Apple

I can't say for sure - because nobody knows for sure - but I'm calling it right now: Hot Wheels ID just stole Christmas. Using a bit of the magic summoned by the Apple x Anki Overdrive remote control car toy collaboration and some established-brand PR power - plus some features over which kids will likely flip their lid - Hot Wheels ID just struck gold. Again, I'm just making some informed guesses here - but take a look and see what you think.

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It seems that square camera bumps are in. At least if you ask Apple and Google. Although Huawei can perhaps be credited/blameed for starting that trend but few probably expected the two biggest tech companies to follow. And even fewer probably expected both Apple and even Google would put the unusual design on the corner. And yet that is exactly what will happen in a few months though Apple is believed to use some magic to make those two to three cameras nearly invisible. Unfortunately, case makers will put the focus back on them instead.

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Apple's potent new Mac Pro isn't even on shelves yet, but the company can't help tease us with updates for some of the apps that'll make most use of the speedy workstation. Logic Pro X is among the first to get a preemptive Mac Pro update, as Apple sets out some of the ways software can be optimized to make the most of the new hardware.

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This week the folks at the Eurasian Economic Commission database posted several new Mac models previously undisclosed to the public. These model numbers might not necessarily mean a whole lot to the lay person on their own, but in the context of previous Apple hardware, they're telling. In the mix were all of the following: A2141, A2147, A2158, A2159, A2179, A2182, and A2251.

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For the past several days, the Google Pixel 4 seemed to leak one tiny detail every few hours. The earliest major leak seemed to be a set of 3D renders of the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, in part of their glory (not all their glory, as the design details didn't seem complete). That leak looked really, really familiar - especially when compared to the also-leaked hardware designs of what's assumed to be the iPhone 11. With neither phone acknowledged as existing, who was the copycat?

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The three big tech companies, namely Google, Apple, and Microsoft, can best be described as being best frenemies. They are rivals and critics in the industry but also can't but help cooperate with each other to some extent. Usually that involves making services and apps available on the others' platforms even if they're dying to keep them exclusive. The latest proof of that unavoidable cooperation is the all new iCloud app for Windows that has just became available on Microsoft's app Store.

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With the announcement of iPadOS, one of the biggest question that repeatedly comes up is whether the iPad, specifically the iPad Pro, is finally ready to be that new computer thing that Apple has been advertising. Better yet, is it finally ready to become the primary computer for most people? The answer, as you might have guessed, is a "yes, but". More than that answer to that, however, what the combination of the iPad Pro and the new iPadOS has done is give people fewer reasons to bear with Windows and Android and more reasons to get hooked and locked into Apple's entire ecosystem.

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Google is doing some good for the world with a system called "SOS alerts" - in Google Maps and Google Search, primarily. With this system, they're making an effort to warn drivers about potential hazards on the road and nearby - in real time. This system will be live in Google Maps quite soon - and redirection will be here later this summer.

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Apple is reportedly in talks to buy Drive.ai, a self-driving car service, as it continues to shuffle its Project Titan automotive division. The startup developed its own autonomous van, and has been operating a pilot shuttle service in Arlington, Texas since the summer of 2018.

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Apple is turning privacy from a marketing thrust to a service it "sells" to its customers. Although it denies taking shots at anyone, its stronger stance on privacy, not to mention the new features it announced at WWDC this week, clearly distances itself from the likes of Facebook and Google. It doesn't come without a price, though it might not immediately be evident. Like the new "Find My" location tracking that is promised to be better and more secure but will require you to have two Apple devices under your name.

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Here's something that might ease the ongoing tensions between Apple and Spotify: when it arrives, iOS 13 will apparently open up SiriKit, allowing Apple's AI assistant to work with third-party music and podcast apps. In other words, the days of Siri shooting down requests to play music through Spotify might soon be over. That's assuming, of course, that this functionality makes it into the final version iOS 13 that ships to customers later this year.

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At its WWDC 2019 keynote, Apple made the somewhat surprising revelation of iPadOS along with some features that iOS users have been clamoring for for years. That included mouse support, external USB storage, and, for some, home screen widgets. The latter is something probably few expected will happen but Apple seems to have a lot of surprises in store. Including the almost ironic but unannounced death of macOS' Dashboard feature.

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