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:
UI concept for VR iPhone case Pinć from Cordon Labs
Apple has recently hired a lead engineer from Microsoft’s HoloLens team, leading to more speculation that it could be working on its own augmented reality project behind the scenes.
Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster first spotted the change of positions for Nick Thompson, who was reportedly previously leading audio hardware engineering efforts for Microsoft’s Hololens augmented reality project:
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Apple is about to discontinue repair support for a handful of products as it plans to designate some Apple TV, iPod, and display models ‘obsolete’ a day before its iPhone event next month.
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Belkin’s three latest products in its Wemo line of Wi-Fi connected, smartphone-controlled products for the home include a white bulb starter kit, a versatile strip light, and garden lights for outdoor use. The last two are both tunable to thousands of colors and all three connect to Belkin’s Wemo ecosystem and companion app for remote control from your iPhone. All three of the products are through a partnership with OSRAM SYLVANIA, who provided the lightning products that Belkin has integrated into its Wemo platform. We took the three new starter kits for a test drive to get a second look at the growing Wemo platform and see if they are worth the investment before support for Apple’s HomeKit…
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Instagram today announced that it’s rolling out two new orientations for photos and videos including portrait and landscape formats to add to the old square photo format that was previously the only option for users uploading content.
It turns out that nearly one in five photos or videos people post aren’t in the square format, and we know that it hasn’t been easy to share this type of content on Instagram: friends get cut out of group shots, the subject of your video feels cramped and you can’t capture the Golden Gate Bridge from end to end.
When users upload an image in the app, they’ll now be able to tap a new icon to get access to the new portrait and landscape orientation options. In the screenshots above, Instagram gives us a look at how the new photo orientations will appear in a user’s feed.
The company notes that “To keep the clean feel of your profile grid, your post will appear there as a center-cropped square.” And lastly, Instagram is making all filters available for videos, which previously had its own set of separate filters:
We’re especially excited about what this update means for video on Instagram, which in widescreen can be more cinematic than ever. While we’ve historically had separate filters for photos and for videos, all filters will now work on all types of moments. You can also adjust the intensity of filters on videos, too.
The new features are available in the updated iOS app, version 7.5, landing on the App Store today.
Following the first trailers for the upcoming Aaron Sorkin-penned Steve Jobs film landing online and TV in recent weeks, Universal has now revealed the first official poster for the movie (pictured above) as star Kate Winslet shares some thoughts on her role and the film in a new interview.
In a recent interview in New York Magazine, Kate Winslet, who stars in the Danny Boyle directed film alongside Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs and supporting roles for Seth Rogen and Jeff Daniels, shares some insight into how she got the role, what to expect from the film and her experience on set.
On preparing for the role and meeting the real Joanna Hoffman:
I spent a great deal of time with Joanna, and she herself has a softness to her. She came to America as a young woman and achieved a great deal. One thing that was unique about her as a figure in Steve’s life was that she didn’t need anything from him. She just needed for him to be the best version of himself. And that’s what really set their relationship apart from any relationship with all his other colleagues… She was an extraordinary, feisty Eastern European person who was pretty much the only person who could actually knock sense into Steve, and she was also kind of an emotional compass.
On what to expect from the film and Aaron Sorkin’s dialogue:
Sorkin makes it almost not about Steve Jobs at all. It’s about how that man has 100 percent dictated how we all live our lives today and how we function as people. The film is about all of us, and all of us today, not in ’84 or ’88 or ’98. I mean, look at us all — how we function. You look at a lot of toddlers today, they’ll pick up any screen of any kind, and they don’t push a button, they swipe. It’s horrifying but kind of extraordinary, and that is Steve Jobs…
The film is currently scheduled for release this October.
You can read more from the full interview online here and check out the recent TV trailer here.
New images have surfaced today giving us a closer look at the alleged next-generation iPhone display panel first revealed in earlier leaks (via MacRumors). The images don’t reveal any new information, but do give us a closer look at the part that appears to include new components thought to be related to the addition of Apple’s Force Touch display technology.
