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August 15th, 2016PC Mag Reveals Top 10 Drones of 2016
August 10th, 2016PC Mag just published its Top 10 drones of 2016…and the list is revealing.
For starters, DJI drones make up six of the ten spots. The Phantom 3 Standard is still present with an overall rating of 4 out of 5. The Phantom 4 tops off the list with a perfect score of 5. The Inspire 1 and Phantom 3 Professional are close behind with 4.5 each. The Phantom 3 4K and Advanced come in fifth and sixth with a rating of 4 each.
What of the other four spots?
Here is where things get interesting. The Xiro Xplorer G comes in seventh place with a 4. Xero (pronounced “zeroâ€) is a relatively new entry to the field, being based out of Shenzhen in China. PC Mag seemed reasonably impressed: “The Xiro Xplorer G is a compelling drone for GoPro owners. It’s compact, inexpensive, and able to transmit video to a smartphone up to the edges of its operating range. Battery life isn’t spectacular, but it is pretty good when compared with similar quadcopters.â€
The 3DR Solo comes in eighth with a 3.5. The Solo debuted last year. Despite solid reviews, the Solo and 3DR have struggled to find a large audience. PC Mag noted a weak GPS system and short battery life as being the biggest hindrances. The Horizon Hobby Blade Chroma (a “solid†drone, to use PC Mag’s own words) and Parrot Bebop (“it’s easy to flyâ€) round out the last two, each rated at 3.5.
The list’s most interesting omission is that of Yuneec’s drones, though author Jim Fisher mentions the Typhoon Series in the accompanying article. Yuneec has struggled to release its latest hexacopter, the Typhoon H, in the face of litigation and frequent delays.
Overall, the list of Top 10 drones isn’t a surprise. DJI has dominated the consumer and prosumer aerial drone market for at least two years. The steady roll out of firmware updates, as well as new hardware and price cuts, have undercut competitors such as 3DR and Yuneec. Drone World just recently announced major price cuts for its Phantom 4 and Inspire 1 Pro drones and bundles.
Remember that you can find those deals on our website at http://www.drone-world.com/.
The post PC Mag Reveals Top 10 Drones of 2016 appeared first on Drone World Blog.
Drone World’s New Phantom 4 Sale
August 8th, 2016With a new month comes a new Phantom 4 sale from Drone World.Â
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The Phantom 4 needs no introduction. The world’s best-selling prosumer drone now retails for $1,199, or $200 off. And the same goes for all of Drone World’s Phantom 4 bundles, including the new Executive Kit V2.0. On top of that, buyers can get up to two new batteries for $99 each.
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The commercial-grade Inspire 1 Pro drone and bundles have an even bigger price cut–$500 off. The price now falls to $3,399.
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That’s not all. For the first time ever, Drone World is offering the Nanuk 950 with hydro-sculpted Phantom 4 insert as a standalone product. The Custom 950 had previously been exclusive to the Executive Kit.
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See these latest deals and more at http://www.drone-world.com/.
The post Drone World’s New Phantom 4 Sale appeared first on Drone World Blog.
Hourly Drone Insurance
August 8th, 2016Over 100 of the world’s leading design professionals file Amicus brief supporting Apple
August 4th, 2016Apple Reports Third Quarter Results
July 26th, 2016“We are pleased to report third quarter results that reflect stronger customer demand and business performance than we anticipated at the start of the quarter,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We had a very successful launch of iPhone SE and we’re thrilled by customers’ and developers’ response to software and services we previewed at WWDC in June.”
“Our Services business grew 19 percent year-over-year and App Store revenue was the highest ever, as our installed base continued to grow and transacting customers hit an all-time record,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “We returned over $13 billion to investors through share repurchases and dividends, and we have now completed almost $177 billion of our $250 billion capital return program.”
Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2016 fourth quarter:
- revenue between $45.5 billion and $47.5 billion
- gross margin between 37.5 percent and 38 percent
- operating expenses between $6.05 billion and $6.15 billion
- other income/(expense) of $350 million
- tax rate of 25.5 percent
Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $.57 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on August 11, 2016 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 8, 2016.
Apple will provide live streaming of its Q3 2016 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PDT on July 26, 2016 at www.apple.com/investor/earnings-call/. This webcast will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.
This press release contains forward-looking statements including without limitation those about the Company’s estimated revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, other income/(expense), and tax rate. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation the effect of competitive and economic factors, and the Company’s reaction to those factors, on consumer and business buying decisions with respect to the Company’s products; continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; the ability of the Company to deliver to the marketplace and stimulate customer demand for new programs, products, and technological innovations on a timely basis; the effect that product introductions and transitions, changes in product pricing or mix, and/or increases in component costs could have on the Company’s gross margin; the inventory risk associated with the Company’s need to order or commit to order product components in advance of customer orders; the continued availability on acceptable terms, or at all, of certain components and services essential to the Company’s business currently obtained by the Company from sole or limited sources; the effect that the Company’s dependency on manufacturing and logistics services provided by third parties may have on the quality, quantity or cost of products manufactured or services rendered; risks associated with the Company’s international operations; the Company’s reliance on third-party intellectual property and digital content; the potential impact of a finding that the Company has infringed on the intellectual property rights of others; the Company’s dependency on the performance of distributors, carriers and other resellers of the Company’s products; the effect that product and service quality problems could have on the Company’s sales and operating profits; the continued service and availability of key executives and employees; war, terrorism, public health issues, natural disasters, and other circumstances that could disrupt supply, delivery, or demand of products; and unfavorable results of legal proceedings. More information on potential factors that could affect the Company’s financial results is included from time to time in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the Company’s public reports filed with the SEC, including the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 26, 2015, its Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended December 26, 2015, its Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 26, 2016, and its Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 25, 2016 to be filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Press Contact:
Kristin Huguet
Apple
khuguet@apple.com
(408) 974-2414
Investor Relations Contacts:
Nancy Paxton
Apple
paxton1@apple.com
(408) 974-5420
Joan Hoover
Apple
hoover1@apple.com
(408) 974-4570
FY 16 Third Quarter Results Conference Call
July 22nd, 2016WHERE: Via conference call. The dial-in numbers for press are (877) 616-0071 (toll-free) or (816) 581-1577. Please enter confirmation code 576314.
