Apple Pay’s Jennifer Bailey to Speak at Code Commerce in December
Recode has announced Apple Pay vice president Jennifer Bailey will speak at its latest Code Commerce event at Westfield’s Bespoke in San Francisco on December 6.
Apple executive Jennifer Bailey has been with the company for 13 years, first running all of Apple’s e-commerce sites and now heading up the digital payments service Apple Pay. While there’s still industry debate about whether Apple Pay’s tap-and-pay payments are the future of in-store shopping, most smart industry people agree the new Apple Pay for the web is going to be huge. Add to that rumors of a new MacBook Pro with a fingerprint sensor built in for Apple Pay purchases, and we are going to have a whole lot to discuss with Bailey in December.
Code Commerce features interviews from entrepreneurs and executives “driving change” in the e-commerce and payments industries.
Apple Pay is now available in 12 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, and Switzerland, with evidence pointing towards a German launch soon.
Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday said Apple Pay transactions increased nearly 500% year-over-year in the September quarter. Apple Pay saw more transactions in the September quarter than all of 2015 around the world.
The lineup of speakers will also include Jack Dorsey, founder and CEO of mobile payments company Square, and Peter Szulczewski, founder and CEO of Wish, the second most popular shopping app in the U.S. behind Amazon.
Apple executive Bozoma Saint John, Head of Global Consumer Marketing for Apple Music and iTunes, will likewise speak at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit, a two-day event on November 29-30 in Laguna Niguel, California.
MPW Next Gen Summit provides participants with an “unparalleled opportunity” to connect with other “rapidly rising executives, entrepreneurs, and innovators in business, government, philanthropy, education and the arts.”
Related Roundup: Apple Pay
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‘Fly Delta’ iOS App Update Lets Users Track Luggage Using RFID Tags
Delta Airlines recently announced an update to its Fly Delta app that will allow customers to track their luggage by following its journey on a map of the United States. Using RFID tags on a user’s bag, which the airline introduced earlier in the year, the app shows the luggage’s “last known location,” determined by the airport at which it was most recently scanned (via CNN).
When the app is first opened, users see a glimpse of a zoomed out map of the U.S. and they can catch up with a bag’s journey as it travels from one airport to the next, eventually zooming in on its most recent leg of the journey. The step of the bag’s progress at each airport is marked by a pin, with its most current location represented by a suitcase icon. If a user taps any of these pieces of UI, more information about the location and bag’s status will be displayed.
“We’re the first carrier to offer this level of visibility,” said Bill Lentsch, Delta’s Senior Vice President – Airline Operations and Airport Customer Service. “From the moment our customers drop off their bag, we want them to know we’re looking out for it every step of the way and working to take the stress out of flying one innovation at a time.”
“We listen to our customers and know they want a simplified mobile experience that puts the control back in their hands,” said Rhonda Crawford, Vice President – Global Distribution & Digital Strategy. “Fly Delta 4.0 automatically updates when your flight details change, keeping customers informed.”
While the update is available now, Delta said that push notifications won’t be coming until later in the year, but will “offer Delta customers down-to–the-minute updates on their checked baggage.” The 4.0 update also introduces an integration of boarding passes into the “Today” screen, and a tweak to electronic boarding passes now allows them to automatically update with seat, gate, and flight information.
The new bag tracking ability in the Fly Delta app is available at all of Delta’s domestic airports — 84 total in the U.S. — and the airline said international stations will be gaining the feature “in the coming months.” Fly Delta is available to download from the iOS App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Tag: Delta Airlines
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How to use the blue light-killing Night Light on the Google Pixel
How do I use the Night Light feature on the Google Pixel?
Like many phones this year, Google’s Pixel offers a feature called Night Light that tints the screen a reddish-yellow to reduce the amount of sleep-affecting blue light being given off by the phone’s AMOLED display.
While it’s not likely going to save you a sleepless night if you’re prone to bouts of insomnia, blue light filters have been shown to cut down on the negative consequences of lengthy periods in front of a screen, especially under artificial indoor light.
