Apple Seeds New 7.1.5 and 6.2.5 Safari Betas to Developers for Mavericks, Mountain Lion [Mac Blog]

Following yesterday’s public release of Safari 8.0.4 for OS X Yosemite, Safari 7.1.4 for OS X Mavericks, and Safari 6.2.4 for OS X Mountain Lion, Apple has seeded Safari 7.1.5 and Safari 6.2.5 to developers for testing purposes. Safari 7.1.5 is for Mavericks users, while Safari 6.2.5 is for Mountain Lion users.

The Yosemite equivalent, Safari 8.0.5, is already available to developers and public beta testers as it is built in to OS X 10.10.3.

In the beta notes, Apple asks developers to focus on general website compatibility, extension compatibility, debugging using the Web Inspector, typing in the Smart Search Field using multiple displays, viewing videos on sites like Netflix and YouTube, Address and Password AutoFill, and more.

‘Launcher’ Returns to the App Store After Apple Relaxes Policies

Back when iOS 8 first launched, Launcher was one of the first apps to take advantage of the new widgets allowed in the Notification Center, and it introduced shortcut functionality that let users launch an app or complete a task like calling a specific person with a single tap.

Apple approved the app and allowed it to exist in the App Store for over a week, but then the company made the decision to remove Launcher from the App Store, calling it a “misuse” of widgets. Since then, Apple has gone on to make a series of questionable decisions about widgets, banning apps for similar widget offenses and then later changing its mind.

Up until now, Apple has not reversed course on Launcher, but that didn’t stop Launcher developer Greg Gardner from continually resubmitting different variations of the app in the hopes of creating something Apple would find acceptable.

Earlier this month, a limited version of Launcher gained App Store approval (a version with only calling, emailing, messaging, and FaceTime access), and when Gardner asked for clarification on why that was acceptable when his original app was not, Apple reviewers opted to revisit the first Launcher app and stated that its functionality was now acceptable.

According to Gardner, he did not have to remove any of the original Launcher features to get it re-approved in the App Store. Apple reportedly told him that when a new feature first launches, they are conservative about what they allow, but restrictions sometimes relax over time. “That is what appears to have happened in this case,” Gardner told MacRumors.

Due to Apple’s decision reversal, Launcher will be available for download again beginning today. It’s already propagating in some countries, and will be in the U.S. App Store tonight.

Launcher has retained all of its original functionality, which means users can download the app and use it to set up shortcuts that will appear in the Today view of the Notification Center. Available shortcuts are organized into four sections: Contact Launcher, Web Launcher, App Launcher, and Custom Launcher.

With the Contact Launcher, it’s possible to create shortcuts to call someone, email someone, FaceTime someone, get directions to a specific place, Message someone, and more. The Web Launcher sets up shortcuts that will automatically launch a specified URL, and the App Launcher lets users open a specified app and works with both Apple apps and third-party apps. The Custom feature lets users create buttons for any installed apps and any other URL schemes.

Launcher also offers a few new features, including a much-requested option to make the icons smaller and hide labels for a more compact look within the Notification Center.

Launcher can be downloaded from the App Store for free, and the pro version is available as a $3.99 in-app purchase. [Direct Link]

Apple Employees Receiving Final Watch Training, Apple Stores to Be Transformed on April 10

As we approach the launch of the Apple Watch, retail employees who will be demoing the devices have been sharing information with various rumor sites, including MacRumors and 9to5Mac, detailing what they’re learning about the Apple Watch and how the upcoming try-on process will work.

Apple Watch employees have already been receiving training on the Apple Watch, but special meetings will take place at retail stores starting next week to give all retail employees a chance to go hands-on with the watch.

Many employees will see the watch in person for the first time at this point, and Apple will use the meetings to give them further training on the device. In its training materials, Apple has told employees they will “be the first to see Apple Watch, the first to try it on and the first to share it with the world.”

Some of the training materials employees are receiving
After that training period, the Apple Store will be transformed overnight on April 9, ahead of the company’s try-on and pre-order period, which begins on April 10. The store will be equipped with new Apple Watch tables, which feature the device displayed under glass. Tables will include areas where customers can try on the devices, and Apple employees will schedule 15 minute appointment times for each customer who wants to see the Apple Watch in person.

There will be employees on hand to show customers all versions of the Apple Watch, including the high-end Edition models at select retail stores. After trying on a watch, a customer will be able to place a reservation for the device, and it will become available for pickup on April 24, the official Apple Watch launch date.

In addition to scheduling appointments to try the watch on in store and make a reservation, customers will also be able to pre-order the device online beginning on April 10.

