New developer solution aims to help companies bring HomeKit accessories to market faster
HomeKit-connected accessories have gradually become more affordable and plentiful since the technology was first introduced, but there’s still room for improvement. Looking to remedy some of the problems with Apple’s connected home platform, Silicon Labs is today announcing a new initiative that it hopes will make it both cheaper and easier for developers to create HomeKit accessories.
Filed under: Apple
Hands-on: Monowear stainless steel, leather, nylon, and ceramic Apple Watch bands [Video]
If you took advantage of one of the many recent Apple Watch deals over at 9to5Toys, then you may find yourself in the market for a new band or two. There are many third-party band options available for the Apple Watch, but I’ve always enjoyed some of the offerings from Monowear.
If you’re looking for a stylish third-party Apple Watch band option, then check out our hands-on video featuring Monowear’s metal, leather, nylon active, and ceramic bands. more…
Filed under: Apple
Apple confirms annual App Store review downtime for five days starting December 23
How to upgrade your holiday lights with HomeKit for Siri control and automation
Apple’s HomeKit feature makes automating and remotely controlling your holiday lights super simple, and iOS 10’s new Home app makes setting it all up this year easier than ever before. With one or two affordable accessories and an iPhone or iPad, you can put HomeKit and Siri to work and forget about fiddly timers or unplugging and plugging lights back in for a month.
Filed under: Apple
9to5Toys Lunch Break: $50 off SONOS speakers, Timbuk2 laptop bags from $39, 27″ 5K Retina iMac $1,900, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:
Amazon and other retailers extend up to $50 discounts on Sonos speakers, including PLAY:3, 5, PLAYBAR and SUB
Enjoy up to 50% off Timbuk2 messenger bags and backpacks at Amazon: Showdown Backpack $44, Dopp Kit $24, more
eBay rolls out Cyber Monday Apple Deals: 27-inch 5K Retina iMac 2TB $1,900
Amazon and B&H are discounting Apple’s latest 12-inch MacBook by up to $200: 256GB $1,149 or 512GB $1,449
eBay’s Black Friday Sale brings solid Apple deals: 13-inch MacBook Air 256GB $930, more
Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro w/ Touch Bar 2.9GHz/8GB/256GB: $1,700
Grab a 12.9-inch iPad Pro (Certified refurb) Space Gray/Silver/Gold at Amazon for $549 shipped
The science fiction action-RPG Transistor for iOS is now matching its lowest price at $3 (Reg. $10)
- App Store Free App of the Week: Artie’s Magic Pencil goes free for the first time (Reg. $3)
- Rayman Classic for iOS goes free for the very first time (Reg. $5)
- Pixelmator for Mac is now available at 50% off: $15 (Reg. $30) + iOS version down to $2 (Reg. $5)
- Final Fantasy Tactics War of the Lions for iOS hits its all time-low: $4 (Reg. up to $16)
MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:
DJI’s Phantom 3 Professional Drone has a 4K Camera and three-mile range: $700 shipped (Reg. $900)
- DBPOWER 1080p Waterproof Action Camera under the tree for $30 Prime shipped
- Sling TV is giving away Roku Streaming Stick w/ a month of service ($70+ value)
- Aukey iPhone Tripod with Mount $9 Prime shipped (Reg. $15), more
- Daily Deals: JBL GO Portable Bluetooth Speaker $20, Huawei Smart Watch $100, more
- Games/Apps: Atari Classics for Xbox $12, iOS freebies, more
- Amazon discounts Gillette razors: Mach3 bundle $18 Prime shipped (Reg. $26), more
MORE DEALS STILL LIVE:
Give your Apple Watch the Nike+ Sports Band that Apple refuses to sell: $13.50
Ringke iPhone 7/Plus cases in a variety of styles and colors for $4 Prime shipped
Filed under: Apple
Canary home security cam bringing your footage to the big screen w/ Apple TV & iPad support
The Canary home security cam is a simple and affordable way to monitor activity at home from your iPhone while you’re away, and now you’ll be able to check in from even more places. Canary is updating its software to work with the Apple TV as well as the iPad for the first time.
Filed under: Apple
Apple’s Siri gets first official movie tie-in w/ answers for ‘The Secret Life of Pets’
Apple from time to time updates Siri with new responses to make sure the voice assistant is up to date on pop culture and answering your questions as intelligently as possible. But this is the first we’ve heard of a partnership with a film studio in order to promote a movie release, in this case Universal Pictures’ ‘The Secret Life of Pets’.
Filed under: Apple
MacBook Pro Diary: Temporary dongle hell as I migrate from my old machine …
My shiny new maxed-out 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar finally arrived yesterday, and it was time to migrate everything from my old Mac.
I wrote in the first piece that I was wasn’t overly concerned about the port situation, though did recognize that it wouldn’t be an entirely painless transition.
I’m pretty relaxed about the all-USB-C ports. Leaving older standards behind always involves a certain amount of pain, but I’m a pragmatist and a gadget guy. When a better standard comes along, it makes sense to use it, and as Apple isn’t the only company going all-in on USB-C, there’s no shortage of accessories for the new standard.
You could argue that a mix of ports would be useful, but that would be true for maybe the first year of ownership. After that, we’d be moaning about the fact that we have only two USB-C ports because there’s space taken up with those huge, ugly, old-fashioned USB-A ones. I think Apple made the right call here.
That pain did kick it on day one, however, when I attempted to migrate my data, apps and settings from my old MacBook Pro …
Filed under: Apple
KGI: iPhone 8 to eclipse sales record set by iPhone 6, wireless charging on high-end and low-end models
Apple is ramping for its biggest iPhone sales success ever next year, according to KGI. Its estimates suggest that the new iPhones in 2017, expected to comprise three new models, will empower Apple growth with ‘unprecedented’ demand. KGI expects the new phones may sell between 120-150 million units in the second half of next year, eclipsing the previous sales record set by iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
The new form-factor premium OLED iPhone will likely encourage high-end customers to upgrade their device and the low-end new 4.7-inch iPhone model (with wireless charging and a glass chassis) will be attractive to the lower-end of the smartphone market.
Filed under: Apple
Campus 2 drone footage coming in thick-and-fast as building nears completion
It’s only a few days since the last drone flyover of the Apple Campus 2, but with the main building nearing completion and others coming along at a rapid pace, we can probably expect to see a whole flurry of these in the coming weeks.
Filed under: Apple