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Apple iOS 15
Apple

Apple released iOS 15, its big annual iPhone software update, on Monday.

This year’s version has some big changes, including the ability of FaceTime to make calls to Windows and Android users, artificial intelligence that can better identify animals, plants and other items in photos, and a feature that better controls limits on notifications.

While Apple pushes out updates on a regular basis throughout the year, the annual update that is released alongside new iPhones has the most additional features and changes.

IOS 15 is available for a lot of older phones, too, all the way back to the iPhone 6S, which was released in 2015. Here’s what you’ll get.

What’s new in iOS 15?

FaceTime on Android
Apple

FaceTime that includes Windows and Android users. FaceTime, Apple’s videoconferencing software, used to be reserved for Apple products only — users who wanted to FaceTime with an Android phone or Windows PC were out of luck. Starting in iOS 15, anyone with an Apple computer will see a button that allows them to create a link to a FaceTime chat. Users can send that link to any computer or phone with a modern web browser, and they can join in the chat too. Users will need to be let into the chat, so the link won’t let random people join without your permission.

Apple’s new Focus feature in iOS 15
Todd Haselton | CNBC

New Messages integration. Some people get lots of different links in Apple Messages, formerly iMessage, throughout the day but don’t have time to check them out until later. Now, Messages will share that information with other apps. For example, if someone sends a link to an Apple News news story, it will show up in the Apple News app in a section called “Shared with You.” Same for Apple Music and Apple Photos. This new integration also applies to Safari web links, podcasts and Apple TV movies and TV shows.

Apple iOS 15 can identify text in photos.
Apple

AI that can tell what’s in a photo, including text. Apple has been improving its photo recognition capabilities in its Photos app for years, and this year it takes a big step forward in terms of the types of objects inside photos it can recognize. With iOS 15, Apple’s software can identify and provide more information about animals, landmarks, plants and books. It also makes text inside your photos searchable, and users can even copy and paste text from a photo into a document. Apple’s AI runs on an iPhone, instead of using the cloud to do the work on a remote server, so the things you identify or copy won’t be sent back to Apple.

Apple’s new Focus feature in iOS 15
Todd Haselton | CNBC

More control of notifications during off-hours. For a few years, iPhone users have had a mode called “Do Not Disturb” that limited notifications except from a list of close contacts. These features have received a big upgrade in iOS 15 that Apple calls “Focus.” The main feature shows only notifications from people and apps you’ve pre-approved. If someone is texting a user who is in Focus Mode, they’ll receive a message that notifications have been silenced, sort of like an away message. Users can create multiple Focus profiles for different situations, such as work, play and sleep. It will allow users to create special home screens so they can, for example, have different collections of apps for work or home.

Apple Maps
Source: Apple

Apple Maps reminders. Apple Maps comes with annual improvements, including better directions, public transit schedules, and an augmented reality walking directions feature that places big arrows over scenes of the real world telling users where to go. But commuters will probably like best the new real-time alerts that tell users when they need to get off the bus, train or subway before they miss their stop.

Safari Tabs
Source: Apple

New Safari redesign. The default browser on the iPhone is getting its biggest redesign in years, bringing the address bar and back button from the top of the screen closer to the bottom to make it easier for thumbs to reach. If you don’t like the new Safari, you can change it back to the old look. Safari will also save groups of open tabs, so you can come back to them later, and supports extensions — just like Google Chrome or Safari on the desktop — for the first time through Apple’s app stores. Extensions are little apps that let you do more on a site, such as block ads, but there aren’t a lot available yet.

Spotlight
Source: Apple

Better system search. Apple’s Spotlight is a power-user feature that searches the web and your files and makes apps easier to access. Users access it when swiping down from the top of the screen. It has a new look this year, with more photos, and Apple-provided information about TV shows, movies, musicians, and links that have been shared with you.

Apple iOS 15
Apple

Privacy protections. Apple has emphasized privacy in recent years, but in iOS 15 it’s starting to become a feature worth upgrading for. One new feature is called “App Privacy Report,” and it will show you how often an app accessed your microphone or location over the last seven days. It also will tell users if apps are phoning home to their own servers — which is normal but can highlight certain uses of data that have previously been overlooked. People who pay for iCloud will also get “iCloud Private Relay,” a beta feature that is similar to a VPN and hides IP addresses, which can give away your location. People who use Apple’s Mail app can provide random burner email addresses and hide tracking pixels that tell marketers whether an email has been opened or not.

Siri
Source: Apple

Faster Siri. Siri no longer needs to send data to a faraway server in order to understand what you’ve asked it. Now, it can do it on the device itself, which will lead to a snappier experience without a slight delay, as well as additional privacy — Apple won’t have access to all the recordings of your Siri requests anymore.

Apple iOS 15 will support storing a driver’s license in Apple Wallet.
Apple

Driver’s license and keys in Apple Wallet. Apple is adding the ability to put driver’s licenses and keys into the Wallet app, but it may be a while before all users can take advantage of these big new features.

Apple says the TSA and eight states are already on board with the program to put driver’s licenses and state ID’s on the iPhone. Users will have to wait until their state government supports the feature.

Users will also be able to store keys, including car ignition keys, in Apple Wallet. If you have a smart home or go to an office with compatible locks, you can start unlocking your front door with your phone as soon as you update with the new software. The car ignition key feature requires a BMW or other compatible vehicle.

Apple iOS 15 will let you watch movies, TV shows and more with friends over FaceTime.
Apple

One big delay: Apple is planning to launch a feature called SharePlay that lets you watch a movie or TV show with other people over FaceTime. But that feature isn’t included yet and is now promised for later this year.