Flexibits Teases ‘Fantastical 2 for Mac,’ App Coming on March 25 [Mac Blog]

Flexibits, the developers behind the popular line of Fantastical calendar apps for iOS and Mac, today posted a teaser revealing the launch date of Fantastical 2 for Mac, which is going to be released on March 25.

Fantastical 2 for the iPhone and the iPad have been available since 2013, but Fantastical for Mac, first released in 2012, has yet to receive a major 2.0 update. Flexibits has not shared information on the release aside from a launch date, but the logo shared on the website points towards a Yosemite-style redesign.

On May 17, 2011, we reinvented calendaring. On March 25, 2015, we’ll reinvent Fantastical itself.

Fantastical is one of the more popular calendar options, due to its cross-platform availability and its incorporation of natural language for scheduling events. It’s possible, for example, to write something as simple as “Meeting with Eric at 4 p.m. tomorrow” and have the event properly scheduled within the app.

Fantastical integrates with both the iOS Calendar app and the iOS Reminders app, putting event details and to-do lists in one easily accessible spot. It also works with iCal, BusyCal, Outlook, and Entourage, and it includes CalDAV support for use with Google Calendar and Yahoo Calendar. Other features include geofencing, built-in maps, and reminders.

Users can sign up to be notified when Fantastical 2 for Mac launches by entering their email addresses on the Flexibits website.

Apple Reportedly Has Small Team Working on Augmented Reality Projects

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster claims in a note to investors that Apple has a small team working in and exploring the augmented reality field. Munster believes that while augmented reality is still a decade away from broader consumer adoption, Apple is preparing for the next evolution in computing and will be able to offer fashionable wearables that people will actually want to wear.

“While it is limited, we believe Apple has a small team of engineers exploring augmented reality applications. We believe that at the core, the group is likely trying to understand a wearable interface that design would ultimately make fashionable/socially acceptable. At this point, we believe it is difficult to determine if or when these experiments might yield a product.”

Google Glass is perhaps the most notable example of a wearable that, while revolutionary in many aspects, created some uncomfortable situations for those wearing the device in public. Glass Explorer Edition was quick to be banned from several public establishments, including movie theaters, casinos, restaurants, hospitals, sports venues, schools, banks and more due to its ability to discreetly take photos and record videos.

Munster remains skeptical about whether Apple’s focus on augmented reality will result in a future product, as it is common for the company to research and develop new products and technologies that are never released to the public. Munster also has a less than impressive track record at divulging Apple’s upcoming plans, so his predictions should be treated with a proverbial grain of salt.

Apple began allowing developers to release augmented reality apps on the App Store nearly six years ago, such as Google’s mystery game Ingress. Apple also began exploring augmented reality for Maps in 2011, corroborated by a March 2014 report claiming that the iPhone maker still plans to add augmented reality features to Maps. Based on Munster’s comments, Apple appears to remain interested in the field.

T-Mobile Debuts New Business Plan, Other Perks at Un-Carrier 9 Event

At an event in New York City this morning, T-Mobile unveiled its ninth Un-carrier initiative, which is aimed at business owners. T-Mobile CEO John Legere took the stage to unveil a simple new plan for businesses small and large, which is priced up to 40 percent lower than similar business plans from AT&T and Verizon.

T-Mobile’s new business plan is priced at $16 per line for businesses that use under 20 lines, and at over 20 lines, the price drops to $15 per line. 10 lines, for example, costs $160, while 100 lines costs $1,500. At 1000 lines, the price drops even further, to $10 per line.

Each line comes with 1GB of data, and T-Mobile is giving businesses multiple options for purchasing additional data. Data can be purchased per line or pooled and distributed between many employees. Pooled data costs $4.75 per GB at a 100GB minimum and drops to $4.25GB at 1TB.

T-Mobile is also partnering with GoDaddy to give business customers a free domain and a free mobile site. This deal is available for any business customer with at least one line. Through a second partnership with Microsoft, T-Mobile is offering customers a free custom email.

Customers who have a T-Mobile business line through work will be able to get discounted service for their families as well, using T-Mobile’s new Business Family Discounts plan. With a standard cell phone family plan, the first line is the most expensive and the second line is less expensive. At T-Mobile, this works out to $50 for the first line and $30 for the second line. With Business Family Discounts, the person’s work line counts as the first line, dropping the price of the first family line. According to John Legere, this can save families of two up to $439 per year, and it’s available to all T-Mobile customers beginning today.

On the consumer end, T-Mobile’s announced “Carrier Freedom,” which is an expansion of the company’s pledge to pay early termination fees. T-Mobile’s early termination payments now cover device payments and leases, letting customers on plans like AT&T Next switch to T-Mobile. The company will pay up to $650 per phone to customers who switch carriers.

