Month: May 2022

Apple last month announced WWDC 2022, another edition of its annual developer conference. Apple allowed developers to register this year for an Apple Park event. Now the company is sending the notice to developers who have been chosen to join the special event.

In-person Apple events had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, although WWDC 2022 will be pre-recorded and all online, Apple will open its campus to a limited number of developers who can watch the opening keynote along with the company’s engineers and designers.

Similar to other WWDC events prior to the pandemics, all developers who wanted to attend the event must register through the Apple Developer Website. Due to multiple restrictions, which include inviting fewer people to avoid COVID-19 spreading, registration for this special WWDC 2022 event was free.

Submissions to join the event were open from May 9 to May 11. Apple now notifies developers if they have been invited. This is a random selection process .

Selected developers “must follow Apple’s health and safety protocols.” Apple says that a negative COVID-19 test no older than three days before the event is required to enter Apple Park. However, wearing a mask is “currently” optional, as this can change at any time due to local laws.

In addition to the keynote address, developers invited to attend will be the first to see the Apple Park’s new Developer Center. WWDC 2022 begins June 6, with online sessions through June 10. More details can be found on Apple’s website.

Read also:

• iOS 16: Here’s what we know so far about new features, supported devices, and more
• iPadOS 16: Here’s what we know so far about new features, supported devices, and more
• watchOS 9: Here’s what we know so far about new features, supported devices, and more
• macOS 13: Here’s what we know so far about new features, supported devices, and more

Earlier today, Apple released RC (Release Candidate) builds of iOS 15. 5, macOS 12. 4, tvOS 15. 5, and watchOS 8.6. While the updates bring only minor changes and improvements, Apple has now confirmed that the watchOS 8. 6 update enables ECG and other health features for Apple Watch users in Mexico.

The ECG app allows users to take an electrocardiogram, measuring the electrical pulses of your heart. There are also irregular rhythm notifications, which check whether your heart rate remains above or below the recommended rate while you have been inactive for 10 minutes.

Both ECG and irregular rhythm notifications were already available in multiple countries, including the United States, UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. Now these features are coming to Mexico as well.

watchos 8. 6 includes new features, improvements, and bug fixes, including:

– Support for the ECG app on Apple Watch Series 4 or later in Mexico
– Support for irregular heart rhythm notifications in Mexico

For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/HT201222

There’s no word on when watchOS 8. 6 will be available to the public, but we expect it to be released as early as next week.

For more information on how to do an electrocardiogram using your Apple Watch, check out 9to5Mac’s special guide. You can also see the full list of countries where the ECG app is supported on Apple’s official website.

It’s worth noting that the ECG app and irregular heart rhythm notifications require an Apple Watch Series 4 or later.

Read also:

• Apple releases iOS 15. 5 RC, here’s the list of everything new
• Apple releases macOS 12. 4 RC with Studio Display webcam fix and new Podcasts feature
• Studio Display Firmware 15. 5 with webcam improvements to be available soon as a separate update
• macOS 12. 4 adds new Studio Display wallpaper, and you can download it right here

Recently, rumors circulated about Apple offering iPhones that only work with eSIM and not the traditional physical SIM card. Steve Jobs wanted an iPhone without a SIM slot years ago, long before the technology was even invented.

The story was revealed by former iPod VP Tony Fadell, who was recently interviewed by journalist Joanna Stern at a Computer History Museum special event.

According to Fadell’s account, Steve Jobs opposed the inclusion of a SIM slot on the iPhone during its early development. This was due to Jobs’ design preferences. According to Jobs, the father of the iPod, he told engineers and designers that he didn’t desire another hole in the iPhone .”

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Apple co-founder used Verizon to show that an iPhone with no SIM card slot was possible because the carrier is known for having a CDMA network rather than GMS. CDMA phones do not require SIM cards as they are directly connected to the network.

Fadell mentions that he used market data to convince Steve Jobs to switch to GSM instead of CDMA for his iPhone. The technology is still very popular. This, of course, was just one of the times when Apple engineers had to confront Jobs’ decisions.

And so, when you work with a highly opinionated person, especially when they can get V1 so right, and you’ve got to go against them, make sure you bring data. It couldn’t have been just one person.

iPod and Apple Retail Stores

Tony Fadell shared stories from the creation of the iPod once again. This time he mentioned how the idea of opening Apple Retail Stores was fundamental for Apple’s business model and, more importantly, for letting people know about the iPod.

