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LATEST ARTICLES - PAGE 7

Apple Showcases New Emoji

Emoji
Jason Tate

To celebrate World Emoji Day, Apple has shared a preview of the new emoji arriving later this year:

More than 70 new emoji characters are coming to iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac later this year in a free software update. The new emoji designs, created based on approved characters in Unicode 11.0, include even more hair options to better represent people with red hair, gray hair and curly hair, a new emoji for bald people, and new smiley faces that bring more expression to Messages with a cold face, party face, pleading face and a face with hearts.

Oh yeah, ball of yarn, score!

iOS 11.4.1 and Blocks Passcode Cracking Tools Used by Police

iPhone
Jason Tate

Chris Welch, writing for The Verge:

Apple today released iOS 11.4.1, and while most of us are already looking ahead to all the new stuff coming in iOS 12, this small update contains an important new security feature: USB Restricted Mode. Apple has added protections against the USB devices being used by law enforcement and private companies that connect over Lightning to crack an iPhone’s passcode and evade Apple’s usual encryption safeguards.

If you have an iPhone, you should install this when you get the chance.

Apple’s WWDC Round-Up

Jason Tate

Apple’s developer conference, WWDC, was on Monday. Since I was laying in bed trying not to move, I missed the keynote and all the festivities. MacStories has a great run down of the new iOS features:

Apple spent a lot of time this year focusing on performance improvements that make iOS run better on a wide assortment of devices. In iOS 12, even though your iPhone or iPad may not be getting a major Home screen redesign or anything similarly noticeable, one change Apple hopes you will recognize is that your device runs better than ever before.

And the new macOS features:

Apple announced a system-wide Dark Mode, a feature rumored and requested by Mac users for years. During the keynote, Apple showed off Dark Mode with apps like Mail, Messages, Maps, Calendar, and Photos. A developer API will be available so dark mode can be added to third-party apps too.

And Six Colors has a write-up of some of the smaller details that didn’t make the keynote. Once I’m able to move for more than a few minutes at a time, I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts. Looks like some nice performance updates and little additions that should make everyday use better.

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Apple Pays 7-Figures for Ed Sheeran Documentary ‘Songwriter’

Ed Sheeran
Jason Tate

Deadline:

Apple just won an auction for world screen rights to Songwriter, the Murray Cummings-directed documentary that shows singer Ed Sheeran as he finds the handle on writing and performing his distinctive songs. Deal is low to mid-seven figures for world rights, and Apple will make it an event release that includes a theatrical component along with release on Apple’s multiple platforms.

Apple Music Hits 40 Million Subscribers

Jason Tate

Apple Music has hit 40 million subscribers:

The service still has a ways to go before it surpasses Spotify, which currently has 70 million paid Premium subscribers. A report in The Wall Street Journal earlier this year suggests that Apple Music’s quicker growth rate (five percent versus Spotify’s two percent growth) could mean it surpassing the Swedish streaming service as soon as this summer, however.

This Look Inside Spike Jonze’s Apple Ad Is as Fascinating as the Film Itself

Jason Tate

AdWeek:

Apple’s short film “Welcome Home,” directed by Spike Jonze and starring FKA twigs as a beleaguered city dweller whose drab apartment becomes a colorful, shape-shifting oasis thanks to her HomePod device, is easily one of 2018’s most captivating ads so far.

Now, we get a behind-the-scenes look at the film, which not only answers all of our questions about how it was made—it might just be the most engaging, comprehensive and flat-out best BTS video we’ve seen for an advertisement.

This behind the scenes video is quite cool.

Jimmy Iovine Said to Be Transitioning Roles at Apple

Jimmy Iovine
Jason Tate

Jimmy Iovine will reportedly be moving into a reduced role at Apple Music:

The latest update to Iovine’s reported on-again-off-again relationship with Apple Music comes by way of The Wall Street Journal, which positions the move not as a full exit, so much as a reduced role. According to the report, Iovine will be swapping his current oversight role in August for something more of the consulting variety.

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Shazam Gets an Updated Design

Apple
Jason Tate

MacStories:

As it turns out, Shazam has continued to be updated and support Spotify since Apple’s acquisition. In fact, there have been at least four updates to Shazam since the acquisition including one today that adds synchronized lyrics and a design refresh of the app’s results screen.

The new UI looks great. The results screen is dominated by a background image of the artist. In the foreground is a big play button, the name of the song the app recognized, and the name of the artist. If you tap on the artwork, you get an image of the artist and album in some cases, plus more details on the artist, album, song, and release date.

It looks pretty good.

Apple Music on Track to Overtake Spotify in U.S. Subscribers

Jason Tate

The Wall Street Journal:

Apple Inc.’s streaming-music service, introduced in June 2015, has been adding subscribers in the U.S. more rapidly than its older Swedish rival—a monthly growth rate of 5% versus 2%—according to people in the music business familiar with figures reported by the two services. Assuming that pace continues, Apple will overtake Spotify in the world’s biggest music market this summer.

Interesting.

Music Videos Coming to iOS 11.3

Jason Tate

iOS 11.3 is bringing music videos to Apple Music:

Apple Music will soon be the home for music videos. Users can stream all the music videos they want without being interrupted by ads. They can also watch the hottest new videos, the classics or ones from their favorite artists back-to-back in new music video playlists.

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Analytics Come to Apple Music for Artists

Jason Tate

Melinda Newman, writing for Billboard:

Today Apple launches Apple Music for Artists, a dashboard designed to provide acts with hundreds of data points giving deep analytical insight into their fans’ listening and buying habits. […]

The easily navigable dashboard’s home page provides artists with their current number of plays, spins, song purchases and album purchases. The user can specify the time period ranging from the past 24 hours to the 2015 launch of Apple Music.

An Insights panel showcases key milestones via bullet points that highlight such information as all-time number of plays and purchases for specific songs or cumulatively.

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