iOS Devices

The latest connected gadget to go on sale in Apple Stores is the Withings Body Cardio, a scale that measures not just weight and body fat, but can also detect cardiovascular problems. Using sensors that measure Pulse Wave Velocity – how quickly blood pumps through your arteries – it can point to problems like hypertension and high cholesterol.

Body Cardio gives everyone the opportunity to follow heart health at home via the introduction of a new measurement: pulse wave velocity. Recognized by the medical community as the best stand-alone indicator to provide a reliable assessment of overall cardiovascular health, pulse wave velocity assessments from Body Cardio have the potential to revolutionize how we care for our cardiovascular health.

The scale can’t identify the reason for poor PWV readings, but the connected iPhone app will let you know if it is in the range where you should arrange a medical check-up …

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Data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners shows that iPhone owners are holding onto their phones longer before they upgrade them. Three years ago, almost two-thirds of iPhones in use were just 1-2 years old, but CIRP says that number has now fallen to just 51%.

CIRP attributes the change to a combination of the slowing pace of development and carriers switching from phone-inclusive plans to separate financing for the phone itself …

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In my continuing quest to find a great iPad Pro case, I’ve been testing out the new BookBook case for iPad Pro 12.9-inch ($99) … and I really like it. Don’t judge a book by its cover; the cute design hides a lot of utility. There’s a display mode for watching movies, an integrated kickstand perfect for typing and sketching as well as a fantastic Apple Pencil holder hidden in the ‘spine’. (Check the Twelve South website if sold out on Amazon.)

As the whole thing zips up, it’s one of few cases that completely protects the iPad whilst in transit. Read on for my full review of the BookBook for iPad Pro after the jump …

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In addition to unveiling a pair of new Apple Music ads starring DJ Khaled, Apple today has uploaded a series of new videos as part of its “Shot on iPhone” ad campaign. Last month, Apple returned to the Shot on iPhone ad series for Mother’s Day, but this marks the first big release of videos for the campaign in a while. The company initially rebooted the ad campaign in February with all-new images from the iPhone 6s.

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A survey by Creative Strategies found that while almost all American iPhone users have at least tried Siri, only 3% have ever used it in public. The firm expresses surprise at the apparent reason for this.

With public usage as low as 3% for iPhone users, it seems users are still uncomfortable talking to their devices. Even more fascinating is this happens in the US where consumers are accustomed to talking loudly on phones in public.

Highest usage of Siri was, unsurprisingly, in the car, where it hit 62%. Use at home averaged 39% across all the voice assistants surveyed, falling to just 1.3% at work where both the embarrassment factor and a desire not to disturb others likely combine …

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Recently departed (but still friend of the site!) Mark Gurman went on the Jay and Farhad Show podcast this evening and gave his predictions for WWDC 2016 and beyond. Most of the conversation material was either posted previously on 9to5Mac or elsewhere but there were certainly some new “whispers”…
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Apple has updated its WWDC app for iPhone and iPad with a new look and feel ahead of the annual conference later this month. The updated version of the app also includes tvOS support for the first time. This means video content and session information can be accessed from the fourth generation Apple TV.

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It’s been essentially confirmed in the past, but today the Unicode Consortium officially unveiled the 72 new emoji that will be made available in Unicode 9. The latest batch of emoji include a variety of new foods, faces, objects, and sports. Unicode 9 is set to be released on June 21st, which means we may see these new emoji in iOS 10 when it ships to the public this fall.

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Update 2: Apple is reporting that the iCloud.com services have also been restored.

Update: Apple is reporting that the availability of some services has now been restored but several features of iCloud are still down and undergoing maintenance.

As noted by Apple’s system status page, a multitude of Apple services are currently experiencing instability and downtime for some users. The affected services include the App Store, Mac App Store, Apple TV services, iTunes In The Cloud and critical features like Find My iPhone. We have also had a few reports of Apple Music downtime, seemingly repeating the outage yesterday, but Apple’s official status report does not mention any problems with Apple Music at this time.

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Apple has re-released last month’s minor iOS 9.3.2 software update after pulling it due to customer complaints of bricking iPad Pros. The updated version features build number 13F72 and is available through official channels now.

