Apple acquired Canadian startup Mayday Labs in April 2024, according to a European Commission listing, spotted by French blog MacGeneration. The acquisition had not received widespread attention from tech publications until now.


Apple is legally required to report certain acquisitions to the European Commission, under the terms of the EU's Digital Markets Act.

Mayday Labs founder Jeremy Bell confirmed that his company had been acquired in a since-deleted April 2024 blog post, but he did not mention Apple at that time. Apple acquired the startup's intellectual property, and the rights to make employment offers to certain employees, according to the European Commission.

Mayday Labs had developed an AI-powered calendar, task manager, and scheduling assistant for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The all-in-one app used AI to automatically schedule your events and tasks at ideal times, and it could learn your scheduling preferences and daily patterns over time to further optimize your calendar.

Mayday's website says its app worked best when you used it with others. For example, it could automatically schedule a meeting at a time where both you and a co-worker were available. It also offered automatic rescheduling for flexibility.

The app was shut down shortly after the acquisition.

It would be reasonable to assume that some of Mayday's features and technologies could be added to Apple's Calendar app across the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, under the Apple Intelligence umbrella. More than a year has passed since the acquisition, so perhaps some of these changes will debut as early as iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16, which will be unveiled at Apple's annual developers conference WWDC next month.

Apple already integrated its Calendar and Reminders apps on iOS 18, as a stepping stone.

The European Commission's website lists six other companies that Apple has acquired since September 2023, including Pointable, Betteromics, Drishti, DarwinAI, Datakalab, and Blueye. Many of these companies were working on AI technologies, for the enterprise, manufacturing, life sciences, and more. Some of the acquisitions were well publicized, but Mayday Labs and a few others went somewhat under the radar on a relative basis.
This article, "Apple Acquisition Hints at Upgraded Calendar App on iOS 19 or Beyond" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The widely-rumored iPhone 17 Air is expected to be the thinnest iPhone ever, but will that significantly impact the device's battery life?


Below, we recap rumors about the iPhone 17 Air's battery life.

Last week, The Information's Wayne Ma said the iPhone 17 Air will have "worse" battery life compared to previous iPhone models. In internal testing, Apple determined that the percentage of users who will be able to use the iPhone 17 Air for a full day on a single charge will be between 60% and 70%, according to his reporting. For other iPhone models, the report said that this metric falls between 80% and 90%.

The report said the lesser battery life is due in part to the iPhone 17 Air's ultra-thin design. According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the device will measure just 5.5mm at its thinnest point, but the rear camera bar will be thicker.

To mitigate this problem, the report said that Apple is planning to release a battery case as an optional accessory for the iPhone 17 Air.

Apple last released battery cases for the iPhone 11 lineup, followed by the since-discontinued MagSafe Battery Pack for the iPhone 12 series and newer. The case would presumably charge the iPhone 17 Air via the device's USB-C port.

Not everyone agrees that the iPhone 17 Air will have worse battery life, though.

In March, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the iPhone 17 Air's battery life would be "on par with current iPhones." He said Apple made hardware and software optimizations to make the device more power efficient, but he did not elaborate.

There are three rumored features for the iPhone 17 Air that could aid battery life, including a higher-density battery, Apple's power-efficient C1 modem, and the lack of an Ultra Wide camera providing more internal space for a larger battery. The lower-end iPhone 16e with the C1 modem has the longest battery life of any 6.1-inch iPhone model ever, although that device is obviously not as thin as the iPhone 17 Air is expected to be.

All in all, there is a still a lack of certainty about the iPhone 17 Air's battery life, with rumors currently conflicting. The device is not expected to be released until September, so hopefully some additional reports will help to paint a clearer picture.
This article, "Will the iPhone 17 Air Have Good Battery Life? Here's What Rumors Say" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The first iOS 19 beta is just one month away, and there are already many new features and changes that are expected with it.


Apple should seed the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September.

Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors so far.

New Design With Floating Tab Bar

iOS 19 is expected to introduce a new design that looks more like the visionOS operating system on the Apple Vision Pro headset.


According to Front Page Tech's Jon Prosser, iOS 19 will have a glass-like appearance, with added translucency for menus, buttons, and other user interface elements. He also expects rounder app icons, and a new floating tab bar in Apple apps.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also expects iOS 19 to have a visionOS-like design, and he believes the design changes will be the biggest since iOS 7.

Stage Manager for iPhones

Last month, a leaker known as Majin Bu claimed that iOS 19 will enable support for at least a limited version of Stage Manager on iPhone models with a USB-C port.


In a blog post citing sources, the leaker said that when an iPhone with a USB-C port is connected to an external display, users will be able to take advantage of a Stage Manager-like interface with multiple apps open at once on the screen. However, he said that there might be more limitations compared to Stage Manager on iPads.

iPhone models with a USB-C port include all iPhone 15 models and newer.

iPhones with both Lightning and USB-C ports can already be connected to external displays, but only for basic screen mirroring.

End-to-End Encryption for RCS

In March, Apple said that it plans to add support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to the Messages app in future iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS software updates. That likely means iOS 19, macOS 16, and other corresponding updates.


Apple promising end-to-end encryption for RCS messages indirectly confirms that it will be adopting the RCS Universal Profile 3.0 specification, which also includes several iMessage-like enhancements that were originally introduced in version 2.7 of the specification. iOS 18 supports RCS Universal Profile 2.4.

