Jony Ive: Apple Watch and New iPhones Apple’s ‘Best Work Yet’
A short time after today’s media event, Apple CEO Tim Cook did an exclusive one-on-one interview with David Muir of ABC News, speaking on the company’s new products and former CEO Steve Jobs. Now, ABC News has shared a clip of an interview with Apple design head Jony Ive, who spoke on the Apple Watch and its development process.
Muir: How many different versions of the Apple Watch are there?
Ive: I think we were talking about this earlier, and when you actually do the calculations, it’s millions and millions.
Muir: Millions and millions?
Ive: That’s right, there are different materials for the actual case, there’s two different sizes, you can choose one of six different straps or bands. But, the way we treated this from a design point of view wasn’t that you had hardware and then software. Our experience as customers, as users, is that their one in the same. So we designed the user interface, gave people multiple choices, for example in terms of just watch faces.
Ive also noted that he was “very proud” of the work that Apple’s design team has done, stating that the company’s new iPhones and the Apple Watch are its “best work yet.” The designer also stated that Apple has always tried to design products that people want to use as opposed to begrudgingly having to use them, setting a high bar to create a “desirable and personal” product with the Apple Watch.
The full length interviews with Jony Ive and Tim Cook aired earlier tonight and should be posted online soon.
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‘Swift’ Programming Language Hits GM Status for iOS, OS X GM Coming with Yosemite [iOS Blog]
Following yesterday’s special media event, Apple has announced that its Swift programming language has hit GM status for iOS. With this latest milestone, Apple is now inviting developers to submit Swift apps to the App Store for review.
You can now submit your apps that use Swift to the App Store. Whether your app uses Swift for a small feature or a complete application, now is the time to share your app with the world. It’s your turn to excite everyone with your new creations.
Regarding Swift for OS X, Apple states the language will hit GM status for the Mac when Yosemite ships later this fall. Until that time, Apple notes that developers can keep developing Mac apps with Swift by downloading the latest beta of Xcode 6.1.
Apple adds that GM status does not mean that language is in a finalized form, as it plans to adds new features, improved performance, and refined syntax. However, Apple notes that apps embedding a version of the new Swift GM runtime will continue to run well into the future.
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Apple Reportedly Close to Acquiring ‘Path’, Looking to Integrate Service Into Messages [iOS Blog]
Apple is said to be close to acquiring social network Path in an attempt to boost the company’s social media efforts, reports PandoDaily. Citing a “well-placed” source inside Apple’s engineering team, the site notes that the deal is “essentially a done deal” and would see Apple integrating Path’s current services into its Messages app.
Additionally, Path founder Dave Morin was seen sitting in the front row for today’s special media event, which is usually reserved for high ranking executives at the company. Throughout the past few years, Apple has also featured Path in a number of its earlier advertising campaigns and keynotes for the iPhone.
However, the social networking service caused a fair amount of controversy in 2012 when it was discovered to be uploading users’ entire address books to its servers without alerting users or asking for authorization. The issue prompted an investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission as Morin was even summoned to Apple’s Cupertino headquarters to be grilled by CEO Tim Cook and other executives.
Path’s last major development came in June when the company announced that it would be launching its own separate messaging app, complete with quick reply capabilities and Apple Maps integration.
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Apple Watch Tidbits: Charging Retail Box, Water Resistance, Calls and More
While Apple announced the Apple Watch today at its special event, it didn’t go over all of the new device’s features, noting that the company has a lot more to share in the future. Yahoo Tech’s David Pogue has found out some of the details Apple didn’t share on stage.
The watch is water resistant, allowing users to not worry about the device when in the rain, or washing hands. However, the watch must be taken off before going for a swim or taking a shower. Additionally, the watch includes a microphone that can allow users to make calls directly from their Apple Watch.
Users will also be able to load apps onto the Apple Watch from their iPhone. To rearrange the apps, users will have to hold their finger on an app’s icon and move it around, similar to how one rearranges icons on an iPhone. There’s also a “Ping My iPhone” feature, which will allow users to play a sound on their iPhone so they can locate it in case they have misplaced it.
Finally, Pogue explains that the Apple Watch Edition, the most high end of the Apple Watches, comes with a special box.
The fanciest model, the gold Apple Phone Edition, comes in a gorgeous jewelry box — which doubles as a charger. The back of the box has a Lightning connector, and the inside of the box has the watch’s magnetic round charger pad, standing vertically. So as you retire each night, you can just lay your gold watch into its case and let it charge.
