If you’ve got an active Google account — or especially if you’ve got one you haven’t used in a while — you’ve probably got more apps and services hooked up to your account than you realize. There are all those places where you’ve “signed in with Google,” all those browser extensions you’ve given permissions to, all those add-ons that you’ve installed on top of Gmail and Google Drive, and so on.

While it’s always a good idea to be selective and cautious in choosing which apps and sites get these privileges, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with using your Google account instead of an email address and password combination or in giving another app that may be useful access to your emails or Google storage (depending on the app, of course).

However, when you stop using these third-party apps and services but keep the connections to your Google account in place, you are potentially leaving your data and your account exposed. It’s good security practice to keep the number of apps that can access your Google account down to a minimum — only the ones you fully trust and regularly use. The fewer connections, the safer you are.

Here’s how to find out what apps and services are attached to your Google account and how to remove them.

Using your Google account page

Google’s account management tools are fairly robust. You can access them on the web by going to your Google account page and logging in.

• Click Security from the menu on the left.
• Scroll down the main section to Your connections to third-party apps and services.
• Select See all connections.

You’ll now see a list of everything connected to your Google account — including, probably, a few apps you’d forgotten about.

Checking connected apps and services

Click on any of the entries in the list to see more information about it, including what the app is allowed to do and which Google apps it has access to (Gmail for reading and sending emails, for example). If this is an app that you no longer want to have access to your Google account:

• Select Delete all connections to break the link between the app or service and your Google account, then click Confirm.
• If you need more info first, click on the See details button to find out when the connection to your Google account was first established. From there, you can stop access by clicking the blue button (which will say either Delete connection or Stop using Sign in with Google).

Note that this doesn’t prevent you from using the app and service again in the future: if you load it up again, however, you’ll have to reestablish the connection to your Google account using your password or passkey.

Checking specific apps

On the Third-party apps & services page, just beneath the title that says [number] total apps and services, there are several buttons that will filter which apps you want to check out, including one labeled Access to.

• Click on Access to get a drop-down menu that lists specific Google apps that are being accessed by apps or devices (such as a speaker that uses Google Assistant).
• Click on any of the entries in the list to see more information about it, including what the app is allowed to do.
• Select Delete all connections to break the link between the app or service and your Google account, then click Confirm.

Using your mobile device

You can get to the same screens and options on Android and iOS, too.

On Android:

• Open Settings and tap Google.
• Select Manage your Google Account.
• Switch to the Security tab.
• Scroll down to Your connections to third-party apps & services.

On iOS

• Open the Google app and tap your profile picture (top right).
• Choose Manage your Google Account.
• Open the Security tab.
• Scroll down to Your connections to third-party apps & services.

You can also get to your Google account through the mobile browser on your smartphone: just head to your Google account page and sign in.

From your Google Drive

There’s actually a completely separate list of connected apps and services in your Google Drive account. These are typically plug-ins you’re running on top of Google Drive (perhaps to handle unusual file types) or games and apps that need the cloud storage space.

Head to Google Drive on the web, log into your account, and then:

– Click the cog icon (top right corner).

– Choose Settings from the menu, then Manage apps on the left.

Again, you’ll see a list of connected apps, together with what the app is designed to do and, in some cases, how much storage space its data is using.

• Click Options next to any third-party app to see how you can manage it. (Most Google-created apps will have Options grayed out, although you can unclick the Use by default if you have a different preferred app.)
• Choose Disconnect from Drive to break the connection with your Google Drive account (this typically appears for apps that are still active, and you get the option to delete its data at the same time).
• If an app is grayed out, it’s likely no longer available — you will probably see the message This app no longer has access to Drive beneath it, along with the amount of hidden app data that still remains behind. Click Options and choose Delete hidden app data to remove any associated files.

This is only something you can do on the web — the same screen isn’t available through the Android and iOS apps for Google Drive.

Web browser extensions

Browser extensions work a little differently in that they won’t all have direct access to your Google account, but they may have permission to interact with web apps (such as Gmail and Google Docs) when they’re open in your browser.

For example, a Gmail extension that lets you snooze emails for a certain period doesn’t need permission to log into your Google account but will have permission to interact with your Gmail data when the app is open in a browser tab.

As with full apps and services, keep your list of extensions trimmed down as much as possible to minimize the security risks — ideally, you should only really keep the ones you’re actively using.

