Not yet a subscriber? Sign up here!
Good morning! âď¸ *Tim Cook voice*
iOS 17 Public Beta is out, the future of CarPlay, some security patches you need to be aware of, and more!
Estimated reading time: 3.1 minutes
đ Poll
Last week, I asked what apps have consumed the most of your đ..
Weâre all addicted
Here were some of my favorite replies:
Social Media - âMy top app takes up a hilariously huge amount of my time. That app is YouTube with 50%! Thatâs means half of the time Iâm on my phone, Iâm watching YouTube, for me thatâs crazy to think about.â As long as youâre catching all of my uploads, keep it up đ¤Ł
Music - âSpotify (19%), TikTok (13%) and WhatsApp (12% - which is one of the many reasons I want my friends to move to iMessage)â You probably wouldnât lose as much battery if you switched to Apple Music đ
Other - âIâll just say itâs a (better) alternative to YouTubeâ UhhhâŚ
This week: Do you install iOS Betas on your main iPhone? Why or why not?
Do you install Betas on your main phone? |
đ¤Â iOS 17 Public Beta (& More)
iOS 17 Public Beta
Over a month after announcing iOS 17, Apple just released the first Public Beta for their big new software update.
This year was the easiest it has ever been to install a Public Beta, because you didnât need to download a profile. The software just appeared in your Beta Updates section in Settings, given that you enrolled in the Public Beta program.
If youâre running the Beta now, be sure to report all bugs in the pre-installed Feedback application!
iOS 16.5.1 Rapid Security Response
This was the strangest release of the week.
Apple dropped a new rapid security response update - 16.5.1(a) - for those on 16.5.1. This was a very important update, as it patched a zero-day vulnerability that had been actively exploited.
But a couple hours later, they pulled the update - citing issues with Safari.
Then, 2 days later, they released iOS 16.5.1 (c) to fix the issue that the first (a) version caused. Confusing, I know đ¤Ł.
iOS 16.6 Beta 5
This one was also a bit confusing because why do we need 5 Betas when nothing new is being added!? (not literally, only minor changes)
Anyways, this one has an âaâ at the end of the build number, so itâs safe to assume an RC (release candidate) version is coming next week, followed by the public release.
Misc. Software Updates
macOS Ventura 13.5 released this week to patch a bug on the 3rd & 4th gen iPod shuffle. Yes, the one that was discontinued in 2017. Only Apple!
New Firmware updates for the AirPods Beta + an update for Beats Studio Buds
đ Is This the Future of CarPlay?
Porsche just released an update to the My Porsche app, and it adds a new layer to CarPlay that we havenât seen before!
Hereâs what youâll be able to do via CarPlay:
Adjust the climate control & ambient lighting
See the state of charge of the vehicle battery
Show an image of your car model (like Tesla does)
Adjust audio settings, such as sound profiles & changing radio stations
These functions can be combined into wellness modes, such as ârelaxâ, âwarm upâ and ârefreshâ, using quick actions in CarPlay
And to make this experience even better, all of the vehicle functions can be controlled using Siri!
Itâs always been nice to have Waze on CarPlay and to be able to control your music, but to be able to control actual vehicle functions is another level of awesome!
Activating this new Porsche experience is fast and straightforward by scanning a QR code displayed in the PCM. The My Porsche App will receive regular updates ensuring Porsche customers will get new features in CarPlay as they develop.
The functionality makes its debut in the new Porsche Cayenne, available now. After that it will be rolled out to other model lines.
Even if you arenât a Porsche owner, this is exciting because it shows what is possible with 3rd party apps layering on top of CarPlay. And I guarantee you other car manufacturers are going to start doing something similar very soon.
FYI: This is not the next-generation of CarPlay thatâs coming (hopefully) later this year. This is done on top of the existing iOS 16 CarPlay interface.
So, what do you think of this? Are you wanting touchscreen controls for functions like adjust the AC or lighting?
Do you want a similar app for your car? |
đ New Emoji, RIP Threads & More
New emoji are coming to the iPhone as part of iOS 17 next year, and hereâs a first look at how they could look.
These emoji include a head shaking vertically, head shaking horizontally, a lime, phoenix, broken chain, brown mushroom, family silhouettes, and directional people emoji with multiple skin tones.
Apple only recently added new emoji to iOS 16 with 16.4 in March, so I wouldnât expect these new ones to hit our phones until Spring next year.
Threads Interest is Dying
Google Trends data from the past 7 days
Metaâs new Threads app was all the rage last week, but the interest seems to have dissipated at a rapid pace.
This wasnât necessarily unexpected, as the interest will nearly always peak when a platform first launches. But the drop-off compared to Twitter is quite telling.
You guys voted last week & most are NOT using Threads
Itâs still in the early days though, and once Meta figures out how to make my feed halfway decent (itâs a bunch of unrelated junk Iâm not interested in right now), it will keep users coming back more consistently.
Question for you: Are you still using Threads? Lmk!
Tap to Pay Coming to the UK
This week, Apple announced the launch of Tap to Pay on iPhone in the United Kingdom, allowing independent sellers, small merchants, and large retailers to use âiPhonesâ as a payment terminal.
This eliminates the need of a Square reader or any other type of POS system and it requires an iPhone XS or newer. Great news for the UK!
đ°Â Quick News Bites
đ¤ Show Support
Just reading these newsletters & giving feedback is much appreciated. But if you are feeling generous & want to support my work directly, you can buy me a coffee!
100% of the proceeds go right back into the business, and helps keep the quality of content high!
Until next week, âď¸
- Brandon
What did you think of today's newsletter? |
đŤśÂ Reader Love
Appreciate you guys! I hope I never make you unsub :)
Subscribe to keep reading
This content is free, but you must be subscribed to The Apple Den to continue reading.