders on macOS.
You may have already configured iCloud when you first got your Mac and set it up. To get set up or make changes afterward:

Open the Apple menu in macOS.
Choose System Settings (macOS Ventura or later) or System Preferences, then click on your name.
Select iCloud.
Make sure all the apps that you want to sync to iCloud are doing so: click Show More Apps (or Show All) to see the full list.

At the top of the screen, you can see how much of your iCloud storage space is being used and which types of files are using up most space.
macOS also offers Time Machine, which puts file backups on local storage drives connected via cables or over Wi-Fi:

From System Settings, pick General.
Choose Time Machine > Add Backup Disk.
Follow the instructions to choose a drive and start backing up.

By default, hourly backups are kept for 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for months before that. To make changes to the setup, click on the Time Machine icon on the menu bar (it looks like two clock hands with an arrow around them).
Both iCloud and Time Machine should back up everything important on your Mac, including files saved to the desktop — just make sure you’re using the designated folders on your Mac for photos, videos, documents, and music.
You don’t have to go with an Apple option for your backup. Tools like Google Drive and Dropbox work just like iCloud does, syncing specific folders to the web and updating changes as soon as they’re made.
These options should mean you’re well covered in terms of having your data backed up, but it’s worth doing a full audit before resetting your Mac. Can all your applications be installed again from the web? Are all your emails, messages, and local media libraries safely stored somewhere else? Are all the files in the folders they need to be in?
Once you’ve verified that all your data is backed up somewhere and can be brought back after you’ve wiped your Mac, you’re ready to take the next step.
How to reset macOS
Over the years, Apple has gradually refined the process of resetting your Mac, and thankfully, it’s now easier than it’s ever been: there’s even a friendly Erase Assistant tool to guide you through the process.

If you’re using macOS Ventura or later, open the Apple menu and choose System Settings (or System Preferences).
Click General, then Transfer or Reset.
Select Erase All Content and Settings to start the assistant.

Along the way, you’ll be shown a summary of the data you’re deleting and asked for your Apple ID password so you can be signed out of all the relevant apps and services (so this Mac is no longer tied to your Apple ID).
The final screen you’ll see will be a dialog box with an Erase All Content & Settings button on it: once you click this, there’s no going back. Your Mac will be securely wiped and then restarted, and the setup screen will appear as if you were setting it up for the first time.

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

As slick and polished as macOS is, it can slow down over time, as you add file after file and program after program to your Apple system. After a few years of heavy use, the idea of wiping your Mac and starting again from a factory-fresh clean slate starts to make more and more sense.

This isn’t just something to do if you want to clear out the clutter and fix persistent problems, though: resetting your Mac is also important when you’re selling it or passing it on. You don’t want anyone else poking around in your files or your web browsing data, and a reset stops that from happening.

Resetting a Mac is fairly straightforward, but you do need to make sure everything on it is backed up before you get started (or at least everything you want to keep). You should already have backups in place, but if you haven’t yet got around to setting them up, we’ll explain what your options are ahead of running a full reset.

How to back up macOS

There are plenty of ways to do this, so pick the one that works best for you. Even better, pick two: strictly speaking, you should always have a couple of copies of your most important data — otherwise, if one of your backups goes down for whatever reason, you’re left without a safety net. As a result, putting together some combination of cloud and local backups is usually a good idea.

Screenshot: Apple
iCloud can back up key folders and app data.

iCloud is now the default backup option for macOS, though you only get a measly 5GB of room for free, so you’ll probably have to upgrade to back up your entire Mac: pricing starts at $0.99 per month for 50GB of space, and it covers photos, videos, and files saved to key folders on macOS.

You may have already configured iCloud when you first got your Mac and set it up. To get set up or make changes afterward:

Open the Apple menu in macOS.
Choose System Settings (macOS Ventura or later) or System Preferences, then click on your name.
Select iCloud.
Make sure all the apps that you want to sync to iCloud are doing so: click Show More Apps (or Show All) to see the full list.

At the top of the screen, you can see how much of your iCloud storage space is being used and which types of files are using up most space.

macOS also offers Time Machine, which puts file backups on local storage drives connected via cables or over Wi-Fi:

From System Settings, pick General.
Choose Time Machine > Add Backup Disk.
Follow the instructions to choose a drive and start backing up.

By default, hourly backups are kept for 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for months before that. To make changes to the setup, click on the Time Machine icon on the menu bar (it looks like two clock hands with an arrow around them).

Both iCloud and Time Machine should back up everything important on your Mac, including files saved to the desktop — just make sure you’re using the designated folders on your Mac for photos, videos, documents, and music.

