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27/09/18: Mojave 'still full of security holes' despite promises of tougher protections

Researchers have found a litany privacy and security holes in Apple's newly-released macOS Majove despite claims it goes "further than ever" to protect users.

The new operating system, rolled out on 24 September, claims to offer a host of features that bolster its security and privacy credentials. These include a stronger permissions regime, enhanced tracking prevention, and automatically-generated passwords on Safari.

But an explosion of dialog boxes and approval messages could lead to the unintended consequence of "dialogue fatigue", according to Malwarebytes' head of Mac and mobile Thomas Reed.

"The idea is that people get tired of being hassled when they're trying to get work done, and will just do whatever is needed to click past a warning dialog without actually reading it," he wrote in a blog post.

"Dialog fatigue similar to security fatigue is real, and after having upgraded to Mojave, I can attest to the fact that it has a tendency to display a lot of these dialogs in the beginning. I had to approve access to data for quite a few of my apps.

"Chances are, the average person will get tired of doing so, and will simply approve each one without paying attention."

Among the most concerning observations are that dialog boxes present users an "ok" option instead of "allow", alongside "don't allow", which could lead to mistakes being made. The blog also highlights an issue with background processes not triggering user approval, which could lead to those apps breaking.

These privacy concerns, however, pale when compared against two independent security holes found within 24 hours of macOS Mojave's release showing that Apple's user protections can be bypassed.

SentinalOne demonstrated that it's possible for a remote user to gain unauthorised access to protected data through secure shell (ssh) - a programme that allows a user to establish a remote connection to another computer and send through Unix commands.

The security firm's macOS team also highlighted that whitelisting for Full Disk Access presents a security issue.

The way Apple has implemented the approval mechanism is such that requesting access for one user's photo may lead to the app being whitelisted for all users universally. This means it could potentially read browser history, emails, and chat messages, among other data points, for every user.

Meanwhile, Patrick Wardle, chief research officer at Digita Security, discovered a zero-day bug that could allow an attacker to bypass authorisation prompts entirely and access a users' personal data through an unprivileged app.

In a video, Wardle demonstrated how he could bypass permission requirements by running a few lines of code that simulates a malicious app known as "breakMojave".

The clip showed the ex-NSA hacker initially denied access to address book data, before running the script and later copying this data to the desktop.

IT Pro approached Apple for comment but did not get a response at the time of writing.

12/09/18: New OS will launch on 24 September

macOS Mojave, Apple's latest operating system will officially launch on 24 September, according to CEO Tim Cook who used its 'Gather round' event on 12 September to confirm the news.

Back in June, Apple said its latest software had been "inspired by professionals but designed for everyone".

Messy desktops can be quickly and easily organised with a new Stacks feature, grouping relating items together neatly. There's also a revamped Finder with additional enhancements such as a Galleries view to help users find what they need quickly.

Dark Mode overhauls the aesthetics for users and developers (when using Xcode), helping to place the content that matters most to them at the centre of their software experience, with controls moving to the background.

"MacOS Mojave is a major update that introduces powerful new features for a wide range of Mac users, from consumers to pros," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "Dark Mode brings a dramatic new look to macOS that puts your content front and centre, familiar iOS apps come to the Mac for the first time and the redesigned Mac App Store makes finding new apps easier and more enjoyable than ever."

FaceTime group call capability and a revamped Mac App Store, featuring content and apps from the likes of Adobe, Microsoft and more, were also confirmed during the WWDC keynote.

Even more excitingly for users, popular iOS apps such as News, Stocks, Home and Voice Memos also make their way to the desktop OS, prompting Federighi to once again rebuff claims that Apple may merge iOS and macOS together.

Apple was keen to stress that the updated OS also kept security and privacy front of mind, with intelligent features stopping users from being tracked and 'fingerprinted' without their consent.

"One of the reasons people choice Apple products is because of our commitment to security and privacy," Federighi said.

macOS Mojave: Release date & availability

MacOS Mojave was first unveiled at Apple's 2018 WWDC conference in early June, with its first build releasing immediately to developers through the Apple Developer Programme.

macOS Mojave will become generally available on 24 September. This will arrive as a free upgrade for those users running Macs built in mid-2012 or later, as well as 2010 and 2012 Mac Pro models using Metal-capable graphics cards.

macOS Mojave: Name

Since 2013, Apple has chosen to name new iterations of its flagship operating system after locations in California, and since 2014 these names have been associated with rock formations or mountain ranges - the most recent being macOS High Sierra.

With the moniker 'Mojave', the operating system will be the first in four years to be named after something other than a mountain range, instead referring to the desert that spans primarily southeastern California and southern Nevada.

macOS Mojave: Features

Dark Mode

As the name suggests, users can switch their desktop to a dark colour scheme at will, something that's become a staple in most applications and software today. Not only do the colours change, but greater emphasis is placed on the content a user is interacting with, pushing controls to the background.

Apple has confirmed that built-in apps such as Mail, Messages, Calendar and Photos have been given redesigns to support darker colour schemes. An API is also being made available for developers wishing to create apps that support the new Dark Mode.

Stacks & navigation

The new Stacks feature aims to declutter desktops by automatically grouping folders together based on similar file types. Users can customise these stacks to display content based on date or time stamps, and an updated gallery view in Finder provides the option to skim through stacks using a visual slider. The Preview Pane has also been updated to display the metadata of files, making it much easier for users to get detailed information on media files at a glance.

A number of 'quality of life' shortcuts have also been added, including Quick Actions which gives more options from within the Finder pane, such as creating password-protected PDFs. Quick Look also provides a means of manipulating files at a glance without opening an app, such as cropping photos or making notes on a PDF.

News, Stocks, Home, Facetime

Mojave also brings a host of new apps to the macOS platform for the first time, specifically News, Stocks, Voice Memos and Home.

News is a fairly straight-forward aggregator application that pulls together articles, images and videos from a user's favourite publications and displays them in a single app. Home is all about Apple's smart home tech, allowing users to control their HomeKit-enabled devices from their Mac.

Voice Memos acts as a voice recording app for personal notes or meetings, the files of which can then be accessed through an iPhone or iPad, while Stocks provides the latest market news, as well as interactive charts and watchlists.

Apple's video messaging platform Facetime has also been updated, which now supports group chats.

App Store

Apple has also taken the opportunity to revamp its App Store. With Mojave, the store's discover tab will now highlight new and updated apps, and Create, Work, Play and Develop tabs should make it easier to sift through apps based on type.

Apple also confirmed a handful of high profile applications will soon be available through the store, including Microsoft Office and Adobe Lightroom CC.

macOS Mojave: Security

Apple was also keen to stress the importance of security in its software, and has introduced a number of nifty safeguards that aim to stop users from having their data collected without their consent.

Safari's Tracking Prevention feature blocks functions such as 'likes' or 'shares' from automatically tracking users without permission, while also hiding detailed user metadata when they visit websites. Safari now also automatically creates and stores strong passwords when users create accounts, and issues warnings when passwords are reused.

Changes under GDPR also mean that apps will be required to obtain permission from users before they access the Mac camera or microphone.

Apple previewed the latest iteration of its OS for wearables at this year's software-centric WWDC, announcing the launch date alongside the latest generation of Apple Watch wearables.

Below we've rounded up the latest news on watchOS 5, and broken down its key features.

Apple watchOS 5 at a glance

• Previewed at this year's WWDC
• Rolling out 17 Spetember 2018
• Beefy update helps users "stay active and connected"
• Auto-workout detection underlines focus on activity
• Walkie-Talkie lets you communicate with a tap of the wrist

Apple watchOS 5: Latest news

12/09/2018: Apple has announced that the latest version of its watchOS software - watchOS 5 - will be available for download starting from 17 September 2018.

The launch date was revealed alongside the fifth-generation Apple Watch, which features a larger display, a thinner casing and improved health and fitness capabilities like the ability to use it to take an ECG reading.

As with all of the company's software updates, watchOS 5 will be a free download for users, but there are some restrictions; it will need to be paired with an iPhone 5s or better, running iOS 12 or abov. It will also not be compatible with the very first generation of Apple Watch devices, so anyone with an original Apple Watch will need to upgrade to take advantage of it.

The news immediately preceded Apple's announcements of three new iPhones: the iPhone Xs, Xs Max and Xr, all following the original iPhone X in their use of edge-to-edge OLED displays.

05/06/2018: Apple today confirmed that the latest version of its watchOS - watchOS 5 - will be coming to series 1 Watch devices and older later this year, while developers can play with WatchKit for the latest OS from today as part of the beta programme.

The update is quite a beefy one and is particularly focused on helping users "stay active and connected," according to Apple CEO, Tim Cook, who made the announcement during the WWDC keynote earlier today.

Activity Sharing competitions, workout auto-detection, a Walkie Talkie feature, Apple podcasts and the ability to better view web content as well as third-party app integration on the Siri watch face are all part of the lineup.

"We're thrilled with the positive impact Apple Watch is having on people's lives. Apple Watch is helping our customers stay connected, enhance their fitness and, in many cases, detect life-threatening conditions. With the launch of watchOS 5, we're excited to introduce new activity and communications features that will take the Watch to a whole new level," said Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer.

Drilling deeper into the new features during the keynote, attendees were treated to detailed information on how the new features in the watchOS are designed to keep users healthy and active. The latest watchOS even lets Apple Watch users invite others to compete in a seven-day activity competition, where they can compete to close rings and receive notifications to help motivate and further compete.

The Auto-Workout detection feature also intelligently works out if you're working out and provides a prompt so you can receive retroactive credit, in addition to suggesting the workout is over after a period of inactivity.

That's in addition to a cadence metric for runners and walkers to log steps-per-minute and 12 new dedicated workout types, including yoga, hiking, and ocean swim, with watchOS 5 tracking and recording exercise undertaken and calories burned as a result.

A Walkie-Talkie feature also enables Apple Watch to Apple Watch comms with just a voice command and tap of the wrist, while Sirir now supports third-party content from a variety of apps including Nike+ Run Club, Glow Baby and Mobike.

Apple watchOS 5: release date and pricing

WatchOS 5 will be a free update for Apple Watch Series 1 and later, and will require an iPhone 5s or later on iOS 12. The update - which will be available starting from 17 September - will not be available on the original Apple Watch.

Apple watchOS 5: features

Walkie-Talkie

This "entirely new way to communicate" allows users to get in touch with friends and family using Apple Watch with a tap of the wrist, using Wi-Fi or data coverage.

By pressing a button, users can record and send audio clips that recipients will be able to respond to in kind.

Activity

A new host of improvements to the Apple Watch's activity hub include new workouts, and competitions.

With Activity Sharing, watchOS 5 users can invite other Apple Watch wearers to compete in a seven-day competition and earn points.

Meanwhile, a dozen new dedicated workouts include yoga and hiking, with watchOS 5 able to track the calories burned more accurately.

Enhanced running features also make up the list of activity updates, with a new cadence metric for indoor and outdoor movement counting steps per minute, and a pace alarm that lets users know mid-run whether they are off the mark, or ahead of their target pace. Rolling mile pace is also a brand new metric that gives runners a much better impression of their performance, showing their pace for the immediately preceding mile as well as the average and current pace.

Auto-workout detection

One of the most exciting new fitness-centric features is one that can automatically track your workout; prompting you to track your activity when it seems you may be working out.

This will also work retroactively, meaning you don't need to worry about missing the start - and will offer a reminder to users to end their sessions after a period of inactivity if you forget to manually end the workout yourself.

Podcasts

The newly-implemented Podcasts app will now allow you to play background audio, and stream any podcast in the catalogue using Siri. Episodes you download and listen to will sync with Apple Watch automatically, and the app will refresh with the latest episodes.

Enhanced Siri

The Siri watch face will get an upgrade with sports, maps, and heartrate information, as well as a host of new shortcuts. The new watch face will use machine learning to become a better personal assistant.

Apple hopes the enhanced Siri will become more proactive, and predictive of users' day-to-day needs based on the routines, location data, and post-workout information, such as heart rate.

Smarter notifications

Third-party notifications will now feature interactive responses, so users won't have to open the app, with Apple Watch users no longer having to dip in and out of apps to respond to or alter, for example, dinner reservations.

So the rumours were true: no new hardware at WWDC 2018. Instead, it was all about software. We've broken down the specifics of iOS 12, watchOS 5 and macOS Mojave on their respective pages, but here we're corralled the standout announcements from across the event. From Memoji to iOS apps on Mac, here are the main things to take away from this year's WWDC.

WWDC 2018: The highlights

1. iOS 12 wants you to control your screen time.

Apple says it has been listening to people's concerns about smartphone addiction, and with iOS 12 users will be able to set themselves limits on specific apps. As the timer approaches zero, the iPhone owner will be able to extend it if they wish, but they'll still get handy reminders and graphs showing their time, broken down by app and type.

For families, this feature can be implemented remotely, letting parents lock down apps at certain times, or give them limits for the day while maintaining access to essentials, like educational apps and the phone.

2. Animoji expands to Memoj

As well as introducing four new Animoji (Tiger, T-Rex, Koala and Ghost), Apple introduced Memoji, where users can design their own emoji with the same gurning potential as regular Animoji. If you've ever wanted to create a grinning cartoon version of your face, your chance will come this autumn.

3. FaceTime gets more faces

iOS 12 will now allow up to 32 people simultaneously and yes, you'll be able to use those new Memoji in conversation. Here's Tim Cook's effort...

People in the conversation will automatically have their face surfaced as they make noise, meaning it should be simple to keep track of who's speaking amongst the crowd.

4.Your Apple Watch will know when you've started to exercise

The new version of the OS for Apple Watch brings some extra niceties for the fitness side of things. Not only will it now tell you extra stats like your cadence and the speed of your last mile, it will buzz you if your pacing is wrong and be able to detect whether you've started or finished early so no exercise is lost.

Most usefully, your Apple Watch will be able to tell when it thinks you've started exercising and will ping you an alert to start recording a session. If you've notbeen working out... well, you may want to start thinking about your resting heart rate.

5. Turn your Apple Watch into a Walkie-talkie

With watchOS 5, you'll be able to pick out favourite contacts to send one-on-one recorded messages, wrist-to-wrist over 4G or WiFi.

6. You don't need to get Siri's attention anymore

Just raise your wrist, and Siri will start listening. Apparently, that gesture alone is enough of a sign that you want to speak to Apple's digital assistant.

7. MacOS is leaving the mountains

Apple's Craig Federighi revealed that the next version of MacOS will be Mojave, and promised "striking changes" the first of which is a Dark Mode, replacing the bright colours of your desktop with a stylish black to make late-night computing easier on the eyes. Mojave also comes with automated 'stacking' of files in categories and tweaks to Finder to make it easier to edit documents.

8. Apple is cracking down on "Likes" and comment tracking

After grandstanding on Apple's respect of privacy, Federighi announced that Safari will soon use its "Intelligent Tracking Prevention" to stop 'Like' or 'Share' buttons and comment widgets from tracking users without permission.

This extends to making it tougher for data companies "to uniquely identify your device and track you". They won't be able to track you from identifiers like fonts and system configuration, we're told. An example given on-stage even pulled a screenshot from a Facebook comment thread, in case you were in any doubt about Apple's target.

9. iOS apps on Mac

Coming in 2019, Apple is introducing parts of UIKit to Macs alongside AppKit. In layman's terms, this means it will be a lot easier for developers to port their successful iPhone apps to the Mac App Store... Before then, Apple will start to rollout Mac versions of several of its own iOS apps: News, Stocks, Voice recorder and Home.

What is WWDC?

WWDC, Worldwide Developer Conference, or Dub-dub DC', is Apple's yearly conference aimed at, you guessed it, developers. It's a week-long event with a focus on software, kicked off with a keynote that tends to include a handful of big announcements.

While the yearly September event is when Apple unveils its latest iPhone, WWDC throws the spotlight on the company's upcoming software updates.

Apple Watch 3 at a glance

• Is available exclusively on EE in the UK
• The device has cellular connectivity, a 70% faster dual-core processor and its only 0.25mm bigger than the Series 2
• watchOS 4 arrived on 19 September

Image credit: Apple

Apple Watch 3: latest news

02/10/2017:Apple Watch 3 owners have reported they're struggling to connect their devices to LTE, but the only way owners can rectify the problem is to call their operator to fix it.

The Apple Watch 3 is only available on EE in the UK and the company said that for customers to turn on the connection, they'll have to phone customer services.

However, it is advising everyone with an Apple Watch 3 that refuses to connect to do the following: "Go to the Apple Watch app on your phone and select 'Mobile Data'. If it says 'Activating' that means it's working and all you need to do is wait for it to complete. It can take up to 2 hours, but may complete quicker."

If this doesn't work though and they're presented with an error message such as, "activation failed," "Error code 019," "Error code 007," or "this account is not ready to use with Apple Watch," they're being requested to give the operator a call to try and get it up and running from their end instead.

Unsurprisingly, EE has been inundated with calls and messages about the fault and with only six people on the company's support team dealing with the issue, it may be those having problems will have to wait some time on hold before they can rectify the issue.

28/09/2017:The Twitter Apple Watch app has disappeared from the device, with Twitter instead choosing to focus on improving the way notifications appear on the Watch from a user's iPhone.

On the iTunes App Store web page, Twitter states it is no longer compatible with the watch, as reported by TechCrunch. Users who have updated to the latest iOS and watchOS have also reported that the Twitter Watch app has disappeared.

The publication reported that the app was removed following an update of Twitter for iOS (version 7.8).Twitter's watch app began crashing earlier in the week, MacRumorsreported,so Twitter may have pulled the app in order to give it an update.

A number of watch apps were removed in the first half of 2017, including those from Amazon, Google Maps and eBay.

IT Pro understands the app has been removed, but that the Watch will instead mirror iPhone Twitter notifications, enabling users to view images and other Twitter content directly on their Watch.

A Twitter spokesperson said: "We heard from people that notifications were the most helpful part of the Apple Watch Twitter experience. With this, we are focusing on supporting more robust, media-rich notifications. We are committed to providing the very best Twitter experience on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Apple Watch, and we'll continue to iterate and improve our apps across all platforms."

Additionally, the LTE version of the new Apple Watch has problems making phone calls and using cellular data without the presence of an iPhone nearby, it emerged last week.

Apple admitted that the watch can experience connectivity problems when it connects to open Wi-Fi networks. The tech giant hopes to release a fix in a future software update for the problem.

22/09/2017:Apple's new heart rate monitor won't work with original watch model

The next iteration of Apple Watch OS, watchOS 4, will bring a host of new updates to its health and fitness tracking app, however it has emerged that owners of the original watch series are going to miss out.

The new software upgrade will introduce a new resting heart rate monitoring feature, recently demonstrated at Apple's so-called Special Event earlier this month, but according to 9to5Mac, only users with Series 1, Series 2 and the new Series 3 watches will be able to make use of it.

The reason? The original watch series is simply not powerful enough. Newer Apple Watches received much faster chips and larger battery capacities, and even though the original model is only two years old, it's unable to keep pace with demanding capabilities.

Users have confirmed that the workout heart rate monitor is fully functional on the original watch series, however they are unable to track their resting heart rate.

It's yet another blow to the Apple marketing campaign, after it emerged that a bug in the new LTE connected Apple Watch 3 meant it's signature feature, the ability to make calls or connect to WiFi, was faulty.

Users have confirmed that other features available in watchOS 4, such as tracking cooldowns after a workout, are working on the original Apple Watch.

21/09/2017:Apple Watch LTE has problems making phone calls and using cellular data

Apple's new Watch Series 3 has experienced issues when carrying out phone calls and making use of cellular data on the device without the presence of an iPhone nearby.

Apple has admitted the watch can experience connectivity problems when it connects to open wifi networks, as reported by Reuters.

Apple spokesperson Amy Bessette told the publication that the company is trying to find a fix to include in a future software update.

A number of reviewers have experienced this problem when reviewing the new device. Lauren Goode wrote in The Verge that the watch she reviewed failed at the LTE part.

She wrote: "On more than one occasion, I detached myself from the phone, traveled blocks away from my home or office, and watched the Watch struggle to connect to LTE. It would appear to pick up a single bar of some random Wi-Fi signal, and hang on that, rather than switching to LTE."

Apple sent the publication a statement which read: "...when Apple Watch Series 3 joins unauthenticated Wi-Fi networks without connectivity, it may at times prevent the watch from using cellular. We are investigating a fix for a future software release."

IT Pro has contacted Apple for more information.

There have also been some problems surrounding the devices battery life. Betty Wong Ortiz found that the watch died just under three hours when going on a 20-mile run.

She wrote in Runners World: "I did have the GPS going inside Apple's Workout app while also using the heart rate monitor and Apple Music playlists downloaded directly to the watch. (Thankfully, I knew enough not to stream songs.) And I Bluetoothed that music directly to my headphones--all of which taxes the battery.

"The fix, according to Apple, is to switch to Power Saving Mode in the Workout app, which turns off the watch's cellular and built-in heart rate sensor during your long run; that should get you about five hours of GPS tracking."

The new device is available from tomorrow and prices start at 329. For the LTE version you will also need a cellular plan with EE who have the device as an exclusive in the UK. Buyers can buy the watch with a plan directly from the network or buy it somewhere else and add a plan to the watch afterwards.

Apple Watch 3 release date

The new device opened for pre-orders from 15 September and was available from 22 September in the US. It has launched in the UK and is available from EE.

Apple Watch Series 3 price

The Apple Watch 3 is priced differently for each model depending on how big your wrist is; it comes in the slightly cheaper 38mm version of the 48 mm version. The starting price for the former is 329 whereas the latter is 359. The price increases more if you go for the cellular version, to either 399 or 429.

Like its predecessors, there are also a number of different styles available for you to choose to suit your taste. You can choose from the space grey aluminium case with grey sport band, silver aluminum case with fog sport band, gold aluminium case with pink sand sport band and space grey aluminium case with black sport band.

If those versions don't interest you, and you don't mind splashing a bit of extra cash, then Apple has also produced two stainless steel case versions. They come in either black or white and are only available with cellular functionality. The price of this option starts at 599 for the 38mm wrist version and 649 for the 42mm version.

Still not interested? Not to worry - Apple has a couple of other styles up its sleeve. There is a stainless steel case with a Milanese loop cellular version for 699/749. The price rises to 749/799 if you want it in black.

If you want a sporty Apple Watch 3 then there's a Nike version too - it follows the same pattern as those above and the prices start at 329/399.

If you're still doubtful about the styles mentioned above, and want to go all-out, then there is a Hermes Apple Watch 3 version which costs between 1,199 and 1,399 depending on which style you choose.

Lastly, there's also white and black ceramic version starting at 1,299.

Apple Watch specs and features

Apple Watch 3 iPhone independent

The Apple Watch Series 2 needed an iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, SE, 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7 or 7 Plus, and iOS 10 or later. This was because much of the"heavy lifting" was done by the phone, which then pushed information to the device.

Now, the Apple Watch Series 3 has cellular connectivity and can operate independently, without needing to be near an iPhone all the time. There is a version of it which is non-cellular and is, obviously, cheaper.

The cellular version means users can go for a run with just the watch and stay connected, leaving their phone behind. It uses the same number as a user's iPhone and you can use maps, receive important phone calls and use third party apps such as WeChat. It has up to 18 hours battery life and you can also use Apple music to stream over 40 million songs from your wrist.

Apple Watch 3 specs

The watch has a new dual core processor which is 70% faster and Siri can talk on it for the first time ever. Apple has made their own custom wireless chip, called the W2, which provides 85% faster wi-fi and is 50% more power efficient. There is also a barometric altimeter to measure what elevation you reach when you are running.

Interestingly, the actual display of the watch is its antenna and Apple integrated an electronic sim into the device, which is a fraction of the size of a nano sim. The case is the same as the Series 2 except the back has been extended by 0.25mm, the same size as two sheets of paper.

It has a capacity of 8GB, a heart rate sensor, an acceloremeter and gyroscope and is also water resistant to 50 metres.

The cellular version is slightly different and has a capacity of 16GB.

The Apple Watch Series 3 comes in a 38mm version, weighing 26.7g or 28.7g with cellular, or a 42mm version, weighing 32.3g or 34.9g with cellular.

Apple Watch 3 watchOS 4

Apple has revealed that watchOS 4 will be available from 19 September.

There are new watchOS 4 icons which indicate Apple is preparing the Watch 3 to support a number of workouts. iHelp BRspotted new stick figure icons in the iOS 11 internal files and code. These new movements range from skiing in the snow, playing baseball and even dancing.

Apple Watch 3 Bands

A number of bands are available including in gold, silver and space grey. There is also a sport loop, for those with an active lifestyle, and exclusive colours for the Nike bands. Apple has also added a ceramic watch in grey finish as well as the standard white.

Apple Pay and NFC

Apple Paywill probably remain on the Watch Series 3 as Apple continues encouraging users to take advantage of the service. After all, it removes the need for taking your card, or phone, out of your pocket to pay for items since the watch is ony your wrist.

Apple Watch 3 Apps

There are already thousands of apps available for Apple Watch 2 so hopefully many of them will be available for the Series 3. Take a look at some of them below:

Health and Fitness

Apple Watch has been positioned as a health and fitness companion, as well as a mobile device, with the HealthKit developer platform underpinning it all.

As well as built-in fitness tracking and motivation apps like Workout, Move and Activity, third-party apps like Nike+ Running, Runtastic, Strava, and Lifesum are also available straight away. Apps for more holistic exercise regimes, such as yoga, are available as well.

Travel

Travel companies were very quick to develop apps for Apple Watch, with airline apps such as British Airways and EasyJet allowing the user to track their flight status in real time, as well as informing them of when their gate has opened and providing a weather forecast for their destination.

Expedia and TripAdvisor also have Apple Watch apps. The former lets users check their upcoming travel itineraries, including flights and hotel information, while the latter can provide them of things to do, restaurants to visit and other important tourist information in their surroundings.

Other travel apps include National Rail, Uber, and remote car unlocking for VW and BMW cars.

Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest all developed Apple Watch apps.

The Twitter app notifies users of new tweets or retweets via a tap on the wrist, which they can also read in full on the Apple Watch Screen. Wearers can also use the app to compose tweets via voice and follow trending topics.

Instagram, meanwhile, lets users browse their feeds, like photos, and leave emoji comments, as well as delivering notifications.

Business

There is a significant number of productivity-focused apps available for Apple Watch, including Salesforce and over 20 Salesforce partners, Invoice2go, Wunderlist and OfficeTime.

Apple Watch 3 further news

19/09/2017: EE unveils UK prices for Apple Watch Series 3

Mobile network EE has unveiled the prices customers can buy a Apple Watch Series 3 for and opened pre-orders too.

All Apple watches are priced at 25 for 24 months, which works out at 600 in total, and have unlimited data. The devices also share minutes and texts allowances from a user's phone. If you choose the 42mm version of any watch it will cost you 29.99 extra compared to the 38mm version.

EE currently has the aluminium version in gold, silver and space grey, the Nike+ aluminium version in silver or space grey, and the white stainless steel version.

Customers will need to pay an upfront cost of 129.99 for the stainless steel version of the watch, or 159.99 for the 42mm version, although the upfront cost for the other versions it offers starts at 0.

Users who buy their watch from other sellers can set up a data plan with EE through the Apple Watch Series 3 app. In the app select "Set up Mobile Data" where you will be able to log in with an EE account and select a plan.

On Twitter, EE stated that if a user buys their watch from somewhere else and wants to add a data plan, customers will have six months free unlimited data and it will then be 5 per month for 10GB. Full pricing and tariffs are yet to be confirmed andIT Prohas contacted EE for more information.

If you buy the Apple Watch Series 3 silver aluminium version from EE directly it will cost you the 29.00 upfront fee plus 25 per month for 24 months which altogether is 629.99. This gives you unlimited data too.

If you buy the same version of the device from Apple it will cost you 429.99. You can then add the 10GB/5 a month deal, which for 24 months comes to 120. This, combined with the watch price, will cost 549.99 which is cheaper than what EE are selling it for but will only get you 10GB of data.

EE says that while your Apple Watch is connected to your iPhone via Bluetooth, it will use the phone's data allowance instead of its own. The network also says the watch will not work with another network and data is UK use only so this function will not be available if you take it abroad.

At launch, the device is an exclusive on EE and the network says you will need an iPhone SE, an iPhone 6 or above on the EE network with either a SIM only or pay monthly plan to use the watch.

The device is set to launch on 22 September, which is this Friday.iOS 11andwatchOS 4both launch today which many Apple fans will be happy about.

15/09/2017: Apple Watch 3 may not support international roaming

The LTE Apple Watch 3 may not have international roaming and users will not be able to change their network when they go abroad.

Reddit user learnjavaaskedApple Support whether the watch would be able to roam outside its home country.

The user wrote: "The watch will not support roaming. At all. For Europeans that means your country only, even after the recent (June) law about European roaming freedom."

"There is no way to use a European watch with e.g. a US-carrier. The hardware might support identical bands (but even then way different than what we are used to from iPhones) but the service rep told me that it is not clear when and if at all it will be possible to change countries. Could be a hardware limit."

Mobile network EE toldIT Prothat Apple has designed the product so it cannot connect to cellular networks when abroad. In order for it to be compliant with EU law EE said it has an EE Smart Watch data plan which is set up as a domestic-only plan. EE added that customers can still use their iPhone in the EU using their UK data allowance.

IT Prohas also contacted Apple for comment.

Reddit user LazyA**edAssasin pointed at the Apple Watch'sdata pagewhich shows that 3 different models are available in different regions of the world. The UK model does not support UMTS and Apple states at the bottom of the page that "roaming is not available outside your provider network coverage area".

This could potentially come into conflict withEU lawwhich forces networks to drop mobile roaming charges earlier this year. The European Commission stated: "If you pay for a monthly package of minutes, SMS and data in your country, any voice call, SMS and data session you make while travelling abroad in the EU will be deducted from that volume as if you were at home, with no extra charges. This means the end of roaming charges as travellers have experienced them so far."

Additionally, this may also be a problem for UK customers who wanted to buy the new watch in the US and save a little money since Apple has set the price of its products at the same price in dollars and pounds.

14/09/2017: Apple Watch 3 battery life plummets on talk time

The cellular-enabled Apple Watch 3 might not be quite as useful as Apple would have us believe.

When Apple made its latest wearable its first big announcement at Tuesday's special event, boasting about its data connectivity that allows it to act as your mobile phone, what CEO Tim Cook et al neglected to tell us was its battery life suffers badly when it's used in this way.

Watch 3's battery life stands at 18 hours after a full night's charge when using it for activities such as checking the time and using apps, Apple says. It lasts up to 10 hours when playing back music when connected to an iPhone via Bluetooth.

But when using the Watch 3 to take a phone call in connection with an iPhone, that 18 hours drastically falls to just three hours of battery life - and drops even further to just over one hour when using LTE to chat.

First spotted by9to5Mac, Apple'sbattery information pageon the Watch 3 spills the beans. The wearable lasts 10 hours for indoor workouts and five hours with outdoor workouts involving GPS. If using both GPS and LTE during a workout, the battery life falls to four hours.

For a watch that is promoting itself on its LTE and GPS capabilities, the actual battery life when using these features is quite low.

20:40:Apple Watch Series 3 UK prices unveiled

The Apple Watch Series 3 prices have been unveiled on the company'swebsite.

It will start at 329, for a wrist size of 38mm, or 359, for a 48mm wrist size.If you want the cellular version then that will set you back 399 or 429.

These styles are available to choose from at these starting prices: Silver aluminium case with fog sport band, gold aluminium case with pink sand sport band, space grey aluminium case with grey sport band, space grey aluminium case with black sport band.

There are also two stainless steel case versions which come in either white or black and are only available as the GPS and cellular version which will start at 599 for the 38mm version and 649 for the 42mm one.

Additionally, there is a stainless steel case with a Milanese loop version for 699/749 and it only comes in the GPS and cellular version too. The black version is priced at 749/799.

The Nike watch styles follow the same pattern and are starting prices are between 329 and 399.

For those who want to splash their cash, there is a Hermes version which costs between 1,199 and 1,399 depending on what style you go for.

Lastly, there is a white and black ceramic versions which start at 1,299.

EE is the only network in the UK which the new Apple Watch is currently available on.

The normal GPS device needs an iPhone 5s or later with iOS 11 installed. The cellular version of the watch needs an iPhone 6 or later with iOS 11 on it too.

The Apple Watch and phone provider must be the same, which means you will need a phone contract with EE for it to work.

19:04:The Watch Series 3 is only available with EE in the UK

EE is offering UK customers to register for the Apple Watch Series 3 on theirwebsiteand will let them know when it is ready to pre-order.

It is an exclusive for the network although it has not said how much the device will cost in the UK. Apple said at its event that prices for the cellular watch would start from $399 and $329 for the non-cellular version.

That's about 300 for the cellular version and 248 for the non-cellular one, as long as EE does not raise the price.

The new watch will be able to work independently of a user's iPhone and has its own SIM which means it can make and receive calls. It shares the same number as the iPhone and has a built-in electronic SIM so user's don't have to worry about buying a separate one from a network.

Its dual-core processor is 70% faster than its predecessor and the device will have up to 18 hours battery life.

18:44:Apple unveiled the new Apple Watch Series 3 at its event in California

The watch will cost $399 for the cellular version and $329 for the non-cellular. It will be available in the UK with EE at launch. Orders begin 15 September and it will be available from 22 September if you want to get your wrists on one of these.

It has cellular built in which means users can go for a run with just the watch and stay connected, leaving their phone behind. It uses the same number as the iPhone and you can use maps, receive important phone calls and use third-party apps such as WeChat. It has up to 18 hours battery life and you can also use Apple music to stream over 40 million songs from your wrist.

The watch has a new dual-core processor which is 70% faster and Siri can talk on it for the first time ever. Apple has made their own custom wireless chip, called the W2, which provides 85% faster wi-fi and is 50% more power efficient. There is also a barometric altimeter to measure what elevation you reach when you are running.Interestingly, the actual display of the watch is its antenna and Apple integrated an electronic sim into the device, which is a fraction of the size of a nano sim. The case is the same as the Series 2 except the back has been extended by 0.25mm, the same size as two sheets of paper.

A number of bands are available including in gold, silver and space grey. There is also a sport loop, for those with an active lifestyle, and exclusive colours for the Nike bands. Apple has also added a ceramic watch in agrey finish as well as the standard white.

18:20:Tim Cook has kicked off the Apple event by talking about the Apple Watch.

"The Apple Watch is now the number one watch in the world" said Cook. It was previously the fourth most popular watch in the world. He also said the Watch grew by 50% last quarter which he called "incredible".

12/09/2017:Apple is reportedly working with Stanford University and telehealth firm American Well to test whether the heart rate sensor built into the Apple Watch is capable of detecting abnormal heart rhythms in patients.

The technology is typically used to track heart rates while exercising, however it's thought it could be refined enough to accurately detect arrhythmias, or heart abnormalities, or patients that are at a high risk of serious diseases, according to aCNBCreport.

Arrhythmias aren't always a sign of a serious problem, however a condition known as atrial fibrillation can mean a patient may be at high risk of blood clots, strokes, and other complications, while showing no external symptoms. The thought is that the Apple Watch could be used as an early screening tool that alerts users to consult a doctor.

"Atrial fibrillation is a common rhythm disorder and knowing someone has it is medically useful because those people might need specific treatments," said Bob Wachter, chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, speaking toCNBC.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently suggested the company was looking into heart health apps for the Apple Watch. Speaking in an interview withFortune, he said an early goal for the device was "performing some measurements of your health that people were not measuring, at least continually. Like your heart. Very few people wore heart monitors. We're extremely interested in this area. And yes, it is a business opportunity."

Those involved with the test have requested to remain anonymous as the plans have yet to be made public, according to the report, however they did confirm that a clinical trial is scheduled for the end of the year.

11/09/2017: LTE Apple Watch 3 to use the same phone number as iPhone it's paired with

The Apple Watch Series 3 will share the same phone number as the iPhone linked to it, a massive leak of the iOS 11 golden master (GM) code that took place over the weekend revealed.

The leak shows that the Apple Watch will use LTE cellular networks to make and receive calls and data independently of the iPhone, according to9to5Mac.

Users will be able to add their Watch 3 to their iPhone plan, meaning both devices will share the same number.

The code also appears to suggest that some carriers will offer promotional plans for the LTE Apple Watch, perhaps including free months of service.

The upcoming Apple Watch 3 appears to have a similar form to the Apple Watch Series 2,9to5Macreported,which suggests buyers can use their bands from previous generations.

The GM leak also revealeda number of details, including that Apple plans to release three iPhones, the iPhone 8, the iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X. The X will be Apple's flagship previously referred to as the iPhone 8, while the 8 and 8 Plus will be what were being referred to as the 7s and 7s Plus, showing Apple is killing the 's' branding. The leak also reveals that Face ID is definitely set to appear in the iPhone X.

This is potentially the biggest and most revealing leak ever, with an Apple insider reportedly making the code available to two news websites.

28/07/2017:Apple Watch Series 3 could be released at the same time as the iPhone 8

Rumours that Apple could release the next Apple Watch this year have intensified following a report that shows its manufacturer is expected to enjoy strong growth in the second-half of 2017.

Quanta Computer is the main manufacturer of the Apple Watch since its official launch in 2015, as reported byMacRumors. The publication said Apple is meant to be keeping Quanta as its main supplier for the next installment of the watch and this means the company should begin the second half of 2017 strongly.

The website also predicts that, while theiPhone 8is raising a lot of media attention, Apple may launch a new Apple Watch this year - potentially at the same time the new phone is announced in September. Apple pursued this strategy when it announced the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 in the same month.

The new watch is rumoured to have cellular connectivity, meaning that users can make calls and send messages without needing to connect the device to the iPhone. Despite this, it may mean that users will have to have two separate cellular plans: one for their watch and one for their phone.

There have been reports that Apple may not be able to produce enough iPhone 8 devices for its launch in September due to a shortage of OLED panels at assembly plants. This may mean that although the iPhone 8 will potentially make its debut in September, not all customers will be able to buy one, which isn't different to any other iPhone launch.

07/06/2017:Apple watchOS 4 announced at WWDC 2017

Apple showcased the watchOS 4 operating system at WWDC 2017 and highlighted a host of new features including new Siri integrations and fitness features.

New fitness features include personalised updates, monthly challenges and celebrations when you hit a goal. The watch will let you jump into any workout with just a tap, includes a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) mode and lets you track your swims better. To help users get the most out of a workout, the watch will now automatically turn a Do Not Disturb setting when you begin a workout too.

Music has been changed too as the Apple Watch will automatically sync playlists that have been curated for you to the watch. Added Bluetooth functionality means the watch can connect to other health and fitness devices too, potentially even for monitoring glucose levels while exercising.

Developers can currently access the developer preview but the public will have to wait until the autumn to get their hands/wrists on the new update.

Make sure you check out ourApple watchOS 4 hubfor all the details

19/05/2017:Tim Cook spotted sporting Watch with blood sugar tracker

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been spotted with a special version of the Watch on his wrist, which includes a prototype blood sugar tracker. That follows previous reports that Apple was looking to sell a glucose sensor that can connect to the Apple Watch to help those with diabetes.

The first version of the Apple Watch included a heart-rate sensor, but didn't feature GPS or waterproofing, meaning it was less useful for fitness tracking. The Apple Watch 2 included both features, making it handy for runners, swimmers and other athletics. It now looks as though Apple is adding health to the Watch's capabilities.

According to aCNBCreport, Cook was spotted wearing a prototype sensor that connects to the Apple Watch while at the company's headquarters. Cook has previously discussed the idea of a glucose sensor, and said he'd been wearing one, while in Edinburgh giving a talk to university students, but said at the time he removed it before the trip. At the time, he said it was "mentally anguishing to stick yourself many times a day to check your blood sugar," CNBC reported, noting that the Apple glucose tracker will be non-invasive.

He suggested the sensor would be useful to people at risk of diabetes, as they could track their body's response to what they're eating and "adjust well before they become diabetic".

The glucose sensor is thought to be a "smart band" that attaches to the Watch to extend it's capabilities, rather than a feature built into a new version of the wearable.

12/05/2017: Will the next Apple Watch offer sleep tracking?

Apple has acquired Beddit, a Finnish sleep tracking firm, in a move that could signal the technology is coming to Apple Watch.

Sleep tracking technology is common in wearables, particularly when it comes to specialist health and fitness devices. Despite Apple pushing its smartwatch's health credentials, it has never included sleep tracking as an integral part of the device, although it's a commonly requested feature.

Beddit's device, which has been on sale in Apple Stores since 2015, isn't a wearable itself, though. Instead, it consists of a 1.5mm thick strip that users place on top of their mattress and is plugged into a mains socket for power. It can then monitor many aspects of a person's sleep, including their heart rate, time and quality of sleep, and whether the user is snoring. It also includes an intelligent alarm system that wakes users during their lightest phase of sleep.

The question now is whether Apple has acquired the company for its software or its hardware - or both. Indeed, the Beddit app has been one of several that have filled the sleep-tracking gap left by Apple Watch.In order to integrate Beddit's technology into the Apple Watch itself, however, the device would need a significant hardware upgrade currently, the device is unable to track sleep as it requires recharging each night.

02/05/2017:A number of leading tech companies have silently killed off their Apple Watch apps, according to a report byApple Insider.

Google has joined Amazon, Ebay, and US retailer Target by dropping support for its WatchOS Maps app in a recent April update, although no official announcement was made, the publication said. So far the dropped apps include Amazon's shopping service and Google Maps.

Google has stated toApple Insiderthat although it has dropped support for Google Maps, it plans to add it once again in the future.

It is unclear why the companies decided to remove the apps, however, though it may be that the services weren't widely used by Apple Watch owners, rather than necessarily an indication of a struggling platform.

However it could also be a sign that the platform is no longer lucrative. It is no secret that Apple has found it difficult to convince customers of the platform's potential, with estimates fromIDC analystssuggesting as much as a 71.6% drop in sales in the third quarter of 2016.

And Apple isn't alone, with wider sales of smartwatches tanking over the last year. Google is struggling to sell its Android Wear range amid poor customer demand, and development of its latest version was pushed back after third party manufacturers such as Motorola abandoned device production at the end of last year.

The market was also hit with the shock news that Pebble, the company considered a leading exponent of smart watch technology, was being sold off to Fitbit forpractically nothingin December.

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus arrived with much fanfare at the company's annual launch event in September 2016 and came out in the UK almost instantly.

The devices have proven to be quite a hit for the smartphone manufacturer, and helped it reclaim its position as the top smartphone manufacturer in the world.

We round up all the latest news about the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus so you can keep on top of everything happening in the Apple-verse.

You can find our iPhone 7 review here.

Apple iPhone 7: at a glance

• iPhone 7 and 7 Plus UK release date was 16 September 2016
• iPhone 7 UK price starts at 549
• iPhone 7 Plus UK price starts at 669
• Get both models in 32GB or 128GB
• Available in a range of colours, including black, grey and red

iPhone 7: latest news

04/12/2017:Apple and (RED) raise over $30 million to fight AIDS

Apple has raised over $30 million this year for the Global Fund, a charity set upby U2 singer Bono and Bobby Shriver in 2006to fight AIDS.

The company made the announcement last Thursday, the day before World AIDS Day, and said over the past 11 years Apple customers have provided an equivalent of 475 million days of life-saving medication.

"Connecting through our products and services helps make it easy for our customers to join us in the effort to create the first AIDS-free generation," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's VP of environment, policy and social initiatives. "By working with (RED) to stop the transmission of HIV from mums to their unborn babies, we're already seeing a significant impact in areas where help is needed most. We're committed to continuing the fight and empowering future generations through these vital efforts."

(RED) has raised over $500 million since the company's inception.

"Apple's commitment to the AIDS fight is unparalleled. It's not just the staggering $160 million raised for the Global Fund that has impacted many millions of lives, it's their ability to bring heat, awareness, energy and eyeballs to keep this issue front and centre," said Deb Dugan, CEO at (RED). "Their unwavering support cannot be underestimated, and we thank every Apple employee for helping (RED) reach the milestone of half a billion dollars delivered to help end this disease."

To call attention to World AIDS Day 2017, more than 400 Apple stores featured a red Apple logo for the week. For every Apple Pay transaction made at a retail location, online or in-app, the company made a $1 donation to the Global Fund.

In March, Apple released a red version of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus to raise money for HIV research efforts (see below).

22/03/2017: As predicted, Apple has released a red version of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, to help raise money for HIV research efforts.

Some of the profits from the new iPhone will be donated to the charity (RED), which was founded by U2 frontman Bono and activist Bobby Shriver in 2006, to help fund efforts to combat HIV and deliver an "AIDS free generation". Apple has previously released red products, including a red iPod and red Apple Watch fluoroelastomer strap, also in aid of (RED).

James Moar, an analyst at Juniper Research told the BBCApple is trying desperately hard to be associated with ethical matters for the greater good and launching a (RED) iPhone, with profits going towards the foundation, goes some way to doing this.

"It is a way of them kind of beefing up that side of their business," he said.

All the money (RED) receives is donated to the Global Fund, which provides grants for HIV/AIDS programmes, including education, testing and treatment in areas most affected by the disease.

At the same time as launching the (RED) iPhone 7, the company also announced a new video app that would take cues from Snapchat's instant media sharing app.

"Fun effects including comic book filters, speech bubbles, shapes and full-screen animated posters help bring out the personality in videos made with Clips,"Apple said.

Continue reading to find out the iPhone 7's release date and price

iPhone 7 release date

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus launched at Apple'sSpecial Event on 7 September, and both went on sale in the UK on 16 September. Pre-orders were available from 9 September.

iPhone 7 UK price

The iPhone 7 costs upwards of 549, and the 7 Plus upwards of 669.

The prices are higher than the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus were when they launched (539 and 619 respectively), but Apple has doubled the phones' storage capacities from 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB to 32GB, 128GB and 256GB. Apple no longer sells the 256GB version so you will have to look elsewhere if you want to purchase it.

However, like-for-like prices jumped: the iPhone 6 128GB model was priced at 699 at launch, and the iPhone 7 128GB model price is the same. But while the 6s Plus launched at 789, the iPhone 7 Plus 128GB model is 30 more expensive, at 819. Apple hasn't given a reason, but it is thought Brexit may have pushed the price up, after the UK's decision to leave the EU caused sterling to plummet in value. OnePlus raised its phone price from 309 to 329 in response to Brexit.

Check out our pricing table below for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus UK prices.

iPhone 7 best deals

If you're happy to sign up to a 24-month contract for your iPhone, networks are furiously competing with each other to offer the best deals available, with inclusive minutes and texts, a variety of different data options and extra perks such as free music subscriptions or inclusive roaming abroad.

Three

Although Three's tariffs are by no way the cheapest per month, they do offer more data, minutes and unlimited texts. For example, opt for a mammoth 4GB data for the 32GB iPhone 7 and you'll pay just 38 a month, although there is a 149 upfront cost.

For the 128GB version, this increases to 43 a month, with the same 149 upfront, while the 256GB version will only cost an extra 5 a month - for all that extra storage!

As is usually the case, the best prices are for two-year contracts, so although long-term, they're the most manageable on a monthly basis.

