Apple Technology, News, and Products

Fitbit's CEO, James Park, has more right than most to mouth off about what makes good wearable tech. Fitbit's sales continue to slay the competition, quarter after quarter with 1m Blaze smartwatches and 1m Alta fitness trackers sold within a month.

Talking to the Telegraph, Park threw some shade at the Apple Watch which by all accounts is Fitbit's nearest wearable rival, at least in terms of sales.

"I think it's a great product and Apple's a great company, but it's a product that probably does too much," said Park. "Really our research has shown that people who search for an interest in the Apple Watch do not overlap with people who search for and are interested in Fitbit."

Read this: New Fitbits go platinum in just one month

Considering the Fitbit Blaze is making a play as a fitness smartwatch, it's curious that Park thinks that smartwatches need this focus to succeed.

"I think the biggest problem with the category today is they do so many things and it hasn't been really clearly communicated to people why they should need one of these devices."

The average Fitbit user is a little bit overweight. They are more active than the average population but that's because we've managed to increase their activity levels over time.

Park also had a couple of interesting things to say about his own company. First up, that Fitbit engagement is increasing - 72% of people who bought a Fitbit in 2015 were still using it by the end of that year. That's apparently up on 2014 though Park didn't provide those figures.

He also shared some info on the average Fitbit user: "If you look at the aggregate of all of our users," he said, "actually they're not really that fit, the average Fitbit user is a little bit overweight; they are more active than the average population but we think that's because we've managed to increase their activity levels over time."

Read this: Fitbit Blaze review

The Blaze and the Alta are doing well but neither offers the new features that Fitbit's CEO has previously hinted at. Park continued to tease future sensors and software.

"While you're wearing these devices, I think there's huge opportunity for them to connect and interact with the broader world," he said, "whether its richer notifications or integration with the cars or homes or buildings or payments or authentication."

And: "A big part of our R&D going forward is our software intelligence that gives people insights and coaching."

We're looking forward to Fitbit pushing forward with insights and integrations now that it seems to have cornered both the fitness/ smartwatch crossover and casual fashion device.

The iOS 9.3.1 update is the latest upgrade for Apple's iPad and it brings a crucial bug fix for an iOS 9.3 problem. It's an important update and today we want to take a close look at the key iPad iOS 9.3.1 update details.

The iPad iOS 9.3 update was confirmed in January and it rolled out to iPad users in March, shortly after the company's iPhone SE event.

The iOS 9.3 update brought a ton of changes to the iPad but it also brought problems including a web link crashing bug.

This bug forced Apple to roll out another iOS 9.3 update dubbed iOS 9.3.1.

The next time you check for an update on your iPad, you'll encounter iOS 9.3.1 and its changes. For iOS 9.3 users, iOS 9.3.1 is small and includes that single bug fix. For others, it's going to be a much larger update thanks to iOS 9.3.

iOS 9.3.1 is a big update and there's a lot iPad users need to know about it. And that's precisely why we're taking a look at the upgrade today.

This iPad iOS 9.3.1 roundup includes our impressions of the software, a look at iPad iOS 9.3.1 problems, ways to downgrade to older versions of iOS 9, and more. Keep these things in mind as we push deeper into April.

iPad iOS 9.3.1 Impressions

Last week, we installed the iOS 9.3.1 update on three versions of the iPad: The iPad Air 2, the iPad Air, and the iPad mini 2. We've been using these iOS 9.3.1 updates for a few of days now and here's what we've found. 

We haven't noticed any issues with battery life, at least not yet. All three slates are holding a solid charge with the iOS 9.3.1 update on board. 

We haven't noticed any issues with connectivity either. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are both holding up well after several days of use.

We've tested the tablets on several different connections with different routers. We've also tested them with various Bluetooth devices including speakers and headsets. 

Third-party apps are working fine on all three though we can't profess to have used every single app on the App Store. If you're concerned about performance, read recent app reviews from iOS 9.3.1 users.

As for Apple's stock apps, Apple's Podcasts application has crashed several times on the iPad Air. That's been the extent of our troubles. So far. 

We haven't run into any experience-breaking bugs and the Control Center/keyboard/Notification Center lag that we saw on the iPad mini 2 with iOS 9.3 on board hasn't emerged yet. 

If you're already on iOS 9.3, you'll want to think about moving to iOS 9.3.1. It comes with a crucial bug fix. If you're on iOS 9.2.1, iOS 9.3's features make iOS 9.3.1 worth it. 

If you're on something older, or you're using an older device, you might want to wait a few more days to see how iOS 9.3.1 performance pans out. 

Bluesound is upping the ante on cool ways to control a wireless home audio system with its recent launch of BluOS 2.0, an upgrade for BluOS-enabled wireless hi-res music systems. The release includes a major update to its mobile controller apps for iOS and Android. Version 2.0 is Bluesound's first phase in a fresh new user experience that features an enhanced interface, improved playlist and playback logic, additional Player functionality, widgets, and support for Apple Watch.

The new BluOS Controller app is built to be a universal one-app solution for all BluOS-enabled systems. Here are a few of the new features:

Better Music Access: A new search engine allows users to browse networked music collections, and select custom playlists and favorites stored in a local library, on a mobile device, or streaming music service with quick on-demand access to enhanced browsing functions.

SmartPlay Playlist Creation: A faster and easier way to queue up music, enabling users to instantly add and listen to tracks without limitations, while the rest of the album or playlist is auto-filled into the queue.

Assisted Player Setup: With guided in-app tutorials on startup, users can easily connect Players to an existing stereo system, powered loudspeaker, or home network.

Apple Watch: BluOS Controller is now available for Apple Watch, where you can instantly check what's playing, select a Player, or change the track.

Controller Widget: Access Player presents and control music playback at a glance with a single swipe, without ever launching the app.

"At Bluesound, we're committed to delivering the most intuitive, interactive, and immersive music experience for BluOS users," says John Banks, Bluesound chief brand officer. "This is a major enhancement, and we're confident that our new design and feature updates will connect BluOS users more deeply with their music than ever before."

