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Apple released iOS 9.1 today, the first major update to iOS 9, first released in mid-September.
In addition to various bug fixes and performance improvements, iOS 9.1 brings over 150 new emoji with full support for Unicode 7.0 and Unicode 8.0 emoji, and a smarter Live Photos implementation. On the iPhone 6s, Live Photos will now sense when you raise or lower your device, so it’ll stop recording the video associated to the Live Photo.
iOS 9.1 is available now through Apple’s Software Update.
Speaking of 3D Touch, Victor Baro has put together some examples of how the technology can be used to build custom controls on iOS 9:
Since I discovered 3D Touch, I have been thinking about new ways of interacting with the content. Peek & pop is a great interaction; but what I really want is to create my own controls.
We need to take into account that, because 3D touch is only available in iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, no action should be completed just by using this feature. The user should be able to achieve any action without using 3D touch (just like peek & pop does), and 3D touch should only provide an extra level of interaction.
It’s a technical read, but make sure to check out the demo videos. As 3D Touch trickles down to Apple’s entire lineup over the coming years, it seems obvious that these new types of interactions will become the new default.
Nice demo by Lim Chee Aun, showing how you can use 3D Touch on the web in a simple drawing app:
This is a demo for 3D Touch on Mobile Safari on iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. It’s a simple line drawing app which you can use the force of the finger to control the width of the drawn line.
Mobile Safari on iOS 9 for iPhone 6S and 6S Plus introduces 3D Touch for web developers. The line drawing code is heavily inspired by (or copied from) @kangax’s 2013 article: Exploring canvas drawing techniques.
Make sure to apply different levels of pressure to get thicker lines. You can play around with the demo here.
Good explanation of how new emoji are approved and made available to modern devices by Jonah Bromwich at The New York Times:
In deciding which emojis to add, the Unicode Consortium considers factors including compatibility (if a pictorial symbol in broad use has not been translated into Unicode), and frequency of use (whether people will be interested in using a certain picture often enough to justify its existence).
Another factor is “completeness.” For instance, at one point, the group added a mosque, a synagogue and a generic place of worship to complement the Christian church symbol that was already included.
Side note: The New York Times pluralizes emoji as “emojis”, but I use “emoji” for both singular and plural variations. That seems to be Apple’s preference, too.
Mashable’s Christina Warren sat down with Jony Ive, Vogue’s Anna Wintour, and Costume Institute Curator Andrew Bolton earlier this week to discuss fashion in the age of technology, Apple Watch, and more. From the interview:
Ive made an interesting observation about form and function. “What I’ve noticed is if something works but emotionally you don’t feel a connection — it’s ugly — you’ll use it, but you’ll use it begrudgingly and you’ll change at the first opportunity and you’ll build no relationship with the brand or the people behind it. And so you really have to be successful in both.”
Last week, Apple announced they will sponsor the 2016 ‘Fashion in an Age of Technology’ Met Gala.
This week, Stephen and Federico talk about iWork, Notes and HomeKit before being greeted by Federico’s plumber.
On this week’s Connected, Myke is away so Stephen and I replaced him with Bla Bla Car’s mascot and took our time to discuss HomeKit and our experience with HomeKit accessories so far. I like how it turned out and I think it makes for a good HomeKit primer. You can listen here.
Sponsored by:
Ever since Twitter rolled out the ability to include multiple pictures in a tweet, I’ve been annoyed by the lack of such option in iOS’ tweet sheet. There are times when I’d rather not open my Twitter client to tweet some pictures or screenshots – maybe I don’t want to get distracted by news happening on Twitter, or maybe I just want to share from the Photos app without seeing mentions that I want to reply to.
Twitter’s (or Apple’s?) decision not to support the feature with the native iOS extension is baffling, but, thankfully, the latest update to Linky for iPhone and iPad offers an elegant (and obvious) solution to the problem.
Tim Cook revealed today that Apple will start taking orders for the new Apple TV next Monday, October 26, with units shipping by the end of next week. Cook made the comment whilst speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s WSJD Live 2015 conference.
As Apple announced at its September Keynote, the new Apple TV will be sold for $149 for the 32GB model and $199 for the 64GB model. Apple said the initial late October launch of the Apple TV will see the product launch in over 80 countries, but by the end of the year it will be available in 100 countries.
Cook also revealed on stage tonight that there are now 6.5 million paid members of Apple Music and a further 8.5 million Apple Music members who are still in their 3 month trial phase. For comparison, Spotify announced on 10 June 2015 that it had over 20 million paying subscribers and more than 75 million active users.
Some of the other topics that Cook addressed in his interview at WSJD Live was the Apple Watch (where he declined to provide sales figures), debates over privacy and security, the future of cars and Apple’s broader role in public life. If you want to read more, be sure to check out the live blogs from The Verge, The Wall Street Journal and MacRumors.
[via The Verge]
Developed by Rob De Ruiter, Watch Keypad is a useful app for watchOS 2 that lets you call or text any number from your Apple Watch.
I know what you’re thinking – nobody really has to remember phone numbers in the age of cloud-synced contacts and address books. Thinking back to a decade ago, it’s odd to consider how many phone numbers I used to remember – dozens of them for close friends and family members – and compare that to today, as I barely know my own number. Still, there are times when I need to call a number that is not in my contacts list (and that I can’t tap directly in a webpage or in Maps). For those occasions, having the ability to do so from the Watch – which may be best when doing something else, such as cooking or chores – is a good option.
Watch Keypad launches fast and shows a keypad with numbers and buttons to delete and call. Upon each press, the app will play a sound and a subtle vibration to communicate input (sort of like PCalc does). Spinning the Digital Crown upwards will reveal a different set of keys (such as asterisk and clear), as well as a different button to send a text with the built-in Messages app. The app’s primary functionality – phone calls for typed numbers – is handled by the iPhone, which will initiate a call with the native Phone app and display the special green status bar when a call is happening. A list of recent calls is also available in the Watch Keypad app itself, both on the Apple Watch and iPhone.
Watch Keypad fixes a very specific omission – the lack of a keypad in Apple’s Phone app for Apple Watch. De Ruiter’s solution works well, and it’s only $0.99 on the App Store.
