MacRumors

Popular iOS app Workflow was today updated with support for the upcoming Apple Watch, bringing its highly useful task automation capabilities to the wrist-worn device.

For those of you unfamiliar with Workflow, it's a powerful automation app that was first launched on iOS last December. Workflow lets users create actions and connect apps to automatically perform a huge range of tasks on the iPad or the iPhone.

Workflows can be built from a series of actions to perform tasks like making GIFs from a series of photos, creating PDFs from websites, appending content or recordings to Evernote, seeing older versions of websites, getting images from websites, and translating text on the clipboard. There are hundreds of actions that can be combined for an endless number of different workflows.

On the Apple Watch, Workflow will work in the same way, giving users one-tap access to a wide range of different timesaving actions. For example, it'll be possible to pull up a map to the nearest coffee shop or call an Uber using Workflow. These type of quick-access actions may be particularly valuable on the Apple Watch, given its limited input methods.

One of the best features about Workflow for iOS is its included Workflow Gallery, which makes it easy for even those new to the app to download actions that are immediately useful. The same gallery feature will be available on the Apple Watch for fast access to workflows.

Workflows can be executed by raising the Apple Watch on the wrist to turn it on and swiping up at the bottom of the screen to get to the Workflow Glance. Workflows can be run directly from the Glance portion of the Apple Watch, so accessing them will be similar to accessing an app in the Notification Center on iOS. As a reminder, Glances are quick snippets of information that are meant to be easy to access.

Third-party Glances on the Apple Watch are not interactive and do not support buttons or scrolling, so launching a workflow through the Apple Watch's Glance view is done in a unique way. The Glance automatically scrolls through the different workflows that are available and selecting one is done by tapping on the screen.

Scrolling through workflows can be sped up with a rather unique interaction -- knocking the Apple Watch against the iPhone in a pants pocket. This causes the built-in scrolling mechanism to shift to the next available workflow in the list.

Workflows from the iPhone are automatically available on the Apple Watch, including all custom-created workflows constructed from the available actions in the Workflow app. Many Apple Watch apps are somewhat limited in function due to the restricted access developers have to Apple APIs, and the same goes for Workflow.

Apple Watch workflows aren't as full-featured as those on the iPhone -- it's not possible to run workflows that open other apps -- but Handoff is supported to allow users to transfer a workflow on the Apple Watch to the iPhone.

Workflows that involve opening apps, sending messages, or placing phone calls will all require the iPhone because developers cannot use these functions. Workflows that are not supported on the Apple Watch will direct users to use Handoff to swap over to the iPhone.

Though Apple Watch workflows can't open apps (aside from getting directions within Maps) they can still take advantage of the same data available to many iOS apps, like calendar info, contacts, Twitter, Facebook, and more. Currently, 163 out of 226 of available actions within the Workflow app are able to run natively on the Apple Watch, so there's still quite a lot that can be done directly on the device.

Workflow for the Apple Watch is available through an update to the Workflow app as of today, so it'll be accessible on the Apple Watch as soon as the first devices arrive in customers' hands.

Workflow can be downloaded from the App Store for the sale price of $2.99. [Direct Link]

Apple announced on Tuesday that ResearchKit is available today for developers and medical researchers. Starting today, medical researchers worldwide can use ResearchKit to develop their own apps and developers can also contribute new research modules to the open source framework. Apple has created a ResearchKit page on GitHub with a new blog that will share the latest news, updates and tips about the framework.

ResearchKit was previously limited to a handful of exclusive launch partners, including the Weill Cornell Medical College, Mount Sinai, University of Rochester, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Penn Medicine, and Sage Bionetworks, Stanford Medicine and University of Oxford. Now, all developers and medical researchers will have access to the open source framework.

Apple introduced ResearchKit at its Spring Forward media event in March, with a lineup of initials apps available that study asthma, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. Apple announced that those apps, including Asthma Health, mPower, GlucoSuccess, Share the Journey and MyHeart Counts, have received over 60,000 signups since being released on the App Store last month.

“We are delighted and encouraged by the response to ResearchKit from the medical and research community and the participants contributing to medical research. Studies that historically attracted a few hundred participants are now attracting participants in the tens of thousands,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s senior vice president of Operations. “Medical researchers all over the world are actively exploring how ResearchKit can help them study even more diseases, and we believe the impact on global understanding of health and wellness will be profound.”