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Greenwich TimeGreenwich Apple store to host April 13 iPad workshop for parentsGreenwich Time"The Apple Workshops are primarily geared towards improving iPad skills on the iPad apps," school officials said in a statement on the district's website. "The Apple reps are not trained in our curriculum or policies. The GPS-Apple workshops were ...

Those who liked the Apple Watch or wanted to buy it but decided to wait will have to face some disappointment hearing this news. It seems like the Apple Watch 2 release might not happen any time soon. It was surely being expected that Apple might launch the new device on 21st March at the big event, but that did not happen. It is now rumored that the Apple Watch 2 might make an appearance in fall along with the iPhone 7.

However, the latest patent for the smart band of the Apple Watch Original suggests that the company is still focusing on the first watch. A report from Mac Rumors says that the Cupertino company is working on some new modular smart bands that will bring GPS receivers and wireless charging battery packs to the Apple Watch Original. This could altogether mean that the Apple Watch 2 might not get launched in September this year.

A Christian Daily report had suggested that the Apple Watch 2 might come with a new 32-bit chip, an ARM Cortex A32 processor, new health sensors, woven nylon bands in several colors, inbuilt GPS, and watchOS 2.2. The Apple Watch costs $299, so the Apple Watch 2 might go as high as up to $399.

Apple's latest overhaul will impact one-to-one and shared device rollouts

In March, Apple upgraded the iPad and iPhone operating system to iOS 9.3 (quickly followed by iOS 9.3.1, which tweaked a few bugs). The lead up to the release caught the eye of the K-12 community, which had been waiting for a few tweaks of their own that would help it better manage both shared and one-to-one iPad implementations. It's only been a couple of weeks since the new operating system hit prime time, but the feedback is already coming in—and it's largely positive.

New features in iOS 9.3, for example, make it easier for IT to set up and manage devices via a new managed home screen layout. This feature allows administrators to deploy iPads configured for students, and to select which applications will appear on their device home screens. It might be most useful in shared environments, where more than one student is using a device—but where not all of the apps are relevant for all of those users. Schools can also locate and recover stolen or lost devices via ongoing location tracking that doesn't compromise student privacy.

Expanded capabilities

Carl Hooker, director of innovation and digital learning at Eanes Independent School District in Austin, Texas, says his 8,000-student district kicked off its one-to-one mobile device implementation in 2012. Devices at Eanes have been upgraded to iOS 9.3, he's already seeing positive impacts. The new Classroom app (the "teacher's assistant"), for example, lets instructors quickly see what students are working on at any given moment. "We were able to do this before with our mobile device management platform," said Hooker, "but it was never built into the iOS."

With the new operating system, teachers can also use AirPlay to share a specific student's work on a big screen using a projector and Apple TV. "We used to have to ask students to bring their iPads up to the front of the class to plug them in to be able to do this," says Hooker. On the backend, he says administrators like how the device enrollment profile (DEP) allows districts to purchase devices and then "sync" the device serial numbers with Apple. "This capability has been around for about a year and a half," says Hooker, "and it's great because if someone steals the device, it will ask for school credentials when the [thief] tries to wipe the device clean and reboot it."

What's different now is that the DEP function is folded into the operating system's volume purchase pricing (VPT) program on iOS 9.3. Through the program, schools save about 50 percent off mobile apps by purchasing them in bulk. "Apple turned it into a one-stop-shop that makes deployment faster," said Hooker, "and also helps us save money." The feature is particularly useful for schools whose one-to-one programs include students who are under 13 years of age. "It can take months to track down all of the parent approvals and get every single student's ID set up," says Hooker. "During that time—which could extend into October during the typical school year—pupils weren't getting apps. I feel like that's really going to be streamlined now."

Next page: Supporting a shared environment

Some exciting news recently surfaced with regards to certain futuristic features on the Apple watch.

A recent patent spotted by Patently Apple reveals Apple Watch extending support for various hand gestures. Reportedly, the advance gestures could also be sign language that would again be supported by the device. According to report on 9to5Mac, hands-gestures such as your raising the thumb as in "Phone Me" signal or pointing or waving, could lead to actions being carried out on the Apple Watch or the paired device. The patent reveals:

"While voice and touch input can be an effective way to control a device, there may be situations where the user's ability to speak the verbal command or perform the touch gesture may be limited.

This (patent) relates to a device that detects a user's motion and gesture input through the movement of one or more of the user's hand, arm, wrist, and fingers, for example, to provide commands to the device or to other devices (…) The device can interpret the gesture as an input command, and the device can perform an operation."

The patent also goes on to reveal how the Apple Watch could make use of various sensors in order to interpret gestures:

"One or more optical sensors, inertial sensors, mechanical contact sensors, and myoelectric sensors, to name just a few examples, can detect movements of the user's body. Based on the detected movements, a user gesture can be determined."

Some of the detailed examples of the gestures include making patting motions with your hands palm-down to decline a call.  Likewise, the speaker volume could also be controlled by moving your hand up and down. But as the case with every Apple patent, no one can say if and when the features will be included in an Apple Watch.

But it would sure be very interesting to see this implemented sometime in the future. Keep coming back for more updates, rumours and speculations on the upcoming Apple products.

Pangu

The latest jailbreak tool is the one for the iOS 9.1 but that might change with the alleged release of the iOS 9.3 jailbreak.

Jailbreak fans are looking forward to the release of the iOS 9.3 jailbreak, which rumors say is currently in development. Hacking teams are rumored to come up with the said jailbreak tool as early as this month.

Apple just released the iOS 9.3.1, which is a bug-squashing software update launched just mere days the iOS 9.3's release and after glitches in it were found.

Forbes suspects that hacking teams have been working on an iOS 9.3 jailbreak tool but are waiting until Apple releases an update of this build, which, of course, already happened with the rollout of the iOS 9.3.1.

With that said, Apple users with a knack for jailbreaking should expect the iOS 9.3 jailbreak release anytime soon. Hopefully, hacker groups have been working on a jailbreak for iOS 9.3 instead of one for 9.2.1.

