Gadgetory

Apple is changing its attitude on apps I'm Bridget Carey and this is your CNET update Apple dropped a ton of software news on Monday at its annual Developers Conference and in the last update show I gave you a quick rundown of the big changes to the operating systems on mobile and Mac computers but there were several tiny changes that could make a big impact Apple is loosening its grip of controlling what apps can do and the developers now can tinker more with the iPhone experience they can make new styles of on-screen keyboards which was off limits before future apps will be able to use the fingerprint scanner on the home button so you can bet some apps will use it for mobile payments or added banking security and speaking of payments Apple is reversing its stance on Bitcoin it updated its guidelines for apps to be able to use approved virtual currencies so maybe we'll see a Bitcoin payment app again on the iPhone the notification pull down menu will have interactive alerts and widgets for example you could increase your bid on eBay from the notifications bar instead of going into the app you can download extensions to the Safari web browser so apps like Pinterest can make it easy to share from a website now this increased programming freedom is starting to sound a little like Android isn't it but there is a price for this freedom Apple also rolled out changes that could make you feel locked into their world if Apple makes it annoying to jump to another system like Android then you'll be encouraged to keep buying all Apple products messaging photos and iCloud drive are the key to keep you in Apple's universe if apps on an iPhone talk easily to the Mac well then you won't want to mix and match Apple with Windows or Android now Apple wants to hook you in with more photo editing tools but Google is still putting up a good fight Google updated the Google Plus app on iOS with new photo sharing and photo editing tools the changes rolled out to Android last month but they're now on the iPhone and iPad also in mobile there has been lots of attention on wearable computers like smartwatches and many new Android model we'll be coming out this year we're still waiting to see what Apple is working on but one company has an idea where you can smarten up your existing watch whenever you want to the product is called glance and it's a Bluetooth accessory that slips onto the band of your watch the screen can alert you to messages or calls it uses motion sensors for fitness tracking and you can even use it as a clickable air mouse remote using your hand gestures it's not the most stylish gadget but it is different a $70 pledge on Kickstarter can get you one that's your tech news update you can always head to cnet.com for more from our studios in New York I'm Bridget Carey