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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.”

Read More 

Image: Ubisoft

We’re getting very close to the launch of Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft’s GTA-style take on a galaxy far, far away. Which means it’s a good time for another trailer detailing the sorts of criminal escapades players can get into. The new overview focused primarily on the different Star Wars locations you’ll be exploring, and along with the various not-exactly-legal missions you’ll take on. Among various aspects featured are dealing with the Hutts, riding a speederbike, and finding new recruits for your scoundrel gang.
You can get a quicker taste of the gameplay in the video above, or check out this 10-minute-long deep dive:

These aren’t the only Outlaws trailers from the last few days: Ubisoft released a very brief teaser during the Summer Game Fest keynote on Friday:

Developed by Massive Entertainment, the same team behind The Division series and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Outlaws was first announced during last year’s Summer Game Fest at the Xbox Games Showcase. It’s set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and puts players in the role of an outlaw named Kay who finds herself caught up in a complex web of crime in the Star Wars underworld.
Star Wars Outlaws launches on August 30th on the PS5, Xbox Series X / S, and PC. And it comes at a busy time for the franchise: The Acolyte just premiered on Disney Plus, while the arena shooter Star Wars: Hunters recently debuted on mobile and the Nintendo Switch.

Image: Ubisoft

We’re getting very close to the launch of Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft’s GTA-style take on a galaxy far, far away. Which means it’s a good time for another trailer detailing the sorts of criminal escapades players can get into. The new overview focused primarily on the different Star Wars locations you’ll be exploring, and along with the various not-exactly-legal missions you’ll take on. Among various aspects featured are dealing with the Hutts, riding a speederbike, and finding new recruits for your scoundrel gang.

You can get a quicker taste of the gameplay in the video above, or check out this 10-minute-long deep dive:

These aren’t the only Outlaws trailers from the last few days: Ubisoft released a very brief teaser during the Summer Game Fest keynote on Friday:

Developed by Massive Entertainment, the same team behind The Division series and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Outlaws was first announced during last year’s Summer Game Fest at the Xbox Games Showcase. It’s set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and puts players in the role of an outlaw named Kay who finds herself caught up in a complex web of crime in the Star Wars underworld.

Star Wars Outlaws launches on August 30th on the PS5, Xbox Series X / S, and PC. And it comes at a busy time for the franchise: The Acolyte just premiered on Disney Plus, while the arena shooter Star Wars: Hunters recently debuted on mobile and the Nintendo Switch.

Read More 

Screenshot: The Verge

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote has come to a close — and the company had a whole lot to share. We got our first look at the AI features coming to Apple’s devices and some major updates across the company’s operating systems.
If you missed out on watching the keynote live, we’ve gathered all the biggest announcements that you can check out below.
Apple’s first AI system is coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Screenshot: Apple

With almost all of big tech getting in on the AI boom, it’s no surprise that Apple is launching an AI system of its own. Apple Intelligence is the company’s new personal intelligence system “that puts powerful generative models right at the core of your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.” That enables a ton of new capabilities across Apple’s native apps, such as the ability to generate images or summarize text.
Apple Intelligence comes with a big emphasis on security, as the system will automatically decide whether it needs to use on-device processing or contact Apple’s private cloud computing server to fulfill your request. The system will be available for free and on the iPhone 15 Pro as well as on iPads and Macs with an M1 chip and later.

Siri gets a big AI boost

Screenshot: Apple

Apple’s big push into AI also includes Siri. The upgraded voice assistant will now be integrated more deeply into the iPhone, appearing as a pulsating light on the edge of your device. It will give you more control over your apps, allowing you to ask the voice assistant to find information inside a particular email or even surface a photo of one of your friends. Apple is relying on LLMs to help Siri better understand what you say and keep track of follow-up requests and questions.
Apple is building ChatGPT into Siri

Image: Allison Johnson / The Verge

Siri’s big AI upgrade also includes an integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot. With the new integration, Siri will automatically determine whether a query would be better suited for ChatGPT. It will then ask for your permission before sending its request to ChatGPT. You’ll be able to use ChatGPT through Siri for free and without an account.
New AI features in Mail, Messages, Photos, and more