Fadell explained that, at Apple, they believed that the best people to sell a product are the ones who created it. The company also needed space to tell the stories of its products, and to show people why they should buy them. That’s why Apple Retail is so strong .”

Build

In his new Build book, Fadell shared several other stories about his work at Apple. Fadell revealed that Steve Jobs opposed making the iPod compatible for Windows computers. Fadell also told about how former Google CEO Eric Schmidt made Jobs believe that web apps were the right choice for the iPhone.

You can now buy the book from Amazon and other bookstores. You can watch Tony Fadell’s complete interview on YouTube

Read also

• Tony Fadell talks about Steve Jobs’ controversial decisions on iPod and iPhone development
• Tony Fadell talks Steve Jobs, good a-holes vs bad a-holes, and much more in new book ‘Build’
• Tony Fadell describes competing teams working on different iPhone designs
• iPod godfather Tony Fadell describes early work on iPhone, time he almost lost a prototype in an airport

Health technology has prioritized constant exercise, breaking personal records and meeting daily physical goals. We’ve witnessed a shift in the way people approach their health over the last few years. People are changing the rules and approaching it holistically. It’s less about calories burned and pounds lost and more about understanding their bodies — both physically and mentally — and prioritizing what’s most important to them, like healthy eating, proper sleep and exercise.

With this in mind we are continuing to improve the Galaxy Watch experience and focusing on one my top priorities at Samsung Electronics — providing holistic health solutions to our customers. We’ve been working for years to provide comprehensive health features to our customers that allow them to reach their goals, live healthier lives and have a positive impact on the environment.

We’re thrilled that Samsung and Google are working together to fulfill this need with a new solution, Health Connect. Developers now have one set of APIs to create fitness and health experiences, as announced at Google I/O. With the new Health Connect API, users will have a comprehensive set of controls to manage their health and fitness data across apps.

Health Connect supports more than 50 data types, such as exercise and sleep, as well as your vitals, such as heart rate and blood pressure. Health Connect offers centralized privacy controls that allow users to grant permission to apps to access their data.

This is more than a proof-of-concept. To realize Health Connect’s full potential, we are working with Google and other partners. It’s exciting to announce that Samsung Health will adopt Health Connect in the coming year. This will allow app developers to use the accurate, optimized data from Galaxy Watch for Samsung Health with their permission and incorporate it into their own apps.

We can’t wait for developers to use Health Connect in order to deliver tangible and holistic health benefits to Galaxy customers. This new service is a massive step toward empowering users to experience the advantages of holistic living.

It’s been an exciting year at Samsung Health R&D, and I love getting to show what we have been up to is one of the best parts about my job. This is only a small part of the many things that go on behind closed doors. As we lead the industry in next-generation wearables, we can’t wait for future updates about software and hardware. Until then, have a happy I/O!

As employees at a growing number of Apple Store locations around the United States explore unionization options, Apple is ramping up its push to quell those attempts. A leaked memo obtained by Vice reveals the anti-union talking points that Apple has distributed to retail store leaders in an effort to dissuade their employees from unionizing.

Apple looks to stop employee union efforts

As it stands today, the exact scope of unionization efforts among Apple Stores in the United States is unclear. Thus far, we know that Apple Store employees at locations in New York City, Atlanta, Maryland, and more have taken the first steps towards unionizing.

The memo obtained by Vice is being distributed to Apple Store Leaders at a number of stores across the United States. This memo contains a list of “talking points” Store Leaders can use to discuss unionization at their stores. According to Apple unions “fundamentally alter the way that we work.”

Apple’s goal with the memo is to have Store Leaders convey that under a union structure, many discussions between Apple and retail employees would be placed “into the hands of a third party.” This would impact the ability for employees and leadership to “engage directly.”

Store Leaders are also being instructed to point out that Apple has made a number of changes to policies and expectations over the years based on feedback from retail employees. It would also impact the ability for Store Leaders to “have the flexibility to act in the moment or to address each person’s unique needs like they do now.”

In perhaps the most aggressive part of the memo, Apple outlines that unionization would mean “fewer opportunities” and “less attention to merit” for things like promotions, raises, days off, and more. Apple is specifically instructing store leaders to stress that unionization will impact “Career experiences.” This refers specifically to the possibility for a retail employee to be promoted to Apple Corporate, or to move to another department.

Apple also points out that it cannot tell employees directly if they support unionization, even though the memo clearly aims to do so. Apple states that it would be your decision to educate yourself.

The full memo can be found at Vice. Apple has not yet publicly commented on the contents of the memo, nor has it made any recent comments on the broader unionization efforts.