Amazon Hints at Upcoming Apple Watch App [iOS Blog]

Although it went unmentioned at Apple’s big Apple Watch event on Monday, an Amazon spokesperson hinted to TechCrunch that the company is looking “to expand to other devices”, suggesting an Apple Watch app could be in the works for the device’s launch next month, or sometime in the future.

TechCrunch believes the app will be largely similar to the Android Wear Amazon app, letting users search using their voice, access their Wishlist, and use Amazon’s 1-click check-out for shopping in a hurry.

Image Mock-up via TechCrunch
When asked for an official statement, the online retailer kept a vague description over the future of the company’s appearance on the new Apple wearable, though given the ubiquity of the service, it’s hard to imagine an Amazon Apple Watch app not showing up at all.

“Amazon is constantly innovating on behalf of our customers. We are committed to being anywhere customers want to shop. That includes watches. We have an Amazon shopping app for Android Wear and will look to expand to other devices.”

Multiple third-party apps were showcased at the event on Monday, but few were actually given in-depth moments at Apple’s already packed keynote address. Most recently, Fandango confirmed its movie-focused service will arrive as an app on the Watch in time for the device’s April 24 launch date.

Apple Watch Companion App Revealed in New Screenshots From iOS 8.2

iOS developer Hamza Sood has shared further screenshots of the official Apple Watch app on iOS 8.2, providing a closer look at what the companion software looks like after pairing an Apple Watch. In particular, the screenshots reveal an Apple Watch setting menu for configuring the app layout, notifications, glances, brightness and text size, sounds and haptics, individual apps, internal options, and more.

Apple Watch settings are similar to those found on iPhone, with About, Software Update and Automatic Downloads menus under General alongside options to adjust the watch orientation, accessibility, language and region, and Apple ID settings. Two toggle switches allow for Handoff and wrist detection to be enabled, the latter of which locks your Apple Watch when you’re not using it to keep your information secure.

A few more interesting things. You can select playlists to sync accros, with an adjustable limit up to 2GB pic.twitter.com/d40El8N9sq

— Hamza Sood (@hamzasood) March 13, 2015

Sood has shared a full gallery of screenshots with 9to5Mac, which provided the first look at the Apple Watch app back in January based on code compiled by developer Steven Troughton-Smith. The additional screenshots show individual settings for Airplane Mode, Activity, Brightness and Text Size, Workout, Contacts, Friends, Maps, Messages, Passcode, Privacy, Photos, Stocks, Watch Orientation and more.

Apple Watch will be available April 24, with pre-orders starting April 10 in the first wave of launch countries: United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and United Kingdom. The wrist-worn device starts at $349 for the Apple Watch Sport, while the stainless steel models will retail for between $549 to $1,099 and the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition will cost up to $17,000.

Buyer’s Guide: Deals on iPad Air 2, 2014 MacBook Air, Apple Accessories and More [Mac Blog]

Apple announced a new 13-inch MacBook Pro and new MacBook Air models on Monday, which means prices for older models are dropping rapidly. Best Buy has discounted much of its iPad Air 2 stock, dropping prices by $50 to $100, so it’s an excellent time to pick up a new iPad if you’ve been waiting for a deal.

We’ve also got discounts on a range of Apple accessories like a monitor stand and a mobile MacBook charger, plus we’ve rounded up some of the best app sales of the week.

iPad Air 2

Best Buy is offering discounts on its entire stock of iPad Air 2 models, dropping the prices by $50 to $100. With the price drop, the 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad Air 2 is available for $449. Price drops are more pronounced on the higher-end 128GB models, with the 128GB Wi-Fi only iPad Air 2 available for $599, down from $699, and the 128GB cellular iPad Air 2 available for $729, down from $829.

iPad Air

Best Buy and B&H Photo are continuing to offer discounts on their remaining stock of now-discontinued higher-capacity original iPad Air models, dropping prices as much as $180.

