One of the newest features in iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia is iPhone Mirroring, which allows you to connect your iPhone directly to your Mac, giving you complete control of it right from your desktop. Apple debuted the feature at this June's WWDC, but now it's finally here via the second iOS 18 dev beta. Here’s how to try it out.

How to use iPhone Mirroring in iOS 18

Before you can begin using iPhone Mirroring, you need to install at least iOS 18 dev beta 2. Newer versions of the beta will also include the feature, but you’ll need to be running at least beta 2 to get a first look at it. Additionally, you’ll also need to have a Mac running macOS Sequoia dev beta 2 or newer. I recommend installing these betas on backup machines if possible, as using them risks instability and crashes.

Once fall rolls around and both of these operating systems are fully released, everyone will be able to access them without needing a beta.

Follow the instructions here to install the iOS 18 beta. To install the MacOS Sequoia beta, open System Settings on your Mac, then navigate to General > Software Update and click Beta updates. Select the latest macOS Sequoia developer beta. Make sure you back up your Mac first, as betas are known to be buggy, and you may need to revert later on if you find yourself dealing with especially annoying issues.

With the beta installed, you can finally start using iPhone Mirroring. First, find the appropriately named iPhone Mirroring application in the Launchpad menu on your Mac.

Credit: Joshua Hawkins

Alternatively, use the search bar at the top to find it directly. Your Mac may also have it on the dock when you first update to the latest version of macOS Sequoia.

The first time you launch iPhone Mirroring, you’ll need to go through an initial setup process. This process will tell you what you can do when your iPhone is mirrored on your Mac. To connect your iPhone to your Mac, ensure that both your iPhone and your Mac are close to each other, connected to the same Wi-Fi signal, have Bluetooth turned on, and are signed in with the same Apple ID.

You should see a screen that tells you to unlock your iPhone to continue. Type in your iPhone’s passcode on the device, and then click the Get Started button when the screen displays iPhone Mirroring is Ready to Use.

Credit: Joshua Hawkins

If everything is set up correctly, your iPhone should appear in a small window on your Mac’s display. You’ll also get a pop-up asking if you want to authenticate the connection every time you connect or if you want it to authenticate automatically. For the easiest access, choose the latter, but for more security, go ahead and require authentication.

And that’s it. Your iPhone is now connected to your Mac via iPhone Mirroring. Now you can interact directly with your iPhone on your Mac display.

What can you do with iPhone Mirroring?

When you have your iPhone connected via the iPhone Mirroring app, you’ll be able to receive notifications from your iPhone directly on your Mac. You’ll also be able to drag and drop files and other content directly from your iPhone right to your Mac’s desktop and vice versa—although this feature isn’t currently available at the time of this article’s writing.

You can also watch videos from your iPhone directly on your Mac—which might sound silly, but the video and audio quality was actually very impressive when I tested it out.

Overall, iPhone Mirroring gives you a way to control your iPhone without having to physically pick it up—which can be great for quickly responding to messages and other things while typing away on your Mac. It might also be helpful for temporarily getting more precise control over specific apps, like video editors.

There are some limitations, though. You can’t control your iPhone on your Mac with it unlocked. You’ll have to lock it and leave it alone to control it. Additionally, you can’t access your iPhone's camera or microphone when it is connected to your Mac, and there’s currently no way to resize the iPhone Mirroring window, either. You also can’t enter edit mode on the home screen, so you won't be able to customize what your screen looks like from your Mac. Additionally, landscape mode only works with some apps—like YouTube, which automatically switches to landscape when you enter fullscreen mode.

Credit: Joshua Hawkins

But, considering this is our first real world look at iPhone Mirroring, it’s still impressive how well it works. Things were a little laggy for me at times, but that could also come down to the overall connection between my Wi-Fi and Bluetooth—it could also just be beta issues that will be sorted out further down the line.

In iOS 15.1, Apple introduced the SharePlay feature, which added a slew of content sharing options to FaceTime, allowing users to watch movies and television together. Now, in iOS 18, Apple is expanding those options to include screen sharing and even the option to pass off control of the screen to others within your call. Here’s how to use it.

How to use SharePlay’s Screen Share feature

First and foremost, SharePlay’s latest features are currently only available as part of the iOS 18 (or iPadOS 18) developer beta. More specifically, you’ll need to have at least beta 2 or newer installed to take advantage of the new features, as Apple only made them available recently.

I recommend only installing these betas on backup devices, as they could introduce instability to your main device. Once you have a device you're comfortable putting a beta on, follow these instructions to install it.

With the beta installed, you can now share your screen in Facetime, but with some caveats:

1. The screen sharing functionality does not appear to allow you to share you screen with Macs just yet. This will likely change in future betas.

2. Other users within the call must also be on iOS 18 (or iPadOS 18) dev beta 2 or newer.

Once you've met these requirements, you can start sharing your screen by beginning a FaceTime call with someone using a supported device.

Next, tap the Share icon, which is at the top of the screen, next to the End button.

Tap Share My Screen and then swipe out of Facetime. Your iPhone’s display should now appear on the other person’s device.

Once you're sharing your screen, there are two main functions at your disposal. First, you can annotate parts of the screen by drawing on the display using your finger or the Apple Pencil. This allows you to point specifically to areas you might want the person you're calling to tap on, and could be helpful in tech support.

Second, you can try the new Remote Control option.