WHEN: Tuesday, July 26, 2016, 2:00 p.m. PDT/5:00 p.m. EDT
REBROADCAST: The conference call will be available as a continuous rebroadcast beginning Tuesday, July 26 at 5:00 p.m. PDT/8:00 p.m. EDT through Tuesday, August 9 at 5:00 p.m. PDT/8:00 p.m. EDT. The dial-in number for the rebroadcast is (888) 203-1112 (toll-free) or (719) 457-0820. Please enter confirmation code 4944387.
WEBCAST: Apple will provide live audio streaming of its FY 16 Third Quarter Results Conference Call using Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) technology. The live webcast will begin at 2:00 p.m. PDT on July 26, 2016 at www.apple.com/investor/earnings-call/ and will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter. Live audio streaming requires an iPhone®, iPad® or iPod touch® with Safari® on iOS 7.0 or later, a Mac® with Safari 6.0.5 or later on OS X® v10.8.5 or later, or a PC with Microsoft Edge on Windows 10.
This recording is the property of Apple and protected by US copyright law and international treaties. Any reproduction or distribution is strictly prohibited without prior written approval from Apple. Please contact Apple Public Relations or Investor Relations with any questions.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Press Contact:
Kristin Huguet
Apple
khuguet@apple.com
(408) 974-2414
Top 10 Phantom 4 Accessories
July 19th, 2016We receive a lot of questions about the DJI Phantom 4 at Drone World, but one of the most common is over which accessories are recommended, and which ones are necessities, for the best-selling quadcopter. The answer: Too many to list. But we went ahead anyway. Our just-published Top 10 Phantom 4 Accessories page is a quick and simple guide that lists, and describes, the must-haves for any Phantom 4 pilot.
Although most of the entries are general items, we covered some specific examples, including the THOR Supercharger, Nanuk 950 wheeled carry case, and Hoodman Sunshade. Our list also includes several Drone World exclusives, such as our L-Series Lens Filter Kit and Long-Range System. Even with this bevy of products, Drone World shows no sign of letting up with plans to add even more accessories–including exclusives–to an already sizable lineup.
SEE ALL OUR TOP 10 ACCESSORIES ATÂ http://www.drone-world.com/top-10-phantom-4-accessories/.
The post Top 10 Phantom 4 Accessories appeared first on Drone World Blog.
ATC contact details -uk
July 18th, 2016Osmo: Smooth operator
July 18th, 2016Have you done extended travel (4 weeks+) with an Inspire Pro?
July 18th, 2016Greetings from Yorkshire UK.
July 18th, 2016For sale Inspire 1 Pro (LOTS OF EXTRAS) X3 X5 and Dual operator
July 17th, 2016PokeDrone lets you catch Pokemon in those hard to reach places
July 17th, 2016Third party camera mods…
July 17th, 2016For Sale: Carboncore X8 w/ GH4 (step up from Inspire 1 Raw)
July 17th, 2016Apple & Donate Life America Bring National Organ Donor Registration to iPhone
July 5th, 2016“On average, one person dies every hour in the United States waiting for an organ transplant because the demand for lifesaving transplants far exceeds the available supply of organs — and one donor can save as many as eight lives,” said David Fleming, President & CEO of Donate Life America. “By working with Apple to bring the National Donate Life Registry to the Health app on iPhone, we’re making it easier for people to find out about organ, eye and tissue donation and quickly register. This is a huge step forward that will ultimately help save lives.”
Over 120,000 Americans are currently waiting for a lifesaving transplant — and every 10 minutes, a new individual is added to the national transplant waiting list. Each organ donor can save as many as eight lives and heal many more through the gifts of tissue and eye donation. In the absence of donor registration, families are left to make the decision about donation in what is often the worst moment of their lives, the sudden and unexpected loss of a loved one.
“Apple’s mission has always been to create products that transform people’s lives. With the updated Health app, we’re providing education and awareness about organ donation and making it easier than ever to register. It’s a simple process that takes just a few seconds and could help save up to eight lives,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “Together with Donate Life America, we’re excited to deliver this new feature to iPhone users in the US with iOS 10.”
The Health app on iPhone provides a complete view of your health and fitness data all in one place. The app includes Medical ID, which makes critical health information available in case of emergency to first responders and is accessible from the iPhone lock screen. Medical ID can display categories like medical conditions, allergies, medications, blood type and emergency contacts. And with iOS 10, Medical ID offers the ability to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor with Donate Life America.
Availability
The developer preview of iOS 10 is currently available to iOS Developer Program members at developer.apple.com, and a public beta program will be available to iOS users this month at beta.apple.com. iOS 10 will be available this fall as a free software update. For more information, visit apple.com/ios/ios10-preview.
Donate Life America is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit alliance of national organizations and state teams across the United States committed to increasing organ, eye and tissue donation. Donate Life America manages and promotes the national brand for donation, Donate Life, and assists Donate Life State Teams and national partners in facilitating high-performing donor registries including the management of the National Donate Life Registry; developing and executing effective multi-media donor education programs; and motivating the American public to register now as organ, eye and tissue donors. For more information, visit DonateLife.net.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Press Contacts:
Hilary Czarda
Donate Life America
hczarda@donatelife.net
(804) 377-3584
Jacqueline Roy
Apple
jacqueline_roy@apple.com
(408) 862-4386
Stay away from Firmware Inspire 1 Firmware v1.9.1.10
June 16th, 2016Apple Previews watchOS 3; Faster, Simpler with Breakthrough Health Features
June 13th, 2016“Apple Watch is the ultimate companion for a healthy life and with watchOS 3, there’s now even more to love,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “Favorite apps launch instantly and are simple to access, and the breakthrough new fitness and health features like the Breathe app make it feel like a whole new watch.”
