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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

iOS 8 turns iPhone into the ultimate game controller for iPad & Mac, Game Center hits 130M monthly active users

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iOS-8-controller-forwarding

Apple took some time to talk gaming during a presentation closed to the public yesterday at WWDC. While noting that gaming is now an area that Apple is “pushing on very strongly”, the company also announced a new feature coming for gamers and developers: Controller Forwarding. 
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Apple shows off completely redesigned iTunes Connect coming later this year

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During its Platforms State of the Union presentation at WWDC yesterday, Apple showed off more features for developers that didn’t make the cut for its publicly streamed keynote event. One announcement made for developers is a redesigned version of iTunes Connect— the web app developers use to upload and maintain content on the App Store. 
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Here are all 24 new dictation languages arriving in iOS 8 & OS X Yosemite

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During its unveiling of iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 Yosemite yesterday, Apple mentioned that it’s adding 24 new dictation languages, but it didn’t specify what those languages would be. Dictation, a feature available on both iOS and OS X, uses speech-to-text technology powered by Nuance to let users input text using only their voice rather than a keyboard or touchscreen.

Apple has gone from just 8 languages (with a few variations for some) to over 30 in Yosemite. In case you’re curious if your language will make the cut by the time the new operating systems are released this fall, below we’ve included a full list of new supported languages and variations by country:


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Apple replaces Google with Bing search in OS X Yosemite’s redesigned Spotlight?

One big change for Apple with the unveiling of OS X Yosemite today is Bing web searches in the completely revamped Spotlight feature. Spotlight, which allows users to look up anything locally on their Mac as well as perform web searches, received a redesigned user experience in Yosemite, but it might have also received a switch to Bing from Google search.

To be fair, the “web search” feature of spotlight prior to Yosemite actually just defaults to the default search engine in your browser of choice. If that happens to be Safari or Chrome like it is for most users, that meant Spotlight would typically send users to a Google search results page if they hadn’t changed their default preference. Now, Apple is listing Bing searches– but not Google– as a feature of Spotlight regardless of the default option (pictured above). We’ve yet to confirm that Bing is the only web search option for Spotlight in OS X Yosemite, as we’ve not yet been able to get the new Spotlight web search feature to work properly in the first beta.

While Spotlight is going to use Bing, Apple’s revamped search bar in Safari still uses Google as does iOS 8. Its easy to imagine Apple is only continuing to use Google search in Safari due to contractual agreements, but it’s harder to imagine it just decided to use Bing for Spotlight with no plans to possibly use it in its other products down the road.
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T-Mobile confirms WiFi calling arriving for iPhone users with iOS 8

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Earlier today we pointed out that Apple quietly announced WiFi calling would arrive in iOS 8 despite not actually talking about the feature on stage. Now, T-Mobile has confirmed that it will soon enable the experience for iPhone users on its network when iOS 8 is released later this year:
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Coming in iOS 8: WiFi calling, Tips app, FaceTime call waiting, iBooks preinstalled, much more

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iOS-8-features

There’s a lot of new features coming in iOS 8 that you might have missed during Apple’s presentation today. Apple briefly flashed the slide pictured above and in it listed a bunch of new features that it didn’t talk about in length or at all during its keynote. Some of them include a “Tips app”, panorama on iPad, WiFi calling, FaceTime call waiting, rich text editing in Notes, iBooks preinstalled, and accessibility improvements like multi-device support for MFi hearing aids and the ability to exit Guided Access mode using TouchID.
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Apple opens up Touch ID fingerprint sensor to third-party app developers

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Apple just announced during its WWDC keynote that it’s opening up its Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the iPhone to third-party app developers. Apple showed off the personal finance management app Mint (pictured above) using the Touch ID feature to allow users to login instead of using the keyboard to enter a password. Previously Apple limited this feature to its own App Store and iTunes purchases as well as unlocking the device itself.

Apple also shared some stats on Touch ID noting that it has improved security by getting a much higher number of users using a passcode to protect their device:
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Apple announces new iCloud pricing: 5GB free, 20GB for $1/month, 200GB for $4/month, up to 1TB

Screen Shot 2014-06-02 at 2.21.34 PM Apple just announced new iCloud pricing coming soon to compliment a ton of new cloud features unveiled for iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite today.

The new pricing starts with the same free 5GB for all users and introduces a new 20GB for $1/month tier as well as a 200GB for $4/month tier. Currently Apple offers 5GB for free and charges $20.00 for an extra 10GB, $40 for an extra 20GB, or $100 for 50GB per month.

