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iOS 15 brings focus, privacy, and more

Coming this fall

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iOS 15

WWDC 21 showcased plenty of the stuff coming to iOS 15. We already went in detail about what’s new on FaceTime. But here’s quick rundown of every other improvement on the smartphone OS.

Find Focus

Focus helps users filter notifications to reduce distractions, using a custom Focus or a suggested Focus like Work or Sleep. It uses on-device intelligence to suggest which people and apps are allowed to notify them.

Focus suggestions are based on users’ context, like during their work hours or while they’re winding down for bed, and when Focus is set on one Apple device, it automatically applies to their other Apple devices.

When a user’s Focus is blocking incoming notifications, their status is automatically displayed to others in Messages, reflecting that a user is not currently reachable.

New Notifications

Notifications have a new look with larger icons for apps to make them easier to identify. There’s also a new notification summary. It collects non-time-critical notifications for delivery at a more opportune time to reduce distractions.

This also uses on-device intelligence to determine the most relevant notifications based on a user’s interactions with apps. Urgent messages will be delivered immediately, so important communications will not end up in the summary.

It’s also easy to temporarily mute any app or messaging thread for the next hour or for the day.

Google Lens-like image to text capture

Named Live Text, the feature will recognize text in a photo and allow users to take action. You can take quick snap of some notes, phone numbers, and practically anything with a text on it, then Live Text will bring up actions relevant to what you captured.

Phone numbers will bring up an option to call, text will bring the option to copy the text, and Visual Look-Up will bring up information about what your camera is pointing at.

Better Spotlight

Used in conjunction with Live Text, Spotlight can now search photos by location, people, scenes, or objects. It now also offers web image search and all-new rich results for actors, musicians, TV shows, and movies.

Speaking of photos, the Photos app now has a new-look and vastly improved Memories feature. You can now pick which song will play for a particular memory collection from your Apple Music library.

Better Apple Maps

Details for cities for neighborhoods, commercial districts, elevation, and buildings have been enhanced. These include new road colors and labels, custom-designed landmarks, and a new night-time mode with a moonlit glow.

When navigating using iPhone or CarPlay, Maps features a three-dimensional city-driving experience with new road details that help users better see and understand important details like turn lanes, medians, bike lanes, and pedestrian crosswalks.

Transit riders can find nearby stations more easily and pin favorite lines. Maps automatically follows along with a selected transit route, notifying users when it’s nearly time to disembark, and riders can even keep track on Apple Watch.

New Privacy features

Siri requests is now processed entirely on iPhone by default with on-device speech recognition.

Mail Privacy Protection stops senders from learning whether an email has been opened, and hides IP addresses so senders can’t learn a user’s location or use it to build a profile on them.

App Privacy Report offers an overview of how apps use the access that has been granted to location, photos, camera, microphone, and contacts in the last seven days, and which other domains are contacted.

More Notes App functions

Notes adds user-created tags that make it easy to quickly categorize notes in line with relevant content. Mentions allow members of shared notes to notify one another of important updates. Additionally, an all-new Activity view shows the recent history of a shared note.

iOS 15 is coming this fall to the following devices:

iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone SE (1st Gen), iPhone SE (2nd Gen), iPod Touch (7th Gen).

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FIFA World Cup: Lenovo’s Referee View received positively by fans

Unique first-person perspective brings action closer to viewers

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July 13, 2026

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Lenovo has revealed that technological advancements at the FIFA World Cup 2026 has made viewers “feel closer” to the action than ever before.

Surveying fans across Australia, Canada, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States, Lenovo bared that 87% say technology is improving the viewing experience.

Close-to-action camera perspectives have also help 84% of surveyed viewers, making them feel they’re right on the pitch.

Of course, Lenovo AI has introduced Referee View throughout the World Cup. This AI-powered technology gives viewers a first-person POV of the match from a referee’s perspective.

Lenovo Referee View has been featured on an average of three times per match across the tournament in over 220 countries and territories worldwide, according to preliminary FIFA data.

Through a lightweight camera mounted on the match official, the technology gives a first-person POV of the match.

And while raw footage is fast-moving and sometimes unstable, Lenovo’s AI-powered video analytics platform automatically transforms the clips into smooth, broadcast-quality video in real-time.

Other findings from Lenovo’s research include:

  • 76% of viewers have seen or heard about Referee View
  • 91% say the close-to-action Referee View POV is appealing
  • 88% say smooth and stable footage is an important part of viewing sports footage
  • 98% say clear picture quality has been important when watching the FIFA World Cup 2026
  • 91% are interested in seeing more technology that creates immersive or close-to-action sports experiences
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Netflix suddenly resurrects 30-day free trials

It’s available only in some countries.

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July 13, 2026

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Over the weekend, a report emerged about Disney+ allegedly considering a new tier offered to users for absolutely free. Apparently, Disney isn’t the only one. Netflix is now resurrecting its free trial program in select countries.

Back in the day, it was easy to get into Netflix. With a 30-day free trial, you can watch the shows you’ve always wanted to catch. If you liked what you saw, you can pay the monthly fee to access the entire library without constraints. Eventually, the platform got rid of this system to favor a cheaper ad-supported tier.

Perhaps not seeing the benefits of ad-supported tiers, Netflix has suddenly resurrected its free trial program. Spotted online (via Android Authority), some countries, including Brazil and India, are experimenting with the program again. New users can get 30 days of free Netflix access.

Because only regular users are spotting this (rather than an official announcement), we don’t have a list of where the free trials are available.

Still, it’s an interesting move. Cable isn’t a thing anymore so “cutting the cable” isn’t a popular phrase anymore, but people are definitely cancelling subscriptions over rising prices. Some even rely on short clips from YouTube to catch up with their shows. Having a free trial opens up more possibilities for users, but it remains to be seen whether it’s enough for users to return to Netflix.

SEE ALSO: Netflix expands its cheaper ad-supported tier to Southeast Asia

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Disney+ might get a free tier

What would you like to see in a free Disney+ tier?

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July 13, 2026

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In a world disappointingly obsessed with increasing prices beyond our means, Disney+ has miraculously remembered the phrase, “free sample.” According to a report, the streaming platform is considering making a free subscription tier.

As of late, it’s been difficult to maintain a healthy collection of streaming services. When you have to pay the equivalent of a full-course meal every month for just a single platform, you start to evaluate which ones really matter.

Perhaps feeling the sting of users leaving the platform over pricing, Disney+ is reportedly experimenting with a tier that comes at no cost to users (via Business Insider). According to two sources, adding such a tier might help the platform reach customers more.

Now, it’s still a mystery how this tier might work. Disney+ already offers an ad-supported tier, so it’s unlikely to be another one like that.

One possibility is a heavily curated feed of content either designed specifically for free users or limited exactly to give users a free sample. For the latter, think of the limited content you get on a plane. Sure, you might get the first three episodes of The Mandalorian, but you’ll have to fork over cash if you want to see the rest of the story.

And for the former, you can imagine short-form content available for free. Going back to Star Wars, you might see a short anthology series like Star Wars: Visions.

Either way, it’s an interesting concept. If the tier does offer full content, it’s a great way to get into franchises you were thinking of trying without the need to spend for a taste.

SEE ALSO: X-Men ’97 returns to Disney+ for second season

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