Dashlane Launches One-Tap Password Changer for iPhone and Apple Watch

Dashlane today announced an update to its existing iPhone app alongside the launch of an all-new Apple Watch experience, both of which bring the service’s one-tap password changing feature from desktop to Apple’s mobile and wearable devices.

Dashlane unveiled the Password Changer feature late last year for the desktop, which allowed users to change multiple passwords at once so they can more easily update their password info if any of their data is ever breached. Today’s updates extend that sense of security for Dashlane users to iPhone and Apple Watch, which the company says is completely unique to the service.

Earlier this year, we introduced the first ever automatic Password Changer on Dashlane for desktop. And now, Dashlane is the first password manager to let you change multiple passwords with one tap when you’re on the go. In fact, we’re the only password manager that can offer this exclusive feature, because our engineers and design team have been dedicated for years to building a secure, full-featured password manager that you can use anywhere. Password Changer on Apple Watch and iPhone brings all the power of this time-saving security feature to your fingertips . . . and your wrist.

Alongside this new feature, the iPhone and Apple Watch Dashlane experiences both allow users to copy and paste passwords from one device to another and use voice search to more quickly parse through passwords. A caveat for Password Changer is that not every website supports the feature, which began with over 70 at launch and has grown to about 180 today. The update to the Dashlane iOS app [Direct Link] will begin rolling out today, and should appear on the Apple Watch automatically for users who have automatic downloads turned on.

Apple Music Snapchat Account Takes Users Behind the Scenes of Beats 1 Radio

Apple today announced a Snapchat account for Apple Music that initially provides a behind-the-scenes look at Beats 1 Radio and its personalities while also showing off segments of the cities it operates from with some music playing in the background. It’s unknown what kind of content the account will provide in the future.

The account’s first Snapchat “story”, which is the combination of multiple photos and videos taken throughout its first day of operation, takes followers on a journey from Beats 1’s Los Angeles HQ with Zane Lowe, watching as he works on his show before it switches to London and fellow DJ Julie Adenuga. After watching Adenuga work, the account changes course to Ebro Darden in New York City.

The account provides an interesting look into the work environments of Beats 1’s three DJs, with each of them showing off their equipment and enthusiasm for the music they’re playing. Adenuga’s segment includes her teasing an interview with musical artist Ellie Goulding, answering questions and letting users know they should check out the For You tab of Apple Music. The Snapchat story, which currently sits at 184 seconds, is being updated periodically throughout the day.

Apple has thus far taken a very liberal approach to using social media to draw awareness to Apple Music, heavily using Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr to tease and announce exclusive music, interviews and music videos. Snapchat, whose users tend to be younger, is yet another progression of that effort. Snapchat users can follow Apple Music on the service by adding “applemusic” as a friend.

First Volkswagen Cars With CarPlay Support Arriving at Dealerships

Volkswagen today announced that its first 2016 cars with CarPlay support are arriving at dealerships this week, equipped with the company’s next-generation CarPlay-enabled MIB-II infotainment system.

In addition to supporting CarPlay, the MIB-II system also includes support for Android Auto and it comes equipped with Volkswagen’s own Car-Net apps, enabling features like remote lock control, remote honk and flash, parking info, stolen vehicle location, automatic crash notifications, diagnostics, and vehicle monitoring. While CarPlay and the MIB-II system don’t carry a subscription fee, the Car-Net suite of apps will be priced at $199 per year with 6 months free up front.

Volkswagen was not one of the first CarPlay partners announced during CarPlay’s debut, but the manufacturer promised CarPlay support in its 2016 models back in January. According to Volkswagen, most of its 2016 models will include the new MIB-II system, aside from entry-level models.

Four different MIB-II systems with CarPlay will be offered, varying based on model and trim package. Entry-level VW models include a 5-inch resistive 400×240 resolution touch screen that does not include CarPlay support, while 6.3 and 6.5-inch capacitive touchscreens that support multi-touch gestures, CarPlay, and App-Net will be available in select trims.

Higher trim levels will include additional features like 2.5D navigation, electric vehicle functions, and more, while the 2016 e-Golf SEL Premium model alone will receive an 8-inch capacitive touchscreen with CarPlay support.

The first 2016 Volkswagen models, the Golf R and the Tiguan, are already arriving in dealer showrooms as of late July, and additional models will be released with the MIB-II system and CarPlay support later in the year.

Apple Campus 2 Visitor Center Will Include Cafe, Store and Rooftop Observation Deck

Apple is planning to build a visitor’s center on its new “spaceship” campus, which will include a rooftop observation deck that overlooks the main building, a cafe, and a 10,114 square-foot store where visitors will be able to “view and purchase the newest Apple products.”

The structure, like many of Apple’s retail stores, will be made of glass with a carbon fiber roof and large skylights. Stairs and elevators will take visitors up to the viewing deck, where the ring-shaped building housing Apple employees will be visible. Apple’s current campus included a now-closed store that sold Apple-branded apparel and sundries, but a dedicated visitor’s center with a store selling Apple products will be a new addition.

Rendering of the Visitor’s Center from original documents submitted to the City of CupertinoDetails on the visitor’s center were found by Silicon Valley Business Journal in documents that were filed with the city of Cupertino back in April. Previous approvals for the campus included mention of a visitor’s center in a glass building, but details on the interior of the building were not available until this year.

According to the plans, Apple aims for the visitor’s center at 10700 N. Tantau to “create a public face of the Apple Campus 2 that reflects Apple’s business and design practices, and allows for a long-term presence in Cupertino.” (Neighbors will be glad to know that a screen will block views onto an adjacent single-family-home community.) Parking will be mostly below grade with 684 spaces, with elevators taking visitors into the center.

