Mark is an award-winning journalist who worked at 9to5Mac for over six years. He covers Apple and other topics related to the consumer technology industry.
<a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/iphone-os-3-0-disables-purchases-for-aim-logins/">Image from 2009</a>, when some people still used AOL
Several years late, Apple is finally dropping support for logging into the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore via an AOL username and password. Apple has emailed users with AOL accounts attached to iTunes to indicate that login support will end on March 31, 2015. Users have until then to convert their AOL login accounts to Apple IDs for iTunes services. Apple recently posted a support document with instructions on converting an AOL login to an Apple ID. Users simply need to login to iTunes with their AOL account and the conversion process will be offered. The conversion does not effect the main AOL account’s usage with AOL’s services. Apple partnered with AOL for iTunes logins in 2003. The full email to users is shown below (thanks, Joseph!):
On the day of the annual Academy Awards ceremony, Apple has begun airing a new iPad Air advertisement highlighting how the tablet is used in the filmmaking industry. The new video advertisement is narrated with excerpts from notable movie director Martin Scorsese’s 2014 commencement speech at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. The video, embedded below, is accompanied by a website highlighting specific stories of the iPad being used to make movies. These video stories were actually filmed and edited on iPads. The new website also discusses key video planning, filming, and editing applications for the iPad such as Final Draft, Garageband (but not the consumer-focused iMovie), and VideoGrade. This film-focused advertisement follows a music-oriented one that aired on the day of the Grammy Awards.
Apple will expand its support capabilities for Beats by Dre hardware products, like headphones and speakers, next week by launching web-based chat support, according to sources. Customers in need of support for their Beats devices will be able to instant message with a support representative via Apple’s support website beginning on Monday, February 23rd. In January, Apple began moving Beats phone-based support wholly in-house after still using the headphone maker’s outsourced support for most of last year. Apple began servicing Beats products in its retail stores late last year.
In an effort to eliminate bugs from upcoming iOS versions ahead of their general releases, Apple plans to launch the first-ever public beta program for the iOS operating system, according to multiple people briefed on the plans. Following the successful launch of the OS X Public Beta program with OS X Yosemite last year, Apple intends to release the upcoming iOS 8.3 as a public beta via the company’s existing AppleSeed program in mid-March, according to the sources. This release will match the third iOS 8.3 beta for developers, which is planned for release the same week. Apple then expects to debut iOS 9 at its June Worldwide Developer Conference, with a public beta release during the summer, and final release in the fall…
Apple Watch <a href="http://arstechnica.com">hands-on table</a> from September Media Event
According to multiple reports out of France, Apple is constructing a dedicated display for the upcoming Apple Watch in some upscale Paris-based retail outlets. The reportssay that the size of the display is close to the length of a few small balconies and that Apple Retail Senior Vice President Angela Ahrendts has been directing the construction of the booth at retailer Galeries Lafayette on Champs Elysees. While these claims for France are still unconfirmed, sources have told us that Apple is considering constructing dedicated Apple Watch retail stores in the future if demand deems such outlets necessary…
Pebble updated its website this morning to tease a new model of its popular smartwatch. The announcement is scheduled for 10 AM on Tuesday next week, but Pebble has not specified what exactly is launching. However, multiple sources tell us that a major update to both the Pebble’s hardware and software have been in the works and that these changes could be ready to debut next week. The new watch is said to (finally) gain a slightly wider, color, e-paper-like display that will be encased in an overall thinner design. The screen will still not be touch like the Apple Watch…
When Apple develops a new technology or feature for its hardware, it typically rolls it out on one product then expands it to the rest of the line. For example, Touch ID launched for the iPhone in 2013 and made its way to the iPad with the iPad Air 2 in 2014. For 2015, Touch ID may make its debut on the Mac, according to a rumor from website apple.club.tw. According to the blog, which published legitimate photos of iPad Air 2 Touch ID and A8X chip components last fall, Touch ID will come to Macs this year to enable Apple Pay functionality…
Apple has been working with several third-party App Store developers at its Cupertino, California offices to assist developers in finishing up applications for the upcoming Apple Watch. Development and design representatives from dozens of different development firms have visited Apple last week, or are coming to Cupertino this week, to work with Apple engineers to finish up WatchKit-based applications. One source claims that Apple is holding workshops for over 100 different developers across February. Apple also met with a smaller number of developers to assist with WatchKit development and discuss future plans in early January…
Apple is opening up a new suite of offices inside Israel this week, with CEO Tim Cook reportedly visiting Israel in part to inaugurate the new workspace. Recent reports have indicated that the offices will hold approximately 800 employees across 180,000 square feet of space.
Today, Israel-based website GSM-Israel has published purported photos of the upcoming new Apple space in Herzliya. The construction, features, and tables are all in line with Apple’s offices in others parts of the world. A full gallery of the new offices can be viewed below.
Apple has a history of working in Israel from purchases of companies like Anobit and PrimeSense, to the construction of research and development offices. Cook has also previously met with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During this upcoming visit, Cook will reportedly meet with former President Shimon Peres.
