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:
Plex today announced plans to acquire streaming video news service Watchup and deliver the news content directly to the over 10 million people using its media server apps. The deal will bring video news content from CNN, CBS, Sky News, Euronews, the Wall Street Journal, and many others to Plex’s exiting user base.
The Board of Law Examiners of the State of North Carolina has issued a notice to Bar exam applicants, informing anyone using Apple’s new MacBook Pro that the device’s new Touch Bar hardware will have to be disabled for the exam. Many other states have recently banned use of the machine for taking the test outright.
Starbucks is rolling out a new feature in its iPhone app called My Starbucks barista that will let customers order drinks with voice commands by speaking to a virtual AI barista, the company announced today in a press release.
On top of speaking to the virtual barista to order drinks by voice, users can also send text messages to the AI and order that way if preferred:
In this week’s top stories: iOS 10.3 beta arrives with a new Find My AirPods feature, Ben walks through Getting started with HomeKit in his first Smart Home Diary, macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta brings Apple’s Night Shift feature to Macs, and much more.
Winner: Happy PowerDemon from Staten Island
9to5Rewards is officially out of beta, which means you’ll see a new giveaway as part of the program here every Friday on the main site (and our Twitter, Facebook, etc). Our sister site, 9to5Google (and soon 9to5Toys and Electrek.co) is also now running weekly giveaways.
This week’s giveaway is from Portland-based Grovemade, makers of high-quality wood and leather accessories for your Apple products. They are giving out their wood and leather iPhone cases and walnut iPhone dock.
There have been a lot of reports for over a year now about wireless charging coming to the iPhone 8, but also still a lot of questions about what it will look like if it does indeed arrive on this year’s 10th anniversary iPhone update.
Will Apple have long-range wireless charging ready in time for its new iPhones this fall? And will you settle for an inductive charging solution like the competition if not?
Apple and its partner NV Energy today confirmed plans for an expansion of their solar operations for up to an additional 200 megawatts of energy to support the growing needs of Apple’s data center in Reno.
In addition to supporting Apple’s data center, the announcement notes that Apple will keep 5 megawatts of the new plant to sell to residential and commercial customers through NV Energy. Last summer Apple notably created a new energy subsidiary called Apple Energy LLC to begin selling excess energy from its solar farms and shortly after received approval to do so.
Following reports late last week that Apple is suing its iPhone modem supplier Qualcomm for $1 billion in the US, today Beijing’s Intellectual Property Court said Apple has also filed a similar suit in China seeking 1 billion yuan or over $140 million in damages (via Reuters).
In response to the new lawsuit, Qualcomm today issued its own press release and noted that Apple is claiming the company is in violation of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law. The press release also said that Apple is requesting “determination of the terms of a patent license” regarding the two companies’ cellular standard essentials patents, in response to which Qualcomm’s lawyers claimed Apple was offered deals consistent with the rest of the industry:
Lots has been made about the new MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar, the integrated touch sensitive display that replaces the top row of the device’s keyboard. The Touch Bar is contextually sensitive, offering different functions depending on what app you are using, and support is growing as more apps add new functions and support in general. But has it become part of your daily workflow?
Apple just released iOS 10.3 beta for developers and within has surprised with a new Find My AirPods feature that allows users to locate their missing cord-free Apple earbuds.
The Pokémon Company is today releasing its latest offering for mobile devices with Pokémon Duel, a strategy board game that lets you grow a team of six Pokemon characters and fight against others. The game was previously available in Japan but today is launching in the US and elsewhere internationally.
Apple marketing executive Musa Tariq is leaving the company after a couple short years and headed to Ford where he’ll become the company’s vice president and chief brand officer (via Automotive News).
Gamevice is one of the more popular options for Apple-certified, Made-for-iPhone (and iPad) game controllers. Today the company is introducing a new version of the controller specifically designed for iPhone 7 and 7 Plus with a built-in headphone jack and a Lightning port for charging. It also has second-generation controllers launching today and later this month for iPads.
Last week Apple released Logic Pro X 10.3 with a ton of new features for pros and a refreshed user interface. In today’s Logic Pros, we give you the rundown on the update’s new iCloud syncing feature that lets you easily send your session to GarageBand for iOS.