Apple's iOS 9.3 boasts some of the most important features the software will offer prior to the iOS 10 release. This makes it more logical for hacking teams to focus their energies on the newer build.

The latest jailbreak tool available to Apple users is the iOS 9.1 jailbreak, which was released last month by Pangu. There aren't many users who benefited the release, though, because Apple already came out with the iOS 9.2 around that time.

It also took Pangu months to crack the code. It was so long that some users were given the impression that jailbreaking Apple's software has become impossible, especially after the Cupertino-based company took measures in fortifying their software releases.

At the moment, there has yet to be an official iOS 9.3 jailbreak released to the public. There was no iOS 9.2 jailbreak released as well. Users are advised to be wary of the fake ones floating around online.

Apple iOS 9.3 packs in a set of big features like the Night Shift mode and the new Touch ID security on the Notes app.

Apple Watch 2 release date is near. As per the latest updates, Apple Watch 2 will be out between June and September.

According to Christian Daily,  Apple Watch 2 will be unveiled during Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2016 in June, or in an Apple convention in September alongside the  iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Apple Watch Original was second highest sold wearable last year. Now, the competition is tough. Seeking Alpha says Qualcomm is joining hands with Chinese smartwatch brands inWatch and IoT solutions player Borqs. Swiss Watchmakers are also eyeing at the market of Apple. As we already know, HTC is likely to launch its smartwatch along with the flagship device.

Apple Watch 2 Features: A New Wifi Chip?  

In order to face the competition, Apple will add multiple new features. Apple has already received a patent for a magnetic wristband. "In one configuration the wristband is magnetically coupled around a user's wrist. In another configuration the magnetic wristband can be magnetically coupled around an electronic device to which it is attached," Apple's patent reads. The rumored wristband will look like Milanese loop version and leather version.

The best rumor we heard is about Apple's plan to make Watch 2 a self-reliant device.The brand is adding Apple Pay, calling facility and fast internet connectivity to implement its plan. These features will reduce the dependency on iPhone. Tech experts are saying that Apple will use  new premium materials, such as titanium, tungsten, palladium and platinum for some models.

Watch 2 is likely to pack its own GPS chip. It will feature an OLED display, and a powerful battery. The battery life of the device will be better compared to Apple Watch Original. If Apple is going to consider ARM Cortex A32 processor, the power consumption will be under control. It's also reported that Apple is working on a new Wi-Fi chip, which can perform multiple tasks like email, messages and so on over Wifi without an iPhone. There will be few useful health-centered features.

Stay connected to Bitbag for more updates.

Another vulnerability has been found in iOS, Apple's mobile operating system. The mobile device management (MDM) interface for iOS, according to security researchers, can be exploited to gain complete access to the device. Apple insists that it's not a vulnerability, but a social-engineering trick.

Security researchers at Check Point Software Technologies claim that an approach dubbed "SideStepper" can allow an attacker to hijack enterprise management functions by sending a malicious link to the device.

According to the researchers, clicking on that link will give attackers full control of the MDM software, and allow them to push malicious apps to the device as well as make changes to other configuration settings. In other words, MDM software in iOS is susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks and can be exploited to install malware on non-jailbroken devices. The vulnerability was demonstrated at Black Hat Asia 2016.

The researchers claim that Apple patched a similar vulnerability last year with iOS software update, however, it left one hole. These MDM tools are used by companies to control, and configure their employees' devices. These devices have access to a private app store.

Speaking to Ars Technica, Apple has refuted the claims, adding that it was a social-engineering attack, and per se, not a weakness in iOS. "This is a clear example of a phishing attack that attempts to trick the user installing a configuration profile and then installing an app," a spokesperson for the company told the publication.

"This is not an iOS vulnerability. We've built safeguards into iOS to help warn users of potentially harmful content like this. We also encourage our customers to download from only a trusted source like the App Store and to pay attention to the warnings that we've put in place before they choose to download and install untrusted content."

Download the Gadgets 360 app for Android and iOS to stay up to date with the latest tech news, product reviews, and exclusive deals on the popular mobiles.

By: AP | Cupertino (california) | Updated: April 3, 2016 12:44 pm Apple turned 40 on Friday, and it's a very different company from the audacious startup that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak launched in in 1976. (Source: AP)

Apple turned 40 on Friday, and it's a very different company from the audacious startup that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak launched in a Silicon Valley garage in 1976.

Today, the maker of iPhones and Mac computers is the world's most valuable public corporation, with 100,000 employees and a new, multi-billion dollar headquarters in Cupertino, California, set to open next year. But despite its astounding financials — Apple reported $53 billion in profit on $233 billion in sales last year — some critics have suggested Apple's best years are behind it, as it has struggled to come up with new products and match the phenomenal success it has had in recent years.

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Not surprisingly, longtime employees like software vice president Guy "Bud" Tribble disagree.

"We still think we're going to change the world," said Tribble, one of a half-dozen Apple staffers selected by the company to briefly reminisce with reporters this week. Tribble started with Apple in 1980 and worked on the original Macintosh team. He added: "We had no idea back then that Apple would grow to the size that it is."

Read: Xiaomi Mi 5 Live blog review: At Rs 24,999, this flagship is incredibly light

The company now boasts that more than 1 billion Apple devices — iPods, iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches — are in regular use around the world. Those products are widely admired and imitated. But Apple depends on the iPhone for two-thirds of its revenue. And after selling a record number of iPhones last year, analysts say sales are leveling off and may even decline this year.

As it enters middle age, Apple may find it difficult to maintain its leadership in the industry. Some experts say it's getting harder to come up with new advances to distinguish Apple's products from those of its competitors.

"Apple is still as good as it used to be, but everyone else has gotten better than they used to be," said James McQuivey, a tech analyst with Forrester Research.

He cited longtime rival Microsoft, once viewed as an industry laggard, but now credited with pioneering tablet computers with detachable keyboards — a category even Apple is embracing with the business-oriented iPad Pro. By contrast, he noted, Apple's latest iPhone is a downsized version of earlier models.

