iOS

A little later than some expected, Apple has released new versions of the iWork suite of apps for iPhone and iPad with iOS 9 and iPhone 6s features. Pages, Keynote, and Numbers now all support iPad multitasking features including Split View on iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4, and iPad Pro, as well as 3D Touch on iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The iWork apps also gained new versions on the Mac with OS X El Capitan features and much more. Details below:
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With the debut of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus last month, Apple introduced several new features that are exclusive to the latest iPhone hardware. However, as in previous years, the recent release of a jailbreak for iOS 9 has allowed some of these features to be activated on older devices without requiring a new iPhone.

While you won’t be able to get things like the increased performance afforded by the A9 chip or the ability to record 4K video, you will be able to get a few strictly software-based features. Keep reading to learn how to enable 3D Touch shortcuts on your Home screen and Live Photos in the Camera app.

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Apple has today announced an expansion of ResearchKit into studies for autism, epilepsy and melanoma. ResearchKit enables people to conduct distributed scientific research studies from an iPhone app, enabling higher participation rates than traditional medical research can provide. The new studies are being run by researchers in Duke University, Johns Hopkins and Oregon Health and Science University.

ResearchKit is open-source. In the same statement, Apple says that over 50 researchers have already contributed to the project.

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Following the corresponding update to Pixelmator for iOS 9, the company has released the latest version of Pixelmator for the Mac ($29.99) with full support for El Capitan. This includes compatibility with changes to the OS as well as an overhaul in the Pixelmator user interface to feature San Fransisco, Apple’s new system font. The update, version 3.4, also includes official full-screen Split View support on El Capitan, so users can dock Pixelmator next to any other app on the system filling the display.

Perhaps most interestingly, the app now includes a Photos.app editing extension …

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Canadian telecommunications company Bell has been fined by Canada’s Competition Bureau today for posting deceptive reviews online. Bell has agreed to pay $1.25 million in fines to the organization. The investigation originally began when Bell acknowledged that its employees were “overzealous” in their reviews for the MyBell Mobile app on the App Store.

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Apple is continuing to expand its presence on social media services, today launching a brand new @AppleMusicHelp Twitter account to answer queries and support questions live over Twitter related to its Apple Music service. The account is manned each day of the week from 6 AM – 8 PM Pacific Time. Apple representatives will watch the account’s mentions timeline and try to help resolve people’s problems. The service is completely free, but the account will only help with Apple Music-specific questions. The company directs customers to the normal support pages for information or help with other Apple products.

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The latest data from App Annie shows that Android has pushed further ahead in the number of apps downloaded worldwide, but iOS has increased its lead in app revenue.

Downloads in India and Southeast Asia in particular saw Android opening up its download lead from 85% in Q2 to 90% in Q3 2015, but that boost in low-cost handsets did nothing for app revenues. iOS apps increased their revenue lead from 70% to 80% in the last quarter … 
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Pangu has today released the first public untethered jailbreak for iOS 9, which can be installed on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. This includes the latest iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus and every public version of iOS 9 (iOS 9.0, iOS 9.0.1 and iOS 9.0.2), meaning its now technically possible to reach beyond what’s possible in the Apple App Store on Apple’s latest devices. The jailbreak software is available for free, but right now there’s only a Windows installer available. Mac support will probably follow in the future but a date has not been announced.

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Apple has today announced updates to the entire iMac family. Most notably, the company has brought Retina to the 21.5 inch iMac range, with 4K resolution displays. Apple has also dropped the non-Retina 27 inch iMacs, so they feature 5K displays across the board. The new iMac displays include faster processors, upgraded graphics, improved wider color gamut and two Thunderbolt 2 ports. The new iMacs have launched alongside updates to the Magic Trackpad, Magic Mouse and keyboard.

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Apple is raising prices for apps in Australia, Indonesia and Sweden within the next 3 days. In an email, Apple has notified developers that they are updating prices in the three countries in response to foreign exchange rate variations. Prices are being increased across the board. For example, today a $0.99 app in the Australian App Store is sold for 1.29 AUD. When the changes come into effect, customers will have to pay 1.49 AUD for the same app. This is an increase of about 15% in local currency.

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Apple has seeded the fifth iOS 9.1 beta for developers and public beta testers. The new beta includes various bug fixes and improvements … we’ll let you know if there’s anything drastically new. The new seed comes less than a week after beta 4 as Apple comes closer to a public launch of iOS 9.1.

iOS 9.1 includes new emojis, new wallpapers, developer support for Live Photos and iPad Pro / Apple Pencil compatibility, amongst several other changes.

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To help with the international refugee crisis happening right now, Apple and the band Imagine Dragons have collaborated on an exclusive charity single, called “I Was Me” ($1.29). All proceeds of the song sales go to the UN Refugee Agency to support relief efforts. In addition, SAP will be donating an additional 10 cents per download for the first 5 million iTunes downloads. The Imagine Dragons track is exclusive to iTunes and available worldwide.

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Health accessories for iPhones, iPads, and iPods have become more numerous and diverse over the years, evolving from Apple’s early Nike+ run sensors to heart rate monitors, increasingly complex Wi-Fi scales with body fat and ambient room sensors, blood pressure cuff docks… and even Bluetooth toothbrushes. Some health accessories are undeniably useful, but others raise the question “why?” — why pay more to see my weight on an iPhone rather than the scale’s built-in screen? Why track daily tooth brushing, body fat percentages, or the humidity of one’s bathroom? People survived for thousands of years without charting every seemingly minor blip on their personal radars.

My perspective changed last month when my wife was diagnosed with a serious cardiac condition. One of those “seemingly minor blips” that can now be constantly monitored is your heartbeat, and when something’s wrong with your heart, advance knowledge literally makes the difference between living or dying. As it turns out, a San Francisco-based company named AliveCor is now on its third-generation version of an iPhone accessory that helps people with cardiac conditions. The AliveCor Mobile ECG ($75) is an FDA-approved electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor that can record and share your heartbeat directly from your iPhone. Measuring roughly 3.2″ by 1.3″ by 0.2″, Mobile EGC can self-attach to your iPhone’s back, or integrate with a bundled custom iPhone 6/6s case for only $80 (there’s an iPhone 5/5s case, too). Given my family’s sudden need for quick access to ECG data, keeping it with an iPhone makes sense, as this is an accessory we’ll want to have on hand whenever it may be needed…

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Apple this evening has removed a handful of apps from the App Store that install root certificates of their own. By installing their own root certificate, the app developers could theoretically gain access to encrypted traffic from users. Among some of the apps being removed are a select number of ad blockers. The ad blockers that have been removed are ones that block content both in Safari and in other apps.

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AT&T was officially granted an FCC waiver this week to enable Wi-Fi calling for its customers with supported devices like iPhones running iOS 9. Wi-Fi Calling first appeared during the iOS 9 beta period and remained functional for those who enabled it previously, but AT&T stopped sign-ups for the feature once iOS 9 was publicly released due to requirements set by the Federal Communications Commission.

While AT&T has officially turned on Wi-Fi calling for its subscribers, the carrier is doubling down on its position that rivals T-Mobile and Sprint have deployed and marketed Wi-Fi calling features for a while without proper FCC approval. At issue with the FCC is how Wi-Fi calling lacks support for teletypewriter (TTY) devices. And although AT&T has been cleared to turn on Wi-Fi calling without meeting that requirement, it wants in FCC investigation into its competitors’ behavior.
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