Apple Now Allowing Personal Pickup in Canada and Australia
As of today, Apple has launched an in-store pickup feature in Canada and Australia allowing customers in those countries to order and pay for devices online and pick them up in retail Apple Stores. Personal Pickup has long been available in the United States, but this is the first time it’s expanded to additional countries.
MacRumors reported on the possible expansion of Personal Pickup in early November after receiving word Apple was training retail employees in Australia, France, Canada, the UK, and other countries. While Personal Pickup has currently only expanded to Canada and Australia it may roll out to additional countries in the near future.
Personal Pickup is available for a number of Apple products, from Macs and Apple TVs to the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. When an order is placed for an in-stock item for Personal Pickup, Apple employees get it ready to go and then send an email to a customer whenever it’s ready. Out of stock items are able to be shipped to a store for Personal Pickup.
This week has been big for both Australia and Canada. Along with the availability of Personal Pickup, both Canada and Australia have also gained Apple Pay through a partnership with American Express. Apple Pay is available in Canada as of today and will be available in Australia on Thursday.
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Jony Ive: Apple Pencil Will Not ‘Replace the Finger as a Point of Interface’
To promote the iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and Smart Keyboard, several Apple executives gave interviews to a number of media outlets ahead of the release of the tablet and its accessories. Last week we shared a Jony Ive interview from The Telegraph where he spoke on the Apple Pencil, and today, Wallpaper has published a second Ive interview with even more of the design chief’s thoughts on the stylus accessory.
Speaking on the conception of the Apple Pencil, Ive said that while it was originally “fundamentally important” to develop a user interface that was based on fingers, Apple discovered there were people who would benefit from an instrument that would enable more precise interactions for drawing and writing. Ive said developing the Apple Pencil and iPad Pro in tandem was essential for a natural drawing experience.
It was important that we develop the UI based upon multi-touch, based on our fingers. The reasons are obvious. I think it is equally obvious that you’re just not as dexterous as you are with a pen or a pencil for certain things.
What we found is that there’s clearly a group of people that would value an instrument that would enable then to paint or draw in ways that you just can’t with your finger. And I suspect that this isn’t a small group of people. I don’t think it’s confined to those of us who went to art school.
Ive went on to talk about the naming of the Apple Pencil, explaining that he preferred “Pencil” to “stylus” because stylus “seems a product that’s about technology,” while Pencil “seems very analogue in its association.”
Apple has a specific role in mind for the Apple Pencil, and that is not as a finger replacement. According to Ive, the Pencil is for making marks, while the finger is to be used for other user interface interactions. Each tool has its purpose, with the Pencil serving as a “far better” way to make marks on the iPad Pro.
I think there’s a potential to confuse the role of the Pencil with the role of your finger in iOS, and I actually think it’s very clear the Pencil is for making marks, and the finger is a fundamental point of interface for everything within the operating system. And those are two very different activities with two very different goals.
So we are very clear in our own minds that this will absolutely not replace the finger as a point of interface. But it is, and I don’t think anybody would argue, a far better tool than your finger when your focus becomes exclusively making marks.
For more of Ive’s opinions on the Apple Pencil, his full interview is worth checking out over at Wallpaper. The Apple Pencil can be ordered from the online Apple Store for $99, but shipping dates range into late December. Apple retail stores have begun receiving larger Apple Pencil shipments as of today, so customers hoping for an Apple Pencil may want to seek one out in a store.
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Apple Promotes iPad in Classroom With New Education Profiles
Apple has shared a new Heart Anatomy education profile and a Philadelphia Performing Arts school profile that promote the iPad in the classroom.
The first profile shows how iPads allow Jodie Deinhammer, a science teacher at Coppell High School in Texas, to better educate her students about the complexity of the human heart using iTunes U, digital textbooks and apps including BioDigital Human, The Human Body Lite and MotiConnect.
“The heart unit is important because kids need to know how to take care of themselves and live a healthy life. Heart disease is a huge problem, and it’s something they don’t know a lot about. […]
With the heart unit, there are lots of great visualizations I could never provide before. Now students can just click on them on iPad, and it makes the learning more concrete, so it sticks with them.”
iBooks textbooks such as Life on Earth provide Deinhammer’s students with a closer look at heart anatomy and the complexities of blood flow through the heart muscle, while the iPad and other apps are also used in multiple lab activities for heart rate, histology, dissection and more.
