The concept above, originally posted on Behance, is nothing like the real Healthbook. Yesterday 9to5Mac gave the world its first…
Is this concept of Apple’s iOS 8 Healthbook app better than the real thing?
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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:
iPad Pro concept imagines an edge-to-edge 12.9-inch display in new renders [Gallery]
(Click for full size)
Earlier this month we posted a concept from Curved.de that showed its take on what new Apple TV hardware might look like accompanied by a touchscreen iPod-like remote. Today the site is back with another concept, this time for the much rumored larger iPad sporting a 12.9-inch display.
The site didn’t just pull the idea out of thin air, as there have been a few rumors in recent months suggesting that Apple could truly be gearing up to launch such a device. Rumors of a 12.9-inch display on a new iPad model started to get serious when The Wall Street Journal reported back in July that Apple was indeed testing larger screens for both its iPhones and tablets. The rumors continued with other sources of varying credibility reporting that a 12.9-inch model will arrive sooner rather than later and possibly as early as the first half of this year.
Apple is also rumored to introduce larger screen iPhones this year somewhere in the range of 4.5 to 5.5-inches.
A description of the concept from the publication is below:
- The iPad Pro design is pretty close to its siblings, the iPad mini Retina and iPad Air. Curved corners and a flat back. Sound is provided from speakers that are placed left and right from the Lightning connector.
- Touch ID is integrated in the saphire glass protected home button, which was introduced for iPhone 5s.
- The screen is 12.9 inch wide and has a 4K-solution with 3,072×2,304 pixels (298 ppi), using LED-backlights and IPS-technology.
- Even though it’s wider, it’s still as thin as the iPad Air: 7.5 mm.
- The bigger screen with more pixels requires an A8 chipset with 64-bit-architecture.
- Apps for the iPad Air are shown optimized by the iPad Pro. Dedicated apps – labelled with “Pro” – use the higher resolution and performance of the all new iPad Pro.
- New pencils may fully employ all the features like pressure sensitivity. But don’t hold your breath for a multi button pen made by Apple.
Microsoft launches OneNote for Mac as free download in Mac App Store
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kESYSK8NGHU]
Following reports earlier this month that Microsoft was gearing up to launch a Mac version of its OneNote app for the first time, the app is now officially available as a free download in the Mac App Store. Much like its OneNote apps for other platforms, the Mac app brings much of the same functionality allowing users to keep track of notes, lists, receipts and more and keep them synced with other versions of the app across platforms. The app across all platforms is also going free for the first time starting today.
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Google Play Game services brings multiplayer to iOS, lets devs offer cross-platform gaming
At this week’s Game Developers Conference Google is announcing number of new features coming to developers through Google Play Game services. Notable for iOS users is the fact that Google has decided to expand its multiplayer features to iOS devs. That means all iOS devs that integrate Google Play Game services into their apps (which already offers sign-in, achievements, leaderboards, cloud saves, and more) will be able to let their players across Android and iOS challenge each other to multiplayer matches.
The new features should become available to developers later this month. Google is updating its Play Games Unity Plug-in to support the new cross-platform multiplayer features as well as “introducing an early Play Games C++ SDK to support achievements and leaderboards.” Google notes the cross-platform multiplayer feature will support both its turn-based and real-time multiplayer modes.
Apple flips the switch on paid chat support, introduces Here to Help program for AppleCare employees
Following our report late last month that Apple was preparing to start charging for out-of-warranty online chat support, we’ve been informed that today Apple support has finally flipped the switch on the new feature and started charging customers. While originally planned for earlier this month, Apple has been having difficulties with a new payment system it developed specifically for the online chat feature. Apple is also introducing a new training program for AppleCare employees called “Here to Help” that it hopes will improve the overall AppleCare support experience.
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First look at notifications feature on Apple TV arrives for iTunes SXSW Festival?
Apple might have just gave us our first glimpse at an upcoming notifications feature coming to the Apple TV. During Apple’s live stream of its iTunes Festival at the SXSW festival in Austin tonight, Apple for the first time started prompting users to tune into the live stream with a notification feature on the Apple TV (pictured above). The notification interrupts the currently-playing content— in my case a video AirPlaying from my Mac— and displays a notification asking users if they would like to watch the live performance.
