They forgot to mention the new "HomePod" which is Apple's competitor to the Amazon Echo and Google Home except that it sounds like it will be a much higher quality audio experience, a true HiFi speaker which can work as a stand-alone speaker or as a pair and I think this will be the true competition for Sonos. I think Sonos has made a mistake by not making all their speakers and devices Airplay capable and as somebody who loves Sonos and has invested a fair bit in Sonos this is a bit disappointing. I don't necessarily see myself getting rid of my living room Playbar, Sub and Play 1 set as rear speakers, but since I bought a lot of my Sonos gear before any of the stand-alone speakers like the Play 1, Play 3 and Play 5 came out, I have 3 Connect Amp devices in the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen and those are connected to in-wall or in-ceiling speakers. I could easily see myself replacing them with the HomePod (especially a set of them in the bedroom and a single one in the kitchen and I would then use those two Sonos Connect Amps at my retail business to drive the speakers I have downstairs, upstairs and outside. Currently I use a single Connect which is connected to my 22-year old Onkyo receiver and a 4-port speaker switch, but if each set of speakers would have their own Connect Amp that would make it even easier in terms of adjusting the volume independently and even playing different things upstairs and downstairs. At $349 US the HomePod is even substantially less than a Sonos Play 5 and from the description I would hazard a guess and say that it may sound very good as well with its array of 7 tweeters and a 4-inch wover. Of course the fact I can simply say "Hey SIRI" followed by what I want to listen to is very tempting, we have an Apple Music family subscription so the integration would be awesome. One thing I am curious about and I'm sure we'll find out is how it would work for different users, e.g. my wife of course has her own music and listens to a lot of filipino music whereas my library and recommendations are much different. Hopefully Apple will have something that allows the HomePod to switch from one user to another. Of course I won't have to worry about this because based on what Apple has announced the HomePod will only be available in the US, UK and Australia at launch in December this year and then it will come to a bunch of other countries in 2018, hopefully Canada will get it some time in the first part of 2018, at least I have time to save up for it and who knows what Sonos will come up with by then, but it is of course unlikely Apple will give third party manufacturers the same access to SIRI and all that for a while since it would mean less HomePod sales for them. I am also curious whether the HomePod has bluetooth so one could connect to it directly with a good quality bluetooth headset.
As for the big App Store announcement I was somewhat disappointed that they didn't mention a trial period for apps and a rating system which gives an indication about an app's level of accessibility. As for the SIRI announcement I was also disappointed as it does not sound like a leap forward and break-through upgrade, so they have better sounding voices which might be nice since I assume these voices will also be available to be used as Voiceover voices, but it sounds as if SIRI continues to remain stupid compared to Google. I guess we'll have to see how these upgrades translate into real-world knowledge and how well it will be able to answer a variety of questions. The Apple Maps update sounds promising especially if the new indoor maps of malls and airports will be combined with iBeacons to provide accurate directions for indoor navigation. Hopefully the person-to-person payment option for Apple Pay will be available anywhere Apple Pay is available as that would be a nice and easy way to send somebody some money. It is interesting that they mentioned how they expect Apple Pay to be available at 50% of retailers by the end of this year in the US. Here in Canada we got Apple Pay much later, but because of our banking and credit card infrastructure, Apple Pay is available anywhere contactless payments are accepted which by now is almost everywhere. I don't know any hard numbers, but I would guess it is well over 90% of places that accept credit cards. Even small retailers like my store or the little german butcher shop down the street have contactless payment terminals hence I can use Apple Pay. Regards, Sieghard -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Gary Bowers Sent: Monday, June 5, 2017 12:21 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Apple announces iOS 11 with new features and redesigned App Store theverge.com Apple announces iOS 11 with new features and redesigned App Store Chris Welch Apple CEO Tim Cook just officially announced iOS 11 onstage at WWDC 2017. The next major update to the operating system running on millions of iPhones and iPads will improve on the "core technologies" that power the OS and also introduce numerous new features. The first among those demo'd by Craig Federighi was synchronized messages across iOS and macOS. If you erase a message on your iPhone or iPad, that will now be reflected on your Mac as well. Apple Pay is also expanding to include person-to-person payments, positioning Apple to take on Venmo and Square Cash. iOS 11 will introduce a Apple Pay Cash Card, where users will store their received funds from peer-to-peer transactions. This money can be transferred to your personal bank account. Siri Apple has made improvements to Siri that make the assistant's voice sound more natural when responding to users. Additionally, Siri will now be able to perform translations in various languages including English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish. A new "intelligence" feature allows Siri to make suggestions that you might find interesting - like a news article - and be more predictive about what you want to do next. Siri accomplishes this through what Federighi described as "on-device learning." On-device learning is synced across your other Apple devices but "kept completely private, readable only by you and your devices." Control Center In iOS 11, Apple has completely redesigned Control Center, which is the panel that users can swipe up to access frequent and important settings or change songs when listening to music. Indoor maps for shopping malls and airports Apple Maps is introducing indoor maps for airports and shopping centers in select cities. Mall layouts will be available for the following cities: Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Jose, Tokyo, and Washington DC. Apple has indoor maps for well over 20 major airports as well, including both US and international locations. Speed limits, lane guidance, and Do Not Disturb While Driving iOS 11 also adds new improvements to Maps when you're behind the wheel of a car. Lane guidance and speed limits should help you navigate unfamiliar highways, and a new Do Not Disturb While Driving will get rid of potential distractions when your eyes should be focused on the road. Text messages won't be shown by default, though senders have the option of replying with "urgent" in cases when you really need to see something. Apple Music, AirPlay 2, HomeKit 2, and multi-room audio Sonos has some huge competition on the way. Apple's Craig Federighi said on stage that iOS 11 will introduce support for multi-room audio between iPhones, iPads, and a slew of third-party speakers. Plus, Apple Music is adding a much needed social element, which will show you what friends are currently listening to on the service. Like Spotify, you've got the option of listening privately if you don't want to let others in on your guilty pleasures. A redesigned App Store The App Store is getting its biggest makeover ever in iOS 11. There's a new "Today" tab that will surface notable releases, and Apple is finally giving the games section its own dedicated tab. There's a much bigger editorial aspect to the store now, too, as users will find how-tos and other content that pertains to select apps. Other refinements include the ability for developers to directly list in-app purchases in the App Store - rather than making users hunt for them in the app. ARKit Apple is building augmented reality directly into the core of iOS, giving developers the tools they need to convincingly blend digital entertainment with the real world. Other Here's the fun slide of other features coming to iOS 11 that didn't get stage time. Standouts include screen recording, a one-handed keyboard, FaceTime Live Photos, password autofill in apps, and more. iOS 10, unveiled at last year's WWDC, focused on a major update to the Messages app, and also included redesigned Maps, Photos, Apple Music, and News apps. A new Home app for controlling HomeKit-compatible smart home gadgets was introduced, and Apple began its work to open Siri to software developers as part of iOS 10, as well. Developing. Check out our WWDC live blog for the latest updates! end of article -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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