HBO Max is working on a new 10-episode series based on popular relaxation and sleep tool Calm. Building on the app’s Sleep Stories, each episode A World of Calm will be about 30-minutes long and will feature “scientifically-engineered” narratives complemented by soothing music and footage. The show will also include a star-studded cast of narrators, with Mahershala Ali, Idris Elba, Oscar Isaac, Nicole Kidman, Zoë Kravitz, Lucy Liu, Cillian Murphy and Keanu Reeves set to lend their voices to the project. 

Calm collaborated with production company Nutopia to create the series. HBO Max-owner WarnerMedia hopes the show will help viewers relax and unwind after a stressful day. The company didn’t say when subscribers will be able to watch A World of Calm. In the meantime, if you own a recent Samsung smart TV, you can access the Calm app from there. 

You now have more reasons to wear your Fitbit Charge 4 around the clock. The 9to5Google team reports (via The Verge) that a Charge 4 update has introduced two major features to improve your sleep habits and encourage more exercise. Smart Wake sets alarms based on when you’re likely to feel rested, rather than a set time. So long as you have that leeway, it could help you start your days on the right footing.

The other tentpole addition, Dynamic GPS, switches to your phone’s positioning when nearby to improve battery life. You won’t have to worry about your activity tracker running out of power just because you tracked your latest bike ride. Given that the Charge 4 can’t use its own GPS for more than five hours on a charge, this could get you through more workouts before plugging in.

Apple ditches Intel for its own ARM-based chips

One of its biggest announcements today, Apple confirmed long-standing reports that it’s moving away from Intel processors. Instead, Apple will use its own ARM-based, A-series chips to power MacBooks and Macs. 

Apple’s silicon project is all about creating powerful, energy-efficient processors, which should mean improved battery life for MacBooks. iPad and iPhone apps will run natively on ARM-powered Macs, so all iOS apps will run on macOS, as long as the latter uses Apple’s own silicon-based hardware.

Apple

Apple plans to ship the first silicon systems later this year, but it will take about two years to fully make the migration. Apple says it will continue to support Macs with Intel processors for years to come.

macOS Big Sur

Apple’s next version of macOS is called Big Sur. According to Apple, the design changes are the biggest upgrade since the introduction of Mac OS X. (We’ve heard that line from Apple before).

Apple

There’s a customizable Start page, with a refined app dock and Finder. The Menu bar is translucent, and you can get one-click access to Do Not Disturb by dragging it into the Menu bar. Once again, the Mail app has colors in its navigation interface. Photos will feature an updated sidebar, and thanks to Metal, animations in the Photos gallery should appear quickly. The Notification Center, Messages and Maps are also getting updates. 

Apple promises Safari will be faster and more private. The browser will offer Privacy Reports, improved tabs and built-in translation in seven languages (Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Russian, English and Brazilian Portugese) for now.

iOS 14 Widgets

iOS 14 is finally adding widgets to the home screen. Widgets will still originate on the left of the home screen, but from there you can drag and drop them as you please. The redesigned widgets are available in multiple sizes, and a new “smart stack” lets you put multiple widgets in one, swipeable space.

Apple

To further organize your screen, Apple is launching a new App Library, which will automatically group apps into categories and let you find apps via a search bar. And Apple will let users change their default email app and web browser.

Siri is getting a few tweaks too. The voice assistant will no longer take over your whole screen. Responses will appear more like small notifications. 

Other iOS 14 changes include a picture-in-picture feature for apps, revamped Messages (with a heavy focus on group conversations) and a new Translate app that uses on-device machine learning and enables more dynamic conversations. 

watchOS 7

The new watchOS will let you configure your own watch faces, which you can then swap with friends. That should be as easy as sending a text. You’ll be able to download custom watch faces from apps and the web, too.

Apple

watchOS 7 is finally getting sleep tracking with built-in features that help you establish good sleep habits like going to bed at a reasonable time. Apple has renamed the watchOS Activity app Fitness, and it’s adding workouts like dancing, core, functional strength and cool downs.

On both iOS 14 and watchOS 7, Maps will now feature cycling-specific directions, and in light of the pandemic, Apple has added hand washing detection, which will countdown while you scrub. 

iPadOS 14 and Scribble

Apple iPadOS may be fairly new, but it’s not too soon for upgrades. Today, Apple shared plans for iPadOS 14, which will have an app library and widgets on the home screen (similar to the changes coming to iOS 14).

Apple

One of the biggest changes is Scribble, an Apple Pencil function that will let you handwrite into any text field and automatically convert your writing into text. Scribble can recognize English and Chinese written in the same field, and it can distinguish hand-written addresses and phone numbers.

