MacRumors

Just a couple days after announcing Family Sharing, a feature that allows families to share iTunes and App Store purchases, Apple has begun emailing developers to ask them to turn on the feature in their iTunes Connect developer portal.

While Family Sharing is a significant addition to the App Store, the opt-in requirement for developers could see some declining to allow their apps to be shared amongst as many as six accounts with no extra charge.

To make your apps available as part of Family Sharing, agree to the updated iOS Paid Applications and/or Mac Paid Applications agreement in Contracts, Tax and Banking on iTunes Connect. To ensure that Family Sharing is also enabled for previously purchased apps, leave the appropriate checkbox selected on the agreements page.

Family Sharing also allows families to share calendars, reminders, photos and locations. It also allows parents to monitor and approve downloads and purchases made by their children remotely. The feature is likely to get turned on and tested in the iOS 8 betas before going live when iOS 8 is available for the public later this year.

A new report by Bloomberg highlights how Apple has shifted to producing more of its recent TV ads internally as opposed to relying on its longtime ad agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day and its iPhone unit, Media Arts Lab.

The report notes that Apple's changes came after marketing chief Phil Schiller considered ending its partnership with TBWA in January 2013, as previously shown in leaked emails during the company's second patent trial with Samsung. The relationship between the two companies had been strong for many years, as Chiat/Day and Apple famously worked on the iconic '1984' ad for the Macintosh. The effectiveness of Apple's relationship with TBWA/Chiat/Day reportedly started to weaken after the death of Steve Jobs in 2011. While the ads for Siri involving various celebrities were positively received by consumers, Apple's 'Genius' TV spots were poorly received and pulled from TV and YouTube soon after.

Instead of parting ways with TBWA however, Apple began building its own ad team, notably hiring ad veteran Tyler Whisnand away from Media Arts Lab to head its creative team. Apple also hired renowned music director David Taylor and a number of other veteran advertising executives to fill out its team. Meanwhile, TBWA made changes internally, promoting James Vincent, who had a working relationship with the late Steve Jobs, to CEO while extracting him from day-to-day operations.

Since then, both Apple's in-house ad team and TBWA have worked on a number of successful ads, with the former creating the initial "Your Verse" iPad TV ad that aired this past January, and the latter helping with a recent TV spot that highlighted the iPad Air's use in music composition by conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. However, Apple has also required TBWA and its internal team to compete on each campaign in order to ensure quality.

So far, the in-house efforts have helped stanch a decline in the impact of Apple’s ads since Jobs died, according to ad-monitoring company Ace Metrix Inc. Apple’s average score from this survey of hundreds of consumers fell in 2013 to 548 - just slightly higher than the overall average score for advertisers - - from 621 in 2011. So far in 2014, Apple’s median score has risen to 564, according to Ace Metrix.

Finally, Schiller and creative executive Hiroki Asai are also now said to be determining whether Apple should push digital marketing more following the launch of an ad campaign for the iPhone 5c on Tumblr this past March. It was reported by Ad Age last year that Apple would be adding for digital agencies to help out its online marketing strategy, which would be a shift from Jobs' approach to only focus on TV and print ads.

Jobs reportedly disliked the idea of showing Apple's products in low-resolution online ads, and applied the same distaste to campaigns on social media as Apple could not have full control of its intended message.

The Swift programming language was as close to a "One More Thing" as there was at the WWDC Keynote this week, debuting to significant cheers from the developers in the audience. Immediate reaction after the keynote suggested Swift was "huge news" and the future of development on Apple products.

Apple says Swift code is "concise yet expressive", interactive and fun. For coders, the introduction to Swift is available on the iBooks Store but Chris Lattner, head of Apple's Developer Tools department, shared additional information on Swift on his personal webpage (via TechCrunch).

Now that Swift is public, Lattner revealed that he began working on Swift in mid-2010, with a team of coders "contributing in earnest" late in 2011. Last July, Swift finally became the major focus of Lattner's Developer Tools Group.

The Swift language is the product of tireless effort from a team of language experts, documentation gurus, compiler optimization ninjas, and an incredibly important internal dogfooding group who provided feedback to help refine and battle-test ideas. Of course, it also greatly benefited from the experiences hard-won by many other languages in the field, drawing ideas from Objective-C, Rust, Haskell, Ruby, Python, C#, CLU, and far too many others to list.

The Xcode Playgrounds feature and REPL were a personal passion of mine, to make programming more interactive and approachable. The Xcode and LLDB teams have done a phenomenal job turning crazy ideas into something truly great. Playgrounds were heavily influenced by Bret Victor's ideas, by Light Table and by many other interactive systems.

Lattner says that he hopes to make programming "more approachable and fun" with Swift, getting rid of extraneous materials to make programming easier to learn.

"We'll appeal to the next generation of programmers and to help redefine how Computer Science is taught," Lattner writes.

Evidence of upcoming iMac updates is continuing to accumulate, and the latest hint points toward support for models equipped with Retina displays. As noted by MacBidouille [Google Translate], the OS X Yosemite developer preview includes a new file defining display scaling resolution options for a machine identified as an iMac.

The unreleased machine was first spotted last week in the OS X 10.9.4 beta, but today's discovery includes the observation that Retina-resolution display support is included.

The file includes a series of scaling resolution options for this machine, maxing out at 6400 x 3600 pixels, or 3200 x 1800 as a Retina display. The display itself would carry a somewhat lower native resolution, perhaps 5120 x 2880 to simply pixel double the current 27-inch iMac, but as with the Retina MacBook Pro higher resolutions are specified and generated by the machine before being scaled back down.

