Twitter’s ‘Periscope’ App Coming to New Apple TV

Apple’s upcoming revamped Apple TV will support a full App Store, and TechCrunch has shared some details on one of the first third-party apps that will be available for the device. According to the site, live video streaming service Periscope is building an app for the Apple TV, which will likely allow users to watch content streamed from the Periscope iOS app.

We don’t have a specific unveiling or launch date for Periscope on Apple TV. Twitter and Periscope did not respond to our inquiry before press time. The app might be previewed in tomorrow’s Apple keynote to show off the potential of the Apple TV software development kit. Apple wants to get developers’ minds swirling with ideas for what they could build.

Periscope, owned by Twitter, is an app that allows users to capture and broadcast live video streams. Currently, Periscope videos can be watched solely on the web and through smartphones using iOS and Android apps, but with an expansion to the Apple TV, video streams will be available natively on larger screens for the first time.

Apple’s revamped Apple TV will debut tomorrow, at the company’s iPhone-centric September 9 event to be held at the Bill Graham Civic Center. Along with a full App Store that will include both apps and games, the new set top box will include deep Siri and search integration, a touch-based motion-enabled remote control, an A8 processor, and additional storage space.

Apple’s event will begin at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time tomorrow morning. MacRumors will have live coverage both on MacRumors.com and through our MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

What to expect from Apple’s ‘Hey Siri’ iPhone event

Gosh, is it September already? The impending leaf death and the moaning of young’uns going back to school are usually accompanied by shiny new Apple gewgaws to gawk at, and this year is no exception. We’ll be schlepping cross-country to bring you all the news from Apple’s “Hey Siri” event at 10AM Pacific/1PM Eastern on Wednesday, but before we grab our boarding passes and all our cameras, let’s recap what we think the company’s got in store for us.

New iPhones with a familiar twist

Anyone hoping for a massive design overhaul has at least a year to wait — the two new iPhones, the 6s and the 6s Plus, should look just about identical to the models we’ve already got. The only major exterior differences are subtle ones, like a near-imperceptibly thicker waistline, a new rose gold finish and a shift toward the same 7000 Series aluminum used in the Apple Watch Sport. Sorry. Still, that just means we’re getting plenty of under-the-hood improvements. Expect to see some new silicon in the form of a new A9 processor made by Samsung coupled with 2GB of RAM (finally bringing it in line with the iPad Air 2).

We don’t know how fast the A9 is going to be clocked, but snappier performance is table stakes in a game like this and at least one sketchy rumor claims it’s about 20 percent more powerful than last year’s A8. Meanwhile, a tipster on Weibo first posted details of the new iPhones’ 12-megapixel camera back in July, a notion that’s been accepted and expanded on in recent weeks. The camera upgrade also means the new iPhones will be able to shoot 4K video, a feature that’s already found its way into most flagship Android phones. Throw in a screen-based selfie flash and a modestly improved FaceTime camera and you’ve got the photographic situation in a nutshell.

And then, of course, there’s Force Touch. We’ve already gotten a taste of it in the Apple Watch and a slew of updated MacBooks, but the feature is expected to get a little more nuanced when it makes its way to these new iPhones. 9to5Mac reports that the 6s and 6s Plus will be able to pick up three distinct levels of pressure — a tap, a press and a deep press — with a little help from an updated version of Apple’s Taptic Engine. Let’s not mince words: This has the potential to be the biggest change in how we interact with iPhones since the launch of the App Store seven years ago. Reports suggest that Force Touch will be very subtly integrated into the system as a whole, acting as a way to access actions and shortcuts for supported apps. This might not sound like a huge deal, but developers will flock to it and it’s in line with the “get things done faster” philosophy Apple embraced with its Watch.

The iPad finally goes Pro

The first mention of a super-sized “Pro” iPad model started floating around in 2013, and it looks like its time has finally come. If all those rumors hold true, we’ll be looking at a tablet with an enormous 12.9-inch display onstage soon — that’s even larger than the Surface Pro’s spacious screen. While we’re talking Surface similarities, Apple reportedly has a keyboard cover and a Force Touch-sensitive stylus ready to go with this premium slab, although you’ll probably have to buy them separately.

