The Independent reports that Wallpaper* magazine has listed the Apple Watch Hermès as one the winners of its 2016 design awards. The category? ‘Life enhancer of the year.’ I guess that’s the kind of category you have to expect from a magazine with an asterisk in its name.

If you’d like to enhance your own life, the Hermès collection starts at $1100, but you can get a similar look from around a tenth of this if you know where to look …

Filed under: Apple Watch Tagged: Apple awards, Apple watch, Apple Watch Hermès

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Korea’s ET News claims that Samsung will become Apple’s primary supplier of OLED display panels, stating that an agreement has “practically been decided.” Samsung is reportedly gearing-up for the contract with an initial investment of between $2.49B and $3.32B in plant and equipment, rising to $7.47B depending on order levels.

Apple currently uses OLED displays in the Watch. Rumors that it will switch to OLED for the iPhone have been doing the rounds for many years, but have been getting much more specific of late. The switch is said to be happening in 2018, with Apple recently reported to be ‘close to agreement‘ with suppliers. The most recent report named both Samsung and LG as likely suppliers …

KGI last year said that Apple would not be switching to OLED screens in the iPhone before 2018, key supplier Foxconn having recently invested $4B in a new LCD plant for iPhone screens. However, Jony Ive is clearly a fan of OLED, saying that LCD screens feel “very, very old.”

OLED displays are thinner, display more vivid colors and allow deeper blacks than LCD, and can also be more power-efficient – but only where the majority of the content displayed is black, as is the case for the Apple Watch. On the downside, manufacturing costs are higher, displays don’t last as long and they aren’t as bright as LCD displays. The benefits of OLED over LCD tie in neatly with display technologies Apple is said to be testing in a secret Taiwanese lab.

It should be noted that ET News is not always a reliable source of news, tending to talk-up Korean companies, but as both companies reportedly in the running here are Korean, this report may have greater credibility.

Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: Apple Inc, Apple watch, iPhone, iPhone 7, iPhone 8, lcd, Liquid crystal display, OLED

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If you’re having issues getting started with Apple Music this morning, you’re not alone. The iOS app started the day by asking subscribers to sign up and join Apple Music (a force quit fixed for me but the problem persists) and iTunes on the Mac is also serving up error messages for a great number of users.

At the time of writing, Apple’s system status page hasn’t been updated to reflect any issues, but that using happens a bit after the problem is recognized if at all. We’ll keep an eye on the status and update accordingly, but ret assured that if you’re a subscriber being asked to join again that it’s not just you and there’s a widespread hiccup in progress.

Filed under: Apple Music Tagged: Apple, Apple Music, icloud, iPad, iPhone, issues, iTunes, Mac, streaming

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While we’ve heard tales of gloom and despair from other Apple suppliers, leading analysts and media alike to suggest that the iPhone market might be contracting for the first time ever, it’s rather a different story with key Apple chipmaker TSMC. Focus Taiwan reports that its 2015 earnings were the highest in its 29-year history.

The company posted NT$306.57 billion (US$9.15 billion) in net profit for 2015, a 16.2 percent annual increase. TSMC’s 2015 earnings per share was NT$11.82, compared with NT$10.18 the previous year, and its consolidated sales rose 10.6 percent to NT$843.497 billion, it said.

Profits and earnings per share were also record-breaking …

For the final quarter of the year – the one leading to all the ‘peak iPhone’ speculation – its operating profit was toward the top end of its guidance, at 38.3% versus forecasts of 36.5-38.5%.

The news isn’t entirely reassuring, however. While its overall revenue grew, chip revenue from consumer electronics devices – the category that includes the iPhone – fell by 5%.

As ever, Apple’s mix of suppliers means that the performance of any one of them is, as Tim Cook has remarked, a poor proxy for performance of the iPhone. But this one is at least more encouraging that reductions of up to 30% we’ve been hearing about elsewhere.

KPMG suggested towards the end of last year that TSMC will be the sole manufacturer of the A10 chip for the iPhone 7, as well as the A9 chip (or A8?) for the 4-inch iPhone variously labelled the 5e, 6c and 7c. If so, this will be at the expense of Samsung.

We’ll get a far more reliable guide to iPhone performance on January 26, when Apple not only reports its earnings for the holiday quarter but also provides revenue guidance for the current quarter.

Via AI

Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS Devices

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An Apple patent application published today reveals an idea for an interesting variation on the magnetically-closed Milanese Loop band that allows it to do much more than simply secure the Apple Watch on your wrist.

By using a careful arrangement of magnet orientations, the band can transform itself into a protective case when travelling, a stand on a bedside table or desk – or a Mac accessory …

In the standard band configuration, the band would be held closed in a similar way to the Milanese Loop. But it would also be possible to roll the band to form an upright desk stand, or to wrap the band around the Watch itself to serve as a kind of protective case for use when the Watch is packed away.

Finally, it could also be magnetically attached to other devices, the patent illustrating it attached to a MacBook, an iMac and a fridge.