ResearchKit apps use iPhone sensors such as the accelerometer, gyroscope, microphone and GPS to track a user's activity levels, motor impairments, memory and more. The research apps, available on the App Store in the United States, are compatible with the iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and fifth-generation iPod touch. Apple notes that it will be introducing the open source medical framework in other countries soon.

“ResearchKit could help us reach people all over the world who are willing to contribute to medical research, but might not know how or be able to get involved,” said Ricky Bloomfield, Director of Mobile Technology Strategy and Assistant Professor in Internal Medicine & Pediatrics at Duke University. “Our team of researchers is now launching the development of an exciting new study using the ResearchKit framework, which will enable us to gather data quickly, from more participants than we are typically able to reach.”

“Because of the ubiquity of iPhone and the elegant implementation of consent, survey and instrumented data collection, ResearchKit has enormous promise for leading the transformation of how we engage patients in research,” said Kenneth Mandl, MD, MPH, of the Boston Children’s Hospital Informatics Program. “Now that we have access to the ResearchKit framework, our team can start customizing the initial modules and even design new ones for our particular study.”

More specifically, when given permission, ResearchKit can attain user data like weight, blood pressure, glucose levels and asthma inhaler use through third-party apps and devices. With hundreds of millions of iPhone users, the service will also give researches a more streamlined experience in recruiting and gaining data from study participants, allowing users to answer surveys and input data right from the app.

The announcement follows a new Apple-IBM partnership to support ResearchKit and HealthKit apps.

Apple announced on Tuesday that its annual Worldwide Developers Conference takes place this June 8 to 12 at Moscone West in San Francisco. WWDC 2015 will feature over 1,000 Apple engineers, more than 100 technical sessions, hands-on labs, and the Apple Design Awards. Apple also says it will share the future of iOS and OS X at the developer event, presumably iOS 9 and OS X 10.11.

“The App Store ignited an app ecosystem that is simply amazing, forever changing the lives of customers and creating millions of jobs worldwide,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We’ve got incredible new technologies for iOS and OS X to share with developers at WWDC and around the world, and can’t wait to see the next generation of apps they create.”

Apple is offering developers the opportunity to apply for tickets to attend WWDC 2015 starting today through April 17 at 10 AM PT based on a lottery system. Registered developers must have signed up to the iOS Developer Program, iOS Developer Enterprise Program or Mac Developer Program as of the WWDC 2015 announcement on April 14 at 5:30 AM PT to be eligible for a chance at tickets.

WWDC 2015 tickets will cost $1,599 and Apple will inform the developers that were randomly selected to attend the event by April 20 at 5:00 PM PT. WWDC Scholarships are also available to students and members of participating STEM organizations around the world. Apple specifies that developers between 13-17 years of age must have their submission completed by their parent or guardian who is an eligible member.

Apple will also be streaming several WWDC sessions live for developers that are unable to attend. This year's sessions will focus on a wide range of topics for Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, including design, app frameworks, health and fitness, graphics and games, media, core OS technologies, development tools and languages, and enterprise. Labs will focus on technology, user interface design and the App Store.

Apple today seeded the first beta of iOS 8.4 to registered developers for testing purposes, just five days after releasing iOS 8.3 to the public. The beta, build 12H4074d, is available for download from the iOS Developer Center, alongside the Xcode 6.4 beta.

iOS 8.4 introduces a newly-revamped Music app, which includes a new design that shows pictures of artists in the Artists view and offers personalized playlists. It also offers a new MiniPlayer, a redesigned look for "Now Playing," global search capabilities that make it easier to search from anywhere within the Music app, and a streamlined design for iTunes Radio to improve music discovery.

The iOS 8.4 Beta includes an early preview of the the all-new Music app. With powerful features and an elegant new look, enjoying your music is easier than ever. This preview provides a sneak peek into what we’ve been working on, and what’s to come — the music is just getting started.

All-New Design. Music app has a beautiful new design that makes exploring your music collection easier and more fun. Personalize playlists by adding your own image and description. Enjoy stunning pictures of your favorite artists in the Artists view. Start playing an album right from the album list. The music you love is never more than a tap away.