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Secret app picks up $8.6m in funding from Google Ventures & other notable investors
Less than two months after launching and following rumors of an outside investment, anonymous social network app Secret today officially announced it has raised $8.6 million. That’s a little bit less than the $10 million that it was rumored to be getting, but it’s also picking up some notable partners through the investments while the two co-founders, David Byttow and Chrys Bader, remain sole members of the company’s board:
This week, we brought $8.6MM of new capital into the company from a mixture of venture capital firms and angels. We received support from Garry Tan and Alexis Ohanian of Initialized Capital, MG Siegler of Google Ventures, Bing Gordon and Megan Quinn of KPCB, Chris Howard and Brad Silverberg of Fuel Capital, Vivi Nevo, SV Angel, Ashton Kutcher of A-Grade Investments, David Sacks, Bill Lee, Pete Cashmore, Joe Montana, Rob Wiesenthal, Andrew Chen, and several other secret and amazing individuals, with co-founders David Byttow and Chrys Bader as sole members of the board.
TechCrunch and others had previously reported that Secret had closed a $10m round of funding at a valuation of $50 million.
While Secret’s notable organic growth over the last 45 days has been mostly among the early adopter crowd of techies, the company thinks there is a real opportunity to grow beyond its current audience. In its blog post announcing the funding, Secret also shared some insight to how people are using the app:
We’re now halfway there and have found a direct correlation between the number of friends a user has and their engagement on Secret. Notably, 75% of people with more than 5 friends come back every day. Furthermore, 90% of users that engage in a conversation come back within the week, often several times per day. Data like this reaffirms our belief that there is opportunity to build a platform around rich and unexpected conversations.
TechCrunch also reports that users are starting to see a new warning in the app. According to a co-founder, this warning is triggered whenever a name is detected in a Secret post and warns users not to defame others anonymously. The report notes that this is the first in a series of community management-focused changes coming to the app soon.
The Secret app is available to download for free on the App Store.
Aftermarket CarPlay solutions? Not so fast says Volvo & Ferrari
While we recently confirmed that Mercedes-Benz is planning to have an aftermarket CarPlay solution for older vehicles out by the end of the year, some of Apple’s other partners aren’t as confident. The two other companies that have so far announced the feature for new vehicles— Ferrari and Volvo— are both hinting that aftermarket CarPlay solutions are probably not happening anytime soon.
We reached out to Volvo about its aftermarket CarPlay strategy and the company told us there are “major roadblocks” to overcome before it commits to any plans for older vehicles:
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Plex app adds Chromecast support free for all users, shuffle & camera upload features
Plex, the popular media server software with apps for web and mobile, today announced some big new features coming today for users. The first big piece of news is that Chromecast support is now available to all users for free after a brief preview period where it was only available to paying subscribers. The feature, which will allow users to stream content from the Plex mobile apps to a Chromecast, will become available through updates for the iOS and Android apps that should hit the App Store and Google Play any minute.
It’s also adding a new music shuffle feature coming first to the iOS and web apps that incorporates filters and the ability to edit play queues. The company said the feature is a “prelude to full-blown playlists for Plex”:
We’re happy to be introducing our play queues feature, which is—as you might have guessed—a prelude to full-blown playlists for Plex. As always, we don’t take new features lightly; what you’re seeing below is a shuffle of over 40,000 tracks, using the highest quality shuffle mechanism there is. It’s incredibly fast, even over a remote connection. And once you’ve created a play queue, you can easily add to or edit it… Quickly queue up all unwatched episodes, shuffle all episodes, or for example, I could also use our powerful filters to shuffle all unwatched movies rated G to protect Barkley’s sensitive ears while I write code, for you.