How to use SharePlay’s Remote Control feature

To use SharePlay’s Remote Control feature, the user not sharing their screen will need to request control from the sharer. Just tap on the small hand-shaped icon located in the top-right corner of the shared screen (it’s right next to the magnifying glass icon). The sharer will receive a notification, where they will be able to approve or deny the control request.

From there, both users can share control of the device. This means you can now directly walk your aunt through the steps to solve her iPhone problems anytime she has them. However, be aware that there is a slight pause when handing control over to someone else. This should hopefully help avoid unintended swipes from the user who isn't in control. It could also just be a limitation of the beta at its current moment. Future updates will hopefully provide a bit more clarity there.

There are quite a few use cases for SharePlay’s Remote Control functionality—most notable being walking people through tech issues on their devices, as I mentioned above. As someone who has become the default “tech support guy” in my family, I’m very happy to see Apple making it so easy to interact with friends and family’s devices through Facetime.

Spotify has stealthily launched a new membership plan for its individual users. I say stealthily because despite posting an announcement about it, the company is hardly going out of its way to let current subscribers know about the plan changes—probably because a lot of them would choose to siwtch if they knew they had the option. What's more, new users can't even sign up for the plan; you can only get it by joining and then "downgrading."

The new plan is a spin-off of the service’s Premium Individual membership, and is aptly named “Basic.” It's $1 cheaper than the typical Premium plan, $10.99 versus $11.99. (A dollar a month is not much, I know, but I’ll get to that). While the plan’s name might suggest an offering similar to the “free” version of the music streaming service, which features ads while you listen, Spotify says Basic grants you all the benefits of a standard Premium plan, minus only the option to listen to 15 hours of audiobooks per month.

For most people, losing that privilege honestly makes “downgrading” to the Basic plan worth it, even if only to save $12 a year. Here's why.

Spotify Premium

Free at Google Play

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Free at Google Play

Streaming is experiencing price creep across the board

Spotify is just one of many streaming services that has continued to raise prices regularly—with its most recent bump coming earlier this month, when the company increased the cost of Premium from $10.99 to $11.99, and raised the price of Premium Duo and Premium Family. Despite the steady increases, though, Spotify hasn’t really added any new features to Premium in years.

In fact, the company even took a strange backward step with its first hardware release, Car Thing, which was discontinued earlier this year—and even shutting down its functionality, so even people who had bought and paid for it couldn't keep using it (though the company did offer refunds). Given that, the introduction of a cheaper paid plan that won’t necessarily deprive you of any useful features is a nice change of pace in today's increasingly expensive, ad-choked streaming landscape.

Most Spotify users don't listen to audiobooks

Now, you’ll notice I said “useful features.” Spotify made a big deal out of supporting audiobooks when it brought them to its service last year, and while I do love audiobooks—they’re a great way to read when you don’t have the time to sit down with an actual book (or ebook)—Spotify’s inclusion of audiobooks in its service isn’t exactly anything to write home about.

Yes, there are more than 250,000 titles in the catalog, but you’re only granted 15 hours of listening per month. If you listen to books of average length (around 10 hours, depending on the word count of the original work and the reading speed of the narrator), then you’ll be limited to listening to one book per month. If you listen to longer books, though—for the record, a book in the Game of Thrones series can run to as long as 47 hours—you won’t be able to complete the entire thing in a single month, which isn't the best user experience.

Moreover, Spotify's own reports indicate that only 25 percent of Spotify’s subscribers are taking advantage of its audiobook content at all. That means a good chunk of you reading this—myself included—are paying for something you don’t actively use. (Note that it isn't clear if Spotify’s reported figure accounts for active monthly listeners, or just the percentage of users who listened to audiobook content at least once.)

Basic gives you everything Premium, except audiobooks

At $10.99, Spotify’s new Basic plan costs as much as Premium used to, before the price hike earlier this month. That means if you don't mind sacrificing audiobooks (which you probably aren't listening to anyway, based on the numbers), you can effectively bypass the price hike. This also keeps the monthly cost of Spotify on par with Apple Music.

Once Spotify finally starts adding features like lossless audio, the price and feature difference between the plans may expand further. I could see Spotify introducing a completely new pricing tier for lossless audio, for example. But that's all in the hazy future. If you’re an active Spotify subscriber right now and you don’t listen to audiobooks on the platform, you have no reason not to downgrade to Basic—over the course of a year, it's like getting a month of the service for free, and then some.

How to sign up for Spotify Basic

As noted, you can't choose to sign up for Basic directly—it's not even listed on the site's "View all plans" info page. No, you have to either be an existing Premium member, or sign up for Premium and then downgrade your membership.

Once that requirement has been satisfied, to downgrade to the new Basic plan, you'll need to open Spotify on the web, then click on your profile image in the top-right hand corner of the page. Select Account, and then click on the Your Subscription section at the top. Next, click the Change plan button, then select Basic.

You'll need to go through a few confirmation screens—including a few where Spotify will try to sell you on the idea of paying $1 more each month to keep getting 15 hours of audiobook content. Once confirmed, though, your plan will change and you'll be on the cheaper option. 

If you're subscribed on Android, you can make the change directly in the app, but a Spotify rep confirmed to TechRadar that you'll need to use a browser to make the change if you're subscribed on iOS, as Spotify's iOS app doesn't support the option directly in the app.

Additionally, it appears Spotify is also offering new Basic versions of its Duo and Family plans (the Family Basic plan is $16.99 versus the regular $19.99, while pricing for the Duo plan isn't widely available yet). Spotify didn't cover either of those options in its official announcement, nor did it reveal that the feature is also apparently available to U.K. and Australian subscribers, at least according to what the representative told TechRadar.