Apple didn’t say exactly when it would be flipping the switch on the new prices, but it did confirm that tiers up to 1TB will be available under its new pricing scheme.

Apple officially introduces iOS 8 “Healthkit” platform & “Health” app

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Following our reports earlier this year that exclusively revealed details and screenshots of Apple’s Healthbook app, Apple today just officially announced the app confirming the details of our reports. Apple’s new platform, codenamed Healthbook, will be officially known as ‘HealthKit’ on the developer side of things, and will come with an accompanying app for iOS 8 called ‘Health’.
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Apple brings iOS SMS and phone calling to the Mac

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In addition to announcing new integration between iOS and Mac OS X with AirDrop support and its new Handoff feature, Apple announced today that it’s bringing SMS and phone calls to the Mac. That means that you can now have your SMS text messages and phone calls from your iPhone arrive as notifications on your Mac. Users will be able to respond to messages and even use the Mac as a speaker phone in order to complete a phone call. Previously iOS users only had access to iMessage messages and FaceTime on the Mac.
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Apple announces OS X 10.10 Yosemite with redesigned user interface

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Live from the WWDC keynote presentation, Apple just unveiled the next version of of the Mac OS X and with it introduced some big changes for the operating system including a significantly redesigned user interface. The new release is called OS X Yosemite.
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Tim Cook kicks off WWDC keynote w/ update on numbers: 9M registered devs, 80m Macs, 40m Mavericks installs

After a brief intro on the importance of developers and the apps they make, as always, Apple CEO Tim Cook has just kicked off the WWDC keynote with an update on some company numbers since checking in last. Head below for a roundup of all the stats Cook announced today:

-25th anniversary of WWDC

-attendees from 69 countries this year, 70% first-timers

-9 million registered Apple developers, up 47% since last year, most added ever in single year

-80 million Mac install base

-40 million OS X Mavericks installs

-50% of Mac install base on latest operating system

-over 500 million iPhone

-over 200 million iPhone

-over 800 million iOS devices

-130 million new Apple customers from iOS devices in past 12 months

-nearly half of customers in china in past 6 months switched from Android

-97% overall customers satisfaction for iOS 7

-89% of install base on iOS 7 compared to less 1 out of 10 for Android

-98% of Fortune 500 use iOS

-75 billion apps downloaded

Apple displaying Ferraris & other cars at WWDC hinting at CarPlay announcements

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Apple’s WWDC festivities are officially about to kick off at 10 a.m. PST (1 p.m. EST) with the company’s keynote presentation, but it appears to already be hinting at car related announcements with several sports cars, classic cars and other vehicles displayed around the Moscone West venue. 
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Is Beats CCO Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails going to be an Apple employee?

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Update: A spokesperson for Beats Music confirmed to us that “Trent Reznor is still with Beats Music.”

Jimmy Iovine has long credited Nine Inch Nails frontman and Beats Music Chief Creative Officer Trent Reznor as a driving force behind the success of the service. Reznor, however, is now rumored to have left the company as it finalizes its $3B sell to Apple. The news comes from a line in a USA Today report over the weekend that curiously doesn’t mention a source of the information:

(Curiously, Beats’ chief creative officer, Trent Reznor, the singer-songwriter and producer of Nine Inch Nails fame responsible for Beats’ tastemaking, has reportedly left the company. Also, one of Beats’ principal technology executives, Fredric Vinna, has recently gone to Spotify, and its co-founder, Ola Sars, to a Spotify-backed venture.)

Beats Music didn’t respond to a request for comment on this story, but Billboard reports that a spokesperson for Beats and for Reznor claim the report is inaccurate:
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Trademark filings w/ Apple connections point to future OS X names, “Healthbook” and HealthKit”

OS-X-Yosemite

Right as Apple confirmed Yosemite for OS X 10.10, a few more future OS X names have surfaced today in trademark filings.

In April trademark filings linked to Apple popped up that appeared to show possible California related names for future versions of OS X. Today a few more have appeared in trademark filings that aren’t specifically filed by Apple but have links to the company, according to MacRumors. Sequoia, Mojave, Sonoma, Ventura as well as variations like “OS X Sequoia” were all filed for in March in Trinidad and Tobago by a company that apparently has ties to Apple. 

