Leo Laporte and Mike Elgan of popular podcasting networking TWiT today conducted an interview with Bill Fernandez, the fourth employee to work at Apple. At Apple, Fernandez was a user interface architect and inventor. He worked on both the Apple I and Apple II and contributed to the user interface of Mac OS, QuickTime, and HyperCard. Fernandez is widely credited as being the person who introduced Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to each other.

Fernandez was the first employee when Apple Computer incorporated and 1977 and is commonly known as “Apple Employee #4.” In the interview with Elgan and Laporte on “Triangulation,” Fernandez discusses a wide-range of topics. He touches on the assertion that Apple stole portions of the original Mac user interface from Xerox, as well as his opinions on the various Steve Jobs movies, what it was like working with Jobs, and more. Fernandez also talks about what he’s up to nowadays and his thoughts on the current state of Apple.

You can watch the full interview, which is more than an hour and a half long, below. If you’re into get an inside look at Apple’s early days, it’s a fascinating interview.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Bill Fernandez, interview, Steve Jobs

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Earlier today, Apple rolled out the second beta of tvOS 9.2 for the fourth-generation Apple TV. The original beta included new features such as folder organization and Bluetooth keyboard support, but one highly requested new feature has been added today with the second beta. With tvOS 9.2 on Apple TV, users can now access their full iCloud Photo Library.

The feature is turned off by default, but can be activated via the Settings app. Simply head into Settings, go to the ‘iCloud’ menu, and choose to enable iCloud Photo Library. Prior to the second beta of tvOS 9.2, only Photo Stream content was available via the Apple TV.

With iCloud Photo Library support, users can now view all of their images on Apple TV just like they would on an iOS device or Mac. The interface is in-line with what you would expect from an Apple TV application. There’s album support for the included default albums such as ‘All Photos,’ ‘Recently Added,’ ‘Favorites,’ and ‘Selfies.’ One thing that’s missing, however, is support for Smart Albums and albums that you created. There’s also no support for the slideshow feature or deleting images.

There’s also support for Live Photos, which certainly will be useful on the large-screen interface of Apple TV. To play Live Photos, users can simply click and hold the trackpad button on the Siri Remote.

Earlier today, Apple released tvOS 9.1.1 to the public. tvOS 9.2 is expected to ship to all fourth-generation Apple TV users later this year. You can view our initial hands-on with the update, including folder support and the new Podcasts app, here. 

Filed under: Apple TV Tagged: Apple TV, icloud, iCloud Photo Library, tvOS

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The Verge has obtained a sneak peak image into what Microsoft’s Word Flow keyboard for iOS may look like once it is officially released. The keyboard will include a one-handed mode that places the keys out in a fan-style layout. The user can still access emoji and word suggestions and even use swipe gestures to type. This differs from the Word Flow keyboard on Windows 10 Mobile where the keys simply shift to one side. The Verge explains that other than that one-handed mode, the rest of Word Flow for iOS is similar to the Windows Phone version.

If you can’t wait to try out some of the basic Word Flow features, take a look at our review on One Handed Keyboard which shifts the keyboard to one side or the other. For a fanned-out keyboard style take a look at Thumbly. For swiping text input fans (me being one of them), Swype and SwiftKey rank as popular keyboards too.

Microsoft is planning to launch its Word Flow keyboard on iOS in the coming months, with an Android version to follow.

Photo: The Verge

Filed under: Apps, iOS Tagged: iOS, keyboard, Microsoft, One Handed Keyboard, SwiftKey, swype, Third-Party Keyboard, Thumbly, Word Flow

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The second tvOS 9.2 beta is now available on the fourth-generation Apple TV. This update brings Apple TV 3 features including a Podcasts app and Bluetooth keyboard support to the latest streaming set-top box. The beta software also brings iOS-like features including app folders to the Apple TV. We’ll check out the latest beta version of the upcoming release and highlight any changes below.

The new Podcasts app is designed very much like the iOS 9 update to the app with a focus on unplayed episodes and current subscriptions. The first beta version of tvOS 9.2, however, lacked support for video podcasts and Siri control so this will be a space to watch. Earlier today, Apple released tvOS 9.1.1 which also includes the new Podcasts app for everyone.

Bluetooth keyboard support works just as expected. Pairing is easy and hardware keyboards can be used anywhere that text input is an option including search boxes. Basic navigation using arrow controls, escape, and the space bar is also supported.

Folders let you group similar apps like games into a scrolling view with three columns and infinite rows. This feature was previously unavailable on past Apple TV models, showing the benefit of the iOS-based tvOS platform. There’s also a new app switcher user interface that works more like iOS 9 and less like iOS 8.