O2

If you'd rather pay a lot less upfront, but are happy paying a bigger monthly fee, O2's tariffs could be just the biscuit. Starting at just 39.99 upfront for the 32GB iPhone 7, this network's cheapest tariff is 60 a month. But that will give you an absolutely ridiculous 30GB a month data, meaning you can probably scrap your broadband too.

For a more sensible, everyday option, you can pay the slightly higher fee of 59.99 upfront and then 46.50 a month if you think you'll only use 3GB data a month

That same tariff for the 128GB version will add an extra fiver onto the monthly cost, while upping the capacity to 256GB will set you back 56.50 a month, with the handset costing a tenner cheaper at 49.99 upfront.

EE

EE's forte is 4G network coverage and as you'd expect, all of its iPhone 7 plans come with 4G support.

Like O2, EE is focussing on cutting the upfront cost of the iPhone 7 in order to attract those who'd rather pay for the majority of their device over a two-year period.

For example, 55.99 a month will get you the 32GB iPhone 7, 7GB data, unlimited calls and texts, plus you'll only need to pay 9.99 upfront. Upgrade to the 128GB iPhone 7 and you'll pay 49.99 upfront, with monthly repayments of 55.99. OK, maybe not as attractive as the smaller capacity iPhone 7, but not a bad proposition if you're after 5GB data.

The best deal for the 256GB iPhone 7 will increase that upfront payment to 99.99 a month, but it'll give you 10GB data for 60.99 a month.

Vodafone

Vodafone offers the most interesting added extras for anyone who likes a freebie. With the company's Red bundles, you can opt to add on a NOW TV Entertainment Pass, Spotify Premium or Sky Sports Mobile TV package when you sign up, but beware - these add-ons come with a cost because the contract prices are some of the highest out there.

The 32GB version is available from 32 a month, with a hefty 250 fee upfront, while the 128GB version ups this to 37 a month with 300 upfront. If you want to get your hands on the 256GB version, that'll cost 42 a month with 320 when you sign up. These lowest tariffs will get you a tiny 500MB data, 500 minutes to UK phones and unlimited texts, which probably won't even satisfy the average device user.

GiffGaff

If you want to buy the iPhone 7 upfront from Apple whether by paying the full 599-799 or its pay monthly plan, GiffGaff offers the best rolling, SIM-only contracts to save you money over the lifetime of the device.

The no-frills network is charging 20 a month for its tariff, which, if you add that onto the cost of the handset, turns out you're paying between 1,079 and 1,179 over a 12-month period.

iPhone 7 colours

The iPhone 7 is available in five colours - Jet black, regular black, silver, gold and rose gold.

The exclusive Jet black colour, which is a brand new colour for Apple, is only available in 128GB and 256GB iterations, presumably designed to exude luxury.

It's a high-gloss finish produced using a nine-step anodisation and polishing process and although its surface is equally as hard as other anodised Apple products, the company warns its high shine might show up scratches more than the other colourways. It therefore suggests you hide the shiny surface away by slipping it into a case to protect the fragility surface - a bit pointless if you want to show off you have the brand new colour.

In terms of pricing for the different coloured editions, they all enter the market at the same price, although it's possible retailers will reduce some of the more unpopular colours as the iPhone 8's appearance approaches in order to get rid of stock.

iPhone 7 features

iPhone 7 operating system

The iPhone 7 family runsiOS 10.

The advantage of iOS 10 is it will automatically protect against a recently discovered iPhone threat, dubbed Trident. Trident is particularly dangerous for companies with iPhone deployments, because once installed, it syphons off messages - encrypted or not - to the hacker who launched the attack. That means all data on a business device is at risk of being stolen. While Apple quickly addressed the vulnerability with a patch in iOS 9.3.5, not everyone will have downloaded it, but iOS 10 will include the patch too.

iPhone 7 camera and photos

The camera has become something of a flagship feature for Apple's smartphones and the iPhone 7 is no exception.

The iPhone 7 sports a 12-megapixel camera, the same as the iPhone 6s, and offers three times longer exposure than its predecessor. It also lets 50% more light onto the sensor, which is 60% faster than the 6s's, too.

Apple's image signal processor, which is the brains of the camera, uses machine learning to identify people and objects in photos and to set white balance. The processor is also capable of recognising a greater variety of colours, as well.

While the iPhone 7's camera is a clear improvement on the last, it's the iPhone 7s camera that really catches the eye. For a start, it has two cameras - a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens, allowing it to zoom up to 10x on a shot without compromising image quality.

iPhone 7 display

Compared to the iPhone 6s's screen, the iPhone 7 is 25% brighter, utilising a feature called Wide Color for the first time. Wide Color is Apple's term forDCI-P3, a range of colours that became a standard for digital movie projection in the US film industry.

While both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus have Wide Color, they lack True Tone (which the 9.7in iPad Pro does have).

One of the biggest changes on the iPhone 6s was the 3D Touch screen - an advancement on the Force Touch technology seen on the Apple Watch and most recent MacBook. You'll be glad to know that 3D Touch has now made it to the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

3D Touch allows sensors below the screen to detect whether the user has applied a tap, a press, or a deep press. It is this deep press recognition that is used for Live Photos, as well as 'Peeks' which let you see previews of emails, websites and photos, and 'Pops', which let you open the full email, site or photo simply by pressing down harder.

Siri

Siri has been part of iPhone since 2010, but its appearance in iOS 10 brings a whole heap of updates to the six-year-old voice assistant, so it's cleverer than ever before.

It alreadysits at the heart not just of iPhone, but also iPads, Apple TV and the company's burgeoning smart home ecosystem.

But with iOS 10, Siri becomes a bigger part of many of your go-to apps. On stage, Craig Federighi showed how wider Siri support works: You can instruct it to "Send aWeChattoNancysayingI'll be five minutes late", for instance. By opening up Siri to third-party developers, Apple has made it more useful - it'll soon be present in WhatsApp, Uber, Lyft, Slack, Map My Run, Pinterest and more.

Continue reading for iPhone 7 specs

iPhone 7 specs

iPhone 7 processor, storage and RAM

In terms of hardware, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus use a new A10 system-on-a-chip (SOC), the successor to the A9 SOC that powers the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus and SE.

The A10 is 40% faster than the A9 and is twice as fast as the old A8, while it boasts 3.3 billion transistors and four cores.

While the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus have 2GB of RAM, the same as the 6s and 6s Plus, Apple has overhauled its storage tiers. Starting by axing the 16GB and 64GB models, the 7 and 7 Plus double the storage capacities of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Instead of 16GB, 64GB and 128GB, the 7 family comes in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB sizes. The Jet Black colour iPhone is only available in the last two sizes.

iPhone 7 battery life

Apple believes the 7's battery life is two hours longer than that of the 6s, and the 7 Plus offers one hour longer than the 6s Plus.

By the tech giant's count, the 7 offers up to 14 hours talk time on 3G, compared to the 7 Plus's 21 hours. The iPhone 7 offers internet use for 12 hours on 3G and 4G and 14 hours on Wi-Fi; the 7 Plus can do 13 hours on 3G and 4G, and 15 hours on Wi-Fi.

Standby time is up to 10 days on the 7 and 16 days on the 7 Plus.

iPhone 7 casing and headphone jack

We'll get to the headphones in just a moment; one important, less-talked-about improvement on the iPhone 7 is the much-hated antennae bands that covered the top back of the chassis on previous models.

These were included to allow radio waves to penetrate the new metal chassis design, but Apple has improved its technology and design to do away with them on the iPhone 7, hiding them away inside the chassis instead.

Headphone jack

Apple has killed the headphone jack on the iPhone 7. Yes, that's right, the 3.5mm port for headphones is no more. Instead, Apple is shipping EarPods with each iPhone 7 sold - these connect through the Lightning port instead of the jack. If you're attached (forgive the pun) to your own set of headphones, though, don't worry: Apple also includes an adaptor in the box, so you can plug your own headphones into the Lightning port instead.

But, of course, Apple hasn't stopped there. Always intent on surprising people, the tech giant also revealed the AirPods (pictured above). These wireless earpieces rely on Bluetooth to connect to your iPhone, and use infrared to detect when they're in your ears - they won't play when they're just in your pocket. In a neat touch, you can also double tap them to speak to Siri.

Continue reading for iPhone 7 colours, versions, accessories and to find out if it will be a success

iPhone 7 versions, colours and accessories

iPhone 7 versions and colours

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will keep the iPhone's current dimensions of 4.7in and 5.5in across the diagonal respectively, but they'll boast all new colours.

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in RoseGold, Gold, Silver, Black, and Jet Black, getting rid of the Space Gray colour of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s.

Accessories

All iPhones come with ear pods included, and the iPhone 7 is no exception. However, tech-loving users may choose to upgrade and buy the AirPods (above) or even one of Apple's Beats wireless headphones, instead.

As with previous editions, the iPhone 7 will have its fair share of accessories, including a smart battery pack case that can charge the phone on the go, and a Lightning Dock to charge and sync the device.

Will the iPhone 7 be a success?

At a consumer level, it is highly unlikely that the iPhone 7 and its variants will bomb. As reported by Nikkei in January, although there was a glut of inventory in the first quarter of 2016, "Apple's products and brand have not lost their appeal, and older models have continued to sell".

Indeed, iPhones were a major driving force behind Apple's record-breaking Q4 2015 financial results.

Additionally, the iPhone 7 is a new model, rather than an 's' series update like the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.

iPhone 7 in the enterprise

Apple has been working hard to boost its presence in the enterprise, primarily through partnerships with other large tech companies such as Cisco and IBM, leveraging these to create a $25 billion business selling to B2B.

While it has largely been thought these alliances have been formed to help push the use of iPads as business devices, officially they are for all products running on iOS - which includes iPhones.

However, research group Ovum tellsIT Pro that the iPhone 7 won't enhance Apple's enterprise strategy particularly.

Mike Sapien, analyst for Ovum's US Enterprise Practice, said: "I did not hear anything specific that will build on its enterprise strategy or adoption. At the same list price, it seems like the only major attraction will be any upgrade program that promotes the upgrade or switch from Android devices, which are not likely but may be offered by the mobile operators. I can't see major moves by businesses to promote the switch from what I have heard so far."';

However, the use of iOS in business grew in Q3 2015, according to a report from Good Technology, having lost some market share to Android in the first half of the year, and it has always been the most popular OS used in the enterprise.

With this in mind, it is likely, therefore, that the iPhone 7 will eventually be a success in the enterprise although uptake will almost certainly be slower and steadier than in the consumer space.

News

06/03/2017:A red iPhone 7 could be the newest addition to Apple's flagship device line up, according to rumours. Not only that,Get Readinghas suggested it could be launching later this month at an as yet unannounced Apple event that could also see the release of a new iPad Pro and a higher capacity iPhone SE.

This would be in keeping with Apple's usual March announcement, which is the only time it tends to launch new products apart from September.

A red iteration of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus would be in support of Bono and Bobby Shriver'sHIV/AIDS campaign, under the (RED) banner. Apple has taken part in the campaign for the last few years, alongside other companies such as Mophie, which makes a special edition red Juice Pack for the iPhone 7 already and Beats, another Apple-owned company, which has launched special edition headphones for the cause.

The (RED) iPhones in the past haven't cost any extra, although companies involved are required to donate a proportion of the sales to the charity.

24/02/2017:Samsung isn't the only mobile maker with battery woes: Apple is now investigating an apparent battery fire on the iPhone 7 Plus.

Video of a phone owned by a teenager in Arizona is making the rounds, showing the device smoking with a cracked body.

The iPhone owner had brought the device into an Apple Store the day before the incident, complaining that it wasn't turning on. It started to smoke while plugged in to charge next to her as she slept.

Apple has reportedly said it's in touch with the customer and looking into the incident.

While there have been reports of other iPhone 7 Plus batteries overheating, the handset has been on sale since September with few such complaints, suggesting the issue may be a few flawed or damaged batteries, rather than a widespread fault like that seen by Samsung.

09/11/2016:Apple's new iPhone 7 came with a new choice of colour, 'Jet Black', which gives the smartphone a glossy appearance, thanks to a nine-step process that includes anodisation and polish.

This new colour was extremely popular among iPhone 7 customers, despite reports that it was extremely delicate and could be damaged fairly easily.

According to a report written by the Japanese publicationMac Otakara, Apple could be considering whether to add a new 'Jet White' colour to those available for iPhone 7 smartphones.

Demand for Apple's new device is particularly high, with many customers still waiting to receive their iPhone 7, particularly in the new Jet Black colouring, and in its Plus version.

On October 25, during a conference call with analysts, Apple chief financial officer Luca Maestri said: "Worldwide demand for iPhone 7 and 7 Plus has significantly outpaced supply, particularly on iPhone 7 Plus."

Apple's new flagship smartphone was launched on 16 September and comes with new features such as dual camera and wireless headphones connected to the phone through a new system called lightening.

Other colours for the iPhone 7 include silver, normal black, gold and rose gold matte.

27/10/2016:Several websites are offering iPhone users in China the possibility to purchase 'iPhone makeover kits', false cameras and dust plugs that hide the headphone jack, to make an iPhone 6 or 6s look like the new iPhone 7.

Several iPhone users are buying these items and re-vamping their old Apple devices instead of buying the new flagship model.

Should this trend spread, it could be detrimental for Apple, which is hoping the new device will help boost its sales.

This mirrors the popular opinion among Chinese Apple users that iPhone 7 is not innovative enough to prompt them to buy it.

A Beijing-based sales workertold Tech 2he was getting a Shenzhen firm to replace his iPhone 6's case, saying: "I don't have the money to upgrade, and the (iPhone) 7 is just so-so."

On Tuesday, Apple's last quarterly statement showed a decline in iPhone sales globally, with Greater China's revenue down by 30% to $8.79 billion.

Counterpoint analyst Neil Shah said: "The iPhone 7 series should help Apple regain lost (China) market share as demand is tracking better than for the iPhone 6s series. Apple needs to offer something cutting-edge to appeal to maturing Chinese smartphone users who are warming to local brands."

10/10/2016:Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said he now thinks the new Lightning audio port on iPhone 7 was a good idea, inan interview withTechRadar.

In August, Wozniak toldThe Australian Financial Reviewthat he believed dropping the headphone jack would "tick off a lot of people".

However, he has since changed his mind, andhe said: "Not that many people used it, I never used it. For those who do use it, you can buy a little adaptor dongle."

Wozniak also had a change of heart in regards to the Apple Watch. "I've come to like my Apple Watch more... I use it enough in my life for things...I enjoy using it and having it. And when I don't use it, I don't even know it's there," he toldTechRadar.

In March, the Apple co-founder had expressed his scepticism about the wearable in a post onReddit. The post read: "I worry a little bit about- I mean I love my Apple Watch, but - it's taken us into a jewelry market where you're going to buy a watch between $500 or $1100 based on how important you think you are as a person.

"The only difference is the band in all those watches. Twenty watches from $500 to $1100. The band's the only difference? Well this isn't the company that Apple was originally, or the company that really changed the world a lot."

Wozniak engineered Apple 1, the first home computer with keyboard and TV screen as a display. While Steve Jobs took care of the creative aspect of Apple products, Wozniak was the mind behind the construction of Apple's first computers and devices.

30/09/2016:An iPhone 7 has reportedly exploded during delivery, prompting fears that Apple's flagship may be suffering similar battery problems tothe ill-fated Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

One customer received their device only to discover that it appeared to have caught fire and exploded while en route, according to colleague andReddit user 'kroopthesnoop'.

They posted photos of their coworker's destroyed iPhone, noting that they're "not certain" what happened but adding, "something happened between the factory and delivery".

The pictures show that the iPhone was discoloured, partially melted and with the screen coming away from the chassis. The unit bears a strong resemblance to the Note 7 models which overheated and exploded, an incident which prompted Samsung to initiate a full recall of the device.

However, unlike the Note 7, this fault does not appear to be affecting numerous devices. Apple did not respond when asked if multiple customers had reported similar issues.

26/09/2016:Research firm GfK has revealed iPhone 7 sales were lower than expected, saying sales of both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were down 25 per cent year-on-year.

If GfK's numbers are right, that means Apple shifted less than 10m iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus handsets between September 16th and 19th.

However, unlike previous years, Apple didn't release its own sales figures for the iPhone 7 on its launch weekend, explaining in its statement it was due to distribution complications rather than negative shipment results.

"In years past, we've announced how many new iPhones had been sold as of the first weekend following launch. But as we have expanded our distribution through carriers and resellers to hundreds of thousands of locations around the world, we are now at a point where we know before taking the first customer pre-order that we will sell out of iPhone 7.

These initial sales will be governed by supply not demand, we have decided that it is no longer a representative metric for our investors and customers. Therefore we won't be releasing a first-weekend number any longer. We are reiterating the financial guidance for the September quarter that we provided on July 26."

However, Apple said it was expecting the same amount of interest from consumers in the launch weekend because it was allowing preorders a week before it was available from stores.

Last year, Apple sold 13m iPhone 6S and 6S Plus devices over the launch weekend compared to 10m iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices in 2014.

14/09/2016:The iPhone 7 has already broken pre-order records, according to US mobile networks.

Wireless carrier T-Mobile announced that once presales opened on 9 September, the iPhone 7 set a single-day sales record, more than any other smartphone ever sold by the company.

Sprint also announced that iPhone 7 and 7 Plus preorders increased by around 375% over the first three days of availability, when compared with last year's 6s and 6s Plus.

This demand was mirrored in the UIK, where the iPhone 7 launch spurred the biggest one-day spike in UK traffic to Apple's website that the site had ever seen. According to digital market intelligence firm SimilarWeb, the site received a 235% boost in visits on the iPhone 7's launch day.

07/09/2016 update:The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have both launched today at Apple's special event in San Francisco.

They have a new home button with force touch and taptic feedback, an A-10 chip, which makes them both faster and more battery efficient than their predecessors, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, and have a brighter, higher-resolution screen.

The worst-kept secret in tech - that the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will have no 3.5mm headphone jack - was also confirmed. As expected, the devices will use the lightning connector as an audio output and will ship with a pair of lightning EarPods. The company is also launching a set of wireless "AirPods" (EarPods with no physical connector) in October, but they will cost 159.

Another widely rumoured feature a dual lens rear camera also turned out to be true. However, it is only available on the iPhone 7 Plus, not the iPhone 7.

iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus are available in five colours - Rose Gold, Gold, Silver, (shiny) Jet Black and (matte) Black.

Both smartphones are available to pre-order from 9 September and ship on 16 September when they also hit shelves in retail stores. iOS 10, which the devices will run on, is available to download from 13 September.

07/09/2016:It's iPhone 7 launch day!

The iPhone 7 and its big brother, the iPhone 7 Plus, are set to be announced today at a special launch event in San Francisco, amidst much fanfare.

Rumours so far indicate the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will look identical to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with a handful of new features - some controversial, others a little more mainstream.

Last night, a leak from Apple's own store showed the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus listed as compatible devices for some accessories, including the company's new EarPods.

Recent rumours suggest Apple will scrap the 3.5mm headphone port and instead insist people use Bluetooth to connect or be forced to buy an adaptor so they fit into the device's Lightning port.

It also may introduce a pressure-sensitive home button that won't have moving parts like the iPhone, which will also help it be more waterproof too.

The camera may be upgraded too, with storage options ranging from 32GB to 256GB.

Additionally, while the iPhone doesn't normally go on sale the same day it's announced,IT Prosources have indicated it is likely to be in UK shops from 19 September.

You can find out how to watch the event, plus follow our live blog from 5.30pm UK time,at our dedicated page.

Image credits: Main image and page 3 concepts Yasser Farahi - Oval Picture. Page 1 concepts, Marek Weidlich on Behance. Page 2 concept Jan-Willem Reusnik - Flickr. All image rights remain with the original creators.

Apple TV is Apple's audiovisual streaming device that has for some time been the poor relation of the Cupertino-based firm's computing hardware range.

Apple's TV range is now in its fourth generation, with a fifth rumoured to be in development and speculated to be revealed later this year.

Here we round up everything you need to know about Apple's answer to Chromecast and Roku, as well as its tvOS operating system.

Apple TV latest news

12/09/2017:

Apple has announced a new Apple TV model, with support for 4K and HDR technology.

As rumours predicted, the new box uses one of Apple's A10X Fusion chips, with more than 50% faster performance and improved graphics speed.

The company is also announcing that 4K films and TV shows sold through iTunes will be charged at the same price as HD content. On top of that, any existing HD content that customers have purchased will be automatically upgraded to 4K at no extra cost.

The company will be working with Netflix and Mazon to bring the respective companies' original programming to Apple TV, complete with support for HDR and 4K technologies. Live sports will also be supported.

The new Apple TV 4K will start at $179, and will be available for pre-order from September 15, shipping September 22.

11/09/2017: Apple TV 4K set to be powered by A10X Fusion chip

The new Apple TV is set to be called Apple TV 4K and will be powered by an A10X Fusion CPU and have 3GB RAM.

The discovery was unveiled by developer Steven Troughton-Smith, as part of the golden master (GM) code leaked on Friday. The code was reportedly leaked by an Apple insider, and has information about the new iPhone X and iPhone 8 models, the LTE Apple Watch Series 3 and now the Apple TV.

The new chip will increase the compute and graphics performance and may be required to play 4K 60fps content which users can shoot with the new iPhone 8 and iPhone X, according to 9to5Mac.

The RAM has increased too; necessary because of the size of the bandwidth and cache size that are normally required to stream 4K video.

Apple are set to officially unveil the new iPhone tomorrow and a range of other devices too. It's set to be a big event considering that it's the iPhone's 10th anniversary. However, major details about the devices were leaked on Friday.

The event will be available to watch on an iPhone, iPad or Mac via Safari or through Microsoft 10's Edge browser. It is taking place at the Steve Jobs Theater in California on 12 September at 10:00am PST.

08/09/2017: tvOS beta 10 released ahead of 'Special Event'

Ahead of its 'Special Event' event on 12 September, Apple has rolled out a new beta version of its tvOS 11 developer build.

The new update, which was released on Tuesday, is built to run on fourth-generation Apple TVs, adding some user exprience changes to the UI and some support for some of Apple's newest hardware.

tvOS 11 beta, the tenth of its kind, adds automatic light and dark mode switching depending on the time of day, new background modes, home screen sync, and the option to pair AirPods to the TV.

The majority of the changes are focused on fixing various bugs in the software, likely an indication that Apple is gearing up to release the full version on 12 September.

The changes were initially only available to those users who are registered as developers, however a free public version of the build has since been released.

tvOS 11, as well as iOS 11 and updates for macOS Sierra and watchOS 4, are expected to make an appearance during or after the event next week, where we're also likely to see the release of the iPhone 8.

07/09/2017:Apple has updated the Events app on Apple TV ahead of its "Special Event" next week, which is widely expected to herald the arrival of the iPhone 8.

Apple takes a very proprietary view of its event streaming and traditionally it could only be watched on an iPhone, iPad or Mac via the inbuilt Safari browser, or on Apple TV via the dedicated Special Event app. However it's recently added Windows 10's Edge browser to that lineup.

The update to the Apple TV hub is fairly minor. As with the events sent out to the media a week ago, it stated that this will be "the first ever Special Event held at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California", with date and time details (12 September, 10.00am PST). Videos from previous events in September and October last year, and WWDC this year, are available to watch on demand in the meantime.

In other Apple TV news, the company has also reportedly recruited four "veteran TV executievs" to join its video content team, according toVariety.

Kim Rozenfeld, Max Aronson and Ali Woodruff, all formerly of Sony Pictures Television, have joined Apple's TV content team, as well as Rita Cooper Lee, former WGN America head of publicity. Sony and WGN have both proven fertile hunting grounds for Apple. Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, were both Sony employees before joining Apple's video content team in June, while Matt Cherniss, now head of development in the unit, was previously head of WGN America.