Screenshot: Apple

Apple is rolling out a bunch of new AI features across its apps in iOS 18, including a way to summarize emails and generate responses. The company showed off its new Genmoji feature, letting you create custom emoji based on a text prompt, along with a new AI image generator called Image Playground.
Apple is bringing AI to the Photos app, too, giving you the ability to search for photos using natural language. You can also clean up objects in the background of your pictures, similar to Google’s Magic Eraser. Additionally, Apple is adding AI-powered transcriptions and summaries to Notes and the Phone apps.
The iPhone gets more customizable in iOS 18

Screenshot: Apple

Aside from all the AI, Apple is introducing a new and more customizable Control Center in iOS 18. It’s also launching a way to freely place app icons on your homescreen. The company will also let you lock certain apps with the coming update, preventing other people from using them when you hand them your phone.
Other major changes include a Photos app redesign and a new Game Mode for iPhone that minimizes background activity to optimize gameplay.
The iPhone is finally getting RCS support

Image: Apple

After announcing support for RCS last year, Apple confirmed that it’s arriving with iOS 18. It didn’t expand on any other details beyond that, though.
iMessage is getting some other upgrades, too, including the ability to schedule texts and support for SMS messaging via satellite. Apple is also rolling out colorful Tapback options and will let you bold, underline, and italicize text.
Apple TV Plus adds “inSights” to tell you which actor is onscreen

Screenshot: Apple

Apple TV Plus is getting a new feature that will let you swipe down on your remote to show the actors and their characters in the movie or TV show that you’re watching. You can also find out the current song that’s playing and add it to your Apple Music playlist. Apple TV Plus will automatically show subtitles when you mute a show and will support 21:9 projectors.
A Passwords app to keep track of your logins

Screenshot: Apple

As rumored last week, Apple has revealed a new Passwords app that will let you keep track of your login details across different devices. The app will let you generate and store passwords similar to other password managers like LastPass and 1Password. Passwords will be available on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, visionOS, and even Windows.
iPadOS 18 adds a Calculator app with Apple Pencil support

Image: Allison Johnson / The Verge

The iPad is finally getting a Calculator app more than a decade after its release. It comes with a new feature called Math Notes, which lets you use the Apple Pencil to write equations on your iPad and have the app solve it for you.
Apple is launching a Smart Script feature as well, which uses machine learning to improve the appearance of your handwriting and spell-check your notes.
macOS 15 will let you mirror your iPhone

Screenshot: Apple

Apple’s next macOS update will let you mirror your iPhone on your Mac. You’ll be able to interact with your iPhone directly from your Mac, letting you view notifications and hear the audio playing from your mobile device.
There’s also a new Highlights feature coming to Safari, which uses machine learning to pick out interesting parts of a page.
Apple will automatically surface widgets in watchOS 11

Image: Allison Johnson / The Verge

There are a ton of new features coming to watchOS 11, too, including a new capability that automatically adds widgets based on when you need them. Apple is launching a new Vitals app that will let you “explore your most important health metrics with just a glance” as well as new cycle tracking features, Live Activities, and support for Check In, allowing your loved ones to track you during your workout.
visionOS 2 adds spatial photos and an ultrawide Mac display

Screenshot: Apple

Apple has announced visionOS 2, its first major update for the operating system. One of the new features coming to the Vision Pro uses machine learning to bring depth to an existing photo. The update will also introduce support for an ultrawide virtual Mac display, more intuitive gestures, and support for travel mode on trains.
Apple is also planning to bring the Vision Pro to more countries, including China, Singapore, Australia, Canada, France, and the UK.
The next AirPods Pro update will let you quietly respond to Siri
Apple is launching Siri Interactions in its next AirPods Pro software update, letting you shake your head yes or no to respond to Siri’s announcements. The AirPods Pro are also getting Voice Isolation to enhance voice quality and reduce background noise.

Screenshot: The Verge

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote has come to a close — and the company had a whole lot to share. We got our first look at the AI features coming to Apple’s devices and some major updates across the company’s operating systems.

If you missed out on watching the keynote live, we’ve gathered all the biggest announcements that you can check out below.

Apple’s first AI system is coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Screenshot: Apple

With almost all of big tech getting in on the AI boom, it’s no surprise that Apple is launching an AI system of its own. Apple Intelligence is the company’s new personal intelligence system “that puts powerful generative models right at the core of your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.” That enables a ton of new capabilities across Apple’s native apps, such as the ability to generate images or summarize text.