“The iPad has afforded our students the opportunity to learn science at a deeper level. They’re able to make connections that weren’t really possible before the technology came into the classroom.”
The second profile provides a snapshot of how the Philadelphia Performing Arts, a String Theory Charter K-12 school, has used iPads to create custom learning materials and lesson plans for teachers. The school uses the iWork suite, iTunes U and other apps such as Elements 4D and Volcano 360º.
“You’ll never remember a test you took, but you will remember something you created. And you will remember the moment when a teacher says to you, ‘Wow, that’s really awesome.’ And those are the things our students get to take away with them.” — Christine DiPaulo, Director of Innovation and Instructional Technology
Apple has shared over a dozen educational profiles on its website to date.
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Apple Shares New Apple TV Ads Highlighting Apps and Games
Apple today shared five new ads for the fourth-generation Apple TV on its YouTube channel, highlighting a handful of notable and popular apps that are available for the new device. These mark some of the first Apple TV ads Apple has released since the fourth-generation Apple TV launched in late October.
Each ad is just sixteen seconds in length and depicts one of five Apple TV apps and games, including Crossy Road, Netflix, HBO NOW, Disney Infinity 3.0, and Asphalt 8. The videos show a brief glance at each app before cutting to an overall view of the new interface of the Apple TV.
The fourth-generation Apple TV features both an entirely new operating system and a full App Store for the first time, letting users access apps and games on the device. These new Apple TV ads, which will help with app discovery, will likely start showing up on TV over the course of the next few days.
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DisplayMate iPad Shoot-out: iPad Mini 4 Has Best Display, But iPad Pro and iPad Air 2 Also Perform Well
In its latest display shoot-out, DisplayMate Technologies compared the displays of Apple’s current iPad lineup: the 2015 iPad mini 4, the 2015 iPad Pro, and the 2014 iPad Air 2 to see how the three tablets measure up against each other. The iPad mini 4 came out on top in most of DisplayMate’s tests, which used a variety of calibrated lab measurements and image/photo viewing tests to compare display quality.
DisplayMate called the iPad mini “unquestionably the best and most accurate LCD tablet display we’ve ever tested,” giving it higher marks than the 2732 x 2048 resolution iPad Pro. The iPad Pro also scored well, earning all “very good” to “excellent” marks on tests, and while the iPad Air 2 did well enough to rank as a top tier display, its performance was somewhat behind the iPad mini 4 and the iPad Pro, unsurprising as it was last updated in the fall of 2014 while the mini and the Pro were both released in the fall of 2015.
All three tablets use the same IPS LCDs, but the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Pro have photo aligned LCDs with higher contrast ratios while the iPad mini 4 uses standard mechanical alignment. The iPad Pro also uses a metal oxide TFT backplane for better light throughput and power efficiency, a must for such a large and power hungry display.
Each of the iPads has a similar max brightness, measuring in at 415 cd/m2 (nits) for the iPad Air 2, 424 nits for the iPad Pro, and 450 nits for the iPad mini 4. On maximum contrast ratio, the difference between peak white brightness and the darkest black, all of the iPads had high True Contrast Ratios, but the iPad Pro won at this test. The iPad mini 4 had a True Contrast Ratio of 967, while the iPad Air 2 ranked at 1,064 and the iPad Pro measured in at 1,631, the highest DisplayMate has measured for an LCD tablet display.
On color gamut, the iPad mini had the most accurate score at 101 percent (100 percent is best). The iPad Air 2 had a 105 percent color gamut, while the iPad Pro had a 107 percent color gamut, with the larger two tablets displaying oversaturated blues. On color accuracy, the iPad mini also won, but the iPad Pro was a relatively close second. The iPad Air 2 earned much lower Absolute Color Accuracy marks.
The iPad mini 4 has a very impressive Absolute Color Accuracy with Average/Maximum Color Errors of 1.9 and 4.2 JNCD – tied for first place in Absolute Color Accuracy with the Microsoft Surface Pro 4. The iPad Pro is somewhat less accurate, but still (just barely) Very Good, with Average/Maximum Color Errors of 2.6 and 6.6 JNCD. The iPad Air 2 has noticeably lower Absolute Color Accuracy with Average/Maximum Color Errors of 3.9 and 8.8 JNCD, which are visually noticeable and could be unacceptable for some color critical applications (like medical imaging, high-end digital photography, product sales demonstrations, and advertising proofs, for example).
