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Instagram is reportedly testing new ads that will take full advantage of being integrated with Apple’s platforms including the new 3D touch pressure sensitive touchscreen feature and its payments service Apple Pay, Digiday reports.

The integration of Apple Pay and 3D Touch, a new feature introduced with the iPhone 6s that allows pressure sensitive touchscreen interactions, is reportedly being tested as an expansion of Instagram’s recently launched “Shop Now” feature:

It has even run tests with restaurants to sell menu items right from the Instagram feed, without the need to click off the app’s main feed, said an ad agency source familiar with the test.

Some of the shopping tests incorporate features like Apple’s force touch screen feature, which lets consumers apply pressures in their clicks to switch among multiple product options in the images, the source said.

In other Apple Pay news, MacRumors notes that Wegmans will be one of the next major retailers to roll out its rewards card program but that it’s only in a piloting phase ahead of a full roll out next year. Yesteday, Walgreens became the first retailer to offer its rewards cards through Apple Pay.

And possibly related to Apple’s overall rollout of its own payments service, the site noticed Apple appears to have quietly dropped support for PayPal credit payment plans in its US online store. It is, however, continuing to offer Paypal as a financing option in the UK and as a payment option in its online stores there.

Filed under: Apple Pay, Apps, iOS Tagged: 3D Touch, ads, Apple pay, Instagram, Paypal, reward card, wegmans

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It’s no secret that Apple has had a hand in producing video and other content for artists since launching its new Apple Music streaming service. While we’ve known it has been hosting videos for artists using its own video player inside Apple Music, Apple quietly started adding an embed button to the video player that takes it out of Apple Music and makes it sharable across the rest of the web. The feature is notable for a few reasons and could mean big things to come for Apple, video, and its relationship with YouTube and other competitive music and video services…

The new sharing option began appearing sometime in recent weeks as new videos from Drake and the company’s latest Apple Music ad featuring Kenny Chesney included an embed button on Apple’s usual video player. It’s currently hidden, only appearing on the videos in some locations and only when videos are copied from raw webpage code, but it looks to be something Apple could really exploit. 

It’s likely Apple’s main motivation for producing videos and using its own web player is to help bring in exclusive content for Apple Music while promoting one of the service’s differentiators, a feature called Connect that lets artists upload content on-the-fly and interact with fans. Some of the earliest proponents of the service, like artists Pharrell Williams and Drake, released exclusive content through Apple Music that we later found out Apple itself likely helped to produce in one way or another. We later confirmed that Apple was indeed actively hiring video producers for such in-house projects.

Not all artists are using Apple’s video player on Apple Music, however, but there could be big implications if Apple decides to open it up to everyone and possibly get rid of the many YouTube and other external links currently on many artists’ Connect profile pages. It’s already allowing artists to manage their own uploads to Connect through GarageBand and elsewhere, so adding the ability to upload video with its web player wouldn’t be too much of a stretch.

Apple normally uploads all of its video ads to its YouTube accounts. This time around it didn’t add the Kenny Chesney Apple Music ad and instead all sharing online was done through its own video player thanks to the new hidden embed option that we’d discovered. Here’s a look at the ad with the new embed button:

But beyond promoting rival services — YouTube for example has its own paid music streaming service now — it’s not a great experience for Apple Music users to be pulled out of the app and into a browser to another service to watch video. That would be another notable motivator to open up the video uploads to all and an easy way for Apple to make the change and ban sharing from other services, in the name of the best user experience. YouTube also still uses Flash which we know is a pain.

Apple’s own player that is being used by Pharrell, Drake, Kenny Chesney and many other high-profile artists, on the other hand, plays the video directly within the app. And Apple’s player, unlike third-party players, includes an Apple Music link to drive users to the service when embedded on the web. It would make a lot of sense that Apple would want to avoid promoting YouTube through Apple Music and it can only do that if it offers artists another way to easily upload and share video content on the web.

But it could be a sign of even bigger things to come in terms of Apple and video. Apple just launched the fourth generation Apple TV and we reported it’s planning to launch its own video streaming service, not unlike Apple Music but for video, on the Apple TV early next year. Having its own web player could come in handy for sharing video clips and promoting the service in the same way as Apple Music, and having artists upload directly to Apple with its own video player would give it a big catalog of music videos to pull from for the service. And if the new video service perhaps includes creator/upload features like Connect, it would already have the infrastructure in place.

It’s certainly possible the embed option will just be a handy way to share Apple’s content on the web, but Apple has the ability to take it well beyond that. By opening it up to all, it would encourage more artists to go directly to Apple Music with exclusive content, rather than uploading to YouTube or another competitive service first, and it would allow Apple to drive users back to Apple Music by promoting exclusive Connect content across the web for non-subscribers to get a taste.

Filed under: Apple Music Tagged: Apple Music, Apple Music Connect, connect, iTunes, Music, music videos, Vevo, videos, YouTube

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A new YouTube video (embedded below) showing the first browser designed for the new Apple TV has been published. The app uses a private API to render web content, so it’s not likely you’ll be seeing it on the App Store any time soon, but the project is open source and can be downloaded by anyone.

The browser takes advantage of the Siri Remote bundled with the new Apple TV hardware to navigate websites. Pressing the glass surface on the remote switches between two modes.

The first allows the user to scroll by flicking the glass, while the other mode displays an arrow that can be moved freely around the screen. Once the arrow is visible, pressing the glass surface again will click on whatever’s below the arrow.

The simplistic browser loads pages quickly and seems to work fairly well. For casual browsing it might be quite useful. Unfortunately, as noted above, it’s not likely to be released officially because it requires access to a private API to function.

Earlier this week, another Apple TV hack demonstrated built-in support for iOS-like folders on the home screen, which would make app management much more powerful.

Filed under: Apple TV Tagged: Apple TV, tvOS, Web browser

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Apple has enabled a new category on the iOS App Store designed to help shoppers find apps for specific retailers. The Shopping category is now rolling out worldwide and includes apps from companies including Apple, Target, eBay. and Groupon.

As the inclusion of these apps demostrates, the section can be used to track down not only products, but also deals, coupons, and auctions. Previously such apps were grouped into the Lifestyle section, which wasn’t the best fit as that also included apps with a wide variety of purposes ranging from keeping up with the Kardashians to connected appliance management.

The category’s home page features a handful of promoted collections, such as apps that include support for Apple Pay, fashion apps, and separate sections for department and grocery stores. There’s also a section dedicated to kids’ stores, like Disney.

A “Save While You Shop” section includes retailers that are currently offering in-app deals, such as free one-day shipping on Zappos and 30% off photo services at Walgreens.

A “Shop for Everything” section featured at the top of the home page breaks up a large number of apps into further categories like “Shop for Cozy” or “Shop for Gifts” to provide some extra help in tracking down the right types of apps for the products shoppers want to buy.

The Shopping category is rolling out across the world now, and may not be showing for all users just yet.

Filed under: AAPL Company

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The Apple TV has been available for a week now and the tvOS App Store is estimated to include over 1,000 apps, with more coming online every day. There’s a pretty good selection of titles, with a heavy focus on gaming. Developers are still figuring out how to use the touchpad Siri Remote in interesting and new ways but the initial launch is promising for sure. We’ve rounded up our favourite apps and games for the new Apple TV so far …

Top Apps And Games For The New Apple TV

Battle Supremacy: Evolution

My current favorite Apple TV game, Battle Supremacy: Evolution. You play as a transforming mecha unit and speed through beautiful-scenery like futuristic cityscapes, mountains and more. The vehicle can swap between being a tank, a drone or an airplane and each mode is distinguished from each other to offer unique gameplay, with the difference between driving and flying being the most compelling. It’s a great high octane racer-shooter featuring 100 single-player missions to accomplish and team deathmatch multiplayer. The game is universal and progress is synced between your iPhone, iPad and Apple TV through iCloud for added convenience.

Cueist

The new Apple TV Siri Remote bears a lot of resemblance to the Nintendo Wii motion controller. I loved playing Snooker with the motion gestures on the Wii, and Cueist brings a great, perhaps even better, interpretation of the game to the Apple TV. Cueist has pretty visuals to boot: 60fps gameplay with high-quality reflections on the balls. Use the touchpad to pull off some more complicated moves with the cue, like jump, screw and curve shots. You can play against a friend or against a CPU to get up to speed. You can use an MFi game controller for more accuracy, but playing with the motion controls using the Siri Remote is way more fun.

Plex

Arguably, the most well known network media streaming service is now on Apple TV. The Plex developers have done a great job with this — beautiful artwork, simple navigation and great video streaming quality. Reviews from sites like Rotten Tomatoes are integrated directly into the interface and the UI in general matches Apple’s tvOS iTunes Store apps, so it feels right at home. The app talks to a local Plex Media Server to get its content.  You can also view livestreams from internet video networks like YouTube and Revision3. Plex is the best choice for NAS media streaming to a new Apple TV.

Squire

Another media streaming app similar to Plex, the app requires a helper app to run on a Mac in the local network which handles the actual file sourcing and transcoding necessary for the new Apple TV to play it. The UI is really streamlined to the essence of watching TV shows and movies, making navigation super-simple with the new Apple TV Siri Remote. The app plays a relevant backing soundtrack as you hover between movies, which adds a great cinematic feeling before you’ve even started watching a show. Squire can directly integrate with torrent movie streaming sources, too, for easy access to not-very-legitimate content on Apple TV.

Oceanhorn

I think this is the most ‘in-depth’ Apple TV game out of the current selection. A full-on adventure puzzle game, with a beautiful variety of worlds … you cross oceans, explore mazes and fight dragons in your quest across the ancient kingdom of Arcadia. Game Center integration tracks your progress via achievements as you play through the ~10 hours of gameplay on offer. The sound design in this game is top-notch, which makes it so fun to play on the Apple TV with the immersive living-room environment. It works great with MFi game controllers too.

Crossy Road

If you have played Crossy Road on iPhone, then you’ll know what you are in for here. You get a chicken to cross as many roads as possible without getting hit by the oncoming traffic. The simple four-way controls work beautifully on Apple TV. At Apple’s September event, they showed a multiplayer feature where two people could play simultaneously; one using the Siri Remote and another using an iOS device as a remote. This takes full advantage of the shared user aspect of a television but unfortunately its not included in the game just yet.

Sing! Karaoke by Smule

An interesting sing-along karaoke app from Smule. Great for home parties — use your iPhone or iPad as a microphone. You can also watch people from all over the world perform songs, as well as sing alongside them. A strange, but cool, social music experience.

Alto’s Adventure

The iconic iOS game is now available on Apple TV, in its full 60fps 1080p glory. The game syncs with the iOS version of the app so you can pick up right where you left on any device. The app is also universal, so there’s a good chance you already own the version for Apple TV. The game has just added support for MFi game controllers, which may be preferable to the Siri Remote touchpad interaction.

Shadowmatic

Shadowmatic is a weird game to describe. The idea is you have to manipulate floating objects in a scene against a spotlight to cast shadows that make recognizable objects. Once the highlighted scene matches the end image, you win and move on to the next level. The appeal is in the discovery more than the game progression: seeing how abstract shapes can bend light to depict completely different images on a screen is very compelling, even if it sounds boring. It works great on Apple TV thanks to the beautifully high-resolution graphics.

Almost Impossible

A new game from Realmac Software: a difficult side-scrolling platformer with a highly-stylized graphic style. I love it on iOS and the Apple TV app is pretty good too. Although the game is frustratingly intentionally hard, the checkpoint system is very generous so you always revive right next to the obstacle that just killed you. You can also pay to advance if you get really stuck.

Scoreboard

The tvOS App Store is dominated by video entertainment apps and games so it’s nice to see some utility apps make an appearance that are genuinely useful. Scoreboard keeps track of player scores for physical board and card games and simply displays the score onscreen. Play something as a group in the living room and whenever players wants to check how far ahead they are, they can just glance up at the TV.

Breakfinity

I love Brickbreaker as a quick time waster and the game concept shines on Apple TV thanks to the remote touchpad. You can get a 1:1 translation of finger swipes on the Siri Remote and the movement of the paddle onscreen. Other than that, it’s a pretty standard Brickbreaker experience with powerups, varying level designs and a pumping soundtrack. That’s not a bad thing. Why mess with something that works so well?

Speedtest

Another utility app: checking your Internet speed. This is probably not going to stay on your Apple TV Home screen for very long, but when you are setting up your box or moving it to a different room, it’s reassuring to be able to verify the strength of the Wi-Fi connection. Maybe you use it once or twice a year, but that still means you need to download it.

TapTap Party

The TV is great for multiple people like families. TapTap Party capitalizes on that by bundling a suite of mini games into one app for the Apple TV. Up to four people can race around ninjas, zombies, snowmen in arctic hockey, and more in a hectic party game a la Mario Party. The developer promises to add more mini games over time which will keep game content fresh. Even so, good value for $3.99.

Squares

A simple puzzle game, with a basic design hiding a pretty complicated game. Somehow, you have to move the squares to cover the circles. You have to discern the one combination of block positioning and movements that solve the level. A laid-back brain teaser perfect for casual evening entertainment.

Mr Jump

Mr Jump won an Editors’ Choice award on iPhone and iPad and the same game is now available on Apple TV. I love Mr Jump because each level adds a different power-up to change the gameplay. It’s the classic one-button game with a surprising level complexity. The frustration is definitely part of the appeal here though — getting to 97% level completion and then dying is a key factor in galvanizing another round of play.

CARROT Weather

You can ask Siri for weather conditions using the mic on the new Apple TV’s Siri Remote but tvOS doesn’t (yet?) have its own built-in Weather app on the Home screen. CARROT Weather fills the gap nicely, or as I like to call it, the weather app with an inferiority complex. CARROT differentiates itself by giving its apps a personality. This scales to the TV nicely, adding some depth to what could be a dull list of temperatures. The visual accompaniments are almost a show unto themselves, with a variety of characters popping along depending on current weather. Let’s put it this way: it’s the only weather app I know that features a spaceman moon landing. Funny indeed.

Cosmos

This is a classic arcade game in every sense. Eight-bit graphics. Power ups. Star field. The works. A big issue here is the control mechanism, I’m not sure exactly what the problem is but the ship will randomly shoot off to one side of the screen, ruining that particular run. When it’s working, which is most of the time, it’s pretty good fun. If you know what Galaga is, you should give this a go.

Young Hollywood

Recommending apps that are essentially TV channels might be a weird thing given people’s TV preferences are so varied but I think Young Hollywood deserves a mention. It’s clearly meant for a younger audience but all the content is free and has high production value. Watch documentaries about magicians, console game developers, YouTube stars, indie video makers and more. I was surprisingly impressed with the content offered by a relatively-unknown brand.

PCalc

It is certainly weird to suggest doing math on your TV, no question. If you are looking for a TV calculator, perhaps as part of a school / learning environment, PCalc is the best app for the job. The main calculator appearance is easy to read at a distance and navigating the calculator buttons with the Siri Remote is intuitive and obvious. The Settings have loads of options too, to customize your math-computation experience for engineering or scientific uses. If you want a calculator for your TV, PCalc is the app to get.

—

The beauty of the new Apple TV is that the App Store can be ever-expanding with great new apps and games to watch and play. I have been surprised by the gaming quality with the Siri Remote, I think developers have done a good job within the limitations to make comfortable control schemes. Still, if you sit longing for a more-console feeling, the MFi game controllers can give you that.

Some games, like Rayman, even add additional controls when a game controller is connected to take full advantage of the additional joysticks/buttons available on a gamepad. My personal recommendation is the SteelSeries Stratus for ~$50 but there are a lot to choose from out there; Apple is pushing the SteelSeries Nimbus.

Let us know if you find some cool Apple TV apps and games not mentioned here below in the comments.

(Please note: In some cases, we are unable to link to the app directly due to limitations with the iTunes Store, so instead we have linked to relevant videos or the iOS version of the app. You can always search the name of the app on your Apple TV to find it.)

Filed under: AAPL Company, Apple TV, Apps, iOS Tagged: App Store, Apple, Apple TV, Apps, best apple tv apps and games, Games, iOS, new Apple TV

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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Huge savings on pre-owned Apple Watches, deals from as low as $261 shipped

Apple Magic Mouse 2 (open-box): $68 shipped (Reg. $80)

Car Tech accessories for iPhone: Aukey windshield mount $4 (Reg. $10), Mpow air vent mount $6 (Reg. $9), more

Review: How Amazon Echo changed my life + $130 special price ($50 off) for Amazon card holders

Sam’s Club One-Day Sale: iPhone 6s/Plus $100 off, iPad Air 2 64GB/128GB $150 off, PlayStation 4 $300, more

Meijer Black Friday ad: Xbox One/PS4 bundles $300 w/ $50 credit, much more

eBay calls on Black Friday shoppers to decide which products will get discounted this year

Amazon’s Black Friday Deals store is now open for business

Everything we know so far about this year’s best Black Friday deals and promotions

More new gear from today:

Bluetooth Speakers: Inateck Aluminum $30 (Reg. $43), SOL Republic Deck $40 (Reg. $50+)

Apple iPad mini 4 Wi-Fi 64GB in all colors: $460 shipped (Reg. $499)

• Bluetooth Earbuds: Powerbeats2 (open-box) $80 (Reg. $150+), QY8 Sweatproof $19, more
• Games/Apps: GOW/COD Black Ops 3 Xbox One w/ 2 games + Turtle Beach headset $358,more
• Daily Deals: Canon PIXMA Wireless Printer $22, Lumsing 8,000mAh power bank $9, more
• Amazon Gold Box – Perry Ellis Men’s Clothing: leather open-bottom jacket $130, more

More deals still alive:

Apple iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi: 16GB $399 (Reg. $499), 64GB $479 (Reg. $599), 128GB $559 (Reg. $699)

Apple iPad Mini 2, space gray or silver: $199 shipped ($70 off)

Apple iPad mini 2 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $370 shipped (Orig. $829) wp.me/p1xTlR-Jdb https://t.co/3Nk2zXzOCl

—
9to5Toys (@9to5toys) November 03, 2015

App Store Free App of the Week: Rayman Fiesta Run goes free on the App Store for the first time (Reg. $3)

• Displays: LG 34″ UltraWide $570 (Reg. $699+), Acer 34″ Curved QHD $866, more
• Timbuk2 40% off sale: Hudson Laptop Briefcase $161 (Orig. $269), more
• Jawbone Big Jambox Bluetooth Speaker (Open Box) $115 shipped (Orig. $300)
• Beats by Dr. Dre Pill 2.0 Portable Bluetooth Speaker $120 shipped (Orig. $200)
• Buy PowerBeats 2 Wireless In-Ear Headphones, get a $50 gift card: $144 (Orig. $200)
• Pebble Time Smartwatch for iOS and Android: $150 shipped (Reg. $200)
• Get the latest Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd Gen.) for $212 shipped (Reg. $249)
• iPhone 6/s dual-layer case in Space Gray, Silver or Gold: $3 Prime shipped (Reg. $12)
• Foscam Plug and Play HD Wireless/Wired Pan/Tilt IP Camera $75 shipped (Reg. $100)
• Seagate 4TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive w/ 200GB of Cloud Storage: $130 (Reg. $150)
• Home Theater Audio: VIZIO 5.1-ch. Soundbar w/ Wireless Subwoofer $198 (Reg. $298+), more
• Factory Unlocked iPhones: 16GB iPhone 6 Plus $600, 64GB (Refurb) $450, more
• Magic Color Changing LED Light Bulb with Remote Control $9 (Reg. $33)
• USB-C 4-port hubs for new Macbooks by Aukey: $20 Prime shipped (Orig. $30)
• USB Power Deals: Lumsing 3-port Car Charger + Lightning Cable $8, more
• TP-LINK 802.11n pocket wireless router: $10 shipped (Orig. $40)
• SoundBot Bluetooth 4.0 Sports-Active Headphones $10 Prime shipped (Reg. $15)
• Fashion: 20% off at Amazon – Kenneth Cole Down Jacket $90 (Reg. $113),more
• Sling TV is giving away a 2nd gen Chromecast when you pre-pay three months
• Kindle First Books for November: Christmas in Good Hope, more
• Media: Breaking Bad Complete Series on Blu-ray $70 (Orig. $161), $3 DVDs, more
• JBL Voyager Portable Bluetooth Speaker $90 shipped (Reg. $119)
• Free PS Plus Games for November: The Walking Dead Season 2, more
• Free Xbox Live Gold Games for November: Pneuma Breath of Life, more

New products & more:

Don’t Panic’s latest iPad Air 2 case is an astute all-in-one solution for every angle

New Fallout 4 launch trailer hits with a fresh look at gameplay and more

• Unboxing and Review: Halo 5 Xbox One Limited Edition Console Bundle [Video]
• Bosch made a robo-farmer that looks straight out of a galaxy far, far away
• The Room Three releases today, now available for download on the App Store
• Mellow Boards makes any skateboard electric and looks good doing it
• Pre-order Fallout 4 to receive Fallout 3 via Xbox One Backwards Compatibility
• PlayStation Now adds 105 titles as it aims to pick up more subscribers
• Mogees iPhone-connected sensor turns any object into a playable instrument
• Panasonic has a new line of solar powered products designed for those in need
• Amazon to offer midnight deliveries for Call of Duty: Black Ops III via Prime Now
• The LEGO Power Functions Idea Book teaches you how to build cars, contraptions and more

Filed under: Tips and Tricks Tagged: 9to5Toys, Amazon, app deals, Apple Magic Mouse 2, Apple Watches, Beats by Dre Powerbeats2, Best Buy, Car Tech accessories for iPhone, Daily Deals, free apps, Gold Box, video games

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Reporting on future Apple products isn’t easy — it’s actually one of the biggest challenges in the world of technology journalism. Back in April 2011, The Verge’s predecessor (This Is My Next) ran a much-discussed report on the “iPhone 5,” which was claimed to be teardrop-shaped, with an enlarged, gesture-sensitive Home Button, and a bezel-less 3.7″ screen. NFC, inductive charging, and a speaker and sensors hidden behind the screen were also said to be possibilities for the new iPhone. Not surprisingly, the report lit up the Internet, generating a lot of attention (and over 500 comments) for a fledgling web site. Though some people were skeptical, accessory makers actually took the report seriously enough to manufacture cases matching the claims.

As it turned out, the report was wrong — very wrong. Exactly none of those features actually arrived in either the “iPhone 4S” Apple announced in October 2011, or the real “iPhone 5” that debuted in September 2012. The report also didn’t forecast actual iPhone design trends in any useful way. From my standpoint, that’s the critical difference between most Apple rumors and the ones that are actually worth caring about: some early information, even if it’s imprecise, can help you make a better buying decision about an Apple product today or six months down the line.

A small group of nitpickers — notably including people who are fed information directly by Apple, off-the-record — have been taking shots at people who report independently-researched rumors, attempting to undermine the value of big, “not from Apple” scoops versus small, “not (officially) from Apple” tidbits. This may be an inside baseball topic that most people really don’t care about, but it’s worth at least considering for a moment…

It’s easy to take cheap shots, for instance, at KGI’s widely-read analyst Ming Chi Kuo. Kuo once worked at DigiTimes, a Taiwanese publication with a very checkered reputation for forecasting future Apple products, and like virtually everyone who has reported on upcoming Apple products, his personal, post-DigiTimes track record of predictions isn’t perfect. He tends to get product concepts and basic specifications right — no simple feat — but is less reliable on timing, implementation and other specifics.

Having watched Apple for years, this doesn’t surprise me. Contrary to what the nitpickers suggest, Apple has delayed products at the eleventh hour or the very last minute over issues such as quality control, component shortages, or problems with either partners or software. As a rare public example of this, the white iPhone 4 actually got announced but went unshipped for months; less publicly (but still reported by business publications), a major, long-awaited Apple TV update was held up by problematic negotiations with cable companies and content providers. No matter how good Kuo is at forecasting design and engineering changes, manufacturing and distribution involve a lot of moving pieces, and delays are just a reality.

So even if nitpickers want to downplay some of the specifics in Kuo’s reports, they serve a useful purpose for consumers: providing a good general sense of what’s coming up in the future. I would argue that it’s highly valuable for the marketplace to know in advance that the next iPhone will probably include Force Touch, and that it will be an important feature for the device, even if the specifics of how the technology works prove (months later) not to be accurate. People deserve to be able to make an informed decision about whether to buy what’s on the market now or hold off for a personally important feature that might be coming next.

Apple clearly doesn’t like when people delay their purchases — Steve Jobs once lamented that people can get trapped in endless cycles of waiting for what’s next, rather than buying now — but that’s Apple’s perspective as a company that makes money only when it sells things. To that end, Apple has a popular web site, gigantic marketing budget, and teams of people dedicated to selling products. I seriously wonder about any supposedly independent writer who sees it as his or her mission to push Apple’s code of pseudo-secrecy on other journalists, bloggers, or analysts.

It’s not Kuo’s job to carry water for Apple; it’s his job to forecast what Apple is likely to do next, for the speculative benefit of the investment community and public at large. Even if he’s not right all the time, his work provides valuable food for thought, and lets millions of people make more informed — if not perfectly informed — decisions about how to spend their money. I’m glad he does what he does, critics be damned.

More From This Author

Check out more of my editorials, How-To guides, and reviews for 9to5Mac here! I’ve covered a lot of different topics of interest to Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, and Apple Watch users. 

Filed under: AAPL Company, Opinion Tagged: AAPL, Apple, DigiTimes, KGI, Ming-Chi Kuo

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Last week, Apple seeded the first beta of the upcoming iOS 9.2 release to developers, and we’ve discovered that the new update will add support for Arabic in Siri. Apple previously built in the fundamental elements of understanding Arabic to iOS by adding Arabic support to the Keyboard Dictation and QuickType features in iOS 8 last year. Apple adding Arabic support to Siri follows up on Apple expanding its retail presence to the United Arab Emirates by opening up a pair of flagship stores in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

A local YouTube video shows off examples of Siri in Arabic:

Apple has not yet said when iOS 9.2 will be released, but the new update will also bring support for improved Safari support in third-party App Store applications, WiFi-based calling via Macs for AT&T users, and it will also likely bring support for the new American Express Apple Pay partnership for Canada and Australia. Since launching Siri in the fall of 2011, Apple has slowly added new languages in both major and minor iOS updates, and iOS 9.2 will be the latest to follow that pattern.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Arabic, Siri, uae

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I know, it’s almost a blasphemous headline, and I can feel the comments system bracing itself for impact even before anyone has read a word of my arguments. Especially as Apple has engaged in lengthy lawsuits against Samsung for copying its own features.

But while Apple doesn’t blindly copy, it does learn from other companies, and it does so all the time. Indeed, you could say it’s one of the key things that sets Apple apart in the tech world: it doesn’t scrabble to be first to market with new technology. Apple instead sits back and watches, looks at what other companies do and then figures out how to create a better version.

Touch ID is a classic example. Fingerprint readers have been around forever in laptops, and Motorola put one into a smartphone – the Atrix – way back in 2011. But early fingerprint readers were inconvenient, requiring you to scroll your finger across them, and unreliable. Apple waited until it could do the job properly.

So what are some of the things Android manufacturers have done that I think Apple could usefully learn from … ? 

Waterproofing

iPhones are expensive devices, and while home insurance or AppleCare+ can lessen the financial pain, there’s also the hassle factor of getting a phone repaired or replaced. No matter how careful we may be with our phones, spills and drops in water can happen.

Apple’s latest iPhones are surprisingly water-resistant, but there’s a big difference between water-resistant and waterproof. It would be great to see a fully waterproof iPhone 7.

Sony led the way with waterproofing phones, working for a long time on varying levels of water-resistance before launching the first fully waterproof phone, the Xperia Z, back in 2013. The phone could even be used underwater, its advertising showing someone using it to take photos while swimming with their family.

Sony has admittedly cut back on the level of waterproofing offered in its latest model, likely for cost reasons, but other manufacturers also offer completely waterproof phones. Samsung, for example, launched its fully waterproof Galaxy S4 Active, also in 2013.

Shatterproof glass

Still on the topic of protection, Apple has steadily increased the strength of the glass used in its iPhones, but they still can and do break. Motorola last week announced the DROID Turbo 2, whose headline feature is what the company claims is a completely shatterproof display. We’ll have to wait to discover whether the claim is true, of course, but it’s not a statement the company will have made lightly.

Now, you can of course argue that it’s not in Apple’s financial interests to make iPhones waterproof and shatterproof: a decent chunk of income is generated by replacing damaged or destroyed devices. But Tim Cook has said on a number of occasions that Apple tries to do the right thing even if it comes at a financial cost – citing accessibility functions and environmental friendliness as examples.

Similarly, you could argue that those who want to protect their phones can buy a case. But it’s always struck me as crazy that Apple goes to enormous lengths to make sleek, slim phones and then the first thing almost everyone I know does is hide it away inside a case. Making the phone itself more robust has to be a better way to go.

Better speakers

The speakers in the iPhone are reasonably impressive, but there are Android handsets with better ones.

Play a movie on an iPhone 6s and an HTC One M9, with its BoomSound and Dolby Audio features, and there’s just no comparison. Both the 24-bit audio and the front-facing speaker make a huge difference. And HTC isn’t really in a position to object to Apple borrowing a feature …

The new Moto phones, too, manage to fit in front-facing speakers without needing much space beneath the screen to do it – the Moto X Style/Pure being a prime example.

Thinner bezels

When Apple was first working on the iPhone, Steve Jobs was insistent that nothing should detract from the display. He wanted as few buttons and switches as possible. It was, he argued, all about the screen.

It was also an aim Apple had with the Watch, going to a great deal of trouble to achieve such a deep black in the display that it blends invisibly into the surrounds, giving it a bezel-less appearance.

Apple pulled off another optical illusion with the iPhone 6. By making the edges rounded, falling away from the display, it makes the bezel look thinner than it really is, because your eye sees the edge of the black glass and kind of ignores the fact there’s some aluminum sticking out beyond it. In reality, the total bezel thickness is very similar to the iPhone 5.

Look at the above photo of an iPhone 6s next to the Sharp Aquos Crystal 2 and tell me you aren’t just a little bit jealous of those insanely-thin bezels? And that’s just a mid-range Android phone from last year – you can pick one up now for less than a hundred bucks. (I’m almost tempted to get one as a spare phone …)

Depending on how you hold your phone, you could argue that ultra-thin bezels would result in accidental touches, but the size phones are now, I think most people cup them in their hands rather than wrap their fingers around them, so I’m not convinced this would be an issue.

Better battery-life

Finally, if there’s one iPhone complaint I hear about the iPhone above all else it’s the battery-life. Apple’s argument about this is two-fold. First, the company aims to find the optimum balance of battery-life versus slimness. Second, iPhones have lower power needs than Android phones because the integration of hardware and software makes them so much more efficient.

All the same, over 90% of you told us that you want better battery-life – and 60% of you would accept a slightly thicker phone as the price of getting it. And it’s not like you’re alone in that.

The iPhone 6s has a 1715mAh battery in a device measuring 138x67x6.9mm. The Samsung Galaxy S6 is very slightly longer and wider, though a touch thinner, at 143x70x6.8mm. Yet in that tiny bit of extra space it accommodates a 2250mAh battery. I suspect that’s a size hit many would be willing to take for 30% longer battery-life.

So, are my views blasphemy, or do they have some merit? As ever, let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Top image: iPhone 7 concept by Martin Hajek

Filed under: iOS Devices, Opinion Tagged: Android, Apple Inc, Apple v Android, Apple versus Android, iPhone, iPhone 7, Opinion

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Pebble has announced that its first circular smartwatch, the Pebble Time Round, will begin shipping on 8th November, and will be available in Best Buy and Target the same day, priced at $249.99. The watch offers significantly less functionality than the Apple Watch, but a much longer battery-life thanks to its always-on color e-paper display.

This Sunday marks the debut of the world’s lightest and thinnest smartwatch at Best Buy and Target stores in the US, giving customers a chance to see and feel Pebble Time Round in-person. Pebble Time Round will also be available online at Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Target.com, and Pebble.com.

The smartwatch was first available for preorder back in September.

In addition to the round shape, the latest Pebble also has a slimmer 7.5mm design. It’s available with a choice of bands in 14mm and 20mm widths.

Filed under: Tech Industry Tagged: Pebble Round, Pebble watch, smartwatch

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There have been an increasing number of reports from iPhone users running iOS 9.1 that Touch ID is proving slow or unreliable. The issue was first spotted by Forbes earlier this week.

The complaints are similar: users running iOS 9.1 find Touch ID either refuses to recognise a user’s fingerprint, has become highly unreliable or doesn’t even register a fingerprint pressed against it. Users have tried hard resets (holding in the power and home button for 10 seconds) and complete factory resets without any success.

The issue appears to be affecting a small minority of users, but enough to suggest that it is more than coincidence …

Apple was last year forced to pull the iOS 8.0.1 update after reports of problems with both Touch ID and cellular connectivity.

Separately, some users – myself included – are regularly being required to enter our passcodes to unlock our phones, a message saying this is required after 48 hours. Apple’s support page says that a passcode unlock is a requirement when the phone hasn’t been unlocked at all for more than 48 hours, but iOS 9.1 seems to have introduced a bug for some where Touch ID unlocks are not being counted.

A very old Apple Support Communities thread dating back to an unrelated issue with profiles has been resurrected with reports of this latest bug.

An Apple patent for using Touch ID as a ‘panic button‘ was published yesterday.

Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS Tagged: Apple Inc, iOS, iOS 9.1, iOS bug, iPhone, passcode, Touch ID

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