When phones also became cameras, many of us started taking photos every day. These photos might be of your pets, your food, or even special events like weddings and birthdays. Or maybe you've got more precious photos, perhaps of a family member who's no longer with you. Lots of photos mean lots of data management, and to protect your snapshots, you'll want to back them up.

But not all cloud storage is created equal, and while Apple’s built-in iCloud systems are perfectly useable, Proton has now updated the iOS version of its impressive cloud storage service with automatic photo backup, allowing you to protect your most precious memories with complete end-to-end encryption.

Credit: Proton

This newly released feature, previously only available on Android, comes just weeks after some users reported their old, deleted photos coming back to their iPhones after they updated to a new version of iOS. While Apple has fixed the issue now and does offer options for end-to-end encryption, it still raised some concerns about just how in control Apple users are when it comes to their own photos, and options like Proton Drive can give you a great alternative to iCloud without having to worry about sacrificing your privacy.

There are, of course, other non-Apple cloud storage options on the App Store. Google Photos, which comes pre-installed on Android phones, is probably the most well-known and used iCloud competitor. However, Proton Drive offers something that Google Photos doesn’t—complete end-to-end encryption.

Sure, your photos are protected with Google Photos, but Google still has access to your precious memories, as your photos aren’t encrypted until they are uploaded to Google’s servers. With Proton Drive, nobody but you and the people you share your content with have access to those files. That’s because Proton Drive encrypts your photos and their metadata right there on your phone before they transfer to Proton’s servers. This ensures only you have access to your data, making it one of the best options for users who want to protect their memories and privacy with the utmost care.

Access the menu in the top-left hand corner, then tap Settings and toggle Photos backup to back your photos up to Proton Drive. Credit: Joshua Hawkins

Automatic photo backup is a feature that I've wanted to see in Proton Drive since I started using it several months ago, and Proton says that it has been one of the most requested features from its community, too. The feature rolled out last week, and you can enable the automatic camera uploads in the app by opening the app on your iPhone and accessing the hamburger menu in the upper left-hand corner (the icon that looks like three horizontal lines on top of each other). From there, simply tap on Settings and then toggle Photos Backup to on, and the app will start backing up your photos automatically each time you take a new one.

The addition of photo backup in Proton Drive makes it even easier to completely quit Google, something that privacy-focused individuals may want to consider, as Google and other online cloud services have access to your personal data when it is stored on their servers.

With the release of iOS 18 sometime after fall, Apple is finally doing away with the need for workarounds and bringing scheduled texts right to it Messages app. In the past, you've been able to use Shortcuts to schedule iOS messages, but the new "Send Later" process is way simpler. You can test it out right now by installing the iOS 18 developer beta and following the steps below.

How to schedule messages ahead of time in iOS 18

Credit: Joshua Hawkins

Once you’ve installed iOS 18 on your iPhone, open the Messages app and navigate to the conversation that you want to schedule a message for. You can also use Send Later with a new message, which you can open by tapping on the new message icon in the top right-hand corner of the app.

• In your conversation, type up the message you want to schedule, but don’t press Send just yet.

• Instead, press the + icon to the left of the text box.

• Tap More, then select Send Later.

• You'll see a clock icon and the time your message will arrive displayed above your text box.

• To change the scheduled time, simply click the new box and adjust as needed.

In my time with the current iOS 18 beta, I've only been able to schedule messages for up to two weeks away from the current date. It’s unclear if that limitation will still be in place when the final release arrives later this year, but for now, you'll have to hold off on pre-writing the whole year's birthday notes in advance.

And that's it! Unlike Apple Intelligence, all iPhones that can currently run iOS 17 will get access to Send Later when iOS 18 officially launches. The include models as far back as the iPhone X line, as well as the 2nd generation iPhone SE.

iOS 18 will bring a slew of new features to your iPhone when it launches sometime after fall, and one I'm looking forward to most is Live Transcriptions, a new feature that can take audio recorded in the Notes app or Voice Memos app and transcribe it to text in a matter of minutes.

While the feature is by far one of the most useful to make the jump to the new operating system, Apple has made it a bit tricky to find, at least in its currently operating developer beta (which you can install for free right now, though at some risk). Here’s what you need to do to start taking advantage of Live Transcriptions in iOS 18.

How to get Live Transcriptions in the Notes app

To generate Live Transcriptions in the Notes app, you first need to create an audio note.

Credit: Joshua Hawkins

• Tap the New Note button at the bottom of the screen.

• Tap the paperclip icon at the bottom of the screen.

• Select Record Audio and press the record button.

• Once you’ve finished recording your audio, tap the Pause button and select Done.

• Back in the Note view, tap on the recording, then the quotation mark at the bottom left of the screen.

Give your phone a moment, and it will create an audio transcript of the recording you just made.

How to get Live Transcriptions in Voice Memos

Getting a Live Transcription in Voice Memos also requires a few presses, but the process is generally a little bit easier.

• In the Voice Memos app, press the Record button and make your memo.

• After you’ve finished, press the Stop button.

• Now, select the recording that you just made from the All Recordings page.

• Tap the three horizontal dots to the right of the recording name.

• Select Show Transcript, and it should show you a transcript of your recording.

If you need to make any changes, select the part of the transcript where you want to re-record the audio, then press the Replace button and restate the audio that you want to transcribe.