As Macs are aluminum, a magnet would not normally stick to it, so the Mac attachment concept would also need matching magnets or a ferrous metal plate in the Mac to make it work.

As always with Apple patent applications, there’s no way to know whether Apple has serious plans to make such a band or is simply exploring an interesting idea.

Would this type of multi-function band appeal to you? Take our poll to let us know.

Via Patently Apple

Filed under: Apple Watch Tagged: Apple patent, Apple watch, Apple Watch band, Apple Watch case, Apple Watch magnetic band, Apple Watch stand, milanese loop, Patent

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If you’ve ever wanted a little something more out of the Contacts app on iOS, you may be in for a treat with the latest app from Agile Tortoise, which makes the popular Drafts text actions app. Interact is a new contacts app on the iPhone and iPad made for power users. The app includes an iOS extension for creating contacts from information found in other apps, a scratchpad feature for parsing details you jot down for creating new entries, better group management than the built-in contacts app, and much more. Check it out below:

Interact works by pulling in your current contact database already available on your iPhone. There’s no need to create a new account or use a foreign syncing service. Contacts that you add to Interact will show up in your contact database elsewhere, and the same is true of groups you edit as well. At first glance the app doesn’t appear as easy to use as Apple’s Contacts app, but once you’re familiar with the functions it’s plenty more capable as certain tasks like editing groups and bulk email/messaging is much easier.

Testing with the iPhone 6s Plus, you can optionally view your contacts list in either portrait or a two column landscape view with sort order settings just like Apple’s Contacts app and a toggle for viewing profile photos. Thumbing up and down the right side of the app lets you scrub through your whole list alphabetically, or you can search manually.

One unique feature in Interact is a tool called Scratchpad. This lets you turn plain text into a contact entry by parsing out important details. You can even access the Scratchpad outside of Interact once it’s installed on your iPhone or iPad by using the action extension. Drafts users will likely be very familiar with this way of doing things with text.

Interact also features 3D Touch quick actions from the Home screen as well as peek and pop interactions within the app when using the latest iPhones. Visually, Interact is themed similarly to the popular Overcast podcast player with mostly orange and white design throughout. For me personally, Interact’s value isn’t in replacing the Contacts app but instead adding extra utility to it around managing groups and, well, interacting with them as well.

Interact is available for both the iPhone and iPad for $4.99 (limited price) from the App Store. If you’re curious about what a power user contacts app can offer, I recommend checking it out while it’s at its launch price.

Filed under: Apps Tagged: Agile Tortoise, contacts, Drafts, Interact, Power user, power users

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Sharing and viewing Live Photos shot on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus on the Mac has been tricky if not impossible until now. Previously the enhanced photos could only be viewed in Apple’s Photos app on the Mac, which limited sharing to iCloud Photo Sharing. Starting with the new OS X 10.11.4 beta released earlier this week, Live Photos can now be shared and viewed over iMessage using Messages on the Mac for the first time.

Before now Live Photos were diluted into still images, losing their audio and video. With the latest El Capitan beta, however, Live Photos can be sent from Photos on the Mac when synced from the latest iPhones, or viewed on the Mac when sent from iPhones.

Just like on other platforms, Live Photos are denoted by a special icon in the top left corner. Opening the preview with Quick Look adds an expanded button that lets you view the Live Photo in action.

Dragging and dropping the Live Photo to the desktop reduces it back to a still image, and copy and paste from Photos does the same.

But using the native share buttons preserves the Live Photo. All in all, it’s a much better implementation than before. A few iOS apps including Tumblr and Facebook have rolled out or started testing Live Photo sharing on iPhones and iPads as well.

OS X 10.11.4 is available as a developer beta and should be available to everyone later this year. For more on Live Photos, check out my initial hands-on with the enhanced image format.

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

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December is always one of Apple’s biggest months of the year thanks to the influx of new devices people receive as gifts during the holiday season. The company often reports its highest device sales during this month, and as you can figure, the more people who are using iOS devices, the more people who are downloading apps from the App Store. App Store analytics company Sensor Tower has today shared its figures for the month of December 2015, and it was another record-setting month for Apple. Sensor Tower says that revenue for games in the App Store during December was nearly $1 billion.

According to the report, games in the App Store brought in nearly $1 billion in revenue during the holiday month of December. This is an 18 percent increase over the $847 million reported in November. Likewise, downloads also increased. The games category as a whole in the App Store in the United States saw 179 million downloads, up from 143 million in November. That’s an increase of 26 percent. Worldwide, 614 million games were downloaded from the App Store in December, up from 510 million in November.

The most downloaded game during December was the popular Piano Tiles 2. This app is free-to-play with in-app purchases also available. Cut The Rope 2, Monument Valley, Temple Run 2, and Geometry Dash Meltdown rounded out the top 5 most downloaded apps in the United States.

As far as the apps earning the highest revenue go, Clash of Clans topped the charts both in the United States and world-wide. Game of War, Candy Crush Saga, Madden NFL, and DoubleDown Casino rounded out the top 5 in the United States. Clash of Clans brought in $59.7 million in revenue during December, while Game of War brought in $31.7 million.