Longtime staffers said Apple still has the zeal to create revolutionary products.

"We've done this more times than anybody else," said Greg Joswiak, a 30-year employee and vice president for product marketing. He listed the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes and the company's online App Store, the new Apple Watch and recent initiatives to create new health-tracking and medical-research apps for the iPhone and Watch.

Apple is widely believed to be exploring new businesses, from electric cars to virtual reality, but analysts say developing products in those categories could take years.

Must Read: Apple iPhone SE first impression: iPhone 5S gets the innards of iPhone 6s

"We want to go into new industries … and really challenge the status quo," said Divya Nag, a former medical researcher and entrepreneur hired in 2014 to work on Apple's health projects. Always secretive about specific plans, Apple declined to provide Nag's job title. Her resume shows a track record of helping win FDA approval for new medical inventions.

Apple's growth hasn't been smooth. Jobs was forced out in the 1990s, leading to a revolving door for chief executives until he returned in 1997, as the company he co-founded was on the brink of collapse. "There was a time when you were worried about keeping engineers here," said Cheryl Thomas, a vice president for software engineering who joined Apple in 1989.

And in 2000, when the dot-com bubble burst, Joswiak said Jobs refused to cut spending when competitors were tightening their belts. Joswiak said Jobs pledged to "invest in ourselves more than ever before. We then suffered through 11 straight quarters" of dismal financial returns.

Jobs' death from cancer in 2011 led to the elevation of current CEO Tim Cook, who's intense but softer spoken. Tribble credits Cook with maintaining Apple's focus on quality products, even as Cook has taken his own path in running the company.

Far more than Jobs, Cook uses his prominence to speak out on social issues, from global warming to civil rights and individual privacy. He recently challenged the U.S. government in a high-stakes legal dispute over an encrypted iPhone used by an extremist killer. While that drew criticism from top Justice Department officials and GOP presidential contender Donald Trump, Joswiak said he was proud of Apple for taking what he considers a principled stand.

Apple remains one of the most sought-after brands. BAV Consulting, a firm that tracks brand reputation, said that after reaching a low in 2001, just before the iPod came out, Apple is now in the top 1 percent of American brands. And it's in the top 2 percent of brands "being worth paying more for" — which means it can get away with charging more for its products, according to BAV.

Photos: Apple at 40: iPod, iPhone and other revolutionary products

Even at 40, the company hasn't lost its passion, Thomas said. She said she wanted to work there since seeing the famous 1984 Macintosh commercial, in which a young woman hurls a hammer at the giant image of a Big Brother figure.

The idea of joining what was then a tech upstart didn't sit well with her father, a career IBM scientist, who advised Thomas: "You need to think with your head and not your heart."

But Thomas said: "I thought with my heart."

Image source: Apple.

As I said in a previous article, I planned to place an order for Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) latest iPad, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, as soon as they were available on the iDevice maker's online store. Sure enough, I did just that and several hours ago my iPad Pro arrived in the mail.

Although I plan to follow this column up with a more detailed review once I've spent some more time with the device, there are several thoughts that I would like to get out there following my first several hours using the device.

Without further ado, let's get to it.

New display is awesome; True Tone is incredible One of the big problems that I've had with many iDevices is that they are simply calibrated out of the factory to be "too blue." When Apple's new True Tone feature (which adjusts the color temperature of the display to match current ambient lighting conditions) is disabled, the display is -- as per usual for Apple's iDevices -- too blue.

However, when the True Tone feature is enabled, the white balance of the display looks far more accurate and pleasing. Additionally, the display appears to have a higher contrast ratio than my older iPad Air 2 and looks about on par with the display on my iPhone 6s.

Finally, as somebody who is a fan of the "AMOLED Photo" display mode on the Samsung (NASDAQOTH:SSNLF) Galaxy S7/S7 Edge series of phones (which enlarges the color gamut to Adobe RGB, a much wider color space than sRGB), I enjoy the richer color saturation of the iPad Pro 9.7-inch display. Coverage of the wider DCI P3 color gamut in this new iPad makes colors really "pop" compared to those on my older iPad or even on my iPhone 6s.

Excellent sound Another one of the big features of the iPad Pro lineup is the use of a quad speaker setup. Sound on this new iPad is quite loud and "full" compared to that on my older iPad Air 2. When playing games, listening to music, and playing video clips/TV shows, the new speaker system is a big step up from the one found in the Air 2.

Crazy speed The iPad Air 2 was already quite fast -- arguably the fastest non-Windows tablet out there aside from Apple's larger iPad Pro. The 9.7-inch iPad Pro packs in a performance-reduced version of the A9X processor inside of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, but it's still appreciably quicker than the iPad Air 2.

Web pages load a bit quicker, intense 3D games like Dead Trigger 2 appear to run more smoothly, and scrolling also seems smoother (the new content that's being pushed onto the display seems to render quicker).

This is an incredibly quick tablet; I suspect that in terms of performance the device will age quite well (which is good for the consumer, but obviously not-so-great for Apple which likely wants to find ways to shorten iPad upgrade cycles, not lengthen them).

Is it worth the money? Can it save the iPad business? I don't think very many people upgrade their iPads every year or even every two years; unless you're just a big fan of having the latest iPads, I would say that sticking to a cycle of three to four years seems sensible.

For users of the iPad Air 2, there are clear benefits to the new Pro but probably not enough to justify the $599-plus price tag for most people. However, for all users of older iPads – say, iPad 2 through 4 -- the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro is probably a worthwhile upgrade.

The only fly in the proverbial ointment is that a good portion of older iPad users probably have newer, larger iPhones. Although a 4.7-inch or 5.5-inch display isn't anywhere close to as large as the 9.7-inch display on the new iPad Pro, the larger phones will be "good enough" for most use cases.

Although I really like the new iPad Pro so far, I'm not convinced it'll be enough to put iPad back on a growth track. 

