What If You Used iOS 9’s Low Power Mode All the Time?→

Matt Birchler has asked the question I imagined many would come to ask after the launch of iOS 9:

One of my favorite new features of Apple’s iOS 9 is Low Power Mode. This feature is designed to kick in when you reach 20% battery remaining, and give you a little more time before you have to race to a charger. And while most iOS 9 reviews covered this mode briefly and determined it worked as advertised, I wondered what would happen if you used Low Power Mode all the time. I was surprised that no reviewer seems to have done this, so I took it upon myself to give it a try. I don’t have any standardized battery tests that I can do, so I simply spent the last 2 weeks alternating between using Low Power Mode all day, and not using it at all and comparing the differences. My findings are rather remarkable.

As I explained, I advise against leaving Low Power Mode enabled all the time because it’ll alter your iPhone experience across system apps and third-party ones. Still, fascinating findings with impressive results.

Permalink

Live Photos and Capturing Memories→

Great take by MG Siegler on Live Photos:

You know the scene in almost every movie where a person is looking at an old picture of a loved one when suddenly it triggers their memory of the moment and we’re taken back to a live version of the scene? In a small way, that’s Live Photos. It’s hard to see right now because these iPhones with the functionality are brand new and so the memories are still fresh in our heads. But just imagine what these Live Photos will be like when you look at them in a year? Or ten years? They’ll be memories, captured in time.

See also: Jeremy Olson on capturing moments of a child’s life with Live Photos.

Permalink

Office Apps for iPad Pro to Require Office 365 Subscription→

Writing for Ars Technica, Peter Bright reports that the iPad Pro version of Office for iOS won’t offer the same free tier available for smaller iPads, which was later confirmed by Microsoft to the publication.

The Office apps on the current iPads offer both viewing and editing documents for free. A handful of features require Office 365 subscriptions, available as in-app purchases, but the core editing capabilities are all zero cost.

Install those same apps on the iPad Pro once it arrives in November, however, and all those editing features will go away. Office on the iPad Pro will require an Office 365 subscription for any and all editing.

This is part of Microsoft’s “cut-off” policy that identifies devices above 10.1 inches as computers that are too big to get the Office apps for free. I’m curious to see how they’ll handle this in the same app for multiple iPads.

Permalink

Apple Redesigns iTunes Connect→

Busy week for Apple’s developer team: following issues with XcodeGhost, App Slicing, and delays in processing app builds for third-party developers, the company has rolled out a brand new iTunes Connect.

https://twitter.com/pws/status/647188243318882304

As an app reviewer, the most notable change seems to be scheduled app releases that are automatically released to the App Store after App Review but no earlier than a specific date and time. If this works well with propagation on Apple’s servers (and that’s a big if), it could be a solution to the common dilemma of developers setting embargo times for their app launches. If I’m understanding this correctly, developers wouldn’t have to manually hold an app for release and push it live to the App Store and then wait for propagation – they’d just submit it for review (as usual) and pick the release time from iTunes Connect beforehand. I’m curious to see how this works in practice with iTunes’ servers.

A tour of what’s changed in iTunes Connect (and it sounds like a lot has changed) is available here.

Permalink

Fantastical 2.1 for Mac and Plans for iOS 9 & watchOS 2→

Flexibits released version 2.1 of Fantastical for Mac earlier today, adding full support for El Capitan and addressing some of the most common feature requests. These include the ability to scroll to specific days with the trackpad in Week and Month views, copy and paste for events and reminders, and new text size options.

In the same blog post announcing the update, Flexibits has also shared some details on the upcoming updates to Fantastical for iOS 9 and watchOS 2:

Fantastical 2.5 for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch are receiving their final changes and bug fixes. We’re almost there and we hope to have everything sent to Apple within the next week. Of course we’re talking about software, so this could slip based on what we’re able to accomplish in the next few days. But rest assured that they’re coming very soon.

We’re most excited about our 2.5 update for iPad update which brings support for iOS 9’s iPad multitasking, including Slide Over and Split View. It was a lot of work to implement, but we’re excited about the future of iPad productivity and 2.5 will make it even easier for you to be productive.

…and last but not least, for those of you who have been asking: Yes! Fantastical 2.5 for iPhone will include Complications for Apple Watch!

Can’t wait.

Permalink

Shut Up Is an iOS 9 Content Blocker to Hide Comments on the Web

Developed by Ricky Romero and based on Steven Frank’s popular Shutup.css, Shut Up is an iOS 9 Content Blocker that hides comments on the web.

We’ve all been there: you’re reading a great article on one of your favorite blogs, you scroll down…and you wish you didn’t. Most comment sections can be an unregulated, nasty place on the Internet, and what Shut Up aims to do is to provide a system-level blocking solution that will try to hide comments in Safari and Safari View Controller. This will allow you to browse and read without fearing for your intellectual safety when reaching the bottom of webpages – not to mention gains in performance and readability when the browser doesn’t have to load comment sections.

I’ve been testing Shut Up for iOS 9 over the summer, and it’s the Content Blocker I prefer for hiding comments. What I like about Shut Up is that, besides being based on Frank’s stylesheet and working well for the websites I visit, it offers a whitelist to specify websites where you do want to see comments – either because they usually have great conversations, or because they’re meant to be read as “comments” (such as Facebook or Reddit threads). Shut Up comes with a built-in list of allowed sites, and it also detects URLs in your clipboard when you open the app, letting you easily whitelist its domain.

Given the removal of Peace (which also licensed Shutup.css) from the App Store last week, I recommend giving Shut Up a try. It’s free on the App Store.

Just Press Record Is a Simple Voice Recorder for watchOS 2 and iOS 9

Among the various first-party omissions on watchOS 2, the lack of a Voice Memos app for Apple Watch is perhaps the most curious one. Given the OS’ support for audio recording and playback, a native Voice Memos app for the Watch would be an ideal companion for capturing ideas and audio notes anywhere. Just Press Record, a $2.99 Universal app, wants to provide the missing voice recorder for Apple Watch users.

Read more

Instagram Hits 400 Million Users→

Instagram announced yesterday that they had hit the milestone of 400 million monthly active users:

We are thrilled to announce that the Instagram community has grown to more than 400 million strong. While milestones like this are important, what really excites us is the way that visual communication makes the world feel a little bit smaller to every one of us.

Our community has evolved to be even more global, with more than 75 percent living outside of the US. To all the new Instagrammers: welcome! Among the last 100 million to join, more than half live in Europe and Asia. The countries that added the most Instagrammers include Brazil, Japan and Indonesia.

I can’t believe its been nearly five years since Instagram launched, it really doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. But I was really surprised to remember that Facebook acquired Instagram in April 2012, when Instagram had “only” 40 million users. If I recall correctly, a lot of people thought Facebook was crazy to buy Instagram for $1 billion. Well, I think Facebook got the last laugh on that one, and as Forbes points out, Instagram now has more monthly active users than Twitter (316 million).

It’s been a few years since I updated my Instagram growth chart, so here’s an updated version.

Permalink