Apple Intelligence comes with a big emphasis on security, as the system will automatically decide whether it needs to use on-device processing or contact Apple’s private cloud computing server to fulfill your request. The system will be available for free and on the iPhone 15 Pro as well as on iPads and Macs with an M1 chip and later.

Siri gets a big AI boost

Screenshot: Apple

Apple’s big push into AI also includes Siri. The upgraded voice assistant will now be integrated more deeply into the iPhone, appearing as a pulsating light on the edge of your device. It will give you more control over your apps, allowing you to ask the voice assistant to find information inside a particular email or even surface a photo of one of your friends. Apple is relying on LLMs to help Siri better understand what you say and keep track of follow-up requests and questions.

Apple is building ChatGPT into Siri

Image: Allison Johnson / The Verge

Siri’s big AI upgrade also includes an integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot. With the new integration, Siri will automatically determine whether a query would be better suited for ChatGPT. It will then ask for your permission before sending its request to ChatGPT. You’ll be able to use ChatGPT through Siri for free and without an account.

New AI features in Mail, Messages, Photos, and more

Screenshot: Apple

Apple is rolling out a bunch of new AI features across its apps in iOS 18, including a way to summarize emails and generate responses. The company showed off its new Genmoji feature, letting you create custom emoji based on a text prompt, along with a new AI image generator called Image Playground.

Apple is bringing AI to the Photos app, too, giving you the ability to search for photos using natural language. You can also clean up objects in the background of your pictures, similar to Google’s Magic Eraser. Additionally, Apple is adding AI-powered transcriptions and summaries to Notes and the Phone apps.

The iPhone gets more customizable in iOS 18

Screenshot: Apple

Aside from all the AI, Apple is introducing a new and more customizable Control Center in iOS 18. It’s also launching a way to freely place app icons on your homescreen. The company will also let you lock certain apps with the coming update, preventing other people from using them when you hand them your phone.

Other major changes include a Photos app redesign and a new Game Mode for iPhone that minimizes background activity to optimize gameplay.

The iPhone is finally getting RCS support

Image: Apple

After announcing support for RCS last year, Apple confirmed that it’s arriving with iOS 18. It didn’t expand on any other details beyond that, though.

iMessage is getting some other upgrades, too, including the ability to schedule texts and support for SMS messaging via satellite. Apple is also rolling out colorful Tapback options and will let you bold, underline, and italicize text.

Apple TV Plus adds “inSights” to tell you which actor is onscreen

Screenshot: Apple

Apple TV Plus is getting a new feature that will let you swipe down on your remote to show the actors and their characters in the movie or TV show that you’re watching. You can also find out the current song that’s playing and add it to your Apple Music playlist. Apple TV Plus will automatically show subtitles when you mute a show and will support 21:9 projectors.

A Passwords app to keep track of your logins

Screenshot: Apple

As rumored last week, Apple has revealed a new Passwords app that will let you keep track of your login details across different devices. The app will let you generate and store passwords similar to other password managers like LastPass and 1Password. Passwords will be available on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, visionOS, and even Windows.

iPadOS 18 adds a Calculator app with Apple Pencil support

Image: Allison Johnson / The Verge

The iPad is finally getting a Calculator app more than a decade after its release. It comes with a new feature called Math Notes, which lets you use the Apple Pencil to write equations on your iPad and have the app solve it for you.

Apple is launching a Smart Script feature as well, which uses machine learning to improve the appearance of your handwriting and spell-check your notes.

macOS 15 will let you mirror your iPhone

Screenshot: Apple

Apple’s next macOS update will let you mirror your iPhone on your Mac. You’ll be able to interact with your iPhone directly from your Mac, letting you view notifications and hear the audio playing from your mobile device.

There’s also a new Highlights feature coming to Safari, which uses machine learning to pick out interesting parts of a page.

Apple will automatically surface widgets in watchOS 11

Image: Allison Johnson / The Verge

There are a ton of new features coming to watchOS 11, too, including a new capability that automatically adds widgets based on when you need them. Apple is launching a new Vitals app that will let you “explore your most important health metrics with just a glance” as well as new cycle tracking features, Live Activities, and support for Check In, allowing your loved ones to track you during your workout.

visionOS 2 adds spatial photos and an ultrawide Mac display

Screenshot: Apple

Apple has announced visionOS 2, its first major update for the operating system. One of the new features coming to the Vision Pro uses machine learning to bring depth to an existing photo. The update will also introduce support for an ultrawide virtual Mac display, more intuitive gestures, and support for travel mode on trains.

