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:
Following rumors of a possible Mac mini refresh earlier this year and references on Apple’s own website, a new report says Apple could introduce an update to the product as early as next month. MacRumors cites a source that has provided accurate tips in the past claiming the new Mac mini could launch alongside new iPads and OS X Yosemite expected at an event in October.
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At Apple’s Reliability Testing Lab the iPhone’s Multi‑Touch display is twisted and bowed.
With the iPhone 6 bending controversy heating up and Apple PR masterfully debunking the non-issue earlier today, it should come as no surprise that Apple does a lot of durability testing on its new devices before shipping. However, the team responsible for that testing– Apple’s Product Design Structural Analysis team for iPhone and iPod– needs some help.
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Apple has officially issued a statement regarding the iPhone 6 bending controversy saying the issue is rare during real world use and that it’s only received complaints from 9 customers (via CNBC). Apple adds, according to the reports, that the “new iPhones feature steel/titanium inserts to reinforce stress locations and use the strongest glass in the industry.” Apple also commented that bending is “extremely rare” during normal use and that it performs a number of strength and durability tests (as you’d expect) before it ships new devices (via WSJ):
Since going on sale Friday, Apple said only nine customers have contacted the company about a bent iPhone 6 Plus—the larger and more expensive of its two new iPhones. Apple said both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus passed a series of tests meant to check the products’ strength and durability to withstand every day, real-life use.
NZ carrier Spark offers customers life-sized cardboard emoji characters to reserve their spot in line for iPhone 6
Apple’s second wave of iPhone 6 sales has just kicked off with customers in New Zealand getting access to the device through retail stores and online as we roll into the morning of September 26 in the country. We’re also approaching the launch in a total of 20 countries today as the device goes on sale the morning of September 26 local time in the following locations:
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3InlCxliR7w]
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, a spinoff in the popular Metal Gear franchise that was originally released for consoles in 2013, is today arriving for Mac users. Unlike most previous installments in the series, Revengeance replaces the game’s usual stealth-based gameplay for a sword-slashing cyborg ninja named Raiden. It’s technically part of the Metal Gear series and universe, but the incredibly unique hack and slash gameplay mechanics in this title are quite the departure from what Metal Gear fans are used to with previous games in the series.
METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE, originally developed by Kojima Productions and Platinum Games, expands the METAL GEAR franchise into exciting new territory with its frenetic action experience. The game seamlessly melds pure action and cinematic storytelling that surrounds Raiden, a child soldier transformed into a half-human, half-cyborg ninja, who uses his high-frequency katana blade to cut through anything that stands in his vengeful path
The game is available starting today on the Mac App Store and on Steam for $24. That’s a promotional price that will increase to the regular $30 after the first 5 days of release.
Even KitKat, which recently teamed up with Google to market the Android release of the same name, is getting in…
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bl-pJBHYuc]
App developer Craig Hockenberry has published an article today titled “in-app browsers considered harmful” warning both devs and users of security issues related to apps that take advantage of the feature. “Would it surprise you to know that every one of those apps could eavesdrop on your typing? Even when it’s in a secure login screen with a password field?”
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[youtube=http://youtu.be/DIdf99noLJk]
Nokia, like the rest of the smartphone industry, is no stranger to mocking its biggest competitor in ads. Today we get two new spots posted to the company’s YouTube account that highlight the Windows Phone Cortana assistant feature while mocking Apple’s Siri feature in the process.
The first ad called “Lost” highlights Cortana’s ability to automatically remind users when to leave for appointments based of calendar and traffic data. The second spot, titled “Remind Me”, shows Cortana sending reminder notifications associated with texts and calls they are receiving.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/vfozrCjKHus]
Nokia isn’t the only company iPhone bashing today, BlackBerry just wrapped up its Passport launch event where it took time to compare the device directly to the iPhone 6 on stage.
BlackBerry had its big event this morning to officially launch its new BlackBerry Passport smartphone and (surprise, surprise) it’s also joining in on the iPhone bashing usually reserved for the Android and Windows manufacturers.
