MacRumors

Stock of the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard remains low, but Apple is now allowing customers to use its Personal Pickup feature to order the devices online and arrange to pick them up in a local Apple Store. Enabling Personal Pickup may make it easier for customers hoping to get an Apple Pencil or Smart Keyboard to locate one nearby, as it lists retail stock that's shipped to stores each day.

Both the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard were unavailable on the day the iPad Pro launched, with the earliest November 11 buyers receiving their accessories a week or two later. Those who were not lucky enough to order right at midnight when the iPad Pro launched were stuck with delivery estimates that ranged into late December. Orders placed today list a delivery estimate of mid-January.

applepencilpersonalpickup
Though it's impossible to get an Apple Pencil or Smart Keyboard online, Apple has been sending small shipments of the accessories to its retail stores each day, allowing some lucky customers to purchase in store. Prior to today, the only way to get an Apple Pencil or Smart Keyboard was to show up shortly after a shipment was received, as there was no way to track supplies online. With Personal Pickup, it's now possible to see exactly which stores have which devices in stock in the United States and other countries.

It appears that the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard are not available in many stores across the country at the current time, with stores in many of the major cities we checked listing it as "Unavailable for Pickup." A couple of MacRumors readers have been able to purchase an Apple Pencil for pickup, so stock levels may just be fluctuating based on the retail shipments received.

The Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard are priced at $99 and $169, respectively, and are designed to work solely with the iPad Pro, Apple's most powerful tablet device.

(Thanks, Noire!)

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Caution)
Related Forum: iPad Accessories

Apple CEO Tim Cook accepted the 2015 Ripple of Hope Award at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights on Tuesday night, and gave a nearly twelve minute speech about the need for social change, reports Bloomberg.

Tim-Cook-RKF

Tim Cook at the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights (Image: Bloomberg)

Cook, who spoke after Evercore's Roger Altman and Unesco ambassador Marianna Vardinoyannis, discussed a wide range of ongoing social issues, including the Syrian refugee crisis, climate change, Apple's charitable work, access to quality education, privacy and discrimination.

“Today, more than half of the states in this country still don’t offer basic protections to gay or transgender people, leaving millions of people vulnerable to being fired or evicted because of who they are or who they love,” Cook said.

"Today, some in our country would turn away innocent men, women and children seeking refuge,” Cook said, “regardless of how many background checks they may submit to, simply based on where they were born. Victims of war and now victims of fear and misunderstanding."

"Today, too many children are denied access to quality education simply because of the zip code they live in. They begin their lives facing strong headwinds and disadvantage they did nothing to deserve. We could do better, Robert Kennedy would say, and because we can do better, we must act."

Cook offered praise for Robert F. Kennedy and said he has two photographs of him in his office that he looks at each day. "I think about his example, what it means to me as an American, but also more specifically, to my role as Apple CEO."

Read more about Cook's acceptance speech in the full article on Bloomberg.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Microsoft today officially launched its virtual assistant Cortana as a downloadable app for iOS and Android platforms (via Business Insider). Similar to Apple's Siri personal assistant, Cortana allows Windows users to set reminders, preview the weather, and answer basic questions thanks to integrated internet search abilities. Other Cortana for iOS and Android features include the following:

•Set and get location and time reminders across your PC and phone.
•Track packages, flights, scores, stocks, and other important info across your PC and phone.
•Use Cortana’s Notebook to view, edit and manage your interests
•Get information and answers to all kinds of questions. If you’re looking for it, Cortana can help find it.
•Have a little fun in your down time — ask anything, get jokes, and much more.

Microsoft detailed a few features for Cortana at Business Insider's Ignition Conference in New York City, including abilities like asking Cortana for help with your voice without having to open up the app. Unfortunately, most of those features won't be available to iOS users due to certain developer restrictions that fence off Cortana from becoming fully integrated into iOS.

cortana for iOS
On the other hand, a few Android smartphones will gain a leg up on the iOS version of Cortana thanks to a partnership between Microsoft and start-up company Cyanogen, which runs a custom version of the OS on select Android devices. With Cyanogen software, Android users will have essentially all of the abilities Windows Phone users have over Cortana, including being able to speak to the personal assistant without opening up the separate app.

