Apple Store App Gets Redesigned Look, Improved Navigation

Apple today updated its Apple Store app to version 3.0, adding several new improvements and design updates. The app now features new icons along the bottom bar, with the “Products” section renamed to “Shop” to make it easier for users to make purchases within the app. The overall app icon has shifted from a cart to a bag.

There’s also a new icon for “Stores,” and an “Account” tab that replaces the previous “More” tab. Several other UI elements have been redesigned as well, giving the iPhone app a cleaner feel that’s more in-line with the iPad version.

According to Apple’s release notes, it’s now possible to start shopping on one device and seamlessly switch to another device, including a Mac or PC. That means that a user who puts an item in the cart in the app will see the same item in the cart on Apple’s website if logged in, allowing for easy transitions between devices.

Along with purchasing improvements, the “Stores” tab has been updated to display information about upcoming events at a user’s local retail location, and the app, which is now universal, has been updated with the ability to create One to One reservations on the iPad.

What’s New in Version 3.0
– Now start shopping on one device and finish on another, or even on your Mac or PC.
– Find out about upcoming events and workshops at nearby Apple Retail Stores using the new Stores tab on your iPhone.
– On iPhone and iPod touch, there’s an all-new design with more refined navigation and imagery.
– On iPad, you can now make One to One reservations.

The update to the Apple Store app comes just days before Apple’s upcoming iPhone 6 event and a few weeks before the iPhone 6 is expected to go on sale. Prior to this update, the Apple Store app was last given a minor update in March to add notification improvements. The app’s last major update came in late 2013, when the company released a version of the app for the iPad.

Apple’s newly updated Apple Store app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Update: As the iPhone version of the Apple Store app is now universal, replacing the original Apple Store app for the iPad, users in countries outside of the U.S. are now able to install the app on their iPads. Previously, the Apple Store app for the iPad was limited to U.S. customers.

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Get an Inside Look at Apple’s Early Field Failure Analysis Program Ahead of the iPhone 6 Launch [iOS Blog]

Ahead of the iPhone 6′s launch, Adam Satariano of BloombergBusinessweek has shared some details on Apple’s early field failure analysis (EFFA) program, designed to solve potential iPhone issues quickly and efficiently. The EFFA Program, which is run by Apple’s AppleCare team, has been in place since the late 1990s.

As outlined by Satariano, shortly after any iPhone release, the EFFA program sees couriers shuttling defective units received from returns to a testing room in Cupertino, where they are inspected by iPhone engineers in an attempt to fix problems in a timely manner. As soon as a fix is in place, it’s deployed across the company’s global supply chain.

“They take them apart to diagnose what’s happening right then and there,” says Mark Wilhelm, who helped lead Apple’s returns program. […]

Often, they jury-rig a hardware fix, then coordinate a solution across Apple’s global supply chain. Sometimes the problems can’t be solved quickly–remember Apple Maps leading people astray. “Every day they don’t recognize a problem, they are potentially manufacturing more bad products,” says Michael Fawkes, the former head of supply chain for Hewlett-Packard (HPQ).

With the EFFA program, engineers in Cupertino learn of a potential problem as soon as a return is made in a retail store, and the serial numbers of each device allow the company to track defective devices down to “individual workers on an assembly line.”

An example of EFFA in action came in 2007, with the release of the original iPhone. Several devices returned with a faulty touchscreen caused by an earpiece flaw that let in a user’s sweat. Apple engineers fixed the problem with a new coating, which rolled out to assembly lines shortly after and prevented a more widespread issue.

According to former employees, EFFA testing is most crucial during the weeks after a device first launches, but the team remains active for many months, and publishes a weekly report highlighting common issues reported by customers. Apple’s EFFA team will be called to action in just a few short weeks, as Apple is expected to introduce the iPhone 6 at a media event on September 9, with a launch coming shortly after.

For additional details on EFFA, make sure to check out Satarino’s full piece over at BloombergBusinessweek.

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Apple’s Digital Stores, iTunes Radio Down for Some Users [Update: Fixed] [Mac Blog]

According to Apple’s System Status Page, some users are unable to access the App Store, iTunes Store, Mac App Store, and iBooks Store. iTunes Match, iTunes Radio, and iTunes in the Cloud also appear to be experiencing issues.

App Store users were also seeing problems accessing apps on Tuesday, making this the second outage the sore has seen this week. Problems appear to have began at approximately 1:30 PM Pacific Time, and are ongoing.

Apple does not say how many users are affected by the outage, but there are multiple reports of problems on Twitter and other social networking sites. Some users are not experiencing any issues, however, and appear to be able to access all services without a problem.

Update 5:40 PM PT: Apple’s System Status page suggests the outage is now over.

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Tim Cook: Apple to Add Security Alerts for iCloud Users, Broaden Two-Factor Authentication

Apple will add security alerts for iCloud users, broaden two-factor authentication and make a more aggressive effort to alert users about protecting their accounts, Apple CEO Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal in his first interview since the recent hacking incident involving celebrities’ iCloud accounts.

To make such leaks less likely, Mr. Cook said Apple will alert users via email and push notifications when someone tries to change an account password, restore iCloud data to a new device, or when a device logs into an account for the first time. Until now, users got an email when someone tried to change a password or log in for the first time from an unknown Apple device; there were no notifications for or restoring iCloud data.

Cook said the new notifications will begin in two weeks and will allow users to take action on potential hacking immediately, allowing them to either change the password to retake the account or alerting Apple’s security team. Cook echoed Apple’s previous press release on the hackings, stressing that the best prevention for future incidents are more human than technological.

“When I step back from this terrible scenario that happened and say what more could we have done, I think about the awareness piece,” he said. “I think we have a responsibility to ratchet that up. That’s not really an engineering thing.”

Apple will also broaden use of its two-factor authentication system, allowing it to also cover access to iCloud accounts from mobile devices like iPad and iPhone. Cook said the majority of Apple’s users don’t use two-factor authentication, so the company is planning on aggressively getting its users to turn on the feature. Cook also mentioned that had the celebrities been using two-factor verification, the hackers would not have been able to guess their security questions.

Apple has previously explored expanding two-factor authentication to some iCloud services, but an official expansion of the feature had not yet been introduced.

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