• apple,  ios 8,  ipad,  ipad mini,  iphone,  ipod touch

    Apple Rolls Out iOS 8.4 with Apple Music, Beats 1 Radio

    July 1, 2015 /

    At 11:00am EDT this morning Apple released iOS 8.4 bringing a redesigned Music app, launching the new Apple Music service with Beats 1 24/7 live radio and updates to the iBooks apps.

    Below are the release notes for iOS 8.4.

    iOS 8.4 Release Notes
    This update introduces Apple Music—a revolutionary music service, 24/7 global radio, and a way for fans to connect with their favorite artists—all included in the redesigned Music app. iOS 8.4 also includes improvements for iBooks and bug fixes.
    Apple Music
    • Become an Apple Music member to play from millions of songs in the Apple Music catalog, or keep them offline for playback later
    • For You: Members can see playlist and album recommendations, handpicked by music experts
    • New: Members can find the latest, greatest new music available—direct from our editors
    • Radio: Tune in to music, interviews, and exclusive radio shows on Beats 1, play radio stations created by our editors or create your own from any artist or song
    • Connect: See shared thoughts, photos, music, and videos from artists you follow, then join the conversation
    • My Music: Play from all of your iTunes purchases, songs from Apple Music, and playlists in one place
    • Completely redesigned music player that includes new features such as Recently Added, MiniPlayer, Up Next, and more
    • iTunes Store: Still the best place to buy your favorite music—one song or album at a time
    • Availability and features may vary by country
    iBooks improvements and fixes
    • Browse, listen and download audiobooks from inside iBooks
    • Enjoy the all-new Now Playing feature, designed specifically for audiobooks
    • Books that are Made for iBooks now work on iPhone in addition to iPad
    • Find and pre-order books in a series right from your library
    • Improves accessibility of widgets, glossary and navigation in books made with iBooks Author
    • New default Chinese font
    • New setting to turn off Auto-Night theme in your library
    • Resolves an issue that may have prevented Hide Purchases from working
    • Resolves an issue that may have prevented downloading books from iCloud
    Other improvements and bug fixes
    • Fixes an issue where receiving a specific series of Unicode characters causes device to reboot
    • Fixes an issue that prevented GPS accessories from providing location data
    • Fixes an issue where deleted Apple Watch apps could re-install
    For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website:

    iOS 8.4 can be installed on any current model iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

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  • apple,  apple watch,  ios,  iphone,  watchos

    The Apple Watch – Part Three: Day-to-Day Usage

    July 1, 2015 /

    I’ve been struggling for a long time now to write a meaningful review of the Apple Watch. So many other well-respected writers, who are much better at their craft than I, have already written many pages about Apple’s new device. Yet here we are.

    Rather than trying to talk specifically about Watch and watchOS, I think I’d much rather just talk about how it has integrated into my life and how I use it day in and day out.

    The two most frequently asked questions I get about my Apple Watch Sport are: “Do you like it?” followed immediately by, “What can you do with it?”  So let’s get the answers to those questions out of the way first.

    The answer to those questions are: Yes, very much so. As an Apple fanboy, I woke up at 3:00am to place my order with the hopes of getting it on launch day, which I did. The second is a very personal answer and will vary from user to user. I use my Watch primarily for: getting important notifications for text messages and email. I have replaced my previous fitness trackers with Apple Watch (more on that later). And, lastly, quick view apps like Weather, Phone, Wunderlist and Twitterific.

    Setup and Configuration

    Configuring your Apple Watch is a journey.  As a technology enthusiast, it was a road of discovery that I was looking forward to traveling down.  It’s not every day, or even every year, that an Apple fan like myself gets to play with something completely new.

    As I showed in my last post about Watch, The Apple Watch – Part Two: Unboxing the Sport Edition, pairing and Apple Watch with an iPhone is a very simple process. It is the simplest process of pairing a device and a peripheral that I’ve ever had.  What came next can only be described as the excitement-fueled haze that came from eating too much candy at the summer fair as a boy.

    Apple Watch runs watchOS, is believed to be a variant of iOS 8.2. Much like the original Apple TV runs a variant of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, watchOS and iOS are not exactly the same thing. Knowing how to use one does not mean you automatically know how to effectively use he other. And so, as a new Watch owner I was forced to do the one thing that any wife or girlfriend will tell you that men had to do: read the directions. (Stopping to ask for directions was the number one answer until we all started carrying iPhones with us everywhere; but I digress.)

    The fold out instruction sheet gives you all of the basics about how to use the Watch, but I didn’t quite feel that I fully understood how to use it.  Only the basic of settings can be controlled on from Watch. For the heavy lifting to configure Apple Watch, you really need to use the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. From there, you can do the real configuration work for settings up Notifications, Glances, your synchronized Music playlists, synchronized Photos albums, Apple Pay and third-party applications. That can seem a bit overwhelming, event to a seasoned Apple fan. To really understand how all of these things work you need to spend time playing with Watch and it’ companion iOS app.

    I chose to tackle Notifications first since it was one of the two main reasons why I chose to get Apple Watch. (The Workout and Activity apps are the second.). I found that the out of the box option of ”Mirror my iPhone” was too broad and that I was getting notifications on my wrist for things that I really didn’t find all that important. My time, as yours, is too important for just any app to interrupt you. So as I started using Apple Watch over the initial two-week period, I found myself constantly adjusting the notifications until I found a balanced that worked for me. What’s important to me and important to you are probably vastly different, so I won’t list out my configurations here.  What I will say is that key take away for me is what that only the most important information make it from the phone in my pocket to the watch on my wrist.

