Jordan Kahn

Anticipating the release of tvOS 10.2, Jamf today announced support for Apple’s Device Enrollment Program and expanded Mobile Device Management features for Apple TV, meaning organizations will soon be able to set up, configure and distribute apps for Apple TVs in bulk in the same way already available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

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Apple Watch is getting a new Spring 2017 collection of bands launching today, including new colors and variations of the Striped Woven Nylon, Classic Buckle, and Apple Watch Hermès Bands. It’s also now selling its Nike Sport bands from the Nike+ edition Apple Watch separately.

Among the new bands are 3 new colors for the Sport band, 6 new colors for the Woven Nylon band, and 3 new options for the Classic Buckle which also now sports a new buckle design:

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Apple today announced a brand new app called Clips that allows users to combine video clips, photos, and music with animated captions and effects into creative videos that can be shared through the usual social networks.

While the functionality is very similar to video and photo editing features in apps like Instagram and Snapchat, it doesn’t appear Apple is competing directly with those apps as Clips will allow users to share directly to Facebook, Instagram, and elsewhere.

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Samsung’s announcement of its new upcoming Bixby personal assistant for its Galaxy S8 has once again started the chatter about Siri vs Alexa vs Google Assistant vs Bixby. If you were to read the latest comparisons, you might get the impression Siri is a bit behind the other guys, mainly because Amazon Echo is doing well as the first real standalone speaker product for a personal assistant, and Google Home is following closely behind with its new ‘Assistant’. But with what’s rumored to be in store for iPhone 8 from good sources, I think Siri and Apple’s standalone Siri speaker product will have some big advantages.

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In this week’s top stories: New iPad & iPhone 8 reports, iOS 10.3 betas, our Apple Watch feature requests, new apps and much more.

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Netflix plans to soon change its current review system from traditional 1-5 star ratings to instead only allow users to like or dislike a film or TV show, but is it the right move?

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This week’s 9to5Rewards partner is Soundcast and its VG1 waterproof Bluetooth speaker we recently reviewed. 

The company has two of its new VG1 waterproof Bluetooth speakers (Normally $149) to give away to 9to5Mac and 9to5Google readers this week. 

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An incoming update for the Amazon app for iOS will add the company’s Alexa voice assistant that was previously limited to the users of its Echo speaker and other Alexa-enabled hardware.

Building on the app’s ability to order using your voice, Alexa will act as your assistant while shopping the Amazon app, allowing you to search and reorder items, track your orders, and more. But it will also include most of the other functionality Alexa has to offer.

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Spotify is considering a move that would mean some of its biggest new releases will be restricted to paid users, according to a new report from Financial Times. The decision would come as part of a negotiation with record labels that would reduce the amount of royalties Spotify pays for songs and also allow the company to prepare for an initial public offering, the report claims:

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The Apple Watch Series 2 released last year put a big focus on health and fitness with the inclusion of a GPS chip, enhanced waterproofing, a Nike+ edition, and more. Those were some of the top requested features when we asked you prior to its launch, so now we want to know what features or hardware upgrades you’re most anticipating for the Apple Watch 3 expected later this year.

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After first announcing plans to offer new home upgrade packages for Apple’s HomeKit platform last year, homebuilder KB Home this week gave local news station Kron 4 a tour of the first builds with the accessories installed.

The homes featured in the video below are part of a KB Home development in San Jose, the first to offer the new HomeKit packages, known as Promenade at Communications Hill. The development is located at 307 Adeline Street and offers three floor plans for the new builds ranging from $970,000 to just over $1.1 million.
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Quite a few concepts have been popping up lately imagining how rumored features for the iPhone 8 could be implemented. A larger curved OLED display with so-called “function area” and embedded Home button implementation have been the focus of most, but a new concept today instead focuses on how iOS might improve in the process. More specifically, an augmented reality version of Siri…

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More restaurants will soon be offering the option to pay table side with Apple Pay as EMV terminal maker E la Carte announces its newest product that introduces the functionality. You might have noticed the company’s pay-at-table Presto touchscreen terminals at some restaurants already— its two big customers are Outback Steakhouse and Applebee’s— but its new Presto Prime terminal announced today offers a number of enhancements with Apple Pay among them:

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As one of the last big car companies not yet offering Apple’s CarPlay in its vehicles, Mazda this week confirmed that it will soon roll out the system, including updating older models through software and possibly hardware updates.

Cars.com reports that Mazda made the announcement during the launch of its new 2017 CX-5 model, and the publication also cites a spokesperson that confirmed all of the company’s vehicles using its Mazda Connect in-dash system will be eligible to update.

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Apple analyst Gene Munster, now at Loup Ventures, today published his latest survey data (via Apple 3.0), taking a look at interest in upgrading to Apple’s next-gen iPhone versus previous generation, as well as interest in new rumoured augmented reality features.

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In this week’s top stories: More iPhone 8 news, iOS 10.3 beta 5, CIA exploits in the latest Wikileaks dump, the best aftermarket CarPlay options and much more.

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Now that Apple’s HomeKit has matured and there is a growing ecosystem of Siri-controlled products that support the platform, it’s finally looking like a good time to seriously consider investing in home automation accessories. And now it’s an option for new home buyers too, with at least two homebuilders announcing plans to offer HomeKit upgrade packages that will see various accessories from lighting to security pre-installed in new homes. Would you pay more for a HomeKit-equipped home?

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Germany-based homebuilder WeberHaus announced today that it will soon offer its pre-fabricated homes equipped with Apple’s HomeKit platform, a first for the European market. That means that new home buyers purchasing a house through the builder will be able to opt for a smart home package that consists of products like lighting, smart plugs and more, all controllable via iPhones, iPads and Siri.

The company says it’s been working with Apple to develop the HomeKit package for its customers:

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