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Apple Releases ResearchKit to Medical Researchers→

A few ResearchKit apps were launch partners when Apple first announced the framework, but starting today it is being released to all medical researchers who want to make use of it.

From Apple’s press release:

The first research apps developed using ResearchKit study asthma, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, and have enrolled over 60,000 iPhone users in just the first few weeks of being available on the App Store. Starting today, medical researchers all over the world will be able to use ResearchKit to develop their own apps and developers can also contribute new research modules to the open source framework.

As noted above, Apple is releasing ResearchKit as an open source framework, and they’ve actually uploaded the entire framework to GitHub, so anyone can see, use, and contribute to the project.

You can find our complete overview of ResearchKit here, or check out Federico’s assessment of the framework’s possible impact in his Thoughts on Apple’s March 9th Event.

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Apple Releases First iOS 8.4 Beta with Revamped Music App→

Juli Clover, reporting for MacRumors:

Apple today seeded the first beta of iOS 8.4 to registered developers for testing purposes, just five days after releasing iOS 8.3 to the public. The beta, build 12H4074d, is available for download from the iOS Developer Center, alongside the Xcode 6.4 beta.

The new Music app in the first iOS 8.4 beta doesn’t appear to be including any music streaming functionality powered by Beats, but the service is expected to be folded into the app later this year. New features detailed by Apple in the beta such as global search and Up Next would make sense in combination with an on-demand streaming service.

Apple is, in many ways, late to music streaming. And this is why I’m curious to see what they’re planning – the company has a chance to reinvent how the Music app (pre-installed on hundreds of millions of devices) works, and I believe they chose the right service to do so.

Over the past year, I’ve been trying all of the existing music services again – Spotify, Rdio, Beats Music, and, lately, even Google Play Music. There’s something unique to each one of them, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Apple will differentiate Music.

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Beats Launches New Solo2 Wireless Headphones in iPhone Colors→

Juli Clover, reporting for MacRumors:

Apple-owned headphone company Beats by Dre today announced the launch of several new Solo2 Wireless headphones, in colors that match Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and new MacBook. Available in Gold, Silver, and Space Gray, the headphones are otherwise identical to the company’s existing Solo2 Wireless headphones.

I don’t think it’s surprising that Apple hasn’t rushed to redesign the Beats product line – Beats headphones are clearly popular as they are, and I suspect they would make for a good complementary purchase once the company’s new rumored streaming services launches, presumably later this year.

The timing of the new colors is spot-on – I bet those headphones would look good next to a new gold MacBook or while controlling music from an Apple Watch.

(Note how the Beats link says “Apple Color”, not “iPhone Color”. Silver, Space Gray, and Gold are increasingly becoming the colors of modern Apple devices.)

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Photo Flashback 1.4→

Pictured above: Clips, Do Button, Hue, and Photo Flashbacks widgets.

Pictured above: Clips, Do Button, Hue, and Photo Flashbacks widgets.

I’ve mentioned Photo Flashback on MacStories before – a simple utility for iPhone and iPad, this app lets you easily find photos taken on the same day in the past. Unlike web services like Carousel or Timehop, Photo Flashback is entirely local to your device, as it looks for photos that match the current date in your photo library.

Photo Flashback works well with iCloud Photo Library (I have nine years of photos in it) and today’s version 1.4 makes it even better. Soon, you’ll be able to check flashbacks on your Apple Watch (clever idea, considering the presence of a Photos app for the device) and the Today widget now takes you directly to a photo in the app. If a photo you tap in the widget is stored in iCloud, Photo Flashback will download it for you.

I know that Timehop supports photos from the local photo library as well, but I’ve never needed all the other social features of Timehop, and I like how Photo Flashback works for me.

Rediscovering memories through old photos can be hard, and I’m glad that something like Photo Flashback exists for iOS. The app is $0.99 on the App Store.

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Connected: Crazy Uncle Figure→

With Myke back from vacation, the trio returns to action to discuss MacBook and Apple Watch reviews before tackling “Becoming Steve Jobs.”

On this week’s Connected, Myke and Stephen also help me through my MacBook issues, although the conclusion of said discussion is quite sad. You can listen to the episode here.

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Steven Aquino on Apple Watch and Accessibility→

Steven Aquino got the opportunity to meet with Apple for a hands-on briefing of the Watch and its accessibility features:

There are two accessibility features of the Apple Watch that stand out to me: Extra Large Watch Face and Zoom. Regarding the Large Watch Face, it does what it says: shows the time in a ginormous font. It’s very well done, although for my needs, I’m confident that I can get by just as well with Large Dynamic Type. Overall, however, Large Watch Face will be great for those who need the clock to be extra big in order to read it. Likewise, the Zoom feature was helpful for me in identifying icons on the Home screen, as they’re a tad small at normal size. I found that Zoom works best for me using the digital crown, as the two-finger pan was more difficult to do using my partially-paralyzed right hand (caused by my cerebral palsy).

As he suspected, Force Touch could play an important role for people with disabilities.

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The Apple Watch’s Many Faces→

Wired’s David Pierce, writing again about the design of Apple Watch:

Yet what Dye seems most fascinated by is one of the Apple Watch’s faces, called Motion, which you can set to show a flower blooming. Each time you raise your wrist, you’ll see a different color, a different flower. This is not CGI. It’s photography.

“We shot all this stuff,” Dye says, “the butterflies and the jellyfish and the flowers for the motion face, it’s all in-camera. And so the flowers were shot blooming over time. I think the longest one took us 285 hours, and over 24,000 shots.”

I never thought I’d read a story about jellyfish and say “Wow, that’s cool”.

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Joanna Stern on What the Apple Watch Does Best→

Joanna Stern reviews the Apple Watch, with a good mix of thoughts on fashion, notifications, and fitness.

There are so many things the watch can do, so many menus and features you must spend time figuring out, that for better or worse, you end up shaping your own experience. Some may find usefulness in hailing Ubers with a tap on the wrist, or transmitting a heartbeat to a beloved. My colleague Geoffrey Fowler explored the Apple Watch as a gateway to the iPhone for many quick activities. I sought a simpler experience, turning it into a stylish watch to keep me on schedule and a workout companion to keep me moving.

Also: don’t miss her Apple Watch video. Easily the best video review you’ll watch today.

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Liz Plosser on Apple Watch and Fitness→

SELF’s Fitness Director Liz Plosser has another solid review of the Apple Watch, with a focus on fitness (she gave birth to a baby boy five days before getting a Watch). Make sure to read until the end, though, because her conclusion is surprising and smart.

I began testing the Apple Watch five days after giving birth to a baby boy—not a traditional fitness event like a marathon, but an exhausting physical experience nevertheless. And since strapping on the coveted gadget, my “workouts” have consisted of walking to and from my baby’s bassinet at all hours of the day (and night) and pushing him in a stroller to his pediatrician’s office a half-mile away for newborn check-ups. But Apple Watch gives me credit for that stuff (as it should!). Even when the Watch’s Workout app isn’t open, its accelerometer, along with GPS from your phone, measures all of your physical movement. The three-ring interface keeps tabs on the minutes you spend in each category (exercise, movement and standing), and is so intuitive that even my four-year-old twins understand how it works. Plus, I love that all it takes is a flick of my wrist and a quick glance to enjoy the instant gratification of knowing how much activity I’ve logged—I don’t need to sync it to my laptop or wait for an app to load on my phone.

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