Lastly, Plex announced that it’s adding a new feature for paying Plex Pass members that will bring the ability to upload all photos from your camera roll automatically to a library:
It’s easy to explain: point the Plex app at a server and a photo library, and it’ll make sure all the photos on your camera roll automatically upload to that library. We do all the work for you, in the background, using a brand new iOS 7 feature. Keep your phone in your pocket, as your photos are backed up safely in a Plex library, and then you can access them on all Plex apps, share them with friends or family, or (of course) fling them to your Chromecast (free for everyone now!).
The updated Plex apps will be available for iOS and Android today.
BioShock Infinite, Civilization V, & Civ V: Brave New World for Mac – $7.50 ea. (75% savings)
To help celebrate some of the great games that were honoured at yesterday’s BAFTA Game awards, we’ve teamed up with GameAgent again to offer a few great deals on some of the notable Mac games that were nominated.
First up we have BioShock Infinite, one of the most popular games of last year that was nominated in a few categories yesterday including Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, and Performer. It also won for best Original Music. For 24 hours only, you can pick up BioShock Infinite for Mac from GameAgent for 75% off. That brings the price down from $30 to just $7.50.
TwelveSouth announces new hand-finished ‘Rutledge BookBook’ case for MacBooks
TwelveSouth, the company behind the popular BookBook series of cases for Apple devices that we’ve reviewed several times in the past, today announced a brand new option for MacBook users. The new “Rutledge BookBook” for MacBook is the first new product in the BookBook lineup in almost three years and the company says it’s also its most unique yet.
While the overall look of the case is much the same as BookBooks that came before it, TwelveSouth says the Rutledge case features a new process of finishing the leather by hand that makes it look even more like an authentic old book. It also makes every Rutledge BookBook unique:
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Toyota leaks its own CarPlay release date, briefly says feature coming to 2015 models
Toyota had a bit of a slip up this morning on its official UK blog. The company, which has long been announced by Apple as one of its partners working on CarPlay, today accidentally released its plans to release the feature in upcoming new vehicles. Before quickly removing the statement (we grabbed a screenshot, below) and replacing it with a denial of its own blog post, someone at Toyota gave the go ahead to announce CarPlay is “coming soon” in 2015 models. Clearly the higher-ups caught wind of the press release that was apparently not supposed to go public as Toyota has now replaced it with the following brief and confusing denial:
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Paper by FiftyThree app gets complete redesign for iOS 7 w/ new features
Paper by FiftyThree, the popular iPad app for creating illustrations, is today finally getting its iOS 7 overhaul with version 1.6 introducing a complete redesign of the app. The company tells us the newly updated Paper app hitting the App Store today is “a blend of metaphor and flat aesthetics that required the team to update every visual asset in the app.”
While the app maintains much of the look and feel of the previous version, you will notice that everything has been given a fresh coat of paint. That includes “faster menus, simplified icons, lighter colors, journal covers that pop, custom typefaces, and overall improved readability.”
There are also new features including a new and improved zoom tool as well as improvements to the dot size for the Draw and Erase tools. Here’s a run down on the new features from FiftyThree:
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Google Wallet adds “Orders” feature to track online purchases using receipts from Gmail
Google announced today on its Google Commerce blog that it’s rolling out an update for the Google Wallet mobile apps that includes a new “Orders” feature for tracking online purchases. Google says the feature will let you stay on top of your online orders (including past purchases) as well as get notifications for status updates regarding deliveries. How will Google know what you’ve purchased? In order to track your recent online orders, the feature pulls receipts out of your Gmail account :
Once you activate Orders in Google Wallet, you’ll be able to see any receipts sent to your Gmail right in the Google Wallet app. We’ve also worked with primary package carriers in the US so that when your order status is updated, you’ll get notified of the update through Wallet. So whether your order is shipped, out for delivery, or delayed, you’ll never wonder about the status of your order.
The app also includes “products you’ve ordered, merchant contact information, and shipping details in the app” for your purchases and links to quickly contact retailers.
Google said the feature is rolling out to Android and iOS users in the US this week. You can activate Orders by tapping “Activate” under “Track your orders” or by tapping “Orders” in the app’s main menu.