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IDC today published an updated forecast for worldwide tablet shipments this year, predicting the segment will experience a “notable slowdown” with both iOS and Android expected to record a year over year decline in growth. While IDC notes that the majority of the 212 million tablets it expects to ship this year will be “pure slate tablets”, it does anticipate growth in the 2-in-1 hybrid tablet/laptop category, of which it’s apparently including the larger 12-inch+ iPad that Apple is expected to introduce later this year:
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(Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)
IDC released an updated forecast today lowering its expectations for worldwide smartphone shipments this year with a continuing slowdown in growth in China cited as the biggest contributor to the lower than expected shipments. It also shared some insight into expected growth for Apple in the years to come, predicting Android’s current 81% share of the market by operating system will likely hold strong through 2019 and that a cheaper iPhone 6C model wouldn’t do much to help.
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Etsy has long been an online marketplace for unique, often handmade items available directly from their creators, but a new feature of the app will connect shoppers with nearby sellers in the real world. The new Etsy Local feature, available from within the Etsy iOS app, will alert users when they are close to a seller’s real world location, including pop-up shops, flea markets, craft fairs, and local stores.
Sellers will just have to add their local store and event information in order for it to appear for app users. For users, this is how it works within the app:
When a shopper opens the Local tab in the app, recommended nearby retailers and events are tailored to their tastes, based on shops and sellers they have previously engaged with, through favoriting, purchasing, and browsing. Buyers can also discover great new places to shop by viewing local boutiques that carry Etsy merchandise — just one more way to support local communities online and off.
You’ll find the new Local feature on the app’s home page on both your iPhone and iPad, and you’ll be able to view store info and navigate to local shops and events from within the app.
You can access the new Etsy Local feature through the Etsy app for iPhone and iPad.
The new school year is rapidly approaching, and that means stocking up on supplies and the latest tech to be ready for class by early next month. Since we’re tracking the latest deals from around the web incessantly over at 9to5Toys, and reviewing the best in tech for your Mac, iOS, and Android devices on 9to5Mac and 9to5Google, we’ve rounded up the team to put together a gift guide with our top picks for gear, supplies, apps and more to get you through the year.
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Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek published a blog post today apologizing and attempting to clarify its recently updated privacy policy that proved to be controversial among some users and press. In the post, Ek explains that updated terms granting Spotify access to more of users’ personal information is only to further customize the Spotify experience and that giving up that data will be entirely an opt-in experience for users:
In our new privacy policy, we indicated that we may ask your permission to access new types of information, including photos, mobile device location, voice controls, and your contacts. Let me be crystal clear here: If you don’t want to share this kind of information, you don’t have to. We will ask for your express permission before accessing any of this data – and we will only use it for specific purposes that will allow you to customize your Spotify experience.
The post goes on to clarify exactly why Spotify is requesting each new type of data and for what it will be used. While most of the data is being used to personalize the listening experience for users, the caveat is that it does reserve the right to share data with advertisers, rights holders, and mobile networks:
Sharing: The Privacy Policy also mentions advertisers, rights holders and mobile networks. This is not new. With regard to mobile networks, some Spotify subscribers sign up through their mobile provider, which means some information is shared with them by necessity. We also share some data with our partners who help us with marketing and advertising efforts, but this information is de-identified – your personal information is not shared with them.
But how does that compare to other music services? Wired put together a good breakdown of exactly what user data competing music services reserve the right to access via their privacy policies. The majority of the services all request similar data, although a few differ on accessing contacts and media files and sharing with third-parties, while others don’t have much disclosure regarding location tracking.
Smart plugs aren’t exactly new. Belkin has its WeMo platform of connected home devices including its Wi-Fi-enabled ‘Insight Switch’, an iPhone app-controlled outlet, and others have similar competing products. But iHome’s new SmartPlug is one of the first arriving for Apple’s recently launched Siri-controlled HomeKit platform. I’ve been testing out the product in recent weeks to see exactly what HomeKit adds to the experience and to get a real world taste of Apple’s home automation platform in general for the first time with an actual product. Now that it’s officially available for purchase, here’s what you need to know…
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Yahoo is today updating its Yahoo Weather app for iOS with near-term rain and snow alerts (not that we needed a reminder that summer is nearly over). With the updated app, users will receive alerts for rain and snow 15 minutes before an expected downpour.
In addition to the new weather alerts, Yahoo notes that the app is now more accurate with improvements made to the methods it uses to “determine and serve forecasts.” As an example, Yahoo says the app will now “even zoom in on microclimates.”
