Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn

Jordan Kahn

jordankahn

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:  

Connect with Jordan Kahn

MFi Apple Watch straps closer to launch as Apple starts selling official lug attachments

Apple-Watch-lugs

After announcing an official program for accessory makers interested in making Apple Watch bands back in May, Apple has now delivered on its promise of providing Apple-made watch lugs that third-party manufacturers can use to make straps. That’s the first sign that official third-party watch bands will soon be hitting the market through Apple’s Made for iPhone program (MFi). Companies enrolled in the MFi program can now order the parts (pictured above) through Apple’s supplier (via MR).
Expand
Expanding
Close

First look: Using Apple’s new Audio Unit plug-ins in iOS 9

iOS-9-AU-plugin-remaster

With iOS 9 released late last month, Apple introduced a full-fledged audio plug-in framework for the first time on its mobile devices, allowing iPhone and iPad apps to implement support for third-party audio plug-ins just like on a Mac.

In fact, the audio plugin framework comes in the form of Audio Unit version 3, an updated version of the file type Apple has long used on the Mac for audio plug-ins in professional-class apps like Logic Pro.

Now that iOS 9 is available to all, we took the feature for a test drive using a couple of the very first apps to update with support…
Expand
Expanding
Close

‘The Martian’ gets official iOS/Apple Watch game as movie hits theaters

The-Martian-ios-app-01

‘The Martian’, Ridley Scott’s new sci-fi film starring Matt Damon, gets an official iOS and Apple Watch game tie-in just as the movie hits theaters in the US this weekend. The game was developed by Little Labs on license from Fox Digital Entertainment and with a little help from the author of the original book that the new film is based on.

The game mostly consists of text-based strategy gameplay, prompting players to make decisions to help Astronaut Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon in the movie) through solving problems after finding himself stranded on Mars.

The game puts Mark’s life directly in the hands of the player as they use resources on Earth to aid him in navigating the most harrowing of circumstances. Like the film and novel, the game incorporates real science to tell Mark’s story of survival on Mars and highlights iconic moments from both mediums to give players an authentic experience.

And the entire gameplay experience is available as an Apple Watch app, pictured below:

The game is available for $2.99 on the App Store as a universal download for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. That includes the whole game; there isn’t any in-app purchases or downloads. The official trailer from Little Labs is below:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pugqzJKGB4]

MediaTek outs two new SDKs for building HomeKit accessories with its chips

MediaTek is today launching support for Apple’s new HomeKit platform for iPhone-connected home automation accessories with new SDKs for two of the company’s systems-on-a-chip (SoC) products. That means that manufacturers using the MediaTek chips can now easily support HomeKit for controlling products from iOS apps and Siri.

MediaTek, a pioneering fabless semiconductor company and a market leader in cutting-edge systems-on-chip (SoC), today announced it has released two software development kits (SDKs) that support Apple HomeKit. Apple HomeKit is a framework built into iOS that enables secure home control from iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple Watch and lets home accessories work together in smart ways.

The two new SDKs support MediaTek’s MT7688 product, a chip that manufacturers are using for high performance home accessories like webcams and wireless speakers, and the MT7687, a chip being used for lower power Wi-Fi devices like garage doors, power outlets, and thermostats.

Apple officially launched the HomeKit platform back in June with the first batch of products going up for preorder. Since then, other companies have announced incoming support for the platform including hardware bridges that will allow popular existing home automation platforms like Philips’ Hue lights connect to Apple’s framework. Yesterday, 9to5Mac exclusively reported Philips’ HomeKit bridge is planned for release early next month. 

To get a feel for HomeKit in the wild, check out our review of one of the first products to hit the market with HomeKit support, iHome’s $40 SmartPlug.