In addition to working on iOS 8.2, iOS 8.3, and iOS 9.0, Apple is working on yet another update to iOS 8: iOS 8.4. According to sources, the iOS 8.4 upgrade is well into development and is codenamed Copper, a popular ski resort in Colorado. Sources say that the iOS 8.4 update will be released after the Apple Watch becomes available, so users should not expect this update in the immediate future. Sources also say that Apple is currently considering using iOS 8.4 as the iOS update that includes the upcoming Beats-based streaming music service…
Earlier today, Apple seeded the first iOS 8.3 build to developers alongside Xcode 6.3 beta with Swift 1.2. Readers have discovered that the new operating system brings a new wireless CarPlay feature to the iPhone. This means that users can now wirelessly connect their iPhone to the car to bring an iOS-like experience the dashboard. Previously, users would have to connect their iPhone to the car via a USB Lightning cable. We first reported in March 2014 that Apple has been working on wireless CarPlay. It’s yet to be seen how long the wireless CarPlay rollout takes and which cars support it in the future. The new update also, like with OS X 10.10.3, brings easier Google login functionality for users with two-factor accounts:
While iOS 8.2 is not even in the hands of consumers yet, Apple has just seeded the first build of the upcoming iOS 8.3 to developers. Apple has not yet disclosed what iOS 8.3 brings to iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches, but we’ll keep you posted. We previously reported that iOS 8.2 will be released in March, before the April release of the Apple Watch. Earlier today we reported that iOS 9 will bring many bug and stability fixes later this year. We first reported last year that iOS 8.3 would be launching this year.
Following the success of OS X Snow Leopard for Macs in 2009, one of iOS 9’s standout ‘features’ will be a directed focus on stabilizing and optimizing the operating system. While stability is normally an expected component in Apple software rather than a marquee feature, the rapid pace of iOS releases and feature introductions has taken a toll on the operating system’s overall performance, recently leading to numerous complaints from long-time Apple users and regular customers alike…
Apple today posted a new advertisement for the iPad to highlight artist Elliphant’s recording and beat making via the tablet. The one minute long ad highlights different applications used to make music with the iPad, ranging from first-party apps like Garageband to third-party programs such as Manual Camera and Nano Studio. The “iPad Remix” of the song All or Nothing is linked to from Apple’s page for the advertisement, and it is worth a listen to see how music made an iPad sounds. The full video advertisement is embedded below. This ad is the latest in a string of iPad Air 2 “Change” ads, which began going live after the new device started shipping last fall.
Apple today began training its retail store employees in multiple countries, including the U.S. and the U.K, about the upcoming Apple Watch. The training is said to not divulge many new details, but the beginning of the training program does represent Apple’s first move on the retail employee level in preparing for the Watch. We reported last week that Apple is preparing to use traditional jewelry store tactics for the gold version of the Apple Watch. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the wearable will launch by April. Apple will begin flying out select employees for more hands-on training over the next couple of weeks.
Six months after buying the subscription music service Beats Music, Apple is actively working to launch a completely new paid streaming music service that will compete with Spotify and Rdio. Yet to be named, the new service is entirely Apple-designed, yet leverages Beats’ technologies and music content, a collaboration that has thus far led to personnel challenges and delays. Multiple sources within Apple and the music industry have provided the first in-depth details of Apple’s upcoming streaming service, which we share below.
We’re hearing that iOS 8.2 is currently planned for release sometime in March, as BGR reported today. The new iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch software is currently scheduled to be released during the second week of the month, but this timeline is not set in stone. The new software update is mostly an Apple Watch compatibility release as it includes the underlying functionality needed to connect to the wearable via WatchKit. We previously revealed the Apple Watch Companion application that requires iOS 8.2. Apple seeded the most recent iOS 8.2 beta yesterday. The Apple Watch will ship by April. Stay tuned for more details.
The last executive from the Ron Johnson and Steve Jobs era of Apple Retail is leaving the company, according to several sources. Bob Bridger, Apple’s Vice President of Retail Real Estate, told colleagues at a meeting last Thursday that he will soon be retiring from Apple without specifying additional reasons for his departure. As head of Apple’s retail real estate efforts, Bridger has been in charge of locating new Apple Store locations, striking lease deals, and with his construction background, building up new stores…
Apple is preparing three major new Apple Stores for New York, with two of the stores reaching major new markets for the first time. Apple is developing the first stores for the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn, while a new store for the Upper East Side of Manhattan on 74th Street and Madison is also in development, according to sources.
The first Apple Store for Queens will be located in the Queens Center Mall on the second floor. One source says this store will be the largest Apple retail outlet located in a New York mall to date, and Apple is expecting revenues for this store to even beat out some of its flagship counterparts located elsewhere in the state. The store is under construction and is expected to open later in 2015, but an official announcement may come sooner…
Apple has updated its website for China with a new video advertisement in celebration of the Chinese New Year. The one-and-a-half minute advertisement is largely similar to Apple’s “The Song” ad for the United States that aired during this past Christmas and holiday season…
Apple is preparing to take some pages out of the traditional jewelry store playbook. For the upcoming 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition, Apple is planning several new features for its retail stores to support the device. As we reported several months ago, Apple is planning on allowing customers to actually try on the watches and test out different band styles inside of stores. With the high-expected price tag of the gold watch models, Apple will also step up its security features for stores…