Head to the extensions page in your browser of choice to see active extensions and remove them if necessary:

• In Chrome and Edge, click the three dots (top right), then Extensions > Manage Extensions.
• In Firefox, click the three lines (top right), then Add-ons and themes > Extensions.
• In Safari, select Safari > Settings > Extensions to see a list.

]]> https://www.latest-apple-news.com/2023/06/21/many-of-apples-products-and-features-are-powered-by-ai/ Tue, 20 Jun 2023 22:30:01 +0000 https://macdailynews.com/?p=263723 Apple’s next-gen iPhone operating system, iOS 17, due this fall, will feature an update to autocorrect, powered by AI, that will no longer…

The post Many of Apple’s products and features are powered by AI appeared first on MacDailyNews. Apple’s next-gen iPhone operating system, iOS 17, due this fall, will feature an update to autocorrect, powered by AI, that will no longer change the F-word to “duck.”

Caroline Mimbs Nyce for The Atlantic:

Apple’s much-maligned spelling software is getting upgraded by artificial intelligence: Using sophisticated language models, the new autocorrect won’t just check words against a dictionary, but will be able to consider the context of the word in a sentence.

The next generation of autocorrect was one of several small updates to the iPhone experience that Apple announced earlier this month. The Photos app will be able to differentiate between your dog and other dogs, automatically recognizing your pup the same way it recognizes people who frequently appear in your pictures. And AirPods will get smarter about adjusting to background noise based on your listening over time.

All of these features are powered by AI—even if you might not know it from how Apple talks about them. Its conference unveiling the updates included zero mentions of AI, now a buzzword for tech companies of all stripes. Instead, Apple used more technical language such as machine learning or transformer language model. Apple has been quiet about the technology—so quiet that it has been accused of falling behind… But Apple is pushing forward with AI in small ways, an incrementalist approach that nonetheless still might be the future of where this technology is headed…

Like the rest of Silicon Valley, Apple may soon take bigger swings. Daniel Ives, a technology analyst at Wedbush Securities, thinks Apple’s new AI features amount to “just the appetizer before the main entrée.” His team has estimated that the company has spent $8 to $10 billion on AI in the past four or five years—the same amount that Microsoft invested in OpenAI in January — and Apple is reportedly on the hunt for AI talent.

MacDailyNews Take: Apple has made significant strides in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning over the years and its efforts are accelerating. Some of Apple’s notable achievements include:

• Core ML: Apple’s Core ML is a framework that allows developers to integrate machine learning models into their iOS apps. Core ML supports a variety of popular machine learning tools and techniques, such as neural networks and decision trees.

• Face ID: Apple’s facial recognition technology, Face ID, uses AI and machine learning to recognize a user’s face and authenticate their identity. Face ID is used on the iPhone and iPad, and is considered one of the most secure forms of biometric authentication.

• Siri: Apple’s voice-activated personal assistant, Siri, is one of the company’s most well-known AI applications. Siri uses natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to understand and respond to spoken requests from users.

• Apple Neural Engine: Apple’s custom-designed Neural Engine is a chip that is used in some of the company’s devices, including the iPhone and iPad. The Neural Engine is designed specifically for machine learning tasks, and is used to power features like Face ID and Siri.

• Machine Learning Research: Apple also conducts research in the field of machine learning, with a particular focus on developing techniques that can be used to improve user privacy. For example, Apple has developed a technique called “differential privacy,” which allows data to be analyzed without revealing individual users’ personal information.

Overall, Apple has made significant contributions to the field of artificial intelligence, and continues to invest in AI research and development.

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The post Many of Apple’s products and features are powered by AI appeared first on MacDailyNews.

When you read a review of a smartphone, you will usually be hit with a long list of screen specs: the display type, its dimensions and aspect ratio, its resolution in pixels, its HDR support (or lack of it), and its brightness, for example. Too often, it’s assumed that everyone understands the significance of each of these specs.

So in this article, we’re going to focus on the basics of the refresh rate, which you’ll see in the specs of monitors and TVs as well. It tells you how many times the display is refreshed per second, typically measured in Hz (hertz). In other words, a 90Hz display refreshes itself 90 times a second. Here’s what you need to know about the spec and how to make sure the maximum refresh rate is enabled on your phone.

What is the significance of the refresh rate?

A faster refresh rate means a display that’s easier on the eye because movement looks smoother and pixels get updated more quickly. There is a downside, though, because all this additional refreshing means that battery life can take a hit, especially on big and bright displays.