Google takes a jab at iPhone 6s camera as it unveils new Nexus lineup, next-gen Chromecast, Pixel tablet & more

Google-ontap

Google is hosting its big fall event today with the company officially taking the wraps off a new lineup of Nexus smartphones from various manufacturing partners, its new second-gen Chromecast that we revealed previously, a revamped Google Photos experience, and much, much more.
Expand
Expanding
Close

How to: cancel your Apple Music subscription before free trials expire tomorrow

APPLE-MUSIC-free

With the first of the 3-month free trials for Apple Music set to expire tomorrow, many users will have their credit cards charged automatically for the $9.99/month service going forward (or $14.99/month for the family plan). If you’ve decided that you don’t want to continue with Apple Music experience and want to avoid being charged for your first month, we’ve put together quick and easy instructions on how to cancel your subscription to keep it from auto-renewing (which is on by default when you sign-up). Otherwise, Apple will charge the credit card linked to the Apple ID that you used to sign-up for Apple Music. 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple posts Apple Music walkthrough videos as first free trials expire

apple-music

One of the biggest complaints from users of Apple’s new streaming music service is that the user interface is often confusing and hard to navigate. The radio service, promoted as a standout feature of Apple Music, hardly gets front billing in the app, and non-techy users are often perplexed about where Apple Music and the radio service start and their own music collection ends. And what user inputs effect personalization in the app and where? To help answer some of these questions, Apple today published a series of Apple Music guided tours to help walk users through using the service.
Expand
Expanding
Close

How to repair/replace iPhone 6s/6s Plus battery and display (Guides)

iPhone-6s-battery-replacement-hero

With the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus officially going on sale and delivering to pre-order customers over the weekend, it’s just a matter of time before you smash your display to pieces and drain your battery’s capacity. While some screen breaking and defective batteries might be covered under AppleCare and the 1 year hardware warranty included with all iPhones, otherwise you’ll need to refer to one of these handy guides from our friends at iFixit.
Expand
Expanding
Close

iPhone 6s camera compared to every previous generation iPhone (Gallery)

Camera-plus-iPhone6s-comparison-01

There has been a lot of opinions floating around about the new iPhone 6s camera, its upgraded 12 megapixel sensor, 4K video capability, and the other software side improvements with iOS 9. Our own photographer Ben Lovejoy put the device to the test in his ongoing diary series. But this latest photo gallery from the people behind the Camera+ app gives us a look at how the camera has improved not just over last generation, but also over all other previous generations of iPhones in a side by side comparison.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Foursquare uses its foot traffic data to predict opening-weekend iPhone sales

Foursquare-iPhone6s-sales

Foursquare is tapping into its data of foot traffic for the first time to predict Apple’s iPhone sales as the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launch this weekend. The company notes that it has “the world’s largest database of information on the foot traffic of people around the globe,” courtesy of its app users that use the app to check-in at locations they visit. 
Expand
Expanding
Close

This documentary film was shot entirely in 4K on the new iPhone 6s Plus

painter-jalouzi-iphone-6s-plus-02

We’ve seen some great photo galleries from professional photographers using the new iPhone 6s ahead of its retail launch today, but now we get our best look yet at the upgraded camera’s new 4K video ability courtesy of ryot.org

‘The Painter of Jalouzi’ is a short documentary (embedded below) following one man’s mission to transform a slum in Haiti by painting the drab surroundings on the town’s hillside buildings in bright colors. The film was done by David Darg & Bryn Mooser for Ryot and shot entirely on an iPhone 6s Plus. The team shared some thoughts on the experience filming with iPhone 6s Plus:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Nat Geo photog replaces bags of camera gear w/ iPhone 6s Plus for China photo shoot

iPhone-6s-plus-nat-geo-01

Ahead of the launch of the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus tomorrow, National Geographic today published a set of photos shot on the new device. Apple’s SVP of Marketing Phil Schiller pointed us to the article, which follows photographer Mark Leong reflecting on his history of shooting with various devices in China over the last 25 years. Head below for a look at the photos shot on Apple’s new flagship iPhone…
Expand
Expanding
Close

iPad mini 4 is one of Apple’s best tablet displays yet in real-world viewing conditions

ipad-mini-4

Apple’s new iPad mini 4 was slightly overshadowed by its new plus-size iPad Pro during the unveiling earlier this month, but today DisplayMate gives us its usual in-depth analysis of the device’s new display for those considering making the purchase.

While the standout feature of the new iPad mini 4 was upgraded processing power to match the iPad Air 2, the display, as noted by DisplayMate, in many ways beats out the iPad Air 2 and makes for one of Apple’s best tablet displays yet.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple gives iPhone 6s Plus camera a test drive at New York Fashion Week

iphone-6s-ralph-lauren

Update, Sept. 19: Vogue originally posted the wrong photos. They’ve now been updated with the correct images shot on iPhone 6s Plus.