Here are five new capabilities to expect for RCS conversations on iOS 19:

• End-to-end encryption, which will prevent Apple and any other third party from being able to read messages and attachments while they are being sent between devices


• In-line replies


• Edit messages


• Unsend messages


• Full-fledged Tapback support for RCS messages, ensuring they always work

iMessage conversations with blue bubbles have supported end-to-end encryption by default since iOS 5. In addition, iMessage has supported in-line replies since iOS 14, while the options to edit and unsend iMessages were introduced with iOS 16.

Apple has not indicated which iOS version will upgrade RCS, but iOS 19 or a follow-up update like iOS 19.1 or iOS 19.2 seems like a safe bet.

Live Translate With AirPods

At least some AirPods models will be getting a new live translation feature with iOS 19 and an accompanying firmware update, according to Gurman.


Here is how that feature will work, according to his report:

The capability will work like this: If an English speaker is hearing someone talk in Spanish, the iPhone will translate the speech and relay it to the user's AirPods in English. The English speaker's words, meanwhile, will be translated into Spanish and played back by the iPhone.

Google already offers a similar Live Translate feature.

He also said iOS 19 will have bolstered translation capabilities, which likely means improvements are coming to the Apple Translate app.

Revamped Health App With Coaching Feature

A revamped Health app is expected to debut as early as iOS 19.4 next year.


Apple plans to offer a new AI-powered health coaching feature that offers personalized health recommendations, according to Gurman. The information provided by the coaching feature would be accompanied by videos from health experts that inform users about various health conditions and ways to make lifestyle improvements. For example, if the Apple Watch tracks poor heart-rate trends, a video could explain the risks of heart disease.

Food tracking will be another big part of the revamped Health app, which could compete with the MyFitnessPal app, according to Gurman.

Personalized Siri

In March, Apple delayed the more personalized version of Siri that it previewed at WWDC last year. The company said it anticipated rolling out the Siri upgrades at some point "in the coming year," so the features could launch as part of iOS 19 later this year. However, they could also arrive as part of a later update, such as iOS 19.1 through iOS 19.4.


Whenever they launch, the Siri upgrades will include understanding of a user's personal context, on-screen awareness, and deeper per-app controls. For example, during its WWDC 2024 keynote, Apple showed an iPhone user asking Siri about their mother's flight and lunch reservation plans based on info from the Mail and Messages apps.

The more personalized Siri features will require an iPhone model that supports Apple Intelligence, so you will need an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, any iPhone 16 model, or any iPhone 17 model launching later this year.

EU Changes

In March, the European Commission announced a long list of changes that Apple is legally required to implement in future iOS 19 and iOS 20 updates.


The announcement clarifies interoperability requirements that Apple is required to adhere to in the EU, under the Digital Markets Act, which has been fully enforced since March 2024. The changes will further open up the iPhone and its technologies to competing companies and devices, and Apple is not happy about it.

Here are some of the key requirements:

• Third-party smartwatches must be able to display and interact with iOS notifications by the end of 2025, which likely means iOS 19.2 or earlier.


• Apple must make its automatic audio switching feature available to third-party headphones by June 1, 2026, which likely means iOS 19.4 or earlier. This is the feature that allows most AirPods and select Beats to automatically switch connection between Apple devices, such as a Mac and an iPhone.


• Apple must make changes to iOS that allow for third parties to offer equivalent AirDrop alternatives by June 1, 2026.


• Apple must make changes to iOS that allow for third parties to offer equivalent AirPlay alternatives by iOS 20, or the end of 2026. iOS 20 is expected to be released to the general public in September 2026.

The entire list of changes can be found on the European Commission's website.

Google Gemini Integration

In court last month, Google CEO Sundar Pichai suggested that iOS 19 might include built-in Google Gemini integration.


iPhone models with Apple Intelligence have already offered ChatGPT integration since iOS 18.2. With user permission, Siri can show ChatGPT answers directly in response to questions and other prompts. ChatGPT is also an option for Apple's system-wide Writing Tools feature, allowing users to generate text and images. Google Gemini would likely have similar integration across Siri and Writing Tools, becoming a second option alongside ChatGPT.

Google Gemini is already available as an iPhone app.

Compatibility

According to a reliable source of iOS-related information, iOS 19 will be compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer.

This means that iOS 19 would not be available on the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, but those devices would continue to receive security updates.

More

Read our iOS 19 roundup for more details about the upcoming software update.
This article, "iOS 19 Beta is a Month Away With These New Features for Your iPhone" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Shazam today announced the launch of its Viral Chart, which lists the fastest-growing songs of the week that were "discovered on screens and socials."


"Shazam's new Viral Chart playlist doesn't just track TikTok hits—it captures the full spectrum of songs blowing up right now, whether through streaming, socials, TV placements, or that random 2004 banger suddenly resurfacing at bars and baseball games," says Apple.

For example, Doechii's single Anxiety blew up on TikTok, while Billy Preston's Nothing From Nothing gained popularity after being featured in the season finale of HBO's The White Lotus. These are the sort of songs that will appear in the Viral Charts.

There is a global chart, along with individual charts for more than 40 countries, and all of them will be updated on a daily basis. The global chart ranks the top 50 songs of the week, while the per-country charts rank the top 25 songs.

The charts are available on Shazam's website, and as Apple Music playlists.

Shazam uses "unique signals" to identify viral songs, which are then ranked by their weekly growth in Shazam identification requests.

Apple acquired Shazam in 2018, and it now powers the Music Recognition feature built into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Shazam is deeply integrated across Apple's software platforms, including in Control Center, Siri, as an Action button option on iPhone 15 Pro models and all iPhone 16 models, as a Smart Stack widget on the Apple Watch, and more.
This article, "Shazam's New Viral Chart Tracks Hit Songs Across TikTok, TV, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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