The Apple Watch will launch in early 2015 with its lowest end model costing $350.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Will Trigger ‘Mother of All Upgrades’
In an interview with the The Wall Street Journal following today’s media event, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that the company expects the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to trigger “the mother of all upgrades” as consumers consider their next smartphone purchase. Cook also added that he expects Android users to look at switching to the iPhone, claiming that the phones are “appreciably better in every single way”.
iPhone 6 (left) and iPhone 6 Plus (right)
The CEO also commented on the Apple Watch and the company’s new Apple Pay mobile payments initiative:
Cook said Apple’s efforts in payments were “classic Apple” in taking a complex problem and making it simple. “Yes, there is going to be some economic benefit, but from a customer point of view, it takes something that’s way too hard and insecure and makes it so easy and fast.”
Finally, Cook said the Apple Watch was the byproduct of deep thinking about every aspect of the product, and only possible because of collaboration among Apple’s hardware, software and services teams. He believes that will differentiate Apple’s smartwatch from other devices, which have recorded tepid sales.
Both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus will launch on September 19, with pre-orders starting this Friday, September 12. The iPhone 6 will be available in 16 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB variants for $199, $299, and $399, while the iPhone 6 Plus will be available in the same storage capacities for $299, $399, and $499, respectively.
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Taking Apple Pay for a spin: Hands-on with Apple’s mobile payment service
Rumors of Apple working on a wireless payment service have been droning on for years, so when the company introduced a mobile wallet-like feature called Passbook more than two years ago, it seemed at the time that such a service was inevitable in the very near future — perhaps the iPhone 5 would have it? It took a while, but come October Apple will be ready to utilize the Near-Field Communications chip built inside the new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch. The service, simply known as Apple Pay, wants to do exactly what every other payment service on the planet wants to do: Make it possible for you to ditch your wallet (aside from Driver’s Licenses and other forms of ID).
Much like any other mobile payment service, such as Google Wallet or Softcard (formerly Isis), a lot of Apple Pay’s success will come down to how many people actually use it. The hardware is definitely there; fingerprint scanning through Touch ID is an integral part of the feature, and NFC is now built into the new iPhones. Users will probably find it faster and easier than putting in a PIN code to make payments. Apple’s solution could certainly do better than its competitors, but it’s going to take a while for enough people to have the proper hardware in-hand — and it’ll take time to persuade users that the company isn’t solely out to get their personal information or make it easy for hackers to do the same.
Apple insists that this isn’t the case, that it’s using a Secure Element chip that encrypts user data in such a way that prevents the company and probing eyes from getting ahold of it. Instead, the only parties that can see your transaction details are the banks, credit card companies and/or merchants that are directly involved in the purchase. According to Apple, a unique device number is “assigned, encrypted and securely stored” to each phone, rather than the actual credit card number; each individual transaction features a one-time dynamic security code number as well.
As we expected, Passbook is the central point for Apple Pay on the iPhone where your credit cards and accounts reside. This is where you set everything up on the phone (whether you manually add the info or use the camera to take an image of your card), but when it comes to actually making the payment, it’s simply a matter of holding the device within an inch of any payment terminal that supports NFC contactless payments (a lot of merchants now offer these stations in stores), holding your finger onto Touch ID for a fingerprint scan, and presto — the payment’s gone through, and you receive a notification telling you how much you just spent. The same goes for online checkouts through e-commerce sites: When it comes time to pay up, you just need to use Touch ID. (If you don’t want to use the default credit card, you need to go into Passbook to use it.)
The video above shows how Apple Pay is supposed to work. It’s quick, because the whole process — if done right — only takes a matter of a few seconds. In theory, faster than it takes to pull your wallet out, swipe your card, add your PIN or use your signature. As mentioned before, this isn’t a brand new idea. But as long as Apple is able to persuade enough people to trust the service and use it on a regular basis, it has a better chance of succeeding than any service we’ve seen before — that is, as long as the public is ready to move their trust away from magnetic stripes and onto Cupertino’s vision.