Instant Performance & Simple Navigation
It is easier and faster than ever to perform common tasks with watchOS 3, including replying to a message, starting a Workout or skipping a song. By pressing the side button, users can access the new Dock with their recent and favorite apps. Right from the Dock or the watch face, users can launch their favorite native and third-party apps instantly and have the latest information in the app already updated and ready for viewing. Similar to iOS, users can swipe up from the watch face for the new and improved Control Center, continue to swipe down for Notification Center and swipe left or right to easily switch out a watch face.
Fitness & Health
Motivation through social engagement is an important factor in changing fitness and health behavior, and now with watchOS 3, it’s possible to share, compare and compete with friends, family or even a personal trainer. Users receive notifications about their friends’ progress, including completed Activity rings, finished workouts and earned achievements. Activity sharing is now directly connected to the Messages app, so users can communicate, motivate and celebrate with friends and family with new Smart Replies specially customized for Activity and Workouts. In watchOS 3, the Activity app experience is now optimized for wheelchair users. Wheelchair pushes contribute to all-day calorie goals, the “time to stand” reminder is now “time to roll” and there are dedicated wheelchair-specific workouts.
The all-new Breathe app encourages users to take moments in their day to do short deep breathing sessions. The beautiful, calming visualization and haptic cues guide users through deep, full breaths in sessions lasting one to five minutes and on completion, they will receive a heart rate summary.
All-New Communication
Receiving and quickly replying to messages is more powerful and expressive in watchOS 3 with stickers, handwriting, full-screen effects and invisible ink, which reveals the message only after a friend swipes over it. Smart Replies are even faster as they are now available right in the message notification. When a more custom reply is needed, the new scribble feature allows users to quickly write words on the display and Apple Watch will convert the handwriting to text.
SOS in watchOS 3 enables people in critical situations around the world to initiate a call with emergency services through their iPhone® or while on Wi-Fi, and notify their emergency contact by simply pressing and holding the side button.
Watch Faces
Apple Watch is even more personal with new watch faces including Minnie Mouse, Activity and the simple and elegant Numerals. Even more apps can launch straight from the watch face including Workout, Music or Messages. Users can also now add complications to the Photo, Motion or Timelapse watch faces. It’s easier to customize watch faces and discover third-party apps with the new Faces Gallery in the Watch app on iPhone.
Availability
watchOS 3 will be available this fall as a free update to Apple Watch. Apple Watch requires iPhone 5 or later running iOS 8.2 or later. WatchKit® for watchOS 3 is available immediately for iOS Developer Program members at developer.apple.com. For more information, visit apple.com/watchos-preview. Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all regions.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Press Contacts:
Amy Bessette
Apple
abessette@apple.com
(408) 862-8012
Sarah O’Brien
Apple
sarahobrien@apple.com
(408) 783-2400
Apple Previews iOS 10, the Biggest iOS Release Ever
June 13th, 2016“iOS 10 is our biggest release ever, with delightful new ways to express yourself in Messages, a native app for Home automation, and beautifully redesigned apps for Music, Maps, and News that are more intuitive and more powerful, making everything you love about your iPhone and iPad even better,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “iOS 10 adds Siri intelligence into QuickType and Photos, automates your home with the new Home app and opens up Siri, Maps, Phone and Messages to developers — while increasing security and privacy with powerful technologies like Differential Privacy.”
Personal & Expressive Messages
Messages is the most frequently used iOS app, and with iOS 10 it is more expressive and fun with animated and personalized ways to message friends and family. Messages includes powerful animations, such as balloons, confetti or fireworks that can take over an entire screen to celebrate a special occasion, invisible ink to send a message only revealed after a friend swipes over it, and for added personalization, handwritten notes. Automatic suggestions make it easy to replace words with emoji, Tapback creates a quick and simple way to respond with just a tap and rich links let you see content inline and play media without ever leaving your conversation.
iOS 10 brings the power of the App Store® to Messages, opening up new opportunities for developers to create fun new ways for users to communicate in a thread, including stickers to be peeled and pasted into conversations, the ability to quickly personalize GIFs or edit photos, send payments or schedule dinner or a movie, all from within Messages.
Siri Opens to Developers
In iOS 10, Siri can be extended into major new areas and do more than ever by working with the apps you love to use. For the first time, developers can build on the intelligence Siri offers and let users interact directly with apps using just their voice. SiriKit™ helps developers easily design their apps to work with Siri for messaging, phone calls, photo search, ride booking, personal payments and workouts, or use Siri to control CarPlay® apps, access climate controls or adjust radio settings within automakers’ apps.
Beautifully Redesigned Maps
Maps in iOS 10 gets a beautiful redesign that makes it even simpler and more intuitive to use. Now open to developers with new extensions, apps like OpenTable can integrate bookings right into Maps, and services like Uber and Lyft can make it easier for users to book a ride, without ever leaving the Maps app. Maps is even smarter with new intelligence that proactively delivers directions to where you most likely want to go next, based on your routine or appointments on your calendar. Once a route is planned, Maps can search along the route for gas stations, restaurants, coffee shops and more and provides an estimate of how the stop impacts the length of your trip.
Rediscover Memories in Photos
Photos in iOS 10 helps you rediscover favorite and forgotten occasions from your photo library by automatically surfacing them in Memories. Memories scans all your photos and videos and finds favorite and forgotten events, trips and people, and presents them in a beautiful collection. A Memory also contains the Memory Movie, an automatically edited movie with theme music, titles and cinematic transitions.
Memories uses advanced computer vision to group the people, places and things inside your images into albums with on-device facial, object and scene recognition. This intelligence brings Memories and related photos to life in a way that’s personal and meaningful to you, while maintaining your privacy.
