Apple

Alongside the second beta of iOS 8, Apple has provided an update to the OS X Yosemite Developer Preview. Yosemite brings many new features to the Mac, including a new design, Continuity features, and enhanced applications. We’ll update this post with new discoveries in the new preview as they are found. You can let us know what you find at tips@9to5mac.com. 

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Two weeks following the 2014 Worldwide Developers Conference and the release of the first beta build of iOS 8 to developers, Apple has provided iOS 8 beta 2 to developers. The new release is available over-the-air in iOS 8’s Settings menu, and it’s available for supported iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches.

iOS 8 officially launches this fall and includes several new features for both consumers and developers alike. iOS Device users will experience a new Health app for integrating health and fitness data, improvements to Safari, enhanced Messages features, design tweaks in Mail, and significant changes to notifications, photo management, and the keyboard. Developers will now be able to create third-party keyboards, integrate the Touch ID fingerprint scanner into apps, and integrate third-party home automation products with iOS.

We’ll be updating this post (below) with new features in iOS 8 beta 2 as they are discovered, and you can share your findings with us via email at tips@9to5mac.com. 

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As the fall approaches, the Economic Daily news has issued a new report with the latest chatter it is hearing about some of Apple’s upcoming iOS device launches. Here’s what the paper is reporting about the “iWatch:”

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Somewhat unsurprisingly, photos of physical mockups (dummy units) purportedly representing the next-generation full-sized iPad Air have surfaced. This comes after several weeks of iPhone 6 dummy shots that solely differ by camera angles. These units are generally created by case makers, so they may have some inaccuracies. Nonetheless, here’s what whoever made these physical mockups is expecting based on whatever information they obtained from the Apple supply chain. As you can see in the image above, the next Air appears to be nearly identical in design to the current Air. More images below:

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The name Parallels is synonymous with software for running the Windows OS on a Mac, but over the past couple of years, the company has turned into so much more. Last year, we reviewed Parallels Access, an application for the Apple iPad that allows the iPad to serve as a conduit for remotely accessing either a Mac or Windows machine. In our review, we noted how blown away we were with the speed and performance of Parallels Access. The software makes accessing and using a computer via the iPad’s touchscreen a breeze, and it provides a huge convenience factor for those times when you need to access something on your home computer but do not have the machine with you.

The application is far and above other remote desktop client applications because of its integration with iOS, OS X, Windows, its speed, and its overall reliability. Parallels Access utilizes gestures, iOS’s native keyboard with autocorrect and editing, “SmartMagnification” and “SmartTap” to make the computer feel responsive and alive on the iPad’s display. The application allows you to use your Mac swiftly and connects over the internet. Now, Parallels is bringing the Parallels Access experience to the smaller screen of the iPhone. In some ways, since it is not a computer replacement like an iPad is for some people, the iPhone feels like a more logical device for using Parallels Access…

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Following a few quotes from a Jony Ive interview with The New York Times appearing in a longer piece about Tim Cook over the weekend, the publication has now published a longer transcript from the interview. In the interview, Ive was asked about working with Cook, how things have changed post Steve Jobs, and he also gave some insight into his daily work routine.  “We meet on average three times a week. Sometimes those meetings are over in his space, sometimes here in the design studio. We all see the same physical object. Something happens between what we objectively see and what we perceive it to be.”

Ive described his new role leading software design at the company as “some leadership and direction in terms of user interface – a subset of software,” and most interestingly seemed to hint at using new materials for products that the company hasn’t worked with before. Naturally, Ive would have loved to say more but couldn’t: “I would love to talk about future stuff – they’re materials we haven’t worked in before. I’ve been working on this stuff for a few years now. Tim is fundamentally involved in pushing into these new areas and into these materials.”
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Seeking to enhance Apple’s retail store divison and bring the customer experience to higher levels, new Apple Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts is planning a fundamental restructuring of Apple’s retail stores as she prepares a series of new store openings across the globe for the second half of 2014 and first half of 2015…

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Retro Apple Store <a href="http://www.aredesignawards.com/award_winner_detail.cfm?key=2009129">Back to School display</a>

Apple could be planning to launch its annual Back to School sales promotion within the next two weeks. Apple Stores, according to several employees, will be changing the front of store glass window displays overnight on June 30th. This is the usual timeframe in which Apple launches a promotion to boost Mac, iPad, and iPhone sales in anticipation of the new school year in the fall.

Last year, the Back to School promotion consisted of $100 App Store gift cards for Mac purchases and $50 cards for iPad and iPhone purchases by students with their Student IDs. Of course, this June 30th window change could be connected to another promotion or a new product, but based on the timing, the Back to School program being in the wings seems most likely.

