One of the most common gifts every year is an iTunes gift card. For the techie that already has everything, it’s often the gift that many give out of a lack of other options. Nevertheless, it’s a gift that any iOS user will certainly put to use. iTunes gift cards can be used for basically anything, including music, movies, apps, TV shows, and subscriptions. If you’ve got some money to spend on iTunes now thanks to a gift card, keep reading for some of the best things on which to spend it…

Apps

Tweetbot 4 – The official Twitter for iOS app is good and getting better, but it still doesn’t compare to Tweetbot. With the fourth iteration, Tweetbot has gotten significantly better, too. The iPad app is now optimized for things like multitasking and better landscape viewing, and there’s also a new detailed statistics and activity tracking view.

Riptide GP2 – I’ve been playing Riptide for as long as I can remember and it has yet to get old. Riptide offers incredible console-like graphics on iPhone and iPad, as well as console-like performance. Paired with a gaming controller like the SteelSeries Stratus, it’s even better. It’s easily the best water racing game on iOS.

Asphalt 8: Airborne – One of the classic racing games iOS games, Asphalt has continued to get better with almost every iteration. The latest version offers things like 3D Touch controls for iPhone 6s users, as well as an Apple Watch app and Apple TV fourth-generation support.

Fantastical 2 – We’ve covered Fantastical numerous times in the past and for good reason. It offers arguably the best calendar experience on iOS and it’s lightyears better than the built in Calendar app on iOS. With a great Apple Watch companion app, Fantastical makes it nearly impossible to forget something you have to do.

Alto’s Adventure – Puzzle games have always been popular on iPhone and Alto’s Adventure is no exception. It offers a truly beautiful design with an equally fun story line of journeying through a snowboarding odyssey. It’s incredibly addicting, so be prepared to sink hours

Monument Valley – This app has received numerous recognitions from Apple, winning a coveted Design Award in 2014 and the title of iPad Game of the Year in 2014. Monument Valley is another popular puzzle-like game that’s purpose is to guide a princess through a “stunningly beautiful world.” It’s ever growing and has truly stunning graphics.

Dark Sky – Dark Sky is perhaps my favorite app on iOS. It offers incredibly accurate, like down to the minute accurate, weather information for your current location. You can enable push notifications be informed of when rain or snow is headed your away, as well as see detailed extended forecasts and radars.

Sky Guide – If you’re an astronomy nerd, Sky Guide arguably the best app you’ll ever purchase. The purpose of the app is very simple: simply hold your iPhone or iPad towards the sky and constellations are automatically identified and named, as are stars and satellites. It too was a winner of an Apple Design Award in 2014.

Workflow – This is an app that’s main goal is to help increase your productivity and make everyday tasks much more automated. The app allows you to drag and drop any combination of actions to create workflows. For instance, you can use it to more easily get directions, make animated gifts, send a message with the last screenshot you took, and much more.

Honorable Mentions…

Threes!, Madden, Minecraft: Pocket Edition, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City, Piloteer, Twitterrific, Smashy Road: Wanted, Crossy Road, NBA 2K16, and Rop

Music

2015 saw a variety of insanely good new music come out across a variety of genres, as well as the release of Apple Music, so there are all kinds of ways you can spend your iTunes gift cards on music now. Perhaps most logical is to use them on an Apple Music subscription…

Apple Music subscription – Arguably Apple’s biggest move of 2015, Apple Music represents a way to get (almost) all of the music you find on iTunes for just $9.99 per month. If you have some spare balance on your iTunes gift card, you can’t go wrong putting it towards a few months of Apple Music.

Adele: 25 – If you haven’t listened to this album yet, you’re truly missing out. The hype surrounding Adele’s return is certainly warranted, and seeing that 25 is not available on streaming services, it’s a great investment with any iTunes gift cards you may have been given this holiday season.

G-Eazy: When It’s Dark Out – Out of the Bay Area, G-Eazy offers a wide range of styles on his sophomore album. Some of the tracks are perfect for getting pumped up before a big event, while others are introspective and deal with the struggle of fame. The album features appearances by artists such as Big Sean, E-40, Chris Brown, and Kehlani.

Kehlani: You Should Be Here – Arguably the best R&B album of 2015, Kehlani’s You Should Be Here offers up truly amazing production behind her equally great storytelling of every aspect of her life. The album earned Kehlani a Grammy nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp A Butterfly – Regarded by many as the top rap album of 2015, Kendrick Lamar does a stellar job of following up on his 2012 award winning album. The production is a mix of jazz, somber, and more. Lamar raps about everything you could ever imagine, including his stance on many societal issues.

Coldplay: A Head Full Of Dreams – Coldplay are headlining the upcoming Super Bowl, so you’ll want to get familiar with their latest album before the big show this February. A Head Full Of Dreams is a departure from the band’s classic melancholic tone and is instead optimistic and hopeful.

Death Cab for Cutie: Kintsugi – Named after the Japanese practice of fusing together broken ceramics, Death Cab for Cutie’s Kintsugi blends together a variety of styles and lyrical topics. Standout tracks include Binary Sea and Everything’s A Ceiling.

