May 2025
iOS & Apple news
Mark your calendars: WWDC has been announced: the week of June 9. WWDC25 will be available entirely online and is free for all developers
Apple announced today that: Universal Music Group and Apple Music announce Sound Therapy. `The collection leverages cognitive science and UMG’s roster of global superstars, adding subtle auditory beats to well-known curated tracks, aiming to help listeners focus, relax, and sleep.' It is `a new "Sound Therapy" collection of wellness playlists, consisting of popular songs with added sound waves or white noise to help listeners focus, relax, and sleep better, as Macrumors reports further.
Apple writes: `Sound Therapy is a brand-new audio wellness collection on Apple Music, powered by Sollos. What if music could potentially improve your concentration, help you feel calmer, and get a better night’s sleep? Research suggests that listening to particular sound waves, auditory beats, and colored noise can impact how we feel. With the help of cognitive scientists, music producers, and artists, our new offering uses gamma beats, theta beats, delta beats, white noise, and pink noise to enhance your day-to-day lifestyle without sacrificing the integrity of the music you love. “Sound Therapy” is designed to support your overall wellbeing. It’s not intended to treat any medical condition.'
Apple introduces the 2025 Pride Collection, with watch bands and wallpapers.
Apple released 18.5, after a brief beta period. Here is an overview of the new features.
Apple Acquisition Hints at Upgraded Calendar App on iOS 19 or Beyond, reports Macrumors. Apple acquired Canadian startup Mayday Labs in April 2024. `Mayday Labs had developed an AI-powered calendar, task manager, and scheduling assistant for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The all-in-one app used AI to automatically schedule your events and tasks at ideal times, and it could learn your scheduling preferences and daily patterns over time to further optimize your calendar.'
Apple announced Apple Announces New iOS 19 and macOS 16 Accessibility Features Ahead of WWDC, reports Macrumors.
Buffett Says Tim Cook Made Berkshire More Money Than He Ever Did. "I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that Tim Cook has made Berkshire a lot more money than I've ever made," Buffett told the audience, alluding to the 680% surge in Apple's stock since Berkshire first began acquiring shares in early 2016.
[ RUMOR ] iOS 19 Will Include AI Battery Management Feature, reports Macrumors, based on reporting from Bloomberg. `Apple plans to use AI to help you better manage your iPhone's battery life, reports Bloomberg. iOS 19 will have an AI-powered battery management option that will analyze how you use your device and make adjustments where possible to cut down on battery usage.'
iOS apps
Terminology is an excellent dictionary app that has had a recent significant update. Olga recommends it.
tips & tricks
Use ChatGPT to ask about manuals you cannot easily find online. Even for manuals you can find online, it's still easier and faster, much better than a search engine. Examples: your refrigerator's manual. Your printer's manual. How to troubleshoot something on your iPhone. And so on. Don't forget privacy considerations, however.
Use ChatGPT (or other AI services) to ask about comparing items rather than doing the legwork yourself, such as comparing free online collaboration tools. Or use AI for quick questions such as the adult dose of Benadryl, or to troubleshoot iCloud syncing problems.
Yes, you can create a 2nd Apple ID, if you want to.
Yes, you can Remotely Control Your iPhone Camera – No Apple Watch Needed.
gadgets & accessories
Roger S. told us about these watch bands.
What is a Faraday bag? You can use them to prevent wireless signals to/from your devices.
Olga told us about her new faraday Cage for traveling.
Pay
Apple Card has been offering a variety of propmostions lately. An example is Apple Card Promo Offers 6% Daily Cash Back for Nike Purchases.
watch
Apple released watchOS 11.4, with the new Pride watchfaces.
Apple offers the new special Pride edition watchband plus new colors for the spring.
privacy & security
How Signal, WhatsApp, Apple, and Google Handle Encrypted Chat Backups, reports EEF. `Encrypted chat apps like Signal and WhatsApp are one of the best ways to keep your digital conversations as private as possible. But if you’re not careful with how those conversations are backed up, you can accidentally undermine your privacy.'
Google Calendar Malware Is on the Rise. Here’s How To Stay Safe, reports WIRED.
AI
AI technology is advancing very fast. In fact, AI Could Replace iPhone in 10 Years, said Apple's Eddie Cue, when testifying in the Google vs. DoJ antitrust case.
"You may not need an iPhone 10 years from now, as crazy as it sounds," Cue said. He was referring to the way that AI is likely to evolve in the coming years, and how wearables combined with intuitive AI functionality could replace traditional smartphones.
`Cue said that AI search solutions are poised to replace traditional search engines, and Apple is considering adding AI search tools from companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity to Safari in the future as options for people to select.'
general apps & services
Tally.so is a free online form builder. It does not require any coding skills. You can use it to create an online form, a questionnaire, a survey, a poll, etc. The end result gives you your own online form with its own URL that you can send to others. Additionally, you can also use the result to embed it in a website, if you wish. They provide the code you can copy/paste in the website. Olga gave a demo. There is a paid version of Tally that provides additional features. Note: Unlike Google forms, this does not require a Google-login when responders are asked to upload a photo or a file. Olga discussed how this is a Tally advantage over Google forms, especially for a community.
next iPUG
Our next iPUG meeting will be Tuesday, June 10 at 7 pm.