MacRumors

Bear Notes for iOS got a 1.3 update on Wednesday, bringing new note multitasking feature for iPad and iPhone as well as adding Apple Watch support to the popular writing app for the first time.

Using the new multi-touch gestures in iOS 11, the new "Drop Bar" enables users to manipulate multiple notes as once, including the ability to merge, share, pin, trash, duplicate, and copy or export them in a variety of formats.

For example, when a user selects two or more notes (by tapping and holding on one and then selecting others in the same way), dragging the notes triggers the Drop Bar, which appears at the bottom of the Notes List. Dragging said notes into the Drop Bar presents the user with a new sheet listing the above options, allowing them to select the desired one.

As a result, users are now able to copy multiple notes to the clipboard as one big note, or export them all as one complete JPEG to share over Twitter, for example. Other possibilities include creating template notes for work or journaling and duplicating them all at once, or copying links to multiple notes at once to paste in other apps for quick access. (Some export options require Bear Pro.)

In addition, Bear's new Apple Watch support means users can create new text notes simply by speaking to their Apple Watch, and they will be transcribed into text and saved to Bear for iPhone. With the new smartwatch feature, users can also view their 10 most recent notes on their wrist and annotate said notes, while a new Bear complication adds the ability to record a new note straight from the watch face.

Bear is available to download on the App Store for iPad and iPhone [Direct Link], as well as on the Mac App Store [Direct Link].

Disney's free Movies Anywhere service is expanding thanks to partnerships with Fox, Sony Pictures, Universal, and Warner Bros, allowing customers who purchase movies from services like iTunes and Amazon Video to watch all of their content in one place using the Movies Anywhere apps.

Disney has been using Movies Anywhere for Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm titles since 2014, but now the available content library has greatly expanded. The new Movies Anywhere service replaces the existing Disney version.

With a Movies Anywhere account, Movies Anywhere content purchased from Google Play, Amazon Video, iTunes, and Vudu can be accessed the service. It can also be used for digital content that comes alongside physical copies of DVDs or Blu-Rays so long as they're from Disney or one of its partner studios.

There are Movies Anywhere apps for the Apple TV and iOS devices, and the service is limited to the United States at the current time.

While most movie studios are on board, allowing users to watch more than 7,300 titles, Paramount and Lionsgate have yet to sign up.

Users who sign up for Movies Anywhere and connect their accounts with one digital retailer can get access to Ice Age and Ghostbusters (2016) for free. With two accounts added to the service, users can also get access to Big Hero 6, Jason Bourne, and The Lego Movie at no cost.

Popular email app Spark for Mac and iOS was today updated with several new features aimed at professionals, including "Send Later" and "Follow-up Reminders."

Send Later is designed to allow users to schedule emails to be sent at a later time instead of right away. Spark users can compose an email and then schedule it at the time when it's most likely to be read.

The feature can be accessed by choosing the Send Later icon when composing an email, which will pop up an option to choose a time.

Follow-up reminders are meant to remind Spark users to follow up on emails that have been sent out and not responded to.

Professional follow-up is an art that both sender and recipient appreciate. Everyone gets busy and can easily miss important emails. In this case, friendly follow-up reminders help you get a response when the timing is right. Use follow-up Reminders in Spark to ensure that your message doesn't end up in limbo.

On iOS devices, the Spark app has been updated with a new email composer to accommodate the two new features. The new design is meant to make it easier to choose the From email address, and more explicit CC and BCC buttons are supposed to make it easier to manage CC/Bcc contacts.

The new Spark features are available today in both the iOS and Mac apps, which are free downloads. [iOS: Direct Link] [Mac: Direct Link]

Yelp's iOS app received a major update today, introducing support for Apple Pay for the first time.

With Apple Pay support, Apple's payments service can be used to make purchases from local businesses through Yelp for things like delivery or takeout food.

When you make a purchase and then go to the checkout and payment process, Apple Pay is now listed as an available purchase option in the Yelp app alongside credit card and Paypal. Apple Pay is a purchase option for a wide range of items within the Yelp app, including food, concert tickets, and more.

Big news. You can now use Apple Pay to make purchases from local businesses on Yelp. So go ahead -- book an oceanside couples massage, get tickets to that John Mayer concert, or get those lobster rolls delivered.

The Apple Pay update became available in an update released this morning. Yelp can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Back in January, Ring introduced its motion-activated Floodlight Cam, pairing a security camera with two bright floodlights to help protect users' homes. The Floodlight Cam began shipping in April, and I've been using one for about six weeks to monitor the rear of my house. It's a handy product that lets you keep tabs on movement around your home, with push notifications, live and recorded camera views, and the ability to use two-way talk and a siren to communicate with people approaching your home.