– iPad Air Wi-Fi Space Gray 64GB – $449
– iPad Air Wi-Fi Silver 64GB – $449
– iPad Air Wi-Fi Space Gray 128GB – $529
– iPad Air Wi-Fi Silver 128GB – $529

– iPad Air Cellular Silver 128GB (AT&T) – $549.99
– iPad Air Cellular Space Gray 128GB (AT&T) – $549.99
– iPad Air Cellular Space Gray 64GB (AT&T) – $599.99
– iPad Air Cellular Silver 64GB (Verizon) – $566.99
– iPad Air Cellular Silver 128GB (Verizon) – $599
– iPad Air Cellular Space Gray 64GB (Verizon) – $529
– iPad Air Cellular Space Gray 128GB (Verizon) – $599

iPad mini

Best Buy has a sale on its original iPad mini stock, discounting the 16GB tablet by $30, which drops the price to $219.99. It’s available in Silver and Space Gray.

iPad mini 2

Best Buy and Amazon have remaining stock of now-discontinued higher-capacity iPad mini 2 models, which are a good deal if you’re looking for an iPad mini. Compared to the iPad mini 3, the iPad mini 2 only lacks Touch ID.

– iPad mini Cellular Silver 128GB (AT&T) – $479.99
– iPad mini Cellular Space Gray 128GB (AT&T) – $479.99
– iPad mini Cellular Space Gray 64GB (AT&T) – $447.70
– iPad mini Cellular Silver 128GB (Verizon) – $488.24
– iPad mini Cellular Space Gray 128GB (Verizon) – $566.99
– iPad mini Cellular Silver 64GB (Verizon) – $396.99
– iPad mini Cellular Space Gray 64GB (Verizon) – $476.99

Apple TV

In case you missed it, Apple dropped the price on the Apple TV from $99 to $69 dollars on Monday. It’s available from Apple.com and from Best Buy at that price point.

iMac

– 21.5-inch 2.7GHz/8GB/1TB (Adorama) (B&H Photo) – $1,189, $110 off
– 21.5-inch 2.9GHz/8GB/1TB (MacMall) – $1,379, $110 off
– 27-inch 3.2GHz/8GB/1TB (Amazon) (Adorama) (B&H Photo)- $1,689, $110 off
– 27-inch 3.4GHz/8GB/1TB (Adorama) (B&H Photo) – $1,794, $205 off
– 27-inch 3.5Ghz/8GB/1TB Retina iMac (B&H Photo) (MacMall) – $2,299, $200 off

MacBook Air

– 2014 11-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/128GB – (Amazon) (Adorama) (B&H Photo) (MacMall)$789, $109 off
– 2014 11-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/256GB (Amazon) (B&H Photo) – $939, $159 off
– 2014 13-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/128GB (Best Buy)- $799.99, $200 off
– 2014 13-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/256GB (B&H Photo) – $1029, $179 off

Retina MacBook Pro

– 2014 15-inch 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB (Best Buy) (B&H Photo) (MacMall) – $1,799, $200 off
– 2014 15-inch 2.5GHz/16GB/512GB (B&H Photo) –$2,249, $250 off
– 2014 13-inch 2.6GHz/8GB/128GB (B&H Photo) (MacMall) – $1,059, $240 off
– 2014 13-inch 2.6GHz/8GB/256GB (Adorama) (B&H Photo) (MacMall) – $1,259.99, $239 off
– 2014 13-inch 2.8GHz/8GB/512GB (B&H Photo) (MacMall) – $1,548, $250 off

Apps

There are quite a few apps that are on sale at discounted prices or available for free for a limited time. We’ll highlight a few here, but make sure to check out our sister site AppShopper for a complete list.

Photo collage app Loose Leaf is available for free, down from $4.99. Photo editing app SKEW is available for free, down from $0.99. Kids app Toca Mini is available for free, down from $2.99. Horizon Calendar is also available for free, as is EPOCH 2.

8Bit Dove was named Apple’s app of the week this week, and it will be available to download for free for the next six days.

