Waterfield Debuts New Cases for Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad 2

San Francisco-based accessory manufacturer Waterfield Designs today unveiled a new line of protective cases for the newly announced Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad 2. The company promises that the custom-fit cases protect the new Apple accessories from everyday drops and dings, and are thin and light enough to slip into bigger bags.

The Waterfield Magic Keyboard Slip case
The Magic Keyboard has three case options for customers to choose from, the first being the full-featured $59 Magic Keyboard Travel Express, which fits the new keyboard along with power cables, a Magic Mouse and a host of other possibilities in its zippered case. A bit down in price from that is the $29 Magic Keyboard Slip, which takes the housing and look of Waterfield’s MacBook case line and shrinks it down to accommodate the slim new Magic Keyboard. The bare-bones $15 Magic Keyboard Socket promises to protect the new accessory “on a student’s budget.”

“Many laptop and tablet owners use a separate keyboard with their mobile devices to avoid potential Repetitive Strain Injuries (like carpel tunnel syndrome) and other ergonomic problems,” explained founder Gary Waterfield, “But—as too many of us know from experience—one small spill can instantly ruin a Keyboard or TrackPad. We designed the Magic Keyboard and TrackPad 2 cases to protect these devices so that users can take them from workstation to workstation or from work to home with peace of mind.”

The Magic Trackpad 2 is seeing a similar new line of cases from Waterfield today, with a $25 Slip case that provides heavier durability and an extra accessory sleeve and the cheaper $12 Socket option for those wanting protection on the cheaper side. All of the company’s new cases can be ordered from its official website beginning today, with an estimated shipping date of Friday, October 23.

Tim Cook expects ‘massive change’ in the auto industry

In an interview yesterday evening at the WSJD Live event in Laguna Beach, California, Tim Cook didn’t spend too much time talking about phones and computers. Rather, he chatted about the company’s newest and more forward-thinking endeavors like the TV, the Watch and Apple Music. And: he even fielded a few questions about the future of, ahem, cars.

No, he didn’t specifically say that Apple was making a car — Cook is obviously too media-savvy to let anything like that slip — but he did say that the auto industry is ripe for change. “It would seem like that there will be a massive change in that industry,” he said, and not just an evolutionary one. “When I look at the automobile, I see that software is becoming an increasingly important part of the car of the future.” Autonomous driving is becoming more important, he said, and a lot of the major technologies in the car signify a shift away from traditional combustion engines to what he calls the “electrification” of the vehicle. In the short term, Cook said the company already has an automotive solution called CarPlay, which is already deployed in a number of brands in the business. “We want people as they enter the car to have an iPhone experience,” he said.

Cook was, however, much more ebullient when discussing the topic of Apple TVs, which he says should be available starting next week. “I’ve never been so confident that it’s the foundation of the future of TV,” he said, adding that the current way we watch television is broken. With the ability to record shows and watch them on-demand, there’s really even no need for a traditional “channel” anymore. “Linear TV is going away […] This model has outlived its usefulness.” Of course, this requires content companies to jump on board, which HBO already has. “Have you ever tried to buy HBO through a cable company?” asked Cook, drawing a comparison with how easy it is to subscribe to it with the advent of HBO Now.

Tim Cook on Apple TV and cord-cutting: “If we can play a role being a catalyst here, we’ll play that role. I’m really excited. The starting gun has been fired.”

On whether or not Apple TV will get even more folks to cut the cord, Cook said that you have to build a foundation and a platform first. Apple TV, he said, is that platform. To content companies, he said: “You want to get your content to people who want to watch it. You want to interact with your customer. You can’t do that today with today’s system.”

“If we can play a role being a catalyst here, we’ll play that role,” he said. “I’m really excited. The starting gun has been fired.”

On the Watch, well, Cook still refused to reveal any kind of sales numbers on the Apple wearable, which is a little surprising considering how Apple is traditionally pretty open about sharing sales figures. “This is competitive information,” Cook offered as an excuse,” I don’t want to give anyone information if we don’t have to.” All he would say is that the company “shipped a lot” of watches and that it has a long product roadmap ahead of it. As for whether there’ll ever be a watch independent of a phone? “I don’t want to tell you that!”

Apple Music is also supposedly doing quite well, according to Cook, with around 15 million subscribers to-date. That said, more than half of those numbers are still on the 90-day free trial, while 6.5 million or so are actually paying for the service. Human curation is what sets it apart, said Cook, with professional DJs putting together a playlist that’s a little more tailored than standard algorithms. “It’s totally different […] You know it when you feel it. It brings the art back in music.”