Those names join the previous trademark filings that included: Yosemite, Redwood, Mammoth, California, Big Sur, and Pacific, Diablo, Miramar, Rincon, El Cap, Redtail, Condor, Grizzly, Monterey, Tiburon, Farallon, Skyline, Shasta, and Sierra.

Apple announced it would be sticking with the California named themes when it first revealed OS X Mavericks last year, and today it seems to have confirmed it will go with “Yosemite” when it unveils OS X 10.10 during its WWDC developer conference next week.

MacRumors also notes today that “healthbook” and “healthkit” trademark filings have been discovered with possible links to Apple, but there’s no proof Apple is actually behind them. We previously revealed the details of Apple’s upcoming Healthbook app that is expected to be unveiled during WWDC.

Apple’s OS X 10.10 WWDC banner appears to point to ‘Yosemite’ or ‘El Capitan’ name

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OS-X-Yosemite

We’ve been watching as banners go up at Moscone West in preparation of Apple’s WWDC developer conference on Monday, and now the company appears to have revealed “Yosemite” as the name for its next OS X release. The image, however, appears to be of El Capitan, a rock formation in Yosemite and another name Apple has reportedly trademarked as “El Cap”. For that reason, there’s a possibility Apple could go with either the El Cap or Yosemite name for 10.10 on Monday”

The banner above (Via The Verge) shows an image of what appears to be a section of Yosemite National Park in California, as pointed out by our own Michael Steeber:
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1Password iOS app gets automatic backups accessible in iTunes, item printing, more

1password-app-icon-01Popular password manager app 1Password received a nice update today for iPhone and iPad that introduces a few notable new features and the return of one previously removed. Version 4.5.2 of the app now includes automatic backups of data that users can access via iTunes. It also sees the return of item printing, bug fixes and more.

The app also makes some overall performance improvements. Developer AgileBits notes “Sync is now much sync-ier” and “That pesky flickering while viewing an item’s details is no more.”

Version 4.5.2 of the 1Password app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.

What’s New in 4.5.2

◆ 1Password now keeps automatic backups of your data that are accessible via iTunes
◆ Item printing is back, baby!
◆ Sync is now much sync-ier
◆ That pesky flickering while viewing an item’s details is no more
◆ The report of bug deaths is *not* an exaggeration

RadioShack offers $79 iPhone 5s on contract, $30 iPhone 5c, or free with trade-in

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RadioShack is offering one of the best discounts you’ll find on a new iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c on contract. These are in-store prices, but for just $79 (Reg. $199) you’ll be able to get a 16GB iPhone 5s on new or upgraded two-year contract. That includes AT&T, Verizon and Sprint and you can even slash that price further from $79 to $0 by taking advantage of RadioShack’s trade-in offers for the iPhone 4s. 

RadioShack is also offering a similar discount on the iPhone 5c. The entry-level 16GB model (Reg. $99) is available for just $29 (or for free with an eligible trade-in). That deal is also available on all three carriers including AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. Both of these deals are approximately $20 under the best deals we see pop up from time to time through various retailers.
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Beats Music streaming service worth less than $500M of $3B Apple paid for whole company

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Eddy Cue, Jimmy Iovine, Apple, Beats Music, Code Conference

With most agreeing that Apple was mostly interested in the talent behind the Beats Music streaming service rather than the headphone business, there has been lots of speculation about just how much that part of the business is worth. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, it’s actually around $500 million of the total $3 billion ($2.6B in cash and $400m in equity) that Apple paid for the company.

The report notes that the $500 million valuation for the streaming service unit of Beats is actually considered generous considering the young service’s still small subscriber base. It has just 250,000 paying subscribers at $10/month contributing to the $1.3 billion the business as a whole brought in during 2013:
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Rdio music streaming service adds push notifications to iOS app

Rdio-iOS-appSubscription music streaming service Rdio updated its iPhone and iPad app today with one notable new feature for version 2.5.9: Push Notifications.

The new push notifications feature will allow you to get notified for a number of different activities within the app such as music that’s being shared with you, subscribers to your playlists, new followers, and more. You’ll also be able to select which notifications you’d like to receive if you, for example, only want to know when users share new music with you and not every time someone subscribes to one of your playlists.

The app also includes “various UI improvements and minor bug fixes” in the latest release.

Version 2.5.9 of the Rdio app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.

What’s New in Version 2.5.9

– Push Notifications. Get notified on your mobile device about the activities of your choice, such as music shared with you, new followers, subscribers to your playlists and more.
– Various UI improvements and minor bug fixes.