Live Transcriptions are a great feature, and they make both the Notes app and the Voice Memos app even more powerful. They're also coming to phone calls, which will warn participants before they begin.

It’s only been a few months since Anthropic debuted Claude 3, but the company is ready to take the next step—at least for one of its models. Enter Claude 3.5 Sonnet. As the middle-ground for Anthropic’s large language models (LLMs), Claude Sonnet is a good option for those who want access to a powerful but affordable AI chatbot, and with Claude 3.5 Sonnet, the company says it's making its middle offering even better.

According to the announcement, Claude 3.5 Sonnet is up to two times faster at processing than Claude 3 Opus, previously the most powerful model the company offered (Opus will be getting an update to take back its top spot). Anthropic claims that Claude 3.5 is “ideal for complex tasks,” and that it shows improvement in writing with nuance, humor, and following complex instructions. Claude 3.5 reportedly solved 64 percent of the problems it was given, outperforming the 38 percent record previously set by Claude 3 Opus. That is, indeed, a marked improvement.

Credit: Anthropic

You can see Anthropic's full list of how Claude 3.5 Sonnet compares to other LLMs across different areas in the image above. Based on the data shown, it appears to outperform OpenAI’s newest model, GPT-4o, in almost every category. However, exactly how well those benchmarks will play out in real-world usage remains to be seen.

Coinciding with the launch of Claude 3.5 Sonnet is Artifacts, a new feature that essentially creates a separate window in your Claude window that can showcase your documents, code, and other AI-generated content in a visual space in real time. Anthropic says that this will make collaborating through Claude much easier for teams. Eventually, it hopes to allow entire organizations to use Claude to securely centralize its knowledge in one shared space and then access it through the chatbot. This will likely be similar to what Google has been doing with its Gemini AI offerings in Google Workspace.

Anthropic isn’t stopping here, either. The AI company says it plans to release updated versions of the Opus and Haiku LLMs later this year. The company also noted that it is exploring features like Memory, which would allow Claude to remember a user’s specific preferences and interaction history to help make their experiences even more personal. ChatGPT already utilizes a memory system, so it isn’t surprising to see Anthropic leaning that way with Claude, too.

If you’re interested in trying Claude 3.5 Sonnet for yourself, you can access it directly from the Claude website or through the Claude iOS app. Claude Pro and Team subscribers will still get access to higher rates with the new model. Developers can also utilize Anthropic’s API directly, though they’ll need to pay for tokens to do so.

Google is finally expanding the number of Android phones that can access Gemini through Google Messages. Previously, the feature was only available on certain Pixel devices, as well as Samsung Galaxy devices including foldables and the Galaxy S22 and beyond.

Now, Google has updated its help pages to indicate that the feature is finally available on a wider selection of Android phones, though there are still a few important requirements that you’ll need to meet first.

Most importantly, you’ll need to have an Android device with 6GB or more RAM. This, unfortunately, rules out some of the cheaper options out there. However, considering that many mid-range devices have 6GB to 8GB of RAM these days, it should hopefully put Gemini in a lot more hands. Additionally, Google says that you will need to be 18 or older and have RCS messaging turned on.

You’ll also need to be logged into the latest version of Messages with a personal account that isn’t managed by Family Link or a Google Workspace account, and be in one of the 165 countries that Gemini supports.

If you meet these requirements, you should then be able to take advantage of Google-powered AI directly in your Android phone’s messaging app.

How to use Gemini in Google Messages

Using Gemini in Messages is a lot like talking to your friends. If this is your first time talking to Gemini in Messages, just open the Messages app, tap Start Chat, and choose Gemini as the recipient. If you have started a chat before, simply tap on the chat to continue it.

With the chat open, you can begin sending requests and asking questions of the AI-powered chat bot. Gemini in Messages works very similarly to how it does on the web, so don’t be afraid to experiment with its various capabilities.

Google Chrome has had a rough go of things this year. Just back in May, the Google-built browser suffered from at least four zero-day exploits, all of which Google was able to fix in a pretty timely manner, forcing Chrome users to update pretty often. However, a new exploit appears to be making the rounds, and it’s a pretty tricky one.

According to a new report from ProofPoint, the newest attempt to get Chrome users to install malware on their computers comes in the form of fake errors. The fake errors can also appear as Word and OneDrive errors, the security company reports.

The campaign is being used by multiple threat actors, including the group behind a new attack called ClickFix, as well as those behind existing attacks like ClearFake. Well-known threat actor TA571 is also believed to be involved. Much like previous ClearFake attacks—which used website overlays to push visitors to install fake browser updates riddled with malware—the new threat causes a popup to appear on the screen, prompting users to resolve an issue with their browser.

Credit: ProofPoint

The instructions included in the fake Chrome error suggest that users click a “copy” button, and then paste a “fix” into their Windows Powershell application—while running it as an Admin. This is exceptionally bad news, as it gives the instructions within the copied command complete access to your computer.

ProofPoint says the command checks if the computer is a viable target, and then essentially opens the floodgates to install various malware on it. One of the primary downloads included in the package is an info-stealer, which can gather your personal info for threat actors, allowing them to use it however they want.

ProofPoint also said the malware is being spread through an email-based infection chain, which uses an HTML attachment claiming to be a Word Online extension. When trying to open it, an error message will display, asking you to complete the same steps as the Chrome error. The fundamentals of the command are a bit different, ProofPoint notes, but the overall goal is the same: to install malware on your computer so that bad actors can harvest your data.