When it comes to screen reflectance, DisplayMate called all three iPads “unrivaled record holders” for performance in ambient light. The iPad mini had a 2.0 percent Reflectance, while the iPad Air 2 had 2.5 percent and the iPad Pro had 2.6 percent. A test measuring contrast in high ambient light saw the iPad mini perform best, with a Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light of 225. Comparatively, the iPad Air 2 scored 166 and the iPad Pro scored 163.
Due to the inclusion of the metal oxide backplane in the iPad Pro, it earned the award for most power efficient. The backplane increases light throughput and the iPad Pro’s display uses a lower refresh rate when there are static images on the screen.
While the iPad mini 4 is the best iPad display based on DisplayMate’s test, the site calls all of the iPads in Apple’s current lineup “unrivaled” when it comes to screen Reflectance, giving them an edge over competing tablets. Due to their low Reflectance, the iPads have “by far” the highest image Contrast in ambient light and the highest Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light of all current tablets.
The full results of the display shoot-out, available from DisplayMate, are well worth checking out for those interested in getting an in-depth look at how the displays of the iPad mini 4, iPad Pro, and iPad Air 2 compare.
Tag: DisplayMate
Buyer’s Guide: iPad Air (Don’t Buy), iPad Mini (Buy Now), iPad Pro (Buy Now)
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Google’s mobile app answers your complex questions
Google’s mobile search app just got much better at handling the sort of detailed, nuanced questions you’d ask a real human. The Android and iOS software now does more to gauge the true intent of a question, including multi-layered questions that would previously have thrown it off — ask for the population of a country in a specific year and you’ll get the exact number you wanted. The app also understands superlatives like “biggest” or “smallest,” and it knows how to deal with ordered items (say, the tallest buildings in the US). Google is quick to admit that its upgraded engine still makes mistakes, but it’s good enough that you can expect useful results whether your requests are very specific or slightly fuzzy.
Source: Google Inside Search
Pandora Acquires ‘Key Assets’ and Employees From Rdio for $75 Million
Two of the biggest Apple Music competitors and most notable names in the streaming music industry are joining forces, with Pandora today announcing its $75 million acquisition of “key assets” from Rdio.
According to a press release on the acquisition, Pandora has gained unspecified “technology and intellectual property,” and a number of Rdio’s employees will be given roles at Pandora. Pandora plans to use Rdio’s assets to “offer fans greater control over the music they love,” with an expanded Pandora listening experience set to launch in late 2016, depending on licensing. Pandora wants to become the “go-to destination” for wherever and however its fans want to listen to music.
“The Rdio team built an acclaimed product and technology platform that has consistently led innovation in the young streaming industry. I’m pleased that many members of the Rdio team will continue to shape the future of streaming music, applying our tradition of great design and innovative engineering on an even larger stage with Pandora,” said Anthony Bay, chief executive officer of Rdio.
Pandora has more than 80 million users and continues to be one of the most popular streaming music services. Pandora offers its users the ability to listen to free, ad-supported radio stations centered around particular artists or songs rather than offering on-demand listening like Apple Music.
Rdio offered a similar ad-supported free listening tier, but it also included Rdio Unlimited, a service that let users listen to any song on demand as is possible with Spotify and Apple Music. With its acquisition of Rdio’s assets, Pandora may be angling to expand into the on-demand market to better compete with other streaming services.
The acquisition hinges on Rdio obtaining permission for the transaction from the United States Bankruptcy Court. With approval, Rdio will wind down its Rdio-branded operations in all markets as Pandora is only acquiring assets and not the Rdio brand.
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Apple’s Top Free Charts Incorrectly Ranking Apple Apps on Some iOS Devices
Apple’s Top Free Charts on some iOS devices appear to be incorrectly ranking Apple apps like iMovie, Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. As discovered by Sensor Tower and shared by TechCrunch, on some iOS devices, the App Store’s Top Free Chart lists Pages, Numbers, and Keynote at higher ranks than on the desktop App Store and on other iOS devices.
For example, on an iPad mini 2 and an iPhone 5s, we found iMovie, Keynote, Pages, and Numbers all listed within the top 10 free apps, all at different positions. On an iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s Plus, iPad Air 2, and iPad Pro, the only Apple app in the top 20 free apps is iTunes U, which also matches up with the desktop version of the App Store. iTunes U, according to Sensor Tower’s data, is the only app along with GarageBand that should be listed in the top 10 of the free chart.
