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CNET
3 days ago
- CNET
Liquid Glass, Live Translation, and All the Other Important New iOS26 Features Coming to Your iPhone
While we still don't know what new hardware the iPhone 17 models might be packing, we have seen the big changes coming to iPhone software with iOS26. Liquid Glass delivers a significant design refresh, and that's just where Apple is starting. The Photos app is getting a functional redesign, while Messages and Phone apps are putting power back in your hands by delivering features around hold, and screening calls. Apple Intelligence is still contributing as well, even if Siri has been delayed. The next version of the operating system is due to ship in September or October (likely with new iPhone 17 models), but developer betas are available now, with a public beta expected this month. Watch this: Introducing iOS 26 at WWDC25 04:37 Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET Transparent new Liquid glass design After more than a decade of a flat, clean user interface -- an overhaul introduced in iOS 7 when former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive took over the design of software as well as hardware -- the iPhone is getting a new look. The new design extends throughout the Apple product lineup, from iOS to WatchOS, TVOS and iPadOS. The Liquid Glass interface also now enables a third way to view app icons on the iPhone home screen. Not content with Light and Dark modes, iOS 26 now features an All Clear look -- every icon is clear glass with no color. Lock screens can also have an enhanced 3D effect using spatial scenes, which use machine learning to give depth to your background photos. The new All Clear icon look in iOS 26 is part of the Liquid Glass design. Apple/Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET Dynamic and adaptable lock screen Translucency is the defining characteristic of Liquid Glass, behaving like glass in the real world in the way it deals with light and color of objects behind and near controls. But it's not just a glassy look: The "liquid" part of Liquid Glass refers to how controls can merge and adapt -- dynamically morphing, in Apple's words. In the example Apple showed, the glassy time numerals on an iPhone lock screen stretched to accommodate the image of a dog and even shrunk as the image shifted to accommodate incoming notifications. The dock and widgets are now rounded, glassy panels that float above the background. As notifications fill the bottom of the screen, the subject in the background image is pushed up and the time numerals resize to accommodate. Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET Watch this: I'm Impressed With iOS 26. Apple Just Made iPhones Better 05:40 Camera and Photos apps go even more minimal The Camera app is getting a new, simplified interface. You could argue that the current Camera app is pretty minimal, designed to make it quick to frame a shot and hit the big shutter button. But the moment you get into the periphery, it becomes a weird mix of hidden controls and unintuitive icons. The Camera app has fewer distractions. Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET Now, the Camera app in iOS 26 features a "new, more intuitive design" that takes minimalism to the extreme. The streamlined design shows just two modes: Video or Camera. Swipe left or right to choose additional modes, such as Pano or Cinematic. Swipe up for settings such as aspect ratio and timers, and tap for additional preferences. With the updated Photos app, viewing the pictures you capture should be a better experience -- a welcome change that customers have clamored for since iOS 18's cluttered attempt. Instead of a long, difficult-to-discover scrolling interface, Photos regains a Liquid Glass menu at the bottom of the screen. The Photos app gets a welcome redesign. Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET The Phone app gets a revamp The Phone app has kept more closely to the look of its source than others: a sparse interface with large buttons as if you're holding an old-fashioned headset or pre-smartphone cellular phone. iOS 26 finally updates that look not just with the new overall interface but in a unified layout that takes advantage of the larger screen real estate on today's iPhone models. The Phone app's unified layout should make for less switching between screens when dealing with calls. Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET It's not just looks that are different, though. The Phone app is trying to be more useful for dealing with actual calls -- the ones you want to take. The Call Screening feature automatically answers calls from unknown numbers, and your phone rings only when the caller shares their name and reason for calling. Or what about all the time wasted on hold? Hold Assist automatically detects hold music and can mute the music but keep the call connected. Once a live agent becomes available, the phone rings and lets the agent know you'll be available shortly. Messages updates The Messages app is probably one of the most used apps on the iPhone, and for iOS 26, Apple is making it a more colorful experience. You can add backgrounds to the chat window, including dynamic backgrounds that show off the new Liquid Glass interface. Enliven your daily chats with backgrounds and more group features. Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET In addition to the new look, group texts in Messages can incorporate polls for everyone in the group to reply to -- no more scrolling back to find out which restaurant Brett suggested for lunch that you missed. Other members in the chat can also add their own items to a poll. A more useful feature is a feature to detect spam texts better and screen unknown numbers, so the messages you see in the app are the ones you want to see and not the ones that distract you. Safari gets out of its own way In the Safari app, the Liquid Glass design floats the tab bar above the web page (although that looks right where your thumb is going to be, so it will be interesting to see if you can move the bar to the top of the screen). As you scroll, the tab bar shrinks. Web pages occupy the entire screen and the address bar shrinks to get out of the way. Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET FaceTime focuses on calls, not controls FaceTime also gets the minimal look, with controls in the lower-right corner that disappear during the call to get out of the way. On the FaceTime landing page, posters of your contacts, including video clips of previous calls, are designed to make the app more appealing. FaceTime minimizes its controls into one corner. Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET New Music app features Do you like the sound of that song your friend is playing but don't understand the language the lyrics are in? The Music app includes a new lyrics translation feature that displays along with the lyrics as the song plays. And for when you want to sing along with one of her favorite K-pop songs, for example, but you don't speak or read Korean, a lyrics pronunciation feature spells out the right way to form the sounds. AutoMix blends songs like a DJ, matching the beat and time-stretching for a seamless transition. And if you find yourself obsessively listening to artists and albums again and again, you can pin them to the top of your music library for quick access. Keep the beat going with intelligence-based song transitions using AutoMix. Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET New Games app is a reminder that yes, people game on iPhone The iPhone doesn't get the same kind of gaming affection as Nintendo's Switch or Valve's Steam Deck, but the truth is that the iPhone and Android phones are used extensively for gaming -- Apple says half a billion people play games on iPhone. Trying to capitalize on that, a new Games app acts as a specific portal to Apple Arcade and other games. Yes, you can get to those from the App Store app, but the Games app is designed to remove a layer of friction so you can get right to the gaming action. The new Games hub has a simple control screen to let you navigate all of your Apple games on any device. Apple/Screenshot by CNET Live translation enhances calls and texts Although not specific to iOS, Apple's new live translation feature is ideal on the iPhone when you're communicating with others. It uses Apple Intelligence to dynamically enable you to talk to someone who speaks a different language in near-real time. It's available in the Messages, FaceTime and Phone apps and shows live translated captions during a conversation. Live translation during a voice call Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET Maps gets more personal Updates to the Maps app sometimes involve adding more detail to popular areas or restructuring the way you store locations. Now, the app takes note of routes you travel frequently and can alert you of any delays before you get on the road. A Maps widget shows a frequently-used route. Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET It also includes a welcome feature for those of us who get our favorite restaurants mixed up: visited places. The app notes how many times you've been to a place, be that a local business, eatery or tourist destination. It organizes them in categories or other criteria such as by city to make them easier to find the next time. New CarPlay features Liquid Glass also makes its way to CarPlay in your vehicle, with a more compact design when a call comes in that doesn't obscure other items, such as a directional map. In Messages, you can apply tapbacks and pin conversations for easy access. Widgets are now part of the CarPlay experience, so you can focus on just the data you want, like the current weather conditions. And Live Activities appear on the CarPlay screen, so you'll know when that coffee you ordered will be done or when a friend's flight is about to arrive. The new CarPlay interface with Liquid Glass. Screenshot by CNET Wallet improvements The Wallet app is already home for using Apple Card, Apple Pay, electronic car keys and for storing tickets and passes. In iOS 26, you can create a new Digital ID that acts like a passport for age and identity verification (though it does not replace a physical passport) for domestic travel for TSA screening at airports. The app can also let you use rewards and set up installment payments when you purchase items in a store, not just for online orders. And with the help of Apple Intelligence, the Wallet app can help you track product orders, even if you did not use Apple Pay to purchase them. It can pull details such as shipping numbers from emails and texts so that information is all in one place. The Wallet app supports legal state IDs and national IDs for age and identity verification. Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET New features powered by Apple Intelligence Although last year's WWDC featured Apple Intelligence features heavily, improvements to the AI tech were less prominent this year, folded into the announcements during the WWDC keynote. As an alternative to creating Genmoji from scratch, you can combine existing emojis -- "like a sloth and a light bulb when you're the last one in the group chat to get the joke," to use Apple's example. You can also change expressions in Genmoji of people you know that you've used to create the image. Combine existing emoji using Apple Intelligence. Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET Image Playground adds the ability to tap into ChatGPT's image generation tools to go beyond the app's animation or sketch styles. Visual Intelligence can already use the camera to try to decipher what's in front of the lens. Now the technology works on the content on the iPhone's screen, too. It does this by taking a screenshot (press the sleep and volume up buttons) and then including a new Image Search option in that interface to find results across the web or in other apps such as Etsy. Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET This is also a way to add event details from images you come across, like posters for concerts or large gatherings. (Perhaps this could work for QR codes as well?) In the screenshot interface, Visual Intelligence can parse the text and create an event in the Calendar app. Some iOS 26 updates Apple didn't mention Not everything fits into a keynote presentation -- even, or maybe especially, when it's all pre-recorded -- but some of the more interesting new features in iOS 26 went unremarked during the big reveal. For instance: If you have AirPods or AirPods Pro with the H2 chip, you can use AirPods Camera Remote to start recording video on your iPhone by pressing and holding one of the AirPods. You can choose your own snooze duration of between 1 and 15 minutes for alarms. Audio recording options have expanded, enabling high-quality recording during conference calls and high-definition recording in the Camera app with AirPods and AirPods Pro that contain the H2 chip. Accessibility features include an "all-new experience designed with Braille users in mind," more options for the Vehicle Motion Cues feature to avoid motion sickness and "a more customizable reading experience." Reminders uses Apple Intelligence to "suggest tasks, grocery items and follow-ups based on emails or other text on your device." The Journal app supports multiple journals, inline images and a map view that tracks where journal entries were made. Parental controls have been updated in unspecified ways, including "enhancements across Communication Limits, Communication Safety and the App Store." Apple/Screenshot by Joe Maldonado/CNET iOS 26 availability The finished version of iOS 26 will be released in September or October with new iPhone 17 models. In the meantime, developers can install the first developer betas now, with an initial public beta arriving this month. (Don't forget to go into any beta software with open eyes and clear expectations.) Follow the WWDC 2025 live blog for details about Apple's other announcements. iPhone models compatible with iOS 26 iOS 26 will run on the iPhone 11 and later models, including the iPhone SE (2nd generation and later). That includes:
Canada News.Net
3 days ago
- Business
- Canada News.Net
Amazon buys startup behind wristband that transcribes conversations
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Amazon is making a fresh bet on artificial intelligence wearables by acquiring Bee, a San Francisco-based startup known for its AI-powered bracelet that records, transcribes, and summarizes conversations. The device, priced at US$50, can distill what it hears into to-do lists, summaries, and reminders. Its always-on microphone can be muted manually, offering users some control over privacy — a point Amazon emphasized in confirming the deal this week. While the acquisition has not yet closed, the e-commerce and cloud services giant said it plans to collaborate with Bee to enhance user transparency and control. Bee co-founder and CEO Maria de Lourdes Zollo revealed the deal in a LinkedIn post, writing: "We imagined a world where AI is truly personal, where your life is understood and enhanced by technology that learns with you." She did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The startup was founded in 2022 and has been part of a growing wave of companies experimenting with on-the-go AI assistants. Amazon declined to disclose financial terms of the acquisition. This move follows Amazon's earlier, less successful attempt at entering the wearables market with its Halo wristband, a health tracker that was discontinued in 2023. It also produces Echo Frames, smart glasses embedded with its voice assistant Alexa. AI wearables have become an increasingly competitive space. Earlier this year, OpenAI acquired io, a hardware startup founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive, in a deal reportedly valued at $6.5 billion. Other startups in the field have delivered mixed results, with many still navigating technical, privacy, and market adoption hurdles. In her announcement, Zollo thanked Amazon Devices chief Panos Panay, hinting that Bee will be integrated into his team after the deal's completion. Panay joined Amazon in 2023 and has been leading a revamp of the company's hardware division to focus more aggressively on AI.