06/06/2017:Amazon's Prime Instant Video streaming service is coming to Apple TV, Apple has announced. While last night's WWDC opening keynote didn't give us the predicted glimpse of tvOS 11, Apple did reveal support for Amazon's video streaming subscription.

This comes after Amazon stopped selling the Apple TV previously, allegedly because Apple refused to allow Amazon Prime Video content to appear on its device. The firms appear to have come to an understanding now however, with Amazon shows like The Man in the High Castle coming to Apple TV in the next few months.

Apple CEO Tim Cook also stated that further updates regarding Apple TV would be shared later on in the year, indicating that a new hardware generation will indeed be launched before 2018 - possibly at the same time as the next iPhone.

05/06/2017: It's likely Apple will give us the first glimpse of tvOS 11 at WWDC, speculated to power a fifth-generation Apple TV device expected later this year.

If the company follows the same release schedule as last year, we will see an early build of the software at Apple's developer conference, with a full launch due in September.

The latest version is rumoured to addthe ability to switch between different accounts on Apple TVs. Currently, each TV is tied to individual Apple IDs, and the only way to access shared content is through a limited Family Sharing feature in iTunes Movies.

The new feature would allow different users to access their own iTunes and iCloud libraries, as well as potentially allowing for personalised Home screen layouts.

This certainly makes sense given the fact that Apple TVs are by design shared devices, rather than a personal iPad or iPhone. It also paves the way for future Siri integration, which would allow Apple's assistant to save individual user profiles.

For all the latest news and rumours coming out of WWDC, head to our hub.

Apple TV tvOS 11

tvOS 11 is likely going to power a new generation of Apple TVs, with both expected to be revealed alongside the iPhone 8. The latest refresh of the operating system, tvOS 10, first appeared at WWDC 2016 and was later released September 2016. Since then it has had a handful of updates, most recently 10.2.1 on 15 May.

While specific details have yet to be announced, we have a few improvements we'd like to see in the next OS:

Optimised App Store

It is currently a bit of a chore to navigate the TV's App Store, particularly when it comes to searching for a specific type of content, such as a shooting game. An overhaul of the categories and subcategories would make it much easier to find what you're looking for, particularly as the Store continues to expand.

Screensavers

Apple needs to make it easier to manage screensavers, as the process of downloading and applying the video you want is overly convoluted. For example, you don't get to select which of the files you've downloaded to set as a screensaver. While there is more control when you use your own pictures, Apple's screensavers are great, so it's a shame they're so complicated to use.

Picture-in-Picture/Split View

One of the best features on the iPad is the Split View mode, allowing users to work across two screens or watch two videos at the same time. Confusingly, this feature is missing from tvOS, even though it seems a natural place for it. It would be great to be able to watch Netflix and order food at the same time.

Apple TV Price and release date

The fourth generation of Apple TV went on sale in October 2015. A fifth generation is likely to appear later this year alongside tvOS 11. As of 12 May, Apple TV costs 129 for the 32GB version and 169 for the 64GB version. Both prices include VAT.

Apple TV specs and features

Apple TV version four has one HDMI 1.4 video output and Bluetooth 4, 802.11ac Wi Fi and 10/100Mbit/s Ethernet connectivity.

There is also an Apple TV remote control app available on iOS devices, allowing for the use ofplayback controls, touch navigation, Siri integration for using voice commands and text input via the on-screen keyboard.

Siri has also been upgraded. Not only can it now search movies and TV shows by topic, it can also search and tune in to live TV, and search YouTube.

In terms of streaming formats, it supports AirPlay natively and others via apps. Streaming services supported at the time of writing include iTunes, Apple Music, Netflix, Now TV, BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, All 4 and BT Sport.

Apple TV's 'universal search' includes support for channels such as VH1, Comedy Central and MTV, which are available through the Search app.

For more information on the latest Apple TV unit's specs and features, as well a full review, visit our sister site Expert Reviews.

Apple TV rivals

Apple TV's main rivals include Google's Chromecast, Amazon Fire Stick and Roku 3.

In June 2016, analyst house HIS revealed that, in the US, twice as many Chromecasts had been sold as Apple TVs (3.2 million vs 1.7 million). This has been primarily attributed to the fact that, at $149 before tax, Apple TV costs over four times as much as the $35 Chromecast (ex VAT).

iOS 10 was announced at WWC in June 2016, with an immediate developer beta release, followed by a public beta release in July. The first completed version was released in September 2016, with several updates having been made since then.

Here we round up all of the latest news about Apple's latest mobile OS and break down its key features.

At-a-glance

• iOS 10 was released on 13 September
• iOS 10.3 available for users to download now
• It has 10 key features revamped, with the user experience front of mind
• Much of the functionality has been opened up to developers

iOS 10 news

10/08/2017: iOS 10 users no longer allowed to upgrade or downgrade to iOS 10.3.2

Following the release of iOS 10.3.3 last month, Apple has stopped 'signing' iOS 10.3.2, meaning if anyone wants to downgrade to the previous iteration of the platform for any reason (for example if their device is playing up after installing the new update), they won't be able to.

It also means users running version 10.3.1 will have to jump straight to 10.3.3 rather than incrementally upgrading their device to iOS 10.3.2.

Although it's a rather rough tactic by Apple to encourage iPhone and iPad users to upgrade to the latest firmware, it's always a good idea to upgrade to the most current version, which will include all the latest bug and security fixes, making it less likely your phone will behave erratically.

Preventing users from running version 10.3.2 will also stop jailbreakers, by fixing the vulnerabilities often found in older versions that are commonly used for jailbreaking. This is why users who like tinkering with their device often hold back from upgrading the firmware. If they do make the jump, they'll then have to wait for the next jailbreak to be released before hacking their device again.

Aside from these reasons, it's also pretty likely Apple has stopped signing iOS 10.3.2 because it's prepping for the release of iOS 11, due to happen in September.

iOS 10 release date

iOS 10 was made available as a developer preview following the Apple WWDC keynote on 13th June, with a public beta launched in July. The final, or Golden Master, was made available from 9 September through Apple's Beta Program. The free upgrade for general users was released on 13 September 2016, following the iPhone 7's reveal on 7 September.

iOS 10 price

Available as a free upgrade, iOS 10 will work on iPhone 5 and later devices, all iPad Air and iPad Pro models, in addition to fourth generation iPad and later models, iPad mini 2 and later and iPod touch sixth generation onwards. More information is available atApple's iOS 10 preview site.

iOS 10 features

Apple spent a great deal of time going through key iOS 10 features during its WWDC keynote, covering a range of use cases and pleasing developers and end users alike.

"iOS 10 is our biggest release ever, with delightful new ways to express yourself in Messages, a native app for home automation and beautifully redesigned apps for Music, Maps, andNews that are more intuitive and more powerful, making everything you love about your iPhone and iPad even better," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of SoftwareEngineering.

"iOS 10 adds Siri intelligence into QuickType and Photos, automates your home with the new Home app and opens up Siri, Maps, Phone and Messages to developers - whileincreasing security and privacy with powerful technologies like Differential Privacy."

Messaging

The most frequently used iOS app is messages, according to Apple. So it's no surprise it has gone to town in revamping this element in iOS 10. New elements here include powerful animations, features to better reflect tone and more extensive use of and support for Emojis.

Siri

By openingSiri up to developers in iOS 10, Apple is ensuring that users will benefit from an even better experience. SiriKit means developers can work across a broad range of features, harnessing the intelligence and power Siri offers and making apps even better for the people who use them the most.

Maps reimagined

Maps have been given more than a lick of paint in iOS 10. They are also much easier and more intuitive to use. OpenTable and Uber, to pick just two examples, become much more advanced apps with iOS 10 as users can book services directly from withing Maps rather than having to exit and return. Maps will then learn from that experience to proactively deliver guidance based on where you might want or need to go next.

Photos app

AI will again be utilised heavily here to ensure the memories that matter most to users are at their fingertips. Memories will scan all the pics and videos you've taken and present them in a way that makes you think back to that time fondly. It can do this thanks to advanced computer vision, which connects the dots between people, places and things inside your device's albums.

Smarter home with HomeKit

Users can more effectively control their home environments with advanced controls that add smart elements at the touch of a button or voice command. Almost 100 home automation products have already adopted HomeKit in 2016, proving the appeal of this kind of technological innovation.

Apple Music and News

Music and News have also been given a makeover in iOS 10. Both are designed to offer the user more but without the need to get to grips with something new. In particular, Apple Music's Browse, For You and Library features are designed to connect users with the tunes that matter most and will most impact them.

Other features

There is also a range of other tweaks to excite users. These include:

• Ability to set a regular sleep schedule with the Bedtime Alarm
• Apple Pay support for purchases on select websites, which can be authenticated via Apple Watch or iPhone
• Integration for third-party VoIP calls, voicemail transcription and caller ID extension to avoid spam
• Safari split-view for iPad, Notes collaboration and Live Photos editing
• QuickType features such as contextual predictions that harness power of Siri's intelligence

Previous news

12/04/2017:Apple fixes iOS 10 beta problems, but could kill support

Apple has begun rolling out the second beta of iOS 10.3.2, the operating system's forthcoming update, after spending two weeks in its first beta period.

The adjustments made by the tech giant include bug fixes to both third-party virtual private network (VPN) apps and SiriKit car commands. Both should be working properly in the second beta. iOS devices will also send Apple diagnostic and usage data automatically, although users will have the option to opt out of this feature.

There might not be much else at the moment, as the build only comes out to129MB. It's expected, however, that the new beta will feature security enhancements.

While Apple has fixed the initial iOS beta problems, it could potentially present an even bigger issue for certain iPhone users.

According to Forbes, iOS 10.3.2 could potentially be cutting support for iPhone 5 and 5C models. The idea is based off the fact that these phones were both built on 32-bit architecture, where iOS 10.3.2 has only supported 64-bit iOS devices thus far. Previous update betas from Apple haven't skipped support for 32-bit devices.

Participators in Apple's Beta Software program can currently trial the update for free afterinstalling the proper certificate on their iOS devices.

Those not affiliated with the Beta Software program will just have to wait until the update is released in the coming weeks.

28/03/2017:Apple has released the latest update to its mobile operating system, iOS 10.3. Built on iOS 10, it's not a radical overhaul (we'll have to wait until at leastWWDC in Junefor that), but does contain some notable new features.

First up is an addition to Find My iPhone Find my AirPods. Using the built-in app, owners of Apple's tiny, wireless earphones can view their current or last known location and play a sound on one or both of them to help locate the dinky devices.

Siri has a number of new features too, including support for paying and checking the status of bills with payment apps, ride app support for help with scheduling, and cricket scores for Indian Premier League and International Cricket Council games.

There's also Siri support for apps from car manufacturers to find out whether the car is locked or not, turning on the lights and checking the vehicle's fuel level.

Speaking of cars, there are also a number of updates to CarPlay in iOS 10.3. These include shortcuts in the status bar to the most recently used apps for easy access, as well as two changes to Apple Music: the Now Playing screen gives access to both Up Next and the currently playing song's album, while a daily curated playlist and new music categories are also available.

There are also a number of smaller tweaks to the Home and Calendar apps, as well as Podcasts.

As is normal with an operating system update, iOS 10.3 also introduces a number of security patches, the details of which can be foundhere.

17/02/2017:The iPhone's next operating system, iOS 11, may lead to a cull of tens of thousands of older apps, according to reports.

With WWDC 2017 taking place in early June, we could be just a few months away from a brand new operating system for Apple's flagship device.

Its release could create havoc for app developers, and users of older apps, however, if Apple drops support for 32-bit apps, as speculated by9to5mac.

The website found that the beta for iOS 10.3 warned users opening 32-bit apps that "This app will not work with future versions of iOS". It said the app's developers must upgrade it to make it more compatible.

Apple switched from 32-bit apps to 64-bit apps with the release of the 5s in 2013, andMashablereports that "the data we have suggests tens of thousands of apps could be affected" if older apps are blocked.

It also refers to an autumn 2016 report from app analytics firm Sensor Tower that found 28% of App Store apps hadn't been updated in the previous two years.

25/01/2017:Apple has released an update for iOS 10 that will prevent hackers from accessing devices.

iOS 10.2.1 will prevent criminals from unlocking a device remotely or accessing the kernel, which could allow them to "execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges," for iPhone 5 and later, iPad 4th generation and later and iPod touch 6th generation and later.

It will also fix flaws in WebKit, Wi-Fi and Contacts to stop anyone using security holes to access the device remotely.

"[The flaw] can add files, delete files, or execute any actions," Malwarebytes senior security researcher JP Taggart toldWired. "Want to record conversations and forward them to someone else? It can do that. Want to install additional malicious software? It can do that. Want to uninstall programs on the affected phone? It can do that. Want to hide these actions, programs and files from the user? It can do that too."

Reassuringly for Apple fans, the security flaw doesn't appear to have actually been used by any malicious actors, so those who haven't applied the update yet are probably not at risk. However, as its existance is now out in the open, they should update as soon as possible.

The same flaw could be used via other Apple apps including iTunes, Safari, macOS Sierra, plus the operating system used for Apple TV and Apple Watch, which have all now been updated as well, meaning it was probably quite a widespread problem.

09/01/2017:Three quarters of iPhones and iPads now run on iOS 10, according to Apple's latest official figures - a significant jump on November's figures, which showed it running on 63% of iPhones and iPads.

They also showed that 18% of devices are still running iOS 9 with the remaining 6% stuck on older versions of the operating system.

The reason behind this increase is thought to be due to the Christmas season, with people buying others a shiny new iPhone or iPad replacement, as well as existing customers having time between Christmas and New Year to sit down and upgrade their device.

Although the metrics seem to be encouraging for Apple, they're only 1% higher than iOS 9 was at this point last year, showing people aren't necessarily jumping at the chance of getting their hands on iOS 10.

Independent company Mixpanel showed iOS 10 adoption running at just over 50% back in October, although more recent figures are yet to be released.

13/12/2016:Apple has released the latest version of iPhone software; iOS 10.2, packed with new features and some welcome bug fixes.

The update brings a host of new additions to the platform, including an expanded emoji set and the Apple TV app. iOS 10.2 is a free download available to iPhone 5 or later models, iPad 4th generation or later, and iPod touch 6th generation or later.

The update can be downloaded by connecting your device to iTunes or manually updating through the 'Software Update' menu in 'Settings'. The download should begin and restart your phone automatically.

Emojis:

Over 100 new emojis have been added with iOS 10.2, according to Apple, including a facepalm, a selfie symbol, and male and female variants of professions like firefighters and judges. The new symbols can't be sent to users on Android, although they do work on web versions of Facebook and Twitter.

Apple TV:

The new Apple TV app, currently only available in the US, provides a home for all your live and on-demand TV content, bringing together a number of apps such as Netflix, into one viewing platform. The app shows recommendations for new TV shows and movies, and highlights upcoming releases available in the 'Store'.

Camera improvements:

Additions to camera software have also been made, including improved stablisation and a fix to an iPhone 7 plus bug that would cause the zoom function to stop working. Some changes have been made to the way albums are curated, providing greater accuracy of grouped photos in 'People' and 'Memories' folders.

New message effects:

Two new full screen message effects have been added to iMessage, adding to those already included in iOS 10 such as 'send with balloons'. The new effects are 'Send with Love', which creates a big heart on screen, and 'Celebrate', which causes an explosion of sparks.

New wallpapers:

Three new wallpapers have been added for iPhone 7 and 7 Plus customers, known as Droplet Blue, Droplet Red and Droplet Yellow.

There are also a host of other smaller improvements such as better Bluetooth performance across third party devices, easier to use controls in the Music app, and a range of bug fixes.

Users have reported a range of battery issues on 10.1.1, including inaccurate remaining percentages and phones suddenly dropping from 30% to 0%. IT Pro has reached out to Apple to clarify whether the new update fixes these issues, and we will update you when we hear more.

Picture courtesy of Apple

30/11/2016:iOS 10.1.1 is causing massive battery drain issues

Users of the recently released iOS 10.1.1 are reporting severe battery problems as a result of the update, in some cases displaying incorrect charge percentages or devices shutting down at random.

Applesupport forumsare awash with angry customers, who claim that iPhones running the latest iOS 10 update are suddenly dropping from 30% charge to 1% in an instant. Users are able to turn the device back on, which then functions as normal for a few hours.

"Shutting the phone down at night with a good 80% charge, it won't reboot in the morning due to no battery charge," said one forum user. "I plug it in and its back to 30% in a few seconds."

Other users have reported batteries suddenly giving out despite the device showing a 50% remaining charge. Most users are citing a recent update to iOS 10.1.1 as the culprit.

"Last year I bought an iPhone 6S, currently updated with iOS 10.1.1," said another user. "The battery fails between 20 and 40% of capability. Apple support answers that I have to wait for the next iOS version."

The issue appears to be affecting a range of iPhone models, from the iPhone 4 through to the newest iPhone 7 Plus.

Although a beta version for iOS 10.2 is now available, it seems updating to this has not resolved the issue for some users. Apple has yet to offer an explanation or a solution to the battery problem, and there is no guarantee that rolling back to iOS 10 will fix the issue.

IT Pro has reached out to Apple for comment but has yet to receive a reply.

This latest fault comes just a week after Apple offered replacement batteries to customers after reports that iPhone 6S devices were shutting down at random.

01/11/2016:Apple releases first iOS 10.2 beta to developers

Apple is now releasing the beta for iOS 10.2 to developers, just a month after the launch of iOS 10.

The update should include bug fixes, new tools and general improvements as well as new emojis, wallpapers, camera settings, video widgets and an emergency contacts feature.

The new camera settingincludes a Preserve Settings option, through which users will be able to maintain their last camera mode or photo filter, and decide whether to keep Live Photos on or off.

The new beta also allows Apple Music users sort their playlists by type, title or recently added.

The previous update, 10.1, also introduced several new features, such as a new Portrait photography mode for the iPhone 8's dual-camera system.

Registered developers can download the new beta for iOS 10.2 from the Apple Developer Center.

28/10/2016:Apple tried to embarrass Google at its 'Hello Again' event yesterday, by comparing the percentage of iOS users and Android users on the latest versions of the respective operating systems.

Apple's pie charts (included below) suggested that 60% of iPhone and iPad owners are on iOS 10, while less than 1% of Android users are on Nougat (Android 7).

Moreover, it reported that 32% of iOS users are running iOS 9 on their phone, while only 8% are using earlier iOS versions.

This was compared to 19% of Android users using Android 6, and 80% running even older versions of the operating system.

Apple meant to highlight how iOS updates are perceived as more reliable by Apple device users, while users with a phone that runs on Android are less eager to update their software.

Statistics from Netmarketshare comparing the total market share of different versions of Android, as well as other mobile OSes' shares, seem to report similar numbers.

The stats show Android 7, included in the pie chart in the 'Other' segment, runs on a small minority of users' smartphones, representing 0.12% of the total share market.

However, not all smartphone makers have brought Android 7 to their devices yet, meaning many users don't have access to it.

20/10/2016:Today, Apple released the fifth iOS 10.1 beta to developers and beta testers. This is the second beta released in one week.

In future, 10.1 for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus should include a feature called Portrait camera, which applies a DSLR-like special effect over photos. This tool should only work on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, as it requires the dual camera system.

This feature was introduced at Apple's keynote this month, but has only been released for developer betas and has not yet been made available to the public.

Apple's iOS 10.1 beta 5 weighs 1.95GB and is one of the largest iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus betas released so far. Similarly to the few previous 10.1 betas, the fifth beta does not appear to contain any fixes. However, it should include some considerable changes.

Along with the fifth iOS 10.1 beta, Apple also released the fifth macOS Sierra 12.1 beta.

20/09/2016:Since iOS 10 was launched, enterprise networked traffic has increased significantly, demonstrating the operating system has proven a popular choice for business users.

Exponential-e's analysis revealed the Apple originating traffic running over corporate networks was five times its usual levels on Wednesday 14th September, the day after the update was revealed.

The company suggested business users were rushing to install and try out the platform's new features. In total, enterprise network traffic increased by 30 per cent, which put extra demand on cloud services and data centres.

This trend continued the days after iOS 10 was released, with three times the normal Apple traffic on September 15th and double traffic coming from Apple devices on September 16th.

"As Apple seeks to defend its dominance in the smartphone market, it continues to set the rhythm of the industry,"Andrew Chant, head of networks at Exponential-esaid. "With the rise of mobile employees that are connecting their own devices to the workplace WiFi, organisations and carriers need to be prepared and expect to see a significant increase in network activity when Apple releases the latest iOS update."

Despite some people installing iOS 10 reporting the update destroyed their iPhones, this doesn't seem to have deterred business users. However, this extra traffic put pressure on many companies' networks and demonstrates the need for robust infrastructure to support spikes.

"While it's inevitable that accessing and downloading services on the same underlying infrastructure will spark an increase in data traffic, organisations need to be prepared with a scalable foundation that provides low latency and low-jitter connectivity to avoid any significant impact."

14/09/2016:It's the curse of early adopters: many people who updated to iOS 10 yesterday over Wi-Fi were hit with a series of confusing warning messages, though Apple has already addressed them.

Users reported that after they updated, their iPhone told them to connect it to a PC to update with iTunes, which simply brought another error message saying "There is a problem with the iPhone... that requires it to be updated or restored." To avoid the issue, make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed.

If you are hit by the problem, you'll see a message on your iPhone telling you to plug it in to a PC so it can connect to iTunes. Your phone will then ask you to update or restore; clicking update will run the iOS 10 installation again.

Apple has already addressed the issue. "We experienced a brief issue with the software update process, affecting a small number of users during the first hour of availability," Apple said in a statement. "The problem was quickly resolved and we apologise to those customers. Anyone who was affected should connect to iTunes to complete the update or contact AppleCare for help."

13/09/2016:iOS 10 will finally be released to iPhone and iPad users at 6pm GMT this evening, just ahead of the iPhone 7's official retail launch this Friday.

As usual, device owners will be able to download the new operating system as a free software update from the iOS settings menu.

Fans are warned that they may face a long wait, however, as day-one demand for Apple's latest OS has historically outstripped the company's server capacity. Waiting until Thursday or Friday may lead to shorter overall download times.

09/09/2016:Beta users of iOS 10 can now get their hands on the final version of the operating system.

Apple has released the golden master (GM) to users on its Beta program, less than a week before the official release ends up in the hands of consumers.

The GM build should be the same software that will download to user's Mac, barring any last minute critical flaws. That version will be available from 13 September.

To get your hands on this version you need to sign up to Apple's beta testing program to receive the OS as an over-the-air update.

07/09/2016 UPDATE:iOS 10 will be available to download from 13 September, Apple has announced. The new OS will also come pre-loaded on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, which are available themselves for pre-order on 9 September and hit shelves one week later on 16 September.

07/09/2016:Today could finally be the day the world gets to experience a full, finished version of iOS 10. The operating system is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, both of which should make their debut at Apple's Special Event in San Francisco, which starts at 6.00pm UK time.

At this point, the features of the new operating system are largely established -you can read more about the 10 most important updates here- but this will be the first time people get to experience the new OS on their own devices as a stable release.

To find out iOS 10's general release date, as well as all the news about the iPhone 7, Apple Watch 2 and macOS Sierra,follow our Apple Event Live Blog from 5.30pmBST.

06/09/2016:Despite the final version not yet being released, iOS 10 has already been jailbroken.

Luca Todesco, also known as qwertyoruiop, has uploaded avideoshowing a jailbreak of iOS 10 Beta 8. The jailbreak is known as yaluX and it works on iOS devices with an A7 and higher processor.

