Microsoft’s annual Build developer conference is where the company discusses what’s ahead for its cloud and consumer services, including Azure, Windows 10, Office 365, and Cortana. CEO Satya Nadella kicked off the 2019 conference with a keynote that touched on Microsoft’s revamped Chromium-powered Edge web browser, an augmented reality Minecraft game for mobile, and more.
Android Auto is getting a little refresh, as Google announced a new version of its smartphone-powered infotainment system ahead of the company’s I/O developer conference this week. Due out this summer, it’s supposed to be more intuitive, actionable, and should require fewer taps to get things done — and it’s also going to sport a new default dark mode theme.
The highlight of the Android Auto design refresh is a new, more dynamic persistent navigation bar at the bottom of the user interface. Instead of just static white buttons on a black background, the new version allows some apps to essentially take over a section of the navigation bar, allowing for more granular control without requiring the driver to switch to the full app in question.
For example, if you’re using Google Maps to navigate to a destination, but don’t have the full app open on the screen, the new navigation bar will show the next step in the turn-by-turn directions. Or if you have the full map view open, but there’s music playing in the background, the navigation bar will surface play / pause / skip controls for apps like Spotify. (Google says “all media apps” will be able to take advantage of this out of the gate as long as they’re already approved for Android Auto.)
The newer navigation bar also features one-tap access to Google Assistant, and it moves the home button all the way to the left (instead of in the middle) so it’s a little less of a reach. Notifications in the notification center now have more available actions, and the app launcher’s design has been tidied up as well.
The point of this refresh, according to Android Auto product manager Rod Lopez, is to “help you get on the road faster, show more useful information at a glance and simplify common tasks while driving.” So in addition to the design changes noted above, Google says the updated Android Auto can now automatically continue to play media and will also open up “your navigation app of choice” as soon as you plug your phone into the car.
Microsoft is unveiling a number of new features for its upcoming Edge Chromium browser today. The first big addition is a new “IE Mode” for Edge that will allow businesses to load old sites directly in the new Edge Chromium browser, using the Internet Explorer rendering engine. Microsoft is building IE directly into Edge for this purpose, so businesses aren’t forced to directly use IE for ancient internal sites.
“What we’re going to do is make this totally seamless,” explains Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore, in an interview with The Verge. Currently, the existing version of Edge will open Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10, which has a separate interface, favorites, and doesn’t work well on modern websites. This new IE mode literally loads the content within Edge, so you’d never be able to tell the difference, apart from a small IE logo on the tab that indicates that this mode has been enabled.
This new IE mode is designed exclusively for businesses, and Belfiore admits it’s a big pitch to get them to use Edge Chromium instead of a combination of Chrome and Internet Explorer. “We’ve got a browser for you that updates regularly that will go on Windows 7 and the Mac that handles things like IT customization of the New Tab page and Microsoft Search, and IE built-in,” says Belfiore.
Microsoft is also allowing businesses to customize the New Tab page for Edge Chromium. This will involve a custom company logo, the option to load some sites into the top tabs, and integration with Microsoft Search and Office 365.
While these features will be mainly targeted at businesses, Microsoft is also building an entirely new Collections feature for Edge Chromium. This is perhaps the most interesting feature addition to Edge so far, and it’s designed for web users to be able to more easily collect text, images, and information from the internet into a note. It goes beyond simple notes, though. Microsoft is linking the images you drag and drop into these collections, and even text into references back to the original websites where you found them.
You’ll then be able to share this with friends or family via email or instantly export it to Word or Excel. This seems super useful if you’re collecting information about a big purchase, as you’ll be able to export to a list in Excel that can be sorted by price. If you’re a teacher or student collecting information from the web, then these collections will all have citations. It’s even useful if you’re just researching vacation locations and you want to easily share your collection of information.