After some rumors and speculation earlier in the year, in May Microsoft confirmed that Cortana would be heading to non-Windows Phone platforms later this year. In November, the company opened up beta sign-ups for users to test out Cortana for iOS in a pre-release state.

Cortana for iOS is available to download now for free from the App Store [Direct Link].

Apple has published its annual Best of 2015 charts for the App Store, iTunes and iBooks Store, naming live video platform Periscope its App of the Year and Tomb Raider puzzler spinoff Lara Croft GO its Game of the Year.

App-Store-Best-of-2015
Enlight and Robinhood were selected as runner-ups for App of the Year, while strategy game Fallout Shelter and one-touch platformer Mr Jump finished second and third place respectively in the Game of the Year standings.

Popular automation app Workflow was deemed the "most innovative" app in 2015, while Dark Echo was awarded the same title in the gaming category. Instagram earned "Best App on iPhone 6s" and Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade won "Best Game on iPhone 6s."


Apple's Top 25 Apps of 2015

1. Periscope
2. Enlight
3. Robinhood
4. Workflow
5. Instagram
6. HBO NOW
7. Hopper
8. Darkroom
9. Lark
10. The Everything Machine
11. Pacemaker
12. Tandem
13. Jet
14. Timeline
15. Vee for Video
16. Fit Men Cook
17. Spark
18. RefME
19. Wildcard
20. Paper by FiftyThree
21. GIPHY CAM
22. PRY
23. Reuters TV
24. Zova
25. Blue Apron


Apple's Top 25 Games of 2015

1. Lara Croft GO
2. Fallout Shelter
3. Mr Jump
4. Dark Echo
5. Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade
6. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
7. Vainglory
8. Dungeon Boss
9. Puzzle Craft 2
10. PAC-MAN 256
11. You Must Build A Boat
12. AG Drive
13. MARVEL Contest of Champions
14. Horizon Chase - World Tour
15. Shadowmatic
16. Wonky Ship
17. Super Sharp
18. Last Voyage
19. Ski Safari 2
20. Downwell
21. Rayman Adventures
22. Afterpulse
23. Psych! Outwit Your Friends
24. HoPiKo
25. Blades of Brim

The top five paid iOS apps in 2015 were Heads Up! Games, Minecraft: Pocket Edition, Trivia Crack (Ad Free), Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and Facetune, while the top five free titles were Trivia Crack, Facebook Messenger, Dubsmash, Instagram and Snapchat.

Clash of Clans was the top grossing app in 2015, followed by Game of War - Fire Age, Candy Crush Saga, Pandora and Candy Crush Soda Saga. The full top charts are available on the App Store on iOS and iTunes on Mac.

Apple also named Max Max: Fury Road, Amy, Inside Out and Dope among its Best of 2015 movies, while Mr. Robot, Fargo, UnREAL and Inside Amy Schumer won Best of 2015 awards for TV shows. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara was Apple's favorite fiction book on the year.

All selections were made by Apple's editorial curation team.

Related Forum: Mac Apps

Following the launch of the ultra powerful iPad Pro, Algoriddim, the developers behind the popular line of djay apps for Mac and iOS devices, set out to build a professional quality djaying app designed with the new tablet in mind.

The result of that effort is djay Pro, which is available today for both the iPad Pro and older iPads. djay Pro takes some of the best parts from the djay Pro app for Mac and refines and improves them for use on a touch screen. Algoriddim tells MacRumors that the screen size and the power of the iPad Pro allowed the app to come together amazingly fast because they were so excited by what's possible with Apple's latest tablet.

djaypromainview
djay Pro is designed for professional users, but it also has a clever interface that's able to shift and grow with skill level. Algoriddim's Michael Simmons likened it to the layers of an onion, with users able to add or subtract layers of tools for as much simplicity or power as they desire.