    The Workout and Activity Apps

    As I said earlier, the Workout and Activity apps, together, made up the second reason why I wanted and Apple Watch. You see, before getting Apple Watch, I was using a Nike+ FuelBand and the Jawbone UP. Both are good devices in their own ways.  Nike has undeniable consumer brand recognition just like other iconic brands like the Walt Disney Company and the Coca-Cola Company.  But they never quite pulled off the illusion of complete integration with my iPhone and iOS. With Apple Watch, everything is seamless and just works.

    I would say that I’m not a fan of exercises nor do I enjoy going to the gym. I’m more like that guy on TV who goes around from greasy spoon to greasy spoon trying to stuff his face with the largest what-ever-it-is for this week. But I do want to try to be healthy and keep as much weight off as I can and so I do like to go out for walks when the weather permits.

    When getting started with the Workout app, Apple advises you to bring your iPhone with you. That way, Watch can calibrate how you walk or run more accurately and track how far you’ve gone.  From my very unscientific comparison of the data collected by my Jawbone UP as compared with the data collected by the Workout app and reported in the Activity app, I can say things are ‘close enough.’  Some people have reported that stand-alone devices that have their own integrated GPS receivers do a better job of tracking activity and distance while exercising outside. That criticism may have been true. When Apple released watchOS 1.0.1 back on May 19, distance and pace of outdoor activities was one of the featured enhancements.

    Overall, I’m pretty happy with the Workout and Activity apps. I have added Activity “complication”, that the watch world’s fancy name for the computing world’s “widget”, to the bottom center slot of the Modular watch face that I use. It helps me “gamify” my daily activity to reach my goal of filling in all three activity rings daily.

    Third-Party Apps

    Apple Watch had a large selection of apps available on April 24 then it officially launched.  The trick, however, is finding good apps.

    watchOS 1.0, now updated to watchOS 1.0.1, runs all of the third-party apps as “projections” from the iPhone it is paired with.  Apple Watch doesn’t have it’s own app store.  iPhone apps that support the Watch install small applications – like Mac OS X Dashboard widgets – on to the iPhone.  When you run an app on the Watch, it connects to the iPhone over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and displays the information from the iPhone on the Watch.  I won’t call it a “cheat” necessarily, but what you will see is the “I’m busy” spinner on the Watch while information is being retried from the iPhone.  This back and forth can be a bit laggy at times and frustrating.  Just the other day I got tired of waiting for the Weather app to launch on Apple Watch and I pulled out my iPhone and checked the forecast before the Watch was able to update.  While these kinds of problems can be annoying or inconvenient at times, many of us who are using the Watch today are early adopters.  Apple will surely work to improve performance over time.  Look for the first signs of improvement later this year for the release of watchOS 2.0.  In that update, Apple will be giving software developers more access to the hardware resources and the ability to run apps natively on Watch.

    My best advice to you is to try out the Apple Watch apps that are extensions of the apps you use on your iPhone.  My rule of thumb is to limit the number of apps that I have installed to a bare minimum.

    For example, I like to read the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times on my iPhone or my iPad.  But I don’t want notifications for breaking stories on my wrist, nor do I care to even try to read a news summary on a 42mm screen.  Those kinds of apps, for me, are just impractical.  Your needs will vary from mine.  For me, I’ve chosen to use just a handful of apps, including: Overcast, Twitterific, Wunderlist, and Starbucks.  That’s it.  Of the four, I use Overcast and Wunderlist the most.  Wunderlist, which has my list of things to buy at the grocery store, just works so well for me when I’m shopping.  The iPhone stays securely in my pocket and I have fast access to my shopping list simply by raising my wrist.  Nothing gets dropped, scratched or forgotten.

    Siri, Dictation and Making Calls

    The Apple Watch doesn’t have a keyboard.  When you need to reply to a text message, my primary use case, I do with Siri dictation.  Yes, you kinda look like the cartoon character Dick Tracy, but hey, that’s cool, right?  I’ve used Siri dictation all over the place.  For the most part, Siri gets the job done, but just like on the iPhone and iPad sometimes Siri just can’t pick up the works I’m dictating correctly.  On those occasions, I’ve had to pull out my iPhone…or I’ve used Siri to place a call from Watch.

    Making calls from your Watch makes you look and feel like the aforementioned Dick Tracy.  I usually only use this feature in my office, from the car, or when I’m not in a crowded location.  Social etiquette aside, when in a noisy environment, I’ve found it hard to hear what the other person is saying and find myself holding the Watch closer to my ear, and well, that starts to sound a lot like a use case for the iPhone or better yet, to call the person back later.

    Battery Life and Durability

    I had two major concerns when making the decision about buying the Apple Watch without ever having played with one.  How long will the battery last and will I need multiple charge cables at home and at the office?  And, how long would it be before I scratched the hell out of the screen.

    I’m happy to report that both concerns now look silly two months into my daily use of Apple Watch.  Yes, using the Workout app causes the battery to drain more quickly when the heart rate sensor is sampling data more frequently and the Watch is checking distance and speed by poling the iPhone’s GPS.