Microsoft is also focusing on privacy enhancements to Edge, specifically on blocking web trackers that follow you on the web. Microsoft has been on a privacy mission in recent years, and it’s something CEO Satya Nadella constantly talks about focusing on. “We’re going to give you, the user, control over your privacy and try to explain in a way that’s clear,” explains Belfiore.
Microsoft is planning to create a single privacy page in Edge that will allow users to choose from three different levels: unrestricted, balanced, and strict. All three are designed to block malicious trackers on the web, but the level of ad tracking will vary a lot across each mode. Unrestricted is designed to allow trackers from all sites, with personalized ads. Balanced mode, which should be the default, blocks trackers from sites you haven’t visited yet, meaning you’ll see fewer ads based on sites you’ve visited. The most aggressive tracking prevention will be found under the strict control, which blocks all trackers, meaning you won’t see ads tracking you around the web at all.
The strict mode is aggressive, which does mean some websites might break because of these trackers being blocked. Microsoft’s implementation is “specific to ad trackers” and not designed to block all ad content, explains Belfiore. That means that it’s similar to third-party extensions like Ghostery, but it won’t block all of the ad elements you see on a page.
Microsoft is even adding strict tracking prevention to its incognito mode, so it’s clear that if you use that mode, then nothing will be tracked. The software giant still hasn’t figured out all of the exact details on its tracking prevention. “We have some initial ideas that we think are pretty good,” admits Belfiore. “We like this general approach, but there’s a lot of detail.”
It’s not clear when all of these new Edge features will be available, but Microsoft is announcing them today as work has begun on all of these new features, and parts of them could show up in Chromium commits and trigger questions for the company. If you’re testing Edge Canary, then you’ll be among the first to try out any of these new features, even if Microsoft hides them behind a settings flag.
Google’s Chrome browser is set to offer a dashboard-like function that will give users more information about what cookies are tracking them.
Photo:
Ng Han Guan/Associated Press
Google is set to launch new tools to limit the use of tracking cookies, a move that could strengthen the search giant’s advertising dominance and deal a blow to other digital-marketing companies, according to people familiar with the matter.
After years of internal debate, Google could as soon as this week roll out a dashboard-like function in its Chrome browser that will give internet users more information about what cookies are tracking them and offer options to fend them off, the people said.
This is a more incremental approach than less-popular browsers, such as
Apple Inc.’s
Safari and Mozilla Corp.’s Firefox, which introduced updates to restrict by default the majority of tracking cookies in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
Google’s move, which could be announced at its developer conference in Mountain View, Calif., starting Tuesday, is expected to be touted as part of the company’s commitment to privacy—a complicated sell, given the torrent of data it continues to store on users—and press its sizable advantage over online-advertising rivals.
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The unit of
Alphabet Inc.
GOOGL -0.02%
is the world’s largest digital ad seller. The coming changes aren’t expected to significantly curtail Google’s ability to collect data.
A cookie is a small text file stored in an internet browser that lets companies silently follow users around the internet, gathering information such as which sites they have visited and what ads they have viewed or clicked. Initially developed in 1994 to help e-commerce sites remember when a user had placed an item in a shopping cart, cookies have since become ubiquitous across the web—and reviled by privacy advocates and many users.
Yet cookies also boost competition in the advertising landscape by allowing hundreds of digital firms—large and small—to collect their own user data and sell higher-priced ads based on it. Any restriction on them is a boon to the biggest tech companies, including Google, which can target ads based on the slew of other information it collects on users through its many products.
Google, like its browser rivals, isn’t planning to end the use of cookies that websites use to make their own users’ experience smoother, such as those that store login information so users don’t have to enter it every time. Instead, it is mostly targeting cookies installed by profit-seeking third parties, separate from the owner of the website a user is actively visiting.
If the new Google tools prompt users to broadly reject tracking cookies, some people in the industry think it could mean the long-predicted demise of a technology that is both widely criticized and used.
