Jony Ive Says Apple Watch Hermès Doesn’t Make Apple ‘Exclusive’

Apple design chief Jony Ive and Hermès artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas recently spoke with The Wall Street Journal about how the Apple Watch Hermès came to be.

Interestingly, the two companies began collaborating on the premium Apple Watch last year, several months before the wrist-worn device was released.

“It’s something highly unusual for Apple to do—to talk about an unannounced project,” said Mr. Ive, 48 years old. They decided to partner over lunch in Paris, where Hermès is based, last October.

Jony Ive believes that, while the Apple Watch Hermès was the most expensive product introduced at Apple’s media event earlier this week, the premium watch does not make Apple an “exclusive” company. He later compared the Apple Watch Hermès to the Apple Watch Sport, stating that the same amount of time and effort went into designing both models.

“We don’t think in those terms,” Mr. Ive said in an interview Wednesday, after the Apple Watch Hermès was unveiled. “I’m not comfortable with words like exclusive.” […]

“Look at this next to one of the sport collection,” he says, referring to the $349 rubber-bracelet version that accounts for the majority of watch sales to date, according to people familiar with the matter. “There’s not one that had more care invested in its designing or making.”

Nevertheless, Apple’s partnership with luxury goods maker Hermès is further evidence the Apple Watch is being positioned to both the high-end technology and fashion industries. The returns could be lucrative, with the Apple Watch Hermès lineup ranging in price from $1,100 to $1,500.

Apple Watch Hermès watches feature leather straps handmade in France, with ten different models to choose from in Single Tour, Double Tour and Cuff designs. The collection will be available for purchase in October at select Apple Store and Hermès locations in Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Toronto.

Pad & Quill Debuts Traveler Case for iPhone 6/6s, Timber Nightstand for Apple Watch

Pad & Quill has unveiled a new Traveler bumper-wallet case for iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus alongside a new Timber Nightstand for Apple Watch. Pad & Quill’s existing lineup of wallet cases, including the Valet Sleeve and The Luxury Pocket Book, are also compatible with the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

The new Traveler case is handcrafted from American full grain leather, with an orange hand stitched accent, camera aperture opening, parachute grade stitching and two pockets on the back for holding cash and up to 6-8 credit cards or IDs. The cases ship in late September for $79.95 in Dark Chocolate or Whiskey Brown.

The new Timber Nightstand docks the Apple Watch in landscape orientation for Nightstand Mode on watchOS 2, and also has a slot for keys, extra watch bands or other jewelry. The nightstand, handcrafted from a single piece of hardwood, ships in 7-10 business days for $89.95 (American Cherry) or $119.95 (American Walnut).

iPad Pro Features Improved Storage Controller for Desktop-Class Performance

Apple’s new iPad Pro is powered by a 64-bit A9X processor that delivers up to 1.6 times faster performance over the iPad Air 2, with up to twice as fast graphics. Apple also says the tablet has up to 80% faster performance and up to 90% faster graphics over portable PCs.

Apple’s website notes the underlying technology behind the iPad Pro’s desktop-class performance is a new storage controller that increases read and write speeds so that large files, such as 4K videos or RAW photos imported from an HD camera, can be opened much quicker (via AppleInsider).

The A9X chip is capable of processing data so quickly, it demanded a new memory architecture. iPad Pro features a revamped storage controller that helps deliver performance better than some desktop computers. This increases read and write speeds, so you can quickly open even the largest files. Like the big 4K movie you just edited or all the RAW images you imported from your HD camera.

iPad Pro launches in November in Silver, Space Gray and Gold, starting at $799 for a 32GB Wi-Fi only model. A 128GB Wi-Fi only model will cost $949 and a Wi-Fi + LTE 128GB model will cost $1,079. A new Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard will launch alongside the tablet for $99 and $169 respectively.

Apple’s ‘Hey Siri’ Feature in iOS 9 Uses Individualized Voice Recognition

Following the release of the first public beta for iOS 9.1 yesterday, a few of the testers have come across a new feature introduced in the update. Somewhere in the Settings app, it appears that Apple has quietly added a set-up process for the new “Hey Siri” feature coming to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, thanks to a built-in M9 motion coprocessor that enables the phones’ always-on functionality.

Although unconfirmed by Apple, the discovery in iOS 9.1 suggests that Siri will be able to begin detecting specific user voices and determine whether or not the owner of the iPhone in question is speaking to her. Similar in vein to the way Apple aimed its Touch ID feature to work better and better the more you unlocked an iPhone using the fingerprint scanning sensor, it seems the set-up process will guide users into stating words or phrases to better acclimate Siri with each iPhone owner.

Found in General > Siri > Allow ‘Hey Siri’, the new always-on feature is the next step-up in the technology by Apple, allowing users to ask Siri questions or make changes within the iPhone’s apps by simply stating “Hey Siri” near the iPhone.

Thanks Alan and Daniel!

Lloyds and Halifax now support Apple Pay in the UK

Apple Pay had a difficult start in the UK. Not all of the banks supported it at launch, leaving some iPhone and Apple Watch owners feeling frustrated. Slowly but surely, however, most of the major players have now jumped on board. Lloyds and Halifax are the latest to enter the fray — some customers are reporting that they’re able to link their accounts and make payments. It appears to be a gradual roll-out, however, so if your card isn’t supported just yet, we suspect it will be shortly. As 9to5Mac reports, that brings the grand total up to 11 banks in the UK: American Express, First Direct, HSBC, Halifax, Lloyds, NatWest, NationWide, MBNA, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Ulster. The most glaring omission? Barclays, which is probably still hoping that you’ll adopt bPay instead.

