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Apple Pumps Up Music Features in Next Versions of iOS, iPadOS and MacOS

After previewing new streaming and sharing features at WWDC, Apple has announced more music features for its upcoming operating systems.

At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference Monday, the company announced new features for streaming and sharing music on iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. On Wednesday, Apple provided more details on its upcoming music offerings and disclosed even more music features not mentioned at WWDC.

Read more: WWDC 2023 Biggest Reveals

Apple has always made it easy to play and share music across its devices, and the next versions of the company’s operating systems for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers will expand those features for cars, hotels and personal connections. A new AirDrop feature will let iOS users easily kick off shared listening experiences (as well as easily share contact info), and AirPlay and CarPlay will both make it easier for Apple users to stream and share music when traveling.

Read on to learn all about the new music features coming to your Apple devices. For more from WWDC, check out everything new in iOS 17 and the new gaming mode for MacOS.

New AirDrop features in iOS 17 will let you share music easily

An update to iOS for iPhones will soon add a new phone gesture for launching an AirDrop, Apple’s Bluetooth-based system for secure personal sharing. Now users will only need to «bump» their devices by bringing them close together to initiate an AirDrop and share contact info or other files.

The new AirDrop functionality will make it easier for Apple users to kick off shared experiences as well. Bumping devices will also enable starting SharePlay, which lets two people listen to the same music or watch the same movie simultaneously. 

At the WWDC event, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi gave the example of two people running together who bump their phones to start listening to the same music at the same time. Similarly, two friends at a coffee shop could bump phones to watch the same video stream together.

Collaborative Playlists will let friends create shared music sets

Collaborative Playlists will make it easier to create and react to shared music.

Apple

One of the biggest upcoming Apple Music features not announced at WWDC is a new Collaborative Playlist option. Coming this fall, Apple Music subscribers will be able to invite friends and family to join group playlists. Participants can select, edit and order songs in the shared playlist, or add emojis to specific tracks.

Apple didn’t provide many details about how Collaborative Playlists will work, but an image in the company’s press release indicates that playlist participants will see their profile pictures associated with the songs they selected, with a button at the top of the app for adding or removing people from the playlist.

CarPlay will make it easier to share music on road trips 

Apple also showed off the integration of SharePlay with CarPlay, which will make it possible for everyone in the car to contribute to a road-trip playlist without passing a phone around. If you’re running CarPlay and using Apple Music, everyone in the car with an iPhone should be able to join your share and add songs to the playlist. 

On Wednesday, Apple provided a few more details about how SharePlay will work in cars. When people in a car are listening to Apple Music, other trusted iPhones in the car will be prompted to join the session. Participants can then control the music with their own devices, and they won’t need an Apple Music subscription to do so.

AirPlay will let you play music and movies on hotel devices

Apple announced an upcoming partnership with hotels to allow iPhone, iPad and Mac users to stream music and movies directly to hotel devices. While the most obvious use of AirPlay in hotels will be playing your movies and TV shows on the big screen, you’ll also probably be able to stream music to the hotel TV for a stereo music experience that doesn’t require headphones.

Pairing your Apple device with the hotel’s will be as simple as scanning a QR code. According to the WWDC announcement, «AirPlay will be available in select hotels before the end of the year.»

AirPlay will also soon learn your favorite music preferences

Along with the new streaming options for music in hotels and cars, Apple AirPlay is set to start learning your listening preferences and adapting to them. iPhones and iPads will soon use «on-device intelligence» to analyze your listening habits and adjust playback suggestions accordingly.

In the example provided at WWDC, someone who always listens to music while cooking dinner would be prompted to stream their music via a kitchen HomePod speaker during the usual time for food preparation.

You’ll also soon be able to initiate an AirPlay session using Siri and your Apple HomePod, letting you control the music playing at home with only your voice.

Other new audio features coming to Apple devices

Sharing and streaming music more easily were the main audio features announced at WWDC, but there were a few other minor announcements that could improve the listening experience for AirPods, iPhones and iPads.

First, a new iOS diary app called Journal will use curated information from your device — such as photos, music and location — to create personalized prompts for your journaling. You’ll soon be able to simply tap a song on your Apple device to add it to your Journal entry.

Apple also plans to add new playback features to Apple Music, including the ability to crossfade songs and display full-screen animated album art when it’s available. The app will add new artist features as well, such as new song credits that will provide details about all of the musicians and contributors involved in the recording.

Finally, Apple AirPods will soon add a new feature called «adaptive audio,» which dynamically tweaks volume and noise cancellation based on what you’re listening to and the sounds around you. A personalized volume system will also adjust your sound based on your listening preferences over time.

Read more: AirPods Getting a Cool New Feature That Sony Earbuds Already Have

For more on Apple’s WWDC 2023, check out all the new features coming to the Apple Watch with WatchOS 10 and our hands-on impressions of the biggest MacBook Air ever.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.


Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. 

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

  • POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

  • AZALEA, HEMLOCK, FOXGLOVE, OLEANDER, BELLADONNA

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is POISONOUS. To find it, look for the P that is the first letter on the far left of the top row, and wind down and across.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 23, #395

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 395.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.


Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has one of those crazy purple categories, where you wonder if anyone saw the connection, or if people just put that grouping together because only those four words were left. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Fan noise.

Green group hint: Strategies for hoops.

Blue group hint: Minor league.

Purple group hint: Look for a connection to hoops.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Sounds from the crowd.

Green group: Basketball offenses.

Blue group: Triple-A baseball teams.

Purple group: Ends with a basketball stat.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is sounds from the crowd. The four answers are boo, cheer, clap and whistle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball offenses. The four answers are motion, pick and roll, Princeton and triangle.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is triple-A baseball teams.  The four answers are Aces, Jumbo Shrimp, Sounds and Storm Chasers.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends with a basketball stat.  The four answers are afoul, bassist, counterpoint and sunblock.

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Technologies

Amazon’s Delivery Drivers Will Soon Wear AI Smart Glasses to Work

The goal is to streamline the delivery process while keeping drivers safe.

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it is developing new AI-powered smart glasses to simplify the delivery experience for its drivers. CNET smart glasses expert Scott Stein mentioned this wearable rollout last month, and now the plan is in its final testing stages.

The goal is to simplify package delivery by reducing the need for drivers to look at their phones, the label on the package they’re delivering and their surroundings to find the correct address. 


Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.


A heads-up display will activate as soon as the driver parks, pointing out potential hazards and tasks that must be completed. From there, drivers can locate and scan packages, follow turn-by-turn directions and snap a photograph to prove delivery completion without needing to take out their phone.

The company is testing the glasses in select North American markets.

Watch: See our Instagram post with a video showing the glasses

A representative for Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

To fight battery drain, the glasses pair with a controller attached to the employee’s delivery vest, allowing them to replace depleted batteries and access operational controls. The glasses will support an employee’s eyeglass prescription. An emergency button will be within reach to ensure the driver’s safety. 

Amazon is already planning future versions of the glasses, which will feature «real-time defect detection,» notifying the driver if a package was delivered to the incorrect address. They plan to add features to the glasses to detect if pets are in the yard and adjust to low light.

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