iCloud.com Photos App Gains New Zoom, Email Features

Apple’s iCloud.com Photos app was quietly updated over the weekend, adding a new zoom option to the toolbar that lets users zoom in on photos that have been uploaded to iCloud Photo Library.

As noted by German site iFun.de, Apple’s web-based Photos app has also gained a new feature that allows users to send photos via email directly from the website, making sharing photos easier than ever before.

The addition of new zoom and email features follows a major November update to the iCloud.com Photos app, which began allowing users to upload photos to iCloud for the first time. Before the addition of the uploading tool, the standard iCloud.com site only allowed users to view, download, and delete iCloud Photo Library images.

With the uploading tool and new sharing features, iCloud is slowly becoming a viable and useful storage option for users who wish to upload and manage entire photo libraries. Still in beta, iCloud Photo Library was initially introduced alongside iOS 8.1, letting users sync and access all of their photos on all of their iOS devices and Macs via the web.

Apple is working on a Photos app for the Mac, which will work alongside both the Photos app on iOS and the iCloud.com Photos app on the web. Photos, which will replace both Apple’s iPhoto app and Aperture, is supposed to be launching in the early months of 2015. There’s been little word on its development since its initial June introduction, however.

Point-of-Sale Suppliers See Massive Increase in Retailer Interest Following Apple Pay Launch [iOS Blog]

A new report by The Wall Street Journal looks at the early performance of Apple’s new electronic payments service, Apple Pay, finding strong signs of momentum behind the service. One of the key signs of interest in mobile payments comes from point-of-sales system suppliers seeing drastic increases in retailer interest following the launch of Apple Pay last October.

Harbortouch has offered free wireless readers to its retailer clients since 2012, and in the month following the Apple Pay launch 68 percent of client orders asked for the readers supporting wireless payments. As of August of 2013, only 22 percent of its clients had installed such readers in their stores.

“It’s like night and day,” said Brendan Lauber, Harbortouch’s chief technology officer. “Now, merchants are actively coming to us and asking how to support this.”

The Wall Street Journal piece also covers the general surge in public acceptance for the service, remarking on recent stories that Apple Pay now supports cards representing about 90 percent of the credit card purchase volume in the United States, and that Apple’s upcoming financial reports for the latest quarter may provide more details.

Apple to Shut Down Old TestFlight Beta Testing Website in February [iOS Blog]

Apple today began notifying developers about the upcoming closure of the old TestFlight beta testing service accessible through TestFlightApp.com, reports The Next Web. The impending February 26 shutdown of the standalone website arrives nearly one year after Apple’s acquisition of TestFlight through its purchase of Burstly and subsequent integration of the service into iTunes Connect.

TestFlight on iTunes Connect and the legacy website were operated as independent services over the past year, enabling developers to test significant changes to their apps. Apple now encourages TestFlightApp users to export current testers so that they can be imported to the iTunes Connect version, and has posted a help document to help developers transition between the services. The new version of TestFlight is available for iOS 8 and later.

Rumored ‘iPad Pro’ and Companion Stylus Imagined in New Renderings

Following an influx of rumors surrounding the “iPad Pro” and a possible stylus accessory launching around the same time, well-known 3D modeler and designer Martin Hajek has created a series of concept renderings for each device on his blog.

Hajek’s models include several details rumored for the iPad Pro, which has been claimed to carry a 12.2 – 12.9 inch display and fall in line with the rounded design of the current iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3. The renderings are based on some design drawings that surfaced last November, with Hajek noting the design brings back the larger bezels seen in earlier-generation iPads. Consistent with the schematics and other rumors, he also places speakers on the top and bottom and edges of the device, allowing for stereo sound when used in landscape orientation.

Otherwise, the iPad Pro sticks by most of the current-generation standbys, including volume rockers on the right side of the device, a lock button on the top right, a Lightning charger on its bottom center, and a Touch ID capacitive home button sitting in its normal central position.

Beyond the iPad Pro itself, Hajek also imagines a possibility for Apple’s rumored in-house stylus. Borrowing “the design language of the iPad Pro”, he added in a capacitive +/- slider for additional operations, and also elements of the Apple Watch as well, including biometric sensors and a digital crown. While the stylus renderings are interesting, a lack of leaks or even specific details about the accessory means the images are not based on any actual information.

The new renderings show off the iPad Pro mostly in the Silver option, though it’s likely to receive the other two usual color options of Space Gray and Gold. The latest rumors suggest the iPad Pro may launch sometime in the late spring or early summer of this year. The full suite of renderings featuring the iPad Pro and stylus can be found on Hajek’s blog.

Apple’s AuthenTec Acquisition Left Nexus 6 Without a Fingerprint Sensor

The dimple on the back of Motorola’s Nexus 6 would have featured a Touch ID-like fingerprint sensor if Apple had not acquired sensor firm AuthenTec in 2012, according to former Motorola Mobility CEO Dennis Woodside.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Woodside states the company had plans to include the finger-sensing feature in the Nexus 6, which was launched late last year, but due to Apple’s poaching of “the best supplier” for the technology and other suppliers not meeting quality expectations, Motorola decided to remove the feature before launch.