Check out our hands-on with the original tvOS 9.2 beta:

Let us know in the comments, via email at tips at 9to5mac dot com, or on Twitter @9to5Mac if you spot any changes in the new beta, and we’ll update with changes we find as well.

Filed under: Apple TV, Developers Tagged: Apple TV, Bluetooth keyboards, Folders, iOS 9, Podcasts, tvOS, tvOS 9.2

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Apple is set to release its FY16 Q1 report tomorrow, and today Fortune has released their results of an analyst survey conducted ahead of Apple’s upcoming announcements. Fortune indicates that Apple may actually report the “most profitable quarter in the history of capitalism”, but investors are more concerned with the iPhone’s trajectory numbers as to indicate what may happen in the coming quarter.

Although Apple has already announced their biggest ever holiday season for App Store sales, Wall Street is still eagerly waiting to hear what revenue Apple expects to collect in this coming quarter. Although Apple doesn’t normally share iPhone sales targets, Fortune’s survey showed that averaging various analysts estimates, they have been able to closely identify the iPhone unit sales.

It appears that from Fortune’s survey (shown below), professional analysts predict Apple will announce a revenue of $55.75 billion, while the amateur class predicts $60.35 billion. Both these estimates appear to be right around last year’s results, $58.01 billion, yet both groups estimate iPhone unit sales will be lower as well.

As March is expected to be a busy month for Apple, with new Apple Watch bands and a new 4-inch iPhone resembling current recent designs, tomorrow’s report could give potential ideas on where Apple believes their strongest sales will be.

Fortune’s also included a video in the article that further explains some of investor’s concerns with the iPhone’s unit sales. Apple has seemingly reached maximum saturation with their iPhone sales as customers aren’t looking to upgrade year after year to the latest devices. This fact, amongst many others, is what could help explain the 20% drop in stock as of the last six months.

Table: Fortune. For a further breakdown of all 40 analyst’s estimates, visit Fortune’s site.

Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS Devices Tagged: analyst, Apple, earnings, investors

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Apple has released the second watchOS 2.2 beta for Apple Watch testers today. Pairing multiple Apple Watches to a single iPhone is a feature of the iOS 9.3 beta and requires the watchOS 2.2 beta on each Apple Watch. The latest software update in testing also includes a revamped Maps app with the Nearby feature first introduced in iOS 9.0.  We’ll check out the latest beta version of the upcoming release and highlight any changes below.

Pairing multiple Apple Watches to a single iPhone works by activating the most recently unlocked, raised Apple Watch. Switching between hardware works automatically and quickly. Aside from letting enthusiastic customers have multiple Apple Watches for fashion or practical reasons, future beta testing will be easier for developers as multiple watchOS versions will be able to be tested from watchOS 2.2 and on.

watchOS 2.2 also enhances the Maps application with a new screen of actions and Nearby search powered by Yelp. Previously, Maps launched to a current location view. Starting with watchOS 2.2, Apple Watch can instantly navigate to work and home addresses and find local business organized by type. These two features incorporate actions previously introduced in Google Maps and Yelp for Apple Watch.

Let us know in the comments, via email at tips at 9to5mac dot com, or on Twitter @9to5Mac if you spot any changes in the new beta, and we’ll update with changes we find as well.

Filed under: Apple Watch, Developers Tagged: Apple watch, iOS 9.3, iPhone, maps, nearby, watchOS, watchOS 2.2

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The second OS X 10.11.4 beta preview is now available via the Mac App Store for testing. The first version of this El Capitan beta added new features including Live Photo viewing and sharing through iMessage using the Messages app as well as secure password support for individual notes in the Notes app. We’ll check out the latest beta version of the upcoming release and highlight any changes below.

Prior to OS X 10.11.4, the Mac could only view Live Photos through the Photos app and in limited situations. Starting with this version, Live Photos shot on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus can be shared and viewed easily on the Mac through iMessage using the Messages app.

El Capitan also gains the new ability in Notes to secure individual notes with a single secure password. iOS 9.3 is required to view these notes on iPhones and iPads.

Apple previously released the first OS X 10.11.4 preview to public beta testers after the initial developer version two days prior.

Focus areas include iBooks, Messages, Notes, and Photos.

Let us know in the comments, via email at tips at 9to5mac dot com, or on Twitter @9to5Mac if you spot any changes in the new beta, and we’ll update with changes we find as well.

