SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Latest on Apple (all times local):
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10:55 a.m.
Apple's virtual assistant, Siri, is coming to desktop and laptop computers. The digital assistant, first introduced on Apple's iPhones in 2011, will now be available in Apple's operating system for Macs.
That follows a trend in which Microsoft and Google have built similar voice services to their operating systems for computers. Microsoft added its digital assistant, Cortana, to the Windows 10 operating system released last year. It's activated when users say "Hey Cortana."
Google also offers voice commands in its Chrome operating system. It added the ability to respond to a spoken "OK Google" in 2014, but removed that feature a year later, saying not many people used it. Chrome users can still click on a microphone icon to activate voice commands.
Apple's new Mac system will be called macOS Sierra and will likely come out this fall.
Other updates include features that will allow users to moves more seamlessly between different kinds of Apple devices. It will help people move more files to the Internet and have let users log in without a password.
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10:50 a.m.
Apple is making it easier to use its Apple TV set-top box as the new hub of a digital home.
The new version of the tvOS system will enable you to sign in once to access multiple apps from various TV network providers. It's also adding services like Dish's Sling TV and Fox Sports Go.
There's also better integration with the Siri voice assistant. You can launch live TV viewing with voice command and search YouTube and the iTunes store for videos using Siri.
The company also enabled Apple TV to interact with photos stored in Apple's online locker, iCloud, and interact with smart home devices such as thermostats that use the company's HomeKit platform.
The announcements are part of a string of updates announced at the company's annual developers' conference in San Francisco.
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10:35 a.m.
Apple will bring fitness tracking to wheelchair users in an upcoming Apple Watch update.
Among other things, it will prompt users to wheel themselves about — an equivalent to standing breaks. The efforts may boost the image of Apple's smartwatch over stand-alone fitness trackers, though the target market isn't huge.
Apple partnered with two disability-fitness groups to help adapt distance and calorie formulas for wheelchairs.
The next version of Apple's software for watches will also include an "SOS" feature that will automatically call for help in emergencies. It will have the ability to share exercise activities with other people to help motivate each other.
Apple also has retooled the software, to be released for free in September, so apps on the watch launch more quickly.
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10:15 a.m.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is opening the company's annual software conference by acknowledging Sunday's mass shooting in Orlando, Florida.
Cook says Apple is offering its "deepest sympathies to everyone whose lives were touched by this violence." He calls the shooting a "senseless, unconscionable act of terrorism and hate aimed at dividing and destroying."
He notes that Apple makes a point of celebrating its diversity and asked the crowd to rise and take part in a moment of silence.
The weeklong Apple Worldwide Developers Conference opens Monday.
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9:20 a.m.
Apple's wisecracking digital assistant Siri could have a big role as the company's annual software conference opens in San Francisco.
As voice technology has improved, people are getting more comfortable with services like Siri and the service Google calls "assistant" to interact with online services for entertainment, shopping and the like.
A report by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins says nearly two-thirds of U.S. smartphone owners used a voice assistant last year — more than double the rate in 2013.
Even so, many people are still reluctant to use voice-enabled services in public settings, like the office or the street. That makes the home an important battleground.
The weeklong Apple Worldwide Developers Conference opens with a keynote Monday.