“The secret behind that is that it was supposed to be fingerprint recognition, and Apple bought the best supplier. So the second best supplier was the only one available to everyone else in the industry and they weren’t there yet,” says Woodside. Nonetheless, he adds, the addition of fingerprint recognition, “wouldn’t have made that big a difference.”

Woodside, now CEO of Dropbox, expresses relief at freedom from these “uncontrollable market forces” in his new position. “We’re not trying to serve ads or sell hardware,” he told The Telegraph.

Apple’s introduction of AuthenTec-based Touch ID on the iPhone 5s sparked much interest in fingerprint-sensing technology, and the company continues to work to improve upon the technology. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus introduced a more sensitive version of the sensor and it is now being used to authenticate purchases made with the company’s new Apple Pay mobile payments service.

Apple Likely Sold More iPhones in China Than in the U.S. Last Quarter [iOS Blog]

A day before the company is set to announce earnings for its first fiscal quarter of 2015, Financial Times highlights a recent report suggesting Apple may report it sold more iPhones in China than in the U.S. for the first time ever.

According to analysts from financial firm UBS, China accounted for 36 percent of iPhone shipments in the most recent quarter, compared to 24 percent for the U.S. The analysts also compared the numbers to 2013, noting that a year before China accounted for only 22 percent of shipments with the U.S. at 29 percent.

Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin concurs with the UBS report, believing around 2 million more iPhones were sold in China than in the U.S. during the quarter. With the upcoming launch of the Apple Watch, he also believes it’s just the beginning of the country’s fiscal dominance over Apple sales.

“It’s already been a good year, building up to the climax of this quarter,” said Bajarin, referring to Apple’s momentum in the world’s largest smartphone market. “It leads to a lot more optimism for China . . . Their potential headroom in China is higher than it is here [in the US].

They will likely do more in China than US from here on out,” he said. “It certainly shows how important the China market is to Apple’s upside.”

Apple has been emphasizing the importance of China for the company for some time, most recently meeting with the Chinese government to discuss data privacy and security, partnering with popular mobile payment service Alipay, and planning multiple Apple Store openings like the one in Chongqing opening this week.

On the distribution front, 2014 most notably saw a partnership between Apple and the world’s largest carrier, China Mobile. The partnership allowed iPhones to be sold in 3,000 more cities where Apple previously had very little presence, undoubtedly aiding the Cupertino-based company rising Chinese in recent quarters.

Apple China Posts Video Showing Creation of Mural for New Chongqing Store [Mac Blog]

Apple has posted a video on its Chinese retail website showing off an art collaboration between international photographer Navid Baraty and artist Yangyang Pan to design a mural for the company’s upcoming Jiefangbei store in Chongqing. The video shows Baraty discussing his work in taking photos of Chongqing, while Pan shares her role in painting the mural that covers the location.

Last week, Apple posted a video on the website showing calligrapher Wang Dongling creating a mural for Apple’s new West Lake store in Hangzhou, China which opened last week. Earlier this month, Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts noted that Apple would be opening five new retail stores in the next five weeks to coincide with the Chinese New Year holiday. The new Jiefangbei store also marks Apple’s second in Chongqing, as the first opened last July.

Apple’s new Jiefangbei in Chongqing, China opens on January 31 at 10 AM local time.

Apple Launches ‘Free on iTunes’ Section With Free TV and Music Downloads [Mac Blog]

Apple today added a new “Free on iTunes” section in the iTunes Store, featuring free downloads of songs and full length TV episodes. The section replaces Apple’s “iTunes Single of the Week”, which previously offered free songs from popular and indie music artists.

Currently, Apple is offering full-length TV episodes from shows including Fox’s Backstrom, Syfy’s 12 Monkey’s, Disney Channel’s KC Undercover, and MTV’s Eye Candy. On the music side, Apple is offering downloads from artists such as Purity Ring, Jauz, Asking Alexandria, and Guster.

Apple’s “Free on iTunes” section is live now, and it is likely that the company will offer new content every week as it has done with the iTunes Single of the Week and its App of the Week section.

Samsung to Produce Majority of Apple’s A9 Chips for Next-Generation iPhone

Samsung will be the main supplier of Apple’s upcoming A9 chip that will power the next-generation iPhone, reports South Korean newspaper Maeil Business (via Reuters). The newspaper notes that Samsung will supply around 75% of chips for the next iPhone, and that the processors will be produced at the company’s factory in Austin, Texas.

Apple’s A8 chip
Last month, a report from Korea’s ET News said that Samsung had begun work on the processor in Texas. Previous reports noted that Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) would be producing the A9 chip, although Samsung was chosen to be the primary supplier in a deal that was said to be worth billions. BusinessKorea reported last month that Apple would be relying more heavily on Samsung for iPhone 6 and Apple Watch components including RAM, NAND flash storage, and batteries.

Apple’s A9 chip is expected to power the iPhone 6s and presumably the next-generation iPad Air and iPad mini. Apple is also expected to launch a larger-screened iPad Pro at some point this year, although that device has been rumored to utilize Apple’s A8X processor.