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Parker Ortolani

parkerortolani

Parker Ortolani is a marketing strategist and product designer based in New York. In addition to contributing to 9to5mac, he also oversees product development and marketing for BuzzFeed. A longtime reader, Parker is excited to share his product concepts and thoughts with the 9to5mac audience.

Follow him on Twitter @parkerortolani

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Milk Bar teams up with Apple TV+ to sell Ted Lasso biscuits today only

Iconic dessert company Milk Bar has teamed up with both Apple TV+ and Postmates to sell the actual biscuits from Ted Lasso. The biscuits were available in New York City earlier today before selling out. The biscuits are available now in Los Angeles. The collaboration is part of the celebration of the season two finale of the show that’s now available to stream.

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Concept: Please Apple, end the drought already and bring the weather app to iPad

iPadOS 16 concept

We’ve been saying it for years, where’s the iPad’s weather app? It’s been missing from the iPad since day one but many of us expected the app to eventually make its way over. It is one of the few first-party holdouts that haven’t made the leap to iPad, despite being an obvious addition. With the complete overhaul that weather received this year and the acquisition of Dark Sky, we have renewed hopes that the iPad will finally gain the weather app. We’ve thrown together a concept of what it might look like.

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Opinion: Steve Jobs passed away 10 years ago today, but his influence forever changed me, Apple, and the world

10 years ago today we lost Steve Jobs to pancreatic cancer. The world mourned the loss of our generation’s Edison, an architect like no other who designed our modern way of life. Everyone from Bill Gates to President Obama commemorated Steve’s legacy. Artists, politicians, business people, journalists, and fans alike all felt the earth shake.

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Concept: Quick note-style apps are the key to the iPad’s more productive future

When Apple unveiled iPadOS 15, lots of iPad power users were disappointed that larger changes weren’t made. But one feature has become quite popular and that’s quick note. Quick note is the first applet that can freely float and resize over other full-fledged apps. Quick note is quite useful and fairly smart, letting users add links, rich data, and drawings. But what if this same UI paradigm was used for other tools?

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Here are all of the ways watchOS 8 and Series 7 point to greater iPhone independence… and what’s still missing

While watchOS 8 seems like a light update on the surface, it’s actually indicative of much larger changes that are likely coming down the road. One thing that has become increasingly obvious is that Apple is preparing for greater independence from the iPhone. They’re making several changes both in watchOS 8 and with Apple Watch Series 7 that make using an Apple Watch independently better than ever.

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Review: Apple’s updated MagSafe wallet is visually identical but hides wonderful new features

I loved the original MagSafe wallet that Apple introduced last year alongside the iPhone 12, but it was missing something obvious: Find My compatibility. Something like a wallet, especially one that sticks to the back of a phone you slide in and out of a pocket, needs some sort of fail-safe in case it gets lost. Previously, there was nothing you could do, but the new MagSafe Wallet introduced alongside the iPhone 13 addresses these concerns and helps justify its high price.

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First Apple store in The Bronx opens with refreshed design, dedicated pick up section, and new Today at Apple tables

Apple today opened a new retail store in The Bronx at The Mall at Bay Plaza. This marks the first time Apple has had a store in The Bronx borough of New York City. The new store features an updated design with several new elements not seen before in other stores. New features range from an all-new space dedicated specifically for in-store pick-up to newly designed Today at Apple tables.

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StoreKit 2 with updates to in-app purchases and subscriptions now available for developers

Apple has reminded developers that StoreKit 2 is now available as part of iOS 15 and the other newly updated Apple platforms. StoreKit 2 improves the way in-app purchases and subscriptions work in apps. Apple has also updated the App Store Server API and added real-time notifications for developers to see purchases as they happen.

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Microsoft unveils new Surface with Magic Keyboard-like design, 120Hz refresh rate, and more

As part of their annual Fall Surface hardware event today, Microsoft announced an all-new professional laptop called the Surface Laptop Studio. It has a radical new design that resembles the iPad Pro’s Magic Keyboard cover, as well as new features like a high refresh rate display, haptic stylus, and more.

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Here are the best new Safari extensions to download for iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 (Updated)

One of the flagship new features in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 is the redesigned Safari web browser. While the highlight of the new Safari is its user interface, it also gains compatibility with more powerful, Mac-like browser extensions. Now that iOS 15 is available to download, there are plenty of extensions hitting the App Store, and we’ve put together a list of some to try out.

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Flighty 2.0 is here with live tracking, radar enhancements, globe view, and time-sensitive notifications

Weather Line creator Ryan Jones and his team have released a huge update to their popular flight tracking app, Flighty. The app has just been updated to version 2.0, and it includes a ton of quality of life improvements to make traveling more fun and less stressful. The update includes several new visual enhancements like a 3D globe view and easier one-handed use. There are also all-new features like proximity radar, ground radar, and live-streaming.

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All of the ways the new iPad mini is better than the iPad Air: cameras, processor, 5G, and more

The new iPad mini introduced yesterday has several key improvements over the 4th generation iPad Air that the company introduced last year. Unfortunately, Apple did not refresh the iPad Air with these updates and instead opted to keep selling the existing model alongside the new iPad mini. We’ve put all of the differences between the two devices together, so keep reading to learn more about why the new iPad mini is technically better than the iPad Air.

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Internal document reveals full Apple Watch Series 7 details: weights, connectivity, more

A newly surfaced internal Apple document reveals more details about the Apple Watch Series 7, including weights, connectivity, and internal components. The comparison document which Apple has not shared with customers shows that the watch has a new S7 system in package, but maintains the same CPU and speeds as the S6 chip from the Series 6.

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Comment: Does Apple even know when the Apple Watch Series 7 will actually ship?

Many of us have been left scratching our heads following the announcement of the Apple Watch Series 7, not just because rumors didn’t pan out but because Apple is being quite vague about when it’s going to ship. They’ve simply said that it will be available “later this Fall” and that doesn’t even take into account if they’ll be available in large quantities or severely constrained. There are lots of clues on Apple.com and in today’s event that have us questioning if Apple even knows when the Series 7 will ship.

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Apple releases all-new watch band collection in a wide variety of colors for Series 7

Alongside the new Apple Watch Series 7, the company has introduced a fresh collection of watch bands. There are new colors and designs all across the board, including new striped sport loop bands. The new bands continue to work with previous Apple Watch generations and old bands will work with the Series 7.

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Apple refreshes MagSafe case & wallet collection with new colors and designs for iPhone 13

To complement the iPhone 13 family, Apple has introduced all-new MagSafe cases in fresh Fall colors. The new versions of the silicone and leather cases predictably have updated camera cutouts as well. This means that there are now separate cases for the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro, rather than a single interchangeable one.

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Prototype shows cellular, red crown, & gold steel initially planned for Apple Watch Series 2

Twitter account DongleBookPro has shared a newly revealed Apple Watch Series 2 prototype that shows that cellular compatibility was initially planned to be launched a year earlier. The prototype shown off by DongleBookPro also has a red Digital Crown, just like the Series 3 watch, which was the first shipping model with cellular.

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