Cook also spent a great deal of time talking about Apple’s commitment to privacy, saying that he’ll always encrypt user data and won’t allow any kind of security backdoor. “You can’t have a backdoor in software that’s only for the good guys; any backdoor is something that bad guys can exploit.” He added that the company feels significant obligation to help its customers protect their information. Answering a question on whether this would limit the government’s ability to catch criminals, Cook said: “No one should have to decide between privacy or [national] security. You should be able to [have] both.”

Last but not least, Cook ended the interview by discussing Apple’s roles in advancing human and environmental rights as well as putting effort into funding and supplying underprivileged schools. Of note is Apple’s commitment to gay marriage rights, which might’ve alienated some of its customers. In the end, however, Cook said it’s worth it. It shows that the company has a core belief and that it’s authentic, and even people who don’t ascribe to those same beliefs can respect that.

“Steve formed Apple to change the world. This was his vision. He wanted to give technology to everyone […] to empower them to do great things,” said Cook. “We still have this vision.”

Apple Music has 15 million users, but free trials count for over half

After informing the audience at WSJ Live that the Apple TV arrives next week, Tim Cook went on to talk / praise Apple Music, which now has 15 million listeners. The generous free three-month trial still encompasses the majority of these, with 8.5 million people still feeling the service out. However, that means around 6.5 million iPhone, iPad and Mac owners that are paying the monthly subscription fee. Or forgot to cancel it.

Tim Cook mentioning Apple Music subscription numbers reminds me I need to cancel the subscription I’ve never, ever used.

— Richard Lawler (@rjcc) October 20, 2015

Tim Cook Talks Apple Watch, iPhone 6s, Apple TV, Cars, Privacy, and More at WSJDLive

Apple CEO Tim Cook is on stage for the opening night of the WSJDLive conference in Palm Springs, California, with Wall Street Journal editor Gerry Baker interviewing Cook about a variety of topics. Live coverage of the interview is being offered by publications including WSJ.D and The Verge, and we’ll be updating this post with highlights from the session.

Photo via The Verge
– On whether Apple wants to control every facet of our lives: Apple does very few products, and puts a lot of care into them, but Apple does want you to have a seamless experience throughout your home and work life.

– Citing competitive reasons, Cook once again declines to share Apple Watch sales numbers. “We shipped a lot the first quarter, then last quarter we shipped even more. And I can predict this quarter we will ship even more.” Addressing Baker’s skepticism about the device, Cook refers to customer satisfaction being “off the charts.”

– Talking now about iPhone 6s and the iPhone Upgrade Program, Cook insists it’s not meant to compete with carriers. It’s simply a plan for people who want to get a new iPhone every year. Addressing the need to keep innovating on iPhone and whether Apple is on a two-year cycle as it appears to many people, Cook stresses all of the new features included on the iPhone 6s.

– Cook says Apple Music has 6.5 million paying customers and 8.5 million more still on free trials. Cook stresses the human curation aspect of Apple Music and notes the company feels “fantastic” about customer uptake so far.

– Regarding Apple TV, Cook sees it as a “foundation” for a new type of experience as Apple tries to fix the “broken” experience of watching television. With Apple TV, providers like HBO can sell directly to consumers. The current system of “linear TV” with channels needs to be “brought up and modernized” and apps will help do that.

– Apple TV orders will kick off on Monday, October 26 with shipments beginning by the end of that week.

– Baker asks about Apple’s car project, but Cook hesitates to say much. He does admit that software becomes increasingly important, and that enables other shifts like electrification and autonomous control. But in the short term, Apple wants people to have the iPhone experience in the car. “We’ll see what we do in the future.”

– On the retail front, Cook notes Apple will have 40 stores in China by the end of next year, and China currently provided in the “mid-20s” percentage of Apple’s revenue. Angela Ahrendts has also been focused on integrating online and in-store shopping experiences.

– Cook and Baker talking about user privacy, with Cook giving his usual comments about how privacy is a key value for Apple but that the company believes it can still provide an excellent customer experience and services while maintaining that privacy. In response to a question about Apple’s relationship to national security organizations, Cook says he is “very” comfortable with it and he shares the company’s views that any software backdoors are unacceptable and encryption is a necessity. A rather tense debate about the tradeoff between privacy and national security ensues.

– Final question of the interview is about Apple increasing its willingness to speak out on issues and take leadership roles, and Cook notes Apple has a “responsibility to be a great global citizen.” Cook points to the environment, human rights, and education as areas where it can lead. Cook says Apple has stepped up its efforts to “leave the world better than we found it” because “government isn’t working well.” Cook says Apple isn’t worried about alienating customers with its stances, noting the company isn’t forcing its views on anyone, and he hopes people who may be upset with Apple’s positions in these areas can still think Apple makes great products and respect Apple for making efforts to put its values into practice.

