In this week’s top stories: Apple announces WWDC 2017, iPhone 8 reports, the first trailers for Apple Music’s upcoming original TV shows, how expensive is a HomeKit house?, and hands-on with BeatsX and new CarPlay features.
Author
Dir. Partnerships
9to5Mac / 9to5Google / 9to5Toys / Electrek.co / DroneDJ / SpaceExplored
Jordan manages the internal Partner Program for sponsorships and partnerships across the 9to5 network’s media brands including 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, Electrek.co, SpaceExplored and DroneDJ.com.
Jordan also writes about all things Apple as a Senior Editor of 9to5Mac. He covers Google for 9to5Google.com, the best gadgets and deals on 9to5Toys.com, and EV and solar news on Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series and makes music sometimes.
Contact Jordan with partnership inquiries and long-winded complaints:
Apple shares two new ads w/ focus on iPhone 7 Plus Portrait Mode
Apple today shared two new ads on its official YouTube channel, both of which highlight the “Portrait Mode” feature available exclusively on the iPhone 7 Plus.
Are you behind Apple’s view that tech companies should do more to combat fake news? [Poll]
An opinion piece we ran earlier this week on the so-called fake news problem generated a lot of discussion among the community and a lot of differing opinions: Why fake news is a huge threat to democracy and both Apple and the rest of us need to respond.
Should Apple and other tech companies have a responsibility to play a more active role in filtering out fake news from their platforms? Or should it be solely left up to the reader?
With new trailers for Planet of the Apps & Carpool Karaoke, will you watch Apple’s original content? [Poll]
Apple has big plans for original content this year and this week gave us a first look. It might have gotten its feet wet with the 808 documentary that it picked up for Apple Music, but new upcoming shows will be its first real step into original content with two series that should have much more mainstream appeal.
AAPL hits all-time high stock price of $134.67 and climbing
After reaching an all-time record high opening price of $133 yesterday, AAPL today beat its intraday trading record, surpassing its previous record high set back in 2015.
Is Qi compatibility important to you for iPhone 8’s rumored wireless charging? [Poll]
With news today that Apple has joined the Wireless Power Consortium, creators of the popular Qi wireless charging platform, speculation is flying about what Apple’s rumored charging tech for the iPhone 8 will look like.
While much has been made about the possibility (or lack thereof) for a long-range wireless charging solution, Apple’s new membership with the Qi-charging people lends more weight to the idea that it will instead introduce inductive charging, perhaps not unlike the competition or for that matter its own Apple Watch charger. But if Apple is using the Qi wireless charging tech, will its solution for iPhone be compatible with the rest of the platform?
VR Desktop for Mac brings macOS to Oculus Rift and soon other VR headsets
A new app from developer Cindori called VR Desktop for Mac provides a virtual reality experience of macOS using the popular VR headset Oculus Rift. The main idea of the project is to allow for a virtual multi-monitor workspace, meaning users can create virtual screens and interact with macOS using an entirely VR desktop.
For now it works in the Oculus Rift dev kit, but the company plans to later support other VR headsets, including the HTC Vive that could soon get Mac support.
This week’s top stories: iPhone 8, BeatsX, Ultra Accessory Connector, iOS 10.3 beta 2, What’s next for Apple Watch & more
In this week’s top stories: iPhone 8 rumors, BeatsX go on sale, an Ultra Accessory Connector for MFi accessories, iOS 10.3 beta 2, what’s next for Apple Watch, and much more.
9to5Rewards: Twelve South MagicBridge for Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Magic TrackPad 2 [Giveaway]
This week’s 9to5Rewards partner is Twelve South, makers of high-quality accessories designed specifically for Apple products. Or as they call it, PC incompatible.
Apple’s new $199 Pro Apps Bundle for Education now available in 35 countries
After launching a new Pro Apps Bundle earlier this month that includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro X, and Apple’s other pro apps at a discounted price for education customers, the offer is now available in additional countries outside of the US.
Here’s why people are saying iCloud is secretly storing your ‘deleted’ Safari history
A report shared earlier today by Elcomsoft’s CEO Vladimir Katalov claimed your iCloud account may have been storing more Safari history than it should, pointing to a database of “deleted” browsing history that could be extracted in plain text to reveal URLs. But the data is outdated and we’ve learned from sources that the problem has been fixed for the majority of users for almost a year and for the rest quickly after the issue was discovered.
The data that Apple does store is kept for good reason…
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Apple Pay adds support for 25+ more U.S. banks & credit unions
Apple today updated its list of Apple Pay banks and card issuers to note the addition of over 25 additional banks and credit unions in the US that now support the service.
EPIX network comes to Apple TV today for subscribers (w/ an exclusive free trial)
TV network EPIX is arriving for fourth-generation Apple TV users today with a new app on the App Store, but it will only be available to those already subscribed to the service through cable providers, the company announced. EPIX is, however, offering a free trial for non-subscribers exclusively through the new Apple TV app, meaning all will get to at least try the service starting today before having to subscribe later after the trial ends.