Apple is also planning to bring the Vision Pro to more countries, including China, Singapore, Australia, Canada, France, and the UK.

The next AirPods Pro update will let you quietly respond to Siri

Apple is launching Siri Interactions in its next AirPods Pro software update, letting you shake your head yes or no to respond to Siri’s announcements. The AirPods Pro are also getting Voice Isolation to enhance voice quality and reduce background noise.

Read More 

Support for robot vacuums is coming to Apple Home with iOS18. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Apple has announced that Apple Home will finally support robot vacuums with iOS 18. This was one of just a few updates to its smart home platform that Apple announced at WWDC 2024. The company also revealed that hands-free unlocking is coming to compatible smart door locks as well as the ability to share guest codes for access to your home (another thing we’ve been impatiently waiting for). Plus, there’s a new electricity usage feature coming to the Home app, although it’s limited to Pacific Gas & Electric users in California at launch.
Apple didn’t provide many details about robot vacuums in the Home app, only stating in a press release that the devices can participate in automations and scenes and be activated with voice control using Siri.

An overview of the new audio and home features coming to Apple with iOS 18 this fall.

However, the feature most likely comes through Apple Home’s support of Matter, which added support for the floor cleaners in Matter 1.2. The Matter spec enables starting and stopping the robot, adjusting cleaning modes (dry vacuum, wet mopping), and receiving progress notifications and alerts, so we should hopefully see these capabilities come to the Home app when iOS 18 arrives this fall.
With support for robot vacuums, Apple Home users should be able to add the robot directly to the Home app without using the manufacturer’s app or cloud. To access more advanced features — like room mapping and keep-out zones (areas the robot shouldn’t go) — the manufacturer’s app will be necessary, as those features are not supported in Matter.

Image: Apple
Smart locks can now be shared through Apple Home.

Smart locks are getting more control features in Apple Home. With iOS 18, you’ll be able to share access with guests to control locks, garage doors, and security systems and customize access based on time and other factors. Apple is also bringing hands-free unlocking to compatible UWB-enabled locks with Home Key, allowing you to have the door unlock automatically when you’re six feet away. Auto-unlocking was first developed by August and is now in most Yale locks, too, along with a number of other manufacturers that have developed similar features. This should bring the ability to any Home Key-compatible lock.
A new electricity usage page in the Home app’s Energy section will show your electricity usage through a connection to your utility. It will launch with a partnership with PG&E in California but hopefully expand to more utilities in the future.
Home energy management is an important ability of smart home devices, giving you tools to understand how your home uses energy and potentially allowing you to control it more efficiently. There are two main approaches — install devices that can monitor their energy usage, something the Apple Home app doesn’t currently support, or use an app that can communicate with your utility directly to get the information, which is what Apple is doing here.
Ultimately, a combination of the two is likely to be the best path. But what will really make the difference is a service that can do a lot of the management for you. Hopefully, this is Apple’s first step in that direction.

Image: Apple
PG&E users will be able to view electricity usage in the Apple Home app.

WWDC is traditionally where Apple has announced new features for its Apple Home smart home platform, giving developers time to integrate them into its devices ahead of the launch of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15, watchOS 11, tvOS 18, and HomePod OS in the fall.
While the updates are often minor, we sometimes get things like an all-new Apple Home app. This year was a relatively minor update. I, for one, had hoped to see support for many more of the device types Matter supports, including TVs, washing machines, and fridges. I hope we don’t have to wait until the fall for those to arrive.
Apple Home has undergone a significant shift in the last few years as Apple transitions its smart home platform from purely HomeKit to an architecture where HomeKit runs on Matter. Apple is a founding member of the new smart home standard and contributed HomeKit as the “foundation of this new standard.” For Apple Home users, Matter opens the platform to more device types than it has supported to date.
Matter is an interoperability and communication standard that allows any Matter-enabled smart home device to work with any Matter platform, meaning all Matter devices should work with Apple Home. However, the platforms have to add support for the new device types, and Apple has been slow to do so. With robot vacuums now on the map, though, let’s hope there are more devices coming soon.