According to a report byiClarified, this is not the first jailbreak of iOS 10, as Pangu Team and iH8Sn0w have also demoed their jailbreaks too.

It is not known if the jailbreak is publicly available but the publication speculated that this would be released shortly after the operating system becomes available.

29/08/2016:Apple has confirmed its2016 Special Eventwill take place on 7 September. The event is expected to herald the launch of theiPhone 7,Apple Watch 2and a number of other devices. It could also be when the final release date of iOS 10 is announced.

The new mobile operating system is normally released at the same time as Apple's new flagship iPhone. For 2016 and iOS 10, this could mean either 7 September at the Apple keynote or 16 September when, according to reliable leaker Evan Blass, the iPhone 7 will go on sale - typically, the new versions iOS have become available at the same time as a new flagship iPhone is released.

IT Prowill be covering the Apple Special Event live on 7 September.

22/08/2016:The rapid release cycle for iOS 10 betas continues, with Developer Beta 7 and Public Beta 6 dropping over the weekend.

The betas feature "bug fixes and improvements", according to the release notes, but no major new features. This is not entirely surprising given the OS is set for release this autumn.

Indeed, if rumours are to be believed, the final version could be with us within two-to-three weeks, whenthe iPhone 7launches. Traditionally, Apple has launched the new mobile OS to the general public alongside its new flagship phone, which comes pre-loaded with the software.

It is generally expectedthis year's Special Eventwill take place in the second week of September, potentially Tuesday 13. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus areanticipated to launch, alongside the Apple Watch 2 and a number of other devices.

iOS will work with iPhones and iPads, although the extent ofbackward compatibility is uncertain. With theiPhone 5shaving been superceded bythe iPhone SEthis spring, it's possible the stalwart 4in smartphone won't receive this latest update. Similarly, older iPad Minis and iPad Airs may also miss out.

10/08/2016:Just days after the release of the fourth Developer Beta, Apple has seeded Developer Beta 5 and Public Beta 4 within hours of each other. As with previous rounds, Beta 5 is a set of updates, rather than a single release for iOS 10 and applies tomacOS Sierra,watchOS 3andtvOS 10as well.

For iOS Developer Beta 5, Apple has introduced a number of new features for iPad and iPhone, the most notable of which are a significant overhaul of the Music app, with Control Center, Notification Center and Lock Screen all receiving a refresh as well.

According to9to5Mac, these changes include a new input icon in Apple Music and the rest of the iOS 10 interface, darker backgrounds for third-party widgets in the Notification Center (Apple's own widgets still have a translucent white background), and the locking sound for the device sounds "kind of like a door closing".

The release of iOS Developer Beta 5 is somewhat ahead of schedule, arriving just one week after the release of Developer Beta 4, whereas Apple normally leaves two weeks between releases. Public Beta 4 is even further ahead of schedule, in relative terms, arriving just a few hours after Developer Beta 5, rather than a full day.

iOS 10 is expected to launch in its final form in September, alongside theiPhone 7.

08/08/2016:With anticipation for theiPhone 7reaching fever pitch ahead of its September release date, plenty of people will be queuing to buy Apple's new flagship device as soon as it hits the shops.

But what about those of us who are stuck on older versions of the iPhone, or indeed the iPad? Will we still be able to take advantage of some of the smartphone's new features?

The answer is yes if you've got a device that will support iOS 10, the latest operating system that will run on the iPhone 7.

While plenty of the iPhone 7's expected benefits come from the hardware itself (such as the wireless headphones and improved battery life), many others come from iOS 10.

The OS includes 100 new emojis (currently available in its developer preview) and a much smarter Siri, as well as the ability to use a stylus or even your finger to handwrite messages to your friends.

There's just one catch -- you must have a compatible device. With operating systems becoming far chunkier and advanced, your phone must have the memory to run the OS and the hardware to support it.

The good news is, most iPhones and iPads do support iOS 10. Every iPhone from the iPhone 5 and upwards can run it, while iPad mini 2, 3 and 4 support it, as do the iPad Air and the iPad Air 2, as well as both iPad Pro models. Even the iPod touch 6thgeneration can run it.

Those with devices older than that, sadly you're going to have to upgrade in order to run iOS 10.

Apple unveiled its thirteenth major desktop operating system, Sierra, at WWDC in June 2016, surprising some by ditching the OS X naming convention in favour of a return to Mac OS, or, rather macOS as it is now.

The OS was made generally available as a free upgrade in September 2016.

Here you can find out everything you need to know about the new operating system and its latest updates.

macOS Sierra: latest news

23/03/2017: Night Shift mode has made in appearance on Macs in macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 8, which has started rolling out to developers and public beta users.

Night Shift mode, which first appeared on iOS 9.3 reduces the blue light coming from Macs, which means your sleep will hopefully not be disturbed by the blue spectrums radiating from your device.

"Night Shift adjusts the color of your display after sunset," Apple's Night Shift blurb explained. "Many studies show that exposure to bright-blue light in the evening can affect your circadian rhythms and make it harder to fall asleep. After sunset, Night Shift will shift your display colors to the warmer end of the spectrum, making the display easier on your eyes. In the morning, your display returns to its regular settings."

Those testing out Apple's newest OS can enable Night Shift mode by heading to the Display settings from Preferences. If you don't want to enable it forevermore, but just for the time being, you can do this from the Notifications Centre or Siri.

Other new features in the beta include updates to Siri, with a wider range of sports updates such as Indian Premier League or the International Cricket Council.

MacRumors also revealed Apple has released new languages to its dictation tool, better support for PDFs with its PDFKit API and iCloud Analytics options.

macOS Sierra: name

It was widely rumoured beforehand, and those rumours proved accurate - Apple has changed the naming convention of its desktop operating system. Ditching the 'OS X' label, the company has instead reverted back to the name used in its first products: macOS.

This brings the desktop software back into line with the rest of Apple's 'xOS' family, such as iOS, tvOS and watchOS. However, Apple is still naming the different iterations after areas of California, with the first edition of the new macOS labelled 'macOS Sierra'.

macOS Sierra: features

MacOS Sierra introduces a raft of new features for desktop users, including new functionality through Siri. Apple's virtual assistant now lives in an icon in the app dock and can also be launched via keyboard shortcut.

As expected, Siri can perform all the functions available to iOS users, such as web searching and messaging. This will also include any functionality introduced by developers making use of the new open Siri SDK.

In addition, users can take advantage of Siri to perform complex file queries, including multiple criteria, all using conversational language.

There are also numerous productivity features introduced in macOS Sierra too. Macs now support automatic unlocking, using your Apple Watch to verify your identity and unlock your Mac.

The Universal Clipboard function is cross-device compatible, meaning that users can access data they've copied on any of their Apple devices. iCloud Drive also lets users access all their files from any of their Mac devices, including files stored on the desktop.

Optimised storage allows users to free up space on a hard drive by moving older or less used files to iCloud.

The OS also supports Apple Pay, although you will need to have a paired iPhone or Apple Watch to actually authorise the payment. Apple Pay buttons will appear on supported sites and will prompt you to authorise purchases by scanning your fingerprint on your connected device, or on the touchbar of the new MacBook Pro.

There is also a picture-in-picture mode that will display a small window running a video that stays on top of the screen and is open at all times. Picture-in-picture works with web vide and Apple will provide an API to developers to make this feature available to visitors.

Finally, third-party apps and programs will now support browser-style tabs, allowing you to group multiple instances of the same program into one window.

macOS Sierra: price & release date

For the past several years, the latest version of Mac OS X has been available as a free upgrade to users of the previous version of the operating system and the latest macOS release isn't any different.

MacOS Sierra arrived to Apple users on 20 September 2016. Prior to this, Apple released a public beta available to anyone on 7 July. The golden master version for developers - approximately the same OS that released on 20 September, was released on 9 September.

macOS Sierra: previous news

17/02/2017: Microsoft has added support for the MacBook Pro's Touch Bar to its Office for Mac software, allowing users to take advantage of touch-based shortcuts.

In Word, the Touch Bar hosts a variety of shortcuts, including the ability to change paragraph and text formatting, insert objects and hyperlinks, and copy and paste. It can also launch 'Word Focus Mode', a new mode that makes your document full-screen and removes all ribbons and toolbars.

In Excel, users can access the most recently used functions via the Touch Bar, as well as borders, cell colours and recommended charts, for easy formatting and layout.

The new shortcuts for PowerPoint users are built predominantly around managing the graphical elements of a presentation, including the ability to reorder and rotate objects. When in presentation mode, the Touch Bar can also be used to control your slides, and features a timer to make sure you stay on schedule.

Finally, Outlook has been updated to feature the most frequently-used email and calendar commands. Not only that, but it will also display a list of recent documents when composing an email, allowing you to include them as an attachment or link. The Touch Bar will display your daily schedule too, from where you can join a Skype for Business meeting.

The update adds a greater level of business functionality to the Touch Bar, increasing the utility of a feature that was initially in danger of being little more than a gimmick.

21/09/2016: MacOS Sierra is finally available to Mac users via the Mac App Store.

The update brings with it a slew of iOS-like features. Among the highlights are Auto Unlock with Apple Watch, Universal Clipboard, Desktop and Documents Sync, Picture in Picture mode, a customised version of Siri (voice assistant) for Mac and many others.

The update also brings Apple Pay to the Mac. You will still need an iPhone or iPad with Touch ID to complete a transaction but it now means that websites can offer the payment method for online shopping via the Safari browser.

The Photos app also gets new search and highlights options to match updates in iOS 10. iMessage on the Mac also gets larger emojis and web page previews.

The latest version of Apple's desktop operating system is the firm's first rebrand of operating system since Mac OS 9.

The following Macs will be able to download and install MacOS Sierra: MacBook (late 2009 and later), iMac (late 2009 and later), MacBook Air (2010 and later), MacBook Pro (2010 and later), Mac Mini (2010 and later) and Mac Pro (2010 and later).

The update is available from the Mac App Store.

Apple's watchOS software is the operating system that sits of the core of the Apple Watch. While it's similar to the iOS mobile and tablet software, it's specially adapted for wearable use, running modified versions of iOS apps.

At WWDC 2016, Apple launched the third and latest version of the watchOS software, which brings with it performance boosts, new features and a series of cosmetic tweaks and upgrades. Here's everything you need to know about watchOS 3.

Apple watchOS 3 at a glance

• Apple Watch apps now launch instantly
• Improved navigation through app dock and Control Centre
• New SOS function enables quick emergency alerts

Apple watchOS 3 latest news

07/09/2016: watchOS 3 will launch on 13 September, Apple has announced.

While the features of the new OS were largely already known, the company did reveal several new apps, including Pokemon Go, which will integrate the features Pokmon Go with the Watch's fitness focus.

10/08/2016:Apple has seeded watchOS 3 Developer Beta 5 one week ahead of schedule. The beta allows developers to get their heads around the updated operating system for Apple's wearable and develop new apps for it, or work on their existing ones.

This beta releasejustcontains bug fixes, rather than new features. It solves a problem in Siri,where the virtual assistant "may not provide the intended response" when a user makes a request involving a deleted app.

Alongside that, it eliminates a bug in Xcode that caused the debugging console to sometimes print out excessive amounts of logging indicating WCSessionState changes when using Watch Connectivity in watchOS Simulator.

watchOS Developer Beta 5 is one of four fifth-iteration developer betas released simultaneously, the other three being for iOS 10, tvOS 10 and macOS Sierra. Unlike iOS 10 and macOS Sierra, however, there is no public beta for Apple Watch.

The completed version of watchOS 3 is due to launch this autumn, potentially at Apple's anticipated September Special Event, where the Apple Watch 2 could also make an appearance.

13/06/2016:Apple has announced watchOS 3, the latest version of the Apple Watch's operating system, along with a host of new features.

One of the most important new features is that the Apple Watch's performance has been vastly improved, with apps launching seven times faster than in watchOS 2.

Watch apps now launch instantly, thanks to the fact that they can now update in the background. The watch will also store your favourite apps in memory, meaning it can access them even quicker.

Navigation settings have been overhauled too. Pressing the side button will launch a customizable dock of your favourite apps, similar to the one found in macOS. All apps in the dock are viewed live, allowing you to preview apps without fully launching them.

WatchOS 3 now includes a Control Centre tab to give you instant access to your settings - just swipe up from the bottom of the face. Watch faces can quickly be changed by swiping from left to right, and they now support more complications.

For those who felt the selection of faces was getting a little stale, Apple is introducing some new options; a Minnie Mouse watch face to compliment the Mickey Mouse offering, one based on the Apple Watch's activity rings, and a more elegant option dubbed 'Numerals'.

Reply settings have been spruced up too. In addition to making message replies more streamlined, watchOS 3 now includes a handwriting input feature, which Apple has dubbed Scribble. It may be familiar to Android fans waiting for the Android Wear 2.0 update.

One of the most important additions to the Apple Watch, however, comes in the form of the SOS app. By pressing and holding on the side button, users can initiate a call with emergency services.

At the conclusion of the call, it will share your location and an emergency message with both the emergency services and with an ICE contact, followed by the users' medical information. This feature will work internationally.

Elsewhere, the activity app has been updated with new sharing tools to compare and compete against friends and family, and has been overhauled for wheelchair users.

'Time to stand' has been replaced with 'time to roll', and the activity rings have been adapted to take advantage of wheelchair users' different physical movements.

Apple Pay can now be used from within apps, allowing developers to include the feature directly on websites. A host of new developer tools were also unvailed, designed to allow the creation of more watch apps, including watch-specific games.

The developer preview is available today, and will roll out for all Apple Watch owners in Autumn 2016.

13/06/2016:A significant update to watchOS 2, or perhaps even the next version of the operating system, watchOS 3, could appear at WWDC this evening during Tim Cook's keynote.

WWDC (Worldwide Developer Conference) has traditionally been focused on software updates, with OS X 10.12 and iOS 10 both expected to launch as well. It's therefore not unreasonable to think a new version of watchOS could appear, although it's only been nine months, rather than a year, since the launch of watchOS.

Other rumours for tonight's keynote include an update to tvOS, a new Apple Watch, the iPhone 7, the iPad Air 3, new AI capabilities for Siri and a push into home automation with updates to HomeKit.

Find out all about what to expect from WWDC and follow the coverage as it happens on our dedicated page.

17/05/2016: Apple has released the latest update for watchOS 2, which includes minor bug and performance fixes.

This update comes almost two months after the public release of watchOS 2.2, which introduced multi-watch support for iPhone, Apple Maps improvements and other tweaks.

Apple seeded two betas of watchOS 2.2.1 to developers, before releasing its publically. It contains a number of security and performances patches that are partly described on the Apple security log.

This is the fourth update Apple has released for the second version of its watch operating system.

More details on the Apple Watch 2 and the next iteration of watchOS are expected at WWDC 2016 in June.

More information on this watchOS update can be found on Apple's support page.

09/09/15 - Apple's much-hyped WWDC event back in June confirmed that Apple Watch users wouldn't have to wait too long to upgrade to an updated OS on their device.

Today, at a special Apple event - which also saw the iPhone 6s and iPad Pro, among other things, unveiled - the tech giant confirmed Apple Watch OS 2 will roll out on 16 September.

Apple said the next-gen OS would ensure apps operated much more quickly and with greater fluidity by running natively through the Watch's software. What's more, the firm will enable third-party developers to display information as 'complications'.

"Our customers love Apple Watch and tell us its incredible health and fitness features are having a huge impact on their lives," said Jeff Williams, Apple's senior vice president of operations.

"We're excited to expand Apple Watch's functionality with watchOS 2 and offer even more personal choice with beautiful new styles and colors."

Apple watchOS 3: release date and pricing

Apple launched WatchOS 3 at its WWDC developer conference on 13 June. The developer preview is currently available, with a full public rollout of the software coming in Autumn 2016. Just like other OS releases from Apple, this update will be free to users.

Apple watchOS 3: specs and features

While Apple has not released an updated version of the Apple Watch - as many were expecting - the company has instead made significant improvements to the device's core operating system.

For many users, this is likely to make their Apple Watch feel like a new device, as in addition to new features and functions, watchOS 3 is also slated to bring in some impressive performance benefits.

Instant apps

Apple Watch apps can now be launched instantly, with boot times up to seven times faster than watchOS 2. This is thanks to the fact that favourite apps are now saved in memory, and apps can retrieve data in the background.

Improved navigation

WatchOS 3 includes a Control Centre feature for quick access to all your device settings, which can be found by swiping up from the watch face. Also introduced in the new OS is a dock system similar toMacs, which allows users to store their favourite apps for easy access.

SOS app

Apple has intorduced the SOS app with watchOS 3. This allows users to press and hold the side button to start a call with the emergency services. Once the call has finished, it will send the relevant authorities - as well as your ICE contact - your location and a message. The app will also display your medical info.

Social activity tools

New features integrated into the Apple Watch Activity app allow you to directly compare your fitness results with your friends and family. You can send them encouragement (or trash talk) and see detailed metrics on how your performance stacks up.

Wheelchair activity optimisation

Apple has taken the needs of wheelchair users into consideration, and retooled the Apple Watch's Activity app to better accomodate them. For example, the 'time to stand' reminder has now been changed to 'time to roll', and the app includes two dedicated workouts for wheelchair users.

The activity tracking algorithm has also been optimised to take into account the different physical movements of wheelchair users.

New developer tools

Apple Watch apps can now use ApplePay from directly within apps, opening up more opportunities for developers to introduce the technology. Apple also announced a bunch of new features, including SpriteKit and SceneKit support, to make it easier for developers to create great Apple Watch apps.

Thinking about buying an Apple Watch? Don't until you've read our Apple Watch review to help make an informed decision...

This article was originally published on 09/09/2015. It was updated on 13/06/2016 to reflect current news.

Following the release of its 12in retina Macbook in 2015, Apple is through to working on next versions of its MacBook Pro to be released in late 2016.

In this article we will be rounding up news, rumours about the 2016 MacBook Pros.

MacBook Pro news

15/06/2016: Apple's next MacBook Pros could be fitted with an OLED touch bars, new details suggest.

Last month, rumours emerged that Apple's is planning major revamp of its Macbook Pros, and may include, of all things, an OLED touch bar above the keyboard. It has already made for some stylish-looking concepts.

Now, code in the new masOS Sierra appears to corroborate those rumours further, as French site Mac Generation (translated by 9to5 Mac) reports.

Several new options are prefaced by the term "kHIDUsage_LED".

Among them is "kHIDUsage_LED_DoNotDisturb" an option that appears to suggest a dedicated LED Do Not Disturb button. The Do Not Disturb button can already be accessed via the Mac's notification settings, but having quick access to this function on an OLED display would make sense.

As well as this, other toggling options point to a camera on/off switch, caps lock, night mode, play and pause, rewind and fast forward, and data mode.

The OS also makes reference to biometric input methods, backing up another earlier rumour that a Touch ID fingerprint sensor would be coming to the new MacBooks.

Simply because the functions currently exist in the code does not confirm hardware is on the way. Although, previous discoveries have come true. In 2013, resources in the iOS 7 beta pointed to a biometric sensor for the next iPhone, which was realised months later with Touch ID in the iPhone 5s.

Having not been announced at Apple's WWDC 2016 briefing this week, the earliest we are likely to hear about Apple's shake up its MacBook line is in September, during its iPhone announcement.

13/06/2016: Concept renders show what new MacBook Pro could look like

Rumours have suggested that Apple will be using its keynote at WWDClater today to announce updates to certain members of its MacBook range, and thanks to graphic designer Martin Hajek, we now have an idea what they could end up looking like.

Back in 2015, Apple took the wraps off its reimagined, redesigned 12in MacBook. The result was a stunning ultraportable, with an all-metal chassis and the slimmest, lightest dimensions ever seen on an Apple notebook.

Apple is now expected to refresh its larger MacBook models - possibly including members of the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air families - to incorporate these design values.

Martin Hajek (also known as @deplaatjesmaker) has produced 3D concept renders of the what a new 15in MacBook Pro might look like, based on the visual design of the 12in MacBook.

For the purposes of comparison, Hajek has pictured the new MacBook Pro next to the current Retina MacBook Pro, as well as the redesigned 12in MacBook.

Like the new MacBook, many of the ports on Hajek's MacBook Pro have been replaced with multifunctional USB-C ports, including the charging, Thunderbolt and USB ports.

However, while the 12in MacBook has only one USB-C port - meaning you'll need a splitter if you want to connect a USB drive and charge your device simultaneously - Hajek's updated MacBook Pro has a comparatively generous four.

Hajek has also opted to keep the 3.5mm headphone jack and an SD card reader, neither of which the 12in MacBook has.

While Hajek's renders are essentially speculation at this point, an updated MacBook Pro is a strong possibility, and will more than likely end up looking not dissimilar to these images.

We'll know more after Apple's WWDC keynote address, which you can read more about here.

Apple's WWDC developer conference opened yesterday, and the company was keen to highlight its focus on young programmers, with CEO Tim Cook mentioning that the youngest developer at the conference was a nine-year-old girl.

As part of this emphasis on younger coders, Apple also launched an education tool to help kids get to grips with programming for iOS, called Swift Playgrounds. Here's everything you need to know about it.

What is Swift?

Swift is the programming language that Apple uses for all its software. This includes iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS, allowing developers to easily port their applications between Apple devices. Swift also supports Linux.

As of the latest release, Swift is completely open source, with freely-available source code, developer resources and documentation. This means that anyone can get started developing Swift applications without expense.

What is Swift Playgrounds?

Launched at WWDC 2016, Swift Playgrounds is an iOS app for iPad, designed to teach kids how to use the Swift programming language. It includes a series of step-by-step lessons and challenges to explain the fundamental elements of Swift.

In order to make programming more intuitive and less intimidating, the lessons in Swift Playgrounds are framed as games. Kids use basic commands to guide an animated charater, Byte, around a prebuilt cartoon environment.

Kids can immediately see the effects of their code, which gives their programming a sense of immediacy, as well as letting them easily visualize any errors in their code.

What tools and features does Swift Playgrounds have?

Programming can often be a somewhat fiddly task, especially divorced from the traditional mouse and keyboard interface used by most developers. To combat this, Apple has included some tools and shortcuts to make tasks quicker and easier.

One is the Snippets Library, which allows users to quickly drag and drop commonly-used code elements from a handy repository. Not only does this minimise typing, it also gives kids access to commands they might not otherwise think of.

Elsewhere, there are time-saving editing functions, like the ability to edit in place. Simply tap a number, and a pop-up keypad will let you edit the value. Users can also drag the boundaries of a statement to include or exclude specific code lines.

Swift Playground also has its own dedicated keyboard, designed specifically for programming, which includes commonly-used programming symbols such as parentheses and square brackets. Hold down a key to access multiple characters, then drag to select the desired one.

Another addition is QuickType for code, or in other words: autocorrect for developers. The shortcut bar will display intelligent suggestions as users type, which can be tapped to automatically fill out the desired string.

For those that want to graduate to more advanced projects, Swift Playground also offers templates - premade code that lets users start working with more complex iPad technologies like gyroscopes, accelerometers and multi-touch input.

When you're ready to start developing an app in earnest, you can even export code directly from Swift Playgrounds to professional developer tool Xcode and keep working on it.

When can I get Swift Playgrounds?

Swift Playgrounds will be released on the app store in the Autumn. It will be a completely free download, so you can pick it up and get started right away. The developer preview of the software is available now.

Apple's annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) took the wraps off a vast array of software-related announcements, with much for developers and end users alike to get excited about.