You don’t have to go with an Apple option for your backup. Tools like Google Drive and Dropbox work just like iCloud does, syncing specific folders to the web and updating changes as soon as they’re made.

These options should mean you’re well covered in terms of having your data backed up, but it’s worth doing a full audit before resetting your Mac. Can all your applications be installed again from the web? Are all your emails, messages, and local media libraries safely stored somewhere else? Are all the files in the folders they need to be in?

Once you’ve verified that all your data is backed up somewhere and can be brought back after you’ve wiped your Mac, you’re ready to take the next step.

How to reset macOS

Over the years, Apple has gradually refined the process of resetting your Mac, and thankfully, it’s now easier than it’s ever been: there’s even a friendly Erase Assistant tool to guide you through the process.

If you’re using macOS Ventura or later, open the Apple menu and choose System Settings (or System Preferences).
Click General, then Transfer or Reset.
Select Erase All Content and Settings to start the assistant.

Along the way, you’ll be shown a summary of the data you’re deleting and asked for your Apple ID password so you can be signed out of all the relevant apps and services (so this Mac is no longer tied to your Apple ID).

The final screen you’ll see will be a dialog box with an Erase All Content & Settings button on it: once you click this, there’s no going back. Your Mac will be securely wiped and then restarted, and the setup screen will appear as if you were setting it up for the first time.

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We’ve all had at least one flight where this really would’ve saved the day. | Image: Jabra

Jabra is refreshing its earbuds lineup today with upgraded versions of the Elite 10 and Elite 8 Active. Both, now known as “Gen 2,” come with the expected improvements to sound quality, noise cancellation, and other fundamentals. But the real game changer, if there is one, is the LE Audio charging case that comes with both earbuds. You can plug the case into an external device — a treadmill, in-flight video screen, etc. — and the case will transmit that audio over to the buds.
LG’s wireless earbuds have offered a similar feature as their signature trick for several years now. But Jabra is trying to stand out with the technology it’s using: the Elite 10 and 8 Gen 2 both connect to the case over LE Audio and use the still-new LC3 Bluetooth codec, which should drastically reduce any perceivable latency. So you could potentially plug the Jabra case into a Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, or other portable gaming device over USB-C, and the sound would stay perfectly in sync at all times. Many earbuds have a low-latency gaming mode nowadays, but not all — and even with those that do, the experience can be inconsistent across various devices.

Image: Jabra
Running on a treadmill that doesn’t support Bluetooth? Not a problem.

By going with LE Audio, Jabra is hoping to avoid any of those problems. And since the connection is being made between the earbuds and the case, it doesn’t matter if your phone has the latest and greatest Bluetooth chip; it should all just work.
The outer design of both earbuds is unchanged; the Elite 10 Gen 2 have a semi-open design for a more natural, less stuffed-up feeling in your ear. Meanwhile, the closed Elite 8 Gen 2 offer a more durable IP68 dust and water resistance rating, plus MIL-STD-810h ruggedization.
Jabra says it has improved the head tracking and Dolby Atmos spatial audio experience for the Elite 10 Gen 2. And the company claims that both pairs of earbuds now have more powerful active noise cancellation and a clearer, richer transparency mode. But the real selling point is that LE Audio case. Honestly, I prefer a very functional add-on like this — with clear use cases — compared to a “smart” charging case with a screen.
The Elite 10 Gen 2 buds are priced at $279, while the Elite 8 Gen 2 go for a bit lower at $229. Both will be available in mid-June in a variety of colors. Stay tuned for a review in the near future, where I’ll try to come up with any number of ways for testing out that transmitter case.

We’ve all had at least one flight where this really would’ve saved the day. | Image: Jabra

Jabra is refreshing its earbuds lineup today with upgraded versions of the Elite 10 and Elite 8 Active. Both, now known as “Gen 2,” come with the expected improvements to sound quality, noise cancellation, and other fundamentals. But the real game changer, if there is one, is the LE Audio charging case that comes with both earbuds. You can plug the case into an external device — a treadmill, in-flight video screen, etc. — and the case will transmit that audio over to the buds.

LG’s wireless earbuds have offered a similar feature as their signature trick for several years now. But Jabra is trying to stand out with the technology it’s using: the Elite 10 and 8 Gen 2 both connect to the case over LE Audio and use the still-new LC3 Bluetooth codec, which should drastically reduce any perceivable latency. So you could potentially plug the Jabra case into a Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, or other portable gaming device over USB-C, and the sound would stay perfectly in sync at all times. Many earbuds have a low-latency gaming mode nowadays, but not all — and even with those that do, the experience can be inconsistent across various devices.