App Store Top Free Charts on iPad mini
While MacRumors did not see the errant chart behavior on more recent devices, both TechCrunch and Sensor Tower have seen problematic ranking numbers on a range of different devices running iOS 9.1. Devices running iOS 8.3 did not seem to be affected by the problem.
App Store Top Free Charts on iPhone 6s Plus
As TechCrunch points out, it’s not clear if the discrepancy between App Store Top Chart listings is a bug or an intentional manipulation by Apple, but given the significantly different results from device to device, even those that are the same generation, it seems more like a bug than something done deliberately.
The discrepancy, of course, could be related to a bug in Apple’s App Store ranking algorithm, but it’s a persistent one if that’s the case.
It doesn’t appear to be impacting the relative rankings of most other Top applications, besides Apple’s. That is, Facebook Messenger is still at the top of the App Store, followed by newcomer Acapella from PicPlayPost, then YouTube, and then Facebook.
Apps like Pages, Keynote, Numbers, and iMovie are listed in the Top Free Charts because they are provided to iOS users at no cost with the purchase of an iOS device, but these apps are not free, an issue that could potentially be causing chart problems. All of the above listed apps sell for $4.99 to $9.99.
Apple has, however, manipulated the App Store results in the past to highlight its own apps, so it could be the result of a direct work to promote its line of iWork apps to specific devices or specific users, but without comment from Apple, it’s difficult to tell.
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Tim Cook Says Apple Won’t Create ‘Converged’ Mac and iPad
While the iPad Pro further bridges the gap between iOS and OS X, and notebooks and tablets as a whole, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told the Irish Independent that Apple is not interested in creating a “converged Mac and iPad.”
“We feel strongly that customers are not really looking for a converged Mac and iPad,” said Cook. “Because what that would wind up doing, or what we’re worried would happen, is that neither experience would be as good as the customer wants. So we want to make the best tablet in the world and the best Mac in the world. And putting those two together would not achieve either. You’d begin to compromise in different ways.”
Instead, Cook said Apple wants to create the best possible Mac and iPad, suggesting that both products have a strong future. The chief executive is “bullish” about the reverse of declining iPad sales in recent quarters.
“It’s true that the difference between the X86 [personal computer] and the A-series [Apple iPad architecture] is much less than it’s ever been,” says Cook. “That said, what we’ve tried to do is to recognize that people use both iOS and Mac devices. So we’ve taken certain features and made them more seamless across the devices. So with things like Handoff we just made it really simple to work on one of our products and pick it up and work on the next product.”
Last week, Cook rhetorically questioned why anyone would buy a PC anymore — excluding the Mac, which he says is not the “same” — and said the iPad Pro will serve as a replacement for a notebook or desktop computer for “many, many people.”
“I think if you’re looking at a PC, why would you buy a PC anymore? No really, why would you buy one?” […]
“Yes, the iPad Pro is a replacement for a notebook or a desktop for many, many people. They will start using it and conclude they no longer need to use anything else, other than their phones.”
Many early iPad Pro reviews described the tablet as a powerful creative canvas, but not quite a true PC replacement. Benchmarks found the iPad Pro delivers MacBook Air-class CPU performance and MacBook Pro-class GPU performance.
MacStories editor Federico Viticci, as someone who uses iOS as his main computing platform, felt otherwise. “I don’t see myself using a Mac as my primary computer ever again,” he wrote in his iPad Pro review.
Cook also provided a non-comment about Apple’s rumored electric vehicle plans, emphasizing “a need for a focus on user interface.”
“I don’t have anything to announce about our plans,” he says. “But I think there’s some significant changes in the automobile industry over the next several years with electrification and autonomous driving. And there’s a need for a focus on user interface. And so I think there’s a lot of changes that will go on there.”
Follow our iPad Pro and Apple Car roundups for the latest news about each topic.
Tags: Tim Cook, Mac
Buyer’s Guide: iPad Pro (Buy Now)
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Apple’s Tim Cook says a converged MacBook and iPad won’t happen
Apple CEO Tim Cook isn’t sold on the Surface, and the company doesn’t plan on bringing together its MacBook or iPad into a single product like Microsoft’s computing device, either. In an interview with the Irish Independent, Cook said: “We feel strongly that customers are not really looking for a converged Mac and iPad.” This follows comments the CEO made in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, where he questioned why anyone would buy a PC — those comments were apparently aimed at Windows PCs, not his company’s own computer range. “We don’t regard Macs and PCs to be the same.”
Via: PhoneArena
Source: Independent.ie
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