Opinion: Rumored iOS 10 HomeKit app is welcomed, but alternatives have a healthy head start
Since HomeKit was introduced with iOS 8, one major missing piece from Apple’s home automation effort has been a built-in app that provides a user interface to the underlying framework. Interacting with Siri is the only Apple-supplied HomeKit UI; users rely on third-party apps instead for all visual HomeKit management.
The downside to this approach is that there isn’t officially one HomeKit app to rule them all, and companies that make great smart home sensors and accessories don’t necessarily make great software. Compare that to Apple’s HealthKit framework which connects various App Store apps to a single dashboard in the built-in Health app. The approach isn’t perfect, but a similar effort for HomeKit would be welcomed.
The good news is Apple’s been developing a built-in HomeKit app for a while now, and a rumor surfaced over the weekend that such an app could finally be ready for iOS 10. As a close HomeKit follower, I’m very curious to see what iOS 10 may have in store for Apple’s home automation effort, but my first thought is that there are a few gems among the current crop of HomeKit apps that Apple may not compete with well even from its position as the platform owner…
Neil Patrick Harris (and Siri) star in Apple’s new iPhone 6s ‘Thank You Speech’ ad
Apple has once again recruited actor Neil Patrick Harris alongside Siri to star in its latest iPhone 6s ad. The new commercial features NPH using the ‘Hey Siri’ voice command to read a legendary thank you speech from the Notes app … all completely hands-free.
Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: iPhone 6s, Neil Patrick Harris, Siri
9to5Toys Lunch Break: $50 iTunes Gift Card $40, Retina MacBook Pro 256GB $1,200, Solar Bluetooth Speaker $40, more
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TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:
Get a $50 iTunes Gift Card for $40 delivered via email from PayPal (20% savings)
Apple 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro (newest version) 2.7GHz/8GB/256GB $1,200 shipped (Reg. $1,499)
Amazon Gold Box – Eton Rugged solar-powered Bluetooth charging speaker: $40 Prime shipped (Orig. $77)
App Store Free App of the Week: Camera Plus w/ AirSnap goes free for the first time in months (Reg. $2)
Grand Theft Auto iOS Sale: Liberty City Stories $3, China Town Wars $3, San Andreas $4, more
Star Wars Mac Games 50% off Sale: Jedi Academy $5, KOTOR $10, The Force Unleashed $10, more
MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:
LifeProof iPhone 6/s FRĒ waterproof case (multiple colors): $40 Prime shipped (Orig. $80)
- Games/Apps: KAMI iOS puzzler drops to $1, Mario Classic amiibo $9, iOS freebies, more
- Samsung Smart HDTVs: 55-inch 4K 3D Curved $1,375 (Reg. $1,800), more
- Daily Deals: HP Bluetooth Smart Laser Mouse $20, more
- Smartphone Accessories: Monster DNA On-Ear Headphones $45, more
- Go from 0 to stocked with this Black + Decker 66 piece tool set: $60 shipped
- Nike extra 20% off clearance: Free 5.0 Running Shoes (five colors) $64 (Reg. $80), more
- Golfsmith gift cards 20% off: $50 for $40, $100 for $80 with free email delivery
- Burt’s Bees Basic 3-item Face Care Kit for $20 Prime shipped (Reg. $24)
BATTOP Bluetooth Keyboard for iOS/Mac/Android from under $9 Prime shipped (Reg. $12) wp.me/p1xTlR-Rde https://t.co/XCNZ6lZ08o
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9to5Toys (@9to5toys) May 09, 2016
MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:
Charge your iPhone 6/s on-the-go w/ this RAVPower 3000mAh 2A MFi Battery Case for $24 Prime shipped (Reg. $36)
Anker 3-ft reinforced Lightning cable (multiple colors): $8 Prime shipped (Reg. $10)
- Sony’s powerful 154W AirPlay and Bluetooth Speaker is on sale for $329 shipped (Reg. $500+)
- Fashion: Sperry surprise 30% off sale- Men’s shoes starting at $28 shipped, much more
- Amazon Prime Member Exclusive: free 4-month subscription for top print magazines
- Here’s our first look at the new Battlefield 1 gameplay
- Green Deals: Tegu Natural Magnetic Block Sets from $9 Prime shipped, more
- How To: Save a significant amount of money on your next Walt Disney World vacation
- Mackie CR4 50W Creative Reference Monitor Speakers for $115 shipped (Reg. $150)
- Hamilton Beach 800-watt Big Mouth Juice Extractor w/ 20 oz pitcher $41 (Reg. $59)
- Green Deals: Sun Joe 9A Electric Tiller & Cultivator $139 (Reg. $165+), more
- Spring Cleaning: the storage products you need for a perfectly organized closet
- Green Deals: TaoTronics six-pack of A19 LED Light Bulbs $20 (Reg. $25), more
- Poweradd Pilot P2 Compact 10000mAh Power Bank $10 (Reg. $22), more
- Pay what you want for 9 courses on pentesting and ethical hacking
- LG G5 Smartphone w/ 32GB flash GSM 4G LTE (factory unlocked): $575 (Orig. $650)
- Nexbit Robin, cloud-powered smartphone now $299 shipped (Reg. $399)
- One of our favorite Bluetooth speakers, UE’s Roll, is down to $50 shipped (Orig. $100)
- Harman Kardon Onyx Studio Wireless Bluetooth Speaker (Refurb) $59 shipped (Orig. $400)
- Bluesmart Smart Carry-On Suitcase connects to your iOS device for $319 (Reg. $400)
- Green Deals: WORX 32V 12-inch Cordless Electric Trimmer/Edger $100 (Reg. $125), more
- This 32-inch Sony 720p HDTV is perfect for your bedroom or office at $148 (Reg. $170+)
NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:
NERF’s upcoming Terrascout RC Drone Blaster is going to be a menace in your home