Image: Jabra
Running on a treadmill that doesn’t support Bluetooth? Not a problem.

By going with LE Audio, Jabra is hoping to avoid any of those problems. And since the connection is being made between the earbuds and the case, it doesn’t matter if your phone has the latest and greatest Bluetooth chip; it should all just work.

The outer design of both earbuds is unchanged; the Elite 10 Gen 2 have a semi-open design for a more natural, less stuffed-up feeling in your ear. Meanwhile, the closed Elite 8 Gen 2 offer a more durable IP68 dust and water resistance rating, plus MIL-STD-810h ruggedization.

Jabra says it has improved the head tracking and Dolby Atmos spatial audio experience for the Elite 10 Gen 2. And the company claims that both pairs of earbuds now have more powerful active noise cancellation and a clearer, richer transparency mode. But the real selling point is that LE Audio case. Honestly, I prefer a very functional add-on like this — with clear use cases — compared to a “smart” charging case with a screen.

The Elite 10 Gen 2 buds are priced at $279, while the Elite 8 Gen 2 go for a bit lower at $229. Both will be available in mid-June in a variety of colors. Stay tuned for a review in the near future, where I’ll try to come up with any number of ways for testing out that transmitter case.

Read More 

People are watching this stuff, and advertisers can now buy targeted ads on Google TV channels. | Image: Google

Google is launching a new advertising network that serves targeted ads to Google TV-powered streaming boxes and smart TVs. The ads service, known as the Google TV network, lets advertisers place unskippable in-stream ad spots across more than 125 live channels — many that are FAST, or free ad-supported streaming TV channels that Google’s been hell-bent on getting users to notice.
Google says there are 20 million monthly active Google TV and Android TV OS devices, a significant figure for advertisers to consider. The reach can go even further when including YouTube, which reaches over 150 million monthly active viewers in the living room. Google Ads and Google Display & Video 360 users can expand their campaigns to include the Google TV network by checking a new box under YouTube & Google. Google Ads can spread across networks on Google TV, and include Google-owned ad inventory in third-party apps.
According to Google, viewers of Google TV’s free channels watch on average 75 minutes per day. FAST channels are growing fast since it’s the closest thing to paid cable service without the bill, and while the content is mostly reruns, sometimes people just want that old-school background noise — a perfect place for ads.

People are watching this stuff, and advertisers can now buy targeted ads on Google TV channels. | Image: Google

Google is launching a new advertising network that serves targeted ads to Google TV-powered streaming boxes and smart TVs. The ads service, known as the Google TV network, lets advertisers place unskippable in-stream ad spots across more than 125 live channels — many that are FAST, or free ad-supported streaming TV channels that Google’s been hell-bent on getting users to notice.

Google says there are 20 million monthly active Google TV and Android TV OS devices, a significant figure for advertisers to consider. The reach can go even further when including YouTube, which reaches over 150 million monthly active viewers in the living room. Google Ads and Google Display & Video 360 users can expand their campaigns to include the Google TV network by checking a new box under YouTube & Google. Google Ads can spread across networks on Google TV, and include Google-owned ad inventory in third-party apps.

According to Google, viewers of Google TV’s free channels watch on average 75 minutes per day. FAST channels are growing fast since it’s the closest thing to paid cable service without the bill, and while the content is mostly reruns, sometimes people just want that old-school background noise — a perfect place for ads.

Read More 

Image: Apple

Apple will let you record and transcribe phone calls in iOS 18. The company announced the feature during its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday and says it will automatically tell call participants that they’re being recorded.
The image shared by Apple shows a new recording option on the Phone app, which displays a soundwave, along with how long you’ve been recording. It then transcribes your call in the Notes app, where you can generate a summary using the new Apple Intelligence AI system. You’ll be able to record and transcribe audio from within the Notes app as well.

As noted in the footnote on Apple’s iOS 18 preview page, audio transcription will only be available in English, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, and Portuguese. Bringing audio recording to the Phone app should at least make it easier for journalists and other users to record and transcribe their calls, all while letting the recipient know.
Apple Intelligence took the main stage during WWDC, but there are many other neat features coming to iOS 18, including a customizable homepage, changes to Control Center, improvements to Tapback responses, and more.

Image: Apple

Apple will let you record and transcribe phone calls in iOS 18. The company announced the feature during its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday and says it will automatically tell call participants that they’re being recorded.