    If I’m being really lazy, and I don’t do my 30 minutes of exercise, at the end of the day, my 42mm Sport has around 50-60% battery life left.  If I do get out and get my 30 minutes of exercising in, my battery will get down to about 20-30%.  Recently, while on vacation with the family, we went on a 14-mile bike ride along the Cape Code Rail Trail.  We were out on the ride for about an hour and forty minutes.  The whole time the Workout app was going full tilt tracking my heart rate, speed and distance.  In other words, the Watch was in constant contact with my iPhone for the whole time.  At the end of the ride, my battery was down to about 10%.  It was in the low 90’s when I started.  To save power until I got back to the house, I put the Watch into Power Reserve mode.

    I’m also happy to report that my Watch is still 100% scratch, ding and knick free.  I’m not saying that the Watch can “Take a licking and keep on ticking” as the old ad slogan goes.  What I will say, is by all rights, my Apple Watch Sport should be in really bad shape.  I’ve smacked it into three large office file cabinets, metal storage and server racks, metal lawn chairs…the list goes on and on…and nadda.  No scratches.  No pits. Nothing.  Mileage will vary, but if you are careful of your surroundings, you should be fine.

    Early on, I purchased a screen protector for the Ion-X display.  Don’t waist your time and money on them.  The fit was horrible and I only left it on for about 45 minutes.

    Parting Thoughts

    All-in-all, I really like my Apple Watch and it has integrated into my day-to-day Apple centric lifestyle and workflow.  The Watch is a more personal type of device than your iPhone, Mac or iPad is and so how it gets used will vary from person to person.  I don’t expect the Apple Watch to be replacing an iPhone any time soon.  There are still plenty of uses that demand a larger screen – the iPhone 6 Plus is proof of that.  But the Watch really does let me quickly check the incoming notification and make a decision to take action now or later.  The watchOS 2.0 update, due out later this year, will add a fresh batch of features and functionality.

    While not every iPhone owner needs an Apple Watch, the Apple Watch will only work with an iPhone so take that into consideration before placing your order.

    If you are considering buy and Apple Watch, I encourage you to go to the Apple Store.  Play with the demo units.  Try on the bands to see which one you like the best.  When you are ready, place your order via the online Apple Store.

    For more information, visit the Apple Watch website.

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  • android,  apple,  beats,  el capitan,  ios 9,  ipad,  ipad mini,  iphone,  mac os x,  music,  radio,  windows,  wwdc

    Thoughts on the Apple WWDC 15 Keynote Presentation

    June 10, 2015 /

    Yesterday, Apple kicked off their twenty-sixth WWDC conference with a keynote address from Tim Cook.

    If you haven’t already watched the keynote session, you can do so now directly from the WWDC page on Apple.com.

    What follows are my thoughts and comments as I watched the presentation early this morning about the exciting new updates coming to OS X, iOS and watchOS.

    Opening Remarks

    Usually, the formula for an Apple keynote presentation is to welcome everyone and then run through a number of slides talking about how well Apple is doing. This year, Cook announced that 2015 is the twenty-sixth developer’s conference.  In addition to the live stream of the keynote, he also announced that for the first time ever, Apple will be live streaming 30 developer sessions this year to try and accommodate the developers who were not able to buy a ticket to this year’s conference.

    In short, Cook said “everything’s great” and then turned the stage over to Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President, Software Engineering to talk about advances in OS X, iOS and the new watchOS.

    Mac OS X El Capitan Update

    – 55% of active Mac users have upgraded to OS X Yosemite
    – Mac OS X 10.11 will be called OS X El Capitan; notice the lack of “10.11” in the product name
    – Two major areas of focus for El Capitan: user experience and performance

    The user experience performance should be thought of as a refinement of last year’s bold new OS X design language in Yosemite.  The tent pole features that were shown off include the new Informed Search features of Spotlight, refinements of the built-in OS X apps and window and workspace management with Mission Control, the Spaces bar and the new Split View windows control.

    Of all of the new updates, I think I will get the most utility out of the new Split View controls.  The windows snapping feature of Windows 7 is one that I use all of the time at work and the one Windows feature that I wished my Mac has built in by default.  (The other was the smoky grey Vista Start bar, but that was addressed last year with the Yosemite dark mode menu.)

    Informed Search in Spotlight allows you to use nature language text to help find things on your Mac.  With Informed Search, you can now type in search terms like “Show me all of my photos from last June”.  That’s pretty powerful because it lets us type in what we are looking for an let the computer figure out what we meant rather than us tying to remember some details about how, when or where we may have stored the files on disk.

    There was also a brief demo of a new feature coming to Safari wherein that if a video, say an ad, starts auto-playing a video in a tab that you are not looking at, a speaker mute icon will appear in the URL/search navigation bar.  Just click it and the audio is instantly muted.  That will really become a handy feature as more and more websites start auto-playing video ads on their sites.

    There isn’t enough time to cover all of the OS X El Capitan features

    Apple has to pick and choose what features are going to be high-lighted on stage.  Some interesting features that appeared in the “…and so much more.” slide include:

    – New system font – Yes, Apple Watch’s San Francisco font is coming to Mac OS X
    – Last search – Sounds like a really nice time saver
    – Rename from context menu
    – Time to leave reminders
    – Redesigned Disk Utility – seems like an odd update; are enhancements to HFS+ coming?
    – File copy resume
    – Copy file path in Finder

    On the OS X performance side of the house, Apple is bringing their Metal graphics engine that debuted on iOS last year “back to the Mac” El Capitan.  Metal will give professional apps and game developers a higher performance graphics layer than the older OpenGL and OpenCL platforms.