3 companies poised to explode when cable diesCable is dying. And there are 3 stocks that are poised to explode when this faltering $2.2 trillion industry finally bites the dust. Just like newspaper publishers, telephone utilities, stockbrokers, record companies, bookstores, travel agencies, and big box retailers did when the Internet swept away their business models. And when cable falters, you don't want to miss out on these 3 companies that are positioned to benefit. Click here for their names. Hint: They're not the ones you'd think!

Ashraf Eassa has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

[unable to retrieve full-text content]ForbesApple Watch To Get Several Major UpgradesForbesThe patent explains how Apple AAPL +0.90% c ould use interchangeable watch straps as modules, that adds extra functionality to the watch. For example, adding an extra wireless-charging battery module could double battery life, or even a battery add-on ...Should Investors Be Worried About the Apple Watch?Motley FoolFriday Apple Rumors: Patent Hints at Apple Watch Sign Language SupportInvestorplac e.comApple Watch is now $50 discount if bought with an iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus – Lincoln Daily NewsDaily Star GazetteMorning Ledger -The Cheat Sheet -PYMNTS.comall 550 news articles »

  At the release of its new 9.7 inch iPad Pro, Apple presented a video of Dillan, a young man who is both autistic and non-verbal, who was able to begin expressively communicating via apps on his iPad. Today, the App Store is featuring more of Dillan's story and a range of apps developed for autistic people.

Apple has a featured page on its website recognizing April as Autism Acceptance Month. The site includes both a link to ResearchKit studies (including autism work being done at Duke University and University of Cape Town) and autism related apps, podcasts and iBooks that can be found in the App Store.

Apple points out that that CDC notes that 1 in 68 U.S. children are affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD). iPad in particular has generated positive feedback from parents, therapists and Autistic children and adults themselves as being a breakthrough communication tool, as featured in the "Dillan's Path" video below.

Apple's "Voices of Autism" collection of apps in the App Store includes Proloquo4Text, a text‑based AAC (Augmentative Alternative Communication) app demonstrated by Dillan in the video.

Proloquo4Text presents a customizable single screen layout to enable non-verbal people to join a conversation using free, natural-sounding voices in 18 languages, with word and sentence prediction, social media sharing and more.

The app works on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and Apple Watch, and is currently featuring a 50 percent discount over the weekend from Saturday, April 2 to Monday, April 4.

Another app, Assistive Express, is also designed to allow users to express themselves in natural sounding voices in the most simple and efficient manner. It uses word prediction to minimize keystrokes and features a favorites list to quickly access often-used phrases. It works on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

Apple also featured Keeble, an iOS accessible keyboard for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch that Dillan uses in the video. The Keeble keyboard features many customization options, and is designed to enable people with physical or vision impairments to type within any app.

Accessibility has long been a primary focus for Apple, and its its efforts in promoting and facilitating use of its products by all people regardless of their disabilities has regularly been recognized by accessibility advocates and individuals with impairments—including blind from birth performer Stevie Wonder, who praised Steve Jobs back in 2011, saying "his company took the challenge in making his technology accessible to everyone."

Last December, Tim Cook drew attention to the Cerebral Palsy Foundation using Siri, and over the past year the company directed prominent attention to accessibility features in Apple Watch and iOS devices for Global Awareness Accessibility Day and 25 years of the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act.

Please enable Javascript to watch this video SAN DIEGO -- Back in 2011, FOX 5 anchor Raoul Martinez pulled an epic prank on co-anchor Shally Zomorodi that is still getting laughs five years later.

Martinez launched into a fake news story about a new iPad app that lets you smell and taste things right on your iPhone or iPad. He then brought up the app on his iPhone and showed Zomorodi how it worked. She was understandably skeptical, but a news assistant brought out an iPad with the app on it, and after some coaxing, Zomorodi gave it a sniff. She couldn't smell anything, but Martinez convinced her to give the iPad a lick.

Once her tongue hit the touchscreen, the app made a noise and the screen said "Happy April Fools' Day." Zomorodi, surprised and a bit embarassed, stomped off the set, but she quickly returned and put up with some ribbing from Martinez and weathercaster Brad Wills.

At Build 2016, Microsoft announced that the company is bringing an iOS emulator in Xamarin for Windows. For those unfamiliar, Xamarin is a tool which developers can use to build cross-platform apps with C# that run on Windows, iOS and Android. At the conference, Xamarin showed off an iOS emulator inside Windows which means developers can easily build and test their cross-platform apps in Windows, without having to "invest in a chair [Mac] that spins." For those wondering, features like multi-touch are also supported.

Get all the updates from Build 2016 here!

Photo Conncting the iPad to the computer with a USB cable and syncing the albums you ripped from your CDs is just one of the ways you can move your non-iTunes Store music to your tablet. Credit The New York Times

Q. I have many CDs that I purchased from various retail stores (not Apple iTunes) and loaded into my iTunes library on my computer. Is it possible to download these albums to my iPhone and iPad? If so, how?

A. If you have the music in your iTunes library, moving it can be as simple as connecting the device to the computer with the USB cable that came with the iPad and iPhone. Once you have everything plugged in, open iTunes and look for the iPhone/iPad icon in the upper-left corner of the iTunes window.

Click on the icon and in the left panel of the iTunes window, click on Music. In the main part of the iTunes window, click the box next to Sync Music and choose what you would like to sync — all your iTunes mus ic and playlists, or just sections from your collections. Click Apply and then Sync to copy the music to the iOS device over the USB cable. (Apple's website also has instructions on syncing over a Wi-Fi connection after you flip on the right setting in iTunes during a USB syncing session.)

You can also sync other content from the iTunes library, like podcasts, photos and videos. Some people do not like using iTunes to transfer files, as it might be unwieldy and can only sync with one other iTunes library, unless you turn on the "Manually manage music and videos" option on the device's iTunes Summary screen.

As an alternative approach, you can also upload the music from your iTunes library to a cloud-based service, and either stream it or download it to your iOS device. Apple's own iTunes Match se rvice (which costs $25 a year) can do this with its iCloud Music Library function, but free services can work as well.