Recently Added. Albums and playlists you’ve recently added are now at the top of your library, making it effortless to find something new to play. Simply tap play on the artwork to listen.

Streamlined iTunes Radio. Discovering music with iTunes Radio is easier than ever. You can now quickly return to your favorite stations in Recently Played. Choose from a selection of hand-curated stations in Featured Stations, or start a new one from your favorite artist or song.

New MiniPlayer. With the new MiniPlayer, you can see what’s playing and control playback while browsing your music collection. To open Now Playing, just tap on the MiniPlayer.

Improved Now Playing. Now Playing has a stunning new design that showcases your album artwork the way it was meant to be. In addition, you can begin wirelessly streaming your music using AirPlay without leaving Now Playing.

Up Next. It’s now simple to find out which songs from your library will play next — just tap the Up Next icon in Now Playing. You can even reorder, add, or skip songs whenever you like.

Global Search. You can now search from anywhere in the Music app — just tap the magnifying glass. Search results are conveniently organized to help you quickly find that perfect song. You can even start an iTunes Radio station right from Search.

According to today's release notes, there are quite a few known issues with the new Music app in the iOS 8.4 beta, so users should be aware of the possible bugs before downloading the update. For example, using Siri to control iTunes Radio does not work, nor does AirPlay streaming. Station sharing for iTunes Radio is not available, it's not possible to start a station from a song in Now Playing, and the Music app may quit unexpectedly when deleting a playlist or rotating the device to landscape orientation, among other issues.

iOS 8.4 follows hot on the heels of iOS 8.3, which introduced new diversified emoji, a revamped emoji picker, Wireless CarPlay, and more. iOS 8.4 and the new Music app come ahead of Apple's new streaming music service, rumored to be debuting in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference. Apple's upcoming streaming music service, said to be similar to its existing Beats music service with a rename and a focus on exclusive content, may be integrated into this new Music app

Over the weekend, MacRumors reader Andrew Turko sent an email to Apple CEO Tim Cook sharing his thoughts on the launch of the Apple Watch and its limitation to online orders only, and he received a response from Apple's executive team that sheds some light on Apple's concern over its launch plans and the potential for Apple Watch devices to ship out ahead of their prospective shipping dates.

Many people have been concerned with the long wait times for the Apple Watch, which saw shipping estimates slip for many models less than an hour after it became available for pre-order. All models sold out in less than six hours, and orders placed today won't ship for months. There are a lot of buyers who are facing delivery times than span into June, July, and August, but Apple believes that some of these orders could ship out earlier than their estimated shipping dates.

The Apple executive team member that spoke to Andrew referenced long wait times for earlier devices like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, noting that shipping estimates were often much longer than actual wait times and suggesting that the same thing might happen with the Apple Watch.

[Apple] said that June preorders will most likely ship sooner than June. Of course he didn't make any promises, but that's the reason Apple is announcing such an extended ship date after all - to avoid disappointment through false guarantees.

Andrew's email focused on Apple's decision to advertise April 24th as the Apple Watch launch day despite the fact that it won't be purchasable in store on that date, a point that stood out to both Apple's executive team and Tim Cook, who personally read the email.

"I think it'd be silly not to believe that there will be queues lined up around the globe on launch day if the "online exclusive" information regarding the (false) advertisement of a launch day isn't spread soon and fast."

The email echoed some of the problems Apple executives are debating, and Andrew was told the discussion over in-store stock on launch day and the advertisement of the 4/24 launch date for the Apple Watch are being considered by Apple with "great concern." Apple said it doesn't want people lining up at stores if there's no stock available to purchase.

Due to supply constraints and the desire to provide the best purchasing experience for customers, Apple has so far decided that all Apple Watch orders must be placed online. There will be no walk-in Apple Watch purchases available on April 24, unless the company's plans change. Andrew was told Apple's plans are not final, but it is unclear if Apple would be able to sell Apple Watch units in-store on launch day given the significant supply issues.

The executive Andrew spoke with said Apple "cares deeply" about the launch experience and hopes to improve the way people wait in line through the new Apple Watch reservation system. Online-only reservations are new territory for Apple in the United States, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that the company could revert back to traditional sales methods if its Apple Watch sales experiment does not work out.