Gavin James: Live At Whelans – You may remember Gavin James as one of the very first guests on Beats 1 when it launched over the summer. His Live At Whelans album thrust him into fame and lead him to opening for artists such as Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran.

James Bay: Chaos and the Calm – English singer/songwriter James Bay received three Grammy nods for his debut album Chaos and the Calm, and rightfully so. His tracks Let It Go and Hold Back The River lead him to mainstream popularity around the world, and the rest of his album is even better.

Honorable Mentions….

Jamie Lawson: Jamie Lawson, Justin Bieber: Purpose, Kodaline: Coming Up For Air, Logic: The Incredible True Story, Grace: Memo, Troye Sivan: Blue Neighborhood, The Weeknd: Beauty Behind The Madness, Halsey: Badlands, Tori Kelly: Unbreakable Smile

Movies

Star Wars: The Digital Movie Collection – With Star Wars: The Force Awakens in theaters now, it’s perfect opportunity to do some catching up and rewatch the original six films before seeing the seventh. iTunes offers all six original Star Wars films in HD for $89.99, which isn’t a bad deal by any stretch of the imagination.

Ted 2 – Building upon the hit original Ted, Ted 2 brings the inappropriate teddy bear we all love back to the big screen. Starring Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane, Ted 2 offers a hilarious slapstick comedy journey of Ted trying to prove that he is not an object and has basic human rights.

The Martian – The Martian stars critically acclaimed actor Matt Damon. Damon has found himself on Mars with years to kill until he has any shot at being rescued. Perhaps most impressive in The Martian are the stunning visuals used to create an amazing environment as Damon wanders around Mars.

Interstellar – Staring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, Interstellar follows the journey of epidemic crop failures threatening the life on Earth as the two lead actors, as well as other astronauts, are forced to travel to another galaxy in search of a new habitable planet. The ending gets pretty confusing, but it’s a great flick.

Back to the Future Trilogy – 2015 was the year of Back to the Future, so if you don’t already have all three films in your iTunes library, now is a perfect time to do so. I personally think the first one is the best, but the second one is a close runner up. iTunes offers the tribology for $32.99.

Wrap up

Those are just a few of the ways to blow through your iTunes gift cards this holiday season. There are certainly many more options, so be sure to browse around the App Store and iTunes Store before you do anything. If you’ve got some holiday cash to burn through, check out my wish list here and see if there’s anything you might want to buy for yourself.

Filed under: Buying Guides, iOS Tagged: Apps, buying guide, gift guide, movies, Music

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You blew it. It’s Christmas Eve and you didn’t get your friend/colleague/ loved one a present. Don’t worry, the 9to5Toys team has put together some last second options which will get you some great gifts and still save you some money. In fact, if you play your cards right you might still save a lot of money.

Still get delivery
If you live in  16 metro areas in the US, Amazon will deliver a million items in about an hour. It is like Pizza, except for Christmas presents. Categories include: Health & Personal Care, Books, Electronics, Home, Beauty, Office Products, Kitchen and Toys so there’s probably a gift for everyone in there. Of course, we’d recommend the Apple at Amazon Store within a Store. 

Brick and Mortar:
If you are like me and don’t live in one of these locations, you can always do the cave man option and head to a store. Most are open at least part of the day. Target has a Retina iPad Mini 2 for $194, the lowest price we’ve ever seen and $5 less than Walmart’s previous record low on an Apple tablet. If you are looking for a new Apple TV and Radio Shack still exists in your area, you can pick one up for $120 and it includes an HDMI cable, one of the best deals we’ve seen this year. And Best Buy is still discounting nearly every Apple product by at least $100. If you live in New York (or can trade tax for being a few days late), B&H still has the best deals on Apple Watches

Gift Cards!
Your best option at this late hour is usually a gift card, though we’ve found some ways to save even at this late date. Amazon is always the place to go and this year is no exception. The Online retail giant is discounting a bunch of email gift cards for restaurants and apparel retailers by 20% including Steak ‘n Shake, Aerie, Hooters, and others. Just use the specific coupon code from this deal page to save. Example: Get $5 off a $25 Famous Footwear gift card with coupon code SNSHAKE5 at checkout.

You can also save on email gift cards from PayPal’s eBay store. Top picks include a $100 Toys R Us for $90, $50 Skype for $35, $50 Lord & Taylor for $40, $25 iHop for $20, $50 Sephora for $45, and more. PayPal usually sends these gift cards within a few hours. Best Buy will give you a $10 savings code with the purchase of a $150 gift card.

And the fail-safe: Everyone loves to receive Amazon gift cards. Send one instantly via email or Print one out.

For Apple folks, you never go wrong with iTunes gift cards. Get some delivered in minutes from eBay using Paypal or Credit Card in $25, $50 or $100 denominations. Apple will also email you iTunes cards in any denomination.

Filed under: Tips and Tricks Tagged: 9to5Toys, Christmas, email gift cards, last-minute deals

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Between confusing implementations and unappealing prices, the first wave of iOS game controllers had a very rough launch, nearly killing a new accessory category that had the potential to be huge for Apple. Some of the earliest iOS game controllers only fit smaller iPhones and iPod touches, others had limited buttons, and most were originally priced at $70 or more. With the exception of Mad Catz’ more affordable, device-agnostic C.T.R.L.i series of Bluetooth controllers, iOS gamepads quickly racked up mediocre reviews and wound up in discount bins. The message to Apple and controller makers: follow Mad Catz’ template, and price the controllers more reasonably, or no one’s going to buy them.

Currently an Apple Store exclusive, Hori’s new HoriPad Ultimate ($50) is the latest acknowledgement that the lesson’s been learned: it’s the second Made For Apple TV game controller, including full MFi/iOS 7+ compatibility for use with iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches, plus Mac support. The pricing, design, and basic feature set are substantially similar to SteelSeries’ Nimbus, though Hori — a respected Japanese developer of game controllers — has outdone SteelSeries on the specifics. For the same price as Nimbus, you get a more PlayStation 4-like controller design with superior hand grips, twice the battery life, better-feeling buttons and a more substantial weight. HoriPad Ultimate uses a Lightning cable to recharge its battery, too…

While Sony and Microsoft collectively established the template for recent iOS game controllers, it’s clear that Sony’s PlayStation 3 controller DualShock 3 had the most influence on both SteelSeries’ Nimbus and HoriPad Ultimate. A D-pad’s on the front left, two rubber-topped DualShock-style analog joysticks are on the front bottom, and four convex action buttons are on the front right — just like a DualShock 3 with Xbox-style button labeling. The metallic blue side grips are smooth hard plastic rather than DualShock 4-style textured rubber, but they’re still very comfortable in the hand.

Rather than Select, Start, and PlayStation buttons, HoriPad Ultimate just has a gently concave Menu button on the front center, the only sign that the controller was specifically designed with Apple TV compatibility in mind — earlier iOS controllers had a pause button, instead. Like Nimbus, four red lights indicate HoriPad Ultimate’s pairing status; they’re invisible on Apple.com’s official pictures, but found directly above the Menu button within an otherwise glossy (and fingerprint-attracting) surface.

Where Nimbus and HoriPad Ultimate differ the most is up top. Hori’s L1, L2, R1, and R2 shoulder buttons are almost identical to the ones on Sony’s DualShock 3, clearly separated from one another with prominent, angular pressure-sensitive triggers on the L2 and R2 buttons. SteelSeries went with more organic button shapes that physically touched one another, indirectly increasing the potential for accidental presses of the wrong button; Hori keeps the buttons distinct, like Sony did. Both controllers have the same center array with a power switch, female Lightning recharging port, and Bluetooth pairing button, neither comes with a Lightning cable for recharging. The switch and button on HoriPad Ultimate are a little smaller than Nimbus’s, but not problematically so.

HoriPad Ultimate’s most obvious benefit over Nimbus is something you’ll only notice when you hold the controller: how it feels. Nimbus is somewhat lighter than you’d expect from a good controller, while HoriPad Ultimate has a greater density that’s most notable in the very center. Similarly, the buttons and D-pad all feel as precisely executed as you’d expect from a Sony DualShock. HoriPad Ultimate doesn’t feel cheap in any way, though it’s worth mentioning that Hori’s rubber-tipped analog sticks don’t have the delicate textures found on some controllers; they’re nearly smooth to the touch, rather than deliberately grippy.

The controller’s extra weight is partially attributable to a bigger battery. Just like Nimbus, HoriPad Ultimate includes a relatively power-efficient Bluetooth 4.1 chip, but promises 80 hours of play time compared with Nimbus’s 40. That’s a significant benefit, as Nimbus’s run time was on par with (if not better than) most console wireless controllers, while HoriPad Ultimate is at least twice as long-lasting as a DualShock 3 or Xbox One Wireless Controller. The iOS-to-console comparison’s not exactly apples-to-apples, as MFi controllers don’t have rumble vibrations, headphone ports, light bars, touchpads, or gyroscopes to worry about. But being able to actively play games for two weeks without recharging is great by controller standards.

Pairing HoriPad Ultimate to a device is nearly effortless: once the controller’s turned on, you just press the pairing button, go into the Bluetooth (iOS) or Remotes (Apple TV) settings menu on your device, and select HoriPad Ultimate. When connected to an iOS device for the first time, HoriPad Ultimate suggests that you should download an app from the App Store, but no Hori-specific app appears on the recommended downloads list. There’s only one reason a Hori app might be useful: SteelSeries offers its own Nimbus Companion App, primarily for firmware updates, and the automatic app download prompt suggests Hori is planning something similar. For now, it’s not needed, as the controller works perfectly with iOS and Apple TV devices straight out of the box.

Apart from the absence of a firmware app, software support for HoriPad Ultimate is virtually identical to Nimbus, which is to say that Hori’s controller is compatible with the same (slowly) growing library of iOS and tvOS games that began to add official Apple-sanctioned game controller support after the release of iOS 7. You can play cross-platform games such as Asphalt 8, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions, and Oceanhorn using any of these controllers, as well as presently tvOS-exclusive titles such as Beat Sports. Hori’s analog controllers and buttons are perfectly calibrated, so I felt perfectly natural — and far, far better than with on-screen controls or the Siri Remote — steering my ship and pointing my weapons in Geometry Wars 3, which is just one of a bunch of iOS/tvOS games that practically beg for the dual analog sticks included in good iOS game controllers.

As a lifelong gamer who has been waiting for great controllers to use with iOS games, I’m glad that HoriPad Ultimate even exists — particularly at a competitive $50 price point. Two years ago, it seemed obvious that the “right” iOS controller would be device-agnostic, include Bluetooth, and offer PlayStation- or Xbox-like features at a PlayStation or Xbox-like controller price. SteelSeries came close to “just right” with Nimbus, and thanks to improved ergonomics and battery life, Hori has come even closer with HoriPad Ultimate. With the exception of rumble vibrations, there’s little more I could want in a console-style game controller; otherwise, Hori has basically nailed the concept here. If you’re looking for an iOS or Apple TV game controller, HoriPad Ultimate is the best option currently available.

More From This Author

Check out more of my reviews, How-To guides and editorials for 9to5Mac here! I’ve published a lot of different topics of interest to Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, and Apple Watch users, as well as a last-minute holiday gift guide for Apple fans, a great holiday gift guide for iPhone users, a detailed holiday gift guide for Mac users, and a separate holiday gift guide for Apple photographers.

Filed under: Apple TV, iOS, iOS Devices, Reviews

For more information about iOS Devices, iOS, and Reviews continue reading at 9to5Mac.

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This is our year in review. We’ll discuss everything we’ve seen, product releases, and how we feel about it all in the Apple ecosystem. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed.

New episodes of Happy Hour are available every Wednesday. As mentioned, you can download this podcast via iTunes or plug in our RSS feed link into your favorite podcasting app. Send an email to listenermail@9to5mac.com (or click here) and your question/comment may be featured in an upcoming episode of Happy Hour.

Note: iTunes (web interface and app) may still be propagating the new episode which could take up to 24 hours. Subscribing to the podcast feed will guarantee the latest episode is downloaded.

Hosts:

• Zac Hall
• Benjamin Mayo

Here’s what we discussed in this episode:

• Year In Review: Everything Apple released across 2015
• Apple promotes Jeff Williams to Chief Operating Officer, Phil Schiller will oversee all App Stores
• Opinion: Today’s Apple promotions cover executive losses, hint at Apple’s future
• How-To: Setup Photos and iCloud Photo Library with external storage + Time Machine backups

If you missed our 45th episode last week, you can subscribe and find every episode or start off from the previous episode here.

Remember: Subscribe on iTunes to catch all of the episodes as they go live and send in your questions/comments to listenermail@9to5mac.com.

Filed under: Happy Hour Tagged: 2015, apple news, Happy Hour, Technology

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Tim Cook teased Apple’s product pipeline to investors back in October 2013 by saying the company would enter new categories with releases that fall and “across 2014.” This set the expectation that the next year would include new releases in each quarter rather than staying mostly quiet until WWDC in June, then saving new iPhones, iPads, and Macs for the fall.

Perhaps that was a promise better made a year later as most new products in 2014 were once again kept for the fall, but 2015 has been one where Apple has truly released new products all across the year. So many, in fact, that it’s probably difficult to recall every single new hardware and software product without referencing the history books. Starting with the X released in X to the X released in X, we’ll take a retrospective look at everything new that came out of Apple this year and what to expect in 2016.

January

• SIM-free iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
• iOS 8.1.3
• OS X 10.10.2 

At the start of the month, Apple released the SIM-free iPhone 6 and 6 Plus for the first time in the US. Then the year really kicked off with a polarizing new MacBook, equipped with only a single USB-C port, unveiled courtesy of Mark Gurman’s reporting a couple of months before being officially announced.

We also got an early look at the Apple Watch app plus rumored launch details including battery targets ahead of time. Toward the end of the month, Apple released iOS 8.1.3, which was notable for requiring less space to update, addressing a common complaint from 8 and 16GB devices.

February

• OS X 10.10.3 Pre-Release, first hands-on with Photos

Previously only demoed briefly on stage at WWDC and promised for “early next year,” Apple released the iPhoto-replacement app Photos with iCloud Photo Library in beta with the pre-release version of OS X 10.10.3. The second month is most memorable for the start of Apple Car rumors. Referenced internally as Project Titan, knowing that Apple is working on a Tesla-like electric vehicle became as mainstream as knowing that Apple was working on wearables for the Apple Watch was unveiled. Apple has treated the rumors exactly the same, not officially saying anything but letting the interest satisfy people who ask “what’s next?”

March

• Refreshed MacBook Pro 13 with Force Touch
• Refreshed MacBook Air
• iOS 8.2 with Apple Watch app, Health improvements
• iOS 8.3 Public Beta, first for iOS
• Apple TV 3 drops to $69

In March, Apple held its ‘Spring Forward’ event where it announced ResearchKit, officially revealed the 12″ MacBook, shared Apple Watch launch details, and dropped the Apple TV 3 to $69. Apple also refreshed the 13″ MacBook Pro with a Force Touch trackpad, and upgraded the MacBook Air internals. iOS 8.2 launched to include the Apple Watch app a month before the device became available, and iOS 8.3 Public Beta became the first version of the iPhone and iPad software to be tested outside of the developer program.

April

• Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch, Apple Watch Edition
  • Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Cable (0.3, 1, 2m)
• MacBook (Early 2015, Retina)
  • USB-C Charge Cable, 29W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C to USB Adapter, USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter, USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter
• Final Cut Pro X, Motion, Compressor
• iOS 8.3 with diverse Emoji characters
• OS X 10.10.3 with Photos app

After two media events and more than six months of being hyped, Apple Watch finally launched in April, but orders were limited to online-only at first and several models wouldn’t ship for several weeks after others. Remember when Apple had only said $349 and up, and stainless steel was rumored to be priced at dramatically high prices? How’d you feel when you heard Apple Watch Edition would range $10,000-$17,000? Apple’s radical new MacBook also shipped in silver, space gray, and gold, and mine’s still holding up well. A single USB-C port wasn’t the end of the world after all.

Apple’s video production apps — Final Cut Pro X, Motion, and Compressor — got their big annual updates. iOS 8.3 and OS X 10.10.3 shipped with a new Emoji character picker with multiple skin tones, and the Mac update included Photos for all users after the pre-release period.

May

• MacBook Pro 15 with Force Touch
• Cheaper 27″ 5K iMac
• Lightning Dock

By May, the Apple Watch was still an online-only purchase and launching in additional countries, but there were a few new Apple products in stores before WWDC. Apple updated the 15″ MacBook Pro with new internals and the same Force Touch trackpad found on the smaller notebook, and the 5K iMac introduced the previous fall got upgraded internals as well. The most significant new think of May was the smallest: Apple’s first Lightning Dock for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Apple previously sold a 5/5s Lightning Dock, but this new version was designed with bigger and better devices in mind.

June

• iOS 8.4 with Apple Music and Beats 1
• OS X 10.10.4

WWDC kicked off in June where Apple previewed iOS 9, OS X 10.11, watchOS 2, and officially unveiled Apple Music for the first time. By the end of the month, iOS 8.4 and an update to iTunes was out with a 3-month free trial to Apple Music and access to Beats 1, Apple’s live streaming radio station. Apple Watches finally hit retail stores two months after the initial launch as well.

July

• iPod touch (and new colors for iPod nano and shuffle)

Apple didn’t launch any new hardware at WWDC, but it had some new gear ready the next month. After a couple of years without any real updates, Apple upgraded the iPod touch with new hardware colors including blue, pink, and gold and a much faster chip inside with a greatly improved camera. iPod shuffles and nanos also got tweaked with new colors to match. Previously saved for major music events in the fall, the long-awaited iPod lineup update was a press release and an update on Apple.com, but still got everyone talking about the music players for a few days.

August

• iOS 8.4.1
• OS X 10.10.5 

Save for a couple of small software updates, August was generally quiet in terms of new releases from Apple. But being the month before iPhone season, rumors about pink iPhones with double cameras and debates about just what Force Touch on iPhones might mean were in full cycle. Mark pretty much nailed what we’d come to know as 3D Touch in his reporting.

September

• iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus
  • Silicone Cases, Leather Cases, Metal Lightning Docks
• iPad mini 4
  • Protective Case, Smart Cover
• Apple Watch Sport in Gold and Rose Gold
  • Sport band colors, Classic Buckle refresh and new color, Space Black with black Sport band
• iOS 9, 9.0.1, 9.0.2
• watchOS 2
• OS X 10.11

Then in September, Apple unloaded almost everything else it had planned for the year. Faster iPhones with new rose gold colors, larger iPads with digital styluses, an upgraded iPad mini, new Apple Watch Sport colors, and tons of new band colors for the fall, plus the new Apple TV. iOS 9 and watchOS 2 also shipped, but with a slight delay for the latter release. OS X 10.11 El Capitan also shipped to the public on the last day of the month, marking an earlier release than the last two cycles.

October

• Apple TV 4
  • Siri Remote
• Magic Trackpad
• Magic Keyboard
• Magic Mouse
• First 21.5″ 4K iMac, updated 27.5″ 5K iMacs
• Beats Pill+
• Apple Watch Hermès
• SIM-Free iPhone 6s and 6s Plus
• iOS 9.1 with over 150 new Emoji
• watchOS 2.0.1
• OS X 10.11.1 with over 150 new Emoji
• iWork updates

Even without a separate media event like we’ve had in the past few years, October was a stacked month in terms of new products shipping and being revealed. The new Apple TV actually shipped (but on the last day of the month), the first 4K 21.5″ iMac was released, the 5K 27″ iMac was upgraded with a better display that shows more colors, and Apple upgraded its mouse and keyboard lineup. The Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, and Magic Trackpad 2 all gained Lightning ports for recharging their new internal batteries. We also saw the fist truly new hardware product out of Beats since Apple bought the speaker company. The Beats Pill+ debuted with its own app and a Lightning port for recharging.

November

• iPad Pro
  • Protective Case, Smart Cover
• Apple Pencil
• Smart Keyboard
• Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock
• iPhone 6s Leather Case (PRODUCT)RED

Then in November the iPad Pro finally shipped, and sooner in the month than some had expected. What did not become readily available and still hasn’t yet is the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, the two accessories that only work with the new tablet. Just when everyone thought Apple was done for the year, Apple surprised us all with its first official Apple Watch dock that was previously unannounced.

December

• iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case
• Lightning to SD Card Reader
• iOS 9.2 with iPhone SD Card Reader support
• OS X 10.11.2 
• tvOS 9.1 with Apple Music Siri
• watchOS 2.1 with Apple TV 4 Remote

Apple really surprised everyone at the end of the year by going out with a bang… or bump… and introducing its first iPhone battery case. Priced at $99 and curiously designed, the iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case (review) doesn’t work with Plus models and likely won’t fit next year’s iPhone 7, but it’s surely the first of many future power packs from Apple. Apple’s Lightning to SD Card Reader (review) got upgraded to USB 3 speeds for the faster iPad Pro, but otherwise looks nearly identical. Apple wrapped the year with a software update for each platform: iOS, OS X, watchOS, and tvOS. The iPhone got support for Apple’s camera adapters, Siri learned how to control Apple Music on Apple TV, and Apple’s Remote app on iOS and Apple Watch learned how to control the new Apple TV.

—

As we discuss on this week’s 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcast (coming later today), 2015 ultimately turned out to be the year of the Apple accessories. Docks made a comeback, iPads got keyboard covers and digital styluses, iPhones got battery cases, and all those Apple Watch bands… Apple also did a fairly good job of pacing itself throughout the year with releases and news spanning the whole calendar year.

With Apple Watch 2, a 4-inch iPhone, and possibly an updated iPad Air in the cards for another spring event next year according to Mark Gurman’s reporting, 2016 looks to be an even more packed year for Apple releasing new hardware outside of the fall quarter. Compared to recent years, I personally quite like this new approach of seeing new and exciting announcements all across the year. My own prediction for 2016? I suspect we’ll see Apple Car rumors ramp up higher than ever. What do you think? Let us know below and tune in to this week’s episode of Happy Hour later today to hear our discussion on Apple in 2015.

Filed under: AAPL Company, Opinion Tagged: Apple TV, Apple watch, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Mac, OS X, tvOS, watchOS

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From 9to5Toys.com:

Typically iTunes is the last place you want to shop for media deals, but right now you can score a number of popular movies at all-time low prices. Take this opportunity to fill your iTunes library with brand new content.

You’ll find a selection of popular movies priced at just $4.99 a piece to own, which is just about the same price as a rental. Titles include: The LEGO Movie, Gravity, American Hustle, Divergent, The Expendables 3, and The Skeleton Twins.

Dozens of HD movie bundles have also received major price drops. Here are our top picks:

• Harry Potter Complete Collection: $49.99 (Reg. $120)
• The James Bond Collection: $99.99 (Reg. $345)
• The Godfather Trilogy: The Coppola Restoration: $14.99 (Reg. $30)
• Jurassic Park Collection: $29.99 (Reg. $40)
• Superman 6 Film Collection: $29.99 (Reg. $50)
• Tarantino 6 Film Collection: $29.99 (Reg. $80)

Terminator Genisys is the $0.99 rental of the week, but be warned: it’s received pretty terrible ratings.

While you have iTunes fired up, be sure to take advantage of the best iOS and Mac holiday app deals.

The first-ever full-length theatrical LEGO movie follows Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO mini figure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared.

Filed under: Tips and Tricks Tagged: Deals, iTunes, Media, movie bundles

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Portable Bluetooth speakers are a dime a dozen these days – Amazon lists more than 37,000 of them! Though our shootout should help narrow the choice if you’re in the market for one. But portable AirPlay speakers are rather rarer, pretty ones even rarer and the Sugr Cube goes one step further in its bid to stand out from the crowd: it offers gesture-based control.

You tap the top of the speaker to pause/play, tilt it 45 degrees left to return to the previous track or 45 degrees left to skip to the next.

When I saw this on our sister site 9to5Toys, I wondered whether this would be a gimmick that you use a few times, or a genuinely useful form of control. There was only one way to find out, so I took delivery of one earlier this month to put it to the test …

Look & feel

Once upon a time, there was a simple rule for selling premium products: you had to feel the quality from the moment you first set eyes on the box. The packaging, as much as the contents, had to sell you on the quality.

With today’s environmental concerns, brands have to strike a balance. The packaging still has to convey quality, but without seeming needlessly wasteful. Sugr has done well here. First impressions on seeing and opening the black cardboard box are of something stylish, while at the same time the materials are relatively basic.

A Nietzsche quote under the lid forms the finishing touch.

I’m always a sucker for a nice chunk of wood, and the Sugr Cube likewise made a good first impression. It’s available in Cherry and Maple, and the unit I tested was the Cherry version. It looks good. It has a very smooth matte varnish that makes it silky to the touch.

It’s not quite a cube. At a little over 4 inches in each dimension, it’s very slightly deeper than the height and width.

There is a single visible control, a combined volume and on/off switch at the rear. A green LED serves as a combined power and volume position indicator. It’s very attractive.

Features

I describe it as an AirPlay speaker, as that’s the use most here would put it to, but that description does it something of a disservice. The app controlling the speaker actually offers a range of music service. These are:

• Cube Music, which imports from iTunes into its own 4GB internal flash storage
• Pandora Radio
• Radio, offering access to a small-ish but well-selected range of radio stations
• Relax Radio, offering a small choice of natural sounds designed to be relaxing
• Spotify

But from an Apple device, you can use it for any app that supports AirPlay. This of course includes iTunes on the Mac and Music on iOS devices, allowing it to be used for Apple Music.

I talk about the gesture controls below.

Setup

When you switch on the speaker, it immediately starts playing Relax Radio. This is my single biggest complaint about it. A short chime to tell you it’s on would be great, but immediately – and always – playing the sound of waves on the shore meant that after the first few times using it, that sound was associated with anything but relaxation!

You need to download the app to your iOS device to configure it. To do this, you open the app, tap the ‘I have Cube’ button, enter your Wi-Fi router password when prompted and then tap the ‘Connect’ button. The app prompts you to hold the phone speaker close to the Cube. The app chirps the encoded password in audio form, and the speaker pairs over Wi-Fi. You only have to do this once.

After that, you just open the Music app and connect to it as an AirPlay device in the usual way: flick up the Control Center, tap the AirPlay icon and select the Cube.

I did discover one snag during this process: the Cube only supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. I usually run everything on 5Ghz. With a Time Capsule, as with many routers, this isn’t a big deal as the router simultaneously broadcasts on both frequencies, but it did mean I had to connect my iPhone to the 2.4GHz version and tell it to forget the 5Ghz network.

Sound quality

For such a compact speaker, both volume and sound quality are impressive. Obviously you’re never going to get fantastic bass out of anything this small, but it did a lot better than I expected. My main audio kit is a mix of B&O and B&W, and it was clear it was never going to compete on those terms. Also, unless you buy two of them and network them together, it’s only a mono speaker.

But in portable speaker rankings, it’s definitely one of the best I’ve tried. So long as you’re not expecting it to replace your hifi system, I don’t think anyone short of a full-on audiophile would be disappointed. (Someone posted rather a lovely quote to the hi-res audio story a couple of days ago: a music lover uses their sound system to listen to music; an audiophile uses music to listen to their sound system. I have mildly expensive taste in hifi, but am definitely a music lover rather than an audiophile.)

I’ve heard some people describe the Sugr Cube’s volume as room-filling. That is definitely an exaggeration, but it does pump out 90dB at one metre, which is quite an achievement from something just four inches square! It also manages this without distortion.

The speaker did cut out several times in use. Once it completely dropped off AirPlay, and other times it paused or skipped. Unfortunately, this seems to just be part of the territory with AirPlay – a topic I’ve ranted about at some length. However, while it’s always hard to quantify these things, my impression was that the Sugr Cube cut out a little more frequently than most AirPlay devices.

Gesture controls

Which brings us to the question I asked at the beginning: what about the gesture control? Pointless gimmick, or genuinely useful?

I must confess that while I was intrigued, I was fairly confident I’d end up dismissing it as a novelty feature. After all, if I’m playing music from my phone – the most likely use for a portable speaker – my phone is probably to hand, and if not there’s the remote app on my Watch. How useful is it really to play/pause by tapping the top of the speaker, and to change track by tilting it left or right?

To my surprise, the answer turned out to be ‘actually, it’s rather convenient.’ Even on my desk, with my phone stood in its dock within easy reach, it actually proved less fiddly to simply tap or tip the speaker than touching the on-screen controls in the Music app. It’s just like listening through headphones, where the inline control is more convenient than the phone.

Gesture control is by no means a must-have feature, but it is a genuinely useful one – a nice-to-have.

Portability & battery life

As an AirPlay rather than Bluetooth speaker, this is more likely to be used as a flexible speaker you can move from room to room at home, rather than something you’re going to take to a social gathering elsewhere. For this kind of usage, it’s extremely easy to pick up and take to another room.

