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After our report yesterday, the not overly reliable Digitimes is claiming that the iPad Air 3 will come equipped with a 4K screen, as well as 4GB RAM and improved battery life. As usual, it cites unnamed supply chain sources for the claims.

Aside from the source of the latest rumor, a 4K display would give the iPad Air 3 a higher-resolution screen than the iPad Pro, which would seem unlikely. It’s also more Apple-like to opt for a slimmer device matching the battery life of existing iPads rather than increase the already great battery life. Perhaps the extra battery that they are seeing on the supply side is needed to get all the extra features to the standard 10-hour life…

We revealed yesterday that the iPad Air 3 is likely to be unveiled at a mid-March event, alongside the iPhone 5se and new Apple Watch goodies. A sketchy schematic earlier suggested the possibility of a rear-facing LED flash and additional speakers along the lines of the iPad Pro.

Apple does need to work hard to give iPad owners good reasons to upgrade, its latest earnings report revealing a 25% year-on-year fall in sales.

Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: iPad, ipad air, iPad Air 3

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Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts has recently sat down with Fast Company for a brief interview in which she discusses what her first two years at Apple have been like. Ahrendts previously was the CEO of high-end fashion retailer Burberry. Ahrendts notes of the strategies she’s employed to improve Apple’s retail chain, including her strategy of treating them just as she would treat an executive.

Ahrendts first notes that during her first six months on the job at Apple, she was able to travel to 40 different markets and spend time with retail leaders in each. She described that Apple’s retail stores are “uniting people and getting them to collaborate.” Having that power, Ahrednts explained, just by itself is “empowering” to her.

Perhaps most notably, Ahrendts said that in 2015, Apple retail had the highest retention rate it has ever had at 81 percent. She explained that she doesn’t see retail employees as simply retail employees, but rather she sees them as executives that are “touching the customers with the products that Jony and team took years to build.” This comment really shines on how important Ahrendts believes Apple’s oft-praised retail chain is to the company:

We just ended the year with the highest retention rates we’ve ever had: 81%. And the feedback [from Apple Store employees is that it’s] because they feel connected. They feel like one Apple. They don’t feel like they’re just somebody over here working with customers. I don’t see them as retail employees. I see them as executives in the company who are touching the customers with the products that Jony [Ive] and the team took years to build. Somebody has to deliver it to the customer in a wonderful way.

Ahrendts also noted that one thing she noticed during her first month at Apple is that the culture within the company is strong. The executive explained that everyone working at Apple is driven to “change people’s lives.” It goes deeper than just the products, too, with Tim Cook’s strategy of being involved in societal issues and leaving the world better than they found it:

The thing I didn’t know before I came in—a month in, I told my husband, “I now know why this is one of the most successful companies on the planet: Because the culture is so strong. The pride, the protection, the values.” The company was built to change people’s lives. That foundation, that service mentality, that drive to continue to change lives—that is a core value in the company. And Tim [Cook] then has added his on: He says it’s also our responsibility to leave it better than we found it. So you have these two amazing pillars and a culture built around that. It’s the same in retail and in [Cupertino]. That is the underlying mission, and how could you know that unless you’re inside? But it is deeper than you would ever imagine.

You can read the full interview from Fast Company here.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Angela Ahrendts, Apple, interview, retail

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Apple has long been rumored to have an interest in the virtual reality market, but the company itself has always remained quiet on the technology. That’s not an unusual strategy for Apple, though, as it often only makes very general, or even negative, comments about a technology until it is ready to announce its own foray into a market. During the company’s earnings call for the first quarter of 2016, however, CEO Tim Cook was asked about his opinions on virtual reality.

Speaking on the call, Cook said that he thinks virtual reality has some interesting applications and noted that he doesn’t think it is a niche market, a comment often used against the technology by its naysayers. “I don’t think VR is a niche,” Cook said. “It’s really cool and has some interesting applications.”

This begs the question as to what exactly Apple has planned for virtual reality. There are a variety of possibilities, some of which companies like Google have already capitalized on. As we’ve learned in the past, however, Apple has no problem with launching its own version of a technology later in the game. So, let’s talk about some of the potential places in which Apple could implement virtual and augmented reality technologies…

Apple has made a variety of acquisitions relating to the virtual and augmented reality technologies. Earlier this year, it acquired a company called Emotient. Emotient used artificial intelligence to detect emotions by analyzing facial expressions. In a similar fashion, the company also recently acquired Faceshit, the company behind the motion capture technology used in Star Wars.

The acquisitions of Faceshift and Emotient combined present a few intriguing possibilities. Ben Lovejoy broke down a handful of them earlier, but some of it bares repeating again, especially taking into account the acquisition of Emotient. Perhaps the most interesting possibility in my opinion comes in facial recognition to unlock devices. I don’t think this has a huge use case for iPhones, but for Apple TV and Mac it’s a different story.

Impinge that, as soon as you sat down in front of your TV, Apple was able to recognize that it was you and propagated your Apple TV with your personalized content, including apps, TV, music, and movie suggestions, and more. This would make it much easier for families to share Apple TVs without having content overlap. The same principle applies to the Mac. You sit down in front of your Mac and your personalized user account is automatically loaded without you having to enter a password or anything.

Personally, I don’t think facial recognition for device unlocking has as big of an application for the iPhone. With Touch ID already as quick as it is and with iPhones not being devices that are commonly shared by more than one user, it just doesn’t seem realistic for Apple to invest too much time into implanting facial recognition into the iPhone.

On the other hand, facial recognition could be used on the iPhone to identify the people in a picture on the go. Imagine that as you’re taking a picture, iOS is able to immediately identify who else is in the picture and tag. You could even set it up so that if you took a picture with a family member, iOS could recognize who it was and immediately share it with them via AirDrop. This would replace the age-old process of taking an image on everyone’s phone or taking an image and iMessaging it to the other people in it.

Currently on the market there a variety of headsets that enable virtual reality from existing smartphones. Perhaps most notable is Google Cardboard. Just as the name implies, it’s a literal cardboard structure with a slot for a smartphone that gives virtual reality-like experiences. There’s also the Facebook-owned Oculus Rift that’s launching later this year. I don’t necessarily see Apple entering the market of developing its own virtual reality headsets, however, but rather creating platform on which other companies can build virtual reality headsets and apps.

Think something similar to HomeKit and TVKit platforms that Apple offers. Apple has yet to build its own hardware for things like iPhone-controlled thermostats and lights, but rather a platform on which other companies can build their hardware and integrate it with iOS. For instance, look at the Speck Pocket VR headset that was announced at CES earlier this month. The Pocket VR features a collapsible design and is compatible with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s and gives iOS users a Google Cardboard-like experience.

The issue at the moment with things like the Speck Pocket VR, though, is that there is not a lot of content available on iOS for the platform. So if Apple were to release a VRKit of some sort for developers, they could build virtual reality apps for third-party viewers like the Speck model. Along with VRKit, Apple could apply its Made For iPhone (MFi) standard to VR headsets, as well, allowing companies to work in conjunction with Apple on bringing virtual reality to more people, without Apple itself having to invest too much time or effort into the technology.

If Apple were to build its own virtual reality hardware, which I think is very unlikely for the foreseeable future, there is no part of me that thinks it will be anything that resembles Google Glass. Google Glass arguably proved that the average person doesn’t want a piece of hardware to attached to their face at all times. Apple’s solution should be something focused on gaming rather than delivering 24/7 information. That’s what the Apple Watch is for.

The Apple TV presents a huge opportunity for virtual reality as far as gaming goes. The idea of putting on a headset while gaming on a TV is something that has been around for ages, and if job postings are anything to go by, it’s something Apple is hard at work developing a platform for. In 2014, the company posted a job listing looking for people to build “VR gaming experiences and cinematic user interfaces” for future products:

Play a part in the next revolution in user experience by delivering cinematic user interfaces and simplifying human interface in fundamental ways. Build a team to develop new user interaction solutions, while working on innovative products… This engineer will create high performance apps that integrate with Virtual Reality systems for prototyping and user testing

At the same time, however, Google Glass and Google Cardboard have proved that there is a huge market for virtual reality in enterprise markets. For instance, earlier this month we saw Google Cardboard used to save the life of a young child with heart and lung issues. With Apple already pushing its iPad and Mac lineup in the enterprise market with its IBM partnership, there are a handful of different ways in which it could partner with hospitals and the like to implement virtual reality technology.

One of the more intriguing possibilities for Apple to implement augmented reality is in the camera on the iPhone. Google has its Project Tango initiative and earlier this year announced the first consumer-ready device in partnership with Lenovo. While unveiling the device at CES, Lenovo and Google showed off how they could instantly map out the stage and reconfigure it with furniture such as a couch and a refrigerator. Project Tango uses real-time mapping technology paired with a complex setup of cameras and sensors to map the 3D space around users in real time and it is wicked cool. Think of Apple integrating something like this into the iPhone’s camera…

In 2012, Apple was granted a patent for a technology relating to 3D camera technologies related to augmented reality. The patent detailed how the camera would be capable of recognizing facial expressions and gestures while creating 3D models of scanned objects. This technology would lend itself very nicely to a Project Tango-like technology. Furthermore, a patent application recently surfaced suggesting that the company was considering a twin-camera system for future iOS devices. A two-camera set-up opens up a wide array of possibilities when it comes to augmented reality.

Perhaps most telling about Apple’s augmented reality plans is its acquisition of Metaio last year. Metaio specialized in integrating augmented reality into every day life. For instance, the company opened the door for virtually trying on clothing. The technology in the video below was created using Metaio’s SDK and shows how augmented reality can be used in viewing historical landmarks as they looked hundreds of years ago.

No matter how you look at it, virtual and augmented reality are becoming more common technologies with every passing year. Now that Apple has officially acknowledged its interest in the market, it will be interesting to see where it goes. As I mentioned before, I don’t see Apple getting into the hardware-side of virtual reality anytime soon, but rather creating a platform for others to develop their own apps and hardware for.

Personally, however, I think that the most interesting possibility for Apple is in integrating augmented reality technologies into the iPhone camera. Imagine being able to hold your camera up and using just your iPhone, be able to map out a place in real time, adding layers and making changes.

What do you think Apple has in store for virtual reality? Let us know in the comments!

Filed under: AAPL Company, Opinion Tagged: Apple, Augmented reality, Opinion, Virtual reality, vr

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Apple today announced on its Developer Portal that its making two new lower price tiers available for developers in Canada and New Zealand. Developers in those countries can now offer paid apps and in-app purchases at $0.99 CAD and $0.99 NZD. These new options will allow for developers to offer more affordable apps and in-app purchases to users in these countries.

Apple wrote the following on its Developer Portal regarding the changes:

Lower price tiers, Alternate Tier A and Alternate Tier B, now let you offer paid apps and In-App Purchases at $0.99 (CAD) and $0.99 (NZD). Existing apps that already use these price tiers have been automatically updated. Get details on App Store pricing in the Pricing and Availability section of My Apps on iTunes Connect.

Earlier this month, Apple announced that it was increasing the prices of apps and in-app purchases in Canada, New Zealand, Israel, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, and South Africa due to exchange rate fluctuations. The introduction of new $0.99 CAD and $0.99 NZD pricing tiers will allow for developers to continue offering apps at a low price, albeit making less money due to the exchange rate fluctuations.

Developers can implement the new pricing tiers on iTunes Connect.

Filed under: Apps, Developers Tagged: App Store, Apple, Apps, developer

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Six years ago today Steve Jobs introduced the iPad on stage in what was arguably one of the best product demos from Apple or any other tech company for that matter. The hype was tremendous but the demo was low key.

Jobs plainly explained why the iPad needed to exist and where Apple believed it fit between iPhones and Macs, then offered an almost hypnotizing demonstration of what using an iPad was like. Highlighting the intimacy of the tablet, Jobs demoed the iPad on stage while comfortably seated for a full 12 minutes. If you’ve never watched the demo or haven’t seen it lately, queue it up and see for yourself how much it stands out from nearly every other product introduction.

Six years in, the iPad has matured from a single product to a whole product line with multiple screen sizes, price points, and even accessories specific to the tablet. iPad sales peaked two years ago, though, and that peak’s clearly not temporary like many believe it is with the iPhone. Even with a whole new display size with the iPad Pro, Apple saw year-over-year declines with iPad sales last quarter.

So how exactly have iPad sales been changing over the years, what has Apple done to address the product category, and what opportunities remain for the tablet family?

Let’s take a look at just how many iPads Apple sold during the holiday quarter: 16.1 million. That’s three times as many Macs sold during the same quarter, but iPads have outsold Macs since their second quarter on the market. Looking at the same holiday quarter one year ago, Apple sold 21.4 million iPads. The holiday quarter before that? Peak iPad at 26 million.

Looking at iPad sales annually, the recent and steady decline is even clearer. 74.2 million iPads sold in 2013, 63.2 million iPads sold across 2014, and 49.4 million iPads sold last year during 2015.

CNBC’s Jon Fortt shared this chart which visualizes iPad sales per quarter since Apple began selling the tablet.

The iPad has effectively spent the last third of its life as a product category on the decline no matter how you slice it. So what has Apple been dying to combat that?

In 2012, before we actually reached peak iPad, Apple debuted the smaller and more affordable iPad mini. The 7.9-inch tablet was better priced to take on mid-tier competition from Google and Amazon, but even smaller iPads are still premium so Apple has thus far relied on older generation hardware to meet even lower price points.

Then this past November, Apple released the larger iPad Pro with a 12.9-inch display that mammoths the now mid-size 9.7-inch iPad. As we saw in yesterday’s earnings report, iPad sales dropped dramatically year over year despite a significantly different iPad being introduced in the middle of the quarter.

For competitive reasons, Apple doesn’t break out how many of which model of iPad it sold, so it’s possible the iPad Pro sold in high numbers but not enough to offset decline with the other iPads. It’s also worth pointing out that Apple didn’t introduce an updated 9.7-inch iPad, which is widely considered to be the default model, and instead focused on updating the iPad mini and introducing the iPad Pro. It sounds like there’s a new iPad Air 3 not too far off to balance this out.

Apple is also targeting both the enterprise and education markets as major potential iPad customers.

For enterprise customers, Apple has grown its IBM partnership first established in mid-2014, which has resulted in over 100 MobileFirst apps for iOS, watchOS, and OS X. Apple sees businesses replacing outdated PCs as an opportunity to push iPads in mass, and it’s using IBM to serve as its enterprise wing for software development and distribution.

In education, the iPad has been getting schooled by cheaper and more laptop-like Chromebooks. As we’ve seen with iOS 9.3, Apple is shifting its 1:1 approach in education to allow iPads to be shared between classrooms when one iPad per student isn’t possible. Apple’s also making progress in education with its upcoming Classroom application for teachers and managed Apple IDs that can be assigned by schools.

And on a broader level, we saw Apple demonstrate a renewed focus on the iPad with iOS 9, which introduced new multitasking features like Split View, Slide Over, and Picture in Picture. Many of these features require newer iPads to work, marking one of the first instances where Apple has necessarily used software as a reason to promote iPad hardware upgrades.

Lengthy upgrade cycles have certainly been a factor in declining iPad sales, and Apple readily admits that larger iPhones risk cannibalizing iPad sales. The idea is that it’s better for Apple to do the cannibalization and not a competing company.

Revisiting Steve Jobs’ original description for why the iPad should exist, I think the whole table has flipped and it’s way more complicated than six years back. Jobs described that iPad’s goal as being better than an iPhone and MacBook at web browsing, emailing, viewing photos, watching video, playing music and games, and reading ebooks.

In the age of the iPhone 6s Plus and 12-inch MacBook, it’s increasingly difficult to assign any one of those tasks solely to the iPad. But iPads are totally replacing laptops for loads of people (and Mac sales aren’t climbing either), the software is getting increasingly capable, and the form factor has made leaps in just six short years.

While it’s true that I personally can’t fully replace my workflow on my Mac with one on the iPad, it’s easy to think that the last few holes in this will be filled over the next six years of iPad.

For some perspective, read Seth’s day one impression of the original iPad six years ago when he wrote that “the iPad will be a success” while the masses were dismissing it as just a big iPod touch. Think about how far the iPad has come since then.

Despite that downward sales trend, I’m happy to see Apple move the iPad forward every year technologically and hope to see iOS 10 continue what iOS 9 started by dramatically expanding the software capabilities.

Six years is an eternity in the technology world, but it’s just a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of things. With that in mind, iPad seems to be a long play for Apple — not to mention Tim Cook genuinely seems to prefer the iPad to the Mac, which doesn’t hurt the iPad’s long term outlook as long as he’s in charge of the company.

Filed under: iOS Devices, Opinion Tagged: Education, enterprise, iOS, iPad, Steve Jobs, Tim Cook

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A report earlier this month from Bloomberg claimed that Apple could owe more than $8 billion in back taxes if the European Commission rules that its Ireland setup is illegal. Speaking to the Financial Times today, Apple CFO Luca Maestri commented on the ongoing European investigation and said that he estimates Apple will have to pay $0 in back taxes, assuming the investigation outcome is “fair.”

Maestri had the following to say regarding the European Commission’s investigation into Apple’s tax practices:

“This is a case between the European Commission and Ireland and frankly there is no way to estimate the impact right now, we need to see what the final decision is going to be. My estimate is zero. I mean, if there is a fair outcome of the investigation, it should be zero.”

For those unfamiliar with Apple’s practice, it funnels all European revenue through Ireland. In Ireland, it has a special agreement with the Irish government that means it pays just a 2.5 percent tax rate instead of the normal 12.5 percent. This practice has been the subject of a European Commission investigation for a while now, but the investigation was recently extended and expanded.

Last month, CEO Tim Cook labeled claims that Apple doesn’t pay its fair share in taxes as “political crap.” Cook said that Apple pays more taxes than anyone and while it would love to bring overseas revenue back to America, it would cost 40 percent for the company to do so. This comment, however, seem to focus primarily on the claims that Apple avoids U.S. taxes, with Cook avoiding the topic of the Irish tax investigation and its agreement with the Irish government.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, Taxes

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Apple is planning to introduce new iPad hardware at an event in mid-March, according to sources, with the most likely device being a new iPad Air. This new iPad with a 9.7-inch screen, presumably to be called the “iPad Air 3,” will be launched alongside the a new 4-inch iPhone known as the “iPhone 5se” and a series of new Apple Watch models. Apple is currently planning to hold its keynote during the week of March 14th, but the final date is still in flux, according to sources.

The iPad update would mark first update to the middle iPad screen size since October 2014. This past fall, Apple issued a major update to the iPad mini and introduced the larger iPad Pro. An unconfirmed design schematic for the new iPad Air indicates the potential of a rear-facing LED flash for improved photos in low-light situations and additional speaker grills to better match the audio quality of the iPad Pro. Apple has also been testing versions of the 9.7-inch iPad panel that are compatible with the Apple Pencil, according to sources.

Earlier this week, Apple indicated that iPad sales have fallen significantly year-over-year, dropping 25% from the year ago quarter. The lack of an update to the most popular iPad model, the Air line, likely contributed slightly to this drop. A notable update to the 9.7-inch iPad is part of Apple’s goal to increase iPad sales this year. Apple is also testing a new version of iOS with a Classroom application that will help sell more iPad hardware to schools around the world, and a preview of the software will come with the upcoming iOS 9.3 update.

As we previously reported, the other two products coming at the March event are the new 4-inch iPhone and new Apple Watch bands. The 4-inch “iPhone 5se” is said to bundle in a faster A9 processor, M9 chip with support for always-on Siri activation, more storage, updated cameras, the ability to take Live Photos, and an NFC chip for Apple Pay. We are told that the design of the “5se” closely mimics the 2013 iPhone 5s but that the chamfered edges will be replaced with softer curves like on the iPhone 6. Apple is said to be preparing a new line of protective cases for the 5se, which may fit the existing 5s.

As for the new line of Apple Watch models, we are told that the update will include multiple new colors for the rubber Sport Bands, additional colors for the line of Hermes bands, a black version of the Milanese Loop, and an additional band line made out of a new material. Apple is likely preparing to also release a pair of operating system software updates soon after the event to complement the aforementioned hardware updates: iOS 9.3 with Night Shift for the “iPhone 5se” and “iPad Air 3” plus WatchOS 2.2 with the new Maps app for the new Apple Watch models.

(Top image: Reuters)

Filed under: iOS, iOS Devices Tagged: Apple watch, bands, event, hermes, iPad, ipad air, iPad Air 2, iPad Air 3, LED flash, March, Materials, Nylon, Touch ID

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Early last year, Microsoft unveiled the Cloud Storage Partner Program enabling various cloud storage providers to integerate their tools into Office Online and Office for iOS. Microsoft’s latest announcement takes that a step further for partners in the CSPP by giving them access to real-time collaboration, and Office for iOS integration for all partners.

Focus on this announcement for iOS, starting today all CSPP partners can integrate their cloud services into the Office for iOS platform, thus enabling multiple cloud services to be integerated as “Places” within the Office for iOS suite. This is perfect for individuals who use Office for iOS on their personal devices, but also need to connect to various cloud services for their work. Users will no longer have to launch that individual cloud service provider’s application before beginning to edit directly within their Office app of choice.

Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel will all support these new services for opening, editing, and creating documents within your favorite cloud service. The integration today enables Box, with Citrix ShareFile, Edmodo, and Egnyte coming next.

Doculus, a mobile reader for sales contracts, also announced a partnership with Microsoft today looking to improve the way documents are read and reviewed on mobile devices. Doculus automatically examines documents and pulls out titles, sections, tables, and other content to make filtering and finding crucial information significantly easier. With today’s announcement, they’ve added Office 365 integration, allowing users to access all their documents stored in the cloud directly from within Doculus. From there, users are able to access Microsoft Word and begin editing their documents.

Doculus is available for free in the App Store and compatible with both iPhone and iPads.

Office for iOS (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) is available for free in the App Store and is compatible with iPhone and iPads. To fully unlock the suite’s potential, an Office 365 subscription is required on iPad Pro.

(via: Doculus and Office Blogs)

Filed under: Apps, iOS, iOS Devices Tagged: box, Citrix, Citrix Sharefile, cloud, Cloud Services, Doculus, Dropbox, Edmodo, Egnyte, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Microsoft, Microsoft Office, Office for iOS, Office for Mobile

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In this episode we discuss the upcoming iPhone 5se and what this may mean for Apple, as well as our thoughts and opinions on the smaller iPhone. Big thanks to Harry’s for sponsoring the episode. Visit harrys.com/happyhour to get your free shaving kit. 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:

• Dom Esposito
• Zac Hall

Here’s what we discussed in this episode:

• tvOS 9.2 beta 2 w/ Podcasts app, folders, Bluetooth keyboard support & more hits Apple TV
• Opinion: Apple’s rumored 4-inch iPhone 5se may well be worth seriously considering
• Apple releases tvOS 9.1.1 software update with Podcasts app for the new Apple TV
• ‘iPhone 5se’ likely to have faster A9/M9 chips & always-on Siri, come in 16/64GB capacities
• iPhone 5se leak? 4-inch iPhone with rounded edges pictured next to iPhone 5
• Apple’s electric car effort hits a speed bump as project leader leaves the company
• Apple to update Apple Watch in mid-March with new bands, OS + full redesign in fall
• Apple readies ’iPhone 5se’, not ‘6c’, for March/April with curved edges & Live Photos
• Apple Watch Hermès collection now available online after initial limited retail availability

If you missed our 50th 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: Apple TV, Happy Hour, iPhone, iPhone 5se, iPhone 7, Podcast

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Apple is out with the second public beta version of the upcoming OS X 10.11.4 software update for Mac.

The release adds a secure, password-protected Notes, which sync with iOS 9.3, as well as support for viewing and sharing Live Photos over iMessage with the Messages app. Other focus areas include the iBooks and Photos apps, according to Apple.

Today’s release follows the developer version of the same software update earlier this week.

Filed under: Mac

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Apple has released the second iOS 9.3 beta for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch to public beta testers. Today’s release follows the developer version earlier this week, which included tweaks and changes from the initial iOS 9.3 beta. These include updated Night Shift settings as well as a new toggle in Control Center and several other changes.

iOS 9.3 includes several new features like Night Shift mode, which changes the color temperature of the display, improvements to the Health and Activity app, Touch ID and secure passwords for Notes, and much more.

Check out our hands-on video below to see iOS 9.3 in action:

Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: iOS 9.3, iOS 9.3 beta 2, iOS 9.3 public beta 2

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• Moe’s Southwest Grill: Buy One, Get One Free burrito promotion
• Sam’s Club 1-year membership + $20 gift card $45 ($120 value)
• Bag a free MP3 download of Marc Anthony’s 3.0 album (Reg. $8+)
• Check out Amazon’s Super Bowl commercial starring Alec Baldwin and Dan Marino

Sony 64GB Class 10 UHS-1 SDXC Memory Card: $16 Prime shipped (Reg. $30) wp.me/p1xTlR-MPz https://t.co/Pm2mw0M82v

—
9to5Toys (@9to5toys) January 27, 2016

MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

Networking: Motorola SB6183 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem + NETGEAR Router: $100 ($160 value), more

• Ooma Telo VoIP Home Phone System (Refurb.) $60 shipped (Orig. $130)
• Bluetooth Speakers: Omaker Splashproof $20 (Reg. $30), Inateck $30 (Reg. $40), more
• Dell 24-inch Widescreen LED Monitor: $100 shipped (Reg. $130)
• VIZIO Refurb 120Hz Smart HDTVs: 48-inch $300 (Orig. $500), more
• Media: new Blu-rays $10 – Jurassic World, Minions, more + BOGO offer
• USB Power: Anker Astro E5 16,000mAh Dual-Port $25 (Reg. $40), more
• Aukey adapters: Bluetooth 4.1 Audio Receiver $11, Car FM Radio Transmitter $11
• $10 Free towards your next flick: Regal $50 Movie Gift Card for $40, more
• iPhone 6/s/Plus Cases: Folio Style $9.50 (Reg. $19), Clear Bumper $4 (Reg. $8)
• AirPrint Color Laser Printers: Brother $150 shipped (Reg. $200)
• Pioneer SP-BS22-LR Andrew Jones Designed Bookshelf Speakers: $90 (Reg. $130)
• Several refurbished 12-inch MacBook w/ Retina display models are now available
• OtterBox Resurgence iPhone 6/6s Battery Case: $27 Prime shipped (Orig. $100)
• Speck CandyShell iPhone 6/6s Case: $12 or two for $14 Prime shipped (Reg. $35 each)
• OtterBox Defender Series iPhone 6 Plus Case: $24 Prime shipped (Orig. $60)
• UE MINI BOOM Bluetooth Speaker: refurb $44 or pre-owned $30 shipped
• Google Play offers downloads of Kelly Clarkson’s Piece by Piece album for free
• Mpow Grip Air Vent Magnetic Car iPhone Mount $5 Prime shipped (Reg. $7)
• Nexus Deals: 6P from $450 (Reg. $500), 5X w/ $20 Gift Card $300 (Reg. $350)

Game pre-orders for Amazon Prime members –Zelda, Far Cry Primal, FFXV: $48 ea (Reg. $60)

Pay What You Want: The 2016 Mac Bundle ~12

Work Faster & Smarter on Your Mac with 12 Apps to Clear Your Hard Drive, Enhance Audio, Track Device Activity & More

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

This German eBike blends a minimalist design with serious battery power

You have to see NERF’s new Crossbow and Zombie Brainsaw that are coming out this fall

Upcoming 2016 LEGO sets focus on Marvel, Star Wars and City collections

Razor introduces two new electric-powered products at Toy Fair 2016

• It took a year of planning and 18,000 pieces to create this custom LEGO Arkham Asylum build
• Fender brings its big name into the world of headphones with new Pro In-ear Monitors
• Here’s our first look at the new PS4/Xbox One Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game
• ComfyLight learns your routine and imitates your lighting patterns while you’re out
• Exploding Kittens: the “most-funded game in Kickstarter history” comes to iOS
• Brinks has a new solar-powered deadbolt that is iOS-connected w/ HomeKit on the way
• Leica’s new X-U action camera makes your GoPro look like a child’s toy
• The first Amazon Dash Replenishment devices are now available for order

Filed under: Tips and Tricks

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Delveries by Junecloud has received major updates today for both their iOS and Mac applications. For the unitiated, Deliveries is an all-in-one package tracker for both iOS and Mac. Allowing the user to track multiple packages from various couriers, the app is perfect for anyone who doesn’t want to have to jump between different delivery company sites.

One of the best features that Junecloud brings to the Deliveries app is making sure both versions of the app have feature parity. Today’s iOS and Mac updates are no exception. Both now include full route (allowing you to see the path of the package’s travel), better package number detection when copying text from another app, and improved handling when a tracking number contains multiple packages. These additional features all make it significantly easier to get your package into the app to start tracking with no hassles.

The feature I’ve come to love most with Deliveries has been their integration of syncing. Today the iOS and Mac applications include complete iCloud syncing for faster and more efficient updates. Jumping between the iOS device and Mac should no longer show differences in package status or updates.

Breaking it down further, today’s iOS update includes visual tweaks throughout the application for better package detail clarity, Peek and Pop for 6s and the 6s Plus, Quick Actions from the Home screen, and even keyboard shortcuts for the iPad. With this latest update, Junecloud has done a great job bringing this app forward with iOS 9’s cutting-edge features. It’s now optimized for iPad Pro with full support for Split View and Slide Over, for example.

Deliveries for the Mac today also released a healthy lineup of updates including similar visual tweaks as the iOS app, using the trackpad to swipe to archive packages, and clipboard detection for copied tracking numbers. Junecloud also added some new security features which enforces using minimum security requirements when it connects to each package delivery service.

There are eve more new features to both apps, so check out the release notes for both versions for the full rundown.

Deliveries is available for $1.99 in the iOS App Store and is compatible with iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches. Deliveries for the Mac is available in the Mac App Store for $4.99 and is compatible with Mac OS X El Capitan 10.11 and higher.

Filed under: Apps, iOS, iOS Devices, Mac Tagged: App Store, App Store (iOS), deliveries, iOS, iOS 9, Junecloud, Mac, Mac App Store

Continue reading more about iOS Devices, Apps, and iOS at 9to5Mac.

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