Hell freezes over as Apple supports right-to-repair bill

image via arstechnica.com
image via arstechnica.com

In a letter dated August 22, Apple showed its support for California's right-to-repair bill, SB 244, after spending years combatting DIY repair efforts. The bill requires vendors of consumer electronics and appliances to make sufficient documentation, parts, and tools for repairs available to customers and independent repair shops. The big exceptions are video game consoles and alarm systems.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/08/hell-freezes-over-as-apple-supports-right-to-repair-bill/

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2023

image via wired.com
image via wired.com

APPLE HELD ITS annual Worldwide Developers Conference today. The big news, of course, is that Apple's long-awaited mixed reality headset finally made its debut. The very expensive device may have overshadowed the other news from the event, but the company announced a whole host of other stuff, including new Mac computers and updates to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

https://www.wired.com/story/wwdc-2023-everything-apple-announced/

Apple’s Headset Has Metaverse Believers Hoping It Can Save Their Industry

image via wsj.com
image via wsj.com

After a period of disillusionment in the industry that some call the metaverse, many of its most fervent believers are banking on Apple to save the day. While an ecosystem of software startups built up around Meta Platforms’ lineup of Quest virtual-reality products, some companies have pulled back recently. Microsoft shut down a social virtual-reality platform it acquired in 2017 and trimmed the team building its HoloLens augmented-reality headset. Walt Disney Co. shuttered the division developing strategies for the metaverse.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-headset-has-metaverse-believers-hoping-it-can-save-their-industry-e692575a

Apple’s new ‘Personal Voice’ feature can create a voice that sounds like you or a loved one in just 15 minutes

image via 9to5mac.com
image via 9to5mac.com

As part of its preview of iOS 17 accessibility updates coming this year, Apple has announced a pair of new features called Live Speech and Personal Voice. Live Speech allows users to type what they want to say and have it be spoken out. Personal Voice, on the other hand, is a way for people who are at risk of losing their ability to speak to create and save a voice that sounds like them. Apple says it’s designed for people at risk of losing their ability to speak, such as those with a recent diagnosis of ALS.

https://9to5mac.com/2023/05/16/apple-personal-voice-creation-feature-ios-17/

Kuo: Apple ‘Well Prepared’ for Headset Announcement Next Month

image via macrumors.com
image via macrumors.com

Pricing on the headset is expected to begin somewhere around $3,000. Perhaps with that in mind, Apple won't aim it at general consumers to start with, but will instead position it as a device for developers, content creators, and professionals. Apple expects to sell just one headset per day per retail store, and it has told suppliers that it expects sales of seven to 10 million units during the first year of availability.

https://www.macrumors.com/2023/05/15/kuo-apple-well-prepared-headset-unveiling/

Siri is being left behind – and Apple knows it

image via techradar.com
image via techradar.com

According to “more than three dozen former Apple employees who worked in its AI and machine learning groups,” Apple’s attempts to improve Siri have been hampered by “organizational dysfunction and a lack of ambition,” with the software now “widely derided” by many still working at the company. According to “more than three dozen former Apple employees who worked in its AI and machine learning groups,” Apple’s attempts to improve Siri have been hampered by “organizational dysfunction and a lack of ambition,” with the software now “widely derided” by many still working at the company.

https://www.techradar.com/news/siri-is-being-left-behind-and-apple-knows-it