Construction on Apple’s second campus is still underway. Video footage shot in June suggests the foundation has been finished, with the first walls of the ring-shaped structure going up. Work on a nearby underground parking facility is also nearing completion. Apple is planning to finish construction on the main building in late 2016.

When complete, the new campus will feature a 2.8 million square foot ring-shaped main building, an underground aprking lot, a 100,000 square foot fitness center, and a 120,000 square foot 1,000-seat auditorium for hosting events, and the newly-described visitor’s center.

Apple Releases Third OS X El Capitan Public Beta

Apple today seeded the third beta OS X El Capitan to public beta testers, one week after seeding the second set of beta and just under three weeks after first providing the OS X El Capitan beta to the public for testing purposes.

The third public beta follows the launch of the fifth OS X El Capitan developer beta, which was seeded to developers late on Monday afternoon. No outward-facing changes were introduced with the beta, suggesting it’s an under-the-hood update with bug fixes and performance improvements.

Beta testers who have signed up for Apple’s beta testing program and already have the public beta installed can update through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store for OS X.

OS X 10.11 El Capitan is expected to be released to the public in the fall after the beta testing process is complete.

‘Fantastical 2’ for iPhone Gains Drafts, Japanese Localization

Popular calendar app Fantastical 2 for iPhone was today updated to version 2.4, adding a useful new feature that allows users to create event drafts. With drafts, it’s possible to start creating an event or Reminder and then swipe downwards to save it as a draft, setting it aside to multitask and access other events on the calendar.

For example, if you start scheduling a lunch meeting but need to pause in the middle to check your afternoon schedule, there’s no need to discard what you’ve written entirely — you can save it as a draft, check the calendar, and come back to it. Draft posts are saved at the bottom of the calendar interface for quick access, and multiple drafts can be saved at once.

While drafts are limited to the iPhone version of Fantastical 2, both the iPad and iPhone apps are being updated today with full Japanese localization. With the addition of Japanese, the app now supports six languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese. Fantastical 2 is able to automatically detect the language being used to enter an event, even if the system’s language setting differs.

Today’s updates for the iPhone and the iPad are available to existing Fantastical 2 users for free.

Fantastical 2 for iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store for $4.99. [Direct Link]

Fantastical 2 for iPad can be downloaded from the App Store for $9.99. [Direct Link]

Apple Releases FaceTime Camera Driver Update for All 2015 MacBooks

Apple has released a FaceTime Camera Driver Update for all 2015 MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro notebooks that improves FaceTime camera compatibility with Windows. Apple recommends that all Boot Camp users install the software update (1.4MB) from the Apple Support website.

The software update was released for the following notebooks:

– MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)
– MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)
– MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015)
– MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)
– MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)

Languages supported include English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Polish, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Norwegian, Korean, Chinese (Traditional) and Chinese (Simplified).

iPad Market Share Falls Below 25% as Tablet Market Continues to Decline

The latest numbers from market research firm IDC‘s Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker show that Apple remains the largest vendor in a declining tablet market, shipping 10.9 million iPads in the second quarter of 2015. While the iPad continues to be the best-selling tablet, its worldwide market share fell below 25% as Apple faced increased competition from low-cost rivals Lenovo, Huawei and LG.

Samsung continued to be the second largest tablet vendor with 7.6 million tablets shipped in the second quarter and 17% market share, a 12% year-over-year unit decline. Lenovo, Huawei and LG Electronics rounded off the top five, with 2.5 million, 1.6 million and 1.6 million global tablet shipments in the second quarter respectively. All other tablet vendors had a combined 45.6% market share.

iPad sales have declined for six consecutive quarters year-over-year in what has become a stagnated tablet market over the past few years, but that trend could be broken in a few months as Apple is expected to release up to three new iPads in time for the holiday shopping season: iPad Air 3, iPad mini 4 and the much-rumored 12.9-inch “iPad Pro” targeted at professional and enterprise users.

AT&T Urges FCC to Drop $100 Million Fine, Says Data Throttling Doesn’t Harm Customers

Last month the United States Federal Communications Commission announced that it would fine AT&T $100 million for misleading customers about its unlimited data plans and not adequately warning customers about throttling their data speeds. AT&T has since responded, arguing that data throttling doesn’t harm customers, the company is being prejudged and that its First Amendment rights are being violated in a response first found by The Hill (via Ars Technica).

The Commission’s findings that consumers and competition were harmed are devoid of factual support and wholly implausible. Its “moderate” forfeiture penalty of $100 million is plucked out of thin air, and the injunctive sanctions it proposes are beyond the Commission’s authority. Both, moreover, reflect an unseemly effort to coerce settlement. And the NAL and the related press campaign confirm that the agency has already prejudged AT&T’s liability, abandoning any pretext that the Commission remains an impartial arbiter of the case.

AT&T, who wants the FCC to drop the fine, claims that it has made all the required disclosures to customers, pointing out that its Unlimited Data Plan customers were more likely to renew their contracts than non-Unlimited Data Plan customers. Additionally, the telecommunications company argued the FCC would be outside of its authority in both imposing the fine and making other requests because the statute of limitations on the case has passed.

Lastly, AT&T argued that the FCC has no authority to order the company to inform its customers that it violated the Transparency Rule in not telling them about speed changes when throttling data because the statement would both be untrue and a violation of AT&T’s First Amendment rights.

AT&T ceased selling Unlimited Data Plans years ago but continues to have customers grandfathered to its Unlimited Data Plans. Previously, the company throttled its Unlimited Data Plan customers once they exceeded 5 GB of LTE data, but in May the company changed its policy to only throttle customers when connected to a cell tower experiencing network congestion.