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The makers of camera app Camera+ have put together a great comparison of the new iPhone 6 camera vs almost all previous generation iPhones including the first iPhone, the iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, 5, and 5S.
Skin tones look brighter and more true to life with the iPhone 6 in this portrait series. Although the iPhone 6 photo has a higher level of detail, I’m finding it slightly pixelated and blotchy-looking. Apple altered their local tone-mapping algorithm for better exposure and contrast using the new A8 processor, but it looks like it might be causing some issues with the skin tones in these shots. Additionally, their new noise reduction algorithm seems a bit heavy handed causing pixelation.
The full comparison on the company’s site lets you view full-sized shots for a number of different shooting scenarios including daylight, backlit, macro, lowlight, and portrait shots. Here’s an example from the portrait comparison (click below for full size):
Earlier today we published our own review of the iPhone 6 camera’s improved video shooting capabilities, which now includes the ability to shoot 1080p video at 30/60 frames per second and Slo-Mo video in 720p up to 240 frames per second.
When Apple released Apple TV software update 7.0 earlier this month, it came with support for new iOS 8 features including the new Peer-to-Peer AirPlay feature. First announced when Apple unveiled iOS 8 earlier this year, Peer-to-Peer AirPlay allows users on iOS 8 and the upcoming OS X Yosemite release to stream content to an Apple TV without having to connect to the same wireless network. What we didn’t know at the time, however, is that the feature is limited to only the latest Apple TV hardware:
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Following the renaming of its Google Currents news reader app to “Google Play Newsstand” on Android back in February, Google has now given a similar treatment to the iOS app. The app, like the Android version earlier this year, also receives a makeover in the process with a streamlined design and new features:
What’s new
• New navigation helping you easily access the articles and editions you love including:
– Read Now – Easily access articles you subscribe to and discover new articles and editions all in one place
– Topics – Subscribe and get news from topics you are most interested in
– My Library – All of your subscriptions will be found here
• A brand new design giving you a streamlined news reading experience
The Google Play Newsstand app is available for free for iPhone and iPad on the App Store now.
Following a report in July that Apple was planning on adding a new FX Now channel to Apple TV within 12 months, today the channel has officially arrived for users in the US. Like the FX Now app that was already available on iOS devices via an app for iPhone and iPad, the channel offers on-demand video streaming with content from the FX, FXX, and FXM networks.
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Apple’s next iOS 8 update following the public release of the operating system earlier this month will reportedly bring various fixes for phone and keyboard related bugs, problems with video in Safari and more. MacRumors claims to have details on the upcoming iOS 8.0.1 release from a source. In addition to fixing bugs with the phone, keyboard, and Safari, the fix will reportedly also include a fix for AirDrop support with Passbook and a problem with installing VPN profiles.
Here’s the full list of changes according to the report:
– Phone: Addresses bugs with call forwarding and freezing when accessing visual voicemail
– Keyboard: Fixes an issue with keypad not appearing to enter iCloud Keychain verification codes
– Safari: Fixes a problem with videos occasionally not playing
– Sharing: Fixes AirDrop support for Passbook passes
– VPN: Addresses an issue with installing VPN profiles
Apple released iOS 8 to the public earlier this month on September 17th two days ahead of its new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models going on sale in initial launch countries. Adoption of the new operating system is lagging behind last year’s iOS 7 release, while Apple for the first time used its own CDN to deliver the update this year. A release date for the next iOS 8 update has not yet been confirmed, but Apple has said they are working on a fix for the HealthKit bug that delayed the feature expected later this month.
Samsung has reportedly decided to move up the launch of its new Galaxy Note 4 smartphone following a positive reaction and strong first week sales from Apple’s new larger iPhones 6 models. The KoreaTimes cited an unnamed employee in Samsung’s marketing department who said “the positive reaction from consumers to those two Apple devices prompted us to launch the Note 4 earlier than previously scheduled.”