Other changes include a new side-bar navigation and the ability to start typing in the search bar and access apps, documents or web results instantly. Siri results will appear in the bottom right of the screen, and incoming calls will appear as minimized notifications rather than taking over the whole screen.

AirPods Pro Spatial Audio

Across the board, AirPods will now automatically switch between Apple devices, so you won’t have to tap through the Bluetooth menu to, say, flip from listening to a podcast on your phone to watching TV. This change applies to Mac too, and if you’re on your iPad or Mac and you get a call, AirPods will jump back to your phone.

Billy Steele/Engadget

AirPods Pro are getting an additional upgrade. The premium earbuds will offer spatial audio powered by Apple’s custom algorithms. The goal is to create a surround-sound like effect like you’d find in a theater. 

The accelerometer inside the AirPods Pro will track your head movement so the audio stays fixed even as you move. The tech takes advantage of directional audio filters and subtle frequency adjustments. According to Apple, these features will support 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos when it arrives later this year.

Privacy and “Nutrition Labels”

As part of its pledge to improve privacy, Apple will soon show “nutrition labels” that pull key details from privacy policies. Those should give you a better sense of what you’re sharing without having to read all of the fine print.

Apple

Additionally, instead of sharing your precise location, you can opt to share a rough, less specific location with an app. New mic and camera indications in the status bar will show you exactly when those are being used. And Apple is adding permissions for tracking across apps and websites, so your activity can remain a bit more private.

Apple TV Updates

Apple is attempting to make gaming more appealing on Apple TV. It’s expanding multi-user support and adding support for Xbox Elite and Xbox Adaptive Controllers. 

tvOS 14 is getting picture-in-picture mode, so you’ll be able to do things like watch the news or a sporting event while you workout. You’ll also be able to use picture-in-picture with AirPlay.

Apple

Apple TV+ is coming to Sony and Vizio smart TVs later this summer, and on the entertainment side, Apple revealed its first trailer for Foundation, the highly-anticipated sci-fi series based on Issac Asimov’s iconic books of the same name. The series is coming to Apple TV+ in 2021, a bit later than intended because the show-runners had to pause production due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Clips

Another handy software update Apple introduced today is Clips. The feature will let you download a portion of an app, rather than the entire program. Users will scan a QR code to download the specific function they need. This should speed up interactions like renting an e-scooter or ordering food to-go.

Apple

CarKey 

CarKey, a feature that uses NFC technology to unlock and start your vehicle, is finally going to arrive with iOS 14 (it will also work with iOS 13). The first vehicle to get CarKey support will be the BMW 5 Series, which comes out in July.

CarKey pairs a vehicle to an iPhone or Apple Watch, and allows users to share their key digitally with family and friends. The whole system operates via Apple Wallet. Tap your phone against the door handle or outside NFC reader to unlock the vehicle, then place your phone on the Qi wireless charger, press the ignition button, and you’re off.

Apple

There’s no question that losing your job is incredibly stressful, and since the COVID-19 pandemic began, millions of people in the US have been laid off or furloughed. In an attempt to ease some of the stress that causes, the mindfulness app Headspace is offering a free one-year subscription to anyone in the US who is now unemployed.

Anyone who qualifies can register at Headspace.com/unemployed. Headspace asks for the name of your most recent employer and your last date of employment, but it’s unclear if they do any cross checking or if this is an honor system. Once you sign up, you’ll get access to over 1,200 hours of meditation and mindfulness content, including sleep aids, kids content and mindful movement. 

Currently, a single iPhone can be paired to multiple Apple Watches, but only one can be used at a time. Plus, any Watch paired to the iPhone has to use the same Apple account. This is fine for a single person that has several Apple Watches, but it doesn’t work well for families — kids may not have an iPhone to pair their Apple Watch to, which is required for setting up and taking full advantage of the device. The new feature discovered by 9to5Mac will allow parents to set up a child’s Apple Watch, as well as set trusted contacts. Additionally, a new “Schooltime” setting will allow parents to limit the Apple Watches’ features during certain hours. For example, a parent could turn off texting apps while the child is in school.

Despite having been working on sleep tracking integration for years, Apple Watch users still don’t have a first-party way to measure their sleep health. That might finally change with watchOS 7, though. The same leaks obtained by 9to5Mac show the ability for users to set sleep goals on their iPhone, indicating that the Apple Watch would keep tracking sleeping patterns. Current Apple Watch models shouldn’t have a problem detecting when a user goes to bed, if they wake up during the night and when they wake up. But whether or not they can differentiate between REM and non-REM sleep remains to be seen.

These new features would hit Apple Series 6 and watchOS 7. It’s not clear whether or not they’ll need the new hardware presumably found in the next generation of the Apple Watch to function or if they’ll be available to current users. It would make sense if additional sensors were needed for detecting blood oxygen levels and certain aspects of sleep, but hopefully the parental controls simply come with a firmware update. We may have to wait a while to find out — new models of the Apple Watch usually aren’t announced until the late summer or early fall.

After selecting your music or an ambient sound, tap the three dots in the upper right corner and scroll down to “Sleep Timer” and select the timer length. If you don’t have any go-to playlists for falling asleep, Spotify’s Sleep Hub has plenty of suggestions to help you clear your mind and pass out.

While no one on the Engadget team has been able to access the feature, Spotify says Sleep Timer will roll out globally today.

The features should start reaching American users this week. This kind of control isn’t unique in the smart light world — the Hue app has had features like this for a while. It’s relatively uncommon for voice assistants, though, and it’s much simpler (if not as advanced) to speak a command when you’re going to sleep.

The company quickly sold out of a trial batch of Sleepbuds it offered through an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign in 2017. It formally put the earbuds on sale in the US and Canada in June last year. However, Bose said customers complained their Sleepbuds wouldn’t fully charge, power down completely or suffered from both issues.

It expected that software and firmware updates would fix the problems, but the battery struggles persisted. “That led us to look more closely at each piece of hardware,” general manager John Roselli wrote. “And we learned that while the battery we chose functions safely, it doesn’t work as consistently or predictably as it should to meet our standards.”

While it’s discontinuing Sleepbuds for now, Bose says it’s still committed to making its vision for them a reality. As such, it’s going back to the drawing board. There’s no timeline as yet on when you can expect to see a new version of the Sleepbuds.

Here’s Bose’s email in full:

To our noise-masking sleepbuds customers,

In June of 2018, after a successful test with thousands of Indiegogo backers, we launched our noise-masking sleepbuds. Our vision was bold, and we never wavered on what we were trying to accomplish, and why. We wanted to do something for the millions of people who struggled to fall asleep, and stay asleep.

We knew our solution was so technically complex, we’d have to make major investments, source special components, and engineer multiple breakthroughs. We knew we were attempting to do something that had never been done before. But there was no doubt in our minds — it would be worth it. Because we wanted to help you. We still do. We always will. And for many of you, we have. You’ve told us that sleepbuds have allowed you to get your first good night’s rest in years, and that you can’t imagine ending the day without them.

But some of you have had a far different experience.

You’ve reported issues with your sleepbuds not charging fully, powering down unexpectedly, or both. And you’ve let us know. We’ve heard you. We’ve read your posts. We’ve documented your calls. We’ve torn down returned products you’ve sent us, and replaced them with new ones, sometimes more than once. We’ve also relentlessly researched the root cause with a team dedicated to nothing else. Based on what we knew, we believed that software and firmware updates could fix the issues. But the failures have continued, and recently, they’ve increased. That led us to look more closely at each piece of hardware. And we learned that while the battery we chose functions safely, it doesn’t work as consistently or predictably as it should to meet our standards.

For that reason, we’re discontinuing sleepbuds. We’ll go back to research, because we are committed to making our vision a reality. But today, we begin with something more important – doing whatever it takes to make things right with you.

As always, we will stand behind our products and honor our sleepbuds warranty. We’re also extending an offer to all our sleepbuds customers: You can return your product for a full refund until December 31, 2019. Please visit http://worldwide.bose.com/support/sleepbuds for more information or https://worldwide.bose.com/contact to find contact information for service agents in your region.

Finally, for more than 50 years, we’ve conducted extensive research to do things that no one ever thought possible. Each time, we did it to make your life better. When we’ve challenged convention, we haven’t always succeeded. Sometimes we’ve stumbled. Sometimes, despite our diligence, things have gone wrong. And by far, our worst days are when that’s impacted you. Nothing else comes close.

We’re sorry for disappointing you, and we’re sorry for not communicating more clearly along the way. We had good intentions, but unless that makes a difference to you, it’s not enough.

We’re ready to hear from you.

And we’re going to stay right here for as long as you need.”

The technology would rely solely on the watch’s motion, heart rate and noise detection to gauge the quality of your sleep. You wouldn’t need a Beddit sensor to fill in the gaps. This isn’t shocking (other wearables have done this), but there would be a dedicated Sleep app on the watch in addition to rest quality data in the Health app. You’d get reminders to charge your watch before you tuck in for the night, a watch-only wake-up alarm (including vibration-only if you prefer), and you could even specify a designated watch just for bedtime.

The main unknown: whether or not you’ll need new wristwear. Apple sometimes ties Watch features to new hardware and might have refresh devices on the way, but the sleep tracking as described doesn’t sound like it explicitly requires an upgrade. This doesn’t mean that anyone running watchOS 6 will get sleep tracking. It’s just that existing users might not be in a rush to upgrade.