With the new feature, you now have a one-tap method to send a reference of what you’re working on in Logic over to Garageband, allowing you to continue working on it outside of the studio anywhere you might have an iPhone or iPad. Any tracks and edits you make automatically get synced back to Logic for when you return to the studio.
Here’s how it works:
Sprint today announced that it’s acquiring a large 33% stake in the Jay-Z owned streaming music service TIDAL, which debuted ahead of competitor Apple Music back in 2015. Jay-Z and crew will continue to run the service, according to the company’s announcement, but the deal will give Sprint customers access to exclusive content through the service:
In this week’s top stories: Flying with AirPods, iPhone 8 and MacBook update rumors, we explore what’s next for iOS, Apple releases Logic Pro X and GarageBand updates, and much more.
(Update 4/19 2021): Apple Music Connect was discontinued. Read how to get your music video on Apple Music with a distribution partner right here.
Apple Music Connect, which allows artists to share photos, videos and songs with their fans on Apple Music, has changed a bit since the introduction of iOS 10 back in September. The content artists upload now appears in different locations within the newly updated Apple Music app on iOS 10 for listeners. It remains, however, a powerful tool for sharing new music and videos, clips of upcoming releases, and everything else beyond your main releases on Apple Music, iTunes and the other streaming services.
The user interface for uploading has changed slightly, and Apple has introduced new tools for Connect since it first launched that allows users to create and share an embedded web player and more. You’ll also be able to attach music videos to your albums on Apple Music using Connect.
Here’s how it works:
Today is the 2017 Presidential inauguration for President-elect Donald Trump and there are many ways to watch the events unfold live on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV. On top of live official coverage on Twitter from PBS, there are also live video streams from the big TV broadcasters that are available in iOS and Apple TV apps as well as through Facebook and various websites if you’re watching on your Mac. There are even some 4K and 360-degree live streams available for all on YouTube. Telemundo will have Spanish coverage.
If you’re looking for how to live stream the Trump inauguration on your Apple device, head below for the full list of websites and apps offering live streams today.
We asked in a previous poll why YOU aren’t buying AirPods despite overall glowing reviews. Now we want to know what you’d like to see in a future, second-generation version of the product.
For the majority in our last poll, the reason for holding off on the purchase was either pricing or availability. That’s not much of a surprise, because for many of us, the product is already solid enough to become our new daily-driver headphones. But there are, however, a few possibilities for new features in a future set of AirPods.
Apple is today releasing a new version of its Logic Pro X audio production suite and it’s a big one. Not only does version 10.3 introduce Touch Bar support for MacBook Pro in a way that might be the most ambitious yet— they are fully customizable and go well beyond what GarageBand has— the update also includes a refreshed user interface and many top requested features by pros.
Alongside an update for Logic Pro X today to version 10.3, GarageBand for iOS is also getting an update that introduces Logic integration, a refreshed design, and a handful of new features.
Perhaps most notably, version 2.2 of GarageBand for iPhone and iPad introduces a mobile version of the Alchemy virtual synth that it picked up through its Camel Audio acquisition and first integrated into Logic last summer.
Apple has updated its website for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in Japan to add support for Quasi Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), a Japanese satellite positioning system that could improve location features for users in the region versus traditional GPS (via Macotakara.jp).
New details on LG’s upcoming Android Wear-powered smartwatches leaked earlier today and it appears the company is getting set to introduce a rotating hardware button that mimics the style and functionality of the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown.
The circular hardware button is designed and positioned to look like a traditional watch crown, but like the Apple Watch, will reportedly be used to navigate UI elements on the upcoming LG wearable’s display.
Roku is today launching an updated mobile app that introduces a redesigned user interface to make content easier to access alongside a new ‘What’s On’ guide that serves up recommendations on what to watch.
Roku says the aim of the redesign is to provide easier one-tap access to the most commonly used features. That includes the ability to start a stream with one tap of a channel from the app’s main screen, and a new navigation bar will let you pull up other features you might need quick access to including search, the remote control, and options for sending content to your TV. There’s also a redesigned remote control feature included.