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:
Two new interactive tools let you try out the Apple Watch before it hits Apple Store shelves next month: The first lets you try out various Apple Watch case colors and finishes with the different strap options available. The next lets you play with the Apple Watch apps that have already been announced.
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RadPad, an app we told you about back in November when it launched as one the first to let you pay rent using Apple Pay, now lets you easily split rent with roommates.
Pay with RadPad Roommates makes it really, really easy for renters who have roommates to pay their rent together, using their own credit, debit card or Apple Pay… A roommate signs up and invites their other roommates to pay rent together: RadPad sends invites to each roommate, via text and email. The roommate receives the invite, accepts it and then enters in their credit or debit card or elects to use Apple Pay. That’s it!
You’ll also be able to see when your roommates are slacking with status information on their half of the rent. The app allows up to four roommates to split the rent and sends a check to the landlord on behalf of the tenants. You can even setup rent payments to your landlord through the app if they aren’t using RadPad.
RadPad tells us it’s expecting to process $14M in annual rents this year after launching in October.
The RadPad app is available on the App Store for free.
South by Southwest (SXSW) just launched its official mobile app ahead of the festival and alongside it announced plans for the world’s largest deployment of iBeacons to offer mobile app features triggered by the Bluetooth beacons. In total, more than 1000+ beacons will be deployed to pull it all off. SXSW thinks the features will “fundamentally change attendee’s experiences” by letting mobile app users network and navigate the event.
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Sonos is today rolling out version 5.3 of its Sonos Controller app for iOS to introduce a few new features and a tweaked user interface.
The feature being highlighted above others in the update is easier access to controlling the app’s Rooms feature: Effortlessly move your music around your home with a more accessible ROOMS menu available by tapping the top of any screen in the Sonos app. Group and ungroup rooms from the ROOMS menu to play music in perfect synchrony throughout your home.
Also new in the update is an updated user experience for iPad users that offers new, separate views for currently playing music and discovery features:
Sonos highlighted a few other new features including more readily available search and a new playback progress slider.
The updated app, version 5.3, is available on the App Store now.
What’s New in Version 5.3
SIMPLER ROOM CONTROL AND FASTER ACCESS TO ALL YOUR MUSIC.
Effortlessly move your music around your home with a more accessible Rooms menu available by tapping the top of any screen in the Sonos app.
A more engaging browse experience for tablets with dedicated screens for what’s playing and music discovery.
Simplified track progression bar, just below the album art in the Now playing screen. Drag it to whatever point in the song you want to play. This is only applicable for music sources that allow this.
Switch between screens by swiping down from the Now Playing screen to go back to browsing your music. Then swipe from far left to right to show all your music sources.
Search is now more readily available so you can quickly find and play music.
It was only a matter of time before executives from various automakers responded to news that Apple is looking into developing its own electric vehicle. The first responses come from CEOs of Volkswagen, Daimler and Nissan during interviews at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and the Geneva car show this week.
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In addition to announcing its first-ever thumb drive with an integrated USB Type-C connector, SanDisk is also introducing a new higher-capacity version of its recently released iXpand flash drive for iPhone and iPad.
Featuring an integrated Lightning connector and companion app for iPhone and iPad, the new 128GB capacity adds to the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB options already available.
The SanDisk iXpand also comes with a companion app available on the App Store that allows for management of files, as well as streaming and viewing files on an iOS device from the connected drive:
It launches when the iXpand Flash Drive is plugged into an iPhone or iPad and can be configured to automatically sync photos and videos from the camera roll to the drive. In addition, users can store their favorite movies on the iXpand Flash Drive and instantly play them directly from the drive on their iPhone or iPad. Most popular movie formats [including] non-native and PC-friendly ones, like AVI & WMV, are supported — saving time, effort and complexity of converting video formats.
iXpand starts at $60 and the new 128GB model will sell for $149.99. It’s available on the company’s website now, and later through retailers. The lower capacity models are currently available on Amazon.
SanDisk today announced a new thumb drive that is one of the first to include an integrated USB Type C connector, the next-generation USB plug that’s expected to arrive as one of the only connectors on an upcoming MacBook laptop.
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The MLB.com At Bat app for iPhone and iPad gets a big update today in time for Spring Training bringing Spanish language support, new features, and all the details on what content will be available. Most of the app has also been redesigned including all new UI’s for team pages, scoreboards, and the newsreader.
Also new in the app for version 8.0.0 and 2015:
• New UI for all 30 team pages & the league-wide scoreboard (iPhone only)
• Player search expanded to include all active and historical MLB player cards (iPhone only)
• Re-designed UI for the newsreader (iPhone & iPad)
• Team-by-team statistical data filters (iPhone only)
• Native resolution to optimize At Bat for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
• Easy access to every game with new team schedule navigation (iPhone only)
• Application available in Spanish language, requires device language set to Spanish (iPhone & iPad)
As for Spring Training content, here’s what you’ll get with the usual $2.99/month or $19.99/year subscription:
The updated MLB.com At Bat app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.
An upcoming product called CyClip will act as a bicycle handlebar mount for the Apple Watch. Currently in development by a company called Var out of Michigan, the team plans to launch the product shortly after Apple launches the Apple Watch in April.
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Apple Watch is launching in April, and Apple just scheduled a March 9th press event where it is expected to give it a proper introduction, but between those two dates Swiss watchmakers will finally unveil their own smartwatches that will likely compete with Apple’s high-end Apple Watch collection.
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We discovered late last year that Apple was hiring software engineers with experience in virtual reality gaming and user interfaces, but new job listings this week point to Apple’s interest in the development of hardware for virtual reality.