Legitimate Chrome or Microsoft Word messages will never ask you to paste anything into Windows Powershell. If you're worried you might already be infected, run an antivirus or malware scan as soon as possible.

Pretty soon, you might start to see notes across videos on YouTube. The Google-owned video-sharing platform is now testing an experimental system that will be similar to X’s Community Notes, which lets users add context to different posts—usually as a means to limit the spread of misinformation.

YouTube's equivalent of the feature will only be available on mobile in the United States to start, and it’ll only support English at first. "This could include notes that clarify when a song is meant to be a parody, point out when a new version of a product being reviewed is available, or let viewers know when older footage is mistakenly portrayed as a current event," YouTube's blog said.

Credit: YouTube

There are, of course, a lot of uses for a system like this, especially on a platform like YouTube. The YouTube Team says that it expects mistakes to be made throughout the testing phase, and that some notes probably won’t be a great match for a video. From these hiccups, YouTube hopes to get a lot of feedback about the quality of notes, as well as how to improve it over time so that it can be expanded on in the future.

To start with, the YouTube Team says that only a limited number of eligible contributors will be invited to the program, and that the invites will come via email and through the Creator Studio. Eligibility will be based on whether a user has an active YouTube channel in good standing.

You’ll be able to rate notes that appear publicly under a video during the experiment. Ratings will include options like “helpful,” “somewhat helpful,” or “unhelpful,” as well as a box for you to input a reason why you selected your rating. This will help the team determine which notes should stay and which should be published using a bridging-based algorithm.

This year’s WWDC was a grand event for Apple, with the company debuting looks at its newest operating systems for the Apple Watch, iPhone, Mac, and iPad. Alongside those new OSes, it also showcased Apple Intelligence, the company’s special AI, which will power various features coming to its devices later this year.

Now that we’ve had a chance to go hands-on with the Apple Watch’s newest update, watchOS 11, there are a few features that Apple didn’t highlight, but that I think are worth discussing.

Nap detection

I’ve already reported more in-depth on this one today, but I think it’s worth double-dipping here because it’s just such a cool feature.

Before watchOS 11, you had to use the Sleep Focus functionality to actually have your Apple Watch track your sleep. Further, it couldn’t track anything like afternoon naps. That’s changing with watchOS 11, though. Hopefully this is just the first step towards a fully automated sleep tracking system.

You can finally change the ringtone

I’m honestly surprised Apple didn’t show off this one, because it’s one that many have wanted since the very first Apple Watch came out. With watchOS 11, you can now change the ringtone on your Apple Watch.

This includes the ringtone, the text tone, and even alerts for reminders, calendar, and your mail notifications. Apple also added some new sounds to the Apple Watch to give you some more customization, too. You can find all those options in Settings > Sound & Haptics.

The Translation app is now native to the Apple Watch

Translation isn’t a new app on the Apple Watch, but before watchOS 11, you had to go out of your way to download it. Now, though, your Apple-powered smartwatch will come with it pre-installed.

That means more people will have access to the Translate app than ever before—I know plenty of people who didn’t even know it existed. What’s even cooler about this one is that Apple plans to offer real-time translation using the app on your Apple Watch.

Smart Stack shows Now Playing info in Live Activities

Apple pointed out that it is finally bringing Live Activities to the Apple Watch in watchOS 11. This includes things like tracking your Starbucks order, scores for sports events, information about your seats at concerts, and other things. What Apple didn’t point out, though, is that it will also affect your "now playing" info.

In watchOS 11, if you’re watching a YouTube video, listening to music, or anything else that would previously bring up the “now playing” screen on your Apple Watch, then you’ll now be treated to a handy new widget in the Smart Stack. You can pause the music or video directly from the widget, or tap on it to go to the Now Playing screen.

It’s a nice little function that I like a lot better than the full-blown Now Playing window—but if you prefer the old way, you can turn off media inclusion in the Live Activities menu.

Apple Watch Ultra gets new training complication

This final hidden gem is for my fellow Apple Watch Ultra users only, unfortunately. If you’re sporting the Apple Watch Ultra or Ultra 2, then you’ll be able to take advantage of a new training complication on the Ultra watchface. The complication appears along the outer rim of the watchface, giving you an easy place to keep track of your current progress.

It’s not a huge change, but it is one that gym-goers and fitness fans will likely find helpful.

As future watchOS 11 betas come out, we’re likely to find more hidden features that Apple didn’t highlight. If you want to try out the new features in watchOS 11, but don’t want to wait until the fall, you can always install the beta right now. I’d recommend most people steer clear of the watchOS betas, though, as you can’t easily downgrade back to the previous version.

If you do want to install the beta, simply access the Watch app on your iPhone, navigate to General > Software Update > Beta Updates and then select watchOS 11 Developer Beta to get started.

Apple revealed a lot of exciting features coming to its Apple Watch lineup during WWDC this year. The next update for the Apple Watch, watchOS 11, will include new AI-powered features, training loads, and a slew of other new capabilities. But there are also some features that Apple didn’t cover in its presentation, including sleep detection and nap tracking.

The first watchOS 11 beta is now available, and I’ve already been testing out the new operating system to see what Apple has added. While I was looking forward to other big additions—like the snazzy translation functionality—nap detection wasn’t something I expected. Luckily for me, a Redditor just happened to fall asleep with their Apple Watch on and noticed that it recorded their sleep data automatically.