At its core, djay Pro has a fresh design that's modern and less distracting while still incorporating all of the tools a professional needs. The default app interface includes two decks along with a range of different mixing tools, but it is able to incorporate up to four decks, displayed vertically or horizontally for mixing up to four audio tracks together. Advanced performance modes offer access to horizontal and vertical colored wave forms, live sampler and drum pads, and FX racks.

djayprowaveforms
The built-in music library is able to combine local music, a Spotify catalog, and files stored in iCloud Drive or Dropbox into a central location so tracks can be mixed together and manipulated regardless of where they're stored. It also includes a song recommendation engine that's able to suggest tracks that will go well with what's playing.

djay Pro includes all of the video features from vjay, allowing users to create video mashups to go along with song mixes. The video features sync to the music and there are audio visual effects with video tweaks that mimic sound effects like echoes and strobes. Pre-bundled video content is included, and there's support for title and image overlays.

djay Pro offers support for iOS 9's split-screen multitasking feature, allowing the djay Pro app to be used with Slide Over or full Split View mode on compatible iPads. With split-screen multitasking, djay Pro has the potential to be used along with other music apps, and because it includes integration with music libraries and Spotify, it is the first app that allows users to select and control their music using the multitasking window. Apps like Spotify and Apple Music have not yet integrated multitasking support.


Specific to the iPad Pro, the new app includes a selection of more than 70 keyboard shortcuts for the Smart Keyboard that merge touch and key strokes in a unique way that can only be done on a tablet, plus access to the camera and AirPlay for recording 1080p videos and displaying them in real-time. Also unique to the iPad Pro is the ability to import and work with both 4K and 1080p video when using the app's video manipulating features. The iPad Pro is the only device that can handle two 4K/1080p video streams at once as the Mac version only supports 720p video.

The app integrates with professional DJ hardware and Cue Points, beat grid edits, metadata, and FX purchases from other versions of djay for Mac and iOS will sync to the new djay Pro app.

djay Pro was designed with the iPad Pro in mind, so the iPad Pro is going to offer the absolute best performance with the app, but it is also fully functional on other iPads like the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 4, aside from the iPad Pro only features.

djay Pro can be downloaded from the App Store for $19.99, a limited time sale price that will rise to $29.99 in the future. [Direct Link]

In celebration of the launch of djay Pro, Algoriddim is also making djay 2 for iPhone, normally $2.99, available for free for a limited time. [Direct Link]

apple_tv_diagonalApple senior executive Eddy Cue has confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the company is developing a new Apple TV Remote app with full Siri Remote functionality on iPhone to be released in the first half of 2016.

“We’re working on a new Apple TV remote app that will give you the full functionality of the Siri Remote on your iPhone,” Cue said. “We’re hoping to ship that in the first half of next year.”

Apple released tvOS 9.1 for the new Apple TV on Tuesday, enabling support for the current Remote app on iOS devices and the Apple Watch.

Cue also said Apple's new tvOS App Store is off to a "great" start, with over 2,000 apps available in the store.

“We’re seeing tremendous developer interest,” Cue told BuzzFeed News. “Already we have over 2,000 apps live in the store. And on the customer side, things are going great. What we’ve found is that a little over half of transactions are coming from people upgrading from the last Apple TV and just about the other half are coming from new customers that are buying their first Apple TV.”

Many of those apps are pick-up-and-play games such as Crossy Road and Mr. Jump, and Cue mentioned how the new Apple TV caters to casual gamers that aren't looking to purchase an Xbox or PlayStation.

“What we’re seeing with the new Apple TV is to me very similar to what happened with gaming on the iPhone,” Cue said. “When we first announced the iPhone, we didn’t tout it as a gaming device. But games became a huge part of iPhone, because it turns out that a lot more people than just hardcore gamers love games. We expanded the market. I think the vast majority of people around the world probably aren’t looking to buy an Xbox or PlayStation. But that doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy playing games. I think Apple TV expands the gaming market to those people.”

The new Apple TV launched in October and features an App Store, Siri, tvOS and more.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Apple today introduced a new pair of headphones onto its online storefront that support an iPhone's Lightning connector in lieu of a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack (via The Verge). The "Audeze EL-8 Titanium Closed-Back Headphones" will run users $799.95 and are being touted by Audeze as the "world’s first headphones with a fully integrated Apple Lightning cable."

audeze 1 The included Lightning cable streams a complete 24-bit digital signal from the iOS device to the speakers in the headset through a high quality DSP and 28-bit DAC, giving the headphones "superior performance" for not only music but voice calls as well. The company has also created a companion app that allows users to customize specific sound presets for the device, and the built-in microphone used for making phone calls also supports Siri.

The EL-8 model gives you a lifelike listening experience with an extended frequency response that opens up a new breadth of sound. Its driver is four times larger than most other headphones and gives excellent bass response along with extremely low distortion. To match the EL-8's impressive audio, its industrial design is by BMW’s DesignWorks. And durable aluminum construction ensures that you'll have lasting enjoyment.