    Reportedly, all of Apple’s first party apps are being enhanced to take advantage of Metal.  I’m looking forward to the performance boost to things like the quick view feature that let’s you look at a document without having to launch the app first.  Oh, and when you do have to launch apps, Apple is working on making the time you wait for apps to launch must quicker.

    The schedule for Mac OS X El Capitan is:

    – Developers get a free preview starting right now.
    – Public beta testers will get El Capitan next month (July)
    – El Capitan general release will ship “this fall”

     iOS 9 Update

    – 83% of active iPhone users are running iOS 8 today
    – iOS 9’s major focus is “elevating” the foundation:improved battery life, better performance, and security enhancements

    Just like with OS X El Capitan, intelligence and informed seraching is coming to iOS 9 and Siri.  Siri can now understand more natural language requests like “show me pictures from …” or create new reminders based on what you are looking at in an app such as Safari.  Siri can even look up phone numbers for incoming calls that aren’t in your contacts by searching your email and making a suggestion.

    As with all of these security features, iOS 9 keeps all of your data private.

    Craig Federighi discussed personal data privacy in iOS 9

    Some other cool features that Federighi showed off, include:

    – iOS’ swipe to the left of the first app launcher screen is coming back and has been enhanced to offer contextual suggestions

    – Search has been enhanced to include new categories of information

    – iOS 9 searching has a new Search API that can be used to search across installed apps and provide deep linking to specific content and take you back to search results

    – Apple is building in intelligence into iOS, but they are not data mining; all information stays on device

    – Look ups for information is all anonymous, not shared – you are always in control of your data

    ZDNet’s iOS 9 beta lock screen

    One of the nice features coming to iOS 9 that didn’t get highlighted in the presentation is that Apple is improving iOS security by increasing the number of digits in a PIN from 4 to 6.  By adding just two additional digits to the PIN, iPhones and iPads will become all the more difficult to “hack” using a brute force attach.  ZDNet had a nice little write up about this feature.

    Jennifer Bailey talks about how Apple is simplifying the wallet with Apple Pay

    To talk about the updates to Apple Pay in iOS 9, Apple brought out VP, Apple Pay, Jennifer Bailey!  I was really surprised to see Apple giving a woman “FaceTime” (sorry about the pun) on the WWDC stage.  It would appear that Apple really is trying to show that it is a diverse company and not just a company run by “old 50-something white dudes”.

    In addition to launching Apple Pay in the UK later this year, Bailey went on to talk about the upcoming changes to Apple Pay in iOS 9.  They include:

    – Discover Card is coming to Apple Pay this year
    – Square is releasing a new NFC Apple Pay reader that will be in stores this fall
    – Store loyalty and reward card support is coming to Apple Pay
    – Passbook is being renamed to “Wallet”

    It’s that last on that I feel is kind of cheap.  Apple clearly has the head start on all of the competing mobile payment systems.  That’s not to say they arrived first – just that they have an early success advantage.  Switching to Wallet from Passbook, to me, makes it sound like Apple is chaing after Google.

    Maps, an app that has been steadily improving year-over-year, is also getting updated to include support for public transit information, specifically:

    – Adding a new Transit map (buses, trains, subway stations) with departure times
    – Step by step walking directions
    – Siri is being integrated to the new Maps transit information

    I’m glad to see that Apple is adding public transit information to Maps.  Android users have had this information via Google Maps for a long time now.  Apple Maps has had a rough start, but it is clear that Apple is committed to enhancing their mapping service over time.

    With iOS 9, Apple is included an all new pre-installed application called “News”.  News will bring “beautiful content from the worlds best world’s greatest sources, personalized for you.”  To help introduce and demonstrate News, Apple brought out the VP Application Product Management, Susan Prescott.

     Let’s just stop for a minute and let it sink in that Apple now has had two high ranking women on the WWDC stage showing off some of their newest software with the world watching.  This is the new-new Apple.

    Susan Prescott shows off the all-new News app for iOS 9

    I’m really excited about the new News app for iPad and iPhone.  I read the Wall Street Journal on my iPad most days in the WSJ app.  I’ll probably still do that because I have a subscription, but the News app has a lot going for it.  I can see in the future, the News app taking the place of Newsstand in the future.

    With News, you tell the app a little about what websites you like to visist and the kinds of articles you like to read on them.  Form there, News will aggregate a feed of news articles, beautifully rendered and laid out for you to read.  The app updates each time you launch it so there will always be fresh content to read and presented in a visually stunning way.

    Up until now, I have this on again off again relationship with Facebook.  I’ve recently started using it again after having liked the WSJ and New York Times pages so that I get news added to my Facebook feed.  I’ve never really been happy about liking pages on Facebook because of all the creepy things they are probably doing to collect my data.  With News, all of that is gone!