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This fall, Apple is expected to unwrap two next-generation iPhones with larger displays: a 4.7-inch model and a 5.5-inch higher-end “phablet” variant. While the 4.7-inch model has had physical mockups floating around the web for the past few months, parts or shells for a 5.5-inch model have not been seen until now. Sonny Dickson has sent us photos of a 5.5-inch iPhone 6 physical “dummy” mockup in the Space Gray color (above and below), and he has posted photos of a white and gold model on Twitter:

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Following the publication of an NPR article detailing the security of major email services, Apple has informed the network that it is working on an update to its iCloud Mail service that encrypts emails in transit from other providers. As of right now, iCloud emails are solely encrypted in transit from one iCloud email account to another, but an email sent from iCloud to Gmail or Yahoo (as examples) or vice versa is not currently encrypted. This is what will change:

Apple encrypts e-mail from its customers to iCloud. However, Apple is one of the few global email providers based in the U.S. that is not encrypting any of its customers’ email in transit between providers. After we published, the company told us this would soon change. This affects users of me.com and mac.com email addresses.

The enhancement will come into effect “soon,” but Apple is not more specific than that on the timeframe. While the quote above oddly does not specify icloud.com addresses, that newer Apple email domain likely falls into the same category as me.com and mac.com. The lack of end-to-end iCloud Mail encryption with Gmail, for example, is shown on Google’s data protection transparency website:

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While Beats Music will soon be owned by Apple, the music service does not easily integrate with iTunes. For instance, there is no official Beats tool to link your iTunes library for streaming from Beats Music. However, an unofficial tool called Beats Importer is a temporary solution that seems to work well for adding iTunes and Rdio Playlists to your Beats Music library. We’ve compiled a tutorial for importing your iTunes Playlists to Beats Music, below:

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Apple has today announced a replacement program for some European iPhone USB adapters. The company says that it has identified that some USB adapters bundled with iPhones (as well as sold separately) may overheat and ‘pose a safety risk’. The adapter shipped with European models of the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s from October 2009 to September 2012.

Affected adapters feature the Model ‘A1300’ designation, found on the bottom of the unit as pictured above. Apple will replace the power adapters for free at its dedicated replacement portal website. A full country list is below.

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<a href="https://twitter.com/ifostore/status/477263528198279170">Image of the large crowd</a>

Apple’s first Tokyo Apple Store opening since 2005 occurred today in the city of Omotesando. The new store features two floors and a fully glass exterior. Apple published a video showing preparations for the store earlier this week. As she promised in a memo to employees earlier today, Angela Ahrendts is on hand for the opening:

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After being on the job for approximately a month and a half, new Apple Senior VP of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts has sent her first memo to Apple Retail employees. In the memo, Ahrendts discusses Apple’s culture, her visits to stores thus far, and her plans for the future.

“I have spent most of my time getting to know and understand the many functions and teams in Cupertino, along with our short and long term initiatives. I was thrilled to meet many of you at stores in San Francisco and London this month, and I’m looking forward to Tokyo and the Omotesando opening,” Ahrendts said. “Every couple of weeks, we will be visiting stores across the world to see and learn what we do best and hear your thoughts about opportunities ahead,” she added.

We previously profiled Ahrendts plans for transforming Apple retail with a new end-to-end sales experience, mobile payment initiatives, and an increased emphasis on the Chinese consumer. Today’s memo from Ahrendts to employees reiterates many of these points…
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Photo via Foursquare

According to employee tweets and photos, Apple opened a stunning new Caffè Macs employee cafeteria at the corner of Bandley and Alves Dr. in Cupertino this past Tuesday. Located close to the company’s first campus building, Apple received approval to build at this location in early 2012, and after 2 years of work, the new cafeteria is complete.

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iOS 8 adds several important enhancements to the iPhone and iPad, such as improved notifications, health-tracking, and a more advanced camera application, but the new operating system’s most significant feature may be the groundwork technologies for a future Apple wearable device that integrates deeply with the iPhone.

No matter if it is called the “iWatch,” “iBand,” “iPod,” or something else entirely, a wrist-worn Apple wearable device will likely be announced in October, and the software it will run will set the scope of its capabilities. Besides the new functionality for the iPhone and iPad, iOS 8 includes many new wireless protocols, applications, and features that open the door to several capabilities for a wearable device.

Let’s take a look at how each major iOS 8 feature plays directly into Apple’s ambitions for a wearable computer, below.

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A partnership between famed industrial designer Yves Behar and company Mark One are today announcing the Vessyl, smart cup that seeks to track data for the nutrition in beverages. The concept sounds simple. Pour a drink into the sensor-packed Vessyl cup, and an accompanying iPhone application will instantly tell you the type of beverage (like soda or milk), the brand (perhaps Coke or Pepsi), calorie content, fat content, and sugar content…

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