Support for robot vacuums is coming to Apple Home with iOS18. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Apple has announced that Apple Home will finally support robot vacuums with iOS 18. This was one of just a few updates to its smart home platform that Apple announced at WWDC 2024. The company also revealed that hands-free unlocking is coming to compatible smart door locks as well as the ability to share guest codes for access to your home (another thing we’ve been impatiently waiting for). Plus, there’s a new electricity usage feature coming to the Home app, although it’s limited to Pacific Gas & Electric users in California at launch.

Apple didn’t provide many details about robot vacuums in the Home app, only stating in a press release that the devices can participate in automations and scenes and be activated with voice control using Siri.

An overview of the new audio and home features coming to Apple with iOS 18 this fall.

However, the feature most likely comes through Apple Home’s support of Matter, which added support for the floor cleaners in Matter 1.2. The Matter spec enables starting and stopping the robot, adjusting cleaning modes (dry vacuum, wet mopping), and receiving progress notifications and alerts, so we should hopefully see these capabilities come to the Home app when iOS 18 arrives this fall.

With support for robot vacuums, Apple Home users should be able to add the robot directly to the Home app without using the manufacturer’s app or cloud. To access more advanced features — like room mapping and keep-out zones (areas the robot shouldn’t go) — the manufacturer’s app will be necessary, as those features are not supported in Matter.

Image: Apple
Smart locks can now be shared through Apple Home.

Smart locks are getting more control features in Apple Home. With iOS 18, you’ll be able to share access with guests to control locks, garage doors, and security systems and customize access based on time and other factors. Apple is also bringing hands-free unlocking to compatible UWB-enabled locks with Home Key, allowing you to have the door unlock automatically when you’re six feet away. Auto-unlocking was first developed by August and is now in most Yale locks, too, along with a number of other manufacturers that have developed similar features. This should bring the ability to any Home Key-compatible lock.

A new electricity usage page in the Home app’s Energy section will show your electricity usage through a connection to your utility. It will launch with a partnership with PG&E in California but hopefully expand to more utilities in the future.

Home energy management is an important ability of smart home devices, giving you tools to understand how your home uses energy and potentially allowing you to control it more efficiently. There are two main approaches — install devices that can monitor their energy usage, something the Apple Home app doesn’t currently support, or use an app that can communicate with your utility directly to get the information, which is what Apple is doing here.

Ultimately, a combination of the two is likely to be the best path. But what will really make the difference is a service that can do a lot of the management for you. Hopefully, this is Apple’s first step in that direction.

Image: Apple
PG&E users will be able to view electricity usage in the Apple Home app.

WWDC is traditionally where Apple has announced new features for its Apple Home smart home platform, giving developers time to integrate them into its devices ahead of the launch of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15, watchOS 11, tvOS 18, and HomePod OS in the fall.

While the updates are often minor, we sometimes get things like an all-new Apple Home app. This year was a relatively minor update. I, for one, had hoped to see support for many more of the device types Matter supports, including TVs, washing machines, and fridges. I hope we don’t have to wait until the fall for those to arrive.

Apple Home has undergone a significant shift in the last few years as Apple transitions its smart home platform from purely HomeKit to an architecture where HomeKit runs on Matter. Apple is a founding member of the new smart home standard and contributed HomeKit as the “foundation of this new standard.” For Apple Home users, Matter opens the platform to more device types than it has supported to date.

Matter is an interoperability and communication standard that allows any Matter-enabled smart home device to work with any Matter platform, meaning all Matter devices should work with Apple Home. However, the platforms have to add support for the new device types, and Apple has been slow to do so. With robot vacuums now on the map, though, let’s hope there are more devices coming soon.

Read More 

Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge

Apple’s new “Apple Intelligence” generative AI features will let you make your own custom emoji and images, the company announced at WWDC 2024.
The custom emoji are called “Genmoji,” and they look like a lot of fun. In one example, during Monday’s keynote, Apple showed how the prompt “smiley relaxing wearing cucumbers” generates a yellow smiley face emoji with cucumbers over its eyes. There’s also a new “Image Playground” image generator.
Developing… check out our live blog for the latest details.

Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge

Apple’s new “Apple Intelligence” generative AI features will let you make your own custom emoji and images, the company announced at WWDC 2024.