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Think ChatGPT is growing fast in the US? Take a look at India.
OpenAI is emerging as a key player in India's AI landscape, with JPMorgan spotlighting the country as a strategic growth frontier for the startup. Bolstered by its strength in conversational AI, OpenAI is positioning itself to capture a significant share of India 's massive mobile-first, digital-native population, according to JPMorgan analysts, who published a big research note on the startup this week. Youth and mobile penetration India's appeal is clear: more than 945 million mobile phone users and one of the youngest populations globally. According to JPMorgan, ChatGPT has experienced faster download growth in India than in most other regions, aided by viral use cases such as AI-generated images in Studio Ghibli style. This momentum translated into sustained user acquisition and increased market share, particularly at the expense of competitors like Google's Gemini, which saw a roughly 6% decline in total download share in India during the same period. Although India's lower average discretionary income may limit near-term paid conversion rates, OpenAI leadership appears to be playing a long game. CEO Sam Altman's vision for ChatGPT as a personalized AI companion that integrates into daily life may resonate well in India's tech-savvy urban market, where smartphones are central to productivity, communication, and entertainment. Risks and monetization headwinds JPMorgan notes that while OpenAI's viral reach in India is undeniable, the path to monetization remains uncertain. Generative AI inference costs for free users are non-trivial, and the company has yet to implement a freemium or ad-supported model in India. OpenAI's current revenue mix leans heavily on subscription income, which may face headwinds in price-sensitive markets unless new monetization channels, like localized agents, lightweight mobile experiences, or enterprise integrations, are introduced. "We suspect OpenAI is making a calculated decision that delaying monetization of free users will payoff long term," the JPMorgan analysts wrote. They cited the example of Meta, which delayed adding ads to its social media platforms and WhatsApp for years so it could amass as many users as possible before layering on monetization. "Given the significantly higher costs associated with AI inference relative to prior software services, it is not clear such a strategy would be feasible for such a prolonged period of time," the analysts warned. Despite these challenges, OpenAI's global growth strategy, capital strength ($63 billion raised to date), and recent acquisitions, such as Jony Ive's hardware venture, suggest a clear intent to deepen its footprint in emerging markets, according to the JPMorgan note. In sum, India offers OpenAI both a vibrant consumer testbed and a proving ground for long-term market share in a total addressable market that could be worth more than $700 billion globally by 2030, JPMorgan estimates.
