Tech Roundup: Apple WWDC 2021, Instagram Algorithm & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

• Apple previews next generation versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS (Monterey), tvOS, and watchOS, with updates to notifications, overhauled Weather app, ability to join FaceTime calls via Android and the web, a new SharePlay feature that syncs streaming content inside FaceTime and allows users to watch movies or listen to music together while they chat, computer vision features ("Live Text") similar to Google Lens that enable the Camera app to read text within images, improved multitasking in iPads, collaborative features in Notes, and process Siri voice requests on device.
• The update also brings Shortcuts (to replace Automator down the line) and Testflight to macOS, a new Mindfulness app to watchOS 8, expands Swift Playgrounds' capabilities to allow developers to publish apps to the App Store straight from the iPad, adds option to AirPlay content from another Apple device directly to Mac, a redesigned Safari with a new look for tabs and tab groups (along with extensions support in iOS), adds Legacy Contact option to iCloud to designate people access an account in the event of death, a Universal Control feature that allows users to use a single keyboard and mouse or trackpad to work between Mac and iPad (or drag and drop content), and introduces new Health features aimed at assess walking steadiness and risk of falling, alongside options to securely share health information with family and friends.
• Furthermore, iOS 15, macOS 12, and watchOS 8 include a number of privacy and security advancements such as built-in two-factor authenticator, tor-like Private Relay to anonymise users' browsing activity, Hide My Email to create burner email addresses, a new App Privacy Report, tracking pixel protection in Mail app, and better Intelligent Tracking Prevention to hide user's IP addresses from trackers. Private Relay and Hide My Mail also mark the first time Apple has bundled new security protections into a paid subscription service, iCloud+, opening the door to premium privacy features as part of its services business (and further locking users into its platform).
• On the developer front, Apple is launching a new ShazamKit to allow app developers on Android and iOS incorporate audio recognition features to apps by bundling Shazam's huge database of songs, or even from their own custom catalog of pre-recorded audio, in addition to letting third-party HomeKit accessory makers integrate Siri voice control into their products for the first time, with support for Matter — a new smart home interoperability standard backed by big players like Amazon, Google, and Samsung — coming to iOS 15.
• Over the years, Apple has spent a considerable amount of time championing that privacy is "a fundamental human right" and that its products are designed to protect users' privacy. But that may have subtly shifted in the wake of iCloud+, where new privacy and security safeguards are paywalled and bundle into a paid subscription service. All said, the "manorial security" only serves to defend its walled garden and better the company's bottomline, not to mention the features are primarily motivated by a desire to keep users tied into lucrative digital ecosystems.
• Privacy-focused email service Protonmail announces its biggest redesign since its launch in 2013 with multiple layouts, quick filters to sort messages, and a new selector to quickly switch between Proton services.

The new iPadOS

• Facebook-owned Instagram attempts to shed more light on "how Instagram works"; says it takes into account a number of signals such as information about the post, information about the person who posted, users' activity, and their history of interactions to offer the rank Feeds and Stories. (Instagram says it factors in similar considerations to rank content in Explore and Reels.)
• Facebook and Instagram to reward influencers with cash bonuses for hitting certain milestones, like selling a set number of badges in an Instagram stream; launches Stars Challenges, in which "creators in the program can earn payouts from Facebook in the form of free Stars if they meet certain milestones, such as broadcasting a certain number of hours or earning a set number of Stars within a designated time period," and makes it easier for creators to add an existing shop or open a new shop on their Instagram profiles.
• Google's YouTube adds more features to its TikTok competitor Shorts, allowing users sample audio from any YouTube video, vastly expanding its audio catalogue; to finally launch Stadia on Chromecast with Google TV on June 23, more than eight months after the device launched.
• Google agrees to a fine of nearly US$ 270 million following an antitrust probe into its practices in France alleging that the company had given preferential treatment to its own ad technologies such as DoubleClick and AdX over competitors and using information about rival bids gathered via DoubleClick to give Google's online ad auction house, AdX, an advantage; promises to make it easier for competitors to use its ad tools, as a broader wave of antitrust enforcement against big technology companies sweeps across Europe and the U.S.
• Google to begin showing more mobile search engine apps to choose from on new Android phones in Europe and make participation free for eligible search providers effective September, putting an end to the quarterly paid auction format that underpins the choice screen to present users with a selection of search engines following a July 2018 ruling to restore competition in the market and offer more choice to smaller rivals like DuckDuckGo, Qwant and Ecosia.