Home App for Simpler Home Automation
The Home app is deeply integrated into iOS, delivering a simple and secure way to set up, manage and control your home in one place. Accessories can be managed individually or grouped into scenes so they work together with a single command and can be controlled by using Siri. They can be managed remotely or set up for home automation with Apple TV®, and can respond with automatic triggers set by time of day, location or action.
Support for HomeKit™ continues to expand globally with nearly 100 home automation products adopting HomeKit this year, bringing support for thermostats, lights, window shades, door locks, video cameras and more to the Home app. Later this year, leading home builders, including Brookfield Residential, KB Home, Lennar Homes and R&F Properties, will begin integrating many of these HomeKit devices into new homes.
All-New Design for Apple Music & News
Apple Music has an all-new design, bringing greater clarity and simplicity to every aspect of the experience. It uses a new design language that allows the music to become the hero and a new structure that makes it easy to navigate and discover new music. The Library, For You, Browse and Radio tabs have been completely redesigned to provide an even greater sense of place, and we’ve added a Search tab to make finding music even easier. All of these changes come together to create a design that is clear and intuitive. iOS 10 features a redesigned News app with a new For You, organized into distinct sections that make it easier to find stories, support for breaking news notifications and paid subscriptions.
iOS Experience
In iOS 10, accessing the information you need is easier and quicker than ever. Raise to Wake automatically wakes the screen as you raise your iPhone®, making it easier to view all your notifications at a glance, right from the Lock screen. Notifications, Today view and Control Center are accessible with just a swipe or a press, and deeper 3D Touch™ integration with iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus makes interacting with apps even easier.
Additional iOS 10 Features
- Siri intelligence brings new QuickType® features, including contextual predictions to surface relevant information based on location, calendar availability or contacts; and predictive typing supports multiple languages without switching keyboards.
- Phone adds integration for third-party VoIP calls, voicemail transcription and a new caller ID extension for spam alerts.
- Built-in app updates include Safari® split-view for iPad®, Notes collaboration and Live Photos™ editing.
- Apple Pay® can now be used to make easy, secure and private purchases on participating websites using Safari, in addition to paying in-stores and within apps.
- Bedtime Alarm in the Clock app lets you set a regular sleep schedule and receive bedtime reminders.
Privacy in iOS 10
Security and privacy are fundamental to the design of Apple hardware, software and services. iMessage®, FaceTime® and HomeKit use end-to-end encryption to protect your data by making it unreadable by Apple and others. iOS 10 uses on-device intelligence to identify the people, objects and scenes in Photos, and power QuickType suggestions. Services like Siri, Maps and News send data to Apple’s servers, but this data is not used to build user profiles.
Starting with iOS 10, Apple is using technology called Differential Privacy to help discover the usage patterns of a large number of users without compromising individual privacy. In iOS 10, this technology will help improve QuickType and emoji suggestions, Spotlight® deep link suggestions and Lookup Hints in Notes.
Availability
The developer preview of iOS 10 is available to iOS Developer Program members at developer.apple.com starting today, and a public beta program will be available to iOS users in July at beta.apple.com. iOS 10 will be available this fall as a free software update for iPhone 5 and later, all iPad Air® and iPad Pro™ models, iPad 4th generation, iPad mini™ 2 and later, and iPod touch® 6th generation. For more information, visit apple.com/ios/ios10-preview. Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all regions or all languages.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Press Contacts:
Jacqueline Roy
Apple
jacqueline_roy@apple.com
(408) 862-4386
Cath Anderson
Apple
catherine_anderson@apple.com
(669) 227-0491
Swift Playgrounds App Makes Learning to Code Easy & Fun
June 13th, 2016“I wish Swift Playgrounds was around when I was first learning to code,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “Swift Playgrounds is the only app of its kind that is both easy enough for students and beginners, yet powerful enough to write real code. It’s an innovative way to bring real coding concepts to life and empower the next generation with the skills they need to express their creativity.”
“The new Swift Playgrounds app from Apple is one of the most powerful, yet approachable, educational coding apps we’ve ever seen, and we can’t wait to incorporate it into our upcoming camp curriculum,” said Jean MacDonald, founder of App Camp for Girls. “It’s a fun and intuitive way for our students to learn the basic principles of coding using the iPad, and also become skilled in Swift, a language that can grow with them in whatever they choose to do.”
The library of Apple-developed programming lessons helps students learn core coding concepts, such as issuing commands, creating functions, performing loops and using conditional code and variables, and allows them to progressively build confidence and skill. Apple will regularly release new standalone challenges so students can continue to refine their coding abilities as their skills and interests grow. Educators and developers can also use Xcode® to create their own unique challenges for the app.
In addition to the lessons, Swift Playgrounds comes with a number of built-in templates to help aspiring developers express their creativity. Students and developers can modify and build on this code to make it their own by adding graphics and touch interactions. Swift Playgrounds allows you to create a virtually unlimited variety of interactive programs using Swift and the iOS frameworks. You can create empty playground documents or start from one of the built-in templates with scaffolding for graphics and user interface to build powerful apps that respond to touch and accelerometer or that control Bluetooth devices. And since Swift Playgrounds uses real Swift code, projects can be exported directly to Xcode to create programs for iOS and macOS™ that can ultimately be turned into full-fledged apps.
Because Swift Playgrounds was designed from the ground up for the Multi-Touch™ iPad interface, you can create entire programs with only a few taps. A new coding keyboard lets you quickly type additional characters common to Swift programming by swiping across the key, while a shortcut bar presents the most likely next commands or values based on context. And, using a pop-over keypad, you can simply tap to edit a number in place, touch a color value to display a color picker, and even drag the boundaries of a loop or function definition to wrap around existing code. You can also drag from a library of common coding snippets to create new, powerful code with little or no typing. Your programs look beautiful running in full screen on the iPad Retina® display and feel completely immersive, responding to touch gestures and the iPad accelerometer for interaction.
