Volvo’s On Call app can control your car from a smartwatch
Sure, you drive a Volvo and not an Aston Martin, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pretend to be a charming spy who controls his car with a high-tech watch. Volvo will soon release its On Call app for Android Wear devices and the Apple Watch, after all, and it comes with all the features its predecessors for tablets and smartphones have. That means you can poke around your arm candy to remotely lock or unlock the car’s doors, switch on the heater or air conditioner and check fuel and mileage. You can also ask it for help if your Volvo’s lost in a sea of cars in a parking lot. And just like the older apps, it quickly connects you to an operator, who then tracks your location through GPS, if your airbags get deployed. Volvo wrapped the smartwatch apps in a new design based on the Sensus connected interface, but you’ll have to wait until the end of June before you can give them a spin.
Filed under: Transportation, Wearables, Mobile, Apple, Google
Via: Autoblog
Source: Volvo
Apple Looking to Sign Drake, Pharrell and David Guetta as iTunes Radio Guest DJs
Apple is in talks to sign Toronto-born rapper Drake, hip-hop artist Pharrell Williams and electronic music DJ David Guetta as guest DJs for a revamped iTunes Radio, according to the New York Post. The report also claims that Apple continues to negotiate with record labels for Apple Music and wants to offer a three-month free trial period for the $10-a-month streaming music service.
Apple Music will reportedly combine the best features of Pandora, Spotify and YouTube into one service, including streaming music and video, artist pages, a YouTube-style sharing section called Apple Connect and a refreshed version of iTunes Radio. Apple also wanted to offer lyrics as part of the service, but does not want to pay extra to record labels to offer the feature.
Apple is expected to announce its new streaming music service on June 8 at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, building upon the assets it acquired through its Beats Music purchase last year. The company will reportedly push customers to sign up for Apple Music by offering SoundCloud-like sharing, exclusive content and the aforementioned three-month free trial period.
Apple says the Watch’s irregular heart rate tracking is intentional
When Apple trotted out its first update for the Watch, fitness mavens were alarmed at the suddenly inconsistent heart rate tracking. Did Cupertino break one of its wearable’s signature features? Well, not quite. Apple has posted an updated support page that indicates the change in heart tracking was intentional. Instead of getting your beats per minute every 10 minutes regardless of what you’re doing, its new default behavior is to check only when you’re staying still. You can still make the Watch check on the move by using the heart rate Glance (above) or starting an activity in the Workout app, but the change risks creating gaps when you’re strolling down the street.
It’s not clear why Apple changed its device’s monitoring habits. There’s speculation that the company did this to improve the Watch’s battery life, but it’s not clear that this is the case — it could be for the sake of accuracy, for example. We’ve reached out to Apple for an explanation, and we’ll let you know if it has more to say.
Filed under: Wearables, Mobile, Apple
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: Apple
Popular Calendar App ‘Fantastical 2’ Coming Soon to Apple Watch [iOS Blog]
Flexibits, the developers behind the popular Fantastical 2 calendar app for iOS and Mac, today released a teaser suggesting the app will be expanding to the Apple Watch in the near future. A new page on the Flexibits website reads “It’s almost time” before transitioning over to the Apple Watch depicting a screenshot from the new app.
Little can be determined about the upcoming Apple Watch app from the screenshot, but it appears to have a clean design with a useful timeline-based calendar for tracking daily appointments and events. A Fantastical app for the Apple Watch will be a welcome addition, as Apple’s own Calendar app is limited in functionality.
Fantastical 2 is one of the premiere Calendar replacements available on Mac and iOS, popular for its simple interface, Reminders integration, and its ability to parse event entries based on natural language input.
Flexibits has not given information on a specific date, but in a tweet, the company says the app is “almost here.” As with all Apple Watch apps, the Fantastical app will be introduced through an update to the existing iPhone app.
Fantastical 2 for iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store for $4.99. [Direct Link]
Buyer’s Guide: Deals on iPad Mini 3, Retina iMac, Apple Accessories, and More [Mac Blog]
As we head into June, deals aren’t as good as they’ve been in past weeks, but there are still some decent discounts to be had. Best Buy is selling several of its iPad mini 3 models at a discount of $100 this week, and it’s also offering $100 off the 2015 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro with 8GB RAM and 512GB storage.