In watchOS 10 and earlier versions, the Apple Watch required you to put it into Sleep Focus mode in order to capture sleep-tracking data. Additionally, it didn’t support nap tracking, just full evening rests. But, based on what Redditors have spotted—as well as what I’ve seen in my own testing, watchOS 11 seems to actually offer nap detection now.

There are some caveats, of course. It doesn’t appear to break down the various stages of sleep like normal sleep tracking does. But it’s still a really nice change, and one that many—myself included—have hoped to see on the Apple Watch for a while. It is unclear if this means that we’ll have full automatic sleep tracking on the Apple Watch, or if it will just detect when you’re napping outside of your normal set bedtime.

Apple has yet to mention the feature at all, so all eager Apple Watch owners can do is experiment and wait to see how it changes—if at all—in future betas.

How to install watchOS 11 beta

To check out nap detection and other new features in watchOS 11, you don't want to wait until the official release this fall. Instead, you can always install the watchOS 11 beta. Previously, you needed to jump through extra hoops to download the various Apple developer betas, or you had to purchase a developer account for $99 a year. But now, everyone can find the betas in their device settings.

Before I tell you how, I do want to mention that most people probably shouldn't install the watchOS 11 beta. That's because Apple doesn't actually make it possible to revert to the previous operating system. So, if you encounter any annoying bugs, you won't be able to downgrade. You'll just have to deal with them until the next beta update comes out.

If you're okay with that risk, here's what you need to do to upgrade:

• First, pull up the Watch app on your iPhone.

• Open General and then find Software Update.

• Find the Beta Updates option and tap on it, then select watchOS 11 Developer Beta. Once the public beta is available, it will also appear here.

After you've selected the developer beta, it will download. You'll still need to have your Apple Watch on the charger and charged up to at least 50 percent to actually install the beta. Once it's installed, you can start toying around with all the new settings and features. To use the new nap detection feature, just make sure you've at least opened the sleep app once, and it should automatically detect when you take a nap, so long as you have your Apple Watch on your wrist.

Google has been working to update how it handles text-to-speech (TTS) in Chrome on Android for a few months now. The feature was first noticed in beta in January, but now appears to be rolling out to more users with Chrome 125. Though it is still not fully ready just yet, 9to5Google reports, you can already enable it if you don't already have it.

Previously, to have your smartphone read webpages to you, you’d normally have to rely on Google Assistant on Android and Siri (plus Safari) on iPhone. While the new Listen to Page feature doesn’t appear to be coming to iOS anytime soon, it’s still nice to see Google baking this accessibility feature into Chrome itself.

9to5Google says that the new function appears to work on most text-heavy websites. However, you’ll need to wait for the page to fully load and then access the option from the three dot menu at the top of Chrome. If you don’t see the feature listed, just activate it through the Chrome flag chrome://flags/#read-aloud. Enter the bold text into the URL bar, press enter to access the settings, and turn it on.

On top of reading webpages to you, the feature also comes with various controls, including options for playback speed as well as the ability to highlight text and turn on auto-scroll. Google has also included several voice options, including selections for U.S., U.K., Indian, and Australian English voices. There are also several different pitches available to provide a more warm, calm, bright, or peaceful tone.

The control bar for the TTS feature will remain docked even if you open additional tabs, and playback will continue if you lock your device. However, if you close the browser—or even push it to the background for any reason—the reading will end. The feature also appears to be available in Chrome Custom Tabs, and it can be set as a toolbar shortcut to help avoid scrolling through the menu looking for it.

As it hasn’t officially rolled out (any access you might have right now is a preview), the feature is likely still being worked on in some fashion. As such, Google may make more changes—or even add new features—before fully releasing it. If you'd rather wait for the full release, Google’s Reading mode app remains a great alternative.

When it comes to cloud storage, there are a lot of options to pick from. One of the most well-known and popular is Google Drive, and that’s because it’s included for free whenever you sign up for a Gmail account. But over the past couple of years, some enticing new contenders have entered the ring.

One of the most promising is Proton Drive, a privacy-first cloud storage option that uses complete end-to-end encryption while putting full control of who can access your data directly in your hands. It’s a nice change of pace, but can it really stand up to the titan that is Google’s cloud storage service, and is it a good alternative if you're trying to quit Google for good? Here’s how the two compare.

Credit: Proton AG

Storage space and pricing

One of the most enticing things about Google Drive is the free 15GB of storage space it gives you just for signing up. That’s a good chunk of space for backing up photos, emails, and other things—though keep in mind that attachments and other data tied to your email account do count toward your storage.

Proton Drive also offers a completely free option, though it tops off at 5GB, a notable difference from what Google offers. It’s easy to write Proton off because of that missing 10GB, but the competitor does have strengths elsewhere.

Both services also offer more “premium” storage options via monthly subscriptions. Google’s cheapest monthly plan, which is called Google One, is $1.99 a month and gets you 100GB of data, while Proton Drive’s cheapest option is $4.99 a month for 200GB. That’s another pretty big difference between what you’re paying and what you’re getting, so Google does still pull ahead on pure economy.

There are, of course, more expensive options. Google offers plans up to 20TB for $99 a month, while Proton tops out at 3TB for $29.99 a month. If you want more than that, you’ll need to look into the business plans for each service.

With storage and pricing in mind, Google does tend to offer a bit more bang for your buck. But note that Proton’s 3TB plan is technically the family version of Proton Unlimited, which means you can invite multiple people to take advantage of that data, plus you'll get the rest of Proton's services thrown in.