Availability
A preview release of Swift Playgrounds is available today to Apple Developer Program members as part of the iOS 10 developer preview and will be available with the iOS 10 public beta in July. The final version of Swift Playgrounds will be available in the App Store® for free this fall. Swift Playgrounds is compatible with all iPad Air® and iPad Pro™ models and iPad mini™ 2 and later running iOS 10. For more information including videos, images and demos, visit, apple.com/swift/playgrounds.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Press Contacts:
Bill Evans
Apple
bevans@apple.com
408-974-0610
Jennie Orphanopoulos
Apple
jennieo@apple.com
408-783-0203
Powerful New Siri Capabilities & Single Sign-On Coming to Apple TV
June 13th, 2016“The future of TV is apps, and Siri on Apple TV has changed the way we interact with our television and these expanded features will continue to deliver viewers what they want to watch even faster,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “There are over 6,000 apps to enjoy on your Apple TV including over 1,300 video channels, which are even more fun to watch with the new Siri features combined with single sign-on.”
New Siri Features & Functionality
Since the launch of Apple TV, Siri has gotten more powerful, now searching over 650,000 TV episodes and movies. Siri is available in even more countries with expanded capabilities.
- Topic search for movies*: With the ability to ask Siri for a movie by topic or theme, you have even more ways to find the films you really feel like watching, such as “Show movies about baseball,” “Find documentaries about cars,” or “Find high school comedies from the ‘80s.”
- YouTube search: Later this month, users can ask Siri to search YouTube, so you can say “Search YouTube for cute pug videos.”
- Live tune-in: Ask Siri to go directly to a live channel inside a supported app, such as “Watch CBS News” or “Watch ESPN.”
- Manage HomeKit™ accessories: Apple TV gives users control of HomeKit-enabled accessories so you can ask Siri to “Turn on the lights” or “Set the temperature to 70 degrees.” Apple TV also allows users to control HomeKit accessories when they are away from home or use it for home automation with the Home app on their iOS device.
Single Sign-on for Pay-TV Apps
For the first time, customers in the US will have a simplified way of enjoying pay-TV video channels by using single sign-on. Starting this fall, users only have to sign in once on Apple TV to enjoy immediate access to their favorite video channels that are included as part of their pay-TV subscription.
- Once a user is signed into one network app, any other app on Apple TV from participating pay-TV providers will automatically log the user into all other supported apps requiring authentication.
- During the single sign-on process, customers can view a page of all the authenticated apps that a pay-TV provider offers to more easily discover, download and enjoy all of their favorite video channels.
- Any network-TV app can take advantage of this technology to enable single sign-on and simplify the process for their viewers.
- Single sign-on will be available on both Apple TV and iOS.
The Future of TV is Apps
The latest Apple TV just launched last fall, giving developers unprecedented access to a modern platform like iOS but for the living room. With over 6,000 apps already available for Apple TV, the future of television is apps. Users can enjoy amazing experiences on the biggest screen in their home, work out with Zova or Daily Burn; plan their next trip with Airbnb or TripAdvisor; play SketchParty TV or NBA 2K16 with friends and family; buy their favorite designer brands on Gilt; learn to cook with Kitchen Stories Cookbook; catch up on news with ABC News; or watch their favorite shows, movies and sports with HBO NOW or Sling TV. Developers have only just begun tapping into the potential of tvOS™ and initial feedback has been tremendous.
“tvOS on Apple TV takes the Sling TV app to new heights, creating a seamless combination of technology and entertainment,” said Roger Lynch, CEO, Sling TV.
“We easily extended our iOS game experiences to the living room — something that is incredibly difficult to do on traditional consoles,” said Hannibal Soares, CEO, BoomBit.
“tvOS has allowed STARZ to create an experience on Apple TV unlike anything we’ve done before and our subscribers are loving it!” said Chris Albrecht, CEO, Starz.
New tvOS APIs and tools available for developers include:
- ReplayKit to enable developers to record and live broadcast from their apps;
- PhotoKit to allow third-party app access to photos and videos in iCloud® Photo Library and iCloud Shared Stream;
- HomeKit to create apps to control HomeKit devices from Apple TV;
- App badging on the Home screen, to make it easier for users to know something new for them is available inside an app; and,
- Game Center enhancements and support for up to four game controllers at a time.
Additional Apple TV Features and Updates
- iOS users can download the new Apple TV Remote app with touch navigation, Siri and game play support.
- Apple Music® has an all-new design, bringing greater clarity and simplicity to every aspect of the experience. The Library, For You, Browse and Radio tabs have been completely redesigned to provide an even greater sense of place, and a Search tab has been added to make finding music even easier.
- Photos for Apple TV now supports the new Memories feature, making it easy to rediscover meaningful moments in a user’s photo library and share them on the big screen.
- While users love the bright and fresh Apple TV interface, some may prefer a darker background to fit a home theater environment or darker rooms, so now users can select a dark background for Apple TV.
- Universal apps will now automatically download on Apple TV and show up on the Home screen when an app has been added to a user’s iOS device.
- When a keyboard appears on Apple TV, one will also appear on nearby iOS devices that are logged into the same iCloud account, making entering text even more convenient.
Availability
The tvOS developer preview is available immediately for Developer Program members at developer.apple.com. The new tvOS will be available this fall as a free software update for Apple TV. For more information, visit apple.com/tvos-preview. Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all regions or all languages. Siri will be available for Apple TV users in 12 countries.
*Siri availability and functionality varies by country. Subscription required for some content.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Press Contacts:
Christine Monaghan
Apple
cmonaghan@apple.com
(408) 974-8850
Bernadette Simpao
Apple
bsimpao@apple.com
(669) 227-9273
Apple Previews Major Update with macOS Sierra
June 13th, 2016“macOS Sierra is a major update that makes your Mac smarter and more helpful than ever with improvements to the apps you know and love and great new features throughout,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “With macOS Sierra, you can get information, find files and multitask using Siri, access your Desktop and Documents from anywhere, copy and paste between Macs and iOS devices, and rediscover precious memories in Photos.”