The updated Yahoo Weather app with rain and snow alerts, version 1.8, is available for iPhone and iPad on the App Store now.
Introducing new weather alerts around the world!
Yahoo Weather, our beautiful and intuitive weather app, will alert you 15 minutes before rain or snow is expected so you can grab your jacket, boots and umbrella!
With a lot of compromised designs due to the rush to get Apple Watch docks and stands to market, I wasn’t initially all that impressed with the often overpriced options available. That’s why I opted for a DIY mod of my own Apple Watch box. But at just $15, this new charging dock from Poetic is one of the first dock products I’ve received that I can confidently recommend to those of you currently window shopping for a watch stand. Here’s why you shouldn’t waste your time with pricier options…
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10Xdbr60wcg]
Square Enix announced earlier this year at E3 that it would bring back its beloved Final Fantasy VII title as a remake for consoles, PC, and iOS. Today, the iPhone and iPad version of the game officially arrives on the App Store.
While we learned previously that Square Enix wouldn’t be using its Luminous Engine for the remake, the game’s iTunes page does confirm that the iOS title is a direct “port based on Final Fantasy VII for PC” and arrives without any changes to the original game’s storyline. It’s also made some enhancements specially for the iPhone and iPad version…
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A new study from research firm MusicWatch shares some insight into Apple Music usage, including the percentages of users the subscription streaming service has been able to attract from Apple’s old iTunes music platform and competing services.
Around 11 percent of iOS users report actually using Apple Music (although 77 percent were aware it had launched), and that number is approximately the same among users purchasing or managing their music through iTunes. Compare those numbers to the approximately 40 percent of iOS users that MusicWatch says buy music in the form of digital downloads through iTunes.
In addition, the report notes that usage among existing iTunes Radio users sits at 18 percent. That would mean Apple Music has only attracted a small portion of iTunes users in general. While the numbers compared to iTunes usage are low, MusicWatch notes that the service has been able to convert around 52% of users that gave the service a try since launch. To me, that’s a good sign that the biggest hurdle is actually getting users to try the service. But how does usage relate to that of competitive services?…
Wired’s new cover story featuring Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre includes interviews with the Beats co-founders turned Apple executives and also some quotes from others on the Apple Music team. The article has a lot of backstory on the duo pre Apple’s acquisition of Beats, much of which we’ve heard in the past, but mostly discusses the Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, an undergraduate program the two Apple executives have started at the University of Southern California.
“If you tell a kid, ‘You’ve got to pick music or Instagram,’ they’re not picking music,” Iovine says. “There was a time when, for anybody between the ages of 15 and 25, music was one, two, and three. It’s not anymore.”
The school aims to create a new generation of creative executives by assembling a faculty drawn from the schools of art, business, and engineering in an ambitious new curriculum. This, Iovine says, will be his true legacy, a pipeline of professionals, equally at home in the worlds of tech and culture, who can steer the music industry through whatever displacements lie ahead. “If the school doesn’t work, to me the whole thing failed,” Iovine says. “Because then you’ve got to pray for freaks, and that’s no way to run a business.”
You can read the full Wired cover story online here.
Sprint today announced a new $22/month upgrade option for iPhone users allowing them to pick up a new iPhone at anytime through a plan dubbed “iPhone Forever”.
iPhone users can now opt to pay an extra $22/month on top of any individual unlimited plan or family share pack plan and when a new iPhone is eventually released, they simply bring in their old device to upgrade to the latest entry-level iPhone model. Here’s how it compares to options from the other carriers…
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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, it’s the beginning of hardware month. As previously mentioned, we will be looking at a number of interesting hardware add-ons, instruments, controllers and more for Mac and iOS setups, starting with the puc+:
A new product from Bucardo turns the Apple Watch into a necklace pendant or a pocket watch with the company’s upcoming Pendulum Collection of jewelry accessories.
