Imagine if your phone knew who was holding your phone, no matter where your finger made contact. This tech is likely coming to Android. It will be interesting to see if Apple responds in some way.
Apple
PayPal offers $50 iTunes gift card for $40, via eBay
Periodically, PayPal runs a promotion selling iTunes gift cards at a discount. Caveat emptor. That said, I’ve made this purchase before and it’s worked just fine for me. This is available strictly via email.
How Apple sold a million Drake albums in five days
The power of Apple’s promotion engine.
Apple, podcasting and the open market
Late last month, Apple brought in some podcasters to discuss the business of podcasting. This post links to a series of three posts that explore this meeting and its consequences: The New York Times and blog posts from Marco Arment and Federico Viticci.
Huawei just copied the iPhone, down to the last screw
This is remarkably blatant. Just look at the image.
Apple Music Feature Request: Don’t remove local music without explicit permission
Ben Lovejoy, writing for 9to5Mac, gets right to some core issues with Apple Music. Great post.
Former Microsoft Windows President on his full-time use of an iPad
Steven Sinofsky was President of Microsoft’s Windows’ division from 2009 to 2013. His post is thoughtful and well reasoned. Interesting that he made the choice to use an iPad and not a Surface solution.
Apple Music adds $4.99 student pricing plan
TechCrunch:
Apple today launched a new plan to boost subscribers to its streaming music service and competitor to Spotify, SoundCloud, Tidal and others. It’s introducing an Apple Music student plan which will discount the service by 50 percent for those who are enrolled in an eligible college or university.
That means in the U.S., where an individual membership to Apple Music costs $9.99 per month, the student membership will be $4.99 per month instead.
Reuters: Apple’s Tim Cook to visit China for government meetings
Reuters:
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) Chief Executive Tim Cook plans to visit Beijing later this month to meet high-level government officials, at a time when it is facing some setbacks in its most important overseas market, a source familiar with the matter said.
Apple, other autonomous car makers, looking for huge tracts of land
Wall Street Journal:
Apple Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc. and several car makers are seeking large expanses of real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area for their autonomous-car operations.
Like I said, huge tracts of land.
The Verge’s review of the 2016 MacBook
Solid review by Lauren Goode. Lots to enjoy (be sure to watch the clever side-by-side video) and some solid numbers to chew on, especially regarding a comparison to the MacBook Air.
App Store search back up and running
Yesterday, searches on the iOS, Mac, and iBook App Stores were failing. Looks like the problem has been resolved. The tests I ran yesterday are now showing their proper results.
No, Apple Music is not deleting tracks off your hard drive — unless you tell it to
Serenity does a terrific job explaining this mess. I sure hope Apple addresses this.
App Store search is currently broken
Craig Grannell:
Developer Travis Ryan just noted to me on Twitter that App Store search is broken. Presumably, this is a temporary glitch, but it’s frustrating for developers. In Ryan’s case, a search for Dashy Crashy doesn’t bring up his excellent game of the same name. All you get is Dashy Crashy Bird, a one-thumb sort-of Flappy Bird clone.
Try searching yourself.
Clever, funny ad for Apple Pay in Australia
[VIDEO] I love the tag line:
It’s a big deal. For a fraction of a second.
Moog’s new app gives you a $10,000 synth for $30
Fantastic to have that distinct Moog sound. Looks like it is Midi-savvy, so you can set up the sound you like, then control it from a full size MIDI Controller. Nice.
LAPD hacked into iPhone 5s
LA Times:
Los Angeles police investigators obtained a method to open the locked iPhone belonging to the slain wife of “The Shield” actor Michael Jace, according to court papers reviewed by The Times.
How to tell what direction you are facing, share your location in Maps
A nice little how-to from iMore’s Marc Lagace.
Bentley’s Apple Watch app
Bentley Motors makes some finely crafted (and expensive) vehicles. Now they have an Apple Watch app that allows you to control your car’s settings.
Apple snags Google X Lab co-founder, MacArthur “Genius Grant” winner
Yoky has had an incredible career. She seems an impressive addition to Apple’s technical staff.
Recording an iPhone call
This is a simple way to record a call. Are there laws against recording a call without someone’s knowledge? Now updated with a link to a legal guide.
Apple increases chip orders for iPhone SE
iPhone SE is a bright spot.
Results from the great Mac developer survey
Lots and lots of data here, gathered from more than 7,000 developers. Interesting read, visually well presented.
The Apple Watch is a glass half full. A big glass.
There’s a lot of press focusing on the slowness and lag of Apple Watch apps. True, but shortsighted. Read on for details.
Apple plans sweeping changes for Apple Music
Bloomberg:
Apple Inc. is planning sweeping changes to its year-old music streaming service after the first iteration of the product was met with tepid reviews and several executives brought in to revive the company’s music strategy departed.
Hallelujah. New API?
Apple no longer has exclusive rights to the “iPhone” name in China
A surprising development after all these years.
Jean-Louis Gassée: On Apple’s emerging services business
Jean-Louis Gassée, writing for Monday Note, on the idea of Apple spinning off its profitable services as a separate business entity. Fascinating writing, as always.
Rumored death of 3.5mm headphone jack greatly exaggerated
Is Apple ready to move on from the antiquated 3.5mm headphone jack? It’ll happen sooner or later, but this post indicates that Apple might shop one model with, one without.
Latest drone footage of Apple’s Spaceship Campus
[VIDEO] The campus is looking good. And Matthew Roberts’ production technique is evolving. Now in 4K.
Legally forcing someone to use their finger to unlock their phone
The LA Times:
Authorities obtained a search warrant compelling the girlfriend of an alleged Armenian gang member to press her finger against an iPhone that had been seized from a Glendale home. The phone contained Apple’s fingerprint identification system for unlocking, and prosecutors wanted access to the data inside it.