“It really strikes at the Achilles’ heel of the ad tech ecosystem,” said Ratko Vidakovic, a Toronto-based consultant in the digital ad industry.
Google has been working on the cookies plan for its Chrome browser—which commands almost two-thirds of the desktop-browser market share—for at least six years, in stops and starts. Work accelerated in the past year, after the personal data of tens of millions of
Facebook
users was improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, a data firm that worked on President Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Google handles 90% of the world's internet searches, and it increasingly is promoting a single answer for many questions. Even subjective or unanswerable queries sometimes get seemingly definitive answers. Here's how the algorithms are -- and aren't -- working. Video/Photo Illustration: Heather Seidel/The Wall Street Journal
The delay by Google was partly due to the technological complexity of the project. Google had considered creating a so-called browser identifier—linked to everything a user does, which advertisers could see—that could be easily toggled on or off by users. However, they trashed the plan because it required changing millions of lines of codes and potentially renegotiating thousands of outside agreements, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The importance of cookies has been waning as users move their web activity to smartphones, as they only work within browsers and cannot be used within apps.
Google in recent months invited advertising executives to its offices in Mountain View and New York to sound them out on the shift—on the condition they sign nondisclosure agreements. People who attended the meetings said the company was tight-lipped on the details of its cookies project, instead floating hypothetical scenarios and asking for opinions.
The changes could be damaging to Google competitors that use cookies or resell data collected via cookies to companies hoping to better target ads. Shares in one such company, Paris-based
Criteo SA,
which helps sites tag cookies on their visitors, are down 27% since Adweek reported in late March that Google was considering new restrictions.
Criteo’s chief executive during its recent quarterly earnings call flagged risks due to coming restrictions on cookies, and said the company was working to become less reliant on cookies.
Apple traditionally shows off updates to its iOS, Mac, and smartwatch software at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). This year’s conference begins on June 3rd, and according to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company has a lot planned.
Gurman is a reliable source for this sort of Apple news, and he suggests that the company will be announcing new apps and updated software across all of its major platforms. The updates seem mostly commonsense and minor, but if there’s an overarching theme it’s that Apple wants to make sure its homegrown apps are viable options.
The company seems like it’s lavishing particular attention on areas where third-party apps are stronger than Apple’s own (e.g., to-do lists and navigation).
Some of the biggest news includes an official dark mode in iOS, revamped mobile Health and Reminders apps, and an updated version of Maps that will better compete with rivals like Google Maps. In watchOS, Apple is adding direct support for the App Store, meaning Apple Watch owners will be able to install new apps without using their phones. In macOS, the company will announce the first crop of iPad apps that run on Macs. Oh, and the HomePod should get a multiuser mode, with different responses to different users.
Check out the highlights of Gurman’s report below, but visit the original story if you want all of the nitty-gritty details.
New in iOS 13:
An official Dark Mode will be enabled from the Control Center. iOS users have previously had to use color inversion to achieve a sort of dark mode.
There’s a revamped Health app, with a new homepage for daily activity, a “hearing health” feature, and “more comprehensive menstrual cycle tracking.”
The updated Reminders app has a new main screen with four default options: tasks to be done today, scheduled tasks, flagged tasks, and all tasks. Gurman says the update “better competes with the several to-do list programs available on the App Store.”
The updated Maps app has easier options for setting frequent locations, creating groups of favorite locations, and navigating to suggested and past destinations.
The addition of profile pictures and display names in iMessages includes a dedicated menu for sending sticker versions of Animoji and Memoji.
Find My Friends and Find My iPhone will be combined into a single app. Previously rumored by 9to5Mac, it also suggested that Apple was working on a physical tag similar to Tile that would let users track the location of any devices — not just Apple phones and computers.
Native support to use an iPad as a secondary Mac screen will be introduced, which is similar to the functionality offered by third-party apps like Luna and Duet Display. This was also previously rumored by 9to5Mac.