Once the service is ready to go in October, it’ll become available as an iOS update in the US. There’s no word on when we can expect it in other countries, but since this is a brand new service, it’s quite likely that the US is going to be a testing ground to make sure any and all bugs are worked out before opening it up to international merchants. It’ll start out with support from Wells Fargo, Amex, Visa, Mastercard, Chase Bank, BoA, CapitalOne and Citi; Apple claims 220,000 merchants will be onboard at the beginning as well.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Apple
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Twitter thinks it’s a good fit for the Apple Watch and other small screens
Moments after Apple announced its latest devices to the world, Twitter’s President of Global Revenue, Adam Bain, came on stage at CTIA to give his thoughts on the integration of Twitter with that much talked about Apple Watch. Twitter was one of the apps given early access to Apple’s WatchKit, and was prominently featured in today’s keynote in Cupertino. Not only can you read tweets on your wrist, but tweeted images fill up the entirety of the tiny screen.
In conversation with CNBC’s Julia Boorstin, Bain says he finds the whole wearables field very interesting, and says it’s good to be on platforms both large and small. “Promoted videos [for example] look better on a larger screen,” he said. Yet he also thinks the mobile nature of Twitter fits very nicely with a watch. In the physical world, you glance at your wrist multiple times a day, he says, and a lot of people do the same with Twitter. Marrying the two together makes sense and having Twitter available on wearable devices like the Apple Watch would make the service more accessible than ever. Further, he highlighted the personal nature of getting tweets on your watch, stating that connections and emotions could be “more dramatic” than before.
But wait, does that mean we’ll see Twitter ads on the Apple Watch? While Bain was hesitant to answer that question, he didn’t rule it out. “Every new device sets new rules,” he said, saying that it was far too early to talk about anything of the sort just yet.
Bain was also asked about Apple Pay and if that hinders or helps Twitter’s recent mobile commerce efforts. Essentially, no, it wouldn’t hurt them. “Anything that reduces friction of payment on mobile devices is a good thing,” he said, even hinting that an integration with Apple Pay was possible in the future.
Filed under: Wearables, Mobile, Apple
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Apple Debuts Two New iPhone 6 Ads Starring Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake [iOS Blog]
Today at its special event, Apple debuted two brand new ads for the newly announced iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The ads, titled “Health” and “Duo”, featuring Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon alongside musician Justin Timberlake as they show off the new phones.
The first ad, “Duo”, features the two of them humming the opening of Richard Strauss’ “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” as they swipe and tap through new apps and features from both iOS 8 and the new iPhones, like 240 fps video, landscape mode, the Health app and more.
The second ad, “Health”, has Fallon and Timberlake introducing the Health app on the iPhone 6 and comparing their health achievements throughout the day.
Both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available for pre-order starting Friday, September 12 and will release one week later on September 19. The iPhone 6 starts at $199 on a two year contract for 16 GB while the iPhone 6 Plus starts at $299 on a two year contract with with the same amount of storage.
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Apple Posts Full-Length iPhone 6 and Apple Watch Media Event Video
Apple has posted the full video of today’s special media event on its website. The video should also be made avaliable later today on the Apple Keynotes podcast, which can found on the iTunes Store. [Podcast links: Keynotes, Keynotes in HD, Keynotes in 1080p HD]
Apple has also uploaded its “Perspective” video seen at the beginning of the event.
Media Event Highlights:
– Apple Announces Apple Watch, Available in Early 2015 for $349
– Apple Announces 4.7-Inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-Inch iPhone 6 Plus, Launching September 19
– Apple Announces ‘Apple Pay’ Mobile Payment Solution, Enabled at Over 220,000 U.S. Merchants
– iOS 8 Launching on September 17
– Apple Seeds iOS 8 Golden Master to Developers Ahead of September 17 Public Launch
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Apple Watch Will Allow Left-Handed Users to Choose Interface Orientation
At its special media event today, Apple unveiled its Apple Watch, showing off a variety of ways to use the device and its apps. However, Apple’s presentation and videos did not directly address how the device would work for left-handed users.
Now, Slashgear has new information on how the device will work for left-handed individuals. According to Apple, users will be able to choose what way the watch’s interface orients upon starting up the device for the first time. The bands for the Apple Watch are also swappable, enabling users to ensure the the device is not facing the opposite direction. However, left-handed users will still be required to adapt to the Digital Crown input on the Apple Watch, which is on the bottom left side when the device is worn on the correct wrist.
The Apple Watch will launch in early 2015 at a starting price of $349, and will be available two separate screen sizes of 38mm and 42mm. Apple will also ship 18 different watch straps that are easily interchangeable alongside its different color and material choices.
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