Apple’s Live Activities and always-on display are a showcase for what our phones could be. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge The always-on display, Live Activities, and Dynamic Island tease a frictionless future where we spend less time in apps. Listening to a baseball game on the radio while following the score on your phone can make you feel a little bit like a psychic. I watch the score tick to 10-8 on the iPhone 14 Pro’s display several pitches before Dave Sims goes wild on the broadcast calling Cal Raleigh’s home run. This is a lot less fun when you see the score go the other direction, but that wasn’t the case on Sunday when the Mariners…

Reddit's official iOS app has received an update that gives users the ability to more easily share content on the social discussion website with the help of rich link previews. Previously, sharing a link to a Reddit post via a messaging service such as Apple's Messages app only displayed the URL address in the conversation thread, offering the recipient little idea of its contents. By contrast, rich link previews display a visual preview of the post being linked to, including the subreddit name, total upvotes, and comments, providing the recipient with a clearer gist of the content they can expect to see if they decide to tap the link and visit the post. In another update addition, it's now easier…

The redesigned version of the Maps app that Apple has been rolling out worldwide since 2019 is now being tested in Taiwan, according to Apple Maps expert Justin O'Beirne. The refreshed look is not available to all Apple Maps users as of yet, and Apple has not officially announced it. With the updated design, landmarks and buildings are shown in 3D, and green spaces, parks, trees, roads, and other areas are displayed in more detail and with more accuracy. Apple's revamped map experience also provides iPhone, iPad, and Mac users with better navigation, turn-by-turn walking directions with augmented reality, and in general, a much more detailed and immersive Maps interface. This design began rolling out in September 2018 in Northern…

Apple today released new firmware designed for the MagSafe Charger that is compatible with the iPhone 12 and later and the latest AirPods and Apple Watch models. The updated firmware is version 10M3761, up from the prior 10M1821 firmware. In the Settings app, you'll see a different version number than the firmware number, with the update displayed as version 258.0.0 (the prior firmware was 255.0.0). The ‌MagSafe‌ Charger was initially released in the fall of 2020 alongside the ‌iPhone 12‌ models, and this is the fourth firmware update that Apple has provided since the accessory launched. Because firmware updates are released quietly over the air, Apple does not provide release notes. We do not know what new features or bug…