The Google Music Manager program for Windows and OS X works with a Google account and its iOS apps for the Google Play Music service. You can upload up to 50,000 songs for free, although you need to supply a credit card number to verify your country of residence. Microsoft's OneDrive service and Groove Music app for iOS let you store and stream up to 15 gigabytes of music for free. The Amazon Music service works in a similar manner, but you can upload only 250 songs free. Other online file-sharing services like Dropbox can stream and store uploaded music too, as long as you have room within your storage allowance.

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It has become increasingly easy and increasingly desirable to quantify our track and clap along with our biological rhythms. As of 2014, there were 97,000 mobile health apps available, everything from downloadable trainers, to co-sleepers, to breath counters interfacing with everything from microchipped clothes to the Apple Watch. We use these tools to tell us about our lives, but most of the information they spit out is fundamentally trivial. Can they tell us something big? Can they tell us whether we're in love?

There is no perfect way to detect love if you're working with anything short of an MRI, but the Apple Watch is surprisingly effective in a pinch. Each watch has a custom sensor on the back, which uses visible light, infrared LEDs, and photodiodes to determine heart rate. Heart rate data is part of the available work out scheme the Apple Watch advertises but is also incorporated into a feature called Digital Touch. This seems ready made to connect couples: With a tap of the figure you can send a vibration to any contact also wearing an Apple Watch. Set two of your fingers down, and you can send them your heartbeat.

Imagine that you, with your Apple Watch, are on a date with another human with their Apple Watch. How do you find out if it's time for love?

You can send your heartbeat with an Apple Watch.

The heart is both a literal and metaphorical representation of love. During the three stages of falling in love — lust, attraction, and attachment — the body releases various organic chemicals and hormones. This causes changes in the sympathetic nervous system, which in turn triggers changes in heart rate. Attraction, in short, causes the heart to race, a phenomenon Digital Touch can detect. What's more interesting is that an Apple Watch could reveal deeper attachment as well: Studies have demonstrated that people in romantic relationships unconsciously co-regulate their physiologies.

A 2013 study from the University of California, Davis measured the heart rates of heterosexual couples who were asked to stare at each other for three minutes while being as calm as possible. They found that the women unknowingly adjusted their heart rates to match their partners'. Researchers couldn't tell whether this was a psychological or physiological phenomenon, but they could absolutely tell it was happening. Still, mimicked heart rates could just be a law of nature. The theory of coupled oscillators says that when rhythms meet, they will coordinate. We can witness this when people fall into step, fireflies flash at the same time, and when heart beats match. Some research points to the idea that the closer you are with someone, the more likely your heart rate will sync.

Hearts can harmonize.

Your skin also can reveal your level of attraction to someone. Researchers use a test called the Galvanic Skin Response as an indicator of the people's cognitive load and emotions. When a GSR measures a decline in the electrical resistance of skin to a current it can determine a measurement in arousal. The more attraction there is, the more the skin retains electrical currents because of the change in the sympathetic nervous system.

This is where Samsung comes in: Earlier this year the South Korean tech company announced it created a new chip that can measure body fat, skeletal muscle mass, heart rates, stress level, and skin temperature. The Samsung Bio-Processor allegedly is capable of determining Galvanic Skin Response, meaning you would be capable of determining how much you're into someone. While a product utilizing this chip hasn't officially been announced, Samsung has said that it could be utilized in a variety of ways, like usings wristbands and patches.

But for the impatient and for those who don't want to cough up $549 for an Apple Watch, there is always the app Cardiio. Cardiio determines your heartbeat by analyzing the micro color changes in your face. When a heart beat quickens, it increases the blood volume, and when blood vessels expand, skin absorbs more light. So if you're questioning if someone is really digging you — or if you're feeling them — you could always upload a photo (taken immediately after interaction) and see if your heart rate has changed.

"I was I had this app while I was still dating," said author John Havens during his TED talk. "I would have excused myself and I would have gone to the bathroom; I would have looked at the app, and I would have said — kind of like a Magic 8 Ball — 'Hey Cardiio app, does this woman make my heart skip a beat?'"

Sure, the guy at the next urinal would be terrified, but Havens' system still makes sense. Sometimes the answers to the most confusing questions are inside of us.

Today

AAPL: 108.99

-0.57 9.7-inch iPad Pro diary: Day one, first impressions

Ben Lovejoy

- 8 hours ago

@benlovejoy

iOS Devices Feature Comments (56)

When Apple launched the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, it was a device I definitely wanted to try, but didn't expect to keep. That gorgeous screen was more tempting than I'd expected, but it didn't sell itself to me as a replacement for the smaller version, and in the end I decided I couldn't justify keeping both.

The 9.7-inch version is a very different proposition. I absolutely love my iPad Air 2, a device that gets used for both consumption and creation, and the smaller iPad Pro retains the exact same form-factor while adding to its capabilities. For simplicity, I'll skip the size references from now on and simply refer to it as the iPad Pro.

But will those enhancements be enough to make the upgrade worthwhile? I'm posting my first impressions today, and will report back again after around a week's use. As ever, I'll update in between if I have anything notable to say, but in this case I think that's unlikely …

Form factor

The iPad Pro form factor is almost indistinguishable from its predecessor at first glance. Dimensions are identical to the millimetre, and weight identical to the gram. All iPad Air 2 cases should fit perfectly.

But there are a few visual differences. You have speaker grilles at both end of the iPad – though these are not symmetrical. At the Lightning port end, there are 12 holes on each (down from 14 in the iPad Air 2), while at the other end there are 7 per side.

The ugly black radio cutout on the LTE version of the iPad Air 2 is gone, replaced by a much more subtle version of the iPhone 6/s cutout line.

There's also the iPhone 6-style camera bump, though I'm pleased to report this doesn't make it wobble when placed on a flat surface.

I hooked up my iPad Air 2 to my Mac, did an encrypted backup to iTunes (which copies most settings and passwords, though annoyingly not quite all) and then restored to the iPad Pro, a process that took just ten minutes or so.

