Starting today, Meta is rolling out a new version of its "Why am I seeing this ad?" tool. The company says the redesigned interface is meant to provide users with more information about how their activities on Facebook and beyond inform the machine learning models that power its ad-matching software. If you're unfamiliar with the tool, you can access it by clicking or tapping the three dots icon next to an ad on Facebook or Instagram. Once you have access to the updated tool, you'll see a summary of the actions on Meta's platforms and other websites that may have informed the company's machine-learning models. For instance, the page may note that you're seeing an ad for a dress or suit because you interacted with style content on Facebook.

From the iPhone to the Mac, iPad, iPod and the Apple Watch, Apple excels, and continues to do so, in hardware innovation and software development. However, not much is known about Apple's plan with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it's used in Apple products, or apps in general. In its recent WWDC performance, Apple seems to have taken a quieter, yet smarter approach by adding several features and updates with machine learning at their core. The idea behind incorporating machine learning and AI into Apple products is to build amazing experiences for its consumers so they can do what they never imagined they could. Apple engineers and researchers are collaborating to integrate software and hardware across its devices and improve user experiences while protecting their data.

You'll be able to issue voice commands for Siri without having to unlock your phone when iOS 15 comes around -- so long as you have an Apple Watch. The upcoming mobile platform is now available as a beta release for developers, and according to 9to5Mac, it expands the "Unlock with Apple Watch" feature that launched with iOS 14.5. You see, the feature gives you the capability to unlock your iPhone via Face ID even while wearing a mask if a previously authenticated Watch is nearby. However, it only works on iOS 14.5 if you try to use your device and the TrueDepth camera detects a mask. You'll still need to authenticate if you just want to issue voice commands for Siri to follow.

Apple's new iPhone update finally gives people the option to unlock their phone while wearing a mask, without having to enter their passcode. But the feature will only work for those people who have an Apple Watch, since it uses the wearable to ensure that the iPhone has not been stolen. The new feature is introduced in iOS 14.5, the latest software update for iPhone and iPad. It was released alongside updates for the rest of Apple's platforms, including the operating systems for its Watch and Macs. The most significant new features come in iOS, including the introduction of new anti-tracking tools, a redesigned Podcasts app and the ability to ask Siri to play songs from apps other than Apple Music.

If you follow Apple, you're aware its latest update delivers significant privacy changes. But what else can you do in iOS 14.5? On Monday, Apple launched the latest version of the operating software that powers iPhones and iPads. The biggest change requires apps to ask your permission to track your online activity. For example, if you open up an app like Facebook, you'll see a prompt seeking permission from you to track your activity across other apps and websites.

Seven months after iOS 14 was released, Apple has today revealed that iOS 14.5 will begin rolling out the week of April 26th. At its iPad event, the company declined to offer a specific date, but its press materials said that the new software would arrive "next week." Despite being a .5 release, this is a significant software update that adds a number of features for all iOS-device users. The list of changes includes a prompt to choose how Siri sounds, the ability to unlock FaceID-capable iPhones with an Apple Watch and some big changes to how the software handles your privacy online. We know, from the various beta launches that have happened along the way, that iOS 14.5 will offer users a way of unlocking their phone while wearing a face mask.

For as long as Apple has offered Siri, the digital assistant has defaulted to a female voice in North America. With the latest iOS 14.5 beta, TechCrunch reports Apple is introducing two English-speaking voices for Siri and making it so that you can pick the voice you like best when setting up an iOS or HomePod device. "We're excited to introduce two new Siri voices for English speakers and the option for Siri users to select the voice they want when they set up their device," Apple told the publication. "This is a continuation of Apple's long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion, and products and services that are designed to better reflect the diversity of the world we live in." Apple recruited new talent for the two voices and then ran them through its Neural text to speech engine.

It turns out that Apple's iOS 14.5 update won't actually let you change your default music service that you use with Siri. Beta users had originally noticed that it appeared as if early versions of the update might allow you to change the default service that launches when you ask Siri to play a song. This meant that rather than specifying a third-party music app with each request, Siri would remember your preference and launch with the service you had originally specified. While all that still seems to be the case, TechCrunch reports that Apple has apparently "clarified" that it "doesn't consider this feature the equivalent to'setting a default.'" That's because the feature relies on "Siri intelligence," which can track your music-listening habits over time and predict which app you're more likely to want at that moment.

After years of being forced to use Apple services on the iPhone by default, those restrictions are finally easing up a bit. As noticed by MacRumors earlier today, the iOS 14.5 beta appears to let you set third-party music services as default with Siri. This means you can ask Siri to play a particular song or album and it'll go straight to Spotify or YouTube Music. Currently, Siri only searches and plays things from whatever music you have in the Apple Music app, be it your own collection of songs or the Apple Music subscription catalog. It sounds like after iOS 14.5 is installed, Siri will ask you what music service you want to use when you ask it to play a song.

The public betas of iOS and iPad OS 14.5 are out, giving eligible users their first taste of automatically unlocking their iPhone while wearing a face mask. The system, as 9to5Mac demonstrates, just needs to be activated in the settings menu, and will then let you use an unlocked Apple Watch on your wrist as the key. That way, when you're out and trying not to give anyone COVID-19, you're spared the irritation of entering your passcode manually. Other features new to the update include support for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X controllers for iOS games, as well as AirPlay 2 support for Fitness classes. You'll also get a new Type to Siri interface which now overlays on your current screen, rather than whisking you away to Siri's void.