    The high points on New include:

    – News updates each time you launch it.  The more you read the better News can be about learning
    about what you like to read
    – News will ship for both iPad and iPhone
    – News will have privacy built in from the start.  There will be no sharing of data with Apple or third-parties about what you are reading
    – This is, in my opinion, a direct shot at Facebook instant articles and I’m glad to have an Apple alternative
    – When News goes live, there will be 30 New York Times articles published a day for News.
    – If all of this reading is anonymous, and there is no data sharing with publishers, who’s footing the bill for the stories?

    iPad iOS 9 Enhancements

    With iOS 9, Apple shows the iPad more love than it’s seen in the last two releases.  It’s clear that Apple is looking to bolster how their industry-leading tablet is both viewed (it’s not just a really large iPhone) and used (now with more productivity and multitasking enhancements).

    iOS 9 brings the Shortcut Bar to the iPad keyboard

    iPad gets the new Shortcut Bar as part of the new iOS 9 keyboard of iPad.  Not only does the keyboard give you predictive text for what you might be typing, but now you have access to text tools right in the keyboard.  The new Shortcut Bar provides convenient access cut/copy/paste functions as well as the ability to add bold, italics and underlined text.  You can even add an attachment if the app support it.

    If you’re not convinced that Apple is trying to cater to people who want to use the iPad as their only computer, a new two finger gesture allows you to move the insertion point cursor around the screen when you place two fingers over the keyboard and move them around as if you were using the trackpad on a MacBook.  This should be a pretty handy feature for people who become frustrated with how you move the cursor around the screen. I know a lot of people who will be happy to have this feature.  I have to wonder if the new iPad Air 3 will feature a Force Touch screen unlocking even more functionality of the track pad-like feature of iOS 9.

    iOS 9 bring Multitasking to the iPad

    Adding iOS 9 to an iPad Air 2 you are able to begin using the new Split Screen feature.  Split Screen was first rumored last year to be a part of iOS 8.  With iOS 9, Split Screen is now a reality.

    The iPad Air 2 running iOS 9 will be able to use Split Screen

    In Split Screen mode, both halves of the screen are running separate applications simultaneously.  You can also grab the slider in the middle of the screen to resize the two windows according to what you are working on.  Regrettably, Screen Split is only available with the iPad Air 2 and will not work with the iPad Air.  Personally, I think that’s a mistake, but no one asked me.

    In addition to Split Screen, is Slide Over.  With Slide Over, you swipe in from the right edge of the screen to open a new column that takes up about one-third of the screen.

    The iPad Air 2 with a Slide Over pane open

    As with Split Screen, both apps are live at the same time.  This feature is really hand if you are working with data in the first two-thirds of the screen and you want to use the last third of the screen to go look something up.  When the Slide Over pane is visible, you will see a Notification Center style tab at the top of the screen. When you pull down on this tab, an app picker appears of the running apps that you can choose to snap in and replace the current app that is in the Slide Over pane.

    The iPad Air 2 Slide Over open app selector

    Slide Over is not a hardware exclusive feature tied to the iPad Air 2 and will also work on the iPad Air, iPad mini 2 and the iPad mini 3.

    Lastly, you can double-click the Home button (or Touch ID button on the new iPad Air 2) to bring up the new iPad Task Switcher.  Unlike the card view used today, running applications are presented on a sort of digital carrousel.

    The iPad Air 2 using the new Task Switcher

     While the new Task Switch looks new and refreshed, nothing that we saw in the demo showed any new features.

    All the Reset of iOS 9

    There’s so much good stuff coming in iOS 9 it’s hard to catalog it all in this single post.  Some of the more important goodies include:

    – A new iOS 9 Low Power mode will extend battery life for up to three hours (estimated)

    – iOS 9 will only require 1.4GB of free space needed to upgrade – iOS 8 required a whopping 4.6GB of free space to run the upgrade

    – HomeKit gadgets can now be securely connected your iPhone over the Internet via iCloud.  Very very cool.

    – Wireless CarPlay what a snoozer.  I’d just like to have CarPlay support in my 2015 Honda Accord  EX.  Oh well, maybe in three to four years when my current least is up Apple and Honda will have their collective acts together. (I’m so glad that Honda was a CarPlay launch partner.)

    – Swift 2 has gone Open Source – now anyone can use it.  A standards compiler and support for iOS, OS X and Linux will be available later this year.  Notice that Windows is missing from that list.

    The release schedule for iOS 9 is:

    – Developers get a free preview starting right now.
    – Public beta testers will get iOS 9 next month (July)
    – iOS 9 general release will ship “this fall”

    Lastly, iOS 9 will install and run on all of the current iOS hardware, which is: iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and yes, even the iPod touch 5th generation.

    watchOS 2 Update

    It’s hard to comprehend that Apple Watch and watchOS 1.0 have only been shipping for about six weeks now and already Apple is pushing forward with enhancements to existing features and native application support with watchOS 2.  (I’ll have my Apple Watch review post up before watchOS 2 ships, I promise.)

    Here are some thoughts on what’s coming in watchOS 2 later this year.

    – Seeing “watchOS” on a slide makes me immediately think of Palm’s now defunct “webOS”.  Old habits die really hard I guess.

    – watchOS 2 will bring native apps to the platform.  These apps can run without an iPhone within range of Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

    watchOS 2 will being new watch faces to the current list of watch face styles.  Photo Face and Photo Album Face are new watch faces that will allow you to pick a photo to use as your watch face or a Photos album to randomly display pictures from each time you activate the watch face.  Another cool animated watch face will be the new Time-Lapse face.  Apple will pre-build time lapsed “slideshows” of a select set of cities like London and New York that will animate when the watch face is on.