Andrew's full email can be read on the MacRumors forums, as can more detail on the response that he received from Apple.

While the terms of the Apple-HBO partnership behind the launch of the HBO NOW streaming TV service on Apple TV last month have not been disclosed, Re/code reports that some Apple TV content providers, including Netflix, Hulu Plus and MLB.TV, provide Apple with 15% of revenue generated from monthly fees for subscribers that sign up through the set-top box.

Apple collects 30% of revenue generated from the sale of iPhone, iPad and iPod touch apps, including in-app purchases, so the commission for Apple TV apps is half the amount developers are forced to hand over through the App Store. While the difference does not make a difference for consumers, the lower cut could make Apple TV a more attractive platform for HBO and other cable channels.

"But it’s even more interesting to think about Apple’s tiers of fees as we enter a world where lots of people are going to be selling Web video subscription products via platforms like Apple’s. Whether Apple is charging 15 percent or 30 percent a month, it’s giving distributors a much better deal than the 50 percent that pay TV providers usually charge premium networks like HBO. That makes the platform even more enticing to cable channels that are thinking about stepping outside of the traditional pay TV bundle — and it puts more pressure on the cable guys to sweeten the deals they already offer."

The report adds that HBO is in negotiations to reach HBO NOW distribution deals with its existing pay TV distributors, enabling them to sell the service to their existing subscribers as an add-on. HBO is said to already have a deal in place with Cablevision and is reportedly in talks with Cox and Verizon as well. HBO NOW is exclusive to the Apple TV among streaming boxes for three months, at which point it should expand to other devices and platforms.

Ahead of last Friday's launch of the new Retina MacBook, we saw several early benchmarks for the entry-level notebook running a 1.1 GHz Intel Core M processor, putting CPU performance for the new machine roughly on par with the 2011 MacBook Air according to Geekbench.

With the machines now available for purchase, we're starting to see Geekbench results for the mid-range 1.2 GHz processor, revealing a significant performance boost over the low-end chip for multi-core benchmarks, but less so for single-core testing.

It will take a little while for Geekbench results to firm up as the machines work through their early housekeeping tasks, but the best results we're seeing so far for the 1.2 GHz model are approaching 2600 on 64-bit single-core tests and over 5300 on multi-core tests. That performance compares to roughly 2400/4450 for the 1.1 GHz model, meaning that the mid-range model seems to be showing performance improvements at least in line with the 9 percent increase in CPU frequency. Multi-core performance in particular seems to be seeing a nice bump with the faster chip.

These scores for the 1.2 GHz Retina MacBook are roughly in the same range as the low-end models of the previous-generation Early 2014 MacBook Air, despite the much lower power consumption that has enabled Apple to build an ultra-thin fanless design.

In addition to the 1.1 GHz and 1.2 GHz chip options, Apple is also offering a 1.3 GHz processor as a build-to-order option. We have, however, yet to see any Geekbench results for these chips, and shipping estimates for machines with these chips were at 3-4 weeks when Apple began taking orders on Friday, suggesting it may yet be some time before we see data on their performance.

Apple is taking advantage of Intel's latest "Core M" Broadwell chips for the new Retina MacBook. The chips offer extremely low power usage, but Apple is slightly overclocking these chips for higher performance. The low-end MacBook uses a 5Y31 chip that runs by default at 900 MHz but which supports overclocking to 1.1 GHz at the cost of bumping power consumption from 4.5 watts to 6 watts, and Apple has elected to use the faster speeds to improve performance.

The mid-range MacBook uses the 5Y51 chip, which defaults to 1.1 GHz but which Apple has bumped by 100 MHz to run at 1.2 GHz. The high-end custom MacBook takes advantage of the 5Y71 chip that is designed to run at 1.2 GHz, and Apple has similarly bumped this one by 100 MHz to run at 1.3 GHz.

The Retina MacBook is in very short supply following its launch last Friday, with all stock and custom configurations currently listed as shipping in 4-6 weeks from Apple's online store. The company's retail stores also have yet to begin stocking the new machines, although some (mainly in the United States) do have models on display for customers to test out.