Apple is seeking a Senior Display Systems Engineer for “display systems design and development related to VR environments.” More specifically, Apple is looking for someone experienced in monitor and projection technologies to help it with “extremely high fidelity VR environments.” From the job listing:
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Apple has opened access to its Pages, Numbers, and Keynote apps at iCloud.com to all, even those without an Apple device (via TechCrunch). Earlier this month Apple opened the apps to those without an Apple device while offering 1GB of free storage (an iCloud account with an Apple device has free access to 5GB). However, previously access to the apps for those without an Apple device was limited to the iCloud beta site at beta.icloud.com where Apple frequently tests new iCloud features before launching them to the primary site. Today they move to the main site at iCloud.com.
While the apps themselves remain in beta mode, they are now accessible to all through iCloud on the web.
Apple has a new FAQ with all the details regarding web-access to iCloud and the Pages, Numbers, and Keynote apps on its website.
Apple & timekeeping. Spring Forward. Daylight Savings welcomes iOS Alarm bug to Europe http://goo.gl/xNA9tx iPhone clocks experiencing time change issues…
Apple has added some nice new touches to Apple Maps with animated 3D imagery for iconic landmarks starting with the UK. Apple Maps now shows the correct time on Big Ben and a rotating London Eye when users viewing the landmarks access the app’s 3D Flyover feature.
Videos showing off the animated London Eye and Big Ben in Apple Maps are below:
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Apple has recently added two new companies to its list acknowledging data providers for Apple Maps. The two latest additions, GasBuddy and GreatSchools, first spotted by applemapsmarketing.com, are likely a sign that Apple intends to add additional features or points of interest to its maps apps for iOS and Mac.
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Even Samsung likes making fun of Samsung.
Unlike most of its competitors, Samsung is embracing all of the crazy rumors about its upcoming devices and having a little fun with it on its website. This is probably what Samsung’s devices would actually look like if it didn’t copy Apple.
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Battery life is always a concern for those updating to new versions of iOS. With that in mind, today we get a detailed comparison of battery life across the most recent versions of iOS including iOS 8.0.2, 8.2 Beta 2, and 8.3 Beta 2. A reader sent in the video below using a brand new out of the box 16GB iPhone 5 and Geekbench to record the results.
While the results are a close call, the latest iOS 8.3 Beta 2 seems to be underperforming in battery life slightly compared to other versions in the test. iOS 8.1.3 clocked the highest score, as pictured above.
Earlier this week we had the debate over whether or not you’d like to see Apple prioritize battery life over thickness in future iPhones. The results: Around 60% of participants said Apple should thicken the next iPhone to improve battery life.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6-dX7OWHiU&feature=youtu.be]
Apple today added nine new cities to its Flyover feature offering high resolution 3D imagery of select locations in its Maps app.
The full list of new locations rolling out is below:
Baton Rouge, LA
Boise, ID
Edinburgh, Scotland
Cáceres, Spain
Guadalajara, Mexico
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Venice, Italy
Linz, Austria
Rennes, France
The new additions follow Apple’s latest update last month that added another 11 cities from locations around the world.
As always, Apple has a full list of supported locations for iOS features including Flyover on its website.
IDC just released its latest numbers on the top smartphones by operating system showing iOS and Android continue to collectively dominate the market with both experiencing growth during 2014. Together, iOS and Android grabbed 96.3% of all smartphone shipments, which IDC points out is up from 95.6% in 4Q13 and from 93.8% in calendar year 2013.
The FTC is fining the creators of two different smartphone apps, both of which were previously available as paid apps on the App Store, for falsely claiming to detect symptoms of melanoma. The two apps, MelApp and Mole Detective, have long been removed from the App Store (although a version of Mole Detective remains on Google Play for $4.99), and Apple appears to have cracked down on similar apps that were available on the store as recently as early 2014.
The Federal Trade Commission has challenged marketers for deceptively claiming their mobile apps could detect symptoms of melanoma, even in its early stages. In two separate cases, marketers of MelApp and Mole Detective have agreed to settlements that bar them from continuing to make such unsupported claims. The agency is pursuing charges against two additional marketers of Mole Detective who did not agree to settle.
It’s not the first and it likely won’t be the last time app makers face scrutiny from government officials over health care claims as fitness becomes more of a focus on mobile devices and companion wearables. As recently as November, the FTC was said to be pressing Apple on how it plans to use sensitive health related data collected from its upcoming Apple Watch launching in April.
Samsung has acquired the battery pack business of leading automotive parts supplier Magna International. The move, according to a statement from the companies, will “enhance Samsung SDI’s capabilities in batteries for electric vehicles.”
While Samsung producing batteries and energy storage solutions for vehicles isn’t exactly new—it already supplies batteries for Tesla and others—there is an Apple Car connection in its latest acquisition…
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUmMAAPX6E8]
Google just announced that its new YouTube Kids app is available for both iOS and Android devices starting today. The new app for kids is the first of its kind for Google, but the launch follows reports that Google was preparing kid-friendly versions of YouTube, Chrome, Search and other apps.
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Despite speculation to the contrary, Apple does in fact plan to sell an array of bands as separate accessories for the Apple Watch at launch, according to sources. So far Apple has only shown the Watch in pre-assembled collections, which reduces their potential for customization, but our sources say that Apple’s retail outlets will be stocked on day one with individual straps so customers can easily mix and match the looks of their Watches.
While Apple has hinted at millions of combinations of Apple Watch when considering the various watch faces and interchangeable strap combos, up until now we’ve not had confirmation that straps would be available to purchase separately alongside the Apple Watch at launch.
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Just one day after T-Mobile CEO John Legere announced the wireless provider surpassed Sprint to become the number three carrier in the country, Sprint today announced a new aggressive shared data plan that it says offers better value compared to T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon.
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