Siri Debuts on the Mac
Siri on the Mac is now just one click away. The familiar features of Siri are now on the Mac with brand-new capabilities specifically designed for the desktop. Easily accessible from the Dock, menu bar or keyboard, Siri lets you use your voice to search for information, find files and send messages. For example you can ask Siri to locate a specific document you worked on last night, add a meeting to your calendar or start a FaceTime® call. With Siri on the Mac, you can also drag and drop items from Siri search results into your documents or emails, pin Siri search results in Notification Center to keep an eye on information like sports scores or stock prices, and even adjust system preferences, set reminders and search your Photos library. With its debut on Mac, Siri is now on all four Apple software platforms — iOS, macOS™, watchOS® and tvOS™ — and handles two billion requests per week across 36 countries.
Your Desktop & Documents on All Your Devices
With macOS Sierra you can automatically have all the files on your Desktop and in your Documents folder on any Mac, iOS device or even PC. You simply save your files on your Desktop or within your Documents folder as you usually do and you will have them everywhere you need them. You can access your files on your iPhone and iPad in the iCloud Drive® app and on iCloud.com or the iCloud for Windows app. And when you log into a second Mac, your files are automatically on the Desktop and in the Documents folder, exactly where you saved them.
Copy & Paste Between Devices
Continuity across your Apple devices also gets better in macOS Sierra. With Universal Clipboard, the contents of your clipboard are available across all your Apple devices via iCloud. You can easily copy and paste text, images, photos and video between your Mac and your iPhone and iPad.
Tabs in Almost Every App
To help you navigate your Desktop with more efficiency, macOS Sierra takes the popular Tabs feature from Safari® and makes it available across Mac apps that support multiple windows, including Maps, Mail, Pages®, Numbers®, Keynote® and TextEdit, and even third-party apps. With Tabs you can browse multiple locations in Maps without losing your place, copy and paste between Pages documents in full screen, or quickly jump between multiple email drafts in Mail.
Picture in Picture on the Mac
You can now keep an eye on one thing while working on another. macOS Sierra lets you float video from Safari or iTunes® in a window over your desktop as you work, and even resize, drag and pin video to any corner of your screen. The video stays put when you switch spaces, so you’ll never miss a thing.
Shopping on Your Mac with Apple Pay
Users love to shop online using their Macs and with macOS the shopping experience in Safari is now even better. Apple Pay on the web makes it easy to make secure and private purchases when shopping on participating websites. You no longer need to share credit or debit card numbers with an online merchant and actual card numbers are not stored on your device, nor on Apple servers. Just look for the Apple Pay button at checkout on many of your favorite shopping sites and complete your purchase with Touch ID® on your iPhone or by using your Apple Watch®. Strong encryption protects all communication between your devices and Apple Pay servers, and Apple Pay does not track your purchases.
Rediscover Memories with Photos
The new Memories feature in Photos helps you rediscover favorite and forgotten moments deep in your Photos library by automatically creating curated collections of occasions like a first birthday party, wedding or family vacation. With new advanced computer vision, Photos now understands the people, places and things inside your images using on-device facial, object and scene recognition and location information to group images into albums. The People feature automatically groups your photos into Albums based on who is in them. Places now displays your photos on a world map so you can see where they were taken. And, perfecting your photos like a pro is now even easier with the new Brilliance tool, which pulls in highlights and adds contrast to enhance details throughout your images.
Additional macOS Features
- Auto Unlock lets you simply walk up to your Mac while wearing your authenticated Apple Watch and be automatically logged into your desktop.
- Optimized Storage frees up space when your Mac starts getting full by storing infrequently used items in iCloud and reminding you to delete used app installers, and even clearing out duplicate downloads, caches, logs and more.
- Messages makes conversations more interesting, now allowing you to preview web links and watch video clips within the app, post reactions like a heart, thumbs up and more directly onto a message bubble with Tapback, and use bigger emoji for more message impact.
- Apple Music® in iTunes makes it even easier to discover new music and browse exclusives and new releases.
Privacy in macOS
Security and privacy are fundamental to the design of Apple hardware, software and services. iMessage and FaceTime use end-to-end encryption to protect your data by making it unreadable by Apple and others. Services like Siri and Maps send data to Apple’s servers, but this data is not used to build user profiles, and Photos uses on-device intelligence to organize your images using facial, object and scene recognition.
Starting with macOS Sierra, Apple is using technology called Differential Privacy to help discover the usage patterns of a large number of users without compromising individual privacy. In macOS Sierra, this technology will help improve autocorrect suggestions and Lookup Hints in Notes.
Availability
The developer preview of macOS Sierra is available to Apple Developer Program members at developer.apple.com starting today. Mac users can sign up for the macOS Sierra Beta Program today and download the software starting in July at beta.apple.com. The final version will be available for free from the Mac App Store® this fall. For more information, visit apple.com/macos/sierra-preview. Features are subject to change, and some features may not be available in all regions or all languages.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Press Contacts:
Bill Evans
Apple
bevans@apple.com
408-974-0610
Starlayne Meza
Apple
starlayne@apple.com
408-974-3391
Best Firmware Version for Inspire 1?
June 11th, 2016Inspire 1 v2.0 Sale — Over $1,000 Off!
May 31st, 2016Drone enthusiasts rejoice: The long-awaited Inspire 1 v2.0 sale has arrived!
Drone World has slashed the price of the DJI Inspire 1 v2.0 from $3,099 to just $1,999. That’s a 36% price drop. Read that again: Thirty-six percent.
The v2.0 is the base model of the Inspire 1 quadcopter, DJI’s professional-grade drone. The v2.0 (“vee-twoâ€) includes all the essentials: a detachable Zenmuse X3 camera, remote control, battery charger, and 16 GB SD card.