Tim Cook Says New Apple TV Will Ship ‘Next Week’, Orders Begin Monday

While speaking at tonight’s WSJDLive conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that the new Apple TV will begin shipping next week. Orders will begin taking orders for the new set-top box on Monday, October 26 with shipments beginning at the end of the week.

The new Apple TV, which Cook also said is the “foundation” for a new type of TV experience, features an A8 processor and either 32 or 64 GB of storage. It also has support for a full App Store, which Apple says will help “modernize” the “linear TV” experience that most consumers are familiar with. The new Apple TV also comes with the brand new Siri Remote, which allows users to use Siri to easily sort and find their favorite TV shows and movies.

The new fourth-generation Apple TV will be available for $149 with 32 GB of storage and $199 with 64 GB of storage.

Tim Cook says the new Apple TV is coming next week

Apple’s CEO is being interviewed tonight at the WSJ Live event, and Tim Cook revealed that yes, the new Apple TV will arrive this month as promised. The taller, more powerful fourth generation box is due to ship next week, bringing along its touchpad remote and access to the App Store. There were no specifics about in-store purchases or online orders, so those waiting may not have to wait until next month after all. In his comments he explained the TV experience is a decade behind the iPhone, and needs to be modernized. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings recently pondered a future where apps are bundled like channels, but for now Cook is just focusing on how ridiculous the traditional pay TV setup is and where it can be improved upon, saying “Have you ever tried to buy HBO through a cable company?” Good point.

Apple Maps Adds Amtrak Routes in Northeastern U.S. and Transit Directions for Boston

As part of its efforts to add transit directions in iOS 9, Apple has recently updated Apple Maps to include multiple Amtrak routes in the Northeastern United States. Available mainly in the cities where transit directions have been implemented, the longest Amtrak route available runs from Chicago to New York.

Supported routes include the Northeast Regional, Acela Express, Keystone, Lake Shore Limited, Pennsylvanian, and Maple Leaf, many of which operate between cities in the Northeastern United States.

The Acela Express, for example, runs between Boston, New Haven, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC. Lake Shore Limited runs from New York/Boston to Albany to Chicago, while Maple Leaf runs from New York to Niagara Falls to Toronto.

Amtrak routes in the South, West, Midwest, and Northwest are not currently available in Apple Maps, but the information will likely be implemented as Apple expands transit information to additional areas across the United States. Transit directions are currently available in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and San Francisco.

Along with Amtrak support for several cities where transit directions are supported, Apple has also added transit information for the Boston area. Boston was initially added to Apple’s list of supported cities earlier this month, but the page was later updated to note the feature wouldn’t officially be working until a later date in October.

As of this morning, transit directions are available in Boston, allowing Boston residents to access directions by Amtrak, commuter rail, buses, and more. The next city to gain transit directions will be Sydney, which was also added to Apple’s list of supported cities earlier in the month. While Boston transit information is live, it does not yet appear to be available in Sydney.

(Thanks, Alec!)

Apple pulls hundreds of apps that collected personal data

Apple recently suffered a rare breakdown of its App Store review policies. Because of that lapse, a couple hundred apps that used private APIs to collect personal information from users made its way into the App Store — but Apple has confirmed that it pulled the offending apps. Analytics service SourceDNA first noticed these problematic apps and discovered that a third-party SDK for Chinese advertising platform Youmi was grabbing device serial numbers, lists of installed apps and the phone’s Apple ID email address.

In all, 256 apps that had been downloaded about a million times in total were using the Youmi SDK, with most installs happening in China. That’s a relatively small number, but the ease at which the Youmi SDK was able to disguise its data-gathering techniques makes SourceDNA concerned that other apps may contain similar nefarious code. It appears the developers are innocent in this case — the SDK uploaded the collected data to Youmi, not the developers themselves, and given the level of obfuscation here it seems that developers didn’t even know the SDK was gathering this data. On its end, Apple says it is working with developers to help them get safe versions of their apps back in the store.

Apple released the following statement regarding this security concern:

We’ve identified a group of apps that are using a third-party advertising SDK, developed by Youmi, a mobile advertising provider, that uses private APIs to gather private information, such as user email addresses and device identifiers, and route data to its company server. This is a violation of our security and privacy guidelines. The apps using Youmi’s SDK have been removed from the App Store and any new apps submitted to the App Store using this SDK will be rejected. We are working closely with developers to help them get updated versions of their apps that are safe for customers and in compliance with our guidelines back in the App Store quickly.

[Image credit: Shutterstock]

Via: 9to5Mac

Source: SourceDNA