Filed under: Developers, Mac Tagged: el capitan, Live Photos, Mac, notes, OS X 10.11.4

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Apple has released the second iOS 9.3 preview beta for testers ahead of the big feature update’s general release. The release follows the first preview release of iOS 9.3 for developers, public beta testers, and a 1.1 update for developers that included an installation fix. iOS 9.3 includes plenty of changes including a new feature called Night Shift, Touch ID and secure passwords for Notes, new 3D Touch Quick Actions and peek and pop gestures for iPhone 6s users, and much more. We’ll check out the latest beta version of the upcoming release and highlight any changes below.

Night Shift works a lot like the popular Flux utility on the Mac, which changes the display color temperature between sunset and sunrise to make screen reading easier on the eyes and encourage falling asleep easier. This feature requires 64-bit devices.

iOS 9.3’s Notes app adds the ability to secure individual notes with one secure password plus Touch ID on compatible iPhones and iPads. Secure notes are only visible on iOS 9.3 and OS X 10.11.4 or later with no compatibility on iCloud on the web yet.

iPhone 6s and 6s Plus users can access additional 3D Touch shortcuts starting with the iOS 9.3 beta as well. Useful new shortcuts include quick access to battery, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and wallpaper options in the Settings app from the Home screen.

For CarPlay users, iOS 9.3 adds the full Apple Music experience with For You and New sections as well as Nearby in Maps. iOS 9.3 also includes a major new education initiative with multi-user support and much more.

For more on iOS 9.3 beta, check out our hands-on video:

Let us know in the comments, via email at tips at 9to5mac dot com, or on Twitter @9to5Mac if you spot any changes in the new beta, and we’ll update with changes we find as well.

Filed under: Developers, iOS Tagged: 3D Touch, iOS, iOS 9.3, iPad, iPhone, Night Shift, Touch ID

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I remarked on a recent episode of 9to5Mac’s Happy Hour podcast that the rumored 4-inch iPhone would absolutely need to take Live Photos for me to even consider giving it a serious test run. I’ve taken enough really good Live Photos — full resolution still images with brief motion and sound captured as well — on my iPhone 6s Plus that it’s one feature I wouldn’t trade.

Then on Friday we had Mark Gurman’s reporting that Apple was planning Live Photos, an iPhone 6s feature, for the expected 4-inch iPhone 5se (which likely won’t be called 6c). Today that reporting was followed up with the possibility that the iPhone 5se could have the same processor and co-processor as the iPhone 6s, albeit with fewer pixels to push with a smaller display.

Suddenly the iPhone 5se is sounding less like last year’s hardware recycled and more like a serious 4-inch phone to consider. But who is the iPhone 5se for and is it really worth considering if you’re like me and run to the latest and greatest hardware? I’m still thinking through this prospect myself, and I have a few thoughts worth considering before the device is officially unveiled …

The easiest answer to the question over who the iPhone 5se is for is people who prefer smaller displays. The iPhone stayed at 3.5-inches for five models with the iPhone in 2007 through the iPhone 4s in 2011. Then we had the taller iPhone 5, 5s, and 5c models introduced in 2012 and 2013 with 4-inch displays after pressure from phablet-sized Android smartphones which had only gotten bigger by then.

Then Apple went further by increasing the standard display size to 4.7-inches with the iPhone 6 in 2014, adding the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus option, and leaving the 4-inch iPhone hardware unchanged. While there’s no reason to think Apple will ever return to 3.5-inch iPhones, it looks like modern 4-inch iPhones are about to become a serious option for fans of smaller devices.

And there’s plenty of reasons to prefer a smaller iPhone over a larger option. Apple advertised the one-hand optimized screen size with the iPhone 5 when it was new, which was a rather defensive move against giant Android handsets. The larger 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones rely on a trick called Reachability to make higher elements on screen accessible with one-hand use.

But there’s no solution for reaching screen space too far to the right or left. I still can’t one-hand the Plus model reliably and switch between the alphabet and emoji keyboard. This is less of an issue for me with the 4.7-inch model versus the 5.5-inch model, but I imagine users with smaller hands see it on both screen sizes.

One last point here. I believed before that Apple Watch would free me up from needing to ever really one-hand an iPhone, but it quickly becomes apparent that Apple Watch is not a totally hands-free device and often not even a one-hand device. Just try walking quickly through an airport with a hot cup of Starbucks in one hand lugging a suitcase in the other. Suddenly the Apple Watch becomes sort of read-only, but back to iPhones…

Beyond what Apple calls Reachability, there’s also pocket-ability to consider. Larger iPhones tend to fit more comfortably in back pockets for whatever reason, which helped lead to the 2014 #bendgate controversy that seems all but resolved with stronger series aluminum, but I can see the appeal of a more pocket-friendly iPhone even beyond the 4.7-inch model.