A pro-level version of the iPad will need more than just a big screen to set itself apart from its punier siblings, and that’s where 9to5Mac says the new A9X chip comes into play. It’s said to be a big step forward from the already-powerful A8X chipset in the existing iPad Air 2, but the big question is how much more oomph does it pack than the A9 found in the iPhone 6s. Here’s hoping the answer is “loads.” This thing should also come with a lot of custom iOS 9 enhancements to put that screen to good use; among other things, we’re hearing it can run two full-size iPad apps side by side. Alas, don’t expect to waltz into an Apple Store and buy one the day after the event: Production delays have been part of the iPad Pro narrative for months and the best guesses now have pegged a late fall launch.

Then there’s the slightly neglected iPad Mini line, which was hardly touched last time — all it got was a new color and a Touch ID-laden home button. Feh. The scuttlebutt this time ’round suggests Apple’s tiny tab will sport the same specs and sleek design we got in last year’s iPad Air 2. Better late than never, we guess.

The OS-man cometh

New hardware also means new software to power it, and we’ve already got a solid grasp on what’s new in iOS 9. Now all that’s left to wait for is an official release date, which Apple will probably drop toward the end of the event tomorrow. We’ll also likely get a firm launch window for watchOS 2 as well, which brings a handful of new watch faces and support for native Watch apps to your wrist. Does anyone care to make a bet?

Reaching deeper into your living room

The Apple TV is no “hobby” — not anymore. It’s a cheap, easy-to-use Trojan horse that funnels more of Cupertino’s content into our lives and it’s getting a pretty hefty upgrade. On a hardware level, the next-gen Apple TV should be bumped to either 8GB or 16GB of internal storage and get the same A8 brain as the current generation iPhones. That trademark black chassis should shed a few millimeters in the process, but the really neat physical changes might happen on that once-chintzy silver remote. TechCrunch suggests it’ll have embedded Wii-like motion-control sensors, which developers will probably have a field day with as they build apps for display in the platform’s new App Store. And yeah, as you probably guessed, the unholy combination of a motion-sensing controller and an app store means we’re likely to see gaming take on renewed importance onstage tomorrow.

Waggling your remote isn’t the only new way you’ll be able to interact with an Apple TV. In addition to having a touch-sensitive pad wedged into its top quarter, the remote will have a microphone so you can chat up Siri. If reports hold true, you can ask Siri to search for specific actors or titles with your voice — it’ll then scour multiple sources for content that fits the bill. The age of universal search is upon us, and it couldn’t have happened soon enough. After all, pecking out titles like Scrotal Recall with the d-pad on existing Apple TV remotes was always, always a pain in the ass. In a way, the Apple TV is being molded into something more like the NVIDIA Shield TV set-top box; you won’t hear us complaining about that. The thing is, this new version of Apple’s squarish hockey puck isn’t expected to play nice with 4K video content. The move isn’t completely insane — there’s still a dearth of ultra-high-res content out there — but it is a little puzzling considering the new iPhones should be able to record at that resolution just fine.

In the end…

This represents the lion’s share of what Apple will probably talk up in a massive auditorium tomorrow, but there’s always the chance CEO Tim Cook will pull out something completely random. The only way to know for sure is to park it here and join us bright and early(ish) tomorrow — let’s just take it all in together, shall we?

Filed under:
Mobile, Apple

Comments

Tags: apple, event, ios, ios9, ipad, ipadpro, iphone, iphone6, iphone6plus, iphone6s, iphone6splus, mobilepostcross, preview, whattoexpect

Tune into our iPhone liveblog tomorrow at 1pm ET!

Hello, readers! By the time you read this, I’ll be up in the air, on my way to beautiful California. Tomorrow Apple is holding its annual September press event — aka, the one where it always announces new iPhones — and I’ll be reporting live from San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, along with Engadget’s senior mobile editor Chris Velazco. Who knows? We may get to see some other stuff too, like a refreshed Apple TV or the mythical iPad Pro. Your guess is good as ours, but all will be revealed tomorrow at 1pm ET when the keynote begins. Bookmark this liveblog link and be sure to tune in then — we’ll give you up-to-the second coverage and then later we’ll be getting hands-on with all the new goodies.