T-Mobile’s final “One More Thing” announcement was the “Un-Contract,” which ensures that customer’s rates may go down, but they won’t go up. All of the company’s promotional plans are now permanent, and no unlimited data plan will change for two years.

Over the course of the last two years, T-Mobile has aimed to disrupt traditional mobile service with its “Un-carrier” initiatives. The company began with uncoupling device costs from service costs in 2013, and then went on to offer several additional incentives to encourage customers to switch to the carrier, including paying early termination fees, offering a JUMP! upgrade plan, unlimited texting and 2G data in 100 countries, free streaming music from Spotify, Rdio, iTunes Radio, and Pandora, one week free trials to test the T-Mobile service, Wi-Fi calling, and data rollovers.

iRig 2 Guitar Interface Now Available for iPhone, iPad and Mac [iOS Blog]

IK Multimedia on Wednesday announced that its iRig 2 mobile guitar interface is now shipping for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and Android devices. iRig 2 has several new features over its predecessor, including gain control, a 1/4″ amplifier output, FX/THRU switch, compatibility with the complete line of new Samsung Professional Audio devices and support for devices running Android Lollipop.

“5 years after, and with over one million units sold, IK is now introducing iRig 2. A significant upgrade, it improves on its predecessor by providing better sound quality and more universal compatibility than ever before – and it does this while maintaining the convenience and ease-of-use that have made it such a staple piece of equipment in the arsenal of millions of musicians around the world.”

iRig 2 is available at select music and consumer electronics retailers worldwide, and on the IK Multimedia online store, for the same $39.99 price as the original version. The guitar interface is ready to be used right out of the box and comes with a cross-platform suite of apps and software including free versions of AmpliTube for iOS, Mac and Android Samsung Pro Audio. A clip and velcro strap are also in the box.

Twelve South Launches Portable ‘BaseLift’ Support Stand for Mac Notebooks [Mac Blog]

Twelve South today revealed the BaseLift for MacBook, a “super-thin, microfiber-layered pad” that attaches to the bottom of any MacBook and can instantly fold up, similar to an iPad Smart Cover, to provide an elevated screen and angled keyboard to users on either a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. Once attached, BaseLift for MacBook stays connected to the MacBook, and is thin enough to fit into “most bags and laptop cases” along with a user’s computer.

“If you have a MacBook, get a BaseLift,” said Andrew Green, Creative Director of Twelve South. “Without a doubt, it’s one of the best MacBook accessories we’ve ever invented. It is so simple and adds so much comfort for just $39, that everyone with a MacBook should have one. When I’m on a MacBook without a BaseLift now, I miss it terribly — and that’s the true test of a great accessory.”

BaseLift aims to be more than a MacBook stand, with Twelve South claiming that the device acts as a buffer between the initial chilliness of a MacBook and even the heat given off when heavily using the device.

The BaseLift fits any current model of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, with the default BaseLift Pad aimed at the 11″ MacBook Air and a few optional “Fit Strip” accessories included for users on 13″ and 15″ models. The company promises that the adhesive SurfaceGrip technology used to attach the accessory to a MacBook won’t leave a sticky residue if a user ever chooses to remove the BaseLift Pad from the device.

The BaseLift for MacBook can be purchased right now from Twelve South’s official website for $39.99, and seems to be only available in red. Although the new MacBook is not directly mentioned, the dimensions of the BaseLift suggest the product could be used on Apple’s just-announced ultra-thin MacBook.

Apple Removes Featured Watch App ‘The Whole Pantry’ From App Store Amid Fraud Claims

Apple has removed the award-winning healthy eating app The Whole Pantry from the App Store and its featured Apple Watch apps page amid allegations that its creator Belle Gibson committed fraud, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The report states that Gibson is accused of making false claims about her cancer diagnosis and failing to donate thousands of dollars collected during fundraisers to charities.

Apple has removed The Whole Pantry from its Apple Watch featured apps page
Apple had been promoting The Whole Pantry as a featured Apple Watch app on its website over the past week, although it has updated the page today to remove the listing. The app also appears to have been pulled from the App Store worldwide, based on spot checks of the United States, Australia, Canada and United Kingdom storefronts. The company has yet to comment on the matter.

The Whole Pantry was featured on the Apple Watch apps page earlier this week
Gibson is a 26-year-old from Melbourne that rose to fame for healing herself from terminal brain cancer without conventional treatment, although the report claims that she later admitted to possibly being misdiagnosed. She has since been the subject of intense scrutiny from her supporters and those that donated to her cause, and has disabled the Facebook page for The Whole Pantry and her personal Instagram account.

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