Month: August 2022

Google Maps is gaining a new feature on iOS and Android that estimates the amount of money you’ll have to pay in tolls for a chosen route.

Before you set off, you’ll now see the estimated toll price to your destination in the app. Google says the road information is sourced from local tolling authorities, and includes factors like having a toll pass or not, what day of the week it is, and how much the toll is expected to cost at the specific time you’ll be crossing it.

Options are available within the app’s settings to display toll prices with or without a toll pass – Google notes that the price can change in many places depending on the payment method used. There is also an option to avoid routes crossing toll roads entirely.

Google says the toll prices feature is rolling out now and is available for nearly 2,000 toll roads in the U.S., India, Japan, and Indonesia, with coverage for more countries coming soon.

This article, "Google Maps Now Estimates Toll Charges for Your Journey" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Following the WWDC keynote last week, Apple’s software engineering chief Craig Federighi spoke with TechCrunch‘s Matthew Panzarino about the new Stage Manager feature for iPad and Mac. Notably, he elaborated on Stage Manager being limited to M1 iPads.

On the iPad, Stage Manager allows users to resize apps into overlapping windows for an improved multitasking experience. Stage Manager also fully supports an external display with up to 6K resolution, allowing users to work with up to four apps on the iPad and up to four apps on the external display simultaneously.

In a statement shared with Rene Ritchie last week, Apple asserted that Stage Manager "requires large internal memory, incredibly fast storage, and flexible external display I/O, all of which are delivered by iPads with the M1 chip." Federighi elaborated on that rationale in his chat with Panzarino, telling him that the power of the M1 chip ensures that all apps being used in Stage Manager are "instantaneously responsive."

"It’s only the M1 iPads that combined the high DRAM capacity with very high capacity, high performance NAND that allows our virtual memory swap to be super fast," said Federighi. "Now that we’re letting you have up to four apps on a panel plus another four – up to eight apps to be instantaneously responsive and have plenty of memory, we just don’t have that ability on the other systems," such as the previous-generation iPad Pro.

Released in April 2021, the iPad Pro with an M1 chip is available with up to 16GB of RAM, compared to 6GB in the previous iPad Pro. Apple also advertises the M1 iPad Pro as having 2x faster storage and up to 40% faster GPU performance compared to the previous model. Apple also released an iPad Air with the same M1 chip in March 2022.

"We really designed Stage Manager to take full advantage [of the M1 chip]," said Federighi. "If you look at the way the apps tilt and shadow and how they animate in and out. To do that at super high frame rates, across very large displays and multiple displays, requires the peak of graphics performance that no one else can deliver."

"When you put all this together, we can’t deliver the full Stage Manager experience on any lesser system," added Federighi. "I mean, we would love to make it available everywhere we can. But this is what it requires. This is the experience we’re going to carry into the future. We didn’t want to constrain our design to something lesser, we’re setting the benchmark for the future."

As for Stage Manager on the Mac, Federighi said there are already "so many different ways" to multitask on macOS, such as using Mission Control or the Command-Tab keyboard shortcut to switch between apps, and Stage Manager is simply another tool in the toolbox.

"On the Mac, there are so many different ways to work. Some people use spaces, some people are in and out of Mission Control. Some people are command tab people, some people like to create a mess, some people clean up their messes and some people use minimization. I mean, there’s no wrong answer here, there are a lot of valid ways to work on the Mac."

"If 20% of the users on the Mac end up saying that this is another great tool in the quiver for them… that’s fantastic," he said.

This article, "Apple’s Craig Federighi Further Explains Why Stage Manager is Only for M1 iPads" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Prior to the launch of new iPhone models, case makers often create dummy models based on leaked schematics and specifications. We’ve known about the design of the iPhone 14 lineup for some time now, and this week, we got a set of dummy units to see the design updates for ourselves.

Because there’s a lot of money in having a case ready for a new ‌iPhone‌ ahead of launch, dummy models are often quite accurate, so these fake ‌iPhone 14‌ devices give us a clear picture of what we can expect to see.

Design wise, the ‌iPhone 14‌ models are going to look a lot like the iPhone 13 models, but with a notable exception – there’s not going to be an ‌iPhone 14‌ mini. Instead, Apple is making two 6.1-inch iPhones (‌iPhone 14‌ and iPhone 14 Pro), along with two 6.7-inch iPhones (‌iPhone 14‌ Max and ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ Max).

For the Pro models, the notch is going to be replaced with hole and pill-shaped cutouts for the camera and the Face ID equipment. The hole and pill design is not much different from a notch, but it will free up some space and make the front cameras less obtrusive. Standard ‌iPhone 14‌ models will continue to have a notch.

