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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

Siri is looking for its own personal assistant to stay current on events and culture

Apple is looking to hire a “Siri Event Maven” that will serve as Siri’s own personal assistant on events and pop culture happenings trending among humans.

The role will be to make sure that Siri is up to date on all the non-traditional holidays, trending cultural happenings, and events that people might ask about. Apple says the Siri Event Maven will work with the engineers and designers working on Siri “to provide strategic awareness of cultural happenings in the collective zeitgeist.”


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Nike SNKRS iOS app adds AR features to make exclusive sneaker releases interactive

Nike announced today that it’s now using augmented reality features through its iOS app to make exclusive sneaker releases a more interactive experience. Using its Nike+ SNKRS app popular among those trying their luck at purchasing in-demand shoe releases, Nike is integrating AR features that will make some new sneakers only available to those that unlock them through viewing real-world items via their iPhone’s camera.


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Dexcom CEO talks ‘game changer’ diabetes management coming to Apple Watch

With the upcoming watchOS 4 update for Apple Watch slated to bring new features for diabetes management devices, we took some time to speak with Dexcom’s CEO Kevin Sayer this week about what it means for users. When Apple revealed watchOS 4 at its Worldwide Developers Conference this month, it featured Dexcom, makers of the G5 Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) popular among iPhone users, on stage as an example of an Apple Watch app that will benefit from new features in the release.

Sayer shared details on how exactly Dexcom devices will improve from these new features in watchOS 4, and more specifically why CoreBluetooth support will be a “game changer” for Apple Watch users with diabetes.

We also learned from Sayer about the next-generation of the company’s popular G5 CGM coming soon. And we had to ask about the chatter prior to WWDC that Apple is reportedly developing its own glucose monitoring technology, to find out his thoughts on the possibility of such features being built directly into future Apple Watch models.


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Instagram Stories now at 250M users & adds Live Video replays, will expand to other services

After deciding to clone Snapchat’s Stories feature and roll it out to Instagram last August, today the company offered an update on progress, confirming the feature now has 250 million daily active users. That’s up from the 200 million it announced back in April when it officially surpassed Snapchat. In comparison, Snapchat was at around 166 million daily active users as of its last announced numbers in May.

The company is also announcing a new video replay feature that allows users to share clips of videos that were previously available as live video on Stories:


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Olixar claims to reveal iPhone 8 design w/ new cases now available to order

Yesterday one of the first screen protectors allegedly for iPhone 8 leaked claiming to show the device’s expected design and other features. It was made by case manufacturer Olixar, and today the company is one of the first to reveal an entire line of cases for the upcoming iPhones. It’s also started accepting preorders for the cases that it says depicts both the front and back of the iPhone’s new design accurately.

We’re told by the company selling the cases, MobileFun, that Olixar has created them using “information and schematics they’ve acquired through their factories and contacts in the far east.”


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Amazon surpassed Sonos to become leader in Wi-Fi speaker sales ahead of Apple’s HomePod

A new report from Strategy Analytics gives us a look at the current state of Wi-Fi speaker sales ahead of Apple’s release of its newly unveiled HomePod Siri speaker slated for this December. The report shows that Amazon with its push of Echo and other Alexa-enabled WiFi speakers was able to surpass shipments from Sonos that has mostly ruled the majority of the market since 2014.


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watchOS apps continue to disappear as Whole Foods says ‘nighty nighty’ to Apple Watch support

Whole Foods just removed its Apple Watch app from the App Store, making it the latest company to do so after Google, eBay, Amazon and others did the same earlier this year. Speaking of Amazon, the removal of the Whole Foods Watch app follows Amazon’s announcement that it will acquire the grocery store chain for $13.7 billion this week…


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Jay-Z’s new album ‘4:44’ drops exclusively to Sprint and Tidal customers June 30

Following a deal with Sprint to acquire 33% of Jay-Z’s TIDAL streaming music service, today the companies announced that the first exclusive release as part of the partnership will be Jay-Z’s new album later this month. The release will be a big one, Jay-Z latest full-length album set for release at the end of this month. But it won’t exactly be a total Sprint exclusive like the company is making it seem…


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Nest is considering Apple HomeKit as iOS 11 makes supporting existing products easier

Nest has long been a holdout on Apple’s Siri-controlled HomeKit platform, and many have speculated it will never add support due to its ties with Google and its competing offerings. But this week the company told us it’s at least considering adopting HomeKit following some big changes for hardware authentication requirements announced this month.

When we asked the company if it would look into newly announced iOS 11 features that allow old products to easily add support, a Nest spokesperson officially told us its “open to supporting” the platform and that it will indeed “consider HomeKit.”


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IBM opening ‘Garages’ dedicated to Apple partnership for developing iOS enterprise apps

After announcing a partnership with Apple back in 2014 to help bring enterprise apps and more to iOS, IBM today announced plans to accelerate the initiative with new ‘Garages’ that will serve as dedicated physical spaces to aid its corporate customers with the development of the MobileFirst iPhone and iPad apps:
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Angry Birds Evolution turn-based RPG combat game for adults now available [Video]

After a soft launch previously, Angry Birds Evolution, a new turn-based RPG combat game from Rovio, is officially launching in the U.S. and globally today.

The game is the latest in the popular Angry Birds franchise and, in addition to introducing a new type of gameplay for the birds, is the first title for the game made specifically for adults. As Rovio notes, that means “naughty humor, pop culture references galore and classic turn-based RPG combat.”


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A stroll through Apple Park reveals green landscape progressing [Gallery]

Apple Park is starting to look a lot more like a park as Apple makes rapid progress on the massive landscaping job and continues construction at the site. The images above and below give a good ground level look at the thousands of trees being planted around the main circular building on the 175-acre campus. These photos sent in by a 9to5Mac reader show how the site looked as of late last week.

While Apple announced back in February that Apple Park would be ready for employees to begin moving in by April, the site still appears to be more in construction mode and it’s unclear what Apple staff if any is actually already working at the new campus. The company is also expected to host future events at the 1000-seat Steve Jobs Theatre located at Apple Park, but chatter from construction workers is that finishing touches could go beyond the end of the year and the new iPhone unveiling expected to be Apple’s next event in September.

Head below for a tour…


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