There’s a selection of iPad-specific updates, including a better interface for multitasking and an updated home screen.
New in watchOS 6:
App Store access on-device means you’ll be able to update and install new apps without using the Watch companion app on the iPhone.
Transplanted apps from iOS include Voice Memos, Apple Books (for audiobooks), and the Calculator app.
New apps including Dose for pill reminders and Cycles for tracking menstrual cycles will be introduced.
New Complications (including ones for showing the battery life of hearing aids, rainfall data, and external noise) and new watchfaces (including one with extra-large numbers) will arrive.
New in macOS 10.15:
iPad apps on the Mac was previously rumored by Bloomberg. It reported that Apple will allow developers to create (essentially) a single app that runs on iPhones, iPads, and Macs. This process will need some work from developers, though, who will also have to submit multiple versions of the app to the iOS and Mac App Stores. Gurman says the feature will be expanded to iPhone apps “by next year.” Apple has already made iOS apps available on the Mac itself, including News and Stocks with macOS Mojave.
Apple iPad apps that will be initially available on the Mac include the Podcasts app and newly merged Find My iPhone / Find My Friends app. Apple’s Screen Time, Siri Shortcuts, and updated Reminders app will also be available on the Mac.
Less than a month ahead of Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has outlined his expectations for iOS 13, macOS 10.15, watchOS 6, and more, which we've summarized below.
A new systemwide Sleep Mode that can be toggled in Control Center to turn on Do Not Disturb, darken the Lock Screen, and mute all notifications. This is said to be tied to improvements to the Bedtime tab in the Clocks app.
A revamped Messages app with a WhatsApp-like feature that enables users to set a profile picture and display name, and choose who sees it, and a dedicated menu for Animoji and Memoji stickers
A revamped Maps app will make it easier to set frequent locations, like home or work addresses, and then navigate there. Improved grouping of frequent locations with ability to add photos.
A revamped Reminders app with four default sections laid out in a grid: tasks to be done today, all tasks, scheduled tasks, and flagged tasks
A revamped Books app with updated progress tracker and new rewards system
A revamped Health app with an improved view of daily activity, more comprehensive menstrual cycle tracking, and more
A revamped Mail app with ability to mute individual threads, block incoming email from certain contacts, and simpler folder management
New default swipe-based keyboard option like SwiftKey
New feature that will let users use their iPad as an external display for a Mac, complete with support for Apple Pencil, notifications, and more, as previously reported by 9to5Mac
A combined Find My iPhone and Find My Friends app, and possibly a Tile-like tag for tracking devices, as previously reported by 9to5Mac
User interface tweaks, including a new animation when launching the multitasking pane and closing apps and tweaks to the home screen on iPad
iPad is getting some unique features, including an updated interface for multi-tasking, tweaks to the home screen, and the ability to cycle through different versions of the same app
A more comprehensive Accessibility menu on the main page of the Settings app with improved hearing aid support and more
Performance improvements and bug fixes
macOS 10.15
Marzipan: iPhone and iPad apps can be easily ported to the Mac with new SDK that simplifies the cross-platform development process. This is said to be the first step in a plan to merge iPhone, iPad, and Mac apps into a single package that can run on any of those devices by 2021.
Apple Music, Podcasts, and merged Find My iPhone and Find My Friends apps
"Dose" and "Cycles" apps for pill reminders and menstrual cycle tracking respectively
Animoji and Memoji sticker support in sync with iPhone
New watch faces, including one with a custom "gradient" design and at least two "X-Large" versions with very large font; new complications for audiobooks, battery life of hearing aids, and more
Apple is also said to be planning to let the HomePod respond to multiple users in a future software update tied to iOS 13.
As usual, Gurman notes that some of Apple's plans could change between now and WWDC, so some features may end up being slightly different than described, kept internal, or axed entirely.
Looking ahead, Apple is said to be already working on iOS 14 with support for 5G and new AR functionality on 2020 iPhones.
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