Apple Pencil

There were readers last time who felt I really should have tried the Apple Pencil, as it was a key feature of the original iPad Pro. But as I explained then, while I absolutely get that the Pencil will be key to many – perhaps even their primary reason for purchase – it's an irrelevance to me personally.

I never handwrite anything. Absolutely everything I write – from a quick reminder to myself to a novel – is either typed or dictated. And I have zero drawing ability. If I tried to draw a circle it would probably look like a rectangle. My creative urges are satisfied by photography and creative writing.

So, in short, I didn't try the Pencil then and won't be doing so now. Zac is your man for that.

Four-speaker system

One iPad Pro feature that did grab my attention, though, was ostensibly one of the more minor ones: the four-speaker system.

I use my iPad as a Netflix device in bed, using the TwelveSouth HoverBar 3 for the ultimate in laziness. No need to hold the iPad or balance it on my knees – just position it directly above my head and have it, well, hover there. But with the iPad Air 2 in the landscape orientation, both speakers are on the right.

That's the very epitome of a first-world problem, I know. You can't expect audiophile quality from tablet speakers, stereo sound isn't relevant for the average movie or TV show, and the volume is more than adequate. But there have been occasions when the unbalanced sound was just ever so slightly annoying.

There have also been a few occasions when the iPad is sat on a table top to allow more than one of us to watch a movie or TV show on the iPad, and for those times a little extra volume would be nice. So the idea of four speakers, balancing sound from left and right, and twice the volume for those table-top viewing times, was appealing.

I cranked both up to maximum and played the same music tracks through both, and the difference was incredible. I didn't have a sound meter to hand, but Apple says the iPad Pro speakers are twice as loud as those on the iPad Air 2, and I believe it.

Screen enhancements

I had mixed expectations when it came to the screen enhancements. Let's start with the wider color gamut. I loaded a bunch of the same photos onto both iPads, and then compared them side-by-side. You can see one example above, iPad Air left, iPad Pro right.

I have to say that what immediately stands out is that the iPad Pro presents much more saturated colors. That gives a superficially more pleasing impression, but – in my view – at the expense of fidelity to the real-life colors. My guess is that the majority of people will greatly prefer the iPad Pro screen, while photographers will be less keen. For now, you can put me in the 'less keen' camp, but we'll see once I've used it for a few days and am more used to it.

Apple says that the iPad Pro screen is 25% brighter than the iPad Air 2. I could see how that might be of benefit if using the iPad in sunlight, but – resisting comments about UK weather – that's not something I tend to do. The brightness of the iPad Air 2 had always been more than good enough for me. I typically use it set to around 50%, and turn it down further at night.

But outdoor use seemed worth testing – and there the difference was huge, admittedly under semi-overcast skies. With both iPads set to maximum brightness, the iPad Air 2 was readable but not pleasantly so; the iPad Pro was comfortably readable.

I don't think the visual difference is relevant indoors, but if you use your iPad in the open air, you'll definitely appreciate the extra brightness of the latest model. Personally I would have pegged it at a much bigger difference than 25% – but more on this in a moment.

However, even indoors, I can see a definite benefit to the much brighter screen: with the backlight power setting much lower for the same brightness, that ought – in theory – to boost the battery life. That's something I'll be testing in the coming week.

Apple also says that the reflectivity of the screen is 40% lower than the iPad Air 2 – and there's no doubt at all about that. The difference is immediately obvious.

What I've done in the photo above is put a white-background browser window into full-screen mode on my 27-inch Apple Thunderbolt Display so that there's a strong white screen to be reflected. You can see that the iPad Air 2 screen on the left reflects quite a lot of it, to the extent that you can see lines of text, while the iPad Pro screen has dramatically reduced reflections.

This, I think, is the other reason that the iPad Pro fared so much better in my outdoor brightness test, making it look more like twice as bright rather than the 25% Apple cites.

The final screen enhancement is what Apple calls True Tone. A light sensor measures the color temperature of the ambient light, and adjusts the screen temperature to match.

For example, fluorescent lights and some LED lighting tends to be extremely white, while tungsten and halogen bulbs are typically much more yellow. We don't tend to notice these differences because the brain is extremely good at automatically adjusting – it knows what we are looking at, so compensates to make it look right. But when you have a separate light source with a different color temperature to the surrounding light, it can look wrong. Typically, in domestic lighting, a normal iPad screen will tend to look slightly blue in tone.

I wasn't ever conscious of this, but as soon as I put the two iPads side-by-side and looked at them in a variety of different lighting – daylight, halogen and LED – the difference was very clear. You can see in the photo above the iPads are under a halogen light, which has a yellow-orange temperature. The iPad Air 2, top left, looks distinctly blue in this light, while the iPad Pro, bottom right, looks much closer to true white.

So, first impressions of True Tone are excellent.

Other improvements

The iPad Pro has an A9X chip, which Apple says delivers 2.4 times the CPU performance and 4.3 times the graphics performance of the older model.

I don't really do much on my iPad that would benefit from this kind of performance kick. In the main, my iPad is used for Internet, ebooks, Netflix and writing. So while the benchmarks look impressive, I'm not expecting to notice any real-life differences. I will, though, fire up a few games over the next few days, and try some photo editing in Lightroom, to see whether I'm wrong.

The 12MP camera and 4K camcorder are irrelevant to me: I have literally never in my life taken a photo or shot a video with an iPad. I will, though, risk the scorn of all around me by doing so over the next few days and reporting back in an update.

The iPad Pro is also effectively a dual-SIM device: it has both the familiar SIM slot plus an embedded virtual SIM. This isn't something I'll be testing in the course of this diary, but I can definitely see that coming in very handy when travelling, allowing me to use a local SIM for cheap data without the hassle of swapping the physical one.

Overall

There's no doubt that the iPad Pro is a better device than the iPad Air 2. The question is whether the improvements justify the upgrade?