Scroll down for our live blog and links to key announcements, but if you want a quick overview of the main news, look no further:

• Apple has taken the wraps off OS X 10.11 El Capitan. It will make the user experience even more intuitive and speedy.
• OS X El Capitan available to developers now, with public beta in autumn.
• New version of watchOS also on the cards. Will be dubbed watchOS 2 and come with many many enhancements and new features.
• Next version of iOS will be iOS 9. Will include enhanced intelligence, in search and Siri that suggests things for users based on contexual information.
• Siri continues to improve and learn - it is 40 per cent more accurate now.
• New multi-tasking features in iOS 9 will boost iPad users' productivity.
• Public transport directions coming to Maps soon.
• Apple Pay coming to the UK in July.
• You'll also be able to pay for London transport travel using Apple Pay.
• Passbook has been rebranded as Wallet.
• Apple launches Apple Music with help from supporting cast of famous names.

In the meantime, we run down what you can expect to hear from Apple at WWDC 15 and what it means for you.

OS X 10.11 (El Capitan)

For the past 11 years, Apple has used the opening keynote of WWDC to show off the latest version of its desktop operating system, OS X, and this year is was no exception.

As predicted by MacRumours, OS X 10.11 - now dubbed El Capitan - is not a a massive departure from OS X 10.10 Yosemite in terms of look and feel because Yosemite was itself a far-reaching overhaul of the UI.

Credit: Yosemite National Park by Chase Lindberg

The name is also indicitave of this: El Capitan, pictured above, is an iconic large rocky outcrop in Yosemite national park, rather than a separate "beautiful place in California" in its own right meaning that it is to Yosemite what Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) was to Leopard (OS X 10.5) - a release with increased stability and a few new functions to further improve the end user experience.

A beta of the new OS is available to developers immediately. The public can get their hands on the beta in autumn with a full version available soon after, but you can find out all the details of OS X 10.11 El Capitan's features here.

iOS 9

As with OS X, a new version of iOS has been a staple of WWDC for the past seven years, and it was widely expected that iOS 9 would be confirmed during the WWDC keynote.

It was also thought that, like OS X 10.11, iOS 9 would focus on stability and optimisation, rather than radical new features or design changes. However, while the interface has remained largely the same, Apple released a wide-ranging set of new features.

Ther is a new split-screen mode, enhanced multi-tasking support for the iPad, plus tweaks to Siri and Apple Maps among other things. Furthermore, security remains paramount, with Apple saying it has tried to enhance the user experience whilst keeping security and privacy and its core.

Additionally, as anticipated by 9to5Mac before last night's event, Apple has reduced the amount of memory required to download the OS to 1.3GB, compared to iOS 8's 4.6GB. This means iOS 9 will be available to the same range of devices as iOS 8.

Apple also surprised the audience by announcing the latest version of its moble programming language, Swift 2, will be open source.

Take a look at our iOS 9 hub for all the news and views on Apple's latest OS.

Apple WatchOS 2

With Apple Watch only having released in April, many thought it was unlikely there would be many, if any, major new announcements regarding the smartwatch or its operating system. However, contrary to these rumours, Apple showed off watchOS 2, an updated operating system for Apple Watch that boasts a number of new enhancements designed to please users, including a nightstand mode, time and location-contextual animated watch faces, Time Travel and support for native apps.

You can find all the details about the Apple Watch and watchOS 2 in our dedicated hub.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay was launched last September alongside the iPhone 6 and has seen strong adoption by consumers in the US, racking up three million registered credit cards in the first three days after it became publicly available.

It is now coming to the UK and will be available in 250,000 locations - more than when it launched in the US - from July, bolstered by support from the likes of Costa Coffee, M&S and Waitrose, as well as leading banks.

With Samsung and Google now bringing on the heat with their own mobile payments systems,Samsung PayandAndroid Pay, it made sense for Apple to stage a worldwide launch of its own payment system at WWDC 15.

Want to know more about Apple Pay? Look no further than ourdedicated Apple Pay hub, which aims to answer all your questions and more

Apple Music & Beats 1 Radio

As had been rumoured, Apple finally revealed what it intends to do with Beats Music, which it aquired in May 2014.

The overhauled service has been renamed Apple Music, which is made up of three parts: Apple Music, the primary streaming service, Beats 1, a 24/7 radio online station, and Connect, which lets fans follow their favourite artists. Apple Music will cost $9.99 per month in the US (it is thought it may be higher in the UK) for a single user, or $14.99 for a family subscription, which will be based around the existing iCloud Family Sharing feature of iOS.

The rebranding of Beats Music as Apple Music was revealed a few days early by Sony Music's CEO Doug Morris, VentureBeat reports.

According to VentureBeat Morris seemed generally enthusiastic about the launch of Apple Music saying it would represent a tipping point for the subscription music streaming market.

"A rising tide will lift all boats. It's the beginning of an amazing moment for our industry," he said.

For more information about Apple Music, take a look at our article, which follows the service from the Beats acquisition to the present day.

Apple has released the iOS 8 SDK for developers, claiming it's the most extensive developer release in iOS' history.

The new SDK features more than 4,000 APIs, it was revealed during the opening WWDC keynote hosted by CEO Tim Cook. Most notable additions include a brand new programming language called Swift and HealthKit, HomeKit, TouchID and customisation APIs that make the developer platform more flexible.

Swift makes it easier for developers to create more immersive, secure and reliable apps. It's designed for Cocoa and Cocoa Touch and merges compiled languages with scripted languages to help developers write more reliable code that is less likely to have bugs. It works alongside Objective-C code so existing apps can use it and Xcode Playgrounds make for a more interactive environment.

Apple also demoed new graphics technology called Metal, which takes advantage of the performance benefits of the A7 chip and is ideally placed to maximise the user gaming experience among other things, the firm said.

"With more than 800 million iOS devices sold worldwide, the opportunity for developers is huge," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, who helped Cook go through the announcements during the keynote.

"This is the biggest iOS release since the launch of the App Store. The iOS 8 SDK delivers more than 4,000 new APIs including amazing new frameworks, greater extensibility and a revolutionary new programming language."

The HealthKit API allows apps to communicate with each other. For example, health monitoring tools are able to share their data with a medical app, allowing your doctor to track any changes in your heart rate or blood pressure and assess your condition from home.

Similarly, HomeKit allows apps to interact with each other at home. You may have a range of equipment at home that can be controlled by your iOS device, such as a Sonos system, your lighting or your burglar alarm. HomeKit allows you to control these apps either individually or all at once using a common protocol and secure pairing API.

For example, you can tell Siri you're going to bed and it will dim or turn off all the lights in your house, lock the front door, close the garage and adjust the thermostat for the night.

Apple has opened up the TouchID APIs, allowing a wider range of developers to use the feature in their apps. Whether developers want to introduce the ability to securely authenticate users within apps, protect logins and user data or unlock keychain items, they can now do so using the fingerprint reader built into the iPhone 5S.

iOS 8 will be the most customisable iOS version yet, Apple claimed, with a wider range of iOS extensions, including new sharing options, custom photo filters, custom actions and document APIs. Developers can add their own widgets into Notification Centre and use third-party keyboards in their apps.

Other APIs included in the update are PhotoKit, enabling developers to use much of the existing built-in Photos app framework, new Camera APIs giving developers access to fine grain control over focus, white balance and exposure and new App Store features including app previews and app bundles, the new iTunes Connect with free analytics and TestFlight for beta testing pre-release apps.

Developers welcomed the news.

"WWDC this year was huge for developers... Being sat in the Keynote in San Francisco you could feel just how much of a big deal iOS 8 and OS X will be for developers. Ever since TouchID was announced, we have been wanting to access it to help enhance the enterprise apps we create. We have clients wanting their apps' data to be encrypted, but this is only easily achievable when a device has a passcode set (which an app cannot enforce). The only choice has been to use MDM to enforce passcodes for the entire device. With TouchID API it looks like we can create encryption on a per-app basis, secured with Touch ID. This will be great for enterprise apps," said James Frost, aenior iOS developer at mobile app development specialist firm Mubaloo.

"With the release of the new developer tools, and the Swift language in particular, Apple has just completely changed the game. I can't wait to get back and share what I've learnt with the rest of the team at Mubaloo. We are going to be able to create new types of apps that are more powerful than ever. We will be able to help solve problems and help people in ways that until recently wasn't possible."

Both the SDK and Swift are available in beta now to select developers as part of the iOS Developer Programme. Final versions will appear this fall, Apple confirmed.

You can follow the full WWDC keynote stream of announcements by visiting our iOS 8 live blog from the event.

Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) kicked off earlier today with an opening keynote by CEO Tim Cook.

What did Apple launch at WWDC?

• Mac OS X Yosemite
• iOS 8 was unveiled with a raft of new features focused on end users and developers
• Health Kit and the Health app
• Home automation features
• A new SDK that showcases the most revolutionary changes since the App Store was launched

In anticipation of iOS 8 being unveiled today, we outlined the

top features we'd really like to see in Apple's latest OS

. Deeper Siri integration and an Apple Maps upgrade were on the wish list, as is split-screen view and enhanced Touch ID support.

But did we get what we wanted? Apple users are a vocal and fickle bunch and the firm will be hard pushed to please all of those people all of the time.

We've outlined some of our WWDC predictions here. But check back for all the action as it happens as we'll be live blogging the keynote from 6pm.

Live blog

UPDATE 17:41:The final countdown has started, and we're less than 20 minutes away from kick off of the WWDC 2014 keynote. We'll keep you up to date with everything as it happens in our live blog below. We'll also have more indepth insight as to what the news means for you, during and after the event too.

UPDATE 15:19:Less than three hours to go now until the big event kicks off. Excitement is building at the Moscone Centre if recent tweets and pictures are anything to go by. Some of these people have been queuing up since yesterday - that's dedication for you.

Apple's annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) will kick off later today in San Francisco, and there are plenty of rumours about what might be revealed.

CEO Tim Cook labelled 2014 as the year in which Apple would showcase "amazing new hardware, software and services", so what can we expect to see at Cupertino's biggest showcase?

iOS 8

Apple has all but confirmed iOS 8 will be showcased at WWDC.

Much of the speculation around iOS 8 has been centred on one of its apps called "Healthbook". Leaked screenshots have shown it appearing next to the other debutant apps called Preview and TextEdit. The app will be based on the design of Passbook and will include a number of tabs relating to various health categories. Healthbook will reportedly work together with the forthcoming iWatch, which 9to5Mac's sources claim is "well into development."

iOS 8 is likely to include split-screen functionality for the iPad, too. Users will be able to run two applications at once, similar to the "snap" multitasking features in the Microsoft Surface line. The ability to multitask is popular in business and enterprise, and put the Surface forward as a true laptop replacement. Apple is trying to go one further by providing developers with tools to design apps that can interact with each other when run simultaneously.

OS X 10.10

Apple has confirmed that it will show off the next version of OS X at WWDC, named Syrah. The update is expected to convert the look and feel of iOS 7 across to the Mac. The desktop OS will enjoy a larger presence at WWDC than iOS 8, according to Mark Gurman at 9to5Mac and will feature an end-to-end redesign.

For those worrying that their Mac might be turned into a glorified iPhone, Gurman says that Apple won't move too far towards iOS, instead taking the best features and designs from the handeld OS and importing it to desktop.

iPhone 6

Apple is expected to continue with its annual smartphone release cycle. A Taiwanese newspaper claimed that the next Apple range will be set for release in August.

The new models, according to the Economic Daily News' sources, will feature increased screen sizes (between 4.7in and 5.5in) to rival Samsung's Galaxy series. Though the newspaper's source is shady, the even-numbered iPhones tend to see redesigns, so it could be possible that an announcement at least will be made in June.

Apple customers are so sure that a new model will arrive soon that they have apparently stopped buying the iPhone 5s. Sales for the model are reported to be slowing as WWDC approaches. A survey by 451 March revealed that 40 per cent of Americans said that they would buy the next iPhone, compared to 33 per cent that said the same in 2012.

Straight outta' Cupertino

Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will reportedly join Apple's board following the $3.2 billion acquisition of Beats headphones. The two will be taking executive roles at the company according to sources close to the company. Might they be making an appearance at WWDC 2014?

Apple TV

The television market has always been more of a hobby for Apple than anything. The last major update for Apple TV came in 2012 and competitors have seized on the opportunity: Amazon, Google and Western Digital have all released their own versions, making the set-top market highly competitive.

References to a fourth-generation Apple TV were discovered in iOS 7 configuration files, while analysts reckon that it will be released in the latter parts of 2014. Despite this, there are no concrete ideas on what the new version of Apple TV might look like: a set-top box, a USB or a whole television itself.

Re/Code reported that that WWDC won't be used to reveal Apple TV or preview any software for it, according to its sources. With the two new operating systems on the way Apple does have a lot on its plate. Perhaps the company is writing up a rain check to give Apple TV its own event?

iWatch

Apple has said nothing about the potential release of its own smartwatch but that hasn't stopped widespread reports. With Microsoft looking into wearables, and with Google announcing its Android Wear, it would be a perfect opportunity for Cupertino to trump its rivals and steal some thunder.

The iWatch is rumoured to be a companion to the incoming Healthbook app, recording biometric data like pulse, calories burned and steps taken that will be stored within the iPhone for analysis.

If Apple was considering the release of an iWatch, it is more likely that it will wait until the public release of iOS 8, which, if Apple follows tradition, won't be available until September 2014.

Retina MacBook Air

Despite Apple updating its Air line-up rumours still persist that a new model could be on the way. A Retina-enabled Air featuring a 12in high-resolution screen could be forthcoming, designed to phase out older models. The 13in MacBook Air will then be replaced by the Retina-enabled 13in MacBook Pro.

Whispers also suggest Apple will drop the trackpad in favour of optical sensors and new touch gestures. The model is also supposed to be feature a fanless processor design.

Connected home software

Sources recently told the Financial Times that Apple is gearing up to enter the smart home market, with plans afoot to launch a software platform that will allow users to control the heating, security and lighting systems in their homes with their iOS devices.

This information is based on a patent application Apple made in November 2013, which suggests the firm is planning to use location-based technology to activate/deactivate lights or security systems whenever someone enters or leaves a property.

With the likes of Google and Samsung already making a big play in this area, we wouldn't be surprised to see some news from Apple at WWDC about this later today.

Apple has launched its Mac OS X Mavericks desktop software today and will allow users to upgrade for free, following in the footsteps of Microsoft.

Craig Federighi, senior VP of Software Engineering at Apple ran through some of the key features of Mavericks on stage. In particular he highlighted the battery life advantages Mavericks will bring to new devices. Users will get 60 mins more web browsing time and 90 minutes more when watching iTunes video using Mavericks on the latest MacBook Air, he claimed.

Apple introduced Mavericks, the tenth major release of its desktop operating system at its WWDC conference, in June.

The release of OS X 10.9 Mavericks sees Apple drawing a line under its cat-based naming convention for the software, despite a joke made during the keynote suggesting the release could be called Sea Lion.

The consumer electronics giant claims the release boasts more than 200 new features, and here we will walk you through the key ones we think will be of most interest to business users.

Improved Finder experience

Fittingly, perhaps, for a product that takes its name from a famous Californian surfing destination (Mavericks), Apple has bolstered its Finder tool to provide users with a more web-like browsing experience.

The tool now offers browser-type tabs, which means all their Finder windows can be found in one place, reducing desktop clutter.

The software has already been released to members of the Mac Developer Programme, and will be available to download via the App Store this autumn.

Users can also tag their documents to make finding files stored on their systems or in iCloud easier. They will also be listed in the Finder sidebar, so users can browse for files by project-type, for example.

Apple goes to iWork on iCloud

As cloud syncing and storage services go, iCloud has been perfectly serviceable, but the inability to create and edit documents like you can in Google Drive and Office 365 has always been something of a drawback.

That all looks set to change with the announcement iCloud users will soon be able to edit and create iWork and Microsoft Office documents using their web browsers.

This isn't a feature that is going to be exclusive to OS X 10.9 Mavericks, though, as Apple revealed that Windows 8 users will also be able to make use of it.

Still, for business users that work on a variety of devices running various operating systems, this will undoubtedly prove to be a major boon.

iCloud lockdown

This isn't the only new iCloud-powered feature to make its debut in OS X 10.9, as Apple is rolling out a new offering that will sync and store login details, credit card numbers and Wi-Fi passwords across multiple devices using the Safari browser.

The feature is called iCloud Keychain and uses AES-256 encryption to protect the users' details.

Maps debuts on Macs

Maps didn't have the easiest time of it when it made its debut in iOS 6 last September, with numerous press reports about out of date listings and geographical errors.

Still, true to his word, Apple CEO Tim Cook has stuck by the software and appears to have made good on his promise to improve it, just in time to make its debut on OS X 10.9 Mavericks.

A lot of the functionality featured in the iOS version is being carried over, but probably the best thing is that Mac users will be able to plan a route on their computer, send it to an iPhone and use voice navigation to help them find their way.

Safari browser updates

The release of OS X 10.9 will see several new features included in Apple's flagship web browser Safari, such as a sidebar that will showcase bookmarks and links shared by users' Twitter and LinkedIn contacts.

Apple claims the reworked browser will outperform its competitors, in terms of energy and memory efficiency, having used the keynote to talk up its improved power saving, shared memory resource cache and JavaScript capabilities.

More support across multi-displays

In answer to the prayers of anyone who has ever struggled with using Mac apps across multiple displays, Apple has confirmed a few tweaks in this area too.

Users will be able to run full-screen and windowed apps on the display of their choosing, and summon the menu bar and dock.

Power and consumption improvements

During the keynote, Apple talked up the refinements it has made to the operating system's power saving and consumption capabilities to prolong battery life.

The Timer Coalescing feature is particularly noteworthy, and works by grouping together less labour intensive operations so the device's CPU can spend more time in a low-power state.

Another useful inclusion is something Apple has termed "Compressed Memory". This feature allows inactive data to be automatically compressed as soon as the system's memory starts to fill up.

Overall, Apple claims the features will result in Mavericks using up to 72 per cent less CPU and will result in a 1.5x improvement in waking the system up out of standby mode.

This article was originally published on the 11 June and has been updated to include details about the last-minute updates to the software.

iOS 7 has been officially unveiled, silencing months of speculation and rumours about its release date.

The new Apple OS was unveiled during the keynote at the tech giant's worldwide developer conference (WWDC) in San Francisco today alongside many other updates to the company's iCloud, Mac and Safari portfolios among other things.

"iOS 7 has amazing new features and a stunning new user interface. It's the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the Phone... We are incredibly proud of all of these products. They are great examples of what Apple does best," Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, said during the WWDC opening keynote.

iOS 7 features a new user interface and enterprise-friendly features such as per app VPN, Apple confirmed today, reiterating that the new OS was the same but different. And much better. The iOS 7 SDK includes more than 1,500 new APIs for developers, according to Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing.

iOS 7 will be run on the iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later, iPad Mini and the fifth generation iPod Touch, Schiller confirmed.Other iOS 7-specifc features include a new colour palette and typography, layers, Control and Notification Centres, beefed up multi-tasking, AirDrop, an enhanced camera and photo management functionality and a new and improved mobile version of Safari.

A video featuring Apple design head design guru Jonathan Ive also gushed about the new OS and what it will offer both users and developers alike.

"Design is so much more than just the way something looks. Ultimately, of course, design defines so much of our experience. I think there is a profound and enduring beauty in simplicity, in clarity, in efficiency. It's about bringing order to complexity," he said.

"Even the simple act of changing your wallpaper has a very noticeable effect on the way your iPhone looks and feels across the entire system. Even though iOS 7 is new, it was important to us to make it instantly familiar. We wanted to take an experience people know very well and actually add to it to make it more useful, more enjoyable. It defines an important new direction and, in many ways, the beginning."

There is no doubt this latest version of the OS, which is available immediately for developers but not until the Fall for the general public, will divide opinion. It's radically different enough to mark a new dawn for Apple's OS, yet it may stray too far from what users have become accustomed to, according to experts.

"iOS 7 is easily the biggest news because it represents a massive overhaul of the look and feel of the operating system, which has remained largely unchanged visually since the original version," said Ovum chief telecoms analyst Jan Dawson.

"On the other hand, this is a clear statement from Apple that it acknowledges the need to refresh the user interface and is willing to do something pretty dramatic. Many of the new features Apple added to iOS 7 are fixes to problems rather than dramatic or clever new ideas Notifications, Siri, and Multitasking enhancements and the introduction of Control Center all deal with deficiencies rather than providing surprising new features no-one would have thought of," Dawson continued.

"The fact that iOS 7 isn't coming until the fall is a disappointment from a user perspective, but the delay is necessary to give developers time to rework their apps to take advantage of the new operating system and fit in visually."

The WWDC keynote wasn't just about the latest version of iOS. Apple also talked up the next generation Mac Pro which will be an eighth of the size of its older sibling and include beefed up features such as double the CPU performance.

"Can't innovate anymore, my ass," Schiller said when talking about the Pro's future.

A revamped MacBook Air lineup was also announced that promises to offer all day' battery life. The current 11inch MacBook Air will be transformed into an endurance machine that lasts nine hours instead of the current five, while the 13inch machine's battery life will get a boost from seven hours to 12.

Apple also took the wraps off a more intelligent Siri with expanded voice options and a made-over App Store, adding that apps will now be updated automatically rather than harassing the user to do so.

Take a look at our live blog from the keynote for the full breakdown of the latest Apple announcements.

Today marks the first day of Apple's worldwide developer conference (WWDC) in San Francisco where the tech giant is widely tipped to take the wraps off of iOS 7 among another big announcements.

Stay tuned to this live blog for the news as it happens from the keynote, which starts at 6pm BST.

Find out what we're hoping to see in the new OS with our iOS 7 features wish list.

19:58Cook returns to the stage to sum up. "iOS 7 has amazing new features and a stunning new user interface. It's the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the Phone... We are incredibly proud of all of these products. They are great examples of what Apple does best. I get to work with the most talented and creative people on earth. It's a joy to serve with them..." Cook says.

"I'd like to close with a reminder that our goal at Apple is to make amazing products our customers love. Great products that enrich people's lives. The words you saw at the beginning of the show are more than just words to us. They are the values we live by. They drive us. You saw it reflected in products [already launched] and in the products [announced] this morning. You'll continue to see these reflected in products we do in the future."

19:56Schiller says he hasn't had time to talk about everything that's great about iOS 7, including per app VPN for enterprises. The iOS 7 SDK includes more than 1,500 new APIs for developers.

iOS 7 beta on the iPhone is available to developers today, with an iPad version to follow in the coming weeks. The full, public version will hit in the Fall. It will run on iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later, iPad Mini and the fifth generation iPod Touch, Schiller confirmed.

19:51Apple announces iTunes Radio, which is built into the Music app.

19:49App Store has had a makeover and will now update users' apps automatically. This will please users fed up with the increasing numbers in the right-hand corner shouting at them, but may annoy users who like to have control over when and where they get up to date.

19:45Eddie Cue, Apple's vice president of internet software and services,on stage to talk about Siri, which as a "gorgeous new interface" as well as a choice of male or female voices in a variety of languages, starting with English, French and German. Siri is also more intelligent with iOS 7.

19:40The iOS 7 camera is four cameras in one, according toFederighi. You also now have access to live photo filters. There's also a new Photos app to help manage all these amazing, new photos.

19:38Airdrop enables you to share with those around you. If they accept the request they are taken right into the app. "No need to wander around the room 'bumping' your phone with others," saysFederighi.

19:35Time for a couple of pics...

19:33Federighi says iOS 7 primed for multi-tasking and has a great new user interface. Mobile Safari is also much enhanced, including improvements in the way users navigate.

19:28

19:26CraigFederighi is back. Cook probably a bit overwhelmed following the declaration of love. Or maybeFederighi was going to take the stage anyway?