Update: Halifax and Lloyds say they’re still updating their systems, so it could be a while before everyone has access. A full roll-out will be announced “soon,” however.

@nisummers We’re in the process of enabling Apple Pay meaning some customers will be able to register. We’ll announce full launch soon. ^DL

— Lloyds Bank (@AskLloydsBank) September 11, 2015

@nisummers Hi, I’m GW. We are in the process of enabling Apple Pay meaning some customers will be able to register. 1/2

— Halifax (@AskHalifaxBank) September 11, 2015

[Image Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

Filed under:
Cellphones, Apple

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Source:
9to5Mac

Tags: apple, applepay, applewatch, halifax, lloyds, mobilepayments

HandyCase adds touch controls to the back of your iPhone or iPad

It can be tough playing games on a tablet, since you can’t hold ’em up comfortably like a controller or a phone. Silicon Valley startup HandScape believes their iPhone and iPad “HandyCase” is the answer to that problem. HandyCase might look just like any other protective shell, you see, but it actually adds touch capability to the back of your device. Plus, it animates your fingers as you move them from behind, making the phone or tablet seem transparent. You can even choose what kind of fingers you see on screen: the ordinary/boring kind, robotic digits or x-ray hands.

Since the startup is still in the midst of crowdfunding $100,000 to kick its project into production, don’t expect to be able to buy and get one shipped overnight. That said, the HandyCase is available for the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, as well as for the iPad Air, mini and Pro. The amount you’d have to pledge varies depending on the device, but it looks like the company won’t be shipping out any unit until April 2016.

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Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple

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Via:
Gizmag

Source:
Kickstarter

Tags: apple, handscape, handycase, kickstarter, mobilepostcross

Apple’s Live Photos Take Up About 2x Space of Normal Images

One of the novel new features coming in the iPhone 6s is the new Live Photos feature which captures an additional 3 seconds of video surrounding photos on the new iPhones. The new feature is on by default and allows you to take photos as usual. Apple describes it:

A still photo captures an instant frozen in time. With Live Photos, you can turn those instants into unforgettable living memories. At the heart of a Live Photo is a beautiful 12‑megapixel photo. But together with that photo are the moments just before and after it was taken, captured with movement and sound

Live Photos will be viewable on existing iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watch devices with the latest operating systems. Apple is also opening up the API for developers to support the new format in their own apps. Facebook has already committed to supporting Live Photos in their iOS app later this year.

While few details about the new image format has been released, TechCrunch’s Matthew Panzarino reveals in a video that the new format will take up approximate twice the space of a normal 12MP photo. Panzarino describes that even the current iPhones start taking photos the moment the Camera app is launched, and that traditionally, only the last photo the moment the shutter is pressed is stored. The new system will simply take the surrounding photos and compress them into this new format.

Meanwhile, @DanMatte reveals that the new Live Photos format is a bundle of images based on the JPEG file format, allowing them to be easily sent as a still image to devices that don’t support Live Photo. Apple’s developer documents indicate that you can share the image as a regular JPEG if desired.

More details should come out as the new iPhones begin shipping on September 25th.

Zagg Announces Two Keyboard Cases for iPad Pro

Just a day after Logitech announced the first third-party keyboard case for the iPad Pro, Zagg revealed its keyboard case lineup for Apple’s newest iPad line. However, unlike Logitech’s keyboard, which was developed with Apple and utilizes the new Smart Connector, ZAGG’s cases require a Bluetooth connection.

The first keyboard case for the iPad Pro is the Slim Book Pro, which will retail for $139.99. The iPad Pro’s Slim Book is essentially a larger version of the same keyboard case that’s available for the iPad Air and iPad Mini, which is a keyboard that comes with a detachable case for the iPad. The second case is a new product called the Messenger Universal, which will retail for $69.99. Zagg has not yet detailed how the Messenger Universal works or what it looks like.

Zagg also announced the new line of keyboard cases for the new iPad Mini 4. The Slim Book with backlit keys will retail for $119.99 and be available on September 15. Two Folio cases will be available on September 25, with the backlit keys option available for $99.99 and the non-backlit option available for $79.99.

The Slim Book Pro and Messenger Universal for iPad Pro will both be available for purchase in November. Zagg also hints that it will offer a full range of accessories for both the iPad Pro and iPad Mini 4, including InvisibleShield screen protector and power and audio products.

Tim Cook to Speak at 2015 WSJ.D Conference in October

The Wall Street Journal today revealed that Apple CEO Tim Cook will speak at the WSJ.D conference in October. The conference brings together tech CEOs, founders and pioneers to “explore the most exciting tech opportunities emerging around the world.”

This marks the second consecutive year Cook has spoken at the conference. Last year, Cook commented on an array of topics, including Apple Watch, Apple Pay, the discontinuation of the iPod Classic and more. Last year’s highlights included the revelation that the Apple Watch only needed to be charged daily and that the iPod Classic was discontinued because the Cupertino company couldn’t get the parts any longer.

Earlier today, Re/code also announced that Apple Pay head Jennifer Bailey will speak at the Code/Mobile conference, which takes place October 7 – 8 in Half Moon Bay, California.

This year’s WSJ.D conference takes place October 19 – 21 at The Montage in Laguna Beach, California and will also feature CBS CEO Les Moonves, Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai and more.