iOS

A planning permission meeting for a new Apple Store in Memphis has seemingly revealed more information about Apple’s plans for its retail stores. According to the Apple representative, the Memphis project represents one of the first ‘next generation’ Apple Store designs that Apple is rolling out around the world, starting in the fall. The Memphis store will be part of the first rollout of the new look stores in the US.

So what does the ‘next generation’ Apple Store look like?

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Users of Apple Pay in the UK can now spend an extra £10 per contactless transaction, bringing the limit up to a total of £30, thanks to new contactless policy. Until today, the maximum spend on almost all Apple Pay transactions was £20. The £30 total now exceeds the average cost of a supermarket trip making it possible for UK Apple users to take advantage of Apple Pay at more places.

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Android Wear finally has iOS support after Google pushed its iPhone-compatible software to the App Store. This means that Android has beaten Apple Watch to the cross-platform game. Or, at least it would, if iOS didn’t restrict it to a state of almost uselessness. The only device officially supported is the LG Watch Urbane although — as we previously revealed — the older generation Android Wear watches do work. I got it set up with my Moto 360, and have been mostly disappointed by my experience so far.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook & Cisco CEO John Chambers today

Apple has announced a new partnership with Cisco that will result in a “fast lane” for enterprise customers using iOS devices on Cisco’s networks and push iPhone and iPad into Cisco’s enterprise environments. At a joint event today, Tim Cook reportedly said Apple is “all in on the enterprise” while calling the Cisco deal “the Holy Grail” of partnerships.

With Apple’s support, Cisco will deliver experiences specially optimized for iOS across mobile, cloud, and premises-based collaboration tools such as Cisco Spark, Cisco Telepresence and Cisco WebEx in order to deliver seamless team collaboration and reinvent the meeting experience.

The Cisco partnership adds to Apple’s increasing effort at targeting business with iPhones and iPads. Last year Apple established a connection with IBM that has resulted in several dedicated enterprise apps for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Apple is also said to be working with over 40 companies to make the iPad a better tool for business.

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Google has good news for iPhone users curious about Android Wear and the diverse design selection of smartwatches running the OS. Starting today Android Wear watches will work with the iPhone for the first time. Just like Apple Watch, Android Wear watches is compatible with iPhone 5 or higher with iOS 8.2 or higher required. The slight catch is that not all current Android Wear watches will be compatible with iOS…
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Rough mockup of fourth Apple TV vs. third Apple TV by Michael Steeber

With the official debut of the next-generation Apple TV less than two weeks away, sources have provided additional details on Apple’s pricing, availability, and product lineup plans for its set-top devices. According to sources, the fourth-generation Apple TV will be priced below $200, and is on track to become available in October. Apple executives are apparently still finalizing the price of the revamped living room device, but the latest options call for a starting price point of either $149 or $199, both higher than the third-generation Apple TV…

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As part of a charity music event raising money for children affected by Hurricane Katrina, Apple Music rival TIDAL streamed the event live on its website. However, when Drake took the stage to perform his set, the stream was abruptly paused. A message from TIDAL said that Apple had banned Drake from allowing his performance to be broadcast online, with TIDAL saying that Apple is “interfering with artistry” and apologizing for the “big brother” influence.

TIDAL made similar claims on its Twitter feed but it turns out these claims are simply untrue. Although it is true that Apple has an exclusivity deal with Drake for his new album, the contract does not stop Drake from streaming live performances. Buzzfeed confirmed that Apple had nothing to do with the censoring of the stream.

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A series of new, high-resolution photos we have obtained show new features coming to the next-generation iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. First, comparisons of the front glass indicate that the new devices will sport upgraded front-facing FaceTime cameras with bigger sensors. The white phone in our images is a current iPhone 6, while the black plate is an iPhone 6S component. The presence of larger sensors likely indicates a higher pixel count up from the current 1.2 megapixels, as well as new functionality…

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Apple is about to discontinue repair support for a handful of products as it plans to designate some Apple TV, iPod, and display models ‘obsolete’ a day before its iPhone event next month.
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Apple is continuing to tweak its Apple Watch showroom experience within Apple Stores. Upon the initial rollout of the Apple Watch in April, Apple Stores installed large glass tables as a showcase for the different Apple Watch variations. Customers could test drive the Apple Watch via a demo unit connected to an iPad mini or try it on at a series of try-on stations. Following a pilot program across select Apple Stores across the world, Apple has now begun a widespread rollout of a new Apple Watch testing program called Mobile Try-On, according to Apple Retail employees.

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One of the backend improvements in iOS 9 is a strengthening of app security when accessing data from webservers. The new App Transport Security (ATS) feature ensures that only connections encrypted using HTTPS are permitted. There’s just one problem with that: not all advertisers use HTTPS, so ATS will stop some ads appearing in apps.

Google has responded by providing developers with five lines of code that allow them to disable ATS … 
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A purported photo of an iPhone 6S information sheet has surfaced detailing the specifications of the upcoming iPhone, due to be announced at an event on September 9th. Whilst the detailed technical specifications do not reveal anything new, the page header is intriguing. It suggests that, once again, Apple will offer a 16 GB base model version of the iPhone 6S (via Steve Hemmerstoffer). This matches analysis of iPhone 6S components obtained by 9to5Mac back in June, which showed Apple using 16 GB memory chips in preproduction units.

Low storage space iPhone SKUs is a big complaint in the community. Many had thought this would be the year Apple finally drops 16 GB from the new lineup of phones for good. Although iOS 9 is more efficient regarding storage, features like 12-megapixel photos and 4K video recording generally require a lot more storage space. Some supplier reports have also said the new iPhone lineup will start at 32 GB.

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Apple Music and Beats 1 lead Ian Rogers has unexpectedly left Apple two months since the Apple Music launch. Although Apple Music app has received some criticism, Rogers’ primary responsibility, Beats 1, has received much critical acclaim and has been widely praised, so it is surprising to see a resignation out of the director. The Financial Times first reported the departure, which has now been confirmed by Apple.

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Belkin’s three latest products in its Wemo line of Wi-Fi connected, smartphone-controlled products for the home include a white bulb starter kit, a versatile strip light, and garden lights for outdoor use. The last two are both tunable to thousands of colors and all three connect to Belkin’s Wemo ecosystem and companion app for remote control from your iPhone. All three of the products are through a partnership with OSRAM SYLVANIA, who provided the lightning products that Belkin has integrated into its Wemo platform. We took the three new starter kits for a test drive to get a second look at the growing Wemo platform and see if they are worth the investment before support for Apple’s HomeKit…

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Earlier this year, reports began to suggest that Apple would launch the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus in an additional color beyond the Space Gray, Silver, and Gold options that have been available in the popular iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s. Since then, there have been conflicting rumors regarding Apple’s color choice: some (including the Wall Street Journal) have claimed that the new iPhones would come in “pink,” while some analysts have referred to the color as “Rose Gold” (the discrepancy could be attributed to the similarity between colors). Today, our sources have confirmed that the new iPhones will actually come in a color that is unmistakably Rose Gold in both appearance and name…

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While Apple will unveil a pair of next-generation iPhones at its September 9th event, the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, don’t expect a new 4-inch “iPhone 6c” to show up on stage. Sources say that while Apple has been working on a new 4-inch iPhone with the capabilities of last year’s iPhone 6, the device is not yet ready to ship. Interestingly, Apple has also internally prototyped a new, smaller iPhone with a 3.5-inch display, the same size of the iPhone’s screen from the first model in 2007 to the iPhone 4S in 2011, but it does not appear that the company plans to move forward with actually releasing such a device.

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