Apple Accessories

For a limited time (until March 14) Target is offering 10 percent off all Apple products and accessories through its Cartwheel app, including the iPad, iPhone, and all cases and other accoutrements.

Groupon is selling the Griffin Wallet case for the iPhone 6 for $24.99, down from $39.99. The site also has the OtterBox Defender Case for the iPhone 6 for $38.99, down from $49.95, and the Griffin PowerJolt USB car charger for $24.99, down from $34.99.

StackSocial is selling the Quirky “Space Bar” Monitor Stand with 6 USB ports for $69, down from $99. It’s available in black and white. StackSocial also has the BatteryBox MacBook Air & Mobile Device Charger for $139, down from $220.

LivingSocial is selling the Belkin Swivel USB Charger for $9.99, down from $12.99, and the site is also offering 20 5×4 Instagram prints for $3.99, regular price $15.80.

Earskinz is having a buy one get one free promotion on its website, with the promo code COLORS. LivingSocial is selling Apple EarPods for $13.99, down from $29.

SkinIt, a site that makes custom skins for a wide range of devices from the iPhone to the MacBook, is offering a special deal buy one get one 50 percent off deal for MacRumors readers. With the code MACRUMORS, you can get 50% off a second skin after purchasing one skin.

MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors.

Benchmarks Confirm New MacBook Air Brings Decent Speed Improvements, MacBook Pro Less So

Earlier this week, we shared some Geekbench benchmarks for the Broadwell processors in the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro and the new 13-inch MacBook Air, which pointed towards speeds that were comparable to mid-2014 models.

At the time, we noted the results might shift once more data came in and the machines got past their initial housekeeping tasks, and Primate Labs’ John Poole has now shared additional benchmarks for all stock versions of the new machines. The new data indicate that performance improvements may indeed be somewhat better than initially thought, though still relatively moderate.

On the new MacBook Air, both the default 1.6 GHz Core i5 chip and the 2.2 GHz Core i7 chip available as an upgrade performed somewhat better than their predecessors on the 32-bit single-core test, but there were more significant gains in the multi-core test for the higher-end processors.

According to the new averages, single-core performance increased 6 percent from Haswell to Broadwell. Multi-core performance on the i5 chip increased 7 percent, while multi-core performance for the i7 model increased 14 percent.

Due to the more meaningful jump in multi-core performance between the 2.2GHz Core i7 chip and the 1.6GHz Core i5 chip, Poole recommends that MacBook Air buyers go for the processor upgrade.

If you’re thinking of buying the new MacBook Air I would strongly recommend the i7 processor. It has 20% faster single-core performance and 25% faster multi-core performance for only a 15% increase in price.

Benchmarks of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro showed slight gains over previous-generation models, but the differences were not quite as pronounced as on the MacBook Air. Single-core performance increased between 3 percent and 7 percent from Haswell to Broadwell, depending on the model, while multi-core performance increased 3 percent to 6 percent.

I have no recommendations regarding the processor for the new MacBook Pro. The performance differences and the price differences between the processors are roughly equivalent.

Intel operates on a “Tick-Tock” chip manufacturing model. Tock upgrades represent a new microarchitecture, while tick upgrades like Broadwell are generally an improvement on tock architecture, leading to improvements in efficiency. As a tick upgrade, the minor speed improvements Broadwell brings are no surprise. Intel’s last tock upgrade was Haswell, and its next tock upgrade will be Skylake, coming later this year.

Apple’s new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro and new MacBook Air models are available immediately from the online Apple Store and from Apple’s retail stores.

Apple Fixes Keyboard in iOS 8.3 Beta So Searches.Don’t.Look.Like.This [iOS Blog]

Apple has improved the design of its keyboard in iOS 8.3 to fix a long-standing issue that caused several iPhone users to accidentally tap the period key while attempting to use the space bar in Safari. The change to a longer space bar was first spotted in iOS 8.3 beta 2 within the MacRumors discussion forums, and also appears to be present in the third beta of the pre-release software.

iPhone 6 Plus users in particular have long complained about having Safari searches littered with periods because Apple did not extend the space bar to account for the extra space on the larger 5.5-inch screen, instead making the “Go” button larger. While not necessarily a bug, the design issue was an inconvenience for many users and prompted several complaints on social media and within our discussion forums. Twitter user Austin Spencer, for example, voiced his frustration rather succinctly.