19:25Audience are going wild following the iOS 7 news. Cook: "You're gonna absolutely love iOS 7." Then a developer shouts out "Love you" to Cook who responds by saying "Thank You!"

19:23"Even the simple act of changing your wall paper has a very noticeable effect on the way your iPhone looks and feels across the entire system. Even though iOS 7 is new, it was important to us to make it instantly familiar. We wanted to take an experience people know very well and actually add to it to make it more useful, more enjoyable," Ive adds. "It defines an important new direction and, in many ways, the beginning."

19:22iOS 7 has a whole new palette of colours and new typography, according to Ive.

19:19"The team at Apple has been working incredibly hard on the latest iOS and today it is with great thrill I announce iOS 7. iOS 7 is the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone," Cook says before showing a video about the new release.

Cue video. "Design is so much more than just the way something looks," says video voice over, who turns out to be Jonny Ive. "Ultimately, of course, design defines so much of our experience. I think there is a profound and enduring beauty in simplicity, in clarity. It's about bringing order to complexity."

iOS 7 has a whole new structure, Ive adds.

19:17iOS users are most satisfied. "We provide amazing software updates that provides users with incredible new features. And we do this easily," Cook says. More than 90 per cent of iOS users are using the latest version of the OS, he says, before getting a dig at Android. More than one third of Android users are using an OS that was released in 2010, according to Cook. "This isn't just bad for users. This version fragmentation is terrible for developers," Cooks says. "In fact, if you do the maths iOS 6 is the most popular OS and in second place is a version of Android created in 2010."

19:14Cook back on stage to talk iOS. Apple has now sold over 600 million iOS devices. Experian study shows people use iPhone 50 per cent more than Android devices.

19:12He then showcases the way you can edit a document using Windows 8. Didn't see that coming in an Apple keynote. He said you can create a document on your Mac, edit on your PC and present using your iPhone. It's available today.

19:06Roger Rosner, vice president of productivity applications at Apple, up now to talk about iCloud integration with iWork. He unveiled iWork for iCloud which lets you create 'beautiful documents' on either a Mac or a PC, he says. Rosner demos the functionality by editing a Microsoft Word document in Pages. This is definitely of interest to business users, but is it too little, too late?

19:04Back to Tim Cook to talk iCloud. iCloud now has more than 300 million accounts, making it the fastest growing cloud service - it took Facebook five years to get to the same place, says Cook. iCloud has incredible scale, he adds.

18:58First glimpse of next-generation of Mac Pro now. Cue video. Impressive. "Can't innovate anymore, my ass," Schiller asserts to much applause and laughter. The processor, graphics and memory storage are all built around a new, unified thermal core with a new generation Intel Xeon core. The new Mac Pro also boasts double the CPU performance of the previous generation.

Stat overload now. Supports 4k displays. Much, much smaller than the previous generation Mac Pro- 1/8 the size, in fact.

18:55$999 for 128GB for the 11inch. Starts shipping today.

18:52Now time to talk MacBook Air. "It gave us direction of where the notebook could go," says Phil Schiller,senior vice president of worldwide marketing atApple. He talks up a new line of MacBook Air unveiled, featuring all-day battery life. Based on Haswell ULT Intel fourth generation processor. The 11inch will go from five hours to nine hours battery life and the 13inch will leap form seven hours to 12 hours of battery life. Also features 802.11ac, which gives up to three times the performance of 802.11n.

18:51"Your digital life can follow you from device to device," saysFederighi. "Mavericks is a fantastic release, full of some great features for power users.. And some great features for everyone." A developer preview is available from today. Final release for everyone else will be this fall.

18:48Federighi demos the new-look calendar and says it has continuous scrolling and despite the lack of stitching it stays on the screen just fine.

18:45iBooks is now available for the Mac, giving access to the 1.8 million books in the library.

18:43New notifications functionality means you can respond to messages and so on without having to open the relevant app. Could be a great time saver but could also prove a massive disturbance... And your Mac will tell you everything you missed while away (when waking up from standby) right from the lock screen,Federighi says.

Calendar has also been improved. Has a different look. "Now cows were harmed in its making," Federighi jokes, in a nod to the move away from the leather-bound look.Facebook events can be integrated into calendar and a new tool is aware of travel time, location and weather. Impressive.

Maps up next. Lots of improvements here too to benefit Mac users,Federighi says. Turn by turn directions, fly overs, and you can set up a route on your Mac and send it right to your iPhone where it will appear on the lock screen. Upon unlocking the iPhone it opens up on the location app. New developer SDK is available to help make most of this function, saysFederighi.

18:40"And that's Safari in Mavericks. I think you're gonna like it," Federighi adds, before talking about iCloud Keychain...This will remember your passwords for you as well as auto suggesting. Sounds great in theory but users may want extra convincing re security so it doesn't also help the bad guys.

18:37Federighi shows off more power-saving features, including powering up and down depending on what you want to be active. He says this will really help to preserve battery life.

18:32Mavericks will use up to 72 per cent less CPU. Also has up to 1.5x improvement in waking the system up from standby. Safari now... Federighi says Safari has been easy to use and innovative. New feature called Shared Links where you can see links of all the people you're following on Twitter etc. Also boasts many other improvements such as power saving, shared memory resource cache and so on. JSBench JavaScript benchmark shows a 3X improvement over Chrome and Firefox. And uses 'way less' energy than Firefox and Chrome, Federighi adds.

18:27Federighi demos the new features. They're pretty impressive and could prove a real boon for business users. Are they enough to temp the Microsoft-loyal away though?

18:25 OS X Mavericks is focused on responsiveness and extending battery life and is designed with power users in mind. Finder tabs are showcased, meaning you can draw multiple windows together and drag content and hover across tabs. He then moves on to tagging. This means you can tag documents whether in iCloud or local file share and they will be brought together and appear in the Finder.

He then moves on to multiple displays... "Now in Mavericks you can get at your menus across multiple displays. You can summon your dock in multiple displays. And when you pan your spaces you can do it independently on each of your displays."

18:22Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, ison stage to talk about OS X. Jokes about running out of cat names... Announces OS X Sea Lion but says he's joking. He adds he wants names that will stand them in good stead for the next 10 years and has looked to the home of Apple - California - for the new name. OS X Mavericks it is!

18:20Some 28 million copies of Mountain Lion since it launched, making it best release of all time. Cook can't resist dig at Microsoft and Windows 8.

18:19

18:18Cooks says that illustrates the power of developer apps and iOS devices.

18:15:Showcasing Anki Drive - cars that can sense the track and other drivers. Few initial teething problems with the demo, but then it all goes fairly smoothly. The other cars are on a mission to block the car dubbed 'Aidan' who is "equipped to handle any situation". Voice says 'weapons enabled' and then the other cars disappear. "We're taking all of the things you love about video games and programming them onto things you can actually touch," the founder says. And you can control Anki Drive - out today - using your iOS-based device.

18:13:Launch of Anki, which is bringing robotics and AI technologies "out of the labs and into people's lives" thanks to iOS devices.

18:10Apple App Store celebrates its fifth birthday next month. Some 50 billion apps have been downloaded so far. There are 575 million accounts registered (more than any other store on the web, says Cook) and 375,000 iPad apps on offer. "We are proud to announce we have paid developers more than $10 billion dollars. Five billion of that in the last year," Cook says. "To put that in context, that's three times more than all the other platforms combined."

18:08:407 stores around the world and operating in 14 countries. Most recent store opened in Berlin in a 100-year-old building.

18:06Apple has more than six million registered developers, with 1.5 million of them adding in the last 12 months. WWDC sold out within one minute, illustrating the mammoth demand for Apple tech. Experts are on hand this week, Cook says, but "Don't ask them about future roadmaps!"

18:05The main man CEO Tim Cook has taken to the stage to even louder applause. "You're going to have an incredible week. This is our 24th WWDC," he says, adding there are attendees from more than 60 countries, with two thirds of them attending this event for the first time.

18:04Video says 'There are a thousand nos for every yes'.

18:02:And we're off to loud audience applause. Stay tuned!

Apple has uncloaked its iOS 5 operating system for iPhone and iPad users, with 1,500 new APIs and over 200 new features.

Developers can get their hands on iOS 5 in beta form from today to start creating apps, although general availability will not be until autumn, Apple revealed during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco today.

As many expected it would, Apple has made some changes to notifications on the OS. In particular it has introduced the Notification Centre, where users will find all of their notifications in one place.

Notifications no longer interrupt apps either, instead appearing at the top of the screen, meaning users can simply swipe down if they wish to view the note.

The lock screen also shows all missed notifications with icons. From that screen, users can slide a finger across a notification to go straight to the related app.

Single sign-on with Twitter means user just log in once and then tweet from all Twitter-enabled apps, such as Photos, Camera, Safari, YouTube and Maps.

The Newsstand addition, meanwhile, has placed subscription magazines in one place within the iBooks store. Once any of them are downloaded, they are placed in the Newsstand app.

Safari updates

Within Safari, Apple has introduced Reader, which takes out all advertisements and leaves the user with just the images and words they want to look at.

A Reading List in the browser syncs with all iOS devices as well as Safari on Mac and Windows, meaning users can go back save articles so they can be read later on different devices.

Tab browsing has arrived on iOS 5's Safari as well. Before tabs were seen only as minimised thumbnails, instead of traditional desktop-style tabs. That has now been rectified.

The new Reminders feature is basically like a to-do list, but with geolocation features. It can notify users of an event depending on their location.

"All of us are constantly creating list of things some have times, places associated with them. Let's get rid of all these scraps of paper and store on the phone," said Scott Forstall, senior vice president for iPhone software at Apple.

Getting visual

With the camera, iOS 5 now lets users go straight to taking snaps without having to fully unlock their device. Users can now pinch to zoom within their iPhone or iPad camera as well, whilst the volume up button can be used to take a photo.

iOS 5 includes an updated Mail app too with improved security, in particular support for S/MIME services. As an example, if an e-mail is encrypted over S/MIME, a lock icon will show next to the recipient's name in the to' bar.

A split keyboard can be initiated by a user if they wish to type with their thumbs rather than fingers. Whenever you change to this option, it will remain across apps.

Post-PC world

There is now no need to hook up iPads and iPhones to computers anymore, as Apple has made software upgrades all over the internet.

"We're living in a post-PC world. We're ushering it in. People want iPads and iPhones as their only devices," Forstall said.

"Now you take the iPhone out of the box and you just see a giant Welcome."

The new iMessage app supplements the old SMS/MMS app and now works on iPads and iPod Touches, meaning Apple users can communicate with one another across devices, rather than just being limited to their iPhones.

Messages can be sent either over 3G or Wi-Fi, with all data transmitted being encrypted.

Apple fans around the world wait for this week with bated breath, as the company gathers developers at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco and unveils its latest technology.

With iOS 5 and the iCloud sure bets, what other tricks will Steve Jobs have up his sleeve during his keynote?

19:59 And that is all you are getting guys! Are you pleased with what you have heard? Anything you hoped for but didn't get? Let us know at comments@itpro.co.uk. Have a good evening!

19:57 But where are you going to store all this data Mr Jobs? Well, he reminds us Apple has just built a whopping great data centre and it is ready for the iCloud.

19:56 The selling point, says Jobs, is how quickly it will happen - "minutes, not weeks."

19:54 iTunes Match: It will scan your music, match it with those in the iTunes store and offer you what you get with bought music. As ace as this may sound, it will charge you $24.99 a year though. Worth it guys?

19:53 So, what is the 'ONE MORE THING!'

19:51 By entering your Apple ID and password once you have downloaded iOS 5, iCloud will be be switched on. 5GB free for mail, documents and backup. Developers again can get their hands on the beta today.

19:49 All the apps in the iCloud are free ladies and gents! Yes, our freebie excitement is kicking off again.

19:44 Any songs downloaded from iTunes can be swapped between your devices for free and Automatic Downloads will send every song you download to all the Apple devices you own.

19:43And what all the music buffs were waiting for - iTunes in the cloud.

19:42 Right, Apple will store the last 1,000 photos you take for 30 days until you move them into an album. Not sounding quite so swish now.

19:39 Photo Stream will save your pics up in the cloud and allow you to view them anywhere. Hmmm. Does Facebook maybe have that covered? However, it does have Apple TV built-in. Remember how excited we all were about Apple TV a few months ago?

19:36 Here comes some iCloud Storage APIs. Developers are getting a little overexcited now. As well as working on iOS devices, it will also work on Macs and PCs.

19:32 Now for us business types, Documents in the Cloud... Pages, Numbers and Keynote all stored into the cloud and accessible by any devices with Pages installed. Roger Rosner takes to the stage for a quick demo.

19:31 We know that you know the importance of back=up. Seems Apple does too now. iCloud will enable your device to wirelessly back-up once a day and a password will allow you to access all your info if you upgrade to a new device.

19:29 Some more apps for the cloud? Ok then! First off in the app store, there will be a "download from cloud" option allowing all previous apps to move onto any future Apple purchases you buy.

19:28 MobileMe drops from $99 to... Free! Sorry for the '!' we just like freebies...

19:27 The phrase Jobs keeps using is 'it just works.' Funny that more will believe him than all the existing cloud providers...

19:26He claims all the applications Apple uses have been built from scratch with the cloud in mind, with calendars and contacts synced automatically from creation.

19:25 MobileMe is mentioned in passing but Jobs claims the company has learned from its mistakes.

19:24 The iCloud has landed. Jobs claims the key is everything happening automatically and integrated with all the apps.

19:23 He admits the ongoing syncing is frustrating and "driving us crazy" so, how do we solve it? Use the iPhone, iPad et al as a device and push everything else into the cloud.

19:22 Here comes the iCloud: "PC will be the digital hub fo your digital life."

19:21 Yay! Jobsy is back onstage!

19:18 iPad users can now use AirPlay to transmit to their TVs wirelessly. Nice. These are the headline features of iOS5 but much more in the batch of 200! Developers get a seed today, but what about consumers? Autumn. For 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 1 & 2 and iPod Touch 3rd generation onwards.

19:14 iMessages to take on BlackBerry Messenger! Everything encrypted and everything sendable over Wi-Fi or 3G!

19:12Achievement points to compare you to your gaming buddies (PS3 trophy anyone?), addition of photos and friend recommendations.

19:11 There is some of the work, now how about the play? Games Center. First off a dig at Microsoft, comparing its 30 million users in eight years to Games Center's 50 million in nine months. Ouch.

19:10 Updates can be done over the air now rather than lots of faffing with wires. This gets a big tick from us.

19:09 Apple is pushing for a PC free world. Ummm...

19:07 We all liked the look of a split keyboard on the upcoming Windows 8 OS. Seems iOS got there first with its own version.

19:06 Yay, a built-in dictionary for mail! Now we can understand what the hell Tom Brewster is talking about...

19:03 iOS 5 Mail will bring rich text, new search features and S/MIME support for encrypted business email.

19:02 You can use the volume buttons to take snaps and then edit them straight from your mobile device.

19:00 Now for camera improvements... Much faster is the claim, along with a lock screen shortcut, even bypassing passcodes (albeit only for a few snaps).

18:59 Our scatterbrain staff writer could do with this. Reminders! Storing needed dates, shopping lists etc in one easy place.

18:57 Wow, they have finally brought tab browsing to the iOS version of Safari. Again, Opera has been doing this for how long? Oh well, better late than never...

18:55 Safari new features now. First up is Reader, pulling in all the pages of a story you are reading online and stopping you having to click through.

18:54 Pleased with the Twitter integration but can't help but think it is present in a lot of other OS' already. How does Apple make their users feel so spoilt when it has fallen behind with this one?

18:53 You can also sync up your contacts with friend's @names.

18:51 So, we were waiting for improved Twitter and now we have got it. It is finally included into all the apps with location brought in as well.

18:49 Next is a feature called "News Stand." With all the subscriptions Apple houses for news outlets, it seems sensible to bring

them together. Not only as an app on your phone, but to help you locate new ones to download in the App Store. Not thrilling but useful.

18:46 Our Reviews Editor now has a smile on his face, he got it right that Apple would change Notifications! Rather than interrupting you as they do now, a graphic will come down from the top of the screen (hints of Android here) and let you know, then all Notifications will be stored on the lock screen. No missing a Twitter mention again!

18:45 200 new features for iOS including 1,500 new APIs for developers. Obviously that big cheque isn't enough to satisfy!

18:43 Developers want to be shown the money? Well, Apple brings up a cheque on screen claiming it has given out $2.5 billion to them.

18:42 You can't deny the impressive app download figures though, 14 billion in under three years.

18:40 Now onto the mobile version, iOS 5. As ever, we start with some figures. Scott Forstall tells us 200 million iOS based devices sold so far, including 25 million iPads.

Also the iOS claims to have 44 per cent market share... We have not had a collective "hmmmmmmm" in the office...

18:39 The file will only be a 4GB download. Developers can get their mitts on it today but customers will have to hold out until July.

18:38 Collective wow in the office. Mac OS X: Lion only $29!

18:37 Other Mac OS X: Lion features will also include built in FaceTime and 3,000 APIs. ONLY available in the Mac App Store. No wonder it is so popular...

18:35 Oh, only 10 features being focused on in the keynote *breathes sigh of relief* but don't worry, we will bring you more as we discover them.

18:33 Along with better search functionality, it allows for "conversation view" to track the back and forth in one consecutive line. Again, much more similar to a mobile OS mail system.

18:32 New mail now looking incredibly like the iPad mail app. Plenty of ooos and aaaahs.

18:29 AirDrop plans on ending the reliance on USB sticks with a P2P network to transfer files. Little pictures of other users appear on your screen. You can then drag the file over the picture, drop it and if you click you are sure to send it, it will arrive in the user's downloads folder.

18:28 Ah, auto-saving does seem to be working a treat on the demo. Everything stays the same as when you exit. Nifty.

18:25 Oooo Twitter fans, Craig is on stage talking about Twitter! Integration coming up?

18:23 Next up, Versions. Common sense really. The OS only stores the changes you make to a document, rather than the whole file over again. Much more streamlined technology.

18:22 Feature seven goes to auto-save. Does what it says on the tin. Everyone seems more interested in whether Schiller will go through the whole 250 features!

18:21 Launchpad making Lion look more and more like the mobile iOS with folders and gesturing. Well, if you get it right with one...

18:20[/]In-app purchasing now available. I see those credit card bills mounting...

18:18 Now Schiller talks about the Mac App Store, launched back in January. He claims it has become the number one PC channel for software purchasing, beating Best Buy, Walmart and Office Depot. What, no PC World?

18:17 Spaces in Mission Control allow you to drag apps and rearrange the how you see fit, or delete them off your screen. Great control.

18:16 Face detection for Photo Booth? Definitely a nice toy to play with.

18:14 The swiping feature is pretty cool, very smooth...

18:12 The idea of Mission Control is to show you everything you are working on and that you have open "with one swipe."

18:11 Everything has gone a bit space age with the announcement of Mission Control...

18:10Full screen apps will become available which can be swiped off the screen.

18:09 Oh, and don't forget the new scroll bar too!

18:08 First key feature, new multi-touch gesture capabilities with the pinch and zoom familiar from Apple's mobile products.

18:07 This is Phil Schiller talking now. He says there are 250 new features in Mac OS X: Lion.

18:05 Wow, Jobs claims there are 54 million active Mac users globally. How about them Apples!

18:04 Confirmation from Jobs that he will be talking about iOS 5, Lion for Macs and "some interesting cloud stuff"

18:03 Awww, a nice apology from Jobs for all those who couldn't be there. Well, if 5,200 tickets sell out in less than two hours it is no surprise!

18:02 Steve Jobs is onstage!

18:01 James Brown "I feel good" theme music, hope Jobs is!

17:59 The warnings ring out the event is about to start and to turn devices to silent. Wonder how many people are hiding Android handsets in their pockets...

17:53 We are told 4,000 can get into the keynote theatre, although 5,000 have tickets for WWDC. Also, the first developer was queuing since 1:30am! Apple dedication right there...

17:48 Good evening guys! So, the moment is almost here. Steve Jobs returns from sick leave to make a stream of Apple announcements at the WWDC conference in San Francisco. What are you hoping to hear about?

Apple will reveal details of its much-anticipated cloud service at the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next Monday.

Chief executive (CEO) Steve Jobs will come back from sick leave to give the WWDC keynote and provide more information on the iCloud.

Little is known of the iCloud, yet many have speculated it will be used to give people the ability to have iTunes accounts interact with the cloud.

Google and Amazon have already announced their own cloud-based music offerings, so Apple would be coming a little late to the party.

The move could also take Apple into more direct competition with Amazon, which has not been on the former's radar outside of music and book sales.

During the event, Apple is set to unveil its next Mac Lion operating system and the latest version of iPhone software - iOS 5.

No further details on the announcements have come out, but there have been plenty of rumours circulating the web on what will feature in iOS 5.

A patent filed by Apple this year indicated Spaces an application which allows the user to segment their apps for easier navigation could be included.

WWDC will run for five days starting Monday as developers swamp Cupertino to learn about new Apple technologies from more than 1,000 of the company's engineers.

So what was launched last night?

Steve Jobs took to the stage at Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco and unveiled the next generation of Apple's smartphone device, the iPhone 4.

Thrilling name. So what are the new features?

Jobs claimed this version was "the biggest leap since the original iPhone."

Headline features of the device include a five megapixel camera up from 3.2 in the last one including a flash and 5x digital zoom, and a front facing camera for video conferencing.

On the inside, the smartphone has been given a new, more powerful Apple A4 processor and microSIM, as well as a much improved battery life, according to Jobs' claims. The casing also includes an antenna inside for better reception.

Extra features continue with the addition of HD recording and a gyroscope. Finally the device will be 24 per cent slimmer than the last incarnation.

How did these features compare to the rumours?

In general the rumour mill was proved right. The camera, both front and back, processor and increased battery life had all been predicted although much of this came from a leaked prototype rather than guesswork.

However, there were a couple of added extras. The casing with the antennae was quite a surprise, as was the release of iMovie for just $4.99 in the App Store. But the biggest shock was how soon the release date was, as we all thought we would have to wait around for ages.

Don't leave us in suspense, when will it be available?

The iPhone 4 is set to be launched on UK shores on 24 June.

Even in the UK?

Yes! Jobs pledged last night that the release date would be the same internationally as it was in the US. Those getting the device on 24 June aside from the UK and US are France, Germany and Japan. Other countries will follow suit in July, with the iPhone 4 being available in 88 countries worldwide by September.

Will it be exclusive to one network this time?

No. Although O2 always had the exclusive before, many other operators have got on the Apple bandwagon and as a result will also be offering the latest version of the device.

So far confirmed we have O2, Vodafone and Orange, with Carphone Warehouse providing the phone on contracts for all three.

But what will it cost?

This is where the information is lacking right now.

O2's UK chief executive (CEO), Ronan Dunne, has confirmed the company will be offering a "limited time special upgrade offer" for customers who already have the iPhone on the O2 network, but pricing has yet to be revealed.

Again with Vodafone and Orange, the only details we have are they will carry the device, but no tariffs have been specified as yet.

Will the iPhone 4 be better for business users though?

The iPhone has increasingly become more of a business phone, with the usual email and web capabilities, but also with increasing numbers of apps hitting the market aimed at the business user on the road.

We think the main draw, from the business aspect, is the front facing camera, as video conferencing when you are on the go could be great for those meetings you can't get to.

Also the improved battery life if it proves to be true will be great for those using battery draining business apps.

However, the camera and processor improvements will probably be of more benefit to consumers.

That said, the real draw for business users will be the arrival of iPhone OS 4, which will bring with it lots of enterprise-friendly features including better data encryption, mobile device management, support for Exchange Server 2010, multi-tasking capabilities and the ability to create and manage folders like you do on the desktop. This will be available as an update to iPhone 3GS users from 21 June.