Sound like a feature you’re interested in trying? Here’s how to do it.
How to enable Night Light on the Google Pixel
On the home screen, swipe down from the notification shade.
Tap the Settings button on the right side.
Scroll down to Display.
Tap Night Light.
Tap on Turn on automatically.
Enable Custom schedule or Sunset to sunrise (recommended).
If setting Custom schedule, set the Start time and End time.
Under Status, enable On / Turn off automatically at set period.
You can also set Night Light manually.
Swipe down on the notification shade
Swiping down again to access the Quick Settings menu.
Tap the moon icon (Night Light) to enable/disable.
That’s it! You should now have everything you need to get a good night’s sleep — except, you know, a bed. And a nice pillow. And you should probably walk away from your phone every once in a while, anyway.
Google Pixel + Pixel XL
- Google Pixel and Pixel XL review
- Google Pixel XL review: A U.S. perspective
- Google Pixel FAQ: Should you upgrade?
- Pixel + Pixel XL specs
- Understanding Android 7.1 Nougat
- Join the discussion in the forums!
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Best VR Device 2016: EE Pocket-lint Gadget Awards nominees
The 13th annual Pocket-lint Gadget Awards are just weeks away, with this year celebrating 14 categories from best phone and best camera to a couple of newbies in best VR device and best car.
There is also a 15th category in the form of Product of the Year, which is given to the best overall product based on the winners of each of the main categories. To be nominated within our Awards, all products and devices must have been reviewed by us in full over the last 12 months and as you can imagine, there are some fantastic contenders.
Every year in the run up to the Awards we produce a series of features, each of which dives a little deeper into the categories to give you the nominations for each and why they have been shortlisted. You can find all the previous features in our Awards hub, from Best Phone to Best Game, while here we are focusing on Best VR Device 2016.
As we mentioned, this is a brand new Pocket-lint Gadget Awards category, celebrating the arrival of virtual reality and looking at the best devices to watch or play VR content. There are five nominees from Google’s Cardboard to HTC’s Vive, but which should be crowned the VR king?
Click here to see the Awards nominees for 2016’s Best VR Device in a little more detail to help you make your mind up about which one should get your vote.
Voting in the 13th annual EE Pocket-lint Awards is now open, so you can let us know which one of these great devices you think should win the Best VR Device award for this year and give us your verdict on all, or some, of the other tech across the 13 categories. Click here to vote.
Winners will be announced at the exclusive event in London on 23 November in association with EE. For now, keep an eye on the EE Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2016 hub for all the latest on how the voting works, who the elite judges are and the EE Pocket-lint Gadget Awards shortlist.
The Morning After: Wednesday October 26th 2016
While you weren’t checking email, or sleeping and all that, Apple said its services are making bank despite decreased hardware sales this quarter. Then, the company’s new Macbook leaked ahead of the big Apple event later today. Oh, and Silicon Valley held a ridiculous fashion show, as seen above. Today, Microsoft’s big Surface event starts 10 AM Eastern time, while Apple’s show starts at 1 PM ET. Best bookmark those links: it’s going to be a busy day.
So that’s the new MacBook.Apple announces slower profits, then its new device leaks early
The headline might sound disastrous, but Apple’s recent financial result follows years and years of tremendous growth and profit. CEO Tim Cook pointed to its services arm (iCloud, iTunes Music, etc.) to demonstrate recent successes, but the company sold fewer iPhones, iPads and Macs again this quarter. Then its new MacBook model appeared to leak ahead of its grand event tomorrow, replete with port swap-arounds, an OLED task strip and (gasp!) no escape button. There is no escape.
Making shooting things sound like it shouldMicrosoft’s research arm helped make Gears of War 4 sound incredible
For ‘Gears of War 4’, Microsoft-owned game makers the Coalition created a sound production tool called Triton … with some help from Microsoft Research. Triton creates realistic reverb sounds based on objects inside the game. In fact, the system takes in an entire video game level (spatially and material-wise) and calculates the reverb properties of every material. From there, it applies realistic echo/reflection effects to explosions, bullets and (hopefully) dying alien scum. It sounds pretty good. Literally.