The EL-8's "Cypher Cable," which maximizes and enhances the sound quality of the iPhone's playback, is one of the added costs of the headphone's top-tier pricing, as pointed out by The Verge, resulting in a $100 premium over the standard EL-8 headphones. Still, in comparison to Audeze's LCD collection of headphones, its Apple MFi certified EL-8 lineup debuting today is somewhat of a bargain. Most LCD models range between $900 and $1,500, but the most expensive reaches nearly $4,000.

audeze 2
Those interested can purchase the Audeze EL-8 Titanium Closed-Back Headphones for $799.95 on the Apple online store beginning today. Shipping sits at about 2-3 business days at the time of writing, but anyone close to an Apple store could opt-in for personal pick-up instead.

Tag: Audeze

Kantar Worldpanel has released new smartphone operating system market share data for the third calendar quarter of 2015, providing a regional breakdown of Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and other mobile platform adoption in the U.S., Europe, China, Japan and elsewhere during the three-month period ending October.

iPhone 6 Galaxy S6 Edge
In the U.S. market, Android led the third quarter with 62.8% market share, compared to 33.6% for iOS. The U.S. smartphone market continues to be virtually a two-horse race between Apple and Google, with iOS and Android combining for 96.4% market share in the October quarter. Windows Phone was a distant third place with just 2.7% market share.

"With 33.6% of the U.S. smartphone market, Apple's share remained down year-over-year, but up quarter-over-quarter, as iPhone 6s became the third best-selling smartphone," Milanesi added. "Samsung retained its leading position in the U.S. smartphone market and, for the first time in 2015, the South Korean brand was able to show year-on-year growth."

Android continued to have the highest market share among mobile platforms worldwide, experiencing 1.6% year-over-year growth in Europe's big five markets -- United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. iOS adoption grew in China and Japan by 7% and 3.5% respectively compared to the year-ago quarter.


Kantar Worldpanel data shows the iPhone 6s accounted for 24% of all iPhones sold in the U.S. in the three months ending October, compared to 33% for the iPhone 6 in 2014, and 22% for the iPhone 5s in 2013. Kantar says "overall volumes are pretty much identical to what was sold in 2013, while down 25% from 2014’s sales."

Kantar Worldpanel's latest data is also available in chart format for those that cannot view the embedded map above.

Deezer Music has announced that its iOS app will be updated today with CarPlay support, making the streaming music service's full catalog of 35 million songs available through Apple's in-dash software platform. CarPlay support will be limited to Premium+ and Elite paid subscribers.

Deezer-1
Deezer on CarPlay allows subscribers to listen to their favorite songs, albums, artists and playlists, choose a Mix channel based on their mood, use Flow to discover new music and hear favorites, access music in offline mode and more. Flow can be intuitively improved by using the Like and Dislike buttons on CarPlay.

Deezer-CarPlay
CarPlay provides hands-free or eyes-free access to Maps, Phone, Messages, Music, Podcasts and other third-party apps including Spotify, Rdio, iHeartRadio, CBS Radio and MLB At Bat. The platform also uses Siri voice control and interfaces with your vehicle's knobs, dials and buttons for safer access to common iPhone features.

CarPlay is or will soon be available in a wide range of 2016 U.S. vehicles from Audi, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ferrari, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Volkswagen and Volvo. Apple lists over a dozen other committed CarPlay partners on its website.

The updated version of Deezer Music should be rolling out on the App Store later today. Deezer on CarPlay is compatible with iOS 7.1 and higher.

Related Roundup: CarPlay

Rovio, the company behind the successful Angry Birds mobile franchise, today announced that its current CEO Pekka Rantala will be stepping down from the role after just one year in office. As Retuers reported, Rantala's time at the company included multiple job cuts and restructuring plans within Rovio, and his tenure coincided with the company's first reported profit decline since the launch of Angry Birds in 2009.

angry birds movie screen
The company has now announced that chief legal officer Kati Levoranta will take the reins as CEO in the first quarter of 2016, after Rantala officially vacates the position. It also revealed a new initiative where "more independence" will be given its two biggest branches: games and media. Mikael Hed, former Rovio CEO, will lead the media branch while Wilhelm Taht, the current head of external products, will take the lead on the games side. According to the company, this corporate-wide policy change is what spurred Rantala to step down.

