iOS 9

The Beats 1 radio station that forms part of Apple Music has put in its first appearance for iPhone and iPad users running the beta version of iOS 8.4 and iOS 9. Users are seeing the station logo and hearing pre-roll audio from Zane Lowe when it is clicked.

It’s just a demo at this stage, with pre-recorded audio, but is one step closer to the launch of the streaming music service which launches on June 30 via an all-new Music app … 
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It looks like a few lines of iOS 9 code have provided a couple of key details regarding the upcoming iPad Pro. The resolution of this mysterious large device has been discovered, along with a new keyboard layout. In this episode we discuss our iPad Pro wish list and what we’d like to see if this device becomes a reality later this year. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed…

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At Apple’s WWDC 2015 keynote, we got our first glimpse at OS X 10.11 El Capitan. Say what you will about the name (I’m not a huge fan), but it does come along with some nice under-the-hood improvements and new features. Today we’re taking a look at the top five features available with OS X El Capitan…

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Following on from the Apple Watch native apps hack, Steve Troughton Smith has also found that the keyboard view in iOS 9 has much better adaptability support on Apple’s latest operating system. As shown by the screenshots, at larger resolutions, the iPad keyboard rearranges itself to make use of the space. Tab and Caps Lock keys are notably added onto to the left side as well as an entirely new top row of symbols.

This new row reflects the symbols normally found on hardware keyboards above the number keys: @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ +. Next to the ‘p’ on the first row, the keyboard also gains curly braces and a pipe symbol.

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With Apple’s new Wallet app in iOS 9, a revamped version of the old Passbook app with a name that better reflects Apple Pay integration, Apple will let marketers send out dynamic offers triggered by location or a user’s interests through iAd. Apple noted the feature on its blog for advertisers explaining that “marketers can reach loyal customers with specific messages that reflect the customers’ interests, or convert a new customer by presenting a reason to try something new.”
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Although Apple originally debuted Continuity in iOS 8, enabling iPhone calls and SMS messages to be received and answered on Macs or iPads, the feature only worked when the iPhone, Macs, and iPads were on the same Wi-Fi network. Today, T-Mobile announced that it is “the only mobile network operator in the world” with support for a new and previously unannounced iOS 9 feature: Continuity support has been added to T-Mobile’s cellular network, so a Mac or iPad can receive an iOS 9 iPhone’s calls even when the iPhone isn’t on the same Wi-Fi network.

This means that “T-Mobile customers will be able to answer that important text message or call on your Mac or iPad even if you left your phone at home,” explained T-Mobile, so “you can leave your phone on your desk and just take your tablet or your Mac to your meeting and never worry about missing anything.” Implicitly, the iPad or Mac would need to be connected to a Wi-Fi network for calls and SMS messages to come through. The feature is active as of the iOS 9 beta, so “customers will need the iOS 9 beta to use the new feature, and it will be available to every T-Mobile customer with an iOS device later this year when iOS 9 is publicly available.” And there’s more…

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WWDC has brought a ton of announcements for Apple’s software and services. This week, we’ll discuss the important topics, what you need to know, and how we feel about iOS 9, watchOS 2, OS X El Capitan, and more. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed…

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Apple earlier this week announced a handful of retailers that will be the first to offer loyalty card support through Apple Pay, but there’s one company planned for the initial launch that it didn’t mention: Whole Foods. Expect the roll out of other rewards cards to be slow, however, as NFC terminals work to enable support with retailers…
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Ad blocking extensions have been possible on Safari for Mac for a long time, but plugin architecture for Safari on iOS is much more limited. With iOS 9, Apple has added a special case of extension for ad blockers. Apps can now include ‘content blocker’ extensions that define resources (like images and scripts) for Safari to not load. For the first time, this architecture makes ad blockers a real possibility for iOS developers to make and iOS customers to install and use.

The inclusion of such a feature at this time is interesting. Apple is also pushing its own news solution in iOS 9 with the News app, which will include ads but not be affected by the content blocking extensions as they only apply to Safari. There is also clearly the potential for Safari ad blockers to hurt Google, which seems to be a common trend with Apple’s announcements recently…

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Xcode listing running processes on an iOS 9 iPhone.

When OS X 10.10.4 betas dropped discoveryd a couple of weeks ago before iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 were announced, there was some speculation about whether it was just a temporary intermediate fix until Apple reworks discoveryd for the next generation operating systems. Using Xcode’s Instruments developer tools for iOS and Activity Monitor on the Mac, we can confirm that Apple has also dropped discoveryd on iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 El Capitan.

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With iOS 9, developers can cutoff younger devices in a way that was not previously possible. Although iOS 9 runs on every device that runs iOS 8, app developers are free to specify more restrictive compatibility requirements.

In fact, with iOS 9, developers can choose to make their apps exclude any non-64 bit architecture. This means all iPod touch models, all iPhones before the iPhone 5s and all iPads before the iPad Air will not be able to install apps where developers have required 64-bit CPUs.

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We exclusively revealed last month that Apple is developing its own mapping database, complete with 3D Street View imagery – and the company has now officially confirmed this on a new webpage.

Apple is driving vehicles around the world to collect data which will be used to improve Apple Maps. Some of this data will be published in future Apple Maps updates.

We are committed to protecting your privacy while collecting this data. For example, we will blur faces and license plates on collected images prior to publication.

We first speculated back in February that this was the likely reason for the camera-equipped minivans leased by Apple, at a time when many were suggesting they were test beds for self-driving cars.

If you fancy trying to photobomb one of Apple’s camera vans, the company has posted a list of the locations they will be visiting later this month … 
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Apple gave a small mention in yesterday’s keynote to something that may make a big difference to those iPhone and iPad owners who find themselves running short of storage space: App Thinning. The idea is that your iOS 9 device only downloads the code it actually needs, making apps significantly smaller than they are today.

What Apple listed as one feature is actually three separate mechanisms, each playing its own part in reducing app size, and ArsTechnica has provided an interesting look at how it all works … 
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Along with the announcement and beta release of iOS 9 at WWDC 2015, Apple has unveiled watchOS 2.0. This software is currently in beta, but brings along some cool changes you should know about. Check out our watchOS 2 feature video to find out if these changes make your Apple Watch experience better…

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Apple’s WWDC 2015 keynote was full of software announcements. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much on the hardware side of things, but we have some important updates for Macs, Apple Watch, and iOS devices. Today we’re checking out the Top 10 features in iOS 9. There’s not much of a redesign happening here, but there are a handful of noteworthy features you should know about…

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During its WWDC keynote this morning, Apple announced new “Slide Over” and side-by-side features that allow users to run two iPad apps in a single window. The features, which we originally reported on more than a year ago, are similar to a feature also available in the latest Mac operating system, OS X El Capitan.

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Apple introduced iOS 9 during its WWDC keynote today, and we’ve got a hands-on look at all of the new stuff you can expect to see when it comes out later this year.

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