- Straight out of Chicago, this mid-century modern Bluetooth stereo cabinet is beautiful
- Garmin goes classy with its new smartphone-connected vívomove fitness tracker
- Moog brings its $10,000 Model 15 synth to iPad and iPhone w/ new $30 app
- Erato’s Apollo 7 is the latest Kickstarter project with a goal of completely wireless earbuds
- SeeNote puts your iPhone notifications and smart home controls on an e-ink display
- Leica’s latest $6,000 digital camera drops the built-in display for a throwback look
- New MagicMount battery attaches magnetically to your iPhone or Android smartphone
- Triby is the first non-Amazon portable Bluetooth speaker with built-in support for Alexa
- The SteelSeries Apex M500 is a lean mechanical gaming keyboard w/ Cherry MX Red switches
- Dyson’s new Supersonic hair dryer will leave your hair healthy and wallet empty
- This LEGO Imperial Star Destroyer custom build is nearly 5-feet long
- The Hover drone uses a unique foldable carbon fiber design to keep its wings safe
- The new LEGO Technic Porsche 911 GT3 RS is everything we could’ve hoped for
- PICTAR’s vintage-inspired SLR camera accessory for iPhone
Filed under: Tips and Tricks Tagged: 9to5Toys, Amazon, app deals, Apple TV, Best Buy, Daily Deals, free apps, Gold Box, iTunes Gift Card, MacBook Pro, video games
Concept imagines a simplistic iTunes/Apple Music redesign for Mac [Gallery]
If you haven’t heard, iTunes and Apple Music are about to get a refresh from Apple that will hopefully fix a lot of our ongoing issues with the apps while also introducing some fresh visuals. This isn’t that redesign, but a concept from graphic designer Thadeu Brandão showing how Apple could revamp iTunes on the desktop while integrating Apple Music and simultaneously getting rid of much of the clutter in the current design.
Filed under: Apple Music Tagged: 12.4, Apple Music, concept, iTunes, redesign, refresh, render, UI
Apple Music Feature Request: Give the iOS app Smart Playlist functionality via Siri
I addressed one big issue with Apple Music last week – and was very surprised to see from the poll results just how widespread the issue was. But while discussing that issue, we happened across a Reddit thread that I thought contained a really great idea: give the iOS app Smart Playlist functionality via Siri.
I may complain a lot about the bloated nature of iTunes, a single app that tries to do way too many different things, but I do really like it as a pure music player. One of the features I love is Smart Playlists, which you can use to do all kinds of funky things.
For example, maybe you have some music you really love but haven’t listened to for a while? Create a Smart Playlist where Rating is 5 and Last Played is not in the last year. Been listening to the same stuff too much lately? Create a playlist where Last Played is not in the past month. Feeling nostalgic? A playlist where Year is a particular year …
Filed under: Apple Music, Feature Request Tagged: Apple Music, iOS Music app, iTunes, iTunes Smart Playlists, Music app, Smart Playlists
T-Mobile announces deal to let customers roam in Cuba starting this summer
T-Mobile today announced a deal with Cuban carrier Empresa De Telecomunicaciones De Cuba, S.A. (ETECSA) that will see its customers get access to voice, text and data while traveling to Cuba as well as lower rates on calls to landlines and wireless phones in the country from the US. more…
Filed under: iOS, iOS Devices Tagged: $0.60 per minute, cuba, Empresa De Telecomunicaciones De Cuba, international, Roaming, stateside talk, T-Mobile, Travel
Microsoft’s OneDrive iOS app gets 3D Touch Peek & Pop support plus ‘shake for bugs’ function
How-To: Automatically change your Mac’s display resolution when running specific apps [Video]
I normally run my 15″ MacBook Pro at default resolution, which equates to a useable space of 1440-by-900. While this default resolution is great for reading and writing, I’ve found that it’s not always so good for editing with timeline-based apps, such as Final Cut Pro X.
Generally speaking, it’s better to have more resolution for timeline-based apps, because the timelines can be so long and expansive. A larger field of view gives content creators more flexibility and room to work with on the canvas.
Wouldn’t it be nice if your Mac automatically adjusted to a higher resolution when running a certain app, and automatically switched back to default resolution when closing said app? In this post, we’ll show you how to wield SwitcherResX, a utility geared towards managing your Mac’s screen resolution, in such a way that makes that possible. more…
Filed under:
How-To, Mac Tagged: Display resolution, guide, how to, Mac, Mac OS X, SwitcherResX, Tips and Tricks, tutorial, video
Developer uses HomeKit to teach Siri how to control his Tesla – and you can do the same
What’s the one thing cooler than using an Apple Watch app to summon your Tesla from the garage to your front door? Asking Siri to do it for you. That’s what developer Sam Gabbay has achieved, using Apple’s HomeKit.
Filed under: Tech Industry Tagged: Siri, Siri Tesla, Tesla
Apple exclusivity for Drake’s latest album pays off with 1M sales in five days
Apple’s one-week exclusive access to Drake’s latest album Views appears to have paid off. Despite the fact that it was available for streaming on Apple Music as well as downloads in iTunes, the WSJ reports that the album sold over a million copies in less than five days. Over 600k of those sales were made in the first 24 hours.
Filed under: iOS Devices