"We used to have a corporate model with centralized decisions, but that resulted into too slow reacting in very competitive markets," chairman and main owner Kaj Hed told Reuters in an interview. "As the CEO will not be so hands-on anymore, he (Rantala) felt that it wasn't for him anymore."

Earlier in the year, reports confirmed that 2014 included Rovio's first major profit decline due to a lessening interest by fans in the company's physical consumer products like clothing and toys. Rovio's profit decline from 2014 also led to the forecasting of impending decline this year, causing 213 jobs to be cut at the company back in October.

The Finnish developer's Angry Birds franchise brought the company huge success, but has seen diminishing returns recently. At the time of the decline in profit announcement, Rantala hung hope on the impending launch of Angry Birds 2 and next summer's The Angry Birds Movie as ways to bring the franchise back into the public consciousness.

iPad-Pro-CableApple has confirmed that updating to iOS 9.2 should prevent an issue that caused some iPad Pros to become unresponsive after charging from continuing in the future.

Shortly after the launch of the iPad Pro, some early adopters began complaining about an issue that caused the 12.9-inch tablet to become unresponsive after charging, requiring a hard restart to restore functionality.

Apple acknowledged the problem in a support document on its website, stating that it was "investigating" the issue, and has now updated that support document to reflect that "iOS 9.2 or later" should prevent the issue from occurring again.

The issue affected both 32GB and 128GB iPad Pros on iOS 9.1, including Wi-Fi and LTE models, and some users speculated that restoring from an iCloud backup during setup may have contributed to the freezing issues.

iOS 9.2 was released on Tuesday alongside OS X 10.11.2, tvOS 9.1 and watchOS 2.1.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Tag: iOS 9.2
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Caution)
Related Forum: iOS 9

Second-screen app Duet Display received a significant update today, introducing a new resolution option to support Apple's 12.9-inch iPad Pro and bringing significant performance improvements for both iPads and Macs that run the accompanying software.

For those unfamiliar with Duet Display, it's an app that is designed to turn the iPad or iPhone into a secondary display for a Mac. Duet Display was the first app to use a Lightning cable to allow an iPad or iPhone to interface with a Mac, thereby drastically cutting down on the lag that's typically present when an iOS device is used as a secondary display for a Mac over Wi-Fi.


Since its late 2014 launch, Duet Display has been updated several times to improve performance on a wide range of iPads and iPhones, but according to Duet Display developer Rahul Dewan, today's update brings "massive performance improvements." Improving performance was necessary to allow a Mac or PC to drive the high-resolution display of the iPad Pro while maintaining a lag-free connection, but the improvements also apply to all older iPads.

With the latest version of Duet Display, CPU usage has been reduced by over 80 percent on iPad and Mac or PC, thanks to a new algorithm that's more efficient and an intelligent refresh feature that's similar to the iPad Pro's own faster refresh technology, but on the software end. Extremely high CPU usage was one of our major complaints with Duet Display when it was first released and it's been a customer concern for some time, so this update should go a long way towards fixing one of the major pain points in the app.

Duet Display has proven to be a popular app with iPad owners as it gives the iPad the versatility to be used as a second display for a Mac. iPad Pro owners may find Duet Display to be especially useful given the large screen real estate of the device.

Duet Display can be downloaded from the App Store for $9.99 (reg. $15.99). [Direct Link]

Continuing on with its Apple TV promotions, Apple today shared a new Apple TV ad entitled "The Future of Television." The ad, like other Apple TV ads, features brightly colored television test pattern bars that serve as a background for quick peeks at the TV shows and movies available on the device.

There are glimpses of television shows like The Muppets, The Simpsons, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and Game of Thrones. Movies featured include The Martian, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Ant Man, Inside Out and The Wizard of Oz.

The ad also highlights the search tools available on the Apple TV, its Siri capabilities, Apple Music, and the tvOS App Store. Several games are featured, including Disney Infinity 3.0 and Guitar Hero. The ad ends with the video title: "The future of television."


Since its October launch, Apple has been promoting the Apple TV through similar quick ads shown on television, colorful billboards that are displayed across a number of cities, web ads, and a social media campaign.