The 2014 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro is being sold at low prices following last week’s refresh, and older MacBook Air models are priced to sell. As always, we’ve also got some solid deals on Apple accessories and we’ve rounded up a list of apps you can get on the cheap.
iPad Air 2
Deals on the iPad Air 2 aren’t as good as they have been in past weeks, but Apple started offering refurbished iPad Air 2 models last week, so the company’s refurbished store is worth checking out if you’re looking to get a discount on a tablet.
B&H Photo is offering a small discount on most of its iPad Air 2 models, dropping prices by $30 to $50. With the discount, the 16GB WiFi only iPad Air 2 is priced at $459 and the 64GB model is priced at $549.99. Prices vary somewhat by model, but there are slight discounts to be had.
MacMall is also offering some discounts on iPad Air 2 models, dropping the prices by $30 to $50. With the discount, the 16GB entry-level Wi-Fi only iPad Air 2 is priced at $459, while the Wi-Fi-only 64GB iPad Air 2 is available for $569.
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Apple-Leased Vans Gathering Maps Info for Shift to In-House Mapping Database
For the past several months, Apple-leased Dodge Caravans with equipment-laden roofs have been spotted driving around the United States. While early speculation suggested the vans could be Apple’s first attempt at developing a self-driving vehicle, it quickly became clear that the vans were being used for mapping purposes.
The Dodge Caravans are all outfitted with an array of LIDAR cameras, much like the vehicles that Google uses to capture images for its Street View mapping feature, so it is no surprise that a report shared today by 9to5Mac suggests the images and data from the vans is going to be used for future improvements to Apple’s Maps feature. Here at MacRumors, we have been aggregating Apple van sightings to give a clear picture of the areas where Apple is currently focusing its attention.
Click on the map to go to a full interactive view complete with pictures from each sighting
Apple has worked tirelessly to improve the Maps app since its 2012 launch, fulfilling Tim Cook’s promise that Apple would work “non-stop” until Maps met its “incredibly high standard.” The next step in Maps’ evolution is the gathering of in-house data to reduce reliance on third-party companies like TomTom, which has provided data for Apple Maps since it launched. Just this month, TomTom and Apple renewed their mapping contract, so Apple’s shift towards its own data system may still be several years off.
Using in-house data has the potential to significantly improve the Maps experience. Apple will not have to rely on third-party information that’s potentially riddled with errors and inaccuracies, and the company will also be able to implement changes and fixes more quickly.
In the future, the imagery captured by the vans may be used by Apple to create its own 3D street level viewing experience to complement its existing Flyover feature. Flyover is designed to let Maps users explore landmarks and major cities around the world through an aerial view. A street level addition to Flyover could perhaps be useful in day-to-day life to get a look at nearby locations, but it’s possible Apple has its eye on something grander, perhaps giving Maps users a way to explore exotic locations on a more granular level.
Apple is also reportedly using its fleet of Dodge Caravans to capture images of storefronts and businesses, and this data may be of more immediate use to the company. Imagery of stores, businesses, and restaurants may be incorporated into an upcoming iOS 9 revamp to Apple’s Points of Interest system, replacing photographs pulled in from third-party sources like Yelp.
We may see the first fruits of Apple’s new mapping project as soon as June 8, when Apple unveils iOS 9 at WWDC and provides it to developers for testing purposes. iOS 9 is rumored to have a few other upgrades in addition to a new Points of Interest system, including transit routing information in a limited number of cities.
MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Ztylus Limited Edition Camera Kit for iPhone 6/6 Plus [iOS Blog]
For our next giveaway, we've partnered with Ztylus, a maker of smartphone cases with interchangeable accessory attachments. Ztylus is graciously offering one limited edition Rose Gold Camera Kit for the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus that retails for $149.95.
The Ztylus Rose Gold Camera Kit consists of a full-coverage case and a 4-in-1 lens attachment. The case itself has a textured leather finish that features an integrated kickstand and a unique disc mount system for the lens attachment. The lens attachment contains a circular polarizer lens and fish eye, macro, and wide angle lenses that flip out into position over the iPhone’s camera lens. Ztylus makes its attachments compatible with all of its other cases so that when you switch to a new phone, you only need a new case and can keep using the same attachments.
To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter your email address. Your email address will not be given to any third party and will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page. Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter.