Thanks to its four large and powerful motors, the Inspire 1 can hit an official top speed of 50 MPH; however, expert pilots have reported top speeds of nearly 90 MPH.
The real big draw with the Inspire 1 is its camera. The X3 camera delivers 12-megapixel images and Ultra HD video of 2160p (4K). A Sony EXMOR 1/2.3″ sensor powers the detachable camera. Thanks to retractable landing gear, the Inspire 1 camera enjoys uninterrupted 360-degree visibility. Even better: The Inspire 1 live-streams video in 720p HD.
An added bonus: The Inspire 1 supports dual remotes. One remote can pilot the drone while another works the camera.
On the downside, the Inspire 1 v2.0 comes stock as a pretty spartan package. Luckily, Drone World is more than able to fill in with its Everything You Need and Upgrade kits.
Some of the things the Inspire 1 Everything You Need Kit, priced $2,737, adds:
- an extra DJI factory remote
- a Hoodman Commercial Sunshade
- an extra 4,500 mAh battery plus hub charger
- and a drone skin wrap
Drone World’s Inspire 1 Everything You Need Upgrade Kit, priced $3,299, further adds:
- a 64 GB memory card
- a lens filter kit
- a bonus 5,700 mAh high-output battery
- and a wheeled hard case (with custom foam insert)
Customers can add further options, including: extra batteries, pre-installed firmware updates, a GPS tracking device, a 180W rapid charger, and FPV HD goggles.
“What about the Inspire 1 Pro?†you ask. Sadly, the Inspire 1 Pro remains priced at $3,899…for the time being.
Remember to visit Drone World’s full array of Inspire 1 bundles, accessories, and resource pages.
The post Inspire 1 v2.0 Sale — Over $1,000 Off! appeared first on Drone World Blog.
Apple Union Square Highlights New Design Elements, Community Programs
May 19th, 2016“Fifteen years ago today Apple opened its first two stores and we’re thrilled to mark the occasion with the opening of Apple Union Square in San Francisco,” said Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail and Online Stores. “We are not just evolving our store design, but its purpose and greater role in the community as we educate and entertain visitors and serve our network of local entrepreneurs."
Apple Union Square’s glass doors open the store to Post Street and Union Square. The building’s unique position connects San Francisco’s most famous square to a rejuvenated plaza to the north, creating a beautiful gathering place for the community. The art-filled plaza offers seating, public Wi-Fi, a 50-foot tall “green wall” and regular acoustic performances. The store is powered by 100 percent renewable energy, including power produced by photovoltaic panels integrated into the building’s roof.
"We have a deep commitment to the cities we work in, and are aware of the importance that architecture plays in the community,” said Jonathan Ive, Apple’s chief design officer. "It all starts with the storefront — taking transparency to a whole new level — where the building blends the inside and the outside, breaking down barriers and making it more egalitarian and accessible.”
Features in the new Apple Union Square design include:
- “The Avenue,” inspired by the window displays along a boulevard that dynamically change with the season. Avenue walls are interactive themed “windows” where Apple’s products and services come to life, from music, to creativity, apps, photography and more. New “Creative Pros,” Apple experts in creative arts, offer advice and expertise at each of the displays. Customers will also find “Only at Apple” products on the Avenue, a curated collection of third-party accessories.
- “Genius Grove” invites customers to get support working side-by-side with Geniuses under the comfortable canopy of local trees in the heart of the store.
- “The Forum” is a vibrant gathering place, centered around a 6K Video Wall. It is home to “Today at Apple,” which brings to the community the world’s most talented artists, photographers, musicians, gamers, developers and entrepreneurs to inspire and educate our customers to go further with the things they are passionate about. Today at Apple includes year-round programs for kids, new monthly events for teachers, sessions for current and aspiring developers, Creative Sessions in partnership with local experts in creative arts, Game Night with editors from Apple’s App Store® and more. The Forum and Video Wall are a place of discovery, including events about the making of movies from iTunes®, or exclusive premieres of new music and music videos from Apple Music™.
- “The Plaza” will be found only at Apple’s most significant stores, including Apple Union Square. It’s open to the public 24 hours a day, features public Wi-Fi and seating, and takes Today at Apple outside, with a regular weekend series of well known local acoustic performances such as Travis Hayes and global talents like Escondido, who will then give exclusive interviews about their craft in the Forum. The Plaza at Apple Union Square features a fountain by well-known San Francisco sculptor Ruth Asawa, originally commissioned in 1969, and a new work, “Love” by local artist Laura Kimpton, commissioned by Hyatt Hotels.
- “The Boardroom” is an intimate space where the store’s Business Team offers hands-on advice and training to entrepreneurs, developers and other small and medium business customers.
While the store offers regular learning experiences in the Forum and Plaza, Apple is also committed to furthering creative arts education throughout San Francisco. Apple is working with the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts to build a visual arts lab with 45 workstations outfitted with the latest Apple products.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Press Contacts:
Amy Bessette
Apple
abessette@apple.com
(408) 862-8012
Nick Leahy
Apple
nleahy@apple.com
(408) 862-5012
Apple Opens Development Office in Hyderabad
May 19th, 2016“Apple is focused on making the best products and services in the world and we are thrilled to open this new office in Hyderabad which will focus on Maps development,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The talent here in the local area is incredible and we are looking forward to expanding our relationships and introducing more universities and partners to our platforms as we scale our operations.”
Apple has been continually updating and adding new features to Maps, including 3D views, the Flyover® feature and tools to help customers find convenient places to shop, eat and explore nearby areas. With iOS 9 Apple added Transit, offering a combination of trains, subways, buses and walking, which is already available for more than 300 cities around the world.
The new facility, located on the Waverock campus, will provide a world-class, LEED-certified home for the expanding Maps team.