I.cannot.adjust to.the.period being.over.the.old http://t.co/DcNwYiH8Jz.spot on.the.iPhone 6.Plus

— Austin Spencer (@AustinSpencer_) March 2, 2015

Apple launched its new iOS public beta testing program on Thursday, making the third beta of iOS 8.3 the first iPhone and iPad software version to be seeded to both developers and the public for testing. iOS 8.3 includes several new features, such as support for wireless CarPlay connectivity, a new emoji picker, support for Google two-step verification, and Apple Pay support for the China UnionPay network.

Apple’s ‘Project Titan’ Car Research May Be Headquartered at Leased Sunnyvale Campus

Apple’s “Project Titan”, its secretive and much-rumored electric car project, may involve a campus leased by Apple last year that is located in Sunnyvale, California, just a few minutes from the company’s main 1 Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino, reports AppleInsider.

According to “two people with knowledge of the project”, the company has been receiving shipments that may be related to the project’s development at the Sunnyvale address, though it remains unclear if that location is indeed the headquarters of the car project.

According to one AppleInsider source familiar with “Titan,” many of Apple’s new auto-related hires, including recruits from Tesla, have been working out of the Sunnyvale campus. This person claims that some of the projects underway there have been kept “very secret” within the company.

It is said that the “Titan” development building itself is codenamed “SG5.”

Apple’s presence at the campus is not a secret, but AppleInsider believes Apple is linked to another company quietly operating at the site, likely as a front for Apple’s more secretive efforts. That company, SixtyEight Research, claims to be a market research firm, but there is little public evidence of any actual operations in that field. Instead, the building where SixtyEight Research is listed as a tenant has seen city permits issued for construction of an “auto work area” and a “repair garage”.

Photo of SixtyEight Research’s offices (Source: AppleInsider)

SixtyEight’s affiliation with Apple could not be confirmed, but Apple does have a long history of using shell corporations and deceptive methods to hide its secret projects. Aside from a barren website, there is scant other information about SixtyEight — lending more credence to its use as a front.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to surmise that SixtyEight could play a role in allowing Apple to purchase and import automotive equipment and tools without drawing any suspicion. Apple, after all, is the biggest company in the world, and has been known to force engineers to use false names in the past when visiting suppliers to avoid unwelcome attention.

A visit to SixtyEight’s offices by AppleInsider was met with frosted opaque glass and security cameras, with a note pointing those looking for the company offices to a three-story building in the complex leased to Apple.

Much of the evidence is circumstantial, but there definitely appear to be some curious circumstances at Apple’s Sunnyvale campus. Apple’s car project is reportedly still in the early stages, but the company is said to have committed to building a team of up to 1000 employees with a goal of launching a car around 2020 if the project proves promising.

‘Activity’ Companion App for Apple Watch Found Hidden in iOS 8.2

iOS developer Hamza Sood has tweeted a series of screenshots from the iOS 8.2 beta that provide a closer look at the upcoming “Activity” companion app for Apple Watch previewed on the Apple Watch microsite. Activity does not show up on iPhone until an Apple Watch is paired with the device, at which point the app provides a comprehensive overview of your daily activity and workout history.

So the Fitness app does exist on 8.2, it’s just hidden until you connect an Apple Watch pic.twitter.com/R1BgnKYRHe

— Hamza Sood (@hamzasood) March 12, 2015

The main History tab allows you to view your Activity rings on a calendar to track how much walking, standing and exercise you have done sorted over the course of a day, month or year. A second Achievements tab displays a grid of achievements that are unlocked for reaching personal bests or milestones. The screenshots reveal there are at least a dozen achievements to unlock.

