Apple Airs New “Parenthood” iPhone 5s Commercial

Apple aired a new iPhone 5s commercial today, focusing on parents using iPhone apps and compatible hardware devices in their everyday lives. The ad is called “Parenthood”, and it aired on the seventh anniversary of the iPhone’s launch in the United States on June 30, 2007.

The new commercial follows the company’s theme of “You’re more powerful than you think”, highlighting the capabilities of the iPhone 5s and its rich ecosystem of connected apps and accessories. While the first ad in the series put the spotlight on health and fitness-related activities, Parenthood depicts common scenarios of parenting life from early morning with a Withings baby monitor and the MyTeeth app to late evening, when the iPhone’s flashlight is used to find a misplaced toy before a little girl goes to bed.

Throughout the video, Apple highlights an array of devices such as WeMo, a Tractive dog collar, a Kinsa smart thermomether, and Parrot’s wireless sensor for plants. The iPhone is shown both as a portable computer to record the life and moments of a family as well as a device with apps that bring family members closer together or teach young kids to brush their teeth or draw. As Matthew Panzarino notes, the iPhone isn’t a passive experience or a surrogate for a parent. Apple suggests that empowerment from apps and accessories is subtle but powerful, naturally integrated in a modern lifestyle with an interplay of hardware and software. And like its previous Strength commercial, the iPhone’s portability isn’t a demanding burden – whether it’s trying to exercise while pushing a stroller or snapping macro photos of shellfish with an attached lens, the iPhone’s form factor allows the device to be a constant enjoyable addition to our daily lives.

At WWDC, Apple introduced HomeKit, a new set of APIs for developers of hardware accessories with dedicated apps to plug into for better integration with iOS and standardization. With Strength and Pareenthood, Apple isn’t just promoting the iPhone as a phone: they’re advertising a platform of experiences revolving around the iPhone, which, as the campaign implies, is a powerful message, narrated through familiar and relatable stories.

You can watch Apple’s new Parenthood ad below.

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Adobe “Doubling Down” on Lightroom→

Adobe, following Apple’s Aperture announcement earlier today:

Put simply we’re doubling down on our investments in Lightroom and the new Creative Cloud Photography plan and you can expect to see a rich roadmap of rapid innovation for desktop, web and device workflows in the coming weeks, months and years. We also continue to invest actively on the iOS and OSX platforms, and are committed to helping interested iPhoto and Aperture customers migrate to our rich solution across desktop, device and web workflows.

Adobe’s Creative Cloud Photography plan (which includes Photoshop CC and Lightroom) is a $9.99/month subscription, but the app is also available as a standalone purchase.

I personally never needed Aperture or Lightroom, but I know a lot of people who have been using Adobe’s app for several years now. According to Apple, functionalities from Aperture will be integrated with the new Photos app for OS X – the screenshot chosen for the announcement today is interesting.

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Apple Ending Development of Aperture, New Photos App Will Also Replace iPhoto for Mac→

Jim Dalrymple, reporting at The Loop, received confirmation from Apple that the company will stop development of Aperture, replacing it with the Photos app introduced at WWDC:

Apple introduced a new Photos app during its Worldwide Developers Conference that will become the new platform for the company. As part of the transition, Apple told me today that they will no longer be developing its professional photography application, Aperture.

The new Photos app is on track to be released next year for OS X Yosemite, and it will also replace iPhoto for Mac, integrating photo editing and organization features into a single interface with iCloud support.

As reported by Matthew Panzarino at TechCrunch, Apple will provide compatibility updates for OS X Yosemite users and the company is working with Adobe to create a “transitionary workflow” to move to Lightroom.

According to Apple, the discontinuation of Aperture doesn’t indicate a shift away from “pro” apps, as both Logic and Final Cut will continue development. At this point, it’s not clear whether iPhoto for iOS will also be discontinued with the release of iOS 8 and the new features in Photos for iOS.

Aperture came out in 2005. In 2011, Apple started offering Aperture 3.0 at a discounted price on the Mac App Store.

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Launch Center Pro 2.3.1 for Power Users

My Launch Center Pro home screen and Utilities folder.

My Launch Center Pro home screen and Utilities folder.

Earlier this month, I wrote that Launch Center Pro 2.3 extended iOS automation by integrating with IFTTT and bridging the gap between iOS apps and web services. Launch Center Pro 2.3.1, released today and seemingly a minor update, is packed with major changes for advanced users who want to build complex URL actions in the app.

If you’ve struggled to build actions that connect multiple apps in Launch Center Pro before, you’ll want to check out the new version and read through the full documentation on Contrast’s website. We’re still working on a big update to our Launch Center Pro guide, but, in the meantime, I’m going to give you an overview of what’s possible to achieve with Launch Center Pro 2.3.1.

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xScope 4.0→

Version 4.0 of The Iconfactory’s tool for measuring, inspecting, and testing layouts and graphics on OS X has been released today, adding powerful new features for designers and developers.

We’ve covered xScope on MacStories before, and the new release adds an Overlay feature to check alignments and mockups over a browser (useful when working on responsive designs) and a Text palette to “search, decipher, and reformat text and character glyphs”. xScope works with Retina displays and many of the app’s existing functionalities have been redesigned and updated to have faster performance, more flexibility (just take a look here), and Yosemite support.

I’m no designer, but I’ve used xScope before and I know it’s a solid app; I’ve downloaded the trial from The Iconfactory’s website, and the changes in this version look fantastic. For a limited time, you can get xScope 4.0 at $24.99 (50% off) on the Mac App Store.

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SoundCloud’s iPhone App Updated with a Stunning New Design→

When we say all-new, we mean all-new. Designed and built from scratch. Easy and natural to use while you are out and about. Something that lets you hear more of what you want to hear.

So what makes the app special? It’s beautifully simple. You can control everything with your thumb. Tap anywhere to play and pause. Swipe to skip tracks. Slide along the waveform to explore a track and its artwork. Easy.

The SoundCloud team has done a fantastic job with version 3.0 of their iPhone app, it is simpler, cleaner and just stunning. I’ve only been using it for a short amount of time, but my favorite aspect is definitely the way they have designed the ‘play’ screen in the context of their “one thumb” interface notion - controls are hidden until needed and basic (but intuitive) gestures are used for skipping tracks and seeking.

However, one change to the app may disappoint some users, as SoundCloud have decided to remove the Record functionality from the app, which is now solely focused on listening. For those who still want to post music and audio to SoundCloud, they recommend an app such as AudioCopy. If you want to read more about the new SoundCloud app, you can check out the reviews posted by The Next Web and The Verge.

The new SoundCloud app is available on the App Store for free, an update to the iPad version is in the works.

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