Microsoft reportedly releasing Mac version of OneNote this month for free
According to a report form The Verge, Microsoft is about to for the first time ever release a new OneNote app for Mac users. The popular note taking and productivity app was for most of its 10 year life available to only Windows users and only in recent years became available for iOS and Android devices. While the mobile versions of the app are available for free, Microsoft has traditionally charged for the desktop Windows version of the app. That’s about to change, according to the report, as Microsoft will reportedly release both the new Mac and Windows versions for free:
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Microsoft confirms new version of Office for Mac coming this year
According to a new report from Computerwoche (via Macworld), Microsoft representatives have apparently confirmed that a new version of Office for Mac will arrive this year. The update would be the first major release of Office for Mac since Office Mac 2011 released almost four years ago.
The news apparently came straight from a Microsoft representative at the Cebit trade show in Hanover, Germany who told the publication to expect a new version by the end of 2014 and more news in the second quarter of the year.
Macworld was able to get a comment from Microsoft confirming that development of a new version of Office for Mac is underway. It wouldn’t confirm a specific release date in the statement, but it said Office 365 subscribers will get the update for free:
A representative for Microsoft confirmed that development work for the next version of Office for Mac is ongoing. “The team is hard at work on the next version of Office for Mac,” she said in an email. “While I don’t have details to share on timing, when it’s available, Office 365 subscribers will automatically get the next Office for Mac at no additional cost.”
Microsoft has long been rumored to bring a version of Microsoft Office to iOS devices. Recent reports claimed that Office for iPad is under development and coming soon, but the company has never officially confirmed the reports.
Apple TV “Touch” Concept
An Apple TV concept from Curved.de. Gallery below:
iOS 7.1 introduces big improvements for iBeacons, devs weigh in
Apple’s iOS 7.1 update this week has quietly introduced changes that bring major improvements to the way iBeacons— Apple’s Bluetooth LE beacon standard— can interact with iOS devices. The changes were first spotted in a report from Beekn.net, and we spoke with ThirdShelf, which recently demonstrated its white-label solution for building mobile apps that interact with iBeacons in retail environments, to get its take. First a little background. The report claimed iOS devices are now capable of detecting beacons even when an app is not open and not running in the background:
After opening an iBeacon app we hard closed it: not just putting it into the background tray but swiping it closed entirely. The phone still detected beacons and sent a message through the lock screen, something which in the past was reserved for apps that were at minimum running in the background tray… The functionality even works if you reboot your device: after you power down your phone and start it up again, it will continue listening for beacons even if you don’t open up the app again.
The change is an important one for the many companies and developers rolling out iBeacon solutions in what have so far been mostly retail and event environments. As noted in the report, iBeacons were previously limited to sending notifications to devices that have a specific app open or at the very least running in the background. CEO of ThirdShelf Antoine Azar told us a little bit about how this will change will allow developers to create a much more seamless experience:
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Vevo will live stream Apple’s SXSW iTunes Festival kicking off tonight
Vevo announced today that a deal with Apple will allow it to live stream all of the performances from Apple’s iTunes Festival at SXSW kicking off at 10pm CT tonight. Last month, Apple originally announced that the 5-night festival would be arriving at the SXSW festival in Austin and would be available to live stream, like its past festivals, through iOS devices, Macs, and Apple TV. It appears Apple is restricting Vevo to those same viewing options, so it’s Apple users only, but users that prefer can catch the live stream through Vevo’s iOS and Apple TV apps as well as through Safari on Macs.
Apple has already rolled out its own updated iTunes Festival apps including a new iTunes Festival channel for Apple TV.
The full schedule for the iTunes Festival, courtesy of Vevo, is below:
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Synology gets even better w/ version 5.0: Why every Mac & iOS user should have a DiskStation
I’ll admit, I’ve never felt the need to purchase network-attached-storage (NAS) hardware for storing and accessing my media or backing up my files. These days most of my content, from photos and movies to back ups of important files for work, are already stored in the cloud. My photos are (supposed to) auto backup to Photostream in iCloud, iTunes has all of my music downloadable from all my devices from the cloud, and any important files and everything else go directly to Dropbox or Google Drive. Around 90% of my content is already stored and accessible from anywhere in the cloud.