If you currently have an iPad older than the Air 2, then the iPad Pro is a very nice upgrade indeed. You'll get all the Air 2 goodies, and then some. If you have the budget, I'd say you may well want to make the jump. (If you don't, there are some excellent deals on both the original iPad Air and Air 2 in Apple's Amazon store.)

For iPad Air 2 owners, though, my initial view is that it depends. If you like to draw or handwrite, the answer is an obvious yes. Apple Pencil support will be the killer feature for many, and if the 12.9-inch model is too big for your tastes, then you're likely to rush out to buy the smaller model.

The Smart Connector isn't yet a killer feature, though. I frequently use my iPad with a keyboard, but I'm perfectly happy with my Brydge Bluetooth keyboard. Sure, it's nice not to have to charge a keyboard, but that's so infrequent I don't see it as a big deal. However, I'm sure Apple has additional plans for the Smart Connector, so it may well become a bigger deal over time.

There are three other reasons it may be a worthwhile upgrade. First, if you use your iPad in the great outdoors, the combination of brighter screen and dramatically reduced reflectivity makes a huge difference. The same may be true if you've ever felt frustrated by the maximum volume of the Air 2 – the iPad Pro speaker system really does deliver a lot more sound. Finally, if you're an iPad photographer or videographer, the camera upgrade alone would make it worthwhile.

But for most Air 2 owners, I would say it's not a massive upgrade. The True Tone adjustment is a nice feature, but not one you're likely to miss if you've never experienced it. The wider color gamut so far appears to me to show up simply as greater saturation. Again, I think most will like that, but the Air 2 screen is excellent in its own right and you're not going to miss the Pro screen unless you've tried it.

Myself? I love the speakers, the reduced reflectivity is very pleasant and I am more impressed than I expected to be by the True Tone feature. Given I hardly ever do any photo editing on the iPad, I can probably live with the over-saturated colors. In all honesty, it's a pretty expensive upgrade for some relatively minor improvements, but my iPad is my most-used gadget after my MacBook Pro, so I'm happy to spend some money on it.

Especially as my iPhone screen may be getting smaller … I've just taken delivery of my iPhone SE, and I suspect I might keep it – but first impressions of that will have to wait until tomorrow! I'll also do another iPad Pro diary piece at some point next week.

  A trio of Apple inventions published Thursday detail advanced strap designs with embedded electronic devices that connect via Apple Watch's diagnostics port, suggesting the wearable might soon support wireless charging battery packs, GPS receivers and more.

The patent applications, published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, offer an intriguing taste of a modular hardware ecosystem created to extend Apple Watch functionality well beyond its current limitations. Instead of building sensor stacks, processors and other complex — and power hungry — components directly into a single chassis, Apple proposes a breaking those units out into a wide range of devices sold as watch band links, electrically connected in series or parallel.

As described in Apple's "Modular functional band links for wearable devices" application, modular designs present a flexible platform onto which users can add on the features, or hardware nodes, they want most. This level of customization promises optimized power consumption and a lean internal layout, two valuable commodities in a miniature computing platform.

Like any multifunction device, Apple notes Apple Watch can support accessories enabling a slew of value-added functionality, the most interesting being batteries, displays, processors, electricity generators, GPS sensors, cameras, thermometers, blood pressure sensors, sweat sensors and speakers. Arranged as links, the standalone devices connect to each other and ultimately to the 6-pin diagnostics port on Apple Watch.

Since the modules share a communication bus, Apple proposes unique identifiers be used to activate and send data to each separate link. For example, a signal coded with an audio identifier can be sent out by Watch and received and processed by a speaker module, while all other modules ignore the message.

In some embodiments, links themselves can act as an external port for accepting electronic components, perhaps a SIM card or powered memory module.

Apple's modular wearable link patent application was first filed for in February 2015 and credits Mot ohide Hatanaka, Douglas J. Weber, Brian Shadle, Alex M. Lee, David S. Herman, Patrick S. Wieler and Simon R. Lancaster-Larocque as its inventors.

Rumors that Apple would use the diagnostics connector as a jumping off point for a class of functional accessories circulated before the device saw public release. Speculation that the port was capable of transferring power and data in real time was confirmed a couple months later when Apple rolled out interactive Watch displays based on such technology at its retail stores.

Apple's "Portable electronic device connector" application, filed for in May 2015, serves as evidence that the company has at least considered the diagnostics port as a viable communications interface. Brandon B. Tulloch, Gordon C. Cameron, John Danby; Amaury J. Heresztyn and Nagarajan Kalyanasundaram are credited as inventors.

A specific example of Apple's module idea is revealed in an application for an "Auxiliary electronic device attachable to a wearable electronic device," which describes a band accessory featuring an internal power source and supporting wireless transmission circuitry. Basically a recharging strap or battery extender, the device would be slim enough to fit between the wearable and a user's wrist. Apple describes it as a "backpack" for Apple Watch.

Aesthetically, the auxiliary device is almost identical to Apple's current lineup of replacement straps, complete with attachment lugs and a variety of clasp mechanisms. Like the Sport Band, leather loop and new nylon style straps, the housing of Apple's proposed charging device can be constructed from any number of comfortable heat-dissipating materials, including plastic, rubber, silicone, aluminum, graphite and ceramic.

In some embodiments a GPS antenna is included as an optional user feature, offering location sensing capa bilities not included in current Apple Watch variants. As GPS technology draws high levels of power, the auxiliary device in such arrangements might dedicate onboard battery capacity solely to the onboard positioning sensor. Gathered location data can be sent via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or a wired path routed through Watch's 6-pin diagnostics port.

The design includes space for lenses that traverse through the device body, facilitating uninterrupted operation of Apple's optical heart rate sensor, which currently sits on the bottom of Apple Watch as an array of two light emitters and two receiving sensors.

Apple's auxiliary device for wearables patent application was first filed for in February 2015 and credits David I. Nazzaro, Tyler S. Bushnell and Javier Mendez as its inventors.

It remains unclear whether or not Apple intends to roll out functional Apple Watch accessories for its first-generation device. A more plausible scenario, perhaps, is an introduction alongside a successor device that might see announcement later this year.