WWDC 2021
This Week in Apps: WWDC 21 highlights, Instagram Creator Week recap, Android 12 beta 2 arrives
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues to grow, with…
Apple announces its 2021 Apple Design Award winners
Apple incorporated the announcement of this year’s Apple Design Award winners into its virtual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) online event instead of waiting until the event had wrapped, like last…
Apple’s latest accessibility features are for those with limb and vocal differences
Apple announced a batch of accessibility features at WWDC 2021 that cover a wide variety of needs, among them a few for people who can’t touch or speak to their…
Apple’s StoreKit 2 simplifies App Store subscriptions and refunds by making them accessible inside apps
If you’ve ever bought a subscription inside an iOS app and later decided you wanted to cancel, upgrade or downgrade, or ask for a refund, you may have had trouble…
Spotlight gets more powerful in iOS 15, even lets you install apps
With the upcoming release of iOS 15 for Apple mobile devices, Apple’s built-in search feature known as Spotlight will become a lot more functional. In what may be one of…
Apple’s new ShazamKit brings audio recognition to apps, including those on Android
Apple in 2018 closed its $400 million acquisition of music recognition app Shazam. Now, it’s bringing Shazam’s audio recognition capabilities to app developers in the form of the new ShazamKit.…
Apple’s RealityKit 2 allows developers to create 3D models for AR using iPhone photos
At its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced a significant update to RealityKit, its suite of technologies that allow developers to get started building AR (augmented reality) experiences. With the launch…
Apple Music launches Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio, adds Spatial Audio playlists
Last month, Apple announced it would soon add lossless audio streaming and Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos to its Apple Music subscription at no extra charge. That upgrade…
Apple finally launches a Screen Time API for app developers
Just after the release of iOS 12 in 2018, Apple introduced its own built-in screen time tracking tools and controls. It then began cracking down on third-party apps that had…
Apple’s new App Store Guidelines aim to crack down on fraud and scams
Apple today is releasing a new version of its App Store Review Guidelines, its lengthy document that dictates the rules that apps must abide by in order to be published…
Apple releases torrent of updates, and Wall Street yawns
Today’s WWDC keynote from Apple covered a huge range of updates. From a new macOS to a refreshed watchOS to a new iOS, better privacy controls, FaceTime updates, and even…
Here’s everything Apple announced at the WWDC 2021 keynote
It’s that time again! This morning Apple kicked off its annual Worldwide Developer Conference the same way it does each year: a keynote jammed to the brim with all the…
Apple to introduce A/B testing and in-app events to the App Store
Apple today announced a number of coming changes and improvements to the App Store that will help developers better target their apps to users, get their apps discovered by more…
macOS 12 Monterey upgrades Continuity with Universal Control
During the WWDC conference today, Apple unveiled the new macOS 12 Monterey. A major feature in the macOS update is Universal Control, which builds upon the Continuity features first introduced…
Apple TV to support using HomePod Mini as speakers, among other updates
Apple didn’t announce that rumored combined Apple TV device that would combine the set-top box with a HomePod speaker during its WWDC keynote, but it did announce a few features…
Apple kicked off its global annual developer conference, WWDC, with a ton of new features and technologies. TechCrunch has all the coverage here from the keynote. As with previous years,…
The past year has seen some of the most dramatic updates to Macs in recent memory. At last year’s WWDC, Apple announced its long-awaited move from Intel chip’s to its…
watchOS 8 brings new mindfulness features and respiratory tracking
You weren’t expecting to make it through this year’s WWDC without some big watchOS news, were you? Apple’s wearable isn’t quite doing iPhone numbers, but Watch has been massively successful…
Apple is rolling out some updates to iCloud under the name iCloud+. The company is announcing those features at its developer conference. Existing paid iCloud users are going to get…
iPadOS 15 announced at WWDC, features improved multitasking and surprising Swift Playgrounds features
Apple today introduced the next version iPadOS, with more widgets and a better multitasking system. The announcement was by Apple SVP Craig Federighi at Apple’s annual developer’s conference, WWDC 21.…
Apple Maps upgrade brings more detailed maps, transit features, AR view and more
Among many updates coming to iOS 15, Apple Maps will receive a number of upgrades that will bring more detailed maps, improvements for transit riders, AR experiences and other changes…
Apple’s Live Text lets you interact with text in your photos
Apple has introduced a new feature to its camera system that automatically recognizes and transcribes text in your photos, from a phone number on a business card to a whiteboard…
Over a year into a global pandemic, Apple announced some major updates to its FaceTime app at WWDC 2021, which will be available in iOS 15. Notably, Android users will…
Apple introduces SharePlay for co-watching, streaming and screen sharing over FaceTime
As part of its FaceTime update in iOS 15, Apple introduced a new set of features designed for shared experiences — like co-watching TV shows or TikTok videos, listening to…
Apple refines iOS 15 notifications with Focus, Summary features
As part of the update to iOS 15, Apple will allow iPhone users to better customize how they want to be notified about incoming calls, texts or updates from apps…
Apple unveils iOS 15 with new features for FaceTime and better notifications
During the virtual keynote of WWDC, Apple shared the first details about iOS 15, the next major version of iOS that is going to be released later this year. There…
And we’re back. Well, not back-back. But we’re here in the San Jose McEnery Convention Center of the mind. The parking is awful and the hotels all got booked up…
Today, Apple is holding a (virtual) keynote on the first day of its developer conference, and the company is expected to talk about a ton of software updates. At 10…
Featured Article
What to expect from WWDC 2021
All things considered, Apple put together a pretty slick all-virtual WWDC last year. Where other companies like Microsoft and Google have opted for a more live (or live-style) experience, the company was parading its execs through a series of smooth drone shots and slick transitions. And with the first year under its belt, it will…
Apple’s App Store facilitated $643 billion in commerce, up 24% from last year
In its antitrust trial with Epic Games, which has just adjourned, Apple argued it doesn’t evaluate its App Store profit and loss as a standalone business. But today, the company…
