Looks like there’s a new way to follow the election updates right on your device
I thought they cared about mental health
Vesper said:
I thought they cared about mental health
What’s a little fun in life without some nail-biting world-ending chaos
Constant doomscrolling the future is now
From Appleinsider
If you’re not feeling plugged in enough during the 2024 election, Apple News has a way to get up-to-the-second results on your Lock Screen and Apple Watch through Live Activities. Apple originally introduced Live Activities to take advantage of the Dynamic Island and present live, updated information to the user. It has been handy for now playing music, sports scores, and active calls, but Apple News is using it for something a little more anxiety-inducing.
Starting late on Tuesday, users will be able to have a Live Activity from Apple News that tracks the results of the election. So, the Lock Screen will have a large, interactive widget that will launch to the latest election coverage, and the Dynamic Island will show the electoral count for each candidate continuously.
So, while you’re doom scrolling X and arguing with your relatives in iMessage, you’ll have a constant reminder of how things are going as Americans vote for their future. Of course, users can dismiss the Dynamic Island content with a swipe without closing the Live Activity, which might help preserve some sense of sanity for a moment.
To activate the US election results Live Activity:
• Open Apple News
• Tap the prominent “Follow the 2024 election live” banner at the top of the page or under “Top Stories”
• If unable to find the banner, open the “Election 2024” Special Coverage section in the menu
• A notification will appear about the Live Activity being enabled
• Tap on the banner again, and the scheduled Live Activity will be turned back off.
Live Activities will appear on iPhone and iPad Lock Screens, but only devices with a Dynamic Island will get the special UI. Apple Watch can show Live Activity data in the widget view as well.
Apple News had Live Activities for caucus results earlier in the year, and it proved to be a useful way to track the events. While the stakes are much higher for the actual election, the tool will be a good way to quickly view immediate results while staying away from polarizing news coverage.
It isn’t clear how long Apple News will keep the Live Activity active, as it could be days before preliminary calls are made on the results and final tallies aren’t due until December 11. The US election could be an interesting test on how users interact with the feature and how it holds up after hours of being active.
I love when apps use live activities. Granted, there are better sites for this use case, but the Dynamic Island is just too nifty.
Apple, please implement live activities in more of your first-party apps, like a shared maps ETA in the Dynamic Island for example
@Amory
MAP LIVE UPDATE: Craig just ran a red light and is now set to arrive 3 minutes before you
HINT: you can still get there first if you triple the speed limit
I dislike their News app, but I redownloaded it for this. Very neat
Declined. I don’t need additional stress over this election
I’d rather it didn’t
Pat said:
I’d rather it didn’t
Don’t worry, it’s not forced. You have to allow it
Does this work in Canada?
Brianna said:
Does this work in Canada?
Just followed it from Australia but no notification about live activities. Does this appear tomorrow?
Brianna said:
Does this work in Canada?
Just followed it from Australia but no notification about live activities. Does this appear tomorrow?
No clue, I didn’t see the “Follow the 2024 election live” banner, so I’m hoping it shows up tomorrow
Whose results are they tracking?
This’ll be fun
Just did this. Thanks for sharing
Thanks, but no thanks
No thanks
Bruh, elections are like sports for Americans