The custom emoji are called “Genmoji,” and they look like a lot of fun. In one example, during Monday’s keynote, Apple showed how the prompt “smiley relaxing wearing cucumbers” generates a yellow smiley face emoji with cucumbers over its eyes. There’s also a new “Image Playground” image generator.

Developing… check out our live blog for the latest details.

Read More 

Apple announcing ChatGPT in Siri at WWDC 2024. | Allison Johnson / The Verge

Apple is partnering with OpenAI to put ChatGPT into Siri, the company announced at its WWDC 2024 keynote on Monday.
ChatGPT will be available for free, without an account, and user information won’t be logged. The chatbot will also be integrated into system wide writing tools.
The long-awaited partnership emerges as Apple strives to integrate AI features that rival those of other big tech companies. Apple had been in discussions with both Google and OpenAI to incorporate their AI technology into its operating systems. Ultimately, it was OpenAI that secured the deal.

very happy to be partnering with apple to integrate chatgpt into their devices later this year!think you will really like it.— Sam Altman (@sama) June 10, 2024

There has been speculation that the recent launch of OpenAI’s GPT-4o — a voice assistant criticized for sounding uncannily like Scarlett Johansson in the movie Her — was intended to showcase how OpenAI’s technology could enhance Apple’s Siri.
Alongside its OpenAI partnership, Apple announced a litany of new AI features under what it is calling Apple Intelligence. In addition to ChatGPT being put into Siri, OpenAI’s tech is being used to power AI writing summaries across Apple’s operating systems.
Developing… check out our live blog for the latest details.

Apple announcing ChatGPT in Siri at WWDC 2024. | Allison Johnson / The Verge

Apple is partnering with OpenAI to put ChatGPT into Siri, the company announced at its WWDC 2024 keynote on Monday.

ChatGPT will be available for free, without an account, and user information won’t be logged. The chatbot will also be integrated into system wide writing tools.

The long-awaited partnership emerges as Apple strives to integrate AI features that rival those of other big tech companies. Apple had been in discussions with both Google and OpenAI to incorporate their AI technology into its operating systems. Ultimately, it was OpenAI that secured the deal.

There has been speculation that the recent launch of OpenAI’s GPT-4o — a voice assistant criticized for sounding uncannily like Scarlett Johansson in the movie Her — was intended to showcase how OpenAI’s technology could enhance Apple’s Siri.

Alongside its OpenAI partnership, Apple announced a litany of new AI features under what it is calling Apple Intelligence. In addition to ChatGPT being put into Siri, OpenAI’s tech is being used to power AI writing summaries across Apple’s operating systems.

Developing… check out our live blog for the latest details.

Read More 

Apple’s new Passwords app. | Image: Apple

At WWDC 2024, Apple revealed a new Passwords app that expands on its existing iCloud Keychain features and syncs your passwords across more devices. Now, with Passwords, Apple is releasing a standalone app to manage passwords and passkeys on more devices, including Windows computers, Apple’s Vision Pro headset, as well as Macs, iPhones, and iPads.
Platforms that have so far gone unmentioned? Just as the earlier rumor indicated, Google Chrome and Android.
You can also view your Wi-Fi passwords in one place and share passwords in groups with people you want to have them.
One big advantage could be that it will integrate even more deeply with your Apple logins and family sharing setups than other options like 1Password or Bitwarden. And with the backing of Apple, it may seem like a safer option for people spooked by security breaches suffered by others like LastPass.
For years, Apple users would have to get their saved passwords from the Safari preferences window and later from Mac System Preferences or iOS Settings. Now, with the Passwords app, everything is in one place, including verification codes and security alerts.
Developing… check out our live blog for the latest details.

Apple’s new Passwords app. | Image: Apple

At WWDC 2024, Apple revealed a new Passwords app that expands on its existing iCloud Keychain features and syncs your passwords across more devices. Now, with Passwords, Apple is releasing a standalone app to manage passwords and passkeys on more devices, including Windows computers, Apple’s Vision Pro headset, as well as Macs, iPhones, and iPads.

Platforms that have so far gone unmentioned? Just as the earlier rumor indicated, Google Chrome and Android.

You can also view your Wi-Fi passwords in one place and share passwords in groups with people you want to have them.