Filed under:
Announcements, Misc, Apple

Comments

Tags: apple, iphone2015, liveblog

Fresco News App Receives Major Update With Tools to Let Users Become Paid Photojournalists

Fresco News today launched a major update to its iOS app, introducing a new look and bringing tools to let Fresco News users become paid reporters and photojournalists, uploading photos and videos from newsworthy events around the world.

Any Fresco user can upload photos and videos that can be commissioned by news organizations worldwide. With the Fresco Newsroom Tool Suite, news stations can create location-based assignments as soon as an event happens, which sends an alert to Fresco News users who can go and capture photos and videos. Content is vetted by the Fresco content team, with content owners receiving credit and payment for their work.

“We want to make reporting in the media more transparent, and we think creating a way for viewers to experience news through the eyes of regular, everyday people is the best way to do that,” said John Meyer, CEO and founder. “For newsrooms, we’ve effectively created a way for them to get visual coverage of anything in 30 minutes or less using the incredible smartphone cameras in our pockets.”

Using content gathered from Fresco participants, the Fresco News app is able to deliver news through the eyes of ordinary people around the world, providing a raw look at current events that are happening around the globe. A “Highlights” tab within the app offers up a list of the most recent user-reported stories, while the “Stories” tab shows a selection of images from trending global events.

A camera is front and center within the app, so all users can capture photos and videos should they encounter anything newsworthy. An “Assignments” tab houses all of the content requests created by news sites, which is where a Fresco user can go to receive assignments to capture photos and videos at nearby events.

Fresco News also has an accompanying Apple Watch app that lets users get a quick look at breaking news headlines, with Handoff to the iPhone available for reading a story in-depth.

Fresco’s aim with the news Fresco News app is to cover a wider range of events happening worldwide. “We can shine a light on every relevant news event that should be read about and heard about,” said Fresco News CEO John Meyer.

Fresco News can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

G-Technology Expands Evolution Series With Four New Products

G-Technology today expanded its popular Evolution Series aimed at creative professionals, adding the new G-Speed Studio XL with ev Series Bay Adapters, ev Series Reader RED MINI-Mag Edition, G-Dock ev Solo, and ev Series FireWire Adapter.

For those unfamiliar with G-Technology’s Evolution Series, it’s a collection of flexible, interchangeable docking stations, external hard drives, and accessories, designed primarily for photo, video, and music editing.

The new G-Speed Studio XL, an eight-bay Thunderbolt 2 storage solution, introduces cross-compatibility between the ev Series and G-Technology’s high-performance Studio XL. This version of the modular Studio XL includes two ev Series Bay Adapters that can accommodate all ev Series G-Drives. With the G-Speed Studio XL, it’s possible for creative professionals to use one of the G-Drives out on location to capture content like photos and then plug directly into the G-Speed Studio XL when returning to the studio.

It’s configurable in RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and 10, and supports high volume data transfer rates of up to 1,200 MB/s. Pricing starts at $2,799.95 for 18TB and goes up to 48TB for $4,999.95.

G-Technology’s ev Series Reader RED MINI-MAG Edition was created in collaboration with RED Digital Cinema and lets RED camera users transfer content from a RED MINI-MAG media card to any standalone USB 3.0 drive, G-Dock ev docking station, or the new ev Series G-Speed Studio XL. Because it can be plugged into G-Technology’s Thunderbolt docks, it’s a good solution for RED camera users looking for a Thunderbolt-connected reader. It’s priced at $199.95.

The G-dock ev Solo is a simple USB 3.0 docking solution designed for shared environments like studios, computer labs, and classrooms. An existing ev Series hard drive can be plugged directly into the ev Solo, allowing users to transfer and edit files quickly. The G-Dock ev Solo is priced at $99.95.

G-Technology’s last product debuting today is the ev Series FireWire Adapter that lets ev Series drives be attached to an older computer that has a FireWire 800 port. It’s priced at $49.95.