Ford unveils all-new 2018 Expedition as latest vehicle with Apple’s CarPlay, wireless charging pad & Wi-Fi hotspot
The latest vehicles to include Apple’s CarPlay platform built-in are being announced this week at or alongside the Chicago Auto Show. Dodge’s new 2018 Durango and Subaru’s 2018 Legacy are followed by an announcement from Ford unveiling the all-new Expedition that like its predecessor will come equipped with a CarPlay-enabled in-dash system.
Dodge shows off new 2018 Durango SRT as latest with Apple’s CarPlay, BeatsAudio
Dodge today announced its 2018 Dodge Durango SRT at the Chicago Auto Show as its latest vehicle to come with Apple’s CarPlay platform stock.
The three-row, 475-horsepower SUV sports a 8.4-inch touchscreen that utilizes Unconnect software to interface with CarPlay (and Android Auto) and a nine speaker BeatsAudio sound system. It also comes with a 5-year trial of SiriusXM Travel Link and Traffic.
Report: Apple Watch’s record quarter generated near 80% of total smartwatch revenue in Q4 w/ estimated 6M units
Apple doesn’t break out its Apple Watch numbers when it reports device sales and revenue each quarter, but it did say during the fiscal Q1 earnings call the wearable hit record numbers for both units and revenue during the important holiday period. The latest report from research firm Canalys today puts estimates of Apple Watch sales at around 6 million units and $2.6 billion in revenue. This would mean the company took almost 80% of total revenue for the smartwatch market last quarter, according to the report’s estimates. It would also represent around 12% year-over-year growth for Apple Watch sales:
Apple plans new smaller Ultra Accessory Connector (UAC) for Made-for-iPhone accessories
Apple is planning to adopt a new connector type for accessories for iPhone, iPad and other Apple devices through its official Made-for-iPhone (MFi) licensing program. Dubbed the “Ultra Accessory Connector” (UAC), Apple has recently launched a developer preview of the new connector type to prepare manufacturing partners for the component that in some cases will replace the use of Lightning and USB connectors, according to sources familiar with the program.
This week’s top stories: Hands-on w/ Apple Watch Theater Mode, Apple Q1 earnings, LG 5K display woes, Tim Cook on Trump immigration ban, more
In this week’s top stories: We go hands-on with the new Theater Mode on Apple Watch, we break down LG’s UltraFine 5K display woes, Tim Cook speaks out on Trump’s immigration ban, Apple’s Q1 earnings report, and much more.
9to5Rewards: ColorWare’s customized MacBook & MacBook Pro skins [Giveaway + Deal]
Winners: @leothelion96, @IssaNY25, @Silverbullit_, @erickasey5, @doutee
This week’s 9to5Rewards partner is ColorWare, who make some of our favorite customized skins (and also do custom paint jobs) for Apple accessories.
Outlook for iOS gains ‘add-ins’ to bring third-party app integration to inboxes on mobile
Microsoft today announced that it’s launching add-ins for Outlook on iOS, which essentially act as third-party app integrations to bring new functionality to your Outlook inbox on iPhone and iPad.
Evernote, GIPHY, Nimble, Trello and Smartsheet are just some of the initial collaborators launching functionality for Outlook users on iOS through add-ins, and Microsoft notes that it also built a few of its own with a Microsoft Translator tool and Dynamics 365 add-in available starting today.
Subaru’s 2018 Legacy unveiled at Chicago Auto Show is company’s latest w/ Apple’s CarPlay
The Chicago Auto Show is kicking off today and the first CarPlay announcement comes from Subaru with an unveiling of the new 2018 Legacy model as one of its first to support the platform.
Apple’s CarPlay platform, which allows users to access iOS-like features through a vehicle’s in-dash system using a connected iPhone, will be available standard in the 2018 Legacy (as will Android Auto) via the company’s Bluetooth SUBARU STARLINK Multimedia system.
Apple remains on top of tablet market in Q4 despite declines, iPad Pro model penetration just 10%
Research firms IDC and Strategy Analytics are out today with their latest reports on the worldwide tablet market share and both have Apple remaining in the top position by quite a large margin, despite overall declines for the category.
Apple bumps Samsung from top spot in smartphone share w/ record Q4 iPhone sales
With Apple reporting all-time record high iPhone sales and revenue in its earnings call yesterday, IDC’s latest data out today confirms that the company surpassed Samsung to take the top spot in the fourth quarter of last year. That was despite, as IDC notes, a first full year of decline for iPhone with a 7% drop year-over-year for 2016:
Apple Q1: Apple Pay users tripled, transaction volume up 500% YOY, Comcast adding support for bill payments
During the company’s Q1 2017 earnings call today, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced some new milestones for Apple Pay. The company also confirmed that Comcast would soon begin accepting Apple Pay on the web for bill payments.