    Apple also promised that in watchOS 2, software developers will be able to add their own “widgets” or “complications” to watch faces.  Complications are the little blocks of information on the wathc face like the date, upcoming apponintments, battery level and fitness tracking rings.

    Lastly, while you are looking at the watch face, you can scroll the digital crown to see calendar events that happened earlier today or that will be coming up later in the day.

    watchOS 2 also adds:

    – Night Stand mode: when the Watch is charging and turned on it’s side withwith the digital crown and button facing up the screen will work like an alarm clock.

    – Email replies using Siri dictation

    – Make and receive FaceTime audio calls directly on the Watch

    – Siri voice command support for activating the Workout app – “Start a 30 minute run in the park.”

    – Siri voice command to display a specific glance on the Watch face

    With watchOS 2, we are really going to see the flood gates open with regard to what developers can access on the Watch – native apps, new complications, system level access to microphone and speakers and the on board sensors – and all new apps to dream up and make available for use.

    Lastly, as you might have already guessed, watchOS 2 will be a free upgrade coming “this fall.”

    On more thing… Apple Music

    I appreciate that Apple is once again using “One more thing…” in their presentations.  It’s a classic move that Steve Jobs would use to whip up the crowd into a frenzy before showing off one last software package, some new hardware or a new Apple service. 

    Yesterday, Tim Cook returned to that familiar place to talk about Apple’s upcoming Apple Music service and Beats 1 124/7 live radio station.  Naturally, Apple’s fans when nuts.

    Apple’s Jimmie Iovine introduces the new Apple Music streaming service

    Tim Cook kicks off the last segment of the WWDC keynote by introducing Apple Music and Jimmy Ivone to tell us about what Apple Music is all about.

    Apple Music is a new streaming service, 24hr live radio and fans connecting with to artists

    Apple describes Apple Music as:
    – A new revolutionary music service
    – 24/7 live radio service broadcast around the world
    – A new way of connecting fans with artists

    With Apple Music, you will have all of your music all in on place.  Your iTunes library meets the full iTunes Music library streamed to your iOS device, Mac, Windows PC and before the year’s out, Google Android devices.

    I have to say, when Iovine started talking about a “revolutionary new music service” I’m pretty sure I heard echos of Steve Jobs introducing the original iPhone back in 2007.  (You can watch Jobs introduce the iPhone below.)

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hUIxyE2Ns8]

    Apple also made a short video featuring Trent Reznor, Artist/Apple Creative, to tell us about the new music service.

    Next up, is Beats 1. a live global radio station with Zane Lowe and his team of real DJs working as hosts around the clock from New York, Los Angles and London.  To help introduce Beats 1, Apple played a short video featuring Zane Lowe talking about how Apple put together Beats 1.

    All of the music recommendations and playlists from Apple Music and Beats 1 are curated by humans to deliver the best possible listening experience for whatever music you want to listen to.

    And last, but not least, is @Connect, which allows artists to upload and share what they are doing directly to their fans.  To help understand how Connect brings fans and artists – big and small – together, Apple brought Drake out to talk about his experience with Connect.  Yet another win for diversity on the Apple stage.

    The schedule for Apple Music, which includes Beats 1 and Connect is:

    – Rolls out with iOS 8.4 on June 30, with new versions of iTunes for Mac and Windows PC.  Android support coming later this year.

    – The first three months of Apple Music are free.  After that, it’s just $9.99/month for an individual subscription.

    – For family of up to six people, a sharing subscription is just $14.99/month and each person has their own library, playlists, recommendations, et el.

    To close out the keynote presentation, Tim Cook invited The Weekend up on stance to perform a new single.  I’m sure it will be on the iTunes Music Store before long.

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  • apple,  ios 8,  iphone,  security,  touch id

    Apple To Enhance iPhone Unlock Security with iOS 8.3 [Updated]

    March 28, 2015 /
    Apple is further enhancing their iPhone unlock security with the upcoming release of iOS 8.3; which is currently in beta testing.
    PIN code required when TouchID is not
    used to unlock the device in 48 hours
    Update

    My pal, and fellow 1SRC Palm Podcast host, Jeff Kirvin, has informed me that iOS requires a PIN or passcode if not used for 48 hours right now with iOS 8.2.

    I hate it when he’s right.  I still think this is a good feature.

    In the future, if you have not unlocked your iPhone using Touch ID in the past 48 hours, you be required to reenter your PIN or passcode.  With iOS 8.0 up to and including iOS 8.2, Apple only required that you enter your PIN or passcode after restarting your iPhone.  

    The above screen appeared after I left my iPhone 5S running a beta version of iOS 8.3 at home for two days.
    I think that while this may generate a few help desk calls when iOS 8.3 is deployed to corporate iOS devices that get left at work or unused over the weekend, it is  a really good move for people who may accidentally lose their device.
    Apple has not announced when iOS 8.3 will ship.  The pre-release software is being tested by registered developers (a $99 annual fee is required to join the program) and by select members of the iOS and OS X public beta testers.
    Some bloggers believe that iOS 8.3 will ship next month at about the same time the Apple Watch is released.
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  • apple,  apple watch,  appletv,  ios 8,  ipad air,  ipad mini,  iphone

    Apple Releases iOS 8.2, Support for Apple Watch

    March 10, 2015 /

    Today, after Apple’s Spring Forward event, the leading smartphone maker release iOS 8.2; which includes Apple Watch support.