With the smaller display, you do miss out on a better photo and video viewing experience, larger canvas for web browsing, and generally see less information on screen at once, but I’m coming around to the idea that the iPad and Mac are better suited for those tasks anyway.

For me, the iPhone is primarily used for taking photos and videos, messaging, playing podcasts and music, and of course catching the occasional phone call. A smaller iPhone would likely mean shorter battery life, which is something even the larger iPhones haven’t totally nailed yet, but I’m already used to packing external batteries on serious trips and charging frequently.

Then there are those hardware specs to consider. I can live without 3D Touch and 4K video. I use the pressure-sensitive display feature often but I could lose it without being slowed down too much, and I’m shooting 4K video now but it takes noticeably more time to edit and process and required upload time is much longer for me than 1080p video. I wouldn’t want to drop from 12MP to 8MP for the rear camera, though, and the difference in FaceTime camera quality for still photos would be dramatic at 5MP versus 1.2MP.

The trickiest part here is that the 4-inch iPhone still won’t be up to speed with the larger 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models, so it’s hard for me to jump on board knowing that there’s technically a more state-of-the-art iPhone to be had. For a lot of people, I suspect having a smaller iPhone makes it “technically better” than larger models, but for me the 4.7-inch iPhone is probably the best solution.

So why even consider the iPhone 5se at all? I tried an iPhone 5 for a couple of days a few months and was super impressed with how easy it was to use one-handed. Your eyes adjust to the difference in size either direction after a bit of use. I’m currently using the iPhone 6s Plus, which I generally appreciate, but sometimes find uncomfortable for me during one-handed use.

4-inch iPhone renders

I’d put my money on me likely trying out the expected 4-inch iPhone 5se when it launches long enough to give it an honest and informed review, but I can’t imagine it’ll be appealing enough to me to sit out on the next iPhone 7 when it follows later in the year.

The decision of which iPhone is best for you is very complicated and the correct answer can easily change and be informed by other devices. iPhone 6s Plus made more sense to me before I gained an iPad Pro. Now I’m considering optimizing for the occasion: more portable when on-the-go, and more capable when I need it.

Purported 4-inch iPhone leak

As ever, I suspect my preferences will change year-to-year, maybe even month-to-month, but I imagine other readers are similarly second-guessing which iPhone in the increasingly complex lineup is best for the job.

My final thought is that the decision would be made all the easier if there was truly a state-of-the-art version of the 4-inch iPhone, not a “special edition” version with a mix of hardware from various generations, but I’m sure 4-inch iPhone fans are pleased to learn that Apple Pay, Live Photos, and a faster processor are all in the cards for the next 4-inch iPhone update. As ever, let us know what you think in the comments.

Filed under: iOS Devices, Opinion Tagged: 4-inch iPhone, 4.7-inch iPhone, 5.5-inch iPhone, Apple watch, iPhone, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5se, iPhone 6, iphone 6 plus, iPhone 6c, iPhone 6s, iphone 6s plus, iPhone 7

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FiftyThree has steadily been turning its Paper app into a full-fledged notebook from just a basic sketching app, and the latest update for iPhone and iPad goes even further. Paper already supported plenty of sharing options for notes and drawings within the app to destinations like Facebook and Twitter, and version 3.5 adds a new iOS Sharing Extension so you can easily send images and notes from other apps directly to Paper.

The app has also been updated with some new text formatting tools for note takers. Check out the full release notes below:

What’s New in Version 3.5.0

This update introduces new automatic text formatting to make your notes look better, faster. You can also now send text and photos from other apps directly to Paper via our iOS Share Extension.

Love Paper? Please give us a review! We are reading every comment, review, and tweet, and your thoughts and suggestions will definitely be taken into consideration as we continue to evolve Paper.

Need help or want to send us feedback? Please contact us at support@fiftythree.com. We can’t respond to App Store reviews so please email if something seems broken.

– New text ideas will start with big bold text, and auto format to normal text as you continue typing.
– Text ideas will vertically center in the Spaces grid view.
– Paper is now available as an iOS Share Extension for compatible apps. Import text and photos from other apps directly into Paper through the iOS share menu.
– Bug fixes.

Paper by 53 is available for free on the iPhone and iPad through the App Store.

Filed under: Apps Tagged: 53%, app extension, drawing, formatting, iOS, notes, Paper, Paper by 53, text

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