All of the ev Series products being announced today will be available from the G-Technology website beginning in October, aside from the Firewire Adapter, which is available now.

Apple Making Big Hiring Push in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Apple is stepping up its efforts to recruit employees focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning, reports Reuters. The report suggests Apple is looking to challenge Google’s lead in features such as Google Now that learn to anticipate smartphone users’ needs, something Apple is starting to address in iOS 9 with its new “Proactive” feature.

As part of its push, the company is currently trying to hire at least 86 more employees with expertise in the branch of artificial intelligence known as machine learning, according to a recent analysis of Apple job postings. The company has also stepped up its courtship of machine-learning PhD’s, joining Google, Amazon, Facebook and others in a fierce contest, leading academics say.

Apple’s machine learning efforts are in large part built with Siri in mind, and Siri should play an important role in this Wednesday’s media event, as indicated by the event invitation’s tagline.

Reuters notes that Apple faces a challenge with machine learning due to its focus on privacy and reluctance to tap into all possible data sources. For example, with the Proactive features of iOS 9, Apple is primarily keeping all of the data and analysis on the user’s phone, enhancing privacy but limiting some of what can be learned from data passed to the cloud.

Apple’s strict policies not only limit what can be learned from user data but also discourage some machine learning experts from pursuing positions with Apple due to that lack of access. Still, Apple is said to be opening up about machine learning, engaging with academic programs in its efforts to lure talent and already having tripled or quadrupled the size of its machine learning team over the last few years.

Apple’s New Austin Campus With On-Site Health & Fitness Centers Nearing Completion

While much of the real estate focus for Apple has been on Campus 2 in Cupertino and surrounding areas, the company has also been working hard on expanding its presence in Austin, Texas where it has for many years housed much of its operations and support efforts. Back in 2012, Apple announced a $300 million commitment to expand in Austin with a new seven-building campus an up to an additional 3,600 employees.

In June 2014, Tim Cook visited the campus as the first buildings opened, and the Austin American-Statesman has gotten a look inside the campus as Apple is rapidly moving toward completion with four buildings done and the remaining three to be completed in about a year.

Along a winding road off Research Boulevard in Northwest Austin, Apple has quietly transformed 38 acres of wooded land into its second-largest operation in the world.

When the California-based technology giant completes the campus in 2016, it will include seven limestone-and-glass office buildings with a combined 1.1 million square feet of space with restaurants, smoothie and coffee bars along with a full-scale gym with two saunas and a spa-like wellness center with services including medical, dental and eye care, acupuncture and massage.

Apple reportedly remains on track to receive a $35 million tax break for reaching its hiring goals and has been working closely with the city to bring on local suppliers from the community.

Even as work continues on the new campus, Apple is looking elsewhere in Austin for further growth opportunities, purchasing a nearby 350,000 square foot campus it had already been leasing and leasing a new 216,000 square foot office building elsewhere in Austin.

‘iPhone 7’ Thickness Likely to Approach iPod Touch

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a new report that suggests next year’s “iPhone 7” could be Apple’s thinnest smartphone yet, with a thickness of somewhere between 6.0mm and 6.5mm, which Kuo mentions is a near similar measurement of the current iPod touch’s 6.1mm. As a comparison, the current model of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are 6.9mm and 7.1mm thick, respectively.

The report also states that the company will stick to a similar Force Touch technology in next year’s version of the iPhone, due to the heavy amount of time and investment Apple and its suppliers have put into adapting it for this year’s “iPhone 6s” and “iPhone 6s Plus.”

Due to this, Kuo believes that Apple is unlikely to switch from in-cell over to glass-on-glass touch panels next year, which a rumor out of Apple’s supply chain in Asia suggested last week. The KGI report says that in-cell panels won’t encounter any harsh production bottleneck issues, and that Apple won’t be looking to create an iPhone display with a resolution of 4k or higher, so it’s more likely for the company to stick with in-cell panels for the time being.

The continued use of in-cell panels would also grant Apple the ability to produce an iPhone as thin as Kuo’s suggested 6.0mm-6.5mm size. Although glass-on-glass panels allow for the possibility of a bezel-free iPhone, it also limits the ability for the company to create smaller and thinner smartphones, so if KGI’s claim of an iPod Touch-size iPhone is true, it would make most sense for the company to keep using in-cell panels.

