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Apples Music Haptics feature is now live, as part of the official release of iOS 18. This is an accessibility tool that integrates with Apple Music on iPhones. Simply put, it uses the phones speaker-based haptics system, which the company refers to as the Taptic Engine, to create taps, textures and refined vibrations to the audio of the song. This is quite obviously aimed toward those affected by hearing loss, allowing them to feel the music. It works with Apple Music, but also with Apple Music Classical and Shazam. The company says itll also integrate with some third-party apps, so long as the iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi or cellular. To get started, just head into the Accessibility settings menu and turn on Music Haptics. An easily identifiable logo will appear on the Now Playing screen in the Apple Music app when activated. Tapping this logo will pause the feature and tapping it again will turn it back on. Music Haptics is supported globally on iPhone 12 and later, as long as the device is updated to iOS 18. To commemorate the launch, Apple Music has released a series of playlists that take advantage of the haptic technology. These channels have names like Haptics Beats and Haptics Bass, so they are filled with songs with plenty of opportunity for taps and vibrations. People have already been experimenting with the feature. Some users have suggested that it sounds like an Atari game when a phone is placed on a box with Music Haptics turned on. I dont agree but, well, listen for yourself.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/apple-music-brings-its-audio-haptics-feature-to-all-users-as-part-of-ios-18-184753345.html?src=rss
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It seems that The New York Times isn't quite content with players attempting to complete Wordle 4.8 billion times a year on its apps and website. The publication has brought the all-conquering daily word game to a new platform in the shape of Meta Quest headsets. That's right, Wordle VR is now a thing. There's a dedicated app for it on Meta Quest 2, 3 and Pro. Wordle VR works in much the same way as the game does on your phone or computer. You have six attempts to guess a five-letter word. The mystery word is the same for all players and the game refreshes at midnight local time. The main difference in VR is that Wordle is played on a floating screen, with yellow and green blocks in the background. I guess those add a little extra visual stimuli. "Were always looking for unique and creative opportunities to reach audiences with our games," Jonathan Knight, the general manager of NYT Games, told the Meta Quest blog. "This collaboration reflects our embrace of innovative technologies and exploration of new formats and experiences, like mixed reality, to bring our games to life. Wordle is the perfect choice for this virtual environment, given its simple, user-friendly interface that audiences everywhere have come to love." I can't imagine that anyone will explicitly strap on a Quest headset just for the two minutes or so it takes to play each round of Wordle. But perhaps having the app on their Quest homescreen will remind them to try to keep their streak going before they hop into Asgard's Wrath 2 or that cool-looking Batman VR game. Otherwise, was anyone truly hoping for Wordle VR to exist? (If that's you, please drop a comment below. I need to know.)This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/who-exactly-asked-for-a-wordle-vr-app-184055339.html?src=rss
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Over three months after Apple introduced it at WWDC 2024, watchOS 11 is officially here. The 2024 Apple Watch update, which adds the new Vitals app, widget improvements and sleep apnea detection, is now available to install on your smartwatch. Apples sleep apnea detection feature, which the company highlighted in its Apple Watch Series 10 reveal, will also work with a couple of year-old models. If you own the Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2, you can try the feature before the new model makes it into customers hands later this week. Sleep apnea detection will send you an alert if the watchs sensors detect overnight breathing disturbances. The health feature, similar to one Samsung included with the Galaxy Watch 7 earlier this year, received FDA approval last week. watchOS 11 also introduces a new Vitals app, further beefing up Apples health-tracking features on its wearable. For those who wear their Apple Watch to bed for sleep tracking (and a handy alarm in the morning), Vitals collects your overnight data in one place. The app establishes baselines for your health metrics. It lets you know if any fall outside your typical range, potentially handy for spotting irregularities like oncoming illnesses or tracking the effects of alcohol use. Similarly, the new Training Load feature measures the intensity of your workouts over time. After establishing an intensity baseline over 28 days, it shows how hard youre pushing yourself in your workouts comparing it with your standard averages. At launch, it supports 17 workout types, including walks, runs, cycling, rowing, swings and more. Youll find your Training Load in the Activity app on your Apple Watch and the Fitness app on your iPhone. Apple Apple added a long-requested feature this year: the ability to pause and customize Activity ring goals. It hardly makes sense to keep pushing yourself (at your watchs prodding) if youre sick or need rest. The wearable now lets you take a break for a day, week, month or more without losing your award streaks. In addition, you can set different Activity ring goals for each day of the week and customize the data you care about most in the iOS 18 Fitness app. The Apple Watchs Smart Stack (the pile of widgets you see when you scroll down from your watch face) now shows widgets automatically based on context. (For example, rain alerts.) In addition, Live Activities, which arrived on the iPhone two years ago, is also coming to the Apple Watch in the new update. Youll find Live Activities for things like sports scores you track or an arriving Uber in the watchOS 11 Smart Stack. Check In is a new feature that lets you notify a friend when you reach your destination. You can begin a Check In from the watchOS Messages app by tapping the plus button next to the text field, choosing Check In and entering where youre going and when you expect to arrive. Similarly, when exercising, you can start a Check In from the workouts app: Swipe right from the workout screen and choose Check In from the controls. You can then pick a contact to share your exercise routine with. Other features include new pregnancy tracking in the Cycles app and a Double Tap API that lets third-party developers incorporate hands-free controls. To download watchOS 11, youll first need to install iOS 18 on your paired iPhone. After that, open the Watch app on your phone, then head to General > Software Update. It should then prompt you to update to the 2024 software.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/watchos-11-is-out-now-with-new-sleep-apnea-feature-182103629.html?src=rss
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