We know there are some minor changes to the sizes of the devices, but when comparing a dummy unit to the ‌iPhone 13‌ lineup in person, it’s difficult to tell. There are tiny changes to the screen sizes of the ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ models, but in day to day use, you’re not going to notice.

Camera bumps are going to be a bit thicker and wider on the Pro models to accommodate the 48-megapixel camera that Apple is adding. Standard ‌iPhone 14‌ models will not see many design changes.

Weight, material, and color are factors we can’t deduce from dummy models, but rumors suggest the ‌iPhone 14‌ models will have the same build as the prior-generation versions, though we could see a new featured purple color for both the standard and the Pro models.

Apple’s ‌iPhone 14‌ and ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ models will have more differences than ever before, with the Pro models expected to adopt an A16 chip while Apple continues to use an A15 chip in the standard models. The ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ models will also have more advanced camera systems, ProMotion displays that will likely support an always-on display feature, and more.

What do you think about Apple’s plans for the ‌iPhone 14‌ lineup? Let us know in the comments below.

This article, "Hands-On With iPhone 14 Models Showing New Sizes and Camera Design Updates" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Following the WWDC 2022 keynote last week, Apple’s VP of health Dr. Sumbul Desai, operations chief Jeff Williams, and VP of fitness technologies Jay Blahnik spoke with TechCrunch‘s Darrell Etherington about new health features added in watchOS 9.

One of the Apple Watch’s new health features is AFib History, which allows individuals diagnosed with atrial fibrillation to view an estimate of how frequently their heart is in this type of arrhythmia, according to Apple. Apple says the feature is intended for individuals aged 22 years or older who have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.

Desai said the AFib History feature received FDA clearance in the United States after being validated in a clinical study.

"As Jeff alluded to, everything we do in health is based on the science, and AFib history was validated in a clinical study, with participants wearing both Apple Watch and an FDA-cleared reference device," said Desai. "In that study, the average difference in weekly measurements between the two devices is actually less than 1%."

Williams said the AFib History feature could prove useful when a patient receives an ablation treatment for chronic atrial fibrillation, but the treatment is unsuccessful at first attempt and the patient continues to experience atrial fibrillation.

AFib History is not currently approved in all countries or regions, according to Apple, so availability of the feature will be limited at launch.

Starting with watchOS 9, the Apple Watch also offers sleep stage tracking, which lets you see how much time you spent in REM, core, or deep sleep, as well as when you might have woken up. (Apple refers to what is typically known as "light sleep" as "core sleep.")

"Prior to sleep stages, we were really focused on helping people meet their sleep duration goals, since that’s really important — that consistency — but we wanted to go a little further and dig into the science, and provide users with more information around their sleep cycles," said Desai. "So using the signals from Apple Watch’s accelerometer and heart rate sensor, users will now be able to see their sleep stages while they’re in REM, core, and deep sleep."

On watchOS 9, the Workout app displays more information, including views of metrics like Activity rings, heart rate zones, power, and elevation, but Blahnik assured that the app remains suitable for "both beginners and advanced athletes."

The full discussion can be read at TechCrunch. watchOS 9 is currently in beta for developers and will be released to all users around September.

This article, "Apple Executives Discuss watchOS 9’s New Health Features Like AFib History and Tracking Your Sleep Stages" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

LG Display is preparing to supply micro-OLED display panels for Apple’s second-generation mixed-reality headset, The Elec reports.

Concept render based on purported leaked information by Ian Zelbo

LG Display is currently believed to be ordering deposition equipment for micro-OLED displays from Sunic System. The company apparently plans to use the equipment to develop and manufacture a micro-OLED display panel for Apple’s second-generation mixed-reality headset.

While LG Display is believed to be part of the supply chain for Apple’s first-generation headset, it is not expected to provide its main display, with Sony said to be supplying the main micro-OLED display panel for the first-generation headset instead. LG Display is rumored to only provide regular OLED display panels for the device’s outer "indicator" screen.

With the second-generation headset, LG hopes to take Apple’s main micro-OLED display orders from Sony. This is also said to be in Apple’s interests since Sony will indirectly compete with Apple’s headset with its own PlayStation VR headsets.

Late last year, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple was already working on the second-generation version of its headset, aiming to offer a more lightweight design, an improved battery system, and better performance thanks to a faster processor. Kuo said that the shipment schedule for the second-generation headset resides in the second half of 2024, around two years after mass production on the first-generation model is rumored to begin.

This article, "LG Already Preparing for Apple’s Second-Generation Mixed-Reality Headset" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums