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Perfecting the Sponsored Content Pitch for Advertisers: 3 Must Haves

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 22, 2015 | Marketing

As you consider implementing a sponsored content offering, it’s important to remember that like any other type of ad inventory, sponsored content won’t sell itself. Rather you need to have a sales team well-equipped to sell inbound to new and existing advertisers who may be less familiar with the methodology or benefits behind it.

Internally, adopting an inbound methodology involves different areas of the business, including stakeholders from your marketing department, audience development or circulation team, editorial team, and beyond. Perhaps most important however, sales is a key piece of implementing any new advertiser program. This team is on the front line talking to potential advertisers and often the only opportunity your company has to drum up new business.

Remember, just because your company has bought into inbound and sponsored content as a strategy doesn’t mean your advertisers have. But, shifting from more traditional advertising offerings to those involving inbound and sponsored content may involve a significant learning curve on the part of your sales team, and will likely require a good level of retraining. You need to spend time re-training your sales team to sell inbound campaigns by identifying what’s in it for the advertisers. Once they’ve gotten this, here area few ways you can really polish that pitch.

Polishing the Sponsored Content Pitch

1) Know Your Advertisers’ Language

Publishers and their sales team need to be able to speak in terms that are understood by, and resonate with, their advertisers. Therefore, your team needs to have a firm grasp of the marketing funnel and how it works, what campaign ROI metrics advertisers care about, and which audience insights matter to advertisers (whether it’s purchase intent, demographics, or another set of metrics). For instance, while many publishers value—and therefore sell—reach and audience demographics, what advertisers fundamentally care about is how that’s going to increase their MQLs and sales prospects. In other words, think about how you can best sell what advertisers care about most, and don’t leave it up to their team to guess or draw conclusions. They might guess wrong.

2) Be Able to Sell Your Database

No, your sales team isn’t literally selling your list. But your readers are one of your biggest assets. Your sales team needs to have a much deeper understanding of what’s most valuable about your readers in the eyes of advertisers. What are they clicking on? What’s their most common job role or level? How long do they stay on your site? Which readers have converted on an offer before? All of this information helps you identify the people in your database with real purchase intent to highlight for advertisers, and can be presented in a number of ways—personas, charts, or even infographics.

3) Know How to Map Your Content to the Buyer’s Journey

Make sure your sales team understands the buyers journey, especially as it applies to your readers and your advertisers. From there, they should be able to explain in detail what each piece of content you provide is, and how it aligns with that readers’ purchase decision process. Your sales team should also be able to communicate specifically how each reader will be nurtured from one stage to the next. In this conversation, if you’re able to include any funnel metrics you have available—conversion rates, expected ROIs etc—you’re in a good spot. Make sure to talk about the different types of offerings your company has (ebooks, guides, white papers, etc), what goals each achieve, and how your editorial team creates them.

BONUS: Use Case Studies

What better sales tool could you have but great examples of how you’ve run these campaigns before, and how successful they’ve been? Put together case studies that advertisers can easily see replicated for themselves. Include highlights of things like MQL identification, cost per MQL, advertiser conversion rates, or net ROI so advertisers can see the possible impact it may have on their own bottom line.

Selling sponsored content and inbound is a big shift for many publishers, and an even bigger shift for their advertisers. The best tool in your belt to get these programs up and running is a well informed and trained sales team. There may be a little more investment in the beginning, but these programs can pay out in dividends in the long run.

iOS 9 now installed on over 60% of devices, according to latest Apple App Store data

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 22, 2015 | Apple

Apple has once again updated its App Store data chart with the latest statistics on iOS 9 adoption. iOS 9 came out of the gate with a ridiculously-high >50% adoption rate just a few days after it launched. This pace has definitely slowed following the initial rush of users upgrading, but achieving 61% penetration of iOS devices is still a strong result. This appears to be keeping up with Phil Schiller’s prediction that iOS 9 will be “downloaded by more users than any other software release in Apple’s history.” Remember, iOS 9 can be installed on any iPhone, iPad or iPod touch that runs iOS 8.

For a comparison, it took iOS 8 until late November to reach the 60% mark as reported by the App Store, so upgrades are happening roughly twice as fast. There will also be a likely boost this week as many people will be encouraged to update to iOS 9.1 thanks to the addition of new emojis, which are featured prominently in the release notes when you update. Moreover, the number of people on iOS 9 will continue to rise naturally as all new devices sales (iPhone 6s, new iPads, etc) ship with iOS 9 pre-installed.

Hilarious that new emojis are now featured bullet points on the iOS update notes. http://pic.twitter.com/7vbc3evg1Q

— Benjamin Mayo (@bzamayo) October 21, 2015

iOS 9 includes many system tweaks to make it easier to update, such as lower free space requirements, the ability to automatically update overnight whilst the user is sleeping as well as temporarily delete apps whilst the update takes place. It’s nice to see that these changes are having a real-world effect on OS software update rates.

Filed under: AAPL Company, Developers, iOS, iOS Devices Tagged: adoption, App Store, faster than iOS 8, iOS 9

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Apple asking developers to submit their tvOS apps ahead of Apple TV launch next week

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 22, 2015 | Apple

A couple of hours ago, Apple sent out emails asking registered Apple developers to submit their tvOS apps for the Apple TV, using the GM seeds of tvOS and Xcode 7.1.

Although several thousand developer kits are out in the wild, the App Store app is yet to appear for these users. It may come online over-the-air and just ‘appear’ like Apple TV channels do, or there may be a small software update in the next few days to add the application.

https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith/status/6570363933660

Like with watchOS, Apple is once again warning developers that a small group of people will be able to test out their apps ahead of public Apple TV launch. This is likely referring to review units which Apple has likely already sent out to members of the press. Preorders for the new Apple TV begin Monday.

If you have a cool tvOS app in the offing, please get in touch.

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

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Apple pushes new China clean energy programs to help suppliers become carbon neutral

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 21, 2015 | Apple

Just a few days after CEO Tim Cook joined the Council for Sustainable Urbanization to fight climate change in China, Apple this evening has revealed a handful of new programs in China that promote the use of clean energy. Apple says that the programs will help avoid 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution in China between now and 2020, which is the equivalent of removing 4 million vehicles from the road for one year.

Apple also says that its construction of 40 megawatts of solar projects in the Sichuan Province is complete. Thanks to this, Apple’s offices and retail stores in China are all now carbon neutral. Tim Cook noted of this, saying that the transition to a green economy is a challenging, but necessary, task:

“Climate change is one of the great challenges of our time, and the time for action is now,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The transition to a new green economy requires innovation, ambition and purpose. We believe passionately in leaving the world better than we found it and hope that many other suppliers, partners and other companies join us in this important effort.”

Moving ahead, Apple today revealed that it plans to build more than 200 megawatts of solar projects in the north, east, and south grid regions of China. This effort will produce the equivalent of of the energy required by more than 265,000 homes in China. The effort will begin to offset the energy used by Apple’s supply chain in China, as well.

Apple today also announced that it is beginning to work with its suppliers to make them more energy efficient and carbon neutral. Apple will work with suppliers to install more than 2 gigawatts of new clean energy in “the coming years.” The company will provide hands-on assistance to suppliers, as well, in ares like energy efficiency audits and regulatory guidance.

Finally, thanks to help from Apple, Foxconn will begin construction of 400 megawatts of solar by 2018, starting in the Henan Province. Foxconn has agreed to generate as much clean energy as its Zhengzhou factory consumes in final production of the iPhone.

Apple’s VP of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson had the following to say regarding Apple’s efforts at improving the climate:

“Being responsible, protecting air and water, and driving clean energy are at the heart of Apple’s commitment to China,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. “These projects go beyond Apple’s operations in China to help our suppliers adopt clean renewable energy.”

All in all, Apple sys that it is powering 100 percent of its operations in China and the United States with clean energy, and 87 percent of its worldwide operations. Full press release below:

Apple Launches New Clean Energy Programs in China To Promote Low-Carbon Manufacturing and Green Growth

Apple Now Generating Clean Energy for 100% of its Operations in China

BEIJING — October 22, 2015 — Apple® today announced two new programs aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of its manufacturing partners in China. The programs will avoid over 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution in the country between now and 2020, equivalent to taking nearly 4 million passenger vehicles off the road for one year.

Apple also announced that construction on 40 megawatts of solar projects in the Sichuan Province is now complete. These solar installations produce more than the total amount of electricity used by Apple’s offices and retail stores in China, making Apple’s operations carbon neutral in China.

“Climate change is one of the great challenges of our time, and the time for action is now,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The transition to a new green economy requires innovation, ambition and purpose. We believe passionately in leaving the world better than we found it and hope that many other suppliers, partners and other companies join us in this important effort.”

First, Apple is significantly expanding its clean-energy investments in China. Apple plans to build more than 200 megawatts of solar projects in the northern, eastern and southern grid regions of China, which will produce the equivalent of the energy used by more by than 265,000 Chinese homes in a year and will begin to offset the energy used in Apple’s supply chain.

Second, Apple is launching a new initiative to drive its manufacturing partners to become more energy efficient and to use clean energy for their manufacturing operations. Apple will partner with suppliers in China to install more than 2 gigawatts of new clean energy in the coming years.

Apple also will share best practices in procuring clean energy and building high-quality renewable energy projects, and provide hands-on assistance to some suppliers in areas like energy efficiency audits, regulatory guidance and building strong partnerships to bring new clean energy projects to China.

As part of Apple’s industry-leading program, Foxconn will construct 400 megawatts of solar, starting in the Henan Province, by 2018. Foxconn has committed to generate as much clean energy as its Zhengzhou factory consumes in final production of iPhone.

“We are excited to embark on this initiative with Apple. Our companies share a vision for driving sustainability and I hope that this renewable energy project will serve as a catalyst for continued efforts to promote a greener ecosystem in our industry and beyond,” said Terry Gou, founder and CEO of Foxconn Technology Group. “Sustainability is a core pillar in Foxconn’s strategy and we are committed to investing in green manufacturing.”

“Being responsible, protecting air and water, and driving clean energy are at the heart of Apple’s commitment to China,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. “These projects go beyond Apple’s operations in China to help our suppliers adopt clean renewable energy.”

Apple has taken significant steps to protect the environment by transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy. Today the company is powering 100 percent of its operations in China and the US, and more than 87 percent of its worldwide operations, with renewable energy.

Learn more about Apple’s environmental efforts at http://ift.tt/1jrLCqW.

Apple in China
Apple operates 19 corporate offices and 24 retail stores in Greater China, directly employing 10,000 people. In total, Apple has helped create and support over 4.4 million jobs in China, including at least 1.4 million iOS app developer jobs and other positions related to the iOS ecosystem.

Developers in China have earned more than $4 billion through the worldwide sale of apps on the App Store®, with over half of that amount paid in the last 12 months alone.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, Apple environment, china, Tim Cook

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Apple debuts several new Apple Watch ads highlighting Siri, third-party apps and more

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 21, 2015 | Apple

Just two weeks after unveiling an initial six new Apple Watch advertisements, Apple this evening has shared seven more, all being part of the same campaign. The ads all highlight certain capabilities of Apple Watch and are short, 15 second TV spots.

The first ad, entitled “Dance,” stars R&B singer Leon Bridges asking Siri on Apple Watch to “play some 80’s music,” and proceeding to dance to then INXS song that begins to play. The second ad is called “Kiss” and features two love birds wearing Apple Watch. The woman in the relationship receives a notification on her wrist that her Uber has arrived, but proceeds to dismiss it in an effort to continue being with her boyfriend.

“Style” is the third ad in the series and focuses on the customization options that Apple Watch offers. The ad shows a woman changing her outfit several times and changing her Watch band each time to match her clothing, a move that Jony Ive is very happy Apple is able to offer. The fourth ad is called “Play” and features a pianist perfecting his skill when he receives an eBay notification telling him he has been outbid. He proceeds to continue playing the piano with one hand, while using the other to increase his eBay bid via Apple Watch.

The fourth ad, called “Travel,” focuses on Apple Watch’s support for storing passes in Wallet and shows a woman loading up her plan boarding ticket on her wrist prior to the flight. Next is “Skate,” which focuses on using Apple Pay to pay for goods via Apple Watch. Last but not least is “Move,” which focuses on using the Activity app to track your daily fitness project.

All of Apple’s new Apple Watch ads come in at 15 seconds in length and can be seen below:

Filed under: Apple Watch Tagged: ads, Apple, Apple watch, video

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Sprint enables iPhone Wi-Fi Calling for all with today’s iOS 9.1 release

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 21, 2015 | Apple

iphone6-wifi-calling-hero

Alongside the release of iOS 9.1 today, Sprint announced that the update officially enables access to the iPhone’s Wi-Fi calling feature for all of its users. That means Sprint users will join T-Mobile and AT&T customers in the US in being able to take advantage of the feature that offers Wi-Fi-assisted voice calling for poor coverage areas and the ability to accept calls on other Apple devices including iPods, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watch.

Following today’s release of iOS 9.1, iPhone customers on Sprint will gain access to Apple’s enhanced Wi-Fi calling feature… “Customers already enjoy seamlessly responding to texts and email from a variety of great Apple devices,” said David Owens, senior vice president, Product Development at Sprint. “Now they can bring that flexibility to the primary phone number their friends, family and colleagues know best. This great feature puts the power of device choice in our customers’ hands.”

Sprint customers will have to update their iPhones to iOS 9.1, released earlier today, make sure Wi-Fi Calling is enabled in the iPhone’s Settings, and sign into the same Apple ID and iCloud account across devices.

Apple’s iOS 9.1 release includes enhancements to its Live Photos feature, over 150 new emoji, refreshed wallpapers, and the usual fixes and improvements for a long list of other features and bugs. We have the full rundown here.

Filed under: iOS Tagged: Apple, Apple watch, download, iOS 9.1, iPad, iPhone, Sprint, update, wi-fi calling

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Apple adds Find My Friends app to iCloud on the web

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 21, 2015 | Apple

Find My Friends

Following a slew of updates for iOS, OS X, tvOS and watchOS, Apple has also given its web portal iCloud.com some love too. Last week, Apple took iWork for iCloud out of beta. Today, Apple has added the Find My Friends web app to the site.

Mirroring the app for iOS, the web app shows a map of friends who have opted in to sharing your location with them; pins for each person are displayed on an Apple Maps map.

Apple added Find My Friends as a default app on iOS 9 and are clearly trying to promote its usage. It is also available as a Today view widget on OS X El Capitan. With iOS 8 and previous, Find My Friends was an optional download from the App Store … now it’s part of the OS itself and cannot be deleted.

Interesting, the Find My Friends web-app did not appear on beta.icloud.com at all. Try it out now on iCloud.com.

Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS Devices

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Happy Hour Podcast 037 | Apple’s boring Magic accessories, an Apple TV ship date, and more

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 21, 2015 | Apple

Happy Hour 21

Apple’s recent release of the new Magic accessories … left us all a bit disappointed. Is the new Magic Keyboard, Trackpad 2, or Mouse 2 worth buying? Let’s find out. Along with that, we get into some new information regarding an official Apple TV release date and Apple Music by the numbers. Big thanks to Bushel for sponsoring this week’s episode. To find out what awesome cloud-based mobile device management can do for you, check out http://ift.tt/1j95I0c.

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:

Here’s what we discussed in this episode:

If you missed our 36th 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, Apple Music, Apple TV, Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, Podcast

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Ferrari chairman believes Apple will build a car amid growing EV rumors

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 21, 2015 | Apple

Ferrari’s CarPlay integration

Speaking today on CNBC, Ferrari chairman and Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne spoke affirmatively when asked if he believes Apple will make a car. The Ferrari boss explained that he believes the automobile space is one in which Apple can exhibit its skills, clarifying that he believes Apple will have a car assembled rather than building it on their own. Marchionne added that Apple has not approached Fiat for being its partner for assembling a car.

When asked if Fiat could become the Foxconn in Apple’s car supplier equation, the Ferrari chairman reacted negatively to the thought of being a low margin supplier in the car space for Apple, but admitted that car markers are positioned to work with partners like Apple and Google as the industry changes. Interestingly, Apple’s Eddy Cue has had a seat on Ferrari’s board for nearly three years.

BREAKING: Ferrari’s chairman tells CNBC he thinks that Apple will market an Apple car. $RACE
http://ift.tt/1GTTi1T

—
CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) October 21, 2015

The Ferrari chairman’s remarks come just days after Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly stated that the auto industry is at an “inflection point for massive change, not just evolutionary change” during an interview at the WSJD conference. The answer came when Cook was asked about increasing evidence that Apple is developing an electric vehicle under the codename Project Titan. Cook said Apple is focused on CarPlay and bringing the iPhone experience to the car in the short time, but certainly left the door open with this teaser: “We will see what we do in the future.”

Filed under: Apple Car Tagged: Apple Car, Ferrari, Fiat Chrysler, Project Titan, Sergio Marchionne

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Twitter for Mac is officially getting a much-needed overhaul, but not just yet

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 21, 2015 | Apple

Twitter doesn’t exactly have the best track record in supporting its loyal third-party developers, which is something that could be forgivable if it built half-decent first party applications. The company’s official apps for the iPhone and iPad have dramatically improved as of late, but the official Twitter for Mac client has felt almost abandoned for years.

Today, at the Twitter Flight developer’s conference, the company has confirmed that a much-needed overhaul to the Mac app is on the way…

While the most-current version of the official Twitter for Mac app doesn’t even support embedded Tweet quoting (which was added to the official iPhone client six months ago, and added to Tweetbot for Mac four months ago), the updated version will apparently add that feature as well as many others including inline Vine playback, highlights in the notifications tab, group DMs, photos in DMs and more. If you’re a regular Twitter user, most of these are probably features you’ve already been using on the web — and in the iOS app — for quite a while.

The image you can see above shows the app running in standard mode, but based on a tweet from the co-founder of Vine (which is now owned by Twitter, for those that don’t know), the app will also bring a dark mode.

New Twitter for Mac in dark mode looks so good https://t.co/OnDukgtslx

—
Rus (@rus) October 21, 2015

Perhaps even more important than the long-awaited app update, however, now-CEO Jack Dorsey took the stage to apologize to developers for the last couple of years. The company’s relationship has been messy and confusing at times, but Dorsey seems set on mending that.

“Somewhere along the line, our relationship with developers got a little bit complicated, a little bit confusing, a little bit unpredictable,” Dorsey said, according to Variety, adding that the company is sorry and needs to have better transparency going forward. “We want to come to you today, and first and foremost apologize for the confusion.”

Twitter says that the app won’t be out for “a few months” at the very least, so if I were you, I’d just keep on using Tweetbot for Mac (even at $10). It was already one of best Twitter clients for Mac when it got a big update earlier this year, but it has seen significant improvements since — and it already packs most of the features that users that Twitter.app die hards are going to be waiting a few more months to use.

(Image via TechCrunch)

Filed under: Apps Tagged: App Update, Apple, Apps, Mac, Mac OS X, Twitter, update

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Apple releases watchOS 2.0.1 for Apple Watch with battery life improvements and other bug fixes, tvOS GM for Apple TV

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 21, 2015 | Apple

Alongside updates to iOS and OS X, Apple has released watchOS 2.0.1 with a whole host of changes and bug fixes. As well as including the new emoji character set like Apple’s other operating systems, watchOS 2.0.1 includes bug fixes for poor battery life, stalling software updates, Calendar event syncing and much more.

It has also seeded developers with the Gold Master release of tvOS for Apple TV. We’ll update with any changes …

Here’s all the changes for Apple Watch:

New emoji characters
Fixes an issue that could cause software updates to stall
Resolves an issue that prevented a managed iPhone from syncing iOS Calendar events to Apple Watch
Addresses an issue that could prevent location information from properly updating
Fixes an issue that could cause Digital Touch to send from an email address instead of a phone number
Addresses an issue that could cause instability when using a Live Photo as a watch face.
Resolves an issue that allows the sensors to stay on indefinitely when using Siri to measure heart rate.

Catch up on our watchOS 2 walkthrough here for what changed in the last major update.

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

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Apple takes Siri ‘Back to the Future’ with movie-themed responses

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 21, 2015 | Apple

back-to-future-day-top

Not to be left out on ‘Back to the Future Day‘, Apple too is joining in on the Internet’s celebrations for reaching the day, October 21, 2015, in which fictional character Marty McFly time travelled to in 1989’s “Back to the Future Part II”. What better way to officially celebrate being in the future than to have our pocket-sized electronic assistant updated with a few witty remarks related to the occasion.

Here’s a sampling of the Back to the Future related responses from Siri:

While some of the predictions about what the world would look like in 2015 actually came true— video chat, 3D movies, hoverboards, for example— I’m not holding my breath for the Chicago Cubs winning the 2015 World Series as the film depicted, although it’s still a possibility.

Filed under: iOS Tagged: 3D, Apple, back to the future day, Chicago Cubs, hoverboard, iPhone, Marty Mcfly, Siri

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Apple releases OS X 10.11.1 with new emojis, Microsoft Office bug fixes, and more

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 21, 2015 | Apple

Apple has published the first update to OS X El Capitan since it launched last month. The update introduces a collection of new emojis and fixes many bugs, including problems with Microsoft Office, Mail, and Audio Unit plugins.

You can download the update for free on any El Capitan-capable Mac through the updates tab on the Mac App Store. Apple also released iOS 9.1, watchOS 2.0.1, and the GM build of tvOS today.

Filed under: Mac Tagged: 10.11.1, el capitan, Mac, OS X

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Apple releases iOS 9.1 for iPhone & iPad with new emoji, fresh wallpapers, more

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 21, 2015 | Apple

Apple is out with a new update for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch today, the official iOS 9.1 release. For most users, a collection of new emoji characters including a taco, unicorn, and yes, a middle finger is the most notable new feature within the update. Apple has also tweaked its three planetary wallpapers and developer support for Live Photos as well as improvements to the capture experience.

As for those new emoji characters, you can check out our gallery here from during the beta period last month while you’re downloading the new update.

As for the Messages app, you can now toggle contact photos on or off on iPhone 6 and later. Go to Settings > Messages > Show Contact Photos to change this setting, which is on by default.

As expected, Apple’s News app is now available for use in the UK.

iOS 9.1 is available through the Software Update of the Settings app.

Filed under: iOS, iOS Devices Tagged: emoji, iOS 9, iOS 9.1, Live Photos

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DisneyLife will offer classic Disney + Pixar films, TV, music, books for £10/month, Star Wars and Marvel next

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 21, 2015 | Apple

star-wars-disney

Hinting at the sea change that will come to the television and movie industries after the launch of the fourth-generation Apple TV, Disney today announced DisneyLife, a £9.99 ($15.43) per month subscription video, music, and book service that will include Pixar’s entire catalog and classic films such as Snow White and The Jungle Book, report The Financial Times (sub. req.) and Variety. Beyond films, DisneyLife will feature Disney’s television series, books and music, with new content being added as it’s released. The service will launch November in the United Kingdom, and is planned for a 2016 rollout across France, Spain, Italy and Germany.

While a U.S. launch has not been ruled out by the company, Disney’s upcoming theatrical releases will hit Netflix under previously announced deals for the United States and Canada. According to the report, Marvel movies and Star Wars movies will not be a part of DisneyLife, but could be launched as separate subscription services…

“There’s a general sense that the world is going in this direction,” Disney CEO Bob Iger told The Financial Times. “There will be multichannel TV and we will be part of it, but the app experience offers many more layers (and) much more richness in content than a channel, where one program follows another program.”

Filed under: Apple TV, General, Tech Industry Tagged: Disney, Disney Channel

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9to5Toys Lunch Break: high-end 15″ Retina MacBook Pro $1,950, iPad mini 2 $230, Angry Birds Seasons free, more

by Cristian De Nardo | Oct 21, 2015 | Apple

9to5toys-header

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:

Apple 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro 2.5GHz/16GB/512GB (newest version): $1,950 shipped (Reg. $2,499)

iPad mini 2 Wi-Fi 16GB in Silver or Space Gray: $230 shipped (Reg. $269)

Get a 64GB Wi-Fi iPad Air 2 for less than Apple charges for 16GB: $490 shipped (Reg. $599)