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

High refresh rates are most sought after on gaming monitors, where fractions of a second can make a difference when it comes to making a turn or spotting an enemy. However, the video source needs to keep up: if you have a gaming monitor that offers 144Hz (144 refreshes per second) but a graphics card that can only display 30 frames per second, then a large chunk of that 144Hz refresh rate isn’t being used. It’s the same on your phone: games and videos would often be capped at a certain number of frames per second in order to keep them stable — Netflix content, for example, is streamed at between 24 and 60 frames per second.

That is now starting to change as phones with higher refresh rates begin to appear. For many years, phone display refresh rates were stuck at 60Hz, but in recent years, that’s changed: the iPhone 14 Pro Max can go up to 120Hz, for example, while the Google Pixel 7A is able to hit 90Hz.

As a result, YouTube now displays some content at 60 frames per second, for example. A growing number of games are able to support higher refresh rates on modern phones—your best bet is to check the game listing or run a web search.

Whether a higher refresh rate is really noticeable can be a point of contention. A higher refresh rate ceiling is a nice feature to have, but unless you’re an avid gamer, you might not need to prioritize it — and you should be wary of paying a premium price for this feature alone. It’s also worth emphasizing that a screen is the sum of its specs. A 60Hz display could easily outperform a 120Hz display in areas such as brightness and color accuracy, depending on the manufacturer, so always check the reviews carefully.

Setting refresh rates on your phone

As we’ve already mentioned, higher refresh rates can mean faster battery drain, which is why a lot of handsets use an adaptive approach — that means the refresh rate can be adjusted on the fly as needed.

Apple iPhone

On the iPhone, the adjustable refresh rate technology is called ProMotion. The feature is supported on the iPhone 13 Pro, the iPhone 13 Pro Max, the iPhone 14 Pro, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max and will no doubt come to more of Apple’s handsets in the future.

If you have one of these models, you can check if ProMotion is enabled. Using it will make sure the higher frame rates are only used for specific apps; however, if you’re really worried about battery life, you can turn it off to keep your frame rate at 60Hz.

• Open iOS Settings and tap Accessibility.
• Tap on Motion.
• Enable Limit Frame Rate to fix the refresh rate at 60Hz or disable it to leave ProMotion working as normal.

Samsung Galaxy

There’s a similar setting available on high-end Samsung Galaxy flagship phones made in the last few years, including the most recent Samsung Galaxy S23 series. As on the iPhone, you can opt to disable the higher refresh rates if you prefer.

• Open the Settings and tap Display.
• Tap on Motion smoothness.
• Choose Adaptive to enable variable refresh rates, Standard to keep the display fixed at 60Hz, or High to lock the display at its highest setting.
• Tap Apply to confirm.

Note that if your phone is in Power saving mode (which limits battery-sapping features such as background network usage and syncing), you will be limited to the Standard display option.

Google PIxel

Pixel phones that go above the traditional ceiling of 60Hz — for example, the Pixel 6 and 7 phones can go up to 90Hz, while the Pixel 6 Pro and 7 Pro phones can hit 120Hz — have a feature called Smooth Display, which will push the refresh rate to their higher rate for certain apps.

• Open Settings and tap Display.
• Toggle Smooth display on to have the phone automatically switch between 60Hz and 90Hz as needed or disable it to leave the refresh rate fixed at 60Hz.

If you have a later-model Android phone from another manufacturer, you can try either of these methods or see if you can find your manufacturer’s equivalent. It may take some trial and error before you figure out what’s best for your phone and its battery life and the sort of tasks you’re wanting to do on it. If you find that you can’t actually tell the difference as you switch between modes, you might decide to keep your phone locked at 60Hz — but to get objects on-screen looking as fluid as possible, you’ll want to keep the highest possible settings in place.

]]> https://www.latest-apple-news.com/2023/06/07/wwdc-2023-rumor-report-card-the-biggest-hits-and-misses/ Wed, 07 Jun 2023 00:39:31 +0000 https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/06/wwdc-2023-rumor-report-card/ Apple made a wide range of hardware and software announcements during its WWDC keynote on Monday, introducing its long-awaited AR/VR headset Vision Pro, new Macs, iOS 17, macOS Sonoma, and much more. As always, there were many rumors leading up to the event that gave us an idea of what to expect, but not all of them were accurate.

Below, we have recapped some of the bigger hits and misses from the WWDC rumor mill.

