Category: Apple

This morning, Apple announced three new ResearchKit projects:

• Autism: Duke University and Duke Medicine are launching “Autism & Beyond” for parents with concerns about autism and other developmental issues. The Duke research team is looking at whether the front-facing camera on an iPhone can be used to detect signs of developmental issues at a much younger age. The app uses novel emotion detection algorithms to measure a child’s reaction to videos shown on iPhone. Duke is partnering with Peking University in China and other international partners to conduct the study.

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Gary ran ifo Apple Store, the website to keep up with Apple retail news. A while back, he announced he was shuttering the site to spend more time with family and friends.

Gary died on Sunday the 11th, after a battle with brain cancer. I’ll miss Gary and his writing, and wish his wife, son and family all the best.

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Big day over at Apple:

There’s a new 21.5-inch Retina 4K iMac. It sits at the top of the 21.5-inch line. The 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display has also been updated. The non-Retina 27-inch machine is gone.

Apple’s still shipping 1TB, 5400rpm hard drives in the base models of each Retina iMac, which is frustrating. I really wish that the company would go all-SSD, at least on the more expensive 27-inch machine.

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Nilay Patel:

Steve Jobs, the controversial new movie about Apple’s late CEO, is an amazing piece of writing, acting, and directing. It is a tremendous film.

It also has very little to do with reality.

Movies about Steve Jobs are kinda screwed either way: mess with the story too much and nerds will get upset. Tell a straight biography and normal people may not go see it. I’ll go see the film, and hopefully I can remember that it’s not meant to be a one-to-one truthful telling of Jobs’ life and work. That may not be good long term, but if you’re selling a movie, I get that trade-off.

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To put it bluntly, the iPhone 6S Plus is the best iPhone I’ve ever owned.

There are models of iPhones that were more fun when new. I shot a ton of video on my 3GS, and of course, the 4 was a breathtaking piece of engineering and design.

Back in the spring, I wrote about switching to the 6 Plus. All the good things about the bigger phone — the display, battery life, camera and more — are just as important to me this time around.

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I really love the two Sport bands I have, but would love some nice NATO band options as well. As all of these lugs are being made in stainless steel, I’m set, but if you own an Apple Watch Sport, it’s something to be aware of if mis-matched lugs hurt your head as they do mine.

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Apple’s CEO:

What is his legacy? I see it all around us: An incredible team that embodies his spirit of innovation and creativity. The greatest products on earth, beloved by customers and empowering hundreds of millions of people around the world. Soaring achievements in technology and architecture. Experiences of surprise and delight. A company that only he could have built. A company with an intense determination to change the world for the better.

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Joe Caiati, on iOS’ built-in troubleshooting tools:

I would liken the Diagnostics & Usage Data section to the Console on the Mac. There is a lot of noise in there, but sometimes you can find important information about issues related to your device. At its most basic definition, the Diagnostics & Usage Data section is a log of system events that happen on your iOS device. This log isn’t tracking your every move, but it is creating entries whenever events like an app crash happens.

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With watchOS 2, there are two good options for what to do with an Apple Watch at night.

The first is to use the Apple Watch a bed-side alarm clock. watchOS 2 includes “Nightstand mode,” which turns the watch into a tiny, adorable alarm clock when turned on its side and set on the charging puck.

As you can see from the photo, the Watch displays the time, day and date, as well as charging status. All of this is done in a nice green that’s not hard on the eyes in the middle of the night. If an alarm is set, it shows as well.

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When Apple showed off the new Apple TV last month, my first thought was “I want Amazon Prime Video on this thing,” but that dream may be dying.

Spencer Soper points out that the gulf between Apple and Amazon is growing:

The Seattle-based Web retailer sent an e-mail to its marketplace sellers that it will stop selling Apple TV and Google’s Chromecast. No new listings for the products will be allowed and posting of existing inventory will be removed Oct. 29, Amazon said. Amazon’s streaming video service, called Prime Video, doesn’t run easily on rival’s devices.

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Several days ago, iFixit posted a teardown of the next-gen Apple TV. This product goes for sale later this year; the only access to the hardware was via the Apple TV Developer Kit program, via which Apple shipped Apple TVs to developers who entered a lottery.

Turns out, Apple isn’t the hugest fan of this move, as Kyle Wiens is the co-founder and CEO of iFixit explains:

Not too long ago, we tore down the Apple TV and Siri Remote. The developer unit we disassembled was sent to us by Apple. Evidently, they didn’t intend for us to take it apart. But we’re a teardown and repair company; teardowns are in our DNA—and nothing makes us happier than figuring out what makes these gadgets tick. We weighed the risks, blithely tossed those risks over our shoulder, and tore down the Apple TV anyway.

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6-ish GB of new OS X is just sitting, waiting for you on the Mac App Store.

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