The image shared by Apple shows a new recording option on the Phone app, which displays a soundwave, along with how long you’ve been recording. It then transcribes your call in the Notes app, where you can generate a summary using the new Apple Intelligence AI system. You’ll be able to record and transcribe audio from within the Notes app as well.

As noted in the footnote on Apple’s iOS 18 preview page, audio transcription will only be available in English, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, and Portuguese. Bringing audio recording to the Phone app should at least make it easier for journalists and other users to record and transcribe their calls, all while letting the recipient know.

Apple Intelligence took the main stage during WWDC, but there are many other neat features coming to iOS 18, including a customizable homepage, changes to Control Center, improvements to Tapback responses, and more.

Read More 

The Steve Jobs Theater. | Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge

The WWDC keynote may be over, but we still have lots of questions about the state and future of Apple Intelligence. And in a somewhat unusual move, Apple is here to answer some of them: Craig Federighi and John Giannandrea, two of the executives in charge of all of Apple’s AI efforts, are taking the stage in the Steve Jobs Theater to talk about everything Apple announced on Monday.
Federighi, of course, is Apple’s software chief, overseeing nearly all the platforms and features we saw at WWDC. Giannandrea is Apple’s SVP of machine learning and AI strategy and has been an important figure in the AI world for a long time. (Before coming to Apple, he was an engineering VP at Google, overseeing a lot of the same stuff.) Together, they’ve overseen Apple’s work revamping Siri, partnering with OpenAI, bringing machine learning to devices and the cloud, and practically everything else Apple announced.
We’re live in the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park and will be live-blogging the event as it happens. Rest assured: there will be Siri questions.
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The Steve Jobs Theater. | Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge

The WWDC keynote may be over, but we still have lots of questions about the state and future of Apple Intelligence. And in a somewhat unusual move, Apple is here to answer some of them: Craig Federighi and John Giannandrea, two of the executives in charge of all of Apple’s AI efforts, are taking the stage in the Steve Jobs Theater to talk about everything Apple announced on Monday.

Federighi, of course, is Apple’s software chief, overseeing nearly all the platforms and features we saw at WWDC. Giannandrea is Apple’s SVP of machine learning and AI strategy and has been an important figure in the AI world for a long time. (Before coming to Apple, he was an engineering VP at Google, overseeing a lot of the same stuff.) Together, they’ve overseen Apple’s work revamping Siri, partnering with OpenAI, bringing machine learning to devices and the cloud, and practically everything else Apple announced.

We’re live in the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park and will be live-blogging the event as it happens. Rest assured: there will be Siri questions.

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Image: Ubisoft

The reveal of Assassin’s Creed Shadows mostly focused on its story, characters, and setting. But a new trailer gives a better idea of how the game will actually play. The lengthy gameplay overview, which clocks in at around 12 minutes long, shows off the game’s sprawling rendition of Japan, while also detailing the different skills and approaches of its two playable leads. It’s also very bloody.
This is the game’s second gameplay trailer in as many days. Ubisoft also released a shorter clip during the Xbox Games Showcase on Sunday:

Shadows is the latest entry in the series to have dual protagonists (see: Assassin’s Creed Syndicate), as players can choose between the samurai Yasuke and the shinobi assassin Naoe. It follows last year’s Mirage, which took the franchise back to its more straightforward assassination roots. Shadows is launching on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X / S on November 15th. At WWDC 2024 earlier today, Ubisoft confirmed that the game would be coming to Mac as well.

Image: Ubisoft

The reveal of Assassin’s Creed Shadows mostly focused on its story, characters, and setting. But a new trailer gives a better idea of how the game will actually play. The lengthy gameplay overview, which clocks in at around 12 minutes long, shows off the game’s sprawling rendition of Japan, while also detailing the different skills and approaches of its two playable leads. It’s also very bloody.

This is the game’s second gameplay trailer in as many days. Ubisoft also released a shorter clip during the Xbox Games Showcase on Sunday:

Shadows is the latest entry in the series to have dual protagonists (see: Assassin’s Creed Syndicate), as players can choose between the samurai Yasuke and the shinobi assassin Naoe. It follows last year’s Mirage, which took the franchise back to its more straightforward assassination roots. Shadows is launching on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X / S on November 15th. At WWDC 2024 earlier today, Ubisoft confirmed that the game would be coming to Mac as well.