One big advantage could be that it will integrate even more deeply with your Apple logins and family sharing setups than other options like 1Password or Bitwarden. And with the backing of Apple, it may seem like a safer option for people spooked by security breaches suffered by others like LastPass.

For years, Apple users would have to get their saved passwords from the Safari preferences window and later from Mac System Preferences or iOS Settings. Now, with the Passwords app, everything is in one place, including verification codes and security alerts.

Developing… check out our live blog for the latest details.

Read More 

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Apple has announced several AI-powered features coming to its Siri virtual assistant, such as an updated design and improvements to how it speaks and understands spoken language commands. These features, announced during Apple’s WWDC event on June 10th, come courtesy of Apple Intelligence — the company’s new personal intelligence system which the company says will be able to control actions on users’ behalf in apps.
For Siri, Apple says these actions include things like retrieving information from user emails if asked to check when their mom’s flight is landing, or the ability to locate an image of a driver’s license on the device, and extract that information to fill out a form for you.
Today’s announcement follows several months of reports and rumors regarding Apple’s plans for AI, including efforts to develop its own framework for large language models.
While Siri’s ability to respond to verbal commands or questions was impressive when it was introduced on the iPhone 4S in 2011, its lack of subsequent improvements has made it feel like a disappointing afterthought. Meanwhile, products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini have since shown that AI tools and systems are capable of a whole lot more.

Developing… check out our live blog for the latest details.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Apple has announced several AI-powered features coming to its Siri virtual assistant, such as an updated design and improvements to how it speaks and understands spoken language commands. These features, announced during Apple’s WWDC event on June 10th, come courtesy of Apple Intelligence — the company’s new personal intelligence system which the company says will be able to control actions on users’ behalf in apps.

For Siri, Apple says these actions include things like retrieving information from user emails if asked to check when their mom’s flight is landing, or the ability to locate an image of a driver’s license on the device, and extract that information to fill out a form for you.

Today’s announcement follows several months of reports and rumors regarding Apple’s plans for AI, including efforts to develop its own framework for large language models.

While Siri’s ability to respond to verbal commands or questions was impressive when it was introduced on the iPhone 4S in 2011, its lack of subsequent improvements has made it feel like a disappointing afterthought. Meanwhile, products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini have since shown that AI tools and systems are capable of a whole lot more.

Developing… check out our live blog for the latest details.

Read More 

Image: Apple

Apple announced “Apple Intelligence” at WWDC 2024, its name for a new suite of AI features for the iPhone, Mac, and more.
The company that once refused to use the term “artificial intelligence” when talking about its machine learning features now has AI enhancements across its platforms. The company has been behind companies like Google and Microsoft, which started racing ahead with their own generative AI features as soon as OpenAI broke the dam open in 2022. Now, it’s making its bid to catch up.
Apple Intelligence will take action for you in apps
Apple said its AI features will be able to do things for you in apps. It will be able to manage your notifications, automatically write things for you, or summarize text in mail and other apps. The company also says it can do things like reference one app to carry out an action in another, such as asking it to play a podcast your partner sent you.
Of course, this is Apple, so it has to have a privacy story. The company says its AI features will be processed on-device to keep information private. But you’ll need an A17 Pro or M-series chip to take advantage. Part of the story, too, though, is a “semantic index” that will grab personal details when they’re needed and surface them across apps.
But when AI features need to go to the cloud, Apple says it will go to what it calls “Private Cloud” and that data will never be stored on the servers, and Apple says it will never be able to access it. Independent experts will verify that Apple’s claims are true, it said.
Siri gets AI smarts
Apple says that users will be able to speak to Siri much more naturally in iOS 18. The company also says that you’ll be able to type to Siri to get things done instead of just talking.
Also, the company says Siri will be able to do things like set up scheduled text messages and understand from the context of what you’re saying what apps you’re asking it to use.
Apple said Siri will get a new ability to do things within apps for you — for instance, you can ask Siri to “make a photo pop,” and you’ll be able to ask it to take a photo that you’re looking at and send it to a friend. The company called this “on-screen awareness.” As another example, the company says Siri will be able to do things like search your photos to get your driver’s license, pull out your license number, and stick it into a web form for you — similar to current autofill features, just… much better.
Help me write features come the Apple ecosystem
Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but Apple is rolling out new email-writing suggestions and text summaries. In Mail, while typing out a message, you can have Siri write it for you and ask it to change its tone. The company says that writing features like this are available system-wide, anywhere you can type.
Apple Image generation features
Apple says it’s rolling out “Genmoji,” a new feature that will generate emoji-like reactions on the fly so that when you can’t find the one you want, you can just have it created for you by AI. Similarly, a new image generation feature is coming to iOS 18, called Image Playground. Apple says the feature works in several apps, but it also has its own app by the same name. Also, it will let developers access an API to include Image Playground in their devices.
Apple is also bringing AI to the Photos app. You can already search for objects pictured in your library, but Apple says it’s improving how this works in the future, so you can search for things like a person who is doing cartwheels. It also added features similar to Google’s Magic Eraser, like the ability to erase a person from a photo.
Apple’s OpenAI deal is real
ChatGPT 4o will come to iOS, macOS, and iPadOS “later this year,” as a chatbot that Siri can turn to when it’s not able to do what you ask. When it does this, Apple says it will ask your permission first. Apple said it was starting with the best chatbot, but that it will support other AI models down the road.