Apple has officially confirmed what we've all been thinking and unveiled details about the iPhone mark four, or the iPhone 4 to give it its correct moniker.

It'll be available from 24 June in the UK, US, France, Germany and Japan, with other countries following suit from July. It'll be available to pre-order from 15 June. By the end of September it'll be available in some 88 countries worldwide, according to Apple.

Barely 30 minutes into his keynote speech on the opening day of Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, Steve Job's the company's chief executive wowed the crowds with the list of specs and details.

Claiming this was the "thinnest smartphone on the planet" at 24 per cent slimmer than the iPhone 3GS, Jobs proudly showed off new features such as a five megapixel camera with 5x digital zoom, a front-facing camera and retina display that will revolutionise image taking and consumption on the iPhone.

"iPhone 4 is the biggest leap since the original iPhone," Jobs added in a statement. "FaceTime video calling sets a new standard for mobile communication, and our new Retina display is the highest resolution display ever in a phone, with text looking like it does on a fine printed page. We have been dreaming about both of these breakthroughs for decades."

Powered by an Apple A4 processor and micro-SIM, the battery takes up most of the inner space, meaning it will last longer than its predecessors, according to Apple. Quoted figures during the keynote included seven hours of 3G talk time, six hours of 3G browsing and 300 hours of standby.

Also on offer is HD recording - 720p at 30fps - and a gyroscope that should help boost the gaming experience for those so inclined. Video fans will also be pleased to hear that iMovie is making its way to the device as an app for just $4.99.

Jobs also used the opportunity to recap on the features iPhone OS 4, which will - naturally - feature on the new device, will bring to users. Multi-tasking, folder creation and management and business-friendly features such as mobile device management, better data protection and support for Exchange Server 2010 are all on offer. And, despite being big rivals, Microsoft's Bing search engine will also play a role.

The new OS will be available as a free update from 21 June.

Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference kicks off today. Check back later for all the news and views from the event and details of the next iPhone.

Just hit refresh to see the latest updates as they happen.

19:56 Cue crowd applause as Jobs thanks his Apple 'family' for helping give birth to such a cool product.

19:50 The audience are now being shown a slideshow of production pics detailing how the iPhone 4 is put together.

19:42 The magical date is 24 June. Pre-orders start on 15 June. Initially shipping in five countries (UK, US, France, Germany and Japan), but will be available in 19 more countries from July.

19:37 The show's not over yet. Support for video calling has been added to the mix.

19:29 And iAds is proving popular already, with advertisers committing to spend $60 million, according to Jobs.

19:23 Talk has turned to iAds. All about "emotion and interactivity" according to the big slide in the sky.

19:17 This month will mark another sales milestone for Apple. It'll see the sale of its 100 millionth iOS-based device (umbrella term for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch). That's pretty good going. iBooks is also coming to the iPhone.

19:16 Bing will make an appearance too. Didn't really believe the rumours about this one to be honest, but happy to be proved wrong!

19:11 Jobs is recapping the business-friendly features of the new OS such as mobile device management and better data protection as well as support for Exchange Server 2010.

19:09 Jobs is talking about folders and multi-tasking. We're getting a bit of deja vu now.

19:05 Now onto iPhone OS 4.

19:04 No doubt angering some and confusing others in the audience, Jobs has asked people to turn off their wireless and put their laptops down!

18:58 It'll work pretty much like the desktop version - in theory, at least. The demo certainly looks very impressive. It'll cost $4.99.

18:57 Video recording will be 720p at 30fps with this next-gen iPhone, which will also feature tap to focus. Next up iMovie for the iPhone...

18:54 The device will feature a five megapixel camera and 5x digital zoom.

18:50 Flashing an 'environmental checklist' on the screen, Apple reckons the iPhone 4 is pretty green. It'll also feature a gyroscope, according to Jobs.

18:49 Indeed, Apple reckons the new iPhone 4's battery will enable seven hours of 3G talk, six hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music playback and 300 hours of standby. While these stats are impressive, we're reserving judgement until we get one to test out.

18:48 The new iPhone 4 will feature Apple's A4 processor. And because everything else is smaller (including a microSIM), the battery is better, according to Jobs.

18:42 Jobs has just asked anyone using the Wi-Fi network at the Moscone Centre to jump off for a bit to help him out!

18:41 Whoops - few glitches mean Steve might not be able to showcase these features in quite the way he wants. Someone back stage will be in trouble post event...

18:37 There's also a retina display for the camera, which boasts four times the pixel density than before. It'll result in much crisper, clearer still images, as well as video, claims Jobs.

18:33 It'll be 24 per cent thinner than the iPhone 3GS. Jobs has claimed it's the "thinnest smartphone on the planet". There's also a front-facing camera and camera with LED flash on the back. Antennas will be integrated in the frame. It's also using glass for optimal quality and stratch resistance as well as stainless steel to keep it all together.

18:32 There are more than 100 new features packed into iPhone 4 but Steve is going to now concerntrate on just eight of them.

18:31 Steve has just said what we've all been waiting for... iPhone 4. According to a slide on the big stage showing a timeline of what's happened with the iconic device since 2007, it'll be the "biggest leap since the original".

18:29 Steve's now reminiscing to what the smartphone was like pre-iPhone back in 2007. He's also showing a chart from Nielsen that shows RIM has 35 per cent market share, while Apple isn't far behind on 28 per cent.

18:28 Back to the iPhone now...

18:27 The App Store hit five billion downloads last week. Apple kept that one quiet. And for those who think the company is either evil or mean, Jobs just said that 70 per cent of the cash generated goes to developers.

18:23 Ooohhh - Guitar Hero. Now you're talking. For weekends and evenings, obviously. Apparently a new "strumming mechanic" will make the experience somewhat awesome.

18:21 Netflix and Farmville (yep, that annoying app that tells you how many chickens your friend has just bought and clogs up their feed in Facebook) are heading to the iPhone soon. This will be great news for some and more of an annoyance for others. Particularly if their colleagues start to do their farming stuff during working hours instead of working...

18:18 Bring on the apps! Time for some of the most popular apps out there to showcase their babies.

18:16 What about the ones that don't make the cut? It's their own fault - a result of private APIs that are subject to change that could adversely affect the app, the app not doing what it says on the tin and plain and simple crash issues, according to Jobs.

18:15 It's all about the apps. And, gosh, aren't those App Store folk busy? According to Jobs, Apple receives around 15,000 app submissions in each week - spanning more than 30 languages. In perhaps a dig to those who've moaned about the rigid approval process before, Jobs claimed that 95 per cent of apps are approved within seven days.

18:11 Onto ebooks. They've been very popular and Apple has some enhancements planned to iBook to make the experience even better. These include bookmarking and a new bookshelf. Exciting stuff. Not long to wait either as Jobs reckons they'll be ready towards the end of the summer.

18:06 Now lots of different - and big - numbers are being displayed on the screen. It's hard to keep up. The iPad will be available in 19 countries by the end of July, Jobs claims. What's more, the 8,000-plus apps for the iPad have been downloaded some 35 million times.

18:05 Apparently the tablet is magical. But don't just take Steve's word for it - he's received an email from a happy punter that says just that.

18:04 It's straight to the big slides in the sky. First up, takling about the iPad's phenomenonal success and the fact it's sold two million in a short space of time. That's about one every three seconds, according to the massive fonted slide Steve is standing in front of.

18:00 Steve Jobs has taken to the stage.

17:59 Nearly time for Mr Jobs to take the stage and tell us what his company has in store for us.

17:40 20 mins to go until the main event and there are lots of eager developers and Apple fans keen to hear what Steve Jobs et al have up their sleeves.

Details of this Friday's UK iPad launch and next week's expected iPhone launch are starting to be revealed.

The Apple iPad is set to finally make its way to the UK on Friday. While it's been available for preorder since earlier this month and will obviously be selling through Apple's 27 UK shops, the Californian firm hasn't made it clear where else Britons will be able to queue for the device.

According to a memo seen by the Times, Apple has cut a deal with DGSi to put the iPad exclusively on the shelves of 139 its Currys and PC World stores, as well as stocking it at the recently opened Best Buy store in Thurrock.

"Demand is expected to be high, mirroring what happened in the US," the Times quoted the memo as saying.

The report suggested DGSi shops will be the only ones with the iPad at launch, with rivals forced to wait 60 days to stock the device.

A DGSi spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that the information in The Times article is correct and Apple will be announcing their distribution plans in the next few days."

Apple's spokeswoman also pointed us to a link with a list of available stores, which do include Currys and PC World.

iPhone news

Meanwhile, Apple has confirmed that chief executive Steve Jobs will be delivering the keynote at the sold-out Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which kicks of on 7 June.

It is widely expected Jobs will use the keynote to unveil the next generation iPhone, which the world had a sneak peek of last month when a prototype device was leaked to tech website Gizmodo.

The 5,000 attendees of the conference are likely in for an entertaining keynote, as Jobs seems to be in a talkative mood.

In a series of short emails, he told one Apple fan that he "won't be disappointed" by WWDC and another that there's "not a chance" Google has leapfrogged his own firm on all things mobile.

Read on for our review of the Apple iPad and the iPhone.

Apple provided another glimpse at what to expect from the next iPhone by releasing a third beta version of its iPhone OS 4.0 operating system yesterday and then promptly withdrawing it.

The Beta 3 release of the all-new OS popped up briefly in the iPhone Dev Centre Apple's official developer area for the iPhone but was quickly removed without explanation, prompting speculation that either Apple had uncovered a last-minute flaw in the software, or that the download had been made available prematurely by mistake.

Either way, the software was available long enough for several eagle-eyed Apple fans to install it and get a closer look at some of the new features expected on the fourth-generation iPhone, which is expected to launch at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next month.

Technology blog Boy Genius Report was among them, and revealed the most significant changes.

First of all, according to its report, Apple has simplified the file transfer process, with files now able to be dragged and dropped between the iPhone and a computer via iTunes provided the app running on the iPhone supports the function.

Multitasking is expected to be one of the cornerstones of iPhone OS 4.0, and the latest beta reveals a new multitasking interface containing a set of iPod widgets for controlling music access without having to access the iPod menu itself. The widgets include basic playback and track selection controls.

Also new is the ability to shut down multitasked apps running in the background without having to switch from the active app. Holding a finger on any app will activate a minus symbol in the corner, which can be used to shut down the app in question.

Lastly, an orientation lock has been introduced into the widget bar to turn off auto-rotation.

iPhone OS 4.0 was unveiled by Steve Jobs a month ago, with the Apple boss promising hundreds of changes to its mobile operating system.

Of course, being a beta release there's no guarantee that these latest features will remain as they are now, or even that they will appear at all. All will no doubt be made clear on June 7, the first day of WWDC.

Apple has announced the date for its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which many believe will also see the launch of the next iPhone.

The annual event will run over five days starting on 7 June, with more than 5,000 Apple application developers expected to descend on Moscone West in San Francisco.

WWDC gives developers a forum to share ideas, and more than 100 technical sessions will be held over the five days to give participants an in-depth look at the latest techniques and developments and how they can be applied in creating better applications for Apple's platforms.

However, over the past few years Apple has used its keynote address at the conference to announce its latest iPhone news. A year ago, Apple vice-president Phil Schiller, deputising for an ill Steve Jobs, took to the stage to announce the iPhone 3GS. The year before it was the iPhone 3G, and while 2007's conference wasn't the first time the original iPhone was talked about, Jobs did use the platform to announce its launch date.

For developers, however, new product announcements are likely to be less of an attraction than the sessions and labs focusing on developing apps for those products especially given the launch of the iPad in recent months.

"The sessions at this year's WWDC will quickly dive into techniques that will help you master developing with the latest technologies in iPhone OS and Mac OS X," the WWDC site confirms.

Sessions will be split into five categories: application frameworks, core OS, developer tools, graphics and media frameworks, and internet and web lab.

Other attractions at WWDC include the long-running Apple Design Awards, which this year will recognise the best iPhone and iPad applications. The specific awards handed out each year vary, and this year the Mac software category has given way to the new iPad app award, with the iPhone OS clearly top priority in Apple's thinking right now.

Nominations for each award are only open to iPhone Developer Program members, with technology adoption, design and user experience, innovation and performance among the criteria used in deciding a winner.

In other news, Apple has snapped up US startup Siri, the company behind a voice-controlled personal search assistant for the iPhone that helps users find places of interest, local restaurants and the like simply by stating questions out loud.

Apple is rumoured to have paid around $200 million for Siri, with the move seen by many to be as much about keeping the technology out of its rivals' hands as it is about Apple using it itself.

At Apple's worldwide developer conference (WWDC), the company spilled the details on the world's worst kept secret with the iPhone 3G S, but if you're a business person and a Mac user then the improvements to the Mac operating system could be of even more significance to you.

What is Snow Leopard?

The current operating system (OS) is called Leopard, but though Apple has been working on it a long time, the new version doesn't get an all-new name it's now called Snow Leopard. It will come preinstalled on new Macs from September or cost a mere $29 to upgrade.

Remarkably, Apple says that due to a more efficient installer upgrading to it will actually save 6GB of space, and installing will take 45 per cent less time than with Leopard. That's great news if you've got Macs in your business.

I hear it will support Exchange. Is that true?

The big addition is Exchange support directly in the OS out of the box. This means that Mail, the Calendar and the Address book will populate automatically when you enter your Exchange server details no need to use the frankly horrible Microsoft Entourage anymore! And because these are native Mac applications, features such as Spotlight and Quick Look will interact with all your Exchange email and data. This alone will help Apple be taken that bit more seriously for business use.

Isn't it much faster too?

Apple claims that it has re-written all the major parts of the system to give better support for the 64-bit nature of the OS. This means the memory limit is now effectively limitless (well, 16 billion GB to be precise).

Support for multi-core CPUs has also been improved with a technology it calls Grand Central Despatch, which shuffles processing threads more effectively than before. The result? More responsiveness from the same CPUs.

What about OpenCL?

Another key technology that Apple announced in Snow Leopard is OpenCL. This is an open source programming language for the graphics chip, equivalent to Nvidia's CUDA. This will enable developers to use the power of the graphics chip for complex tasks such as financial modelling, and advanced media manipulation, much faster than the CPU would be able to do it, and it should really speed up many business-focused applications.

The search spotlight function has also been rewritten, so Quick Look preview and straightforward searches will be even quicker which is nice, as time is money.

Other improvements that businesses will like the sound of are the fact that Apple's Time Machine backup speed has been boosted by up to 50 per cent. There's also better support for printer drivers, with Snow Leopard going online to find the best driver.

Apple has also said that connecting to a wireless network in now faster, and you will also now get a signal strength indicator so you can choose the stronger network when you manually join one.

Will it help grow my business?

In a way, yes. Do you do business in China? It's a country with the most internet users, so there's a good chance you might be sooner rather than later.

Snow Leopard now lets you use the trackpad on the MacBooks to enter Chinese characters directly on the screen making it far easier to get them into your documents.

Other small but potentially time saving features are easier copy and paste from PDFs making it possible to copy text across multiple columns and reduced bandwidth requirements for iChat, improving the smoothness and quality of video calls.

And if you need to get footage onto YouTube, you can now do it directly from an enhanced Quicktime, which will also let you make minor edits to your footage.

When is it available?

All in all, it looks like September will be a good time to buy a Mac for your business. We think it's certainly worth the $29 upgrade fee.

Want more background on the latest IT topics? Click here for all the tech cheatsheets in our Need to Know series.

Apple today finally laid the rumours to rest by confirming that a new iPhone, the iPhone 3G S, is just around the corner, claiming the device will be back bigger, better and faster than before this time around.

What exactly is the iPhone 3G S?

First off, the 'S' stands for 'speed' which, although short and to the point, is not as exciting as some of the names we've all made up. The iPhone 3G S is Apple's third generation iPhone, following in the blood line of greatness that brought us the iPhone and iPhone 3G in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

What's so special about it?

According to Apple, the iPhone 3G S is its "fastest, most powerful iPhone yet." It will also be running the new iPhone 3.0 operating system (OS), which will open its doors to the wider world of iPhone users on 17 June.

Sounds marvellous, but what does that actually mean to me?

Supporting up to 7.2 Mbps of HSDPA connectivity, the new third generation iPhone is apparently twice as fast as the iPhone 3G which, for those of us who've used said device, is pretty fast indeed.

That means you can enjoy email attachments 3.6 times faster than you do now, launch applications much more quickly and do everything else in a more hare than tortoise-like way - think of all that extra spare time you'll have.

Couple that with increased battery longevity and you'll be able surf the web for longer, as well as faster, and take advantage of the handset for work and play for a bigger chunk of time before you need to plug in your new friend for charging.

Indeed, Apple reckons you should get six hours of Wi-Fi, five hours of 3G talk time and 10 hours of 2G talk time. Not really to be sniffed at.

Thanks to the new OS, users can take advantage of more than 100 new features including MMS and cut, copy and paste, in addition to Spotlight Search and a landscape keyboard orientation that pops up in the right places. It's music to our ears, if not long overdue by industry standards.

That should come in very handy during my 9-5, but what about the weekends?

Don't worry, Apple hasn't forgotten its iPhone consumer roots and has served up a handset that should please both individuals and businesses alike.

There's a three megapixel camera built in, which offers not only auto focus, macro focus and tap-to-focus tools, but whizzy features such as video recording.

Talking of video recording, the iPhone 3G S apparently makes it easy for people to record high-quality clips, that they can edit there and then using their new device by trimming' where they want the clips to begin and end. Sounds like it might be one of those things that are easier said than done, so we're keen to try it out as soon as possible to test the theory out.

The OpenGL ES 2.0 standard is also harnessed on the iPhone 3G S to bring 3D graphics to life and make mobile gaming, for example, even more fun for users.

Voice control is also on the menu, serving up hands-free control of both phone and iPod functionality. In practice, that means being able to call people more quickly or commanding your music player to play what you want to play and when simply by telling it to do so.

There's also a so-called Genius feature that allows you to order the device to play more songs of the same ilk, pause, stop or shuffle your tunes or question it as to whose dulcet tones are in your ear at the time.

There's a handy digital compass, which should prove useful for business meetings and when you're meeting friends in new places.

Accessibility is also a key focus, with the iPhone 3G S including a new feature called VoiceOver which can read out what it sees on the screen, whether that be emails, web pages, music or other applications. Universal zoom and White on Black are two other features that make the new iPhone much more accessible to a wider audience.

Of course, those using the iPhone 3G S will also share in the same applications candy shop as other iPhone users in the App Store, which boasts more than 50,00 applications.

To date, more than one billion apps have been downloaded and, following news that they'll be an API for this new handset, it's likely there are developers out there right now cooking up new apps incorporating video and voice for the imminent arrival.

If it's what's inside that counts, I'm sold, but what about the aesthetics?

The iPhone 3G S will have both brains and beauty 16GB and 32GB of brains to be precise. It will share the same glossy and classy coat as its younger iPhone 3G sibling and be available in either black or white.

When can I get my hands on one?

UK users will be able to get their collective mitts on the new iPhone 3G S on 19 June that's a week on Friday. Pricing will be available then to keep us all guessing but in the US, the tag is $199 for a 16GB and $299 for the 32GB version, with the iPhone 3G going down to $99 at the same time.

More than 80 countries around the globe will enjoy their own launch of the iPhone 3G S in the coming weeks.

It looks like the exclusive UK network deal is still in place for O2 too, as the mobile operator is plugging the new handset on its site. Although it is also remaining fairly tight lipped on upgrade or first time buyer pricing.

Those using iTunes 8.2 or later and wielding a current iPhone will be able to get the new iPhone 3.0 OS for free, while iPod Touch users will have to shell out 5.99 for the update.

Want more background on the latest IT topics? Click here for all the tech cheatsheets in our Need to Know series.

It was the worst-kept secret this year, yet Apple still managed to impress with the launch of its 3G iPhone smartphone late last night.

Coming just under 18 months after the original iPhone was unveiled at the 2007 Macworld event, the Mac maker has given the device a much-needed hardware overhaul, addressing many of the requests for features and complaints about the original levelled by users.

Cosmetic changes have been kept to a minimum, and barring a shift to an all black casing (with an option for a white 16GB model), the device looks very much like the original, and will use the same software as its 2G counterpart. However, the electronics of the iPhone are much better.

The 3G iPhone is a quad-band GSM device with tri-band 3G and HSDPA data support. The camera remains unchanged at two megapixels. A GPS receiver has been added, allowing for geotagging of photos and messages, as well as more accurate mapping and route planning, Built-in 802.11b and g Wi-Fi is still present and can still be used for location triangulation.

The iPhone will be available in both 8GB and 16GB configurations. The 8GB is black, and the 16GB offers a choice of black or white.

On the software side, the phone has gained a number of business-friendly features, which will also appear in the next firmware release for the 2G iPhone and iPod Touch next month. Support for Microsoft Exchange push email is present alongside IMAP and POP3, as well as ActiveSync to allow for address book and calendar synching with Exchange servers.

The iPhone will also be able to read iWork documents and Microsoft Office PowerPoint presentations, in addition to its existing support for Word and Excel. Editing is still not possible.

IT managers can also control what third party applications are downloaded to the iPhone, and create centralised intranet download points for internally developed iPhone applications. For both business and consumer users, applications of 10MB and under will be downloadable over a mobile phone data connection, apps larger than 10MB will require a Wi-Fi connection in order to download. A link to the new iPhone apps store will be placed on the desktop of both the 3G iPhone and 2G iPhones running the 2.0 firmware.

"iPhone 3G supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync right out of the box, runs the incredible third party apps created with the iPhone SDK, and will be available in more than 70 countries around the world this year," said Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs.

The 3G iPhone will go on sale in 70 countries on 11 July, including the UK, where it will continue to be carried by O2.

The 8GB handset will cost 99 inc VAT on the basic 30 and 35 a month airtime plans, and will be free on the 45 and 75 plans, confirming that Apple is allowing mobile operators to subsidise the handset price for the first time, in line with other handset makers. The 16GB model will cost 159 on the 30 and 35 plans, 59 on the 45 plan and will be free on the 75 plan. All contracts are 18 months in length.

There are plans for a pay as you go option as well, though pricing has not yet been confirmed. Business users get two tariff options, one for small businesses and one for larger enterprises.

US pricing starts at $199 (100) for the 8GB unit, rising to $299 (150) for the 16GB models, based on a new contract with AT&T.

Also announced during the keynote was a long-overdue revamp of Apple's .Mac hosting package, to be renamed Mobile Me.

Users will receive 20GB of storage, double what they received as part of the .Mac package, while data such as photo galleries, address books, calendars and push email will be accessible from and synched across Macs, iPhones and iPod Touch units, as well as Windows PCs. Previously data could only be synched with Macs.

Mobile Me will cost 59 per year for a single user, including VAT. Existing .Mac subscribers will be moved to the Mobile Me service over the next two months.

The 3G iPhone could arrive in the UK in July, costing as little as 100, according to reports.

Steve Jobs is expected to unveil the phone at Apple's Worldwide Developers' Conference on 9 June, with The Times reporting a UK release slated for some time in July.

If the report proves accurate, it represents a marked shift in attitude for Apple, which left Britons waiting five months for the original to hit these shores.

As part of a new strategy aimed at boosting sales, various sources are also claiming Apple will allow operators to subsidise the device, which could see the price tumble from the original 269 to just 100.

In other parts of Europe the prices could even fall lower, though this is unlikely in the UK due to Apple's exclusive multi-year contract with O2.

The Cupertino-based company has set itself an ambitious aim of selling 10 million iPhones globally by the end of this year, and any price reduction could be seen as a way of propelling the company towards the goal.

Apple said it is not commenting on the story.