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Adobe is overhauling the terms customers must agree to when using its apps in an effort to win back trust — and clarify that it won’t train AI on their work. The change, announced via a new blog post, comes after a week of backlash from users who feared that an update to Adobe’s terms of service would allow their work to be used for AI training.
The new terms of service are expected to roll out on June 18th and aim to better clarify what Adobe is permitted to do with its customers’ work, according to Adobe’s president of digital media, David Wadhwani.
“We have never trained generative AI on our customer’s content, we have never taken ownership of a customer’s work, and we have never allowed access to customer content beyond what’s legally required,” Wadhwani said to The Verge.
Adobe faced widespread scrutiny from creatives over the last week after its customers were alerted to language in its terms of service update that discussed AI. Customers interpreted Adobe’s vague language to mean the company was allowing itself to freely access and use customers’ work to train Adobe’s generative AI models. That wasn’t the case — and Adobe’s policies around training weren’t changing — but Adobe’s chief product officer, Scott Belsky, acknowledged that the wording was “unclear” and that “trust and transparency couldn’t be more crucial these days.”
“In retrospect, we should have modernized and clarified the terms of service sooner”
Wadhwani says that the language used within Adobe’s TOS was never intended to permit AI training on customers’ work. “In retrospect, we should have modernized and clarified the terms of service sooner,” Wadhwani says. “And we should have more proactively narrowed the terms to match what we actually do, and better explained what our legal requirements are.”
A chunk of the creative community has long-standing beef with Adobe over its alleged industry monopoly, its subscription-based pricing models, and its use of generative AI. The company trained its own Firefly AI model on Adobe Stock images, openly licensed content, and public domain content to avoid some of the ethical concerns surrounding generative AI, but several artists have found images that reference their work on Adobe’s stock platform — making it hard to trust the protections in place.
“We feel very, very good about the process,” Wadhwani said in regards to content moderation surrounding Adobe stock and Firefly training data but acknowledged it’s “never going to be perfect.” Wadhwani says that Adobe can remove content that violates its policies from Firefly’s training data and that customers can opt out of automated systems designed to improve the company’s service.
Adobe said in its blog post that it recognizes “trust must be earned” and is taking on feedback to discuss the new changes. Greater transparency is a welcome change, but it’s likely going to take some time to convince scorned creatives that it doesn’t hold any ill intent. “We are determined to be a trusted partner for creators in the era ahead. We will work tirelessly to make it so.”

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Adobe is overhauling the terms customers must agree to when using its apps in an effort to win back trust — and clarify that it won’t train AI on their work. The change, announced via a new blog post, comes after a week of backlash from users who feared that an update to Adobe’s terms of service would allow their work to be used for AI training.

The new terms of service are expected to roll out on June 18th and aim to better clarify what Adobe is permitted to do with its customers’ work, according to Adobe’s president of digital media, David Wadhwani.

“We have never trained generative AI on our customer’s content, we have never taken ownership of a customer’s work, and we have never allowed access to customer content beyond what’s legally required,” Wadhwani said to The Verge.

Adobe faced widespread scrutiny from creatives over the last week after its customers were alerted to language in its terms of service update that discussed AI. Customers interpreted Adobe’s vague language to mean the company was allowing itself to freely access and use customers’ work to train Adobe’s generative AI models. That wasn’t the case — and Adobe’s policies around training weren’t changing — but Adobe’s chief product officer, Scott Belsky, acknowledged that the wording was “unclear” and that “trust and transparency couldn’t be more crucial these days.”

Wadhwani says that the language used within Adobe’s TOS was never intended to permit AI training on customers’ work. “In retrospect, we should have modernized and clarified the terms of service sooner,” Wadhwani says. “And we should have more proactively narrowed the terms to match what we actually do, and better explained what our legal requirements are.”

A chunk of the creative community has long-standing beef with Adobe over its alleged industry monopoly, its subscription-based pricing models, and its use of generative AI. The company trained its own Firefly AI model on Adobe Stock images, openly licensed content, and public domain content to avoid some of the ethical concerns surrounding generative AI, but several artists have found images that reference their work on Adobe’s stock platform — making it hard to trust the protections in place.

“We feel very, very good about the process,” Wadhwani said in regards to content moderation surrounding Adobe stock and Firefly training data but acknowledged it’s “never going to be perfect.” Wadhwani says that Adobe can remove content that violates its policies from Firefly’s training data and that customers can opt out of automated systems designed to improve the company’s service.

Adobe said in its blog post that it recognizes “trust must be earned” and is taking on feedback to discuss the new changes. Greater transparency is a welcome change, but it’s likely going to take some time to convince scorned creatives that it doesn’t hold any ill intent. “We are determined to be a trusted partner for creators in the era ahead. We will work tirelessly to make it so.”

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