“We are honored Apple chose Hyderabad as a home for its Maps development office,” said Telangana Chief Minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao. “This will create thousands of jobs here and is a testament to our proactive approach, quality infrastructure and the excellent talent base we have in the region.”
“Apple is one of the most innovative companies in the world and we are very proud they chose us to partner with for this important project,” said Anup Jindal, RMSI’s CEO. “We are experts in geospatial data and we will be hiring thousands of people from the local area to support this effort.”
Across India, Apple supports over 640,000 iOS app developer jobs and other positions related to the iOS ecosystem.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Press Contacts:
Katrina Tran
Apple
katrina_tran@apple.com
+65 6480 4793
Anand Baskaran
Apple
abaskaran@apple.com
+91 98450 28508
Apple Announces New iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru
May 18th, 2016The company will establish a Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru, the home of India’s startup scene. Tens of thousands of developers in India make apps for iOS, the world’s most powerful mobile operating system and the foundation for iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch®. This initiative will provide additional, specialized support for them.
Apple’s team will work to inspire and instruct developers on best practices, help them hone their skills and transform the design, quality and performance of their apps on the iOS platform.
“India is home to one of the most vibrant and entrepreneurial iOS development communities in the world,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “With the opening of this new facility in Bengaluru, we’re giving developers access to tools which will help them create innovative apps for customers around the world.”
Each week, Apple experts will lead briefings and provide one-on-one app reviews for developers. The facility will also provide support and guidance on Swift™, Apple’s powerful and intuitive programming language created to build apps for iOS, Mac®, Apple TV® and Apple Watch®. Swift enables developers to write safer, more reliable code, save time and create richer app experiences. A recent report by developer placement firm Toptal shows jobs requesting Swift rose 600 percent in 2015.
Bengaluru is now home to more technology startups than any other part of India. Over one million people in the city work in the tech sector, and over 40 percent of graduates from local universities specialize in engineering or information technology.
“This is a huge vote of confidence in India’s developer community and a tremendous opportunity to gain world-class design and development expertise,” said Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal. “Apple’s support will help drive growth and accelerate progress among the country’s vast talent pool.”
“We have worked closely with Apple to transform the Snapdeal app and offer our users the best possible experience,” said Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl. “Apple’s expert guidance on the interface and user experience has helped us build an app that our consumers love. We are thrilled Apple will have a local presence which will amplify our efforts to develop more high-quality apps for our digital commerce ecosystem.”
“Apple’s investment in Bengaluru through its iOS Development Accelerator will have far-reaching effects for the area’s rapidly growing and highly talented developer community,” said NASSCOM President R Chandrashekhar. “The skills and training they gain through this effort will significantly improve their app design and help them reach a broader market. Initiatives like these move the country forward in our efforts to advance a growth-led and sustainable technology sector.”
The iOS App Design and Development Accelerator is expected to open in early 2017.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Press Contacts:
Katrina Tran
Apple
katrina_tran@apple.com
+65 6480 4793
Anand Baskaran
Apple
abaskaran@apple.com
+91 98450 28508
Apple Celebrates Chinese Music with GarageBand Update
May 17th, 2016“GarageBand is the most popular music creation app in the world and we’re excited to introduce these new features that incorporate the rich history of traditional Chinese music,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Product Marketing. “By adding classic Chinese instruments and new Live Loop templates, the new GarageBand app makes it fun and easy to make Chinese-inspired music right on your iPhone, iPad or Mac.”
“As a musician I'm always looking for ways to take my music in new directions and GarageBand has been such a great tool for me to experiment and add new elements to my songs on-the-go,” said award-winning music artist JJ Lin. “I love how the latest update to GarageBand adds traditional Chinese instruments along with brand new loops so I can play around with mixing traditional and modern sounds to create completely new styles.”
The pipa, erhu and Chinese percussion instruments in GarageBand can be played on iPhone® or iPad® using Multi-Touch™, and on Mac through the built-in Musical Typing feature or by connecting a third-party USB music keyboard. Each instrument includes different playing articulations, including rapid picking and note bend for pipa, and trill, grace note and glissando for erhu, making it incredibly easy for a novice to create a realistic and expressive performance. iPhone users can also use 3D Touch™ with the erhu and pipa to dynamically control vibrato and intensity, and both the pipa and erhu include Autoplay, letting users tap on any chord and get a complete, rich performance. Users can also play a collection of Chinese percussion instruments including drums, wood blocks, cymbals and gongs.
This update adds 300 Apple-created loops from a variety of instruments and styles, including guzheng, dizi, yangqin and Peking Opera, to the library of Chinese musical content in the app. These loops can be mixed and matched with Chinese instruments in GarageBand to create traditional music or entirely new styles. GarageBand for iOS also supports Live Loops, a new and intuitive way to create music by simply tapping cells and columns in a highly visual grid to trigger different looped instruments and samples. And, Live Loops in this update adds two new Chinese Live Loops grid templates, one traditional and one modern, showcasing a variety of Chinese instruments and percussion that are all playable via the Live Loops grid.
Chinese localization is also significantly enhanced across the entire app, with all sounds, loops and instruments now translated to Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese.
Pricing & Availability
Today’s GarageBand 2.1.1 for iOS and GarageBand 10.1.2 for Mac updates are free for all existing users, and GarageBand is available for free with all new iOS and Mac devices. Customers with older, non-qualifying devices can purchase the app for $4.99 via the App Store® and Mac App Store. Users in Greater China will see these new features by default on iOS and OS X® after updating. Outside of Greater China, these new features are visible by default on OS X and can be enabled on iOS devices in the advanced settings menu. For more information about GarageBand for iOS, visit www.apple.com/ios/garageband and for more information about GarageBand for Mac, visit www.apple.com/mac/garageband.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Press Contacts:
Colin Smith
Apple
colins@apple.com
(408) 862-1171
Starlayne Meza
Apple
starlayne@apple.com
(408) 974-3391