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iPhone smuggling into China is nothing new, but this year it has perhaps been even more of a problem as Apple awaits regulatory approvals to begin selling its new iPhone models in the country. The good news is that a report from CNBC notes that regulators in the country said today that final reviews of licenses for the new iPhones would be “completed soon”.
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According to a report from TechCrunch, Apple plans to shut down the Beats Music streaming service it recently acquired through its acquisition of Beats. The report cites several sources close to the situation including “several prominent employees at Apple and Beats”:
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DisplayMate has put the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus through its usual rigorous display quality tests today, giving us a look at how the displays have improved and the differences between the two models.
The iPhone 6 Plus gets particularly high praise in the report with DisplayMate calling it “the Best performing Smartphone LCD” it’s ever tested. For the iPhone 6, however, that means not as great of a showing thanks to the display’s lower resolution and pixel density:
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While iOS 8 adoption was lagging behind last year’s release at just 15% before the official launch of the new iPhones on Friday, it’s now hovering at approximately 30% after record first weekend sales for the new iPhones. That stat, which comes from research and analytics firms Fiksu, Mixpanel, Appsee, & Chitika is below the almost 50% of users iOS 7 had this many days into launch last year.
Fiksu and Mixpanel also offered data on iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus adoption following the first weekend of sales. Both show that iPhone 6 is outpacing iPhone 6 Plus quite significantly after the first few days in customers’ hands, but it’s quite likely that could be due to a much tighter supply of iPhone 6 Plus.
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Google today updated its Chrome browser for iPhone and iPad with support for iOS 8’s new third-party App Extensions feature. That means that Chrome’s sharing menu will now show additional sharing options from apps you have installed supporting the new App Extensions feature. We previously put together a roundup of some of the best apps offering App Extensions when iOS 8 launched.
Google says the update, version 37.0.2062.60, also includes iOS 8 compatibility, stability improvements, and bug fixes.
The updated Chrome app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.
• Supports using 3rd party App Extensions to post and share content.
• iOS 8 Compatibility.
• Stability improvements and bug fixes.
The next-generation USB “Type C” standard that became available to manufacturers last month will also offer a “DisplayPort Alternate Mode”, enabling the new USB cables to “deliver full DisplayPort audio/video (A/V) performance, driving monitor resolutions of 4K and beyond, SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.1) data and up to 100 watts of power–over a single cable.” That means new USB cables that adopt the new slimmer Type-3 standard can essentially also work as a full-fledged DisplayPort cable. The announcement was made today by The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), which worked with the USB 3.0 Promoter Group to offer the functionality:
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Following a report earlier this month that claimed Apple was readying its long-rumored 12-inch MacBook Air in iPhone-style space gray and gold options, the Jack March is now back with more details of the next-gen Macbooks. According to the report, Apple will move from the current USB ports to the new slimmer, reversible USB Type C introduced last month by the USB 3.0 Promoter Group. It will also feature a “noticeably thinner design” and remove the current MagSafe charging solution. 9to5mac has reason to believe he has knowledge of Apple’s upcoming MacBook Airs.
Other details in the report line up with previous rumors of a 12-inch MacBook Air sporting a Retina display arriving in 2015 with a fanless design:
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With the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus now officially in customers’ hands after a record opening weekend of iPhone sales, today we get a look at various benchmark results for the devices compared to the competition from AnandTech. Ahead of the site’s full technical review of the new iPhones, today it posted several benchmark results showing the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus win out by just about every metric.
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With iPhone 6 and 6 Plus officially going on sale today through Apple retail and partners, a lot of you on the hunt for a new case. We’ve been keeping track of announcements from the notable case makers and below put together our updated list of the nicest cases we’ve seen yet.
As we always do, we’ve stuck to the case manufacturers we know and trust (like Apple, Griffin, Otterbox, Grovemade, & Cygnett) and also included a wide selection of different products from hard to soft, plastic to aluminum, and wallets to gun-style holster cases. We’ll add more to the list below as we find more iPhone 6 and 6 Plus cases.
Head below for the full list:
