Apple ran a new, minute-long Apple Music commercial during last night’s Country Music Association Awards, featuring hit country music singer-songwriter Kenny Chesney.

In the ad – filmed this summer at his concert at the Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA, home of the super bowl champions New England Patriots – Chesney focuses on the human curation offered by Apple Music.

We need a place where music is treated with real reverence and respect, a place that’s got a human element, a human touch […] great songs recommended to me by people who live it …

The ad, which can be found on iTunes and watched below, also features a cameo appearance by the Apple Watch, Chesney using it to check his Activity rings.

Apple has been really going to town on video ads for Apple Music, with James Bay and Kygo featuring in mid-August; The Weeknd and John Travolta later the same month; Leon Bridges, Shamir and Flying Lotus in mid-September; and Mary J. Bilge alongside actors Kerry Washington and Taraji P. Henson, describing the service as ‘the instant boyfriend mixtape service.’

Filed under: AAPL Company

For more news on AAPL Company continue reading at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “New Apple Music ad featuring Kenny Chesney runs during CMA Awards [Video]” with our community.

HTC’s launch of the One A9 has caught the attention of many. The company insists that the latest mid-tier device isn’t an iPhone copy, despite the fact that — from almost every angle — it looks like one. Having spent time with it, we agree in many ways. Even if it is, the very fact it runs Android 6.0 is a big enough differentiating factor for many consumers. Still, the Taiwanese manufacturer isn’t helping itself by releasing its latest advertising campaign.

The latest full length ad, named ‘Be Brilliant’ has a clear message: Be Different. Sound familiar?

The video tells you that, in this ‘Big Brother’ world where everything is the same, you should aspire to be unique, be loud, be inspired, be free and be brilliant. However, the message bares a striking resemblance to famous 1984 ad produced by Apple for the Macintosh back in the 80s…just like the phone resembles the iPhone.

With several purposeful shots showing the main character kicking apple’s there’s a not-so-subtle suggestion that Apple is the new normal. Thirty years ago,  IBM was ‘Big Brother’, and Apple was the rebel company doing things differently. Now — with the iPhone being the most popular smartphone model on the market — the tables have turned. The iPhone is the new ‘norm’ in many ways, and is what the HTC rebel in the video is going against.

The phone is an OS away from being a direct iPhone copy, and the ad is a hammer’s throw away from being a copy of one of the most iconic ads of all time. There’s one rebel, running against a sea of uniformed, grey emotionless characters. Unlike the Apple commercial, more rebels join the race to become free. As a reminder, here’s Apple’s 1984 commercial:

HTC isn’t the only Android OEM to use the 1984 Orwellian theme to advertise its products. Motorola made a tablet commercial a few years ago with direct references to George Orwell’s book.

Clearly then, ‘be unique’ and ‘go against the flow’ are strong advertising messages. They say more about who you can be as a person or what your identity is than they do about the actual products being sold. Apple’s 1984 commercial didn’t include a single reference to the Macintosh it was selling. It didn’t show what the machine looks like, or what it can do. It just said “we’re making something amazing and unique, and you’re going to want it”. HTC and Motorola departed from that tactic, but the message is exactly the same, as is the setting in which the story is told.

HTC is trying to show that it’s unique and doing things differently. Ironically, it’s doing that by adopting a widely-used message and releasing a product that closely resembles an iPhone.

Filed under: Tech Industry Tagged: 1984, 1984 ad, ads, Android, Big Brother, htc one a9, Macintosh, Motorola, One A9, videos

Visit 9to5Mac to find more special coverage of Tech Industry, Android, and Macintosh.

What do you think? Discuss “HTC copies Apple’s iconic 1984 commercial to advertise their iPhone copy” with our community.

The USPTO has today published a patent application by Apple to allow a specific fingerprint to activate a ‘panic mode’ on an iPhone, designed for use when the owner feels threatened, is in danger or is being forced to unlock their phone.

In its most basic form, placing a specific finger on the Touch ID button would place the iPhone into a special locked-down mode, blocking access to personal data store on the phone – perhaps simulating a brand new phone. In that way, if a street robber forced you to unlock your phone before handing it over, your data would be safe.

But the patent application goes far beyond this … 

One option described in the patent is for the panic mode to activate the iPhone’s camera and microphone, transmitting video and audio to ’emergency response providers’ who could use the information to decide what action to take – whether it be alerting a family member or friend that you need help, or contacting police, fire service or medical personnel.

Yet another option describes the example of a hiker suffering a fall and activating a panic mode that would call 911 and use the GPS to automatically report the location of the casualty.

The patent includes the possibility of having multiple panic modes, activated by placing different fingers on the Touch ID sensor.

As ever with Apple patents, there’s no way to tell the likelihood of the company actually implementing the idea, but I do think this one has a lot of potential. In particular, the idea of protecting data and capturing video or photos of a thief seems like an excellent complement to Activation Lock. With that additional protection in place, a thief would have to be spectacularly dumb to steal an iPhone.

Check out the full description for more details, and let us know in comments what you think.

Via Business Insider

Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: Activation Lock, Apple Inc, Emergency, iPhone, iPhone theft, Patent, safety, Security, Touch ID

For more news on iOS Devices, iPhone, and Apple Inc continue reading at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Apple patent application published for one-touch ‘panic mode’ on iPhone to protect data or alert emergency services” with our community.

Apple released the first tvOS 9.1 beta to developers earlier this week, but it lacked the addition of one major feature many have been calling for: folder support on the homepage. Now, well-known developer Steve Troughton-Smith has discovered that out of the box, the tvOS user interface features “pretty complete” folder support…

Smith dug deeper into the tvOS 9.0 build and was even able to hack folders into working. He has since been playing around with it and has shared images of the feature on Twitter. Smith noted of how users would be able to name folders, much like iOS, as opposed to just using the suggested names that Apple provides based on the apps’ categories in the App Store.

To delete an app from a folder, you would simply press the play/pause button on the remote. The folders appear to offer a 3×3 setup, meaning you could fit 9 apps on a single page.

It’s unclear when or if Apple plans to activate folder support on tvOS, but the fact that it’s there means the company has at least experimented with it before. It’s possible that folder support is coming in tvOS 9.1 and simply wasn’t activated in the first beta, although it’s also possible that the feature is coming in tvOS 10.0. Or not at all.

Apple has made a couple of minor behind the scenes changes to the App Store on tvOS since the fourth-gen device launched last week, including adding Top Charts and categories. While those features were able to be added by Apple in the background, the addition of folders would almost certainly require an OTA update, in the form of tvOS 9.1 or 10.0.

Oh hey. Nailed it. 😎 https://t.co/Be1Oc7SbaU

—
Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) November 05, 2015

Filed under: Apple TV Tagged: Apple, Apple TV, Apps, tvOS

For more information about Apple, Apple TV, and Apps continue reading at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “New Apple TV tvOS hacked to show iOS-like app folders” with our community.

Google today has rolled out an update its Maps application on iOS, bringing with it a pair of new features. The update bumps the app to version 4.12.0 and includes support for adding missing businesses to the app’s database and spoken traffic alerts.

The latter of the two is the far more interesting addition of this update. Spoken traffic alerts mean that Google Maps will now alert you about upcoming traffic congestion and traffic incidents as you use the Navigation feature of the app. It does so via voice so you aren’t distracted while you drive. Traffic descriptions provide the same information, but in both text and verbal forms before you start to move.

Google Maps version 4.12.0 is available via the App Store now for free. The full changelog can be seen below:

Filed under: iOS Tagged: app, Google, Google Maps, iOS, update

Continue reading more about iOS, iOS, and Google at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Google Maps on iOS will now give spoken traffic alerts as you drive” with our community.

Ahead of the release of the iPad Pro later this month, Apple executives have been taking part in a variety of enterprise-focused interviews, looking to convince the enterprise market of the device’s usefulness. Today, Apple’s SVP Eddy Cue sat down for a fireside chat with Dropbox CEO Drew Houston at the cloud storage company’s Open conference.

During the interview, Cue discussed a variety of topics, mostly talking the benefits of iOS over competitors and in the enterprise. Speaking to Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, Cue said the one of the primary benefits of iOS is that “everyone upgrades really quickly.”

Cue also explained how he believes the enterprise market has not adapted to new technologies and caught up on mobile the way that average consumers have. Cue at one point during the interview pulled out an iPad Pro to show it off to Houston, who then encouraged the audience to look under their chairs, only for there to be nothing. Regarding iPad Pro, Houston and Cue showed off Dropbox’s upcoming Paper app, which Houston says is the company’s iPad Pro-focused collaborative editing tool. Dropbox Paper is slated to be available in the first quarter of 2016.

The Apple executive explained of how Apple has often gone against what people think they need in a device in favor of the company’s own opinions on what is right. For instance, Cue stated that when Apple released the iPhone, everyone was certain they wanted phones with physical keyboards.

Cue also noted of an interesting anecdote, saying that Apple developed the iPhone essentially by accident, and that they were really trying to make the iPad. Finally, Cue wrapped his speech explaining that focus during innovation is hard, noting that it’s “not just a checklist of features.” “When you’re big, you can be considered a bully, but when you’re small, you’re aggressive and up and coming.”

Tim Cook has also conducted a variety of enterprise-focused interviews recently, appearing at BoxWorks with Aaron Levie, a Cisco product unveil, and at the WSJ.D live conference.

Image via Karissa Bell

Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS Devices Tagged: Eddy Cue, enterprise, interview, iPad, iPad Pro, Tim Cook

For more news on AAPL Company, iOS Devices, and iPad continue reading at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Eddy Cue continues Apple’s enterprise tour, shows off iPad Pro at Dropbox Conference” with our community.

Image via @stroughtonsmith

After some complaints about app discoverability for the new Apple TV App Store that launched late last month, Apple appears to be rolling out curated categories for the storefront not unlike its App Store on iPhone and iPad.

The new categories currently only include lists for gaming and entertainment apps, but it’s likely the curated lists will expand into other categories as Apple continues to enhance curation on the newly launched App Store.

Apple added top charts to the Apple TV App Store last week after first rolling out the store with just curated picks of select apps. We also got a look at some of the top selling/downloaded apps. At the time we noted that games were dominating both the Top Paid and Top Grossing charts, showing the Apple TV’s potential in that arena after years of not offering gaming apps. 

The new fourth generation Apple TV officially went on sale in initial launch countries late last month as the first of Apple’s set top box products to include a full-fledged App Store with an open app development platform.

Filed under: Apple TV

Continue reading more about Apple TV at 9to5Mac.

What do you think? Discuss “Apple TV’s App Store gets better curation with addition of categories” with our community.

A new report from analytics firm Canalys claims that Apple has shipped nearly 7 million Apple Watches since the device debuted earlier this year. That number puts Apple’s shipments ahead of every other smart watch maker on the market combined.

No other vendor even managed to ship 300,000 units, according to the report, with the Pebble shipping over 200,000 thanks to the boost from the recently released Pebble Time Steel. Korean competitor Samsung saw a drop in its own shipments.

One point to bear in mind when looking at shipment numbers, however, is that they may not be indicative of actual sales. Instead, the number of shipments tracks how many units were sent to vendors for sale, not directly to customers.

Apple has been reluctant to provide exact numbers on Watch sales, choosing instead to lump them in with several other product categories. Analysts have previously tried to pin down the exact number without much luck. Some estimates range from 3 million to 6 million.

Best Buy claims to be seeing high demand for the wearable, while some suppliers are said to not even be shipping 2 million units a quarter. Gene Munster, however, believes the number is somewhere around 3 million.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has hinted that sales are above 3 million, but declined to give a specific number. Shopping analysis has suggested that many of these purchases were made right at the beginning of the Apple Watch’s availability, with sales tapering off after that.

It’s unlikely that we’ll get a real sales number any time soon, but if Canalys’ numbers are anywhere near accurate, Apple has done well for itself in relation to the rest of the smart watch market.

Filed under: Apple Watch Tagged: Apple watch

Visit 9to5Mac to find more special coverage of Apple watch and Apple Watch.

What do you think? Discuss “Canalys: Apple has shipped nearly 7 million Watches so far” with our community.

As construction continues on Apple’s new Campus, the company is considering expanding its operation to a new, even larger 4.15 million square foot facility in San Jose, according to a new report.

The tech company is currently seeking an agreement with the city that would allow it to develop the massive lot for a new campus, though actually getting such an agreement would not necessarily guarantee that Apple would begin construction.

Earlier this year it was revealed that Apple had purchased 43-acres in San Jose for $138 million. The company now appears to have an interest in doubling the size of that acquisition.

The San Jose Planning Commission will take on the proposed agreement this month to determine whether Apple will be allowed to use the land in question. Should the deal go through, Apple will have exclusive rights to the area for fifteen years, but won’t be required to actually build anything there.

No additional details about the potential deal are known right now but will likely become public later this month.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: San Jose

Visit 9to5Mac to find more special coverage of AAPL Company and San Jose.

What do you think? Discuss “Apple looks to build 4.15 million square foot campus in San Jose” with our community.

Facebook is said to be planning to launch its standalone news app with a list of media partners on board sometime next week. That’s according to Financial Times, which reports the app will be called Notify and include content from a list of media partners including CBS, The Washington Post, and Vogue. Reports of Facebook working on a separate mobile app focused on news rather than the social network first surfaced in early August.

Notify is said to work differently from competing apps by alerting users of news stories as they develop rather than relying on users to visit a section within the app to discover content. CNN, Comedy Central, and Billboard are also said to be content partners, FT says.

Facebook’s Notify app follows Apple’s own pre-installed News app on iOS 9, which Apple says has over 40 million users since launching in mid-September. Offering its own take on presenting the news, Twitter recently launched a new feature called Moments that presents curated stories within the social network’s mobile app as well as on the web.

Facebook has already made the experience of consuming news and media easier through its main app as well with Instant Articles. Through several partnerships with various publishers, Facebook is able to pre-load content in rich media layouts so when readers follow through to a story there’s virtually zero loading time.

Aside from Facebook’s Instant Articles within its primary app, Facebook also supports a standalone version of its social network app called Paper which features a news-centric browser within.

Filed under: Apps, Tech Industry Tagged: Facebook, News, Notify

Visit 9to5Mac to find more special coverage of Apps, Tech Industry, and Facebook.

What do you think? Discuss “Facebook reportedly launching News-like app ‘Notify’ with media partners next week” with our community.