Hits

• Many hardware-related details about Apple’s headset were accurately reported, including the external battery pack connected with a wire, the ability to see the wearer’s eyes, the M2 chip, eye and hand tracking, and an Apple Watch-like Digital Crown for switching between augmented reality and virtual reality.
• Apple announced a 15-inch MacBook Air equipped with the M2 chip.
• Apple updated the Mac Studio with M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips.
• Apple updated the Mac Pro with the M2 Ultra chip, although there was uncertainty about whether it would be announced at WWDC or later.
• The new Mac Pro features the same overall design as the previous Intel-based model.
• iOS 17 features a new StandBy mode that can show info like the time, calendar, and widgets when an iPhone is charging in a landscape position. While the StandBy name never leaked, the feature was accurately rumored.
• iOS 17 features a new Journal app.
• iOS 17 drops support for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X.
• Apple added new mental health and vision health features to the Health app on iOS 17, and expanded the app to the iPad.
• Apple shortened the “Hey Siri” phrase to “Siri.”
• AirPlay will soon work with supported TVs in hotel rooms.
• watchOS 10 features widgets that can be scrolled through, and redesigned apps that take advantage of larger Apple Watch displays.

Misses

• Reality Pro was considered a potential name for Apple’s headset based on a trademark application, but it ended up being named Vision Pro.
• It was reported that Apple’s headset operating system would be named xrOS, but it ended up being named visionOS. Apple does refer to the operating system as xrOS in its WWDC session videos, so to the name may have been a placeholder, or perhaps there was a last-minute change.
• Vision Pro was widely rumored to cost around $3,000, but it is priced at $3,499.
• Vision Pro is launching in early 2024, not late 2023. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo did mention the possibility of early 2024 at the last minute.
• A sketchy rumor claimed Apple’s headset would be available in six colors.
• Nearly all claims made by previously-accurate Twitter account @analyst941 were false, including iOS 17 having a redesigned Control Center and Wallet app.
• 15-inch MacBook Air was initially rumored to feature an M3 chip.
• The new MacBook Air has a 15.3-inch display, not a 15.5-inch display.

With so many rumors shared leading up to WWDC, this list is far from comprehensive, so feel free to discuss other hits and misses in the comments section.

This article, "WWDC 2023 Rumor Report Card: The Biggest Hits and Misses" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple has made a habit of announcing new AirPods software features at its WWDC keynote. Two years ago, those included Conversation Boost and deeper Find My integration. A year before that, the company introduced spatial audio and automatic device switching. Today at WWDC 2023, the company announced several new enhancements, including Adaptive Audio, which intelligently blends noise cancellation and transparency passthrough based on your surroundings.

Adaptive Audio will appear as an additional option beside full active noise cancellation and transparency mode. When active, the AirPods Pro constantly analyze your environment and adjust ANC and transparency for the optimal listening experience.

A “conversation awareness” feature will automatically activate transparency mode and lower the volume of music when the AirPods detect speech — much like earbuds from Sony and other brands already do. Once you’ve stopped talking, your audio will return to normal.

Apple also demonstrated much better background noise reduction to prevent people on the other side of a call from hearing unwanted distractions. The WWDC AirPods segment featured a marching band surrounding a person wearing Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro. To the person on the other side of that call, the band cacophony was barely perceptible.

Automatic device switching between Apple’s platforms — which can be frustratingly glitchy at times — should work faster and more reliably when using your AirPods, according to the WWDC presentation. These updates are due this fall alongside the release of iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and tvOS 17.

Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge

Speaking of tvOS, Apple announced that FaceTime is coming to the TV screen (along with support for Continuity Camera). Zoom and WebEx will release apps for the platform. tvOS 17 also adds a Siri Remote locator function, redesigned Control Center, and more.

Some of these new AirPods voice features are similar in concept to Google’s Clear Calling. “Clear Calling uses machine learning to recognize, isolate, and eliminate distracting sounds like wind and traffic noise while enhancing your caller’s voice,” Google’s Brian Rakowski said during the company’s Pixel event last October. “So your friends can call you from anywhere, and you’ll be able to hear them just fine.” It’s been rumored that Clear Calling is headed to the Pixel Buds Pro in the not-too-distant future.

Apple has gone down this path before with its impressive Voice Isolation feature, which expanded from FaceTime to support regular phone calls earlier this year. The new AirPods feature will build upon Apple’s learnings and try to take voice conversations to the next level.

(via Cult of Mac – Tech and culture through an Apple lens)