iOS

Streamed music is great for having access to almost everything, but it isn’t always ideal when you’re on the move thanks to patchy data coverage and carrier data caps. While Apple didn’t mention it yesterday, it has now confirmed to Re/code that Apple Music supports offline listening. The feature is also listed in a feature checklist on Apple’s website.

As an Apple Music member you can add anything from the Apple Music library — a song, an album or a video — to your collection. And that’s just the warm-up act. From there you can create the perfect playlist from anything you’ve added. You can save it for offline listening and take it on the road.

Apple didn’t give any details, but offline listening is likely to work in the same way as Spotify Premium … 
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UK bank Barclays is the only major holdout from the launch of Apple Pay in the UK. From next month, users with iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or Apple Watch in the United Kingdom will be able to use the NFC mobile payments chip inside their iPhone to use Apple Pay.

Apple announced yesterday a whole swathe of partners, including Santander, HSBC and Lloyds. The notable omission from the ‘big four’ British banks is Barclays. Barclays’ Twitter support has come under fire in the aftermath from customers and has issued the following statement, which shows that all hope is not lost for Apple Pay for iPhone users who bank with Barclays.

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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 unveiled its brand new iOS 9 “News” app today that will bring a reader experience comparable to magazine-style apps like Flipboard that pull in content from various sources around the web. It’s starting with an initial list of publishers like Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ, Wired, and others, but here’s how to get your own content in the app.
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A new iCloud Drive setting in iOS 9 enables a hidden app that lets you manage your entire file library. You can find the setting at Settings > iCloud > iCloud Drive > Show on Home Screen. After activating it you’ll find a new icon on your home screen for the iCloud Drive application.

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If you’ve ever been confused by the shift key on iOS (which color means it’s turned on?!) we’ve got some good news: Apple has finally made it easy to tell whether you’re about to type a capital or lowercase letter. Check out the video below to see the new shift key in action.

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As part of iOS 9, Apple today has announced a new app called Move to iOS that makes the transition from Android to iPhone more seamless for the user. While the app went unannounced during the WWDC keynote, it is listed on the iOS 9 feature page on Apple’s website.

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Apple has ended its separate iOS and Mac developer programs that required software makers to buy two different memberships in order to publish across the company’s various platforms and replaecd them with a single combined Apple Developer Program.

The $99 program will allow developers to have access to the SDKs for (and prerelease builds) of OS X, iOS 9, and watchOS 2. Apps can be distributed in App Stores across all platforms through this new program. A support page detailing the transition process for existing members has been created but is currently unavailable.

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Like it did for the latest version of OS X today, Apple showed off the big new features coming to iOS 9 this fall but it also briefly gave us a look at 30+ other features that will arrive with the release. If you didn’t catch them all when Apple flashed the slide on stage, here’s the full list.

Some of the notables include wireless CarPlay support, new gaming APIs, app thinning features, third-party notifications, audio unit and VPN plug-in extensions, UI testing in Xcode, and much more.

The full list is below and a similar list of features for the new OS X El Capitan is here. 
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Apple has announced that CarPlay in iOS 9 will allow users to wirelessly connect to their vehicles. The change will require compatible cars, which won’t be on the market until much later. The update will also allow auto manufacturers to create apps that let users control features of the car, such as the air conditioning, without leaving the CarPlay UI.

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For iOS 9, Apple is launching a public beta in July. You can sign up at beta.apple.com to get listed. The iOS 9 update will be available for free in the fall for all users.

Most importantly, iOS 9 will support the same set of devices as iOS 8. Every user on iOS 8 can upgrade to Apple’s next version of the mobile operating system. Features vary per device. You can read everything that’s new with iOS 9, including new split-screen multitasking, smarter Siri and revamped Spotlight, here.

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Apple has announced a new “Slide Over” feature in iOS 9 that will allow users to run two iPad apps side-by-side. The feature was first reported by 9to5Mac as being in development for iOS 8, but was ultimately cut because it wasn’t ready. Earlier the same feature was introduced for full-screen apps on the new OS X El Capitan.

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As reported this morning, Apple officially announced a new News app as part of iOS 9. The app takes the place of Newsstand and allows users to easily view and read the news they care most about. With an interface similar to Flipboard, Apple highlights the rich typography.

Apple also touts how users are prompted to pick specific topics in which they are interested and then the app propagates with content relating to those selected topics. Users can also add specific websites and blogs. Some images are below:

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Apple announced today that a new version of its Notes application will be coming with iOS 9. The update will allow users to add photos and checklists to their notes, along with text formating features for creating headers and and other common formats.

Users can also add hand-drawn sketches, and import images and links through a sharing extension.

The main list view will also allow users to view image thumbnails for their images, allowing them to quickly find what they’re looking for.

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Announced on stage at WWDC today, Apple is ready at last to deliver a major upgrade for users of its Apple Maps service. Coming in iOS 9, Apple’s Maps application will include integrated transit directions for commuters for the first time since Apple shifted from relying on Google Maps as the software’s data provider. Since Apple introduced its own mapping application and backend with iOS 6, users have needed to rely on third party apps for transit options. Here’s what Apple’s take on transit directions in iOS 9 includes and where the feature will be available:
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Apple has announced a new version of Siri with many new features in iOS 9. Siri can now show recent photos, create reminders about web pages and other in-app content, detect when you get in your car, and features a new UI inspired by the Apple Watch.

The new system can also automatically look up unknown numbers through your email to figure out who is calling, and show information on the lock screen that fits into your daily routine. It can also automatically show your Now Playing screen on the lock screen when you plug in your headphones.

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Apple set to introduce Flipboard-Like news product

A late-breaking report from Re/code is indicating that Apple is readying an announcement about news initiatives on iOS. According to the report, the company plans to kill off Newsstand although individual apps will still remain in the App Store.

Apple will also apparently introduce a new service which will present news stories from a variety of sources, such as ESPN, New York Times and Conde Naste. The report describes the product as similar to Flipboard.

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