When Apple announced iTunes Radio at WWDC this June, it looked like a lot of subscription radio services would take a massive hit. But for Pandora, things couldn’t be better. Since Apple’s new service made its debut alongside iOS 7 back in September, listening has increased by 9 percent.
Google’s algorithmically-driven cars may be partially designed to give commuters more time to surf the Internet (using Google, natch!), but if a new report from ABI Research is anything to go by, it’s Apple who have the real early adopter advantage in terms of connected in-vehicle infotainment systems.
ABI Research forecasts that shipments of such infotainment systems, equipped with one or more smartphone integration technologies, will grow substantially over the next five years — reaching 35.1 million units globally by 2018. Of these, ABI projects an impressive 49.8% will be running Apple’s “iOS in the Car”, the standard for allowing iOS devices to work with manufacturers’ built-in in-car systems as unveiled during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference back in June.
We’re still waiting for Apple to send out invitations to a press event on October 22, where we expect the Cupertino company to announce new iPads and possibly new MacBook Pros. According to a new rumor that has surfaced today, the new devices will go on sale before the end of the month, while the new Mac Pro will make its debut in mid-November.
Apple began running its Mac Pro teaser ad in theaters before showings Jobs last week, but now that no one is up to seeing Kutcher doing his worst Steve impression, Apple’s pushed the ad out onto YouTube.
The ad is essentially the same as one that was shown during the Mac Pro announcement at WWDC, except they’ve added some new cinematic-styled text at the end.
Here’s the full teaser:
The iWork for iCloud beta, which allows you to use Pages, Numbers, and Keynote inside your web browser, is now available to all at iCloud.com. You do not need to be an existing iWork customer to take advantage of the apps, but if you are, you can now access all of the iWork documents you’ve stored in iCloud from absolutely anywhere.
Registered developers have been testing the iWork for iCloud beta since Apple announced it at WWDC, but it appears Apple is now opening testing up to the general public. Many iCloud users who aren’t registered with the company’s developer program have received invitations to get involved.
Apple has added a new promotional page to its website for iOS 7, targeting business users who will be using iPhones and iPads in a professional capacity. “iOS 7 offers more advanced ways to deploy devices and deliver a great user experience for your employees,” the Cupertino company says, before highlighting the many ways in which iOS 7 can benefit business users.
If you haven’t already watched Apple’s WWDC keynote, it’s probably because you just haven’t found the time. At just under two hours long, it’s not something you can just slip into your day. But you can now watch it at your leisure on any of your electronics devices because Apple just uploaded the entire thing to YouTube.
Even though we don’t know the release date or price, people are absolutely drooling over the new Mac Pro that Apple announced at WWDC. It’s tiny, black, and powerful as hell, so who can blame them.
But what if Apple announced a completely different Mac than the one we saw on Monday? What if, Apple announced the Big Mac? Check out this hilarious WWDC keynote mashup video from Simon Balch to see just how incredible it’d be if Apple and The Golden Arches joined forces:
This time ’round on CultCast: iOS 7 debuts to a standing ovation, but some aren’t in love; OS X 10.9 Mavericks will have you rewatching Top Gun, we’ll highlight the new features; new MacBook Airs get insanely long battery life and more power; and Apple resurrects the rumored Mac Pro to uproarious applause—it’s our complete WWDC coverage on this very special episode of the CultCast.
Join us as we review all the great stuff Apple announced in the glorious 90-minute event know as WWDC. Stream or download new and past episodes on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing now on iTunes, or hit play below and let the good times roll.
Show notes up next.
Apple finally announced its long-rumored iTunes Radio service yesterday at WWDC, and even though it doesn’t officially launch until this fall, we’ve been taking it for a spin in the iOS 7 beta. Initially, iTunes Radio has left us fairly impressed, except for one huge omission: all the curse words are missing.
When you stream music via iTunes Radio stations, all songs with profane lyrics are streamed in an edited edition, even on user-created stations. We’re not just talking about radio edits where more family appropriate lyrics are dubbed in. Nope, iTunes Radio just strips out the whole word so you’re left with awkward gaps in the song as your favorite artist chokes out a horrific blast of profanity.
During our time playing with iTunes Radio we haven’t come across a single explicit track that isn’t censored, so if you love to bath in the crass lyrics of hiphop’s greatest living legends, you’re out of luck.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Top developers at an AltWWDC panel conference gathered to openly discuss Apple’s keynote announcements on iOS 7, Mac Pro, and Mac OS X. The overriding feeling from the main panel is that while many are happy about iOS changes, most are disappointed with the lack of focus on actual news of tools for developers.