This contest will run from today (May 29) at 12:00 pm Pacific time through 12:00 pm Pacific time on June 5. The winner will be chosen randomly on June 5 and will be contacted by email. The winner has 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address. The prize will be shipped to the winner for free.
Ztylus is also offering a coupon code to MacRumors readers that will take 25% off all purchases from the company's online store. Use code RUMORS25 at checkout at Ztylus to take advantage of this generous offer.
Apple Continues to Provide Top-Rated Tech Support on Strength of Genius Bar
Apple had the highest overall customer satisfaction for tech support among more than 3,200 computer owners surveyed by Consumer Reports, unsurprising given the company has been top-rated for tech support since the not-for-profit organization first surveyed customers about the topic in 2007. Apple has also routinely topped multiple J.D. Power and Associates studies for customer satisfaction over the past decade.
Apple earned high marks for the Genius Bar located at the back of most Apple retail stores, where customers can book an appointment to receive face-to-face technical support and troubleshooting for iPhone, iPad, Mac and several other Apple products and services. Consumer Reports praises the Genius Bar’s free lifetime support as a differentiating factor over similar services, which generally require paying for help.
Windows-based PC makers did not receive the same accolades for tech support among survey participants:
“The help desks at Windows PC companies often didn’t live up to that name. For four of the six PC brands in the survey, tech support solved only half of the problems consumers brought to them. Even the best of them—Lenovo and Dell—came through just 61 percent of the time.”
Consumer Reports found that most Windows-based PC users were most satisfied by phoning tech support rather than seeking online help through web, chat or email support. Best Buy’s Geek Squad and Staples’ EasyTech services were found to be a step behind the Genius Bar, given that Apple serves as both the retailer and manufacturer and is subsequently more knowledgable about its own products and support information.
Apple provides 90 days of complimentary phone and online chat support that can be extended for up to two years with an AppleCare+ Protection Plan for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and other products. AppleCare+ also protects against up to two incidents of accidental damage with an applicable service charge, such as a cracked screen from dropping the device or water damage.
iOS Text Bug Begins to Affect Twitter and Snapchat Apps [iOS Blog]
The iOS bug that was discovered earlier in the week and causes an iPhone to crash after receiving a specific string of symbols and characters, today expanded to both the Twitter and Snapchat iOS apps (via The Guardian). The bug not only crashes an iPhone, but causes the Messages app to repeatedly crash after being opened to anything other than the conversation in which the string of characters was located in.
Although the issue was known to be routed in banner notifications when it was discovered, thus opening a wide range of apps that could be hit by the malicious text, today’s news confirms that third-party apps can successfully transfer the bug. In Twitter, any direct message or public mention that includes the string of characters will cause a recipient’s phone, with notifications turned on for Twitter, to crash immediately. A similar situation occurs when sending text chat via the Snapchat app, permanently crashing an iPhone when the user goes to read the message.
As noted in the original story, and just last night confirmed by Apple, a temporary fix for the bug remains in place in which a user can use Siri to reply to the malicious message thread in order to prevent Messages from crashing every time it is opened. The company promises that they “will make a fix available in a software update,” but a time frame for any such fix wasn’t given. Given that third-party apps are now becoming affected without as clear of an easy fix, Apple will probably try to put that update out as soon as possible before more permanent damage befalls any users.
Apple Offers Temporary Fix for iOS Text Bug, Says Update’s Coming Soon
A couple days after a new iOS bug was discovered, allowing a select string of characters sent in an iMessage or text to reset iPhones and crash the Messages app, Apple has created a new support document to address the problem. The Cupertino company acknowledges the problem and says that it’s working on a fix, offering temporary solutions in the mean time.
Apple is aware of an iMessage issue caused by a specific series of unicode characters and we will make a fix available in a software update. Until the update is available, you can use these steps to re-open the Messages app.
1. Ask Siri to “read unread messages.”
2. Use Siri to reply to the malicious message. After you reply, you’ll be able to open Messages again
3. In Messages, swipe left to delete the entire thread. Or tap and hold the malicious message, tap More, and delete the message from the thread.
In addition to Apple’s suggestions, there are other possible fixes that have worked for MacRumors in other scenarios. For instance, if Messages was opened in conversation list view you can fix the issue by having someone send you a message or sending yourself a message via Siri or through the Share sheet in any app.
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