iCloud

This is the first entry in our new, weekly how-to’s column. Check back every Saturday for a new how-to:

First off, before we begin and actually discuss how to safely delete an iCloud account, we should discuss the different scenarios as to why you might need to delete your iCloud account off of your devices.

1. If you are using the same Apple ID as a family member for iCloud, several different outcomes could result from this.  Odds are that your content got merged, and all of your personal information is mixed together. You are both getting frustrated that your contacts are disappearing because you each delete and re-add them and iCloud pushes the changes to both of you. You also might be getting each other’s iMessages and FaceTime calls. Or one of you is using and enjoying the features and benefits of iCloud whereas the other isn’t and is missing out on features like Backup to iCloud and Find my Device.
2. The email address associated with the Apple ID you are using for iCloud is no longer a valid, active email address. In that case, you’ll need to change the email address associated with your Apple ID, which I will be discussing in next week’s article.
   

On an iOS Device, go into the Settings app and scroll down until you see iCloud. To delete the iCloud account from the device, just press the big red “Delete Account” button. To do this on a Mac, go into System Preferences and choose iCloud, the press the “Sign Out” button…

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We reported previously on the possibility of Apple making its iWork suite, and possibly its other premium content creation apps, available for free alongside iOS 7 and the launch of new iWork for iCloud web apps. It would make a lot of sense given it’s hard to imagine Apple allowing users to create documents for free on iCloud but not seamlessly transfer from iOS to Mac without having to throw down $30 for the three iOS apps. Today we get a little hint from the latest iOS 7 beta that Apple might actually be considering making the apps free this fall (via @nielskorte & iFun).

The screenshot above shows the screen that Apple presents most users with when launching the App Store on their iOS device for the first time. Curiously, on iOS 7 beta 3, the recommended free apps screen includes Apple’s iWork suite in addition to other paid apps such as Garageband, iMovie, and iPhoto. In the past, Apple has only included free apps in the pop up such as iBooks, iTunes U, and Podcasts. This could signal Apple has plans to offer its premium apps for free in the future…

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Apple presents itself as a company that ships hardware, software, and services that integrate together elegantly. While Apple makes the majority of its money from its hardware, Apple makes use of its free, popular internet services and software to sell their hardware. For example, the iLife suite of Mac apps that are included for free with new Mac purchases is a common reason that people choose to buy a Mac. On the iOS side, Apple offers free services like iCloud, iBooks, iMessage, Game Center, and later this year, iTunes Radio.

But on both the Mac and iOS Device side, one particular Apple service has stuck out as being a paid offering: Apple’s iWork suite that includes the Pages word processor, Numbers spreadsheet maker, and Keynote presentation creator. For years, Apple has sold iWork for Mac as a bundled suite, but with the Mac App Store, the company split the three programs into separate $19.99 downloads. On the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch side, the three apps are distinct $9.99 downloads. Apple, thus far, has kept iWork as a premium priced suite, but this fall, the company will introduce a free tier: iWork for iCloud…

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Today at Apple’s WWDC keynote, Apple took some time to announce some improvements to Notifications, as we expected. The majority of the improvements that Apple has demoed so far include new features for Notifications on the Mac coming in the just announced OS X Mavericks, such as quick replies, the ability to receive iOS push notifications, and lock screen access.

Apple showed off a new quick reply feature for Notifications on the Mac that will allow users to mouse over a notification and quickly reply from a dialog that pops depending on the app. Not only can you reply to messages to respond to FaceTime calls, for example, you will also be able to perform other actions with the quick reply Notifications such as quickly deleting emails.

Another feature that we saw today during Apple’s keynote is the ability to receive iOS push notifications right on your Mac for apps installed on your iPhone and iPad. These are a few of the updates we were expecting from Apple today, but we’ll have to wait to see if they fixed the other half of the problem during its iOS 7 portion of today’s presentation but Apple also showed off a redesigned Notification center for iOS including lock screen access and new tabs (pictured below).

Additionally, Apple showed off the ability to view Notifications directly from the lock screen in OS X Mavericks.

Update:  As we expected, Apple also announced that Notification Sync will be coming in iOS 7, but didn’t show off any specifics.