It has the type of look that works with pretty much any decor, so if you want to use it semi-permanently – say putting it in a home office or study while working and then moving to a bedroom on the evening – it’s not going to look out of place.

Sugr claims a battery life of 24 hours. I haven’t yet used it enough to put this to the test, but with a 6000mAH battery in there, that seems a reasonable claim. Certainly I’ve used it for 10-12 hours on a single charge and it’s still showing as green.

Conclusions

At $229, the Sugr Cube is definitely at the premium end of the portable speaker market, but it’s not a crazy price. There are Bluetooth speakers out there at a similar price, and in AirPlay terms it’s actually at the cheaper end. Given the great looks, decent sound and claimed 24-hour battery life (which I didn’t hit, but certainly it would get you through even a long music session), I would say it’s reasonable value for money.

I am slightly concerned about the fact that the drop-outs seemed a little more frequent than other AirPlay devices, but it is – as I say – hard to be sure about this. I wouldn’t let this put you off: buy from a retailer with a decent returns policy and you can judge for yourself.

The Sugr Cube Compact Smart Wifi Speaker is $229. If you’re looking for other potential audio purchases, check out my premium audio guide.

Filed under: Reviews Tagged: AirPlay, AirPlay speakers, Sugr, Sugr Cube, Sugr Cube review, Wifi speakers

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Back in August, U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh threw out a class action lawsuit against Apple from former iPhone users complaining that text messages were no longer delivered when they ported their number to an Android phone. The lawsuit alleged that Apple was guilty of “interference” with their messages.

That wasn’t quite the end of it, however. Three of the plaintiffs persisted in individual claims against Apple, alleging that the company was in breach of the Federal Wire Tap Act by ‘intercepting’ their messages. The court has now dismissed these claims – with, it turns out, very good reason …

As Business Insider reports, Apple requested a dismissal after discovering that the claim appeared to be spurious.

Apple […] discovered that two of the three plaintiffs in the case had gotten rid of their old iPhones after they filed the suit against Apple. They are thus unable to demonstrate whether texts sent to their phone numbers went to their Apple or Android devices, Apple claimed. One of the plaintiffs also previously asked that she be dismissed as a “named plaintiff” in the case.

The three plaintiffs were a husband, wife and family friend. Judge Lucy Koh dismissed the case in a single-paragraph order.

The Court has granted the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant Apple Inc. See ECF No. 112. Accordingly, the Clerk of the Court shall enter judgment in favor of Defendant. The Clerk shall close the file. IT IS SO ORDERED.

The original issue appeared to have been caused by a bug in the iMessage system, arising where someone switched to an Android phone without first disabling iMessage on their iPhone. While Apple later solved the problem by creating a web-based tool, it continues to recommend that people switch off iMessage on their iPhone before switching devices.

Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS Devices Tagged: Android, Apple Inc, Class action, class action lawsuit, iMessage, iMessage bug, iMessages, Lawsuit

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If you have an Apple TV, look out for the Littlstar app, which brings 360-degree videos to the platform for the first time. The company says that it has thousands of videos in its library, including ones from major brands like Discovery, Disney, Fusion, MLB, Mountain Dew, National Geographic, PBS and Red Bull.

You use the trackpad on the Siri remote to control your viewpoint. In a ballet video, for example, you can look around the theater as well as watch the performance, to get more of a sense of really being there …

Littlstar, which already has an iOS app, is backed by Disney Accelerator, which provides both financial backing and mentoring for tech companies launching products in the consumer entertainment and media fields.

In addition to partnerships with commercial brands, Littlstar also allows anyone to upload 360-degree content to the service.

Via Gizmodo

Filed under: Apple TV, Apps Tagged: 360-degree video, Apple TV, Disney, Immersive video, Littlstar, Virtual reality, vr

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Building on a report from Billboard last week, Re/code now says that starting on Christmas Eve, The Beatles will be available on Apple Music. The report from last week said that the hit British boy band’s catalog would launch on one streaming service on December 24, but left out specifics.

Today’s report, citing industry sources, says that The Beatles’ music will be available on nearly every streaming service beginning December 24th. That includes Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, Tidal, and Amazon Prime Music. Pandora will remain in the dark and will not have access to the band’s catalog due to the fact that it does not do direct deals with music owners.

The Beatles will be available on all tiers of popular streaming services, including the free tier of Spotify. This is different from, say, an artist like Taylor Swift, who is only available on paid services. Of course, Taylor Swift was also an Apple Music holdout at first, saying she wouldn’t be on the service unless Apple agreed to pay artists royalties during the free trial period. Apple and Swift’s relationship has now blossomed to an entirely new level.

The Beatles catalog was first available digitally in 2010 exclusively through iTunes for a while, which was a major deal for Apple at the time with 2 million tracks sold within days. With the addition of the catalog to Apple Music, The Beatles should again expect a surge in listens. Much like The Beatles, AC/DC strongly resisted streaming services, but gave in and released their content on Apple Music earlier this year.

Filed under: Apple Music Tagged: Apple Music, Music, streaming, The Beatles

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