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Apple has today launched its Back to School deals for students. Similar to last year, Apple will bundle a free pair of Beats headphones with the purchase of an eligible Apple product for college. If you buy an iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro or MacBook Air, you get a free pair of Beats Solo2 wireless headphones worth $299. iPad Pro, iPhone 6s and iPhone 6 buyers can get a free pair of Beats Powerbeats2 wireless headphones, worth $199 retail.

Standard Apple student education discount also applies on Mac and iPad purchases. Although this is one of the best times to buy a Mac or iPad direct from Apple Store, you may save money from buying elsewhere …

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Cases claiming to be designed for the next-generation iPhones, currently being dubbed the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, have been released online today. Although the cases do not show anything drastically different to what we’ve been hearing for months, with most of the chassis mirroring the appearance of the iPhone 6s, it is interesting nonetheless to see the design formalized into cases that are apparently going to be on sale by the end of the month.

The case renders include a depiction of what the dual camera system on the 5.5 inch iPhone 7 Plus could look like, suggesting that it will have a binocular-esque appearance of two camera iris holes side-by-side with a sizeable gap between them. The camera flash and rear microphone are also aligned horizontally. The iPhone 7 Plus case also includes space for the 3-pin Smart Connector on the back of the device — more pictures after the break …

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In last year’s American Customer Satisfaction Index, Apple and Samsung were neck-and-neck at 80%. In this year’s results, released today, Samsung has retained last year’s score while Apple has just edged ahead at 81%.

Apple moves up 1% to take sole possession of the industry lead at 81, just ahead of Samsung, unchanged at 80. Lenovo’s Motorola recedes 3% to 77, as does HTC (75), while LG remains at 74. Microsoft Mobile, with both Nokia- and MS-branded phones, dips to 74, followed by the smaller manufacturers, which edge up 3% to a combined score of 73.

Despite Apple winning out in overall satisfaction across models, it didn’t quite manage the top spot when it comes to specific models …

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Claimed image of the iPhone 7 from OnLeaks

Supply chain research by TrendForce backs earlier reports suggesting that this year’s iPhone will be a relatively minor upgrade over the iPhone 6s. The firm says that most of the specs have now been finalized, and the specifics listed are in line with what has been reported previously.

[The iPhone] will come in two sizes: 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches. The major hardware highlights include expanded storage for all models and dual-camera specifically for the 5.5-inch model. However, the next iPhone (here also referred to as iPhone 7) is generally consistent with its predecessor appearance-wise; and more importantly, display is not included in its upgrades.

It backs a report of a top storage tier of 256GB, but says that Apple has not yet decided whether to retain the 64GB middle tier or boost it to 128GB. A recent report suggested that Apple is at long last dropping the 16GB entry-level in favor of 32GB.

TrendForce also supports a report by KGI that there is a specific reason for Apple’s rumored move to 3GB RAM for the larger model …

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It’s been mostly doom and gloom where iPhone sales and forecasts are concerned, but one analyst believes that the iPhone 7 could see record sales in September, reports Business Insider. BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Long says the reason is because such a high proportion of existing iPhone owners currently have a model two or more years old.

Twenty-five percent of the “installed user base” is poised for an upgrade, Long believes — an audience of 120 million phones. BMO’s Long went back through the history of all iPhone sales and calculated that on average, 17% of users upgrade as soon as the next year’s model comes out; 58% upgrade a year after that; and 22% the year after that. Only 2% of users hang on longer.

While he’s predicting a huge number, the underlying figures would seem to support his contention that we can expect a marked uptake in sales even if this year’s model is less visually distinctive than we’d usually expect from a brand new model …

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Apple has quietly rolled out a change to the Apple TV App Store on tvOS in the last few days, which affects how apps are listed in the Top Charts. For the Top Charts (Top Paid, Top Free, Top Grossing), the Apple TV App Store will now hide listings for apps that the user has already downloaded, so the charts update dynamically per user. This means users can only browse for apps they don’t already own, removing some clutter and allowing less popular apps more opportunity to be seen. This behavior is novel and isn’t currently replicated by the iPhone and iPad App Stores.

To try this out for yourself, open the Apple TV App Store and download the #1 Top Free app. After force-quitting and re-opening the App Store (by swiping it away in the multitasking tray), the app will disappear from the charts. What was previously listed at #2 will now take the top spot (via Equinux).

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