Heads up.Upgrade your car’s dash with Navdy’s HUD
Heads-up displays are usually the domain of new cars. But after finding crowdfunding success, Navdy lets you add a HUD to any darn car you’d like. The $800 device pairs with Android and iOS devices to offer a floating substitute for your smartphone: turn-by-turn navigation, music controls and notifications for messages and calls are all available, but the peripheral’s behaviour with mapping apps still needs a bit of work. Roberto took one for a drive and explains more.
Engage.The occasionally dull sensation of helming a ‘Star Trek’ starship in VR
While Trekkies can’t wait for ‘Star Trek Bridge Crew’ to land on VR headsets, some may realize they weren’t cut out to be the captain of a starship. Devout fan (and Senior Editor) Dan Cooper led a crew of Engadget writers on the virtual rescue mission.
A $15 million ad campaign only does so much.Amazon’s fashion fight
Clothing is one of the online retailer’s fastest-growing categories, but the haute couture old guard aren’t cutting Amazon any slack. Many luxury brands say having full control of the retail experience is paramount. And then there’s those counterfeit concerns.
So hot right now.When Silicon Valley does a Fashion Week…
.. of course there’s drones.
But wait, there’s more…
- Ubisoft’s next ‘The Division’ update tries to keep players past the endgame
- AT&T’s online-only TV service will cost $35 a month for 100 channels
- Netflix CEO hammers final nail into the “Netflix and chill” coffin.
‘Evolve’ is dying after its free-to-play transition failed
Evolve managed to bump its online player count from 300 to a million by going free-to-play, but developer Turtle Rock says it can no longer support the shooter. “We were hungry for more but unfortunately today is the last day that Turtle Rock Studios can work on Evolve,” studio Co-Founder Chris Ashton wrote. In a statement, publisher 2K Games said that it will take over day-to-day operation and that the servers will stay online “for the foreseeable future.” There will be no more updates, however.
The title arrived with some fanfare and decent critical praise. However, the lack of depth, controversial multiplayer asymmetric gameplay (where one player is a monster and the others are the team tracking it down) and pricey downloadable content (DLC) ultimately doomed the title. The average player count dropped to less then 500, so developer Turtle Rock, with the support of 2K Games, elected to make Evolve free to play on PCs, including the DLC content.
That seemed to work, as the player count soared to a million, with 15,000 players online at any given time. However, the team apparently couldn’t monetize the higher user base enough, so Turtle Rock is moving onto other things. “This is the life of AAA game developers are aren’t self-funded and don’t own their own IP,” Ashton said, adding that “this is not goodbye … we have lots of stuff in the works that we hope you’ll enjoy.”
Via: Polygon
Source: Turtle Bay, 2K Games
EE follows rivals by bundling broadband line rental prices
When the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) introduced new legislation requiring UK ISPs and providers to be clearer with their broadband pricing earlier this year, some heeded the advice faster than others. Vodafone and TalkTalk were the first to bundle line rental in their broadband packages, but today EE is joining the list. As of now, customers signing up to a new broadband and calls contract will receive a clear monthly price.
As ISP Review points out, EE’s simplified strategy does come at a (slight) cost. Before, customers signing up to the company’s 17Mbps broadband package would pay £18.50 per month — £1 for the first 18 months of service (rising to £10 per month afterwards) on top of the £17.50 monthly line rental. However, the updated packages now start at £19.50, which sees the bundled line rental charge rise by a pound. Customers will also be on the hook for a £7 router delivery.
“We’ve recently made changes to the way in which we present our home broadband pricing in line with the ASA’s recommendations,” says EE in a statement. “These changes complement updates made earlier this year to ensure our broadband pricing information is clear, simple and consistent for all customers, alongside providing great value for customers in the form of differentiated offers such as Data Boost and EE TV.”
Via: ISP Review
Source: EE
IBM Extends ‘Watson’ Cognitive Technology to its Enterprise iOS Apps
IBM announced at its “World of Watson” event in Las Vegas on Tuesday that it intends to combine the cognitive computing technology with its MobileFirst for iOS enterprise apps.