Sharing and features

Cloud storage is great for keeping track of all your personal documents, photos, videos, and so on. But it’s also a great way to share those items with your friends and family. Both Proton Drive and Google Drive make it easy to share those items with the people who matter.

In Google Drive, sharing options let you share either to individual Google accounts or to a list of accounts. You can also select whether people can edit or just view the shared content, and even share through a URL.

Proton also offers these same features, but layers on various extras. For instance, the service allows users to create “timed sharing links” that expire after a set amount of time, allowing you to give people temporary file access. You can even set up password-protected files, something Google Drive still does not do.

Both Google Drive and Proton Drive offer the option to audit your files to see who has downloaded them. This can help you keep track of where your files are going and who has been given access—helpful you’ve shared a publicly accessible link. Both services also offer apps on all the major operating systems, including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. That means you can easily keep up with your files no matter what system you're using.

Overall, both services offer similar functionality for sharing files with others, and they both support the same types of files as well. The addition of timed sharing links does make Proton Drive a bit more appealing for those who want granular sharing control, but both services allow you to lock content at any time, restricting anyone from accessing it even if it was shared with them previously.

Credit: Proton AG

Privacy

This is the real difference between Google Drive and Proton Drive. Ultimately, it’s hard to beat Google Drive because of just how convenient it is. It’s tied to your Google account, you get 15GB for free, and most of the Google One plans are fairly affordable.

Proton Drive, on the other hand, is a bit more expensive and a bit stingier with the amount of storage space you get. However, Proton Drive takes your privacy a lot more seriously than Google does.

That isn’t to say that Google Drive isn’t secure. Google says that it uses end-to-end encryption to protect your files whenever they are in transit and at rest. However, it stores the keys needed to decrypt those files within its own servers, giving it access to your data should the tech giant ever need it.

Proton Drive, on the other hand, does not keep any access to your data. It is completely encrypted, giving only you and the people that you select access to the data. This provides a higher level of security and means that you can rest easy, knowing that nobody is going to be able to get access to your data through illegitimate means. Proton is also based out of Switzerland, which has some of the best security laws in the world at time of writing.

At the end of the day, Google Drive is perfectly fine for casually storing your documents, photos, and videos. But it doesn’t offer nearly the same level of privacy that Proton Drive does. Its extra premium is the price you pay for the peace of mind that comes with using Proton’s services. So, if you’re choosing between the two, it ultimately comes down to what you find more important—privacy or cost.

The answer, for me, is pretty clear. Privacy is king in this day and age, and Proton makes it easier to protect my personal information without having to jump through a lot of extra hoops. But for you, the answer might not be so easy to decide on, especially since some of Proton's features are still rolling out to its various apps. At any rate, because both services have free options, there's nothing stopping you from making use of one for some file and the other for the rest.

It’s been almost four months since Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) forced Apple to start allowing third-party app stores on European iPhones. While the DMA hasn’t quite helped make these alternative app stores available everywhere, they are a step towards a more open ecosystem. But what exactly do these alternative app stores offer? What led to the DMA and why aren’t we seeing more alternative app stores already? Here’s what you need to know.

How we got here

All of this started when the European Union decided to investigate Apple, Meta, and tons of other big tech companies (including Google) for gatekeeping various aspects of their app stores and data usage. For Apple, a lot of it came down to the controversy that companies like Epic Games helped rile up following the removal of Fortnite from the App Store in 2020. For others, it was down to more particular issues. But let’s focus on Apple for now.

The European Union wanted to figure out if Apple was locking down certain parts of its services—like access to user devices through the App Store and even iMessage—for legitimate reasons. One of the most important reasons that Apple kept citing was “user safety and privacy,” but ultimately, that wasn’t enough for the EU.

While the EU didn’t rule in favor of forcing Apple to put iMessage on other devices, it did say that Apple needed to back off and start letting companies distribute apps through third-party app stores and even the web, albeit with some caveats. This led to some big changes in how Apple handles things, but only in the EU. We saw DMA-forced features coming to iOS in the EU as early as iOS 17.4, including the option to sideload apps directly into iOS.

This ultimately means that developers don’t have to rely on going through the strict process of putting their apps on the official Apple App Store in order for it to be available on iPhone—at least for EU users. Anyone outside of the EU will still have to download apps through the official App Store, and there's no guarantee that will change anytime soon.

This is potentially good news for indie developers, as Apple takes a set percentage of all the purchases made from in-app purchases when an app is downloaded from the App Store. Theoretically, being able to have their app in a third-party store—or even available through side-loading—gives them a way to bypass that cut and keep more of profits. This was a major part of Epic Games’ argument during the whole Apple vs Epic fiasco a few years ago, although Epic hasn't been happy with Apple's method of implementing third-party app stores, which still comes with hidden fees.

Are these third-party app stores worth checking out?

This is the real crux of the situation here. While we continue to see new alternate app stores released, including a new one that just launched this month, many of them don’t have a lot of apps yet. And, as I’ve mentioned several times already, they aren’t available to anyone outside of the EU—so the user base is already scaled down a lot from the overall number of iPhone users in the world.

Additionally, most of the alternate app stores released thus far aren't exceptionally diverse in terms of what they have to offer. One recently released store, Aptoide, offers a freemium-type structure. But it only carries games, and at the time of writing, it has less than 10 basic games on the service. Other popular options, like Altstore, offer far more apps, including the option for anyone to release apps through unique URL "sources." But, that "anyone can release anything" openness also makes it a bit of a breeding ground for possible bad actors to try to find a way in.