The hardwired Floodlight Cam includes a pair of floodlights with a 270-degree motion sensor, combined with a camera capable of 1080p HD video, enhanced night vision, 140-degree field of view, and a cloud recording subscription plan. It's priced at $249 (or $449 for a two-pack) and is available in black or white.

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A few one-day-only sales today have discounted some useful Apple accessories and HomeKit products, including discounts on Leviton dimmers and light switches over at The Home Depot. The retailer's "Special Buy of the Day" has eight of Leviton's products on sale (one of which is now sold out), with 26 percent taken off of each device.

While there are basic, non-IoT outlet and dimmers on sale, Leviton has a few Wi-Fi smart switches that work with Amazon, Google, and Apple ecosystems. Below we'll list the remaining five Leviton Wi-Fi enabled smart products on sale at The Home Depot today, along with each smart home system that they work with. Also note that each of the products listed below come in a pack of two:

• Decora Smart with Z-Wave Technology 15 Amp Switch (Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings, Wink) - $67.95, down from $89.94
• Decora Smart Wi-Fi 15 Amp Universal LED/Incandescent Switch (Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google, Proprietary App) - $67.95, down from $89.94
• Decora Smart 15 Amp Switch (Apple HomeKit) - $67.95, down from $89.94
• Decora Smart Wi-Fi 600-Watt Universal LED/Incandescent Dimmer (Amazon Alexa, Google, Proprietary App) - $74.95, down from $99.94
• Decora Smart 600-Watt Z-Wave Technology Dimmer (Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings, Wink) - $74.95, down from $99.94

Best Buy has its own one-day-only deal going on today as well, with the Sideclick Universal Remote Attachment for Apple TV at $19.99, $10 off its normal price of $29.99. The Sideclick attaches to your Apple TV Siri Remote (or other previous-generation Apple TV remotes), and lets you connect to a Blu-ray player, sound bar, DVD player, and more.

If you're looking for the newest Beats Pill+ Bluetooth speaker, Fry's Electronics is selling the device for just $148, down from its original retail price of $229.95. You can get the Pill+ in Black, White, and Red, and if you're interested make sure to take advantage of the deal soon since it'll be ending tomorrow, October 12. You should see the discount price once the speaker is in your cart.

In other deals-related reminders, if you've been on the fence about Super Mario Run, be sure to download the full version of the game before the sale price of $4.99 ends tomorrow. Similarly, The Home Depot's $20 off discount for the Nanoleaf Aurora lighting kit will end tomorrow. For a full refresher on the latest sales going on this week, head over to our Deals Roundup.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors

Twitter today announced an update for its tvOS app, which allows you to pair your Twitter account on an iPhone or iPad with an Apple TV, and easily access Tweets on your iOS device that you see scroll by on the TV app's live feeds.

The Twitter app for Apple TV focuses on live-streaming video, which you can display simultaneously with a scrolling list of user Tweets in a split-screen mode. Since it's difficult to engage with Tweets on the TV app, the new update lets you jump directly from a Tweet on the Apple TV to your iPhone or iPad without having to search for a specific Tweet.

All you need to do is make sure your iOS device is on the same Wi-Fi network as your Apple TV, then open Twitter for Apple TV and long press for three seconds on the Siri Remote. This will bring up a menu where you can link your iOS device to the Apple TV Twitter app.

From Twitter TV product manager Ryan Troy: “People love to Tweet while watching their favorite TV shows because it allows everyone to experience what’s happening together. This update combined with Twitter’s daily programming that’s shaped by Tweets from the audience helps enable true interactive TV.”

Afterwards, you'll be able to send any Tweet that you see on the live timeline on Apple TV to your iPhone, where you can quickly reply, like, Retweet, and send an image or a GIF. Twitter said the feature will work with any of the Apple TV app's live broadcasts, which cover sports, entertainment broadcasts, and other live events.

Twitter for Apple TV is available to download from the tvOS App Store for free.

During WWDC in June, Apple finally confirmed that Amazon Prime Video will launch as an app for Apple TV users sometime "later this year." Since that announcement, a few rumors and theories have predicted launch dates for the app, all of which have subsequently been passed by with no official debut of Amazon Prime Video on the tvOS App Store.

Another sketchy rumor has been shared on the Apple TV Subreddit this week by a user who claims to work for Amazon, pointing towards a late October launch for the app. The user -- AmazonVideoEngineer -- originally created the Reddit account to share a post a few weeks ago, which stated that October 26 would be the "earliest" date that Amazon would launch its app on Apple TV.