Apple is pushing the health and fitness capabilities of Apple Watch as one of three main selling points for the wrist-worn device, the others being communication and timekeeping. The upcoming Activity app is an important feature in that regard, and looks polished in time for the Apple Watch’s release next month. Apple will begin taking pre-orders for the Apple Watch on April 10 ahead of an April 24 launch.

Microsoft’s Digital Assistant Cortana May Be Heading to iOS and Anrdoid

Microsoft is beefing up “Cortana”, its virtual voice assistant found in its line of Windows Phones, with plans to provide her contextual reminders and various other features on iOS and Android devices later this year, according to Reuters.

Announced for Windows 10 desktops earlier this year, Microsoft is planning to upgrade Cortana’s functions even more through research from an artificial intelligence project called “Einstein.” Reuters notes that the new iteration of Cortana would double-down on her being less reactive, akin to iOS users needing to instigate Siri commands themselves, and more proactive.

The virtual assistant, named after an artificial intelligence character who appears in most of the main Halo games, could go so far as to plan out a trip to the airport. She would prep boarding passes, check traffic and flight delays, all from reading emails related to the matter.

Cortana could tell a mobile phone user when to leave for the airport, days after it read an email and realized the user was planning a flight. It would automatically check flight status, determine where the phone is located using GPS, and checking traffic conditions.

“This kind of technology, which can read and understand email, will play a central role in the next roll out of Cortana, which we are working on now for the fall time frame,” said Eric Horvitz, managing director of Microsoft Research and a part of the Einstein project, in an interview at the company’s Redmond, Washington, headquarters.

While still not officially confirmed by Microsoft, Reuters notes that a Cortana app for iOS and Android could extend the program’s reach beyond the company’s smaller share of the smartphone business, and perhaps win over converts not impressed with Siri’s functionality.

Microsoft definitely sees Siri as a competitor, releasing a string of advertisements last year pointing out Cortana’s biggest features still unavailable to Siri users on iOS, like mapping out traffic patterns to provide a user alerts and contextually aware reminders

Tim Cook Calls Jim Cramer on ‘Mad Money’, Talks About Health, ResearchKit and More

Apple CEO Tim Cook called into “Mad Money” on CBNC today to speak to host Jim Cramer in honor of the show’s 10th anniversary, where he shared some thoughts on ResearchKit, Apple’s competitors, Apple Pay, the next frontiers of product development, and more.

When asked what he believes the “next frontiers” will be when it comes to product development, Tim Cook highlighted health as “the biggest one of all,” along with cars and the home. According to Cook, devices like the Apple Watch and services like ResearchKit and the Health app that allow people to track their own health and fitness are part of a market that’s “probably significantly underestimated.”

Cook called ResearchKit, which the company debuted on Monday, “an absolute game changer.” ResearchKit is an open source software framework aimed at researchers, and several apps have already been created with it. On Wednesday, Stanford University researchers said they had received 11,000 signups for just one apps.

In regard to the Apple Watch and HealthKit, Cramer asked whether it was “within the realm of our lifetime” that the device paired with HealthKit might be able to monitor diabetes, blood pressure, and detect cancer, and Tim Cook said “Oh, I absolutely do.”

http://player.theplatform.com/p/gZWlPC/cnbc_global?playertype=synd&byGuid=3000361340&size=530_298
On competition, when Cramer asked whether or not Apple felt like the competition had been left behind, Cook said the company is “always paranoid” and always working towards the best possible product.

We’re always paranoid. We live paranoid. We always want the very best product. And so if we’re not beating someone else we’re trying to beat the thing that we have currently shipping.

Everybody here lives on edge.

As he often does, Cook spoke about Steve Jobs, reiterating that Jobs’ DNA is “deep in the company” even though many of the products that Apple is shipping now were created entirely on Tim’s watch, conceptualized after Jobs had passed away. Cook wrapped up the call by wishing an excited Cramer a happy anniversary.

Cook’s segment aired on “Mad Money” on CBNC at 6PM Eastern Time.