    The Apple Watch app in iOS 8.2 is waiting for an Apple Watch to pair with

    iOS 8.2 is available now as an OTA update for current model iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches that are running or can run iOS 8.x. Here’s a list of what’s new and improved in iOS 8.2.

    In addition to today’s iOS 8.2 update, Apple also rolled out an update for Apple TV.

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  • apple,  ios 8,  ipad,  iphone,  ipod touch

    Apple Releases iOS 8.1.3 Maintenance Update

    January 28, 2015 /

    Yesterday afternoon, Apple released iOS 8.1.3 a minor maintenance release to iOS 8.

    Yes, this update is safe to install.  Since this is a maintenance release, there are no major new features or interface changes.  The areas that received updates include a new installer that requires less free space on the device to perform upgrades, an Apple ID login fix for Messages and FaceTime, a Spotlight app search fix, fixes for multitasking gestures on the iPad and a new configuration option for test taking in school applications.

    I’m glad to see Apple working to fix these nagging issues.  I’ve seen a lot of iPhones and iPads belonging to family members and co-workers who don’t have the latest version of iOS 8 installed because there is not enough free space to download, unpack, and install the update.  I’m also gald to see the fix for the Spotlight search feature.  I very often use that feature as an app launcher and it was super annoying to have to restart my iPhone 6 to restore app search.

    The next update for iOS is 8.2 which is currently in developer beta testings.  iOS 8.2 is expected to bring new features, including support of the Apple Watch in the near future.  While no release date has been set for iOS 8.2, it is currently up to beta release 4 and is expected to be completed right around the time Apple Watch launches in April 2015.

    iOS 8.1.3 is available for all current model iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches.

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  • games,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  puzzle,  ustwogames

    Monument Valley: Forgotten Shores, Ida’s (RED) Dream Review

    November 30, 2014 /

    Monument Valley is a 3D puzzle game from UsTwoGames that takes you on a visual journey with geometry art based on the styling of M.C. Escher.  You travel fanatically designed monuments with the game’s lead character, a little girl by the name of Princess Ida.

     Monument Valley ($3.99) was originally released for iOS devices on March 12.  The game was also subsequently released on Android devices and the Amazon Kindle.  With only 10 levels, the first edition of Monument Valley was visually impressive and challenged you to look at each beautifully rendered level on multiple levels to help Ida navigate her way around each monument.  I really enjoyed playing Monument Valley, but I felt just as I really got lost in the art, the characters and the story, the game was over.

     This November, just eight months after releasing the original, UsTwo released two add-on packs; Forgotten Shores as a $1.99 in-app purchase (IAP) to the original game and Ida’s (RED) Dream, a $0.99 IAP. 

    Totem is back to help the Princess in Forgotten Shores

    Forgotten Shores, released on November 12, adds eight new delightful levels to Monument Valley in which you are reunited with Princess Ida and Totem.  The levels are still interactive 3D works of art.  The difficulty of the new levels is balanced and delivers a mentally stimulating puzzle that is not overwhelmingly difficult.  Oh, and you still must deal with the pesky Crow People.

    Ida’s (RED) Dream, the second IAP released on November 23, is billed on the Monument Valley website as “One final chapter to fight AIDS.”  100% of the proceeds from this $0.99 IAP level goes to (RED) to help fight for an HIV/AIDS free world.  Ida’s (RED) Dream is available for a limited time (December 7, 2014), and I encourage you to buy it while you can.

     Taken together, Forgotten Shores and Ida’s (RED) Dream offer players nine new levels to explore and enjoy.  As you play, you get drawn into Ida’s world and her mission to return the stolen geometry to the various monuments.  As with the first game, there was one point in Forgotten Shores where I actually drew in a sharp breath and was saddened by what happened.  Not many games on iOS today have that kind of connection between character and player.

     My two favorite levels have to be Forgotten Shores Appendix i The Chasm and Ida’s (RED) Dream.  I like both of these levels for different reasons. In The Chasm, I empathize with the silent princess when all hope appears lost and she is given the opportunity to escape.  Without spoiling it for future players, there is a collective sigh of relief near the end of the first room of The Chasm.  In Ida’s (RED) Dream, I feel as if all of the elements that make a great game come together: the colors of each level, the details in the architecture, the difficulty of the levels and the reward of completing them, the sound effects and last, but definitely not the least, the soothing background music that sets the tone for the chapter.

    Things can get twisted around…
    …and turned upside down quickly!


    I’m not usually in favor of IAPs because they have become synonymous with power-up, “coins” or other “resources” necessary to play and win levels in “freemium” games.  But these IAPs are different.  They add levels, which you own outright, and can play and enjoy over and over again.  They continue the story of the characters you get attached too. Forgotten Shore and Ida’s (RED) Dream clearly demonstrates the high production value craftsmanship that goes into a game that you will remember long after playing it.

     Monument Valley is available now and requires an iPad 2 and iPhone 4 or later to play.  Versions are also available for Google Android and Amazon Kindle devices.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me4ymG_vnOE?rel=0]

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  • app store,  apple,  ipad,  iphone,  ipod touch,  mac,  red

    App Store Goes (RED) To Help Fight AIDS

    November 27, 2014 /

    Apple has long been a supporter of AIDS prevention.  This year, Apple has launched a multi pronged event to help raise awareness of the fight against AIDS.

    To start, Apple has posted a special (RED) page on their website.  There is also a link to the RED.org website where you can lean more about the work that is being done and the other companies that are helping fight this disease.