Now, the same user has shared a "quick update" on the app, mentioning that the app is "still on track" for an October 26 debut. AmazonVideoEngineer is "very confident" that this date is "finally the day" Amazon will launch its Apple TV app. Check out both posts below:

Original post:

Wanted to make this throwaway account after yesterday’s debacle. I saw many people get upset so I wanted to issue this warning: do not expect Amazon to launch before October 26th. The app is done, and has been done for months already. However there are a lot of politics going on beyond my pay grade that are pushing the launch back. And just to clarify, October 26 is the earliest I would expect it. Launch could be pushed well into November.

New post:

Some of you will remember my post a little while back, in which I warned that Amazon would not launch until at least October 26. We're now just about two weeks from the 26th, and the app is still on track to launch that day. In my time at this job, I have never once seen a release slip this close to a scheduled launch. I am very confident in saying that the 26th is finally the day.

Because the rumor comes from an unconfirmed Reddit source, this October 26 date should be approached with a heavy dose of skepticism. Previous rumors surrounding Amazon's Apple TV app centered around logical events that the app could have debuted alongside of -- Thursday Night Football, the Amazon hardware event in September -- but October 26 appears to be a somewhat random date.

Since we're now four months out from WWDC and Apple's confirmation of the Amazon Prime Video app for Apple TV, we should hopefully hear an announcement of the app's launch date sometime soon.

We're just over two weeks away from the pre-order date of the iPhone X on October 27, meaning it's just over three weeks until the first group of customers will finally have Apple's next-generation iPhone in their hands on November 3. As these dates near, Apple has begun to put up billboards for the new device all over the world in cities like Toronto, London, Tokyo, San Francisco, and more.

This week, Redditor turnaround_ shared an image of workers painting a new iPhone X ad in Toronto.

Earlier in October, a second iPhone X billboard was spotted going up nearby in the city by Financial Post reporter Josh McConnell. Both billboards are located in Downtown Toronto.

In London, a billboard was spotted at Boxpark Shoreditch, a pop-up mall in East London that was constructed in 2011 using refitted shipping containers. The area is known for its shopping, galleries, cafes, restaurants, and nearby there's an Apple reseller called "Shoreditch Macs" that offers repairs, part exchanges, and refurbished Macs.

Below the city, Apple has also put up iPhone X billboards in the London Underground.

iPhone X ads are lined up in the Harajuku district of Shibuya, Tokyo. Similar to Apple's advertising targets in London and Toronto, Harajuku is locally known for attracting visitors to its wide variety of retail locations -- ranging from locally-owned boutique shops to international chain stores -- as well as multiple cafes and restaurants.

Closer to Apple's home in California, billboards have also appeared outside of San Francisco. As the launch of the iPhone X grows nearer, more billboards, commercials, and other pieces of advertising for the new smartphone are expected to continue sprouting up around the world and online.

Likewise, the iPhone X itself has begun appearing in the wild as Apple employees test out the device in the weeks leading up to the public launch. Last week, an iPhone X with an new dynamic wallpaper appeared on Reddit. Prior to that there have been a handful of iPhone X in-the-wild shots shared online, with screen grabs of the device caught on Snapchat, shared to an Instagram Story, and seen by a Redditor in an airport.

Update: We've received numerous responses about iPhone X billboards spotted in other cities, so we'll link a few below:

- Moscow (via @jc_ru)
- Barcelona (via @Josh_J_Ward)
- Union Square in San Francisco (via @DanRoger5)
- Hyderabad (via @ipavanc)
- Los Angeles (via @Mojeda101)
- Hong Kong (via MacRumors forum member Mic'sBook)

Google is reportedly testing a new feature for the YouTube app in which featured videos on the home screen start to play without the user's permission.

According to AndroidCentral, some users are seeing the first video featured in the Home section automatically play as soon as they open the YouTube app, with subtitles replacing the muted audio.

The video starts from the beginning and plays all the way through if the user allows it, while scrolling further down the Home section causes subsequent videos to also autoplay as they appear on the screen.

While the default behavior is obviously intended to give users a preview of the contents of featured videos, the experimental feature is likely to be seen by some as a distraction, bad news for mobile data limits, or a drain on battery life.

Fortunately, it looks like the autoplay feature can be turned off in Account -> Settings -> General, where a new "Play as you browse" toggle has been added. Toggling the feature also brings up an additional option to only allow autoplay when connected to WiFi, which should go some way to assuage concerns about the feature eating up data allowances.

It's not clear if or when the autoplay feature will be rolled out to all mobile users, but we'll keep an eye out for it in future updates to the official YouTube iOS app.