Developing… check out our live blog for the latest details.

Image: Apple

Apple announced “Apple Intelligence” at WWDC 2024, its name for a new suite of AI features for the iPhone, Mac, and more.

The company that once refused to use the term “artificial intelligence” when talking about its machine learning features now has AI enhancements across its platforms. The company has been behind companies like Google and Microsoft, which started racing ahead with their own generative AI features as soon as OpenAI broke the dam open in 2022. Now, it’s making its bid to catch up.

Apple Intelligence will take action for you in apps

Apple said its AI features will be able to do things for you in apps. It will be able to manage your notifications, automatically write things for you, or summarize text in mail and other apps. The company also says it can do things like reference one app to carry out an action in another, such as asking it to play a podcast your partner sent you.

Of course, this is Apple, so it has to have a privacy story. The company says its AI features will be processed on-device to keep information private. But you’ll need an A17 Pro or M-series chip to take advantage. Part of the story, too, though, is a “semantic index” that will grab personal details when they’re needed and surface them across apps.

But when AI features need to go to the cloud, Apple says it will go to what it calls “Private Cloud” and that data will never be stored on the servers, and Apple says it will never be able to access it. Independent experts will verify that Apple’s claims are true, it said.

Siri gets AI smarts

Apple says that users will be able to speak to Siri much more naturally in iOS 18. The company also says that you’ll be able to type to Siri to get things done instead of just talking.

Also, the company says Siri will be able to do things like set up scheduled text messages and understand from the context of what you’re saying what apps you’re asking it to use.

Apple said Siri will get a new ability to do things within apps for you — for instance, you can ask Siri to “make a photo pop,” and you’ll be able to ask it to take a photo that you’re looking at and send it to a friend. The company called this “on-screen awareness.” As another example, the company says Siri will be able to do things like search your photos to get your driver’s license, pull out your license number, and stick it into a web form for you — similar to current autofill features, just… much better.

Help me write features come the Apple ecosystem

Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but Apple is rolling out new email-writing suggestions and text summaries. In Mail, while typing out a message, you can have Siri write it for you and ask it to change its tone. The company says that writing features like this are available system-wide, anywhere you can type.

Apple Image generation features

Apple says it’s rolling out “Genmoji,” a new feature that will generate emoji-like reactions on the fly so that when you can’t find the one you want, you can just have it created for you by AI. Similarly, a new image generation feature is coming to iOS 18, called Image Playground. Apple says the feature works in several apps, but it also has its own app by the same name. Also, it will let developers access an API to include Image Playground in their devices.

Apple is also bringing AI to the Photos app. You can already search for objects pictured in your library, but Apple says it’s improving how this works in the future, so you can search for things like a person who is doing cartwheels. It also added features similar to Google’s Magic Eraser, like the ability to erase a person from a photo.

Apple’s OpenAI deal is real

ChatGPT 4o will come to iOS, macOS, and iPadOS “later this year,” as a chatbot that Siri can turn to when it’s not able to do what you ask. When it does this, Apple says it will ask your permission first. Apple said it was starting with the best chatbot, but that it will support other AI models down the road.

Developing… check out our live blog for the latest details.

Read More