    Apple also has a few other promotions going on for your favorite iOS devices.  As in years past, Apple is promoting their (PRODUCT) RED devices and accessories.  Current model iPods are available in (RED) editions as well as (RED) cases for iPhone and iPad.  I have a few of the (PRODUCT) RED cases for my iPhones and iPads.  They cost the same as other Apple cases and look great!  What’s better, is that they are on sale all the time.  You owe it to yourself to pick one up and feel good that you are supporting a good cause all the while having a case that looks great on your device!

    Apple is also running a special promotion on Friday (11/28/14) and Monday (12/1/14).  On Friday, when you purchase participating products, you will receive a special (Product)RED Apple gift card and Apple will donate a portion of the proceeds to (RED).  Similarly, on Monday, when you make a purchase at an Apple Retail Store or online, Apple will donate a portion of the proceeds from everything they sell to (RED).  That’s pretty damn amazing when you consider that Monday is “Cyber Monday” and a lot of people will be doing online Christmas shopping that day.

    New this year, is iOS app developer’s involvement in the (RED) campaign.  From November 24 – December 7, either 100% of app or In-App Purchase item is donated to (RED)’s Global Fund.  There are some really fantastic apps that are part of the program.

    For example, Apple has updated Garage Band with a special (GarageBand)RED Loop Pack.  Rovio has created three special (RED)’s Mighty Feathers levels to play.  My favorite iOS app that is participating in this year’s campaign has got to be ustwo’s Monument Valley.  With a $0.99 IAP, you can purchase one extra level – Ida’s (RED) Dream.

    If games and making music aren’t your thing, there are still other ways to help.  In total there are 25 iOS app developers involved this year, with apps like 53, Clear, Kitchen Stories Recipes and Star Walk 2.  You can find the complete list of apps and IAP on the App Store.  If you would just like to make a donation you can do that too.  Just open the App Store on your iOS device and make a donation.

    This holiday season, we have lots to be thankful for.  Please, make a donation to help fight HIV/AIDS by participating in one of these programs.

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  • apple,  ios 8,  ipad,  ipad mini,  iphone,  ipod touch

    iOS 8.1 Rolls Out Adding New Features to iPhone, iPad

    October 20, 2014 /

    Earlier today Apple released iOS 8.1 for all current model iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices.

    The new features included in the iOS 8.1 update are:

    • Apple Pay for iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus
    • Photos app now includes the Camera Roll
    • Enables support for the iCloud Photo Library (beta service)
    • Enhancements to Messages for iPhone users to send SMS and MMS messages from an iPad or Macintosh running OS X 10.10 Yosemite
    • Fixes for Wi-Fi performance issues when connected to certain base stations/access points
    • Fixes and issue connecting to some Bluetooth hands-free devices
    • Fixes an issues that can cause screen rotation to stop working
    • Adds an option to select between 2G, 3G or LTE networks for cellular data
    • Enables HealthKit applications to access data in the background

    The iOS 8.1 update on both of my iPhone 6 units (Sprint and Verizon) ran about 30 minutes from start to finish.  The update package was 126MB.

    All current model iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices already running iOS 8 can upgrade now, for free, to the iOS 8.1 release.

    Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 8.0.1 that caused some iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus customers (about 40,000 customers in total) problems with using their phone to make calls.  iOS 8.0.2, which corrected the problem and iOS 8.1 do not suffer from the same issue as the original iOS 8.0.1 update did.  In other words, iOS 8.1 is safe to download and install.

    For more information, see Apple’s support website.

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  • apple,  ipad,  iphone,  iwork,  keynote,  mac,  mac os x,  numbers,  pages,  yosemite

    Apple Releases Yosemite Public Beta 2, iTunes 12 Beta, and iWork Updates

    August 23, 2014 /

    This past Thursday was pretty busy for Apple.  Continuing toward the presumed late October launch of Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite, the Fruit company released the second public beta of Yosemite alongside a new iTunes 12 beta.

    Yosemite Public Beta 2 and iTunes 12 Beta

    The Yosemite and iTunes betas brings the changes that have recently been released to Apple’s registered (and paying) application developers to the free public test drive of the next version of Mac OS.  The software, as is all other Apple software at this point, is shipped as a software update from the Mac App Store.  The installation process took about 30 minutes on my mid-2009 MacBook Pro.  The new version of iTunes was a relatively quick install.

    Taking a quick look around after installing Yosemite, there didn’t appear to be all that much changed from Public Beta 1.  Many of the changes at this point will be internal meaning that applications have most, if not all of their features and are going to become more stable.  I did notice that my external USB hard disk had a new flattened icon that I like better than the original orange icon.

    The iTunes 12 beta has a new, cleaner look to it.  I’m still on the fence as to whether or not I like the older interface with the sidebar or the new interface.  Knowing myself, I think it’s just a reaction to having to learn where things are or a new way of doing them.  I’m pretty sure I’m just being a cranky old man about the UI enhancements in iTunes.

    iWork App Updates

    In addition to the new beta software, Apple also rolled out new versions of their iWork applications for the Mac, iPhone, and iPad.  I didn’t notice any outward appearance changes to Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.  According to the update description, Apple only stated that the new apps “contain stability improvements and bug fixes.”

    Head over to the Mac App Store and the iOS App Store to download and install the free updates now.

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