Marc Saltzman

Apple Vision Pro is a mixed-reality headset that fuses augmented reality (where you can see digital information overlaid on top of the real world around you) with virtual reality (realistic imagery that fully envelops your field of vision). You don’t need a mouse and keyboard with Apple Vision Pro — you can control everything with your eyes, voice, and hands in the air.

Apple Watch previously required you to have an iPhone to set up and use the wristwatch (even with the cellular model). This isn’t the case any longer, with the introduction of watchOS 7, the operating system that debuted in the fall of 2020. Also new with watchOS 7 are a couple of features specific for families.

Walkie-Talkie is a fun way to communicate between Apple Watch wearers. As you might expect, it lets you quickly chat with someone, wrist to wrist, using your voice. The Walkie-Talkie app isn’t available in all countries or regions. But no, you don’t need to be near each other like old-school walkie-talkies (like in the Stranger Things TV show)!

Did you know you can send people money through your Apple device? Called Apple Pay Cash, this easy-to-use technology is designed for person-to-person payments. It’s essentially a version of Apple Pay that lets you send or receive money right in the Messages app, or by asking Siri.You can use the cards you already have in Wallet to send money, split a bill at a restaurant, or chip in on a gift for a coworker.

As you may or may not know, Apple Music is a monthly subscription service from Apple that lets you listen to more than 45 million songs. Unlike paying for and downloading individual songs or albums from iTunes, Apple Music is a streaming service, so all the songs are stored on Apple’s servers in the “cloud” for you to access from your device (as if they were stored locally).

Similar to the preinstalled apps designed to help get you started on other Apple products, Apple Watch has a number of built-in apps, too: To keep you in touch: Phone, Messages, and Email To prevent you from getting lost and to find stuff around you: Maps To stay organized and informed: Calendar, Clock, Weather, and Stocks To entertain you: Music and Photos Phone app on Apple Watch You no longer need to reach for your iPhone to see who’s calling you.

With iOS 12 or later, Siri Shortcuts let you quickly perform everyday tasks with the apps you use the most by simply asking for Siri or tapping your Apple Watch or iPhone. You can choose if this works on your iPhone’s Lock screen too.Basically, Siri learns your routines across your favorite apps and then your assistant suggests an easy way to perform common tasks.