How to get iOS 15

Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller speaks on the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus during a Special Event at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium September 9, 2015 in San Francisco, California.
Getty Images

It’s really easy to install iOS 15. You just need an iPhone SE (1st generation) or newer or an iPhone 6s or newer. Those phones were released in 2016 and 2015, respectively, so most people should get the update. Here’s what you do:

  • Connect your compatible iPhone to Wi-Fi and power.
  • Open Settings.
  • Open General.
  • Open Software Update.
  • Tap Download and Install.

That’s it!

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Meta extends ban on new political ads past Election Day

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Meta extends ban on new political ads past Election Day

Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg plans to visit South Korea, scheduling key meetings during the trip, according to a statement by Meta on Wednesday, which did not provide further details. Reportedly, Zuckerberg is anticipated to meet with Samsung Electronics chairman Jay Y. Lee later this month to discuss AI chip supply and other generative AI issues, as per the South Korean newspaper Seoul Economic Daily, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Meta extended its ban on new political ads on Facebook and Instagram past Election Day in the U.S.

The social media giant announced the political ads policy update on Monday, extending its ban on new political ads past Tuesday, the original end date for the restriction period.

Meta did not specify the day it will lift the restriction, saying only that the ad blocking will continue “until later this week.” The company did not say why it extended the political advertising restriction period.

The company announced in August that any political ads that ran at least once before Oct. 29 would still be allowed to run on Meta’s services in the final week before Election Day. Other political ads will not be allowed to run.

Organization with eligible ads will have “limited editing capabilities” while the restriction is still in place, Meta said. Those advertisers will be allowed to make scheduling, budgeting and bidding-related changes to their political ads, Meta said.

Meta enacted the same policy in 2020. The company said the policy is in place because “we recognize there may not be enough time to contest new claims made in ads.”

Google-parent Alphabet announced a similar ad policy update last month, saying it would pause ads relating to U.S. elections from running in the U.S. after the last polls close on Tuesday. Alphabet said it would notify advertisers when it lifts the pause.

Nearly $1 billion has been spent on political ads over the last week, with the bulk of the money spent on down-ballot races throughout the U.S., according to data from advertising analytics firm AdImpact.

Watch: Tech still investing big in AI development despite few breakout products.

Tech still investing big in AI development despite few breakout products

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Jeff Bezos and OpenAI invest in robot startup Physical Intelligence at $2.4 billion valuation

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Jeff Bezos and OpenAI invest in robot startup Physical Intelligence at .4 billion valuation

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, January 18, 2024 (L), and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 2, 2021.

Reuters

Physical Intelligence, a robot startup based in San Francisco, has raised $400 million at a $2.4 billion post-money valuation, the company confirmed Monday to CNBC.

Investors included Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, OpenAI, Thrive Capital and Lux Capital, a Physical Intelligence spokesperson said. Khosla Ventures and Sequoia Capital are also listed as investors on the company’s website.

Physical Intelligence’s new valuation is about six times that of its March seed round, which reportedly came in at $70 million with a $400 million valuation. Its current roster of employees includes alumni of Tesla, Google DeepMind and X.

The startup focuses on “bringing general-purpose AI into the physical world,” per its website, and it aims to do this by developing large-scale artificial intelligence models and algorithms to power robots. The startup spent the past eight months developing a “general-purpose” AI model for robots, the company wrote in a blog post. Physical Intelligence hopes that model will be the first step toward its ultimate goal of developing artificial general intelligence. AGI is a term used to describe AI technology that equals or surpasses human intellect on a wide range of tasks.

The news comes days after OpenAI launched a search feature within ChatGPT, its viral chatbot, that positions the AI startup to better compete with search engines like GoogleMicrosoft‘s Bing and Perplexity. Last month, OpenAI also closed its latest funding round at a valuation of $157 billion.

Physical Intelligence’s vision is that one day users can “simply ask robots to perform any task they want, just like they can ask large language models (LLMs) and chatbot assistants,” the startup wrote in the blog post. In case studies, Physical Intelligence details how its tech could allow a robot to do laundry, bus tables or assemble a box.

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Barry Diller calls timing of The Washington Post’s non-endorsement a ‘blunder’

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Barry Diller calls timing of The Washington Post's non-endorsement a 'blunder'

Watch CNBC's full interview with IAC and Expedia chairman Barry Diller

To Barry Diller, a friend of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the decision for The Washington Post not to endorse a candidate in tomorrow’s presidential election was “absolutely principled” — and poorly timed, he said Monday on CNBC’s Squawk Box.

“They made a blunder — it should’ve happened months before, and it didn’t, and that’s the issue with it,” Diller said.

Diller is chairperson of both online travel company Expedia and IAC, which owns media platforms and websites like Dotdash Meredith and Care.com. He and Bezos appear to have been close friends for years, with Diller and his wife, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, hosting Bezos’s engagement party to fiancee Lauren Sanchez.

The decision not to endorse a presidential candidate in the 2024 race or for future presidential races came directly from Bezos, the paper’s owner, according to an article published by two of the Post’s own reporters.

The move prompted public condemnation from several staff writers, a flood of at least 250,000 digital subscription cancellations and the resignations of at least three editorial board members.

Bezos defended his position in his own op-ed late last month, calling the move a “meaningful step in the right direction” to restore low public trust in media and journalism.

“Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election,” Bezos wrote, emphasizing that the decision to not endorse a candidate was made “entirely internally” and without consulting either campaign. “I wish we had made the change earlier than we did, in a moment further from the election and the emotions around it.”

Diller said he spoke to Bezos following the decision.

“I think it was absolutely principled,” Diller said. “The mistake they made — and it was a mistake admitted by him — was timing.”

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