Apple has been focusing heavily on highlighting the array of content that's available through the device via its App Store, which is fitting as news just hit today suggesting its own streaming television plans have been shelved. Due to an inability to secure deals for its rumored web-based streaming service, Apple is said to be focusing instead on its tvOS App Store, which serves as a conduit for media companies to sell their content to Apple customers.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Apple WatchDuring the Black Friday holiday shopping event in the United States, Best Buy offered one of the best deals on the Apple Watch, discounting the stainless steel version by $100 and the Sport version by $50.

According to Re/code, Best Buy plans to top that with an even better deal starting this Wednesday, which will drop the price on both the stainless steel Apple Watch and the Apple Watch Sport by $100.

Best Buy offers several stainless steel and Apple Watch Sport models and the discount will apply to all of the company's stock. With the $100 price drop, the entry-level 38mm Apple Watch Sport will be priced at $249 and the entry-level 38mm stainless steel Apple Watch will be priced at $449.

Best Buy plans to offer discounted Apple Watch models through Christmas.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Speaking today at the Business Insider Ignition Conference in New York City, CBS CEO Les Moonves made some statements suggesting Apple may have put the development of its rumored television streaming service on hold.

"They've had conversations on it and I think they pressed the hold button," Moonves said, referencing prior talks CBS has had with Apple about joining its subscription service. Apple and CBS were reportedly negotiating prices before Apple paused the discussions.

Today, Moonves said that Apple and CBS were close to settling on a price point of between $30 and $40 per month for these bundles -- Moonves specifically mentioned the price point of $35 multiple times -- before Apple decided to pause and reconsider.

Apple's streaming television service was originally rumored to be launching alongside the new Apple TV, but Apple has had ongoing trouble establishing deals with content providers. Difficulty securing content deals has delayed and shifted Apple's television plans for years, but in 2015, it looked like a things were coming together for a subscription service.

appletvos
In May, Moonves, who has been very open with his comments on CBS' negotiations with Apple, said Apple and CBS were still in talks and that CBS would "probably" ink a deal with the Cupertino company. At the time, he had recently met with Eddy Cue and said he was "very excited" about Apple's service. In October, he made similar statements, suggesting discussions between the two companies had not progressed further towards a deal.

Rumors have suggested Apple is aiming for a web-based streaming service that would bundle approximately 25 channels for $30 to $40 per month. Earlier this year, Apple was said to be in discussions with several content providers in addition to CBS, including ABC, Fox, Disney, Viacom, and Discovery.

Given Moonves' comments and the general lack of recent rumors, it is not clear when Apple will launch its streaming television service. An August report from Bloomberg suggested negotiation troubles had delayed its release until 2016, but there's been no word on Apple's plans beyond that. There are a lot of factors involved in the launch of the streaming service, as Apple needs to secure deals with dozens of content providers, including local affiliates.

Moonves believes Apple's streaming television service, or something like it, will launch in the near future. "This will happen," he told Business Insider. "People will not be spending money on channels they don't want to watch."

Update: Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg has confirmed that Apple has suspended its plans to offer a web-based streaming television service and will instead focus on "being a platform for media companies to sell directly to customers through its App Store."

Apple is not "giving up entirely" on a TV service, but it has not been able to secure deals that would allow it to sell a package of channels for $30 to $40 per month as media companies want more money for content.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

The second major update to iOS 9, iOS 9.2, was released this morning, with a long list of bug fixes and improvements to features and apps like Apple Music, News, Mail, Podcasts, Safari, iBooks, and more. There are quite a few outward-facing changes tweaks and changes to the operating system, and we've gathered up a list of the major new features below.

News - Apple's News app has been updated with features that are designed to make it more attractive to users and publishers. As outlined by Re/code, News will now include lists of top stories curated by Apple editors and published a "couple of times a day." For publishers, Apple is also implementing integration with Comscore.

newstopstories
AT&T NumberSync - iOS 9.2 adds support for AT&T's NumberSync service, which is an expansion of Wi-Fi calling. As outlined in Apple's updated Wi-Fi calling support document, it is now possible for AT&T users to place Wi-Fi calls from their iPads, Apple Watches, and Macs (with OS X El Capitan) even when an iPhone is not nearby.

Continuity previously allowed a similar feature, but required an iPhone to be nearby as it used the phone's cellular connection. Similar advanced Wi-Fi calling features are also available to T-Mobile and Sprint users.

Apple Music - There are a lot of small tweaks to Apple Music to remove various pain points. When adding a song to a playlist, for example, it's now possible to create a new playlist instead of having to use an existing one, and playlists are ordered by most recent changes. There are also clearer indicators for which songs have been downloaded, and albums or playlists from iCloud Music Library can be downloaded by tapping the iCloud download button. The classical music catalog in Apple Music has been improved with works, composers, and performers.

apple_music_ios9_2_playlists
Mail Drop - For the first time, Mail Drop can be used on iOS to send attachments up to 5GB in size. Mail Drop is a feature that was previously limited to the Mac version of the Mail app.

iBooks - iBooks includes support for 3D Touch, allowing users to peek and pop into pages from the table of contents, notes and bookmarks, or search results with force press gestures. iBooks also includes support for listening to an audiobook while browsing a library, reading other books, or viewing the iBooks Store.

USB Camera Adapter - With iOS 9.2, iPhones are now able to support Apple's USB Camera Adapter and for importing pictures from a digital camera or DSLR. Previously, only iPads supported the USB Camera Adapter. The iPhone 5 and later appear to work with the USB Camera Adapter. The iPhone 4s with the iPad Camera Connection Kit and the iPod touch do not support it.

lightningusbadapter
Safari View Controller - The Safari View Controller, which is what allows a pop-up Safari window to be used within third-party apps, has been improved. In iOS 9.2, the Safari View Controller supports third-party Action Extensions, letting apps like 1Password be accessed in the Safari view of other apps like Tweetbot. There's also a new ability to long tap on the Reload button to load content without content blockers, support for the request desktop site function, and an edge swipe feature for dismissing the Safari window within apps.

safariviewcontroller

In the Hipchat app for iOS, clicking a link brings up an in-app browser. In iOS 9.1, seen on the left, there's no option for third-party extensions. In iOS 9.2, seen on the right, there's support for third-party extensions like 1Password.​

Unresponsive iPad Pro Fix - Apple has updated its support document for unresponsive iPad Pros to indicate that iOS 9.2 or later may prevent the issue from continuing in the future.

We'll be updating this tidbits post should any new features in iOS 9.2 be discovered. Our dedicated iOS 9 forum is also a great place to get more details on the new update, as users are discussing all of the changes that have been discovered in iOS 9.2.

The new update is currently available to all users with an iPhone 4s or later and can be downloaded over-the-air by going to Settings --> General --> Software Update.

Tag: iOS 9.2
Related Forum: iOS 9

appletvremoteappToday's tvOS 9.1 update for the fourth-generation Apple TV enables a feature that many have been missing - support for the Remote app on iOS devices and Apple Watch. Prior to today, the new Apple TV was not compatible with the Remote app that has long allowed iPhone and iPad users to control their second and third-generation Apple TVs with their iOS devices.

Apple likely skipped implementing Remote support for the new Apple TV initially because it includes a touch-based remote control that enables many of the same gestures, but users have expressed some disappointment that the app didn't work. The Remote app may mimic the touch-based interface of the physical Apple TV remote control, but it will be handy in a pinch should that remote become lost or misplaced.

Being able to use the Remote app will also remedy one of the most frustrating aspects of the new Apple TV -- text entry. Prior to today, it was necessary to use the swipe controls on the physical Apple TV remote with an on-screen keyboard to enter text. The Remote app will allow iPhone and iPad owners to use their devices to enter text much more quickly.

The Remote iOS app does not require updating to work with the fourth-generation Apple TV, but the set-top box does require tvOS 9.1 to be installed. Today's iOS 9.2 update is also not required and we have confirmed that the Remote app works with iOS devices running earlier versions of iOS 9.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Tag: Remote
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Apple today released a new software update for the Apple Watch, upgrading watchOS 2 from version 2.0.1 to version 2.1. The update comes six weeks after Apple first released watchOS 2.0.1 to the public and two and a half months since the public launch of watchOS 2, the first operating system upgrade for the Apple Watch.

The 2.1 update can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the Apple Watch charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone.

watchos_2_1
watchOS 2.1 includes a range of bug fixes to improve the performance of the device and it also includes support for several new languages. There's now system language support for Arabic, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Malay, Portuguese, and Vietnamese, along with expanded dictation and Siri support for several languages. Bug fixes address issues in Calendar, Power Reserve mode, third-party apps, and more.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)