Back to the boot sound on macOS Big Sur, Optimized Charging on Apple Watch and AirPods… check out more news from Apple!

Back to the boot sound on macOS Big Sur, Optimized Charging on Apple Watch and AirPods… check out more news from Apple!

From yesterday to today, we have already published two compilations detailing news of future Apple operating systems that were not mentioned in the opening keynote of WWDC20.

But there is still more, much more: as the first beta versions of the systems are being unraveled by the developers, it is natural that a little more details will gradually appear. For that very reason, let’s now go to our third compiled!

iOS / iPadOS 14

Copy and paste

We already talked here about the novelty of iOS 14 in relation to transfer area of the system: now, the user will need to grant permission (single, temporary or permanent) for third-party apps to work with the good old copy / paste. But not only that.

As noted by our reader Júlio César, the system will now display a small notification at the top of the screen whenever an application “reads” content copied from another – when copying a WhatsApp phrase and pasting it on Twitter, for example, iOS 14 will display the above notification. In this way, the user will always know exactly what is being copied, and by whom.

Developer Myst showed the feature working on video:

It seems that Apple fixed the privacy problem with the clipboard that we pointed out a few months ago. Apple said the issue was not a problem, but surprisingly it fixed it on iOS 14 in exactly the way we recommended in our article. A notification is displayed whenever an app or widget reads your clipboard.

The controversy surrounding the appeal arose in March, as we said in this article.

Optimized Charging AirPods

The Optimized Charging feature, introduced in iOS 13, uses artificial intelligence techniques to “study” the user’s routine and the moments when he charges his iPhone, adapting the device’s recharge according to these habits to portray the aging of his battery – we have a full video explaining the functionality.

Optimized Loading later arrived on macOS Catalina, and on iOS 14 it will also be available for AirPods. With that, owners of the Apple earphones (which have battery longevity as one of their most controversial points, by the way) will be able to enjoy a charging adapted to their habits, potentially increasing the useful life of the devices.

What’s New on Apple Music

We already mentioned here that the Apple music service will get a new playback screen – on the iPad, in particular, it will display the lyrics of the songs in large size next to the album art. On the iPhone, the look of things will also change:

The interface is now taken by a colorful background, generated from the colors of the album cover being reproduced. There is still a bar at the top of the screen, indicating that you can slide it down to return to the list view of your songs.

Apple Music also brings new features, such as Autoplay (which plays songs in the same style when your playlist ends) and an improved search tool, which shows suggestions as you type and takes genres, humor and activity into account in the results. Plus, it’s even easier to filter artists, albums, lists and other items in your library – just swipe down on each section of it.

FaceTime

Apple video calls will become even more crystal clear: they can now be made in up to 1080p on compatible devices – previously the limit was 720p.

macOS Big Sur

Startup sound return

This is for the nostalgic: yes, the good old «Boooooom» is back!

The iconic macOS boot sound, present (in different variations) for over 30 years on dozens of Mac models, was retired in 2015, on the MacBook with Retina display (and on all subsequent computers).

Apple’s justification was that, with the ability to turn on when opening the screen, the sound no longer made sense; still, many people were saddened by the change – even for practical reasons, since the sound indicates that their computer is working perfectly and started without problems. Technically, it is possible to restore the effect on current systems, but in an unfriendly process at the Terminal.

For macOS Big Sur, he will make his triumphant return – as Juli Clover, from MacRumors:

Obviously, anyone who doesn’t want the sound can easily turn it off in the System Preferences – it will come on by default in Big Sur. Anyway, it’s good to have it back officially!

End of Network Utility

While some elements return, others say goodbye – this is the case here with the old Network Utility (Network Utility), which helps – or helped – users solve connection problems, check data transfer routes and more.

When trying to open the application in the first beta version of macOS Big Sur, the window informs you that the software has been discontinued; to solve problems with Wi-Fi, the user is asked to open the Wireless Network Diagnostics. For other actions, such as status network, ping, whois etc., it is necessary to go to the Terminal and enter the desired command.

Power connection sound on MacBooks with MagSafe

The latest MacBooks (both Air and Pro), equipped with Thunderbolt 3, emit a sound when they are plugged into the outlet; older models with a MagSafe connection do not – perhaps because MagSafe chargers have an indicator LED, which does not require audible confirmation.

In macOS Big Sur, however, these older MacBooks will also play the indicative sound when connected to power:

It doesn’t hurt, does it?

Battery data

Still on the same subject, the Big Sur System Preferences will replace the Energy Saver screen with a new panel, simply called «Drums» – and it will bring some very interesting features.

In the «Usage History» tab, you can see details of your Mac’s battery, covering the last 24 hours or the last 10 days. The screen shows a graph with the battery level over the hours / days, as well as the times when you used the computer with the screen on.

The «Battery» and «Power Adapter» tabs bring the options already offered today, such as the time the panel is inactive, the screen fading when the computer is disconnected or the activation of the Power Nap.

Finally, another very welcome return: by clicking on the battery icon in the menu bar, macOS Big Sur reports again the estimated usage time remainder away from the plug – the tool had been filed on macOS Sierra (in the midst of all the mess of inconsistent batteries).

On the other hand, so far, there is no way to display the percentage of battery remaining directly in the menu bar – the number is only displayed by clicking on the icon. We will see if this will continue this way in the next Big Sur betas.[Update:asreportedbythereader[Atualização:comoinformadopeloleitorBreno in the comments (thanks!), the option to display the battery percentage in the menu bar remains intact – you need to activate it manually, however.]

watchOS 7

Battery Health and Optimized Charging

The Apple Watch will gain the same feature that already exists on iPhones, which analyzes the battery status of the device and indicates its «health» in percentages – 100% being a brand new battery with full capacity, of course. It is possible to check this data on the watch itself.

It will also gain the Optimized Charging feature – which analyzes the user’s habits to adapt the battery recharge, extending its useful life.

Reading Messages with Siri

Meanwhile, the Read Messages with Siri feature – until now only present on iPhones / iPads – will arrive on the Apple Watch. With the feature, exclusive for people using AirPods, the assistant reads all messages that arrive at the device; you can respond to messages directly with your voice.

tvOS 14

New volume indicator

Finally, Apple TVs compatible with tvOS 14 will gain a new volume indicator, more discreet and very similar to what Apple introduced in iOS 13:

Much better, isn’t it?

via MacRumors, Cult of Mac