The collection includes a vintage-style pocket watch accessory for the 42mm Apple Watch in two styles, and a line of pendant necklaces for the 38mm Apple Watch, all available in either 14k or 18k gold plating or sterling silver and various designs. The accessories are designed with a hinge so they can be worn with the Apple Watch’s display covered and protected, or optionally exposed as the centrepiece of the necklace pendants:
Featuring silver and gold plating and crystals by Swarovski®, the Pendulum Collection includes offerings for both men and women. For men, Bucardo presents a thoughtfully designed pocket watch with a refined pinstripe or hammered cover that flips open to reveal the Apple Watch face. For women, Bucardo offers two takes on the vintage-inspired pendant. The locket pendant conceals the face of the Apple Watch behind an eye-catching cover that features a constellation or starburst engraving. Worn around the neck uncovered, the charm pendant allows wearers to personalize their look with a selection of elegant charms. Each accessory is accompanied by a detachable chain.
The collection ranges from $150 (or $100 for early Kickstarter backers) all the way to $5,000 for the line’s Starburst Locket Pendant Necklace in 14k gold with a 3mm white or black diamond.
The company will also include a “a custom-fit cedar wood insert designed to be used as a freestanding docking station for the Apple Watch” with the collection.
You can check out the full collection and order through the crowd-funding campaign launching this week. Shipping for Kickstarter backers is scheduled to start early December in time for the holidays.
Microsoft first unveiled “Windows Bridge” a few months back, a new tool for developers that aims to make porting iOS apps to Windows 10 easier and hopefully breathe some life into the Windows Store in the process. Today the company is releasing the software, albeit an early release ahead of a final launch planned for later this year in the fall.
The bridge offers developers tools for utilizing existing code from iOS apps to build Windows apps, but Microsoft stressed that its “goal with the iOS bridge has never been simply to run iOS apps on Windows.”
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Runtastic, developers of several popular fitness iOS apps, today announced it has been acquired by Adidas for € 220 million. The move, according to a press release from both companies, will help Adidas bolster its efforts in offering connected products and its vision of “the convergence of sport, digital and data in an always connected and always on-demand world.” Or in other words, Adidas now has a strong software component with a large user base to integrate with its digitally enabled sports products including balls, wrist devices, apparel, and shoes.
Adidas already offers several of its own mobile apps that cross over into Runtastic’s territory, such as the miCoach train & run app and the Adidas Go app that integrates with Spotify to offer music matched to a user’s running pace. Runtastic, however, has around 20 mobile apps related to fitness and health and claims around 140 million downloads and 70 million registered users. The company also offers a few hardware products, including a scale and fitness tracking devices, that compliment its fitness apps that integrate with other third-party hardware including Apple Watch.
It’s unclear what Adidas has planned for the company and its apps, but Runtastic will be joining the Adidas teams and building new experiences as part of the brand going forward. What exactly that means for the Runtastic brand and integration with Adidas products remains to be seen.
Apple today denied a recent report that the company is in the process of testing out its own Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) services, a sign it could be laying the groundwork to offer its own wireless services for its devices. Apple has officially issued a statement on the story from Business Insider, saying it’s not planning or discussing an MVNO cellular service:
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First announced back in November of last year, accessory maker Nico Gerard is now accepting preorders for its Pinnacle Collection dual-watch bands for Apple Watch. The accessory, which is similar to a product from watchmakers Original Grain that we reviewed earlier this year, offers a traditional style watch on one side with the ability to attach an Apple Watch face to the strap on the opposite side of your wrist. The idea is to get the best of both worlds: The look and feel of a traditional watch, but without sacrificing all of the functionality of your Apple Watch in the process.
Unlike the $269 product from Original Grain we reviewed earlier this year, Nico Gerard’s swiss-made take on the dual-watchband is clearly aiming at a more luxury watch market. Prices range from around $9,300.00 for the stainless steel Nico Gerard Pinnacle and Skyview Pinnacle models (pictured above, left and top right), to $112,000.00 for the Sunrise Pinnacle model in 18 Karat gold (pictured above, lower right). Those prices, however, will include a 38mm stainless steel or gold Apple Watch already attached. All three watches come with a Swiss-certified NG2824A movement rated for 100-meter depths for pressure.
I had quite a positive experience with a similar product from Original Grain when I reviewed it a couple months back, although I haven’t made it my daily driver. In fact, I’ve stopped wearing the Apple Watch entirely for the most part and most of the time opt for favorite traditional watches on any given day. And on that note, I’m not as confident that there will be as much of an audience for this type of accessory on the luxury end of the watch market.