There's also the fact that Apple has a bit of a high buy-in for developers that want to launch a third-party app store, and many of those are pushing that charge over onto their customers through monthly subscription charges. This is the basis of MacPaw's Setapp Mobile, which is still in beta (and is slightly different from the existing Setapp service). It is one of the more highly anticipated options out there, but not everyone is going to be willing to pay a monthly subscription when they can just download things from Apple's official App Store for free.

Of course, other app stores are expected to launch in the future. We know that Epic Games is working on a new Epic Games Store app, which it will use to release games and other apps, including Fortnite. But we don't have a lot of details about how it will work, or when it will be available.

Ultimately, we're still really early in the timeline to determine the usefulness of these app stores. There's still a lot of room for them to grow, and while they might not seem all that worthwhile right now, that could change exponentially in the future as more third-party stores become available, and as already established stores find their preferred methods.

Are alternate app stores safe?

Another thing to keep in mind is the safety standards surrounding these app stores. Anyone who tries to install an alternate app store will find that Apple has made it exceptionally annoying to install these third-party marketplaces, with your device often requiring you to go through multiple confirmation pages before it actually installs. That makes sure you know what you're getting into—third-party apps bypass all of the "safety" guidelines that Apple has in place within the App Store—but it also means the experience is extremely off-putting.

It’s an intentional move by Apple that some may take as a scare tactic to push users away from utilizing third-party app stores. It could also just be taken as Apple doing its due diligence to warn the general public, who might not be as tech-savvy about the dangers of side-loaded or third-party apps.

And there is legitimate danger here. We already see plenty of corrupted and malware-ridden apps making their way through the App Store's strict requirements, and there's no guarantee of how safe any of these third-party stores are, making it exceptionally important to research each one before you install it.

That doesn't necessarily make these alternative app stores unsafe, but like anything, you need to be careful what you download and what kind of access you give these apps. Also, pay attention to the permissions that apps require (even ones downloaded from the official App Store), and if an app store doesn't offer any information on that, try to do your own research to see just how trustworthy an app is before blindly downloading it.

The June Pixel Feature Drop update has officially begun rolling out to Pixel users around the world. This month’s Feature Drop includes a slew of new updates for the Pixel 8 series—all the way from the 8 Pro to the cheaper 8a—as well as updates for the Pixel Watch 2 and even some older Pixel devices. Here’s what you can expect from this month’s big update.

First and foremost, it’s time to talk about Gemini. While Google has gone back and forth about Gemini’s availability on Pixel 8 in the past, the company’s latest claims that it would indeed come to the base Pixel 8 and the even cheaper Pixel 8a have finally come to fruition. We’ve already shown you how to enable Gemini on Pixel 8 and 8a—it’s enabled by default on the 8 Pro, so you don’t have to do anything extra. With the June Feature Drop, some Gemini Nano features are finally launching, starting with Summarize in Recorder—which can now detect and export transcripts of recordings into text files or even Google Docs.

Google has also added support for DisplayPort on all three Pixel 8s, allowing users to connect their phones to a second display via USB-C cable. This means you can now showcase your favorite movies or videos on the big screen, and some have speculated it could mean a desktop mode is in the works, too, which could resemble Samsung DeX, which allows you to turn your phone or tablet into a desktop computer in a way.

Another big feature—and one that I hope we’ll see added to other phones in the future—is Reverse Phone Number Lookup. Now, whenever an unknown number hits your recent call log, you can simply tap on it a couple of times, and Google will automatically perform a Google Search to look up the number and try to provide you with more information about it. It isn’t foolproof by any means, but it’s something I’m surprised we haven’t seen in phones already.

We already knew Google was making big changes to its Find My Device network, including making the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel 8a detectable even when powered off. Now, Google has officially made the feature available, which could be enough to justify downloading the update on its own.

On the camera side of things, Pixel devices from the Pixel 6 up to the Pixel Tablet will now be able to automatically identify the best moment for your photo to be captured in HDR+ just with a single shutter press. This is just another way that Google continues to set its camera apart from other smartphone cameras.

The tech giant has also added manual lens picking on the Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel Fold, allowing you to manually touch which camera you want to use at any given time. This should make it easier for photo-savvy users to customize their shots, instead of relying on Google to determine which camera is best.

Finally, Google has rolled out a new Google Home Favorites widget, giving you customizable smart home controls directly on your smartphone or tablet. Additionally, the company has brought Doorbell notifications to the Pixel Tablet when it's docked in hub mode, giving you a better view of who is at your door.

That's all the big changes coming to tablets and phones, but it's not everything. There's also new features for Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2. Perhaps the biggest additions are Car Crash Detection and Bicycle Fall Detection on the Pixel Watch 2. These will allow the watch to detect if you’ve fallen or been in a car crash and then will ask if you’re okay before calling emergency services or contacts.

Google Wallet has also received a minor upgrade on Pixel Watch, as Paypal has officially arrived for it. This, of course, isn’t just a Pixel-only thing, as Google announced the online payment service would be joining Google Wallet across Wear OS last month.

The last big feature coming to Pixel Watch is a new update for Google Home. This brings a new watch face complication and Wear OS tile to the watch. This should give you more control over your various smart home items. Again, this isn’t a Pixel-only thing, as the feature was previously available on other Wear OS devices. This is, however, the first time it’ll appear on Pixel Watch.