Pop artist Romero Britto last week filed a lawsuit against Apple over its "Start Something New" campaign, for using Craig & Karl artwork that allegedly mimics the design style that Britto is famous for. The lawsuit, levied at both Craig & Karl and Apple, accuses the two artists of violating the Britto trade dress and targets Apple because Britto became aware of the copycat art through Apple's recent promotion.

Apple uses a Craig & Karl image featuring a patchwork hand on a bright yellow background on one of the iPads in the graphics used to promote the "Start Something New" campaign, and there's a profile of Craig & Karl on the company's website describing how the image was made on an iPad Air 2 using iOS apps.

Apple also featured the Craig & Karl image heavily in retail stores, leading people to contact Britto with the false impression that he had created the artwork, where he discovered that the two had been making art similar to his own for years.

As with any Apple campaign, the Start Something New Campaign had massive exposure and breathless press coverage, and many of the media profiles prominently featured the Infringing Apple Image. Plaintiff was inundated with reports of the Start Something New campaign and the Infringing Apple Image. These reports ranged from, for example, incorrect congratulations on Mr. Britto's new deal with Apple, to consternation from business partners in potentially collaborative or competing product categories, to inquiries from collectors wanting to know if the image they saw in the Apple store or on the Apple website was by Romero Britto.

Britto's work is fairly well-known and on display in dozens of locations around the world. He's also worked with multiple different brands on major advertising campaigns, with all of his work featuring bright colors, strong lines, and simple designs.

According to the lawsuit, Britto's specific Trade Dress is "strong, fanciful, non-functional, and inherently distinctive," composed of vibrant color combinations, the juxtaposition of different patterns, bold black outlines, and "uplifting, bright and happy visual themes." A quick visual comparison of Britto's work next to Craig & Karl's does indeed reveal similarities between the two.

Britto contacted Apple and asked the company to cease using the Craig & Karl images, but he did not receive a response, leading him to file a lawsuit. Britto is asking for damages and attorneys' fees, along with an injunction that would require Apple to stop using the artwork and Craig & Karl to stop producing artwork that mimics his style.

Apple today sent out a press release announcing an update to its professional video editing software, Final Cut Pro X, along with updates to companion apps Motion and Compressor. The updates bring new features for motion graphics and enhancements to speed up video editing, packaging, and delivery.

As described by Apple, Final Cut Pro's 10.2 update marks the debut of easy-to-use tools for the creation of 3D titles, with a variety of templates that include built-in backgrounds and animations. Text styles can customize the look of titles with different materials and lighting, and it's possible to convert 2D to 3D titles and see changes in real time.

Today's update also lets editors view up to four video scopes at the same time for better precision when color grading, and there are now improved Shape masks that can be applied to any effect and saved as a preset. Finally, the update includes support for more video formats and makes it faster to work with RED RAW files.

Motion 5.2 offers additional options for 3D titles, bringing tools for the creation of dynamic titles with lights and cameras, while Compressor 4.2 makes it easier to prepare movies for sale on the iTunes Store.

"From Hollywood blockbuster directors to first time movie makers, Final Cut Pro X is changing the way we edit movies today," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "The updated Final Cut Pro X, Motion and Compressor make it even easier to edit, title and package everything from short videos to feature-length films."

Apple's press release includes details from Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who co-directed the Will Smith film Focus and used Final Cut Pro X to edit the video. The duo's work with the software was previously featured by Apple on its Final Cut Pro X feature page.

"We loved using Final Cut Pro X to edit Focus," said Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, co-directors of the 2015 feature film, Focus. "We created the final theatrical titles for the movie right in Final Cut Pro, and the new 3D titling and effects features will let us take in-app graphics even further. We're using the new Final Cut Pro on our next feature film."

Several sites have been able to get hands-on access to the new software updates ahead of their launch, and have shared details on the new tools included in the update. Fcp.co has a complete rundown on all the new features, along with screenshots, as does The Next Web.

All of today's updates are free for existing Final Cut Pro, Compressor, and Motion users.

Final Cut Pro can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $299.99. [Direct Link]

Compressor can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $49.99. [Direct Link]

Motion can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $49.99. [Direct Link]