The full breakdown of the charts during December can be seen below:

Filed under: Apps Tagged: App Store, Apps, clash of clans, December, iOS

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A new bill proposed in New York could see that all phone manufacturers be required to implement a way for law enforcement agencies to access and decrypt user devices. This bill is somewhat similar to the Investigatory Powers Bill currently being debated in the UK, which Apple has voiced its opposition towards. Apple and Tim Cook have repeatedly stated that government agencies should not have any access to user devices or data, whether be through a built-in backdoor or other means.

The bill making its way through the New York state assembly specifically states that “any smartphone manufactured on or after January 1, 2016, and sold or leased in New York, shall be capable of being decrypted and unlocked by its manufacturer or its operating system provider.” Should a phone manufacturer neglect to implement such a tool, the assembly would impose a $2,500 fine for each infringing device (via On The Wire).

While this bill theoretically doesn’t give government agencies direct access encrypted data, Apple implementing such a measure would force it to compromise its stance that there should not be a sacrifice in privacy for national security. In the past, Tim Cook has stated that any decrease in encryption, which this bill would require, would lead to unintended people gaining access to user data.

The Investigatory Powers Bill in the UK is similar and has the support of UK Prime Minister David Cameron. Like the New York bill, the Investigatory Powers Act would also mean that Apple would have to stop encrypting iPhones, iMessage, and FaceTime and hold a key with direct access to user data, again creating a backdoor.

Just last week, Tim Cook and other Silicon Valley executives met with White House officials to discuss the use of social media and technology in the fight against terrorism, radicalization, and propaganda. During the meeting, Cook again voiced his stance that there should be in no way, shape, or form, a backdoor to user data. The Apple CEO urged that it is up to the White House to make that ruling and enforce a “no backdoor” policy.

In the past, Apple has said that it has no way to access data on devices that are passcode protected by the user. In response to that, the Department of Justice came out and said that Apple should be required to unlock any encrypted data because iOS is “licensed, not sold” to customers.

The next step for the New York state bill would be a move to the floor calendar, followed by votes in the assembly and senate. Part of the bill reads as follows:

“The safety of the citizenry calls for a legislative solution, and a solution is easily at hand. Enacting this bill would penalize those who would sell smart- phones that are beyond the reach of law enforcement.

The fact is that, although the new software may enhance privacy for some users, it severely hampers law enforcement’s ability to aid victims. All of the evidence contained in smartphones and similar devices will be lost to law enforcement, so long as the criminals take the precaution of protecting their devices with passcodes. Of course they will do so. Simply stated, passcode-protected devices render lawful court orders meaningless and encourage criminals to act with impunity.”

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, Encryption, iOS, legal, New York, Tim Cook

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Apple’s rocky iAd advertising platform is about to see some major changes, says Buzzfeed’s John Paczkowski. According to the report, Apple plans to dismantle its iAd sales team and stop its role as a middleman between publishers and customers:

While iAd itself isn’t going anywhere, Apple’s direct involvement in the selling and creation of iAd units is ending. “It’s just not something we’re good at,” one source told BuzzFeed News. And so Apple is leaving the creation, selling, and management of iAds to the folks who do it best: the publishers.

Apple is phasing out its iAd sales force entirely and updating the iAds platform so that publishers can sell through it directly.

The big news, Buzzfeed notes, is publishers that play ball will take home 100% of the ad revenue generated rather than a 70/30 split with Apple.

The timing for the shift makes the change a bit of a New Year’s Resolution as the report claims Apple could execute the change as soon as this week. From the start, Apple’s iAd business has been a struggling effort with various moves intended to make it more attractive and automated for publishers.

Besides the apparent lack of overall success with iAd in general, my first thought on Apple reducing its role in the iAd space is how the advertising business conflicts with Tim Cook’s effort toward user privacy. Remember the iAd exec that said privacy was holding the platform back? Being good at advertising typically requires a wealth of user data, although Apple obviously isn’t totally ending its effort here.

Apple’s Eddy Cue actually hinted at the change earlier this week in a story ran by the WSJ around Apple’s News app glitch with counting views on stories.

Mr. Cue said he was surprised by the extent to which publishers call on Apple to handle ad sales. He said Apple has accelerated the development of its iAd network and expects to launch a self-service ad-buying platform in the next two months to help increase ad spending.

So while it may end up being more work for publishers on the front end, the move sounds like a long overdue development if iAds are ever going to really take off as a proper revenue source on the iPhone and iPad. In the short term, iAds will play a role in monetizing content viewed through the Apple News app when using Apple’s own format.

Prior to Apple News, Apple’s iTunes Radio service optionally presented iAd advertisements to listeners with the free tier, although Apple Music has changed that aspect of the product. iAd still plays a part in monetizing free iOS apps, although the method is far less common than the use of in-app purchases.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Advertising, Apple, apple news, design, Eddy Cue, IAd, iAds, News, privacy, sales

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