Games/Apps: Skylanders SuperChargers Pack (all platforms) $50 (Reg. $75), Angry Birds Seasons goes free, more iOS freebies

kindle-paperwhite_car

Save $20 on select Kindle e-Readers, deals start at just $59 with free shipping

Dell Black Friday Ad Leak: Gears of War Xbox One w/ Fallout 4 + controller $300, VIZIO 60-Inch 4K HDTV $800, more

Amazon and Toys R Us give a peek at this year’s must-have holiday gifts

Two Aukey 3-ft. MFi Apple-Certified Lightning Cables: $11 Prime shipped ($14 value) wp.me/p1xTlR-IMJ https://t.co/NQInikakDq

—
9to5Toys (@9to5toys) October 21, 2015

More new gear from today:

GoPro HERO4 Action Cameras: Black 4K $389 (Reg. $500), Silver w/ LCD Display $329 (Reg. $400)

USB Power Deals: KMASHI 10,000mAh Battery $9 (Reg. $14), 6-Ft. Braided MFi Lightning Cable $8.50, more
VIZIO 2.1 Sound Stand w/ subwoofer & remote $100 shipped (Orig. $250)
Bluetooth Speakers: Mpow Armor Waterproof $20 Prime shipped (Reg. $36), Inateck Aluminum $37 shipped (Reg. $46)
Daily Deals: iHome Wireless Bluetooth USB FM Clock Radio $20, Logitech K400 Wireless Keyboard $20, more

Amazon Gold Box: Mr. Beams Wireless LED Spotlights up to 45% off, prices from $55 shipped http://ift.tt/14A2fAD https://t.co/Oz4s7fnSNO

—
9to5Toys (@9to5toys) October 21, 2015

Stream Back to the Future trilogy free today on Amazon Prime or grab DVD/Blu-Ray for $20off wp.me/p1xTlR-IKn https://t.co/1G9Wqy1qC9

—
9to5Toys (@9to5toys) October 21, 2015

More deals still alive:

Seagate 4TB Portable USB 3 Hard Drive w/ 200GB Cloud: $150 shipped

21:9 Displays: Dell UltraSharp 34″ Curved $650, LG 34″ Curved $720, more

Media: Peanuts Holiday Collection HD Download $5 ($60 value), Spider-Man Blu-ray Trilogy $14, more
Networking: TP-Link AV1200 Powerline Kit $53 (Reg. $80), Linksys 802.11n Wireless Extender $30 (Reg. $36)
2.1-Ch. Home Audio: LG Soundbar 120W (refurb) $65 (Orig. $149), Harman Kardon 200W $120 (Orig. $200)
Acer Chromebook w/ full HD display 1.50GHz/4GB/16GB SSD: $249 shipped (Reg. $279)
Ticket To Ride goes free on iPhone for the first time in years (Reg. $2)
Samsung Smart 4K HDTVs: 40-inch $550 (Reg. $700+), 50-inch $699 (Reg. $1,000+)
Aukey 15,000mAh Quick Charge 2.0 power bank $22 Prime shipped (Reg. $35)
Freebies: System Monitor for iOS + OneNote/Evernote GTD eBook + The Peanuts Movie Stencil + More!
Jawbone UP Move Splash-Proof Bluetooth 4.0 Activity Tracker: $20 w/ in-store pickup (Reg. $50)
Display your iPhone 6/s w/ this Mpow Car Air Vent Mount $5 shipped (Reg. $9)
Save 20% off iTunes Digital Gift Cards: $25 for $20, $50 for $40, more
OtterBox SYMMETRY Series iPhone 6/6s Case $20 Prime shipped (Reg. $40)
Aukey 3-in-1 clip-on smartphone camera lens kit $10 Prime shipped (Reg. $16)
The original Bluetooth-enabled August Smart Lock drops to $199 (Orig. $250)
App Store Free App of the Week: Sky Gamblers Air Supremacy
Apple’s new 4K & 5K iMacs already seeing the first price cuts and tax-free options
Apple is dishing out free downloads of the award-winning puzzle game Shadowmatic
Amazon slashes prices on Levi’s jeans for Men, Women and Boys
Griffin Technology merch credit 50% off
Adjustable iPad mount for $17 Prime shipped (Orig. $30)