Released earlier today on the App Store, 1Password 6.2 for iOS has brought some nice additions for security and speed. As an app built on the premise of staying secure and accessing private information quickly, I find these improvements pleasant and necessary.
1Password 6.2 for iOS Brings Watchtower, 3D Touch, and Better Search
tvOS 9.2 Beta Adds Podcasts App, Folders, Bluetooth Keyboard Support, New App Switcher→
In addition to iOS 9.3, Apple released the first beta of tvOS 9.2 today. Benjamin Mayo has a rundown of what’s new at 9to5Mac:
With the new Apple TV tvOS 9.2 beta, Apple has added a whole host of new features to the tvOS platform. This includes support for pairing Bluetooth keyboards, Folders organisation for apps on the home screen, a new App Switcher UI and a native Apple Podcasts app.
There are also some enhancements to Siri and other improvements. Apple has added support for two new Siri languages: US Spanish and French Canadian.
There was a ton of work left to do in the first tvOS – and I’d argue that the software shouldn’t have shipped without Remote app support – but it looks like Apple is catching up quickly.
Apple Previews iOS 9.3 with Night Shift, Health and News Improvements, New Education Features
Earlier today, Apple released the first developer beta of iOS 9.3, which will introduce several new functionalities for built-in apps and for education users. To highlight some of the changes in this release, Apple has launched a mini-site with screenshots and descriptions of what’s coming in iOS 9.3.
Pythonista 2.0 Brings Action Extension, iPad Pro Support, Code Editor Improvements, and More
Back in the Fall of 2012, a few months after I had taken it upon myself to start moving all my work from OS X to iOS, I came across Ole Zorn’s Pythonista. A Python interpreter for iPhone and iPad that could natively integrate with iOS system features, Pythonista opened up a new world to me, demonstrating how I could automate tedious tasks on iOS devices via scripting. Since then, other apps have come along and shown how iOS tasks can be automated with visual interfaces and pre-packaged actions (above all, Workflow and Launch Center Pro), but Pythonista is, in many ways, the crown jewel of iOS automation and scripting for advanced users.
There’s nothing quite like Pythonista on iOS. As I’ve documented over the past three years, Ole Zorn has slowly but steadily extended the app’s capabilities with native ties to iOS interfaces via a UIKit bridge, support for location and the Reminders database, and even matplotlib and motion sensors. As it stands today, Pythonista is, by far, the richest and most powerful scripting app to integrate with native iOS features. Despite the variety of options now available for iOS automation and the continued evolution of iOS that cut down the number of tasks I need to automate (case in point: Split View and using two apps at once), I love keeping Pythonista around for key aspects of my workflow that can’t be automated in any other way.
For the past several months, I’ve been using version 2.0 of Pythonista on my iPhone and iPad, which, after a few rejections from Apple, has been approved and is launching today on the App Store. A free update for existing customers, Pythonista 2.0 brings a refreshed UI, support for the iPad Pro, new modules, and, more importantly, a redesigned code editor and an action extension.
Behind the scenes, Pythonista 2.0 has played an essential role in helping me assemble my reviews of iOS 9 and the iPad Pro, with an action extension I rely upon for all my image uploads, OCR, text statistics, and more.
Apple Doesn’t Have Accurate Apple News Reader Statistics→
The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has mistakenly been underestimating the number of readers using Apple News and providing those inaccurate numbers to publishers:
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, said the company missed the error as it focused on other aspects of the product. The company didn’t explain how the problem occurred or say exactly when it might be rectified.
“We’re in the process of fixing that now, but our numbers are lower than reality,” he said. “We don’t know what the right number is,” but he added that it was better to undercount than overcount traffic.
A curious admission from Apple, particularly given that the issue has not been fixed yet. No details are given about the scale of the miscalculation, so it’s unclear as to whether this will result in a minor adjustment or significant adjustment in reader statistics.
Executives from Apple, including Mr. Cue, met with publishers late last year to discuss the product and address concerns. Mr. Cue said Apple will continue to spend a lot of time getting feedback from publishers.