The first of these resolutions indicates hexa "00001900 00000e10" is therefore a resolution scaling of ... 6400 x 3600 (probably 3200x1800 HiDPI).
Continues and is 5760x3240 (2880x1620 HiDPI) 4096x2304 (2048x1152 HiDPI), etc..
(There are other resolutions, just make the conversion from hex)

With this alone, it is not possible to guess the native resolution of the machine. This is a resolution that does not appear in the file, since it is native and does not have to be "scaled".
Knowing that there is a gap between the values ​​of 5760 and 4096, one can imagine something between these two (probably 5120x2880, 2560x1440 or in HiDPI), but this is speculation.

As an example of how these higher-than-native resolution options are used, while the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro has a native resolution of 2880 x 1800 (giving screen real estate of 1440 x 900 as Retina), the system is capable of generating a 3840 x 2400 desktop that is then scaled down to give the real estate of a 1920 x 1200 display.

In the case of this iMac, a similar scenario would see the initial 6400 x 3600 screen scaled to display as 3200 x 1800 on the Retina iMac.

Apple has been rumored to be working on Retina iMacs ever since the debut of the Retina MacBook Pro in 2012, but the company has likely been challenged by the large number of pixels needed for the desktop machine, particularly the 27-inch model. Recent rumors have pointed toward a lower-priced version of the iMac to help address emerging markets, but Retina models are likely also in the works.

As was seen with the MacBook Pro, Apple may initially move to split the iMac lineup with Retina models initially coming in at higher price points alongside existing or slightly cheaper non-Retina model pricing. Over time, the line would be consolidated as prices for the components needed to support Retina displays come down.

(Thanks, Greg!)

Keyboard developer Fleksy today announced that the company has its iOS keyboard alternative running on iOS 8. Apple revealed earlier this week during its WWDC 2014 keynote that iOS 8 will support the system wide implementation of these third-party keyboards.

An alternative to a traditional keyboard, Fleksy boasts improved typing speeds through the use of automated word suggestions and a sophisticated autocorrect engine that corrects errors on the fly. It also incorporates a gesture system that lets users complete common tasks like inserting spaces and punctuation through swipes.

Fleksy tweeted a screenshot of its keyboard on iOS 8, along with an invitation for users to register for a preview of its iOS 8 keyboard app. iPhone and iPad owners running a beta version of iOS 8 on their devices can sign up for a preview on Fleksy's website. The company will notify customers via email when the public beta program goes live.

Fleksy won't be the only third-party keyboard available to consumers when iOS 8 launches later this year. Both Swiftkey and popular Android keyboard Swype confirmed they plan to launch iOS 8-compatible versions of their keyboard apps.

"We're delighted Apple has decided to embrace the importance of opening its platform to third party keyboards.
...
We first brought a taste of our technology to iOS in January this year with the launch of the free note-taking app SwiftKey Note. Are we going to build SwiftKey Keyboard for iOS 8? Of course we are. We've already started, writes Swiftkey founders Ben Medlock and Jon Reynolds."

Both Switfkey and Fleksy already offer versions of their keyboards for iPhone and iPad owners, but their functionality is limited due to iOS constraints that prohibit their system-wide installation. iOS 8 will remove this restriction, making it possible for all keyboard makers, including iOS newcomer Swype, to bring their keyboards to Apple's mobile platform. The beta version of iOS 8 is available now to developers, with a public release expected this fall.

At Computex in Taiwan this week, Intel demonstrated a variety of wireless accessories that will be enabled by the company's future Skylake processor platform, reports CNET. Reference designs for the Broadwell successor will include the possibility of eliminating all of the cables that currently connect to a personal computer, replacing both data and power cables with wireless options.

The demonstration by Kirk Skaugen, Intel's senior vice president and general manager of the PC Client Group, showcased a wireless display, as well as a computer with wireless docking and charging capabilities. Intel uses technology from A4WP's Rezence, which transfers power wirelessly using the principles of magnetic resonance, for its wireless charging solution.

The system can be installed under a table surface, with magnetic resonance capable of charging through 2 inches of wood. It can also charge any number of devices at the same time, unlike inductive charging technologies.

Skaugen demonstrated a table that charged a laptop, phone, headset and tablet all at once.

For docking and display purposes, Intel relies on Wi-Gig to govern the wireless data transfer. First outlined in 2010, Wi-Gig is an established wireless standard that uses unlicensed 60 GHz spectrum to provide data transfer rates up to 7 Gbps.

The technology is still in the early stages, with Intel's Skylake platform expected to debut in late 2015. Products natively supporting these wireless protocols will be available publicly sometime in 2016. Apple is not currently listed as a member of the extensive A4WP consortium, but the company is undoubtedly pursuing its own potential solutions and its use of Intel's chips in Macs means that it will be able to take advantage of the technologies packaged into the future Skylake platform.

While rumors have pointed to a late 2014 or early 2015 launch of Apple's rumored 5.5-inch iPhone 6 model, several months later than a 4.7-inch model, Cantor Fiztgerald analyst Brian White points out in a new research note that companies are already beginning to ramp up their production of accessories for the larger device. Based on this observation, White believes the larger-sized iPhone 6 model may in fact debut this fall alongside the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, and his note follows a recent report that Apple has solved its battery issues with the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 and is planning to manufacture 20 million units by the end of the year.

White bases his prediction on observations he made during his recent tour of Computex, which is being held this week in Taiwan and is Asia's largest technology show.

Also at Computex, we noticed that a few vendors had already started work on accessories for the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 and the pieces were available at the show. Given the lack of data points in recent months around progress with the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 and growing skepticism in the media around a 2014 launch, we view this as a positive development. Based