Watson is the company’s cloud-based deep data analytics and natural language processing framework, which has previously seen limited use in secure cloud and analytics services for enterprise versions of Apple’s HealthKit and ResearchKit apps.
Apple and IBM first collaborated on the MobileFirst for iOS initiative in 2014 in an attempt to create business solutions built around Apple’s mobile platform. By rolling out Watson to the MobileFirst program, IBM hopes to tailor Watson to integrate seamlessly with Apple’s own speech framework and allow business users to develop Watson APIs for their own specific needs.
General manager of IBM’s Apple partnership Mahmoud Naghshineh, described the vision ahead for the two companies in a press release.
“Apple and IBM set out more than two years ago to define the enterprise mobility market, ensuring that professionals could finally enjoy at work the same experience they’d come to expect as consumers. We are taking that to a whole new level by combining the power of Watson with the new speech framework of iOS 10. The combinations and possibilities are virtually endless.”
One example of the benefits of the integration is the Passenger + app, which when enhanced with Watson allows flight attendants to deliver more personal and relevant customer care while inflight: staff can learn in advance whether travelers prefer priority seating and if they have a favorite snack or beverage, for example, allowing cabin crew to customize services tailored for the passenger.
Under the continuing partnership with Apple, IBM has been selling iOS devices to corporate customers and creating a wide range of enterprise-focused apps tailored to industries like retail, healthcare, banking, travel, transportation, and more.
In related news, last week it was revealed that IBM had managed to make serious savings by replacing PCs with Macs across its staff base, in another sign of the two companies’ mutually beneficial partnership.
IBM began adopting Macs for its employees in mid-2015, quickly becoming one of Apple’s largest corporate customers. In the first year, it deployed approximately 30,000 Macs, and with employees continuing to choose Macs over PCs, IBM now has 90,000 deployed Macs supported by five admins.
Tag: IBM
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Jony Ive’s Next One-of-a-Kind Design Project is a Christmas Tree
Apple design chief Jony Ive and industrial designer Marc Newson are set to design London hotel Claridge’s 2016 Christmas Tree, it has been revealed (via The Verge).
The Claridge Christmas tree has become something of a festive Mayfair landmark, drawing Londoners and tourists alike, with notable designers having created the seasonal decoration since 2009.
Ive and Newson’s creation will be unveiled on November 18, and follows similar commemorative trees designed by Christopher Bailey for Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, and Kelly Ellis of McQueens, amongst others.
Ive has collaborated with close friend Newson on a number of one-of-a-kind projects in recent years, with many of the creations being sold off at auction and raising millions of dollars for charity in the process. Previous products have included a red Mac Pro, an aluminum desk, and a special edition Leica camera.
In 2014, it was revealed Newson had been officially hired part-time by Apple to work with Ive’s in-house design team. Newson is also rumored to have worked on previous Apple products before officially joining the company.
Tag: Marc Newson
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Best tablets 2016: The best tablets available to buy today
So you’re looking for a new tablet? If you’re looking for the best tablet of 2016, then you’ve come to the right place. We will guide you through the hottest 7-inch and larger slabs available today, in order to help you reach a decision on which tablet is the right device for you.
The tablets market is vast from the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, Huawei MediaPad M3 and the Amazon Fire, to the Apple iPad Air 2, Apple iPad Pro 9.7 and Microsoft Surface 3, but newest doesn’t always mean best. Refreshes are always on the horizon and this best tablets feature is continually updated to reflect recent launches, price changes, and ensure 2016’s latest devices appear alongside the best of 2015, and before, if applicable.
Only devices we have reviewed in full will appear on this list, but it covers all operating systems and all sizes under £550, so you’ll be armed with everything you need to consider when choosing to buy your next device.
Of course, the most important factor in buying a new device is making sure you have the best tablet for you, including the best for your budget, the features you need, the size that feels right, the build quality you want and platform that suits you best.
Click here to view the best tablets of 2016.
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