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Live on stage at Apple’s WWDC keynote presentation this morning, CEO Tim Cook has opened things up with the usual updates on some of the company’s core businesses and accomplishments over the past year. Sharing numbers on how its products have been selling and outpacing the competition has become somewhat of a tradition for Apple keynote addresses. Below you’ll find a roundup of the stats that Cook shared today including info on retail stores, iPhones and more:

-6 Million registered developers, 1.5M in last year

-WWDC sold out in 71 seconds

-1m daily visitors at Apple retail

-Millions of customers come for personal training

-407 stores in 14 countries

-50 billion apps

-900,000 apps (93% downloaded each month)

-375k iPad apps

-575,000,000 store accounts (more accounts with credit cards than any store online)

-paid developers 10 billion (3 times more than all other mobile platforms combined)
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We’ve got a pretty good idea of what Apple intends to give us at WWDC. Even the things we’re not so sure about seem on the radar.

But what does Apple need to do long term to tighten up the ecosystem and bring some excitement back into its hardware, software and services? I’ve got a few things…

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(Preparations for Apple’s 2013 WWDC developer conference / Image via Nick)

There’s a lot we already know about what we’ll be seeing next week at WWDC– we’ve already brought you exclusive details on iOS 7, OS X 10.9, a MacBook refresh, Apple’s new Radio service, and much more. What else might we see Apple show off next week? Below are a couple of our best predictions based on what we think Apple is most likely to show off as well as few things we’ve been hearing:
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Apple is currently testing versions of iOS 7 internally that include the AirDrop WiFi-direct file sharing tool from the Mac, according to people familiar with the software.

Like with the Flickr and Vimeo integration that we previously reported on, it is very simple for Apple to remove any single feature from the new operating system ahead of the mid-June unveiling. 

Additionally, Apple has scrapped AirDrop late in software development from iOS before. Last year, we reported that Apple was developing an AirDrop tool to take advantage of the new WiFi hardware inside of Apple’s latest iOS devices. Because Apple has postponed the feature before, we believe it is possible that the feature could be pushed back again…

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Readdle has finally brought their popular Documents iPad app to the iPhone and iPod touch with the latest update. The iPhone version has all of the features you would expect in a file management app and a few extras.

The main file manager window displays all of your files in a grid or list sorted by name, date, or size. You can create folders, zip and unzip archives, and view a variety of file types from this view. PDFs, plaintext files, audio, pictures, and more can be added to your collection. The audio player works when the app is in the background so you can continue listening to your music.

Your most recently used files will accumulate in a special folder automatically so you can find them again easily. A search feature on the main page allows you to search any file by name, but you can also enable an indexing feature lets the app search the contents of your documents as well.

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Yahoo’s Mayer and Apple’s Ive at dinner

Apple and Yahoo are in active discussions regarding increasing their partnership, according to The Wall Street Journal. While the report does not provide any true specifics regarding what an increased partnership could entail, the report notes that discussions have surrounded increased Yahoo integration into Siri. Additionally, Yahoo is reportedly exploring ways to reduce Apple’s reliance on Google for web search functions.

Data from Yahoo Finance and its weather site already come preloaded onto iPhones and Yahoo data like sports stats help power Apple’s voice-activated “assistant” Siri. But the companies continue to discuss new arrangements, including possible deals to get more content from Yahoo Sports and Yahoo News, among other Yahoo Web properties, preloaded onto Apple devices or available through an expanded partnership with Siri, one of these people said.

Apple and Yahoo have had a lengthy history in terms of iPhone/iOS-related partnerships. Yahoo was the first third-party email service to be integrated into the iPhone Mail app with free push email technology. In fact, one of Yahoo’s founders joined Apple co-founder Steve on stage at the Macworld 2007 iPhone announcement to discuss the partnership (video). Yahoo is also a Safari web search option and a data source for weather, stocks, sports data for iOS applications and Siri…

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Apple has updated its Podcasts app today with a number of new features. Among the most notable is the ability to create custom stations that update automatically as new episodes of podcasts are available. There are also a number of new enhancements for stations and playlists, including iCloud support to keep stations up to date on all your iOS devices.

The app also now includes a redesigned “Now Playing” view that shows playback controls, as pictured in the screenshots above.

Other improvements include On-The-Go playlists and support for syncing playlists from iTunes, an option to have stations begin playing with the latest or oldest episode, and other fixes and performance enhancements:
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