Two months ago there were a few reports, including this one from Digiday, which noted that publishers were “underwhelmed” and “dissapointed” by Apple News, and the reader numbers.
Improving the iOS 9 Videos App→
I find the iOS Videos app frustrating to use. It’s almost unbelievable that in the 9th major version of the OS it’s missing what seem to be some pretty basic features. However, this also means that it should’t be hard to make it a lot better:
This is a great list of suggestions for the built-in Videos app by Michael Tsai.
The Videos app strikes me as one of the most outdated Apple apps across iOS – it was updated with a basic UI refresh for iOS 7, but its functionality largely remained unchanged. There’s a chasm between the video experiences on Apple platforms – with the new Apple TV now out of the door, I think a complete revamp of the iOS Videos app should be taken in consideration this year.
Hyphen: An EPUB Reader for Everyone
As iPads have progressed as computing devices, we’ve seen a shift from the products being solely consumption devices. But even as people try (and succeed!) to work on their iPads, activities such as reading and watching video remain relevant.
Hyphen, an eBook reader for EPUB files, attempts to bridge the gap between the power user and consumer. At its heart, it’s a simple reader - but combined with its sharing and word selection strengths, it should be a contender as a host for your next eBook.
Petition for Apple to Keep Headphone Jack Reaches 200,000 Signatures→
There’s a petition on SumOfUs.org, calling on Apple to keep the standard headphone jack on the iPhone, following more reports that Apple is planning on removing it with the next iPhone.
This is right out of the Apple corporate playbook. A few years ago it swapped out the original iPod-dock connector with a new one, making countless cords, cables and chargers obsolete.
Apple plays up its green credentials, but the truth is that Apple only invested in renewable energy, and began phasing out toxic chemicals when public pressure became too strong to ignore. People power did it before, and we can do it again.
Tell Apple to keep the standard headphone jack and ditch planned obsolescence!
Look, this is a ridiculous and hysterical petition which blows the situation completely out of proportion. But having said that, the fact that this petition (on a website I’ve never heard of before) has exceeded 200,000 signatures in just a single day just goes to show how big a task Apple has if it does decide to remove the headphone jack with this year’s iPhone (remember, these are just rumors for now).
Last month, when these rumors first started circulating, I took the time to document some of my own thoughts about how Apple could minimize the frustration of consumers – as well as explaining why it will be a more painful transition than the 30-pin to Lightning switch, and some other tangential questions that this scenario raises. I don’t want to rehash it all again here, but here’s a snippet:
In essence, I think Apple should do three things. Firstly, acknowledge the trade-off Apple have made and the frustration some customers may feel. Secondly, clearly enunciate the benefits of switching away from the 3.5mm audio jack to the Lightning connector and Bluetooth audio. And thirdly, make the customer’s transition away from the 3.5mm audio jack as painless as possible. I’ll leave the first two up to Apple’s marketing team, but I do have some thoughts on the third.
Who knows if these rumors will even turn out to be true, but there’s an awful lot of smoke already. But even if it doesn’t happen with this year’s iPhone, it will inevitably happen – and when it does, expect an almighty backlash. The real question is how many steps Apple takes to reduce the pain to consumers.
(Via 9to5Mac)
Introducing Canvas and Remaster on Relay FM
Over the past year, I’ve been thinking about ways to expand the scope of my podcasts at Relay FM. In addition to our weekly coverage of all things Apple and technology with Connected, I wanted to cover the changes in my iPad workflow more in depth, as well as revitalize our discussion of games and the gaming industry with Virtual.
After a few months of work behind the scenes, I’m excited to announce two brand new shows where I’ll try to do just that: Canvas, with yours truly and Fraser Speirs; and Remaster, where Myke, Shahid Ahmad (former head of Strategic Content at PlayStation), and I will discuss what it means to play videogames and be a game maker today.
Both Canvas and Remaster are two projects I truly believe in, and they’re the kinds of podcasts I’ve been meaning to co-host for a long time. I’m incredibly thankful for the support by Myke and Stephen in providing a terrific infrastructure with Relay FM, and I feel like all the work I’ve been doing with podcasting over the past three years has led me to an exciting new starting point today.