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Microsoft knew SharePoint security flaw but failed to patch; Alibaba launches new AI coding model; Amazon to buy AI wearable startup
Microsoft knew SharePoint security flaw but failed to patch A new report has revealed that a security patch released by Microsoft earlier in the month failed to fully fix a critical flaw in their SharePoint server software. The bug had been identified at a hacking contest organised by a cybersecurity firm called Trend Micro in May. A cybersecurity researcher who was participating in the competition located a SharePoint bug at the event termed it 'ToolShell' and won the $100,000 prize. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed this and said they released patches to fix it. Although it's still not known who orchestrated the attack, Microsoft has said in a blog post that two Chinese hacking groups dubbed 'Linen Typhoon' and 'Violet Typhoon' were some of the parties exploiting the vulnerabilities which affected around 100 organisations over the weekend is expected to grow. According to reports more than 8,000 servers online have been potentially compromised by hackers which include industrial firms, banks, auditors, healthcare companies and several U.S. state-level and global government entities. Alibaba launches new AI coding model Chinese tech giant Alibaba has announced the launch of their most advanced open-source AI coding model, Qwen3-Coder. The tool will be able to assist developers with generating code and managing complicated coding workflows, the company said. Alibaba Group has claimed that the AI model especially excels at 'agentic AI coding tasks' meaning the AI systems can function on their own at different coding tasks. The company also said that the Qwen3-Coder surpassed local rivals including models from DeepSeek and Moonshot AI's K2 at coding. The company also said that the model met the coding capabilities of their Western counterparts like Anthropic's Claude which is widely known as the best at AI coding and OpenAI's GPT-4. AI coding tools have become a rage with new AI startups touching sky high valuations for their easy usage. Amazon to buy AI wearable startup Amazon has formed a deal to acquire an AI wearable startup called Bee that listens in on conversations and transcribes them using a bracelet. The wristband priced at $50 is able to analyse and distil conversations for summaries, to-do lists and other tasks. An Amazon spokesperson has said that they will work with the firm to give users more control over their devices which can automatically transcribe audio but can also be muted. This isn't the first time Amazon has moved into wearables. Earlier, the company marketed a line of wrist health trackers called Halo that was eventually killed the project in 2023. There is also a line of smart glasses embedded with Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa under their Echo brand. Other AI firms like OpenAI have also shifted towards AI gadgets after a partnership with former Apple designer Jony Ive's io startup for about $6.5 billion. There are also other startups that are moving towards AI wearables but with varied results.
Hans India
21-07-2025
- Business
- Hans India
OpenAI's New AI Browser Poised to Challenge Google Chrome's Reign
OpenAI is gearing up to launch its own AI-driven web browser in the coming weeks, aiming to redefine how people interact with the internet and take direct aim at Google Chrome's firm hold on the market. According to Reuters, this bold step marks OpenAI's expansion from chatbots and AI assistants into the core tool billions rely on to navigate the web daily. Unlike traditional browsers that mainly serve as a gateway to websites, OpenAI's upcoming browser promises to weave artificial intelligence directly into the browsing experience. The goal is to transform passive scrolling and clicking into an interactive, conversational process. Users may soon be able to book tickets, summarise articles, fill out forms, or complete everyday tasks without ever leaving an AI chat window within the browser. 'Weaving AI into the fabric of the browser means your experience feels less like hopping across tabs and more like having an assistant right by your side,' a source close to the development shared. The new browser will be built on Chromium — the same open-source foundation powering Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Opera. This choice means users will be able to access the same websites and extensions they're used to, easing the transition for those willing to give OpenAI's alternative a shot. OpenAI has also recruited talent from Google's original Chrome team, highlighting just how serious it is about competing head-on. Beyond convenience, the move represents a significant data opportunity for OpenAI. For years, Chrome's massive user base has been an invaluable source of behavioural data for Google, helping the tech giant refine its ad targeting and cement its search engine as the default for billions worldwide. With its own browser, OpenAI will have a direct window into how people navigate and interact online — information that could further train its AI systems and make them even more personalised. The stakes are high. Google Chrome holds over two-thirds of the global browser market, with an estimated 3 billion users. It's not just a tool for browsing — it's a linchpin for Google's advertising empire and search engine dominance. But OpenAI's ChatGPT already boasts around 500 million weekly users. If just a fraction of these users switch to OpenAI's browser, Google could find its browser stronghold under real pressure for the first time in years. OpenAI's ambitions don't stop at browsers. The company recently acquired an AI hardware startup led by Jony Ive, Apple's former design chief, underscoring its push to blend software and devices. A browser gives OpenAI yet another platform to embed its AI agents deeply into everyday routines, handling tasks and gathering insights to make interactions smarter over time. The competition is heating up. AI-first browsers like Perplexity's Comet and Brave's enhanced AI tools are also vying to reimagine how people use the web. Whether OpenAI's new browser will lure people away from Chrome remains to be seen, but its arrival will almost certainly shake up a market long dominated by a few tech giants. With the launch just weeks away, the world is about to find out whether a more conversational, AI-powered browser can really change the way we surf the web.