That being said, for the last year or so I’ve been hearing more and more about Synology DiskStation products. Coworkers can’t stop talking about them, and the products have received a lot of praise from many other reviewers as well.
I’ve been putting the Synology DiskStation hardware and brand new DiskStation Manager 5.0 software to the test in recent months to see if I could really benefit from a NAS solution despite all my content already being on the cloud and backed up. With today marking the release of 5.0, the company’s biggest software update yet, I thought now would be as good a time as any to share my experience.
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Apple’s Logic Remote iOS app updated with new streamlined design & more
Along with the release of iOS 7.1 and a few updates to Remote, Podcasts, and Garageband, Apple has just updated its Logic Remote app to Version 1.1. The new update brings a revamped, streamlined interface that makes the app better fit in on iOS 7 as well as the darker color scheme of the recently released Logic Pro X.
Also included in the update is “more scale choices for Touch instruments” which brings a number of new scale options for those playing Apple’s built-in virtual instruments.
Version 1.1 will be available as an update for Logic Remote on the App Store any minute now.
Samsung launches ‘Milk Music’ iTunes Radio competitor for Galaxy users, free ‘for a limited time’
Samsung announced today that it’s launching a new free and ad-free music service called “Milk Music” that’s powered by Slacker and available to customers of select Galaxy devices. Samsung says the app, which is available now on available as a download on Google Play, is “fully customizable” and offers over 200 stations and a library of over 13 million songs.
“Milk Music introduces a fresh approach to music that reflects our innovation leadership and our focus on creating best-in-class consumer experiences,” said Gregory Lee, president and CEO of Samsung Telecommunications America and Samsung Electronics North America Headquarters. “We’re offering consumers amazing, rich music experiences built around what matters most to them and their lifestyle.”
The service is launching today in the U.S. and available to those with a Galaxy S® 4, Galaxy S® III, Galaxy Note® 3, and Galaxy Note® II as well as the upcoming Galaxy S 5. Samsung added that it will soon offer “unique music programming from top selling and emerging artists available exclusively through Milk Music.”
While Samsung is promoting the service as completely free and without ads, the Google Play page for the app says that the app will only be without ads and cost for a for a limited time. No mention of that in the company’s official press release, however.
The app is available to download now on Google Play.
iBetterCharge puts iPhone & iPad battery notifications on your Mac
A nice, new utility called iBetterCharge brings those 20% and 10% battery warnings from your iPhone or iPad onto your Mac. Rather than picking up your phone before heading out the door only to realize your battery is almost dead, the app will remind you to plug in with warnings that pop up as desktop notifications on your Mac. This is a handy little tool for anyone that likes to leave their iPhone or iPad out of sight while working on their Mac or people with multiple iOS devices to manage. It has already saved me a few times this week as I’ve been testing it.
You can connect multiple devices, set granular preferences for notifications when your battery gets lower than 50%, 20%, 10%, or 5%, and also select options to play sounds, animate the menu bar icon, or show a notification. Another preference will let you get notified when a device is fully charged and an ignore list lets you quickly mute notifications for certain devices.
The app is rather lightweight and a free download. Once you’ve installed it, iBetterCharge sits in your menu bar and automatically finds your devices over WiFi. Note: For this to work you have to have WiFi Sync enabled on your device.
You can download iBetterCharge for free here.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaWovz5WviI]
SXSW Festival using iBeacons for interactive sessions, speedy badge pickup through iOS app
On top of the many uses for iBeacons we’ve seen in retail environments, event organizers are another group that have started taking advantage of Apple’s new Bluetooth tech recently. The MLB is deploying them in stadiums to send notifications to baseball fans, CES hosted an iBeacon scavenger hunt this year, and today we’ve found out the upcoming SXSW festival where Apple is hosting its latest iTunes Festival will also be using the technology.
Eventbase, the company that has been building the official SXSW festival app for a few years now reached out to let us know it will be deploying some iBeacons around the event this year to improve the experience. Specifically, it will be using the technology to “help attendees in Austin pick up their badge faster and get more involved in the sessions they attend.” One feature in the app will allow for real-time audience interaction during sessions:
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