Passbook’s virtual ticket-shredder was one of the little touches in iOS 6 that wreaked of ugly skeuomorphisism. Now that Jony Ive has declared war against all of Scott Forstall’s tacky skeuomorphic UI elements, the Passbook ticket-shredder is now a thing of the past.
When you delete a card in Passbook now it just zaps away into the digital ether, rather than sending your virtual card through a virtual paper shredder that virtually obliviates your ticket so you know it’s deleted and no one can rummage through your virtual trash and piece together all the shreddings to steal your identity.
Here’s a GIF of the new iOS 7 animation in action:
I’ve given iOS 7 a lot of hate this morning — just because I hate its icons — so I thought it was about time I showed it some love. It may not look the best, but the next-generation of iOS is packed full of awesome new features that should greatly improve the user experience.
A lot of those were detailed during Apple’s keynote at WWDC yesterday, but some got left out. So here’s ten awesome features in iOS 7 that didn’t get a mention at the event.
I’ve already written up my thoughts on iOS 7’s new look, and particularly its new icons. But I’m interested in how you feel about it. Am I the only one who thinks Apple took a step in the wrong direction when it was designed certain aspects of its next-generation mobile operating system?
Okay, so not everyone thinks Apple has ruined iOS with its newfound support of flat icons and whacky, eye-stinging colors. In fact, some iOS users love the new look. But many think it’s a gut-wrenching mess. In fact, some hate it so much that they’ve taken some time to fix it.
User interface designers have taken to Dribbble to showcase their own iOS 7 concepts, and I think you’ll agree that they’re a welcome improvement.
It’s our own fault. We all asked Apple to dramatically change the look and feel of the iOS operating system, which, until yesterday, remained largely unchanged since the introduction of the original iPhone back in 2007. And we all complained when it didn’t do that with iOS 6 this time last year.
But I can’t help but feel the Cupertino company is now punishing us for all those requests, and all that complaining we did before about its skeuomorphic designs.
When it comes to design, iOS 7 is vastly different to its predecessors. It still functions in much the same way — though there are some new features you’ll need to get used to — but it looks completely different. As soon as you power it up for the first time the minimalistic feel is staring back at you, but it isn’t until you’ve completed the setup process and arrived at your home screen that you want to vomit in your own lap.
Not only did the Compass app in iOS 7 get a healthy dose of Jony Ive minimalism, it’s also got a new, ultra-minimalist level feature as well.
To access the feature just swipe left from the main screen of the Compass app. The app uses the iPhone’s accelerometer to show the user how many degrees off of zero a surface is. If a surface is flat, the iPhone locks into green screen.
Every time Apple releases new versions of iOS and OS X, you can guarantee Apple will take aim to destroy some popular third-party apps by aping their most popular features into Apple’s core services.
With iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, Apple has its sights on some really strong competition. 1Password is in danger of becoming obsolete, along with a number of other notable powerhouses. Here’s who Apple aimed in its sights today:
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Apple has been holding developer conferences for almost a quarter century, so it’s not surprising that the AltWWDC Keynote breakfast is less like Ugly Betty’s anti-prom and more like a midnight run of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
People camped out all night:
We’re less than 90 minutes away from Apple’s first keynote of the year. If you’re already salivating with excitement and anticipation about all the goodies that are about to come out then here’s a little iOS 7 wallpaper (based on the WWDC banners on display) that should hold you over until Tim Cook officially unveils the new look of iOS.
Source: Reddit
With just over two hours to go until Apple kicks off its WWDC 2013 keynote, the Apple online store has gone down. We can’t say we’re hugely surprised, but the move does suggest that we won’t just see software previews today, but also new hardware as well.
For the past year, Apple’s head of design Jony Ive has reportedly been taking a hatchet to the skeuomorphic design principles of iOS. When iOS 7 is announced later today, it is widely expected that he will show us a much more modern-looking operating system, one emboldened by what is widely called a ‘flat’ design aesthetic.
But let’s keep a little bit of perspective here. Jony Ive isn’t completely overhauling iOS 7 because of some petulant, blind hatred for skeuomorphism. He’s doing so because he’s a pro, and skeuomorphism is solving a problem that iOS no longer has: how to teach people to use devices that, a mere six years ago, seemed impossibly futuristic and sci-fi-like!
By far the best way to keep up with an Apple keynote when you’re not attending is to watch it live, but that’s a treat Apple doesn’t offer all that often. Fortunately, it will be at WWDC 2013 today. You can watch the company’s grand unveiling of iOS 7 and OS X 10.9 live through your Apple TV.