First Impressions of ‘Steve Jobs’ Film: ‘Thrilling… an Action Movie Driven Almost Exclusively by Words’

The Danny Boyle-directed and Aaron Sorkin-penned Steve Jobs film premiered last night at the 42nd Annual Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, and the first impressions of the biopic are surfacing on the internet this morning. Although not a full review of the movie, Deadline has posted a short opinion piece about the film, noting impressive directing, well-paced editing, and a script by Sorkin that is “even more effective” than his Oscar-winning work on The Social Network.

It’s a companion piece to Sorkin’s Oscar-winning The Social Network screenplay — but even more effective. Boyle said the script is 200 pages and it is densely filled with the kind of dialogue only Sorkin seems to specialize in these days. It’s actually thrilling to listen to, an action movie driven almost exclusively by words, a rare thing for sure in today’s visually driven cinema.

[Boyle’s] direction is flawless and really keeps this thing moving, avoiding the static pace it might have been in lesser hands. The result is well worth it, and those magical words provided lots of opportunity for great acting performances led by Michael Fassbender’s spot-on and relentless portrayal of the not-very-likable computer genius.

Notably, Deadline also caught up with Steve Wozniak at Telluride to get his opinion on the film, which partially portrays Wozniak’s own life as well with Seth Rogen in the role of the Apple co-founder. Wozniak was enthusiastic about the movie, calling it “authentic” and particularly praising Kate Winslet’s performance as Macintosh marketing chief Joanna Hoffman.

When I caught up with him Wozniak told me that, unlike the Jobs biopic with Ashton Kutcher, this one is totally authentic. “I saw a rough cut and I felt like I was actually watching Steve Jobs and the others (including Rogen’s dead-on portrayal of Wozniak), not actors playing them, I give full credit to Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin for getting it so right,” he enthusiastically told me, He adding that of all the actors in the film he thinks Winslet might be the most likely to garner awards attention.

The movie was portrayed as a “work in progress” to the attendees at Telluride, due to the fact that Boyle and his workers are still tweaking and editing parts of the movie. With just about a month to go until the film’s wide release, it’s likely small details like sound cues and other small edits that will make the Telluride screening largely similar to the final movie.

Other sites have begun posting full-length reviews, including Variety, who compares Sorkin’s three-act, multiple time period structure to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Also of note is a neat detail that Boyle shot each time period on era-relevant formats, a fact along with Boyle’s uncharacteristically restrained direction that Variety particularly liked.

Working with d.p. Alwin Kutchler, Boyle sometimes sends the camera hurtling after the characters in lengthy, down-the-corridor tracking shots; elsewhere, the brief transitional snippets between acts feature some fairly aggressive stylization, in line with his usual m.o. But for the most part, this is the filmmaker’s most reined-in picture in some time, as if a too-kinetic approach would interfere with the verbal energy of Sorkin’s script.

Besides Guy Hendrix Dyas’ unobtrusively excellent production design, the picture’s major visual coup is the decision to shoot the three acts on three different formats: grainy 16mm film for 1984, lustrous 35mm for 1988, and sleek, high-definition digital for 1998. The distinctions may well be lost on the vast majority of viewers, but it’s just the sort of nicely understated aesthetic flourish that Steve Jobs himself would have surely appreciated.

Indiewire gave the film a B+, pointing out good performances from the cast and the movie’s decision to focus on three highly stressful points in Jobs’ life to showcase his true personality, ultimately calling it “a kind of “Birdman” for the tech sector,” thanks to its real-time accounts of some highly dramatic backstage moments prior to a big show. The website also noted, however, that Sorkin’s dialogue can suffer from “constant overstatement” and some foreshadowing to Apple’s future feels “unnecessary.”

The movie currently sits at a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, but still has just five reviews collected at the time of writing. Although it’s still just a handful positive opinions, it’s a bit more encouraging as we enter the final stretch before the October 9 theatrical debut, especially for a film that’s been a large source of speculation and rumors for so many years now.