Apple’s new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus won’t officially arrive for customers until September 25th, but Apple is giving the upgraded camera on the devices a real world test drive at New York Fashion Week. It appears Apple handed over a few of the unreleased phones to Vogue and they enlisted photographer Kevin Lu to shoot the show entirely with the new iPhone.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple’s new company store to sell devices for the first time, new collection of Apple branded merchandise

Apple-company-store

Update: Images of the new store’s facade below via @MikesiOSHelp and @thequinntaylor.

With Apple’s redesigned company store set to open this weekend, details of changes to the new store have been highlighted in a memo to employees (via MacMagazine). Among the changes, the new Apple company store will for the first time sell Apple devices including the iPhone, iPad, Macs, and Apple Watch. The store is also re-opening with a new collection of Apple-branded merchandise including clothing, mugs, and other collectibles that are only available at the company store. 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple Campus 2 construction progress gets a close up in latest 4K drone flyover

Screen Shot 2015-09-17 at 5.58.09 PM

Today we get one of the best looks yet at Apple’s under construction “Campus 2” in Cupertino with a drone flyover video courtesy of Emory Peterson and aerial photography company Above Reno.

The video, shot in 4K over Labor Day weekend earlier this month, gets us up close with Apple’s rapidly progressing Campus 2 project scheduled for completion in late 2016. Above Reno notes the video was “filmed at or below 400 feet above ground level with clearance from the local FAA office.”
Expand
Expanding
Close

AirServer adds live streaming from iOS apps to YouTube, higher quality mirroring w/ iOS 9’s rewritten AirPlay

airserver-ios-9

With the launch of YouTube Gaming earlier this year, Google’s Twitch competitor that lets users live stream and watch gameplay videos on YouTube, users can now live stream and browse gameplay videos on YouTube from dedicated apps. Google first enabled live streaming the desktop, and today announced plans for Android, but an update to the popular AirServer app is taking advantage of the lack of iOS streaming support by enabling users to live stream directly to YouTube from their iOS devices.

Google does have a YouTube Gaming app or iOS, but it currently only acts as a community-style app for letting users access live streams and recorded gameplay videos from their iPhone or iPad. AirServer, however, tells us it collaborated with YouTube to enable streaming from iOS apps using its mirroring technology:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Pinterest updated for iOS 9 w/ Spotlight search, 3D Touch on iPhone 6s, more

Pinterest-iOS-9

Pinterest just announced an updated iOS app that introduces a number of new features just in time for Apple’s release of iOS 9 today. The app gets support for iOS 9 features, starting with the ability to search for Pins, Pinners, and boards you’ve viewed from within iOS’s new Spotlight search:

As you view Pins, Pinners and boards, you’ll be able to search for them later right from your iPhone or iPad’s search screen. If you’re planning a Halloween costume and know you’ve seen good ideas on Pinterest, search “costume” and we’ll show you search results right on your phone. The more Pins you view on Pinterest, the more you can search for them from your phone.

In addition, the updated app makes use of the iPhone 6s 3D Touch feature by allowing quick access to the most used features with a press and hold of the Pinterest app icon from the home screen:

If you have a new iPhone with 3D Touch, you can press and hold the Pinterest app icon from your iPhone’s home screen to quickly search for Pins, create a board or see what’s popular on Pinterest… Once you’re in the app, you can press any Pin to get a bigger preview and quickly Pin, like or send. Press the board name to get a preview of the board it came from.

And lastly, the new app supports “universal links,” which means you’ll now be taken directly to the app when clicking a Pinterest link from anywhere on your iPhone, instead of being redirected from Safari first.

The updated Pinterest app is available on the App Store now.

Read our full walkthrough of new features in iOS 9 here.

CBS plans to bring All Access service to Apple TV, other platforms in the near future

AppleTV-CBS-All-Access

CBS plans to bring its $5.99/month All Access subscription service, which offers a mix of on-demand TV shows and live streaming from local stations, to Apple TV and other platforms in the near future, a source with knowledge of the matter informed us.

Word that Apple TV is still in the company’s sights for the All Access service comes as it officially announces support for Google’s Android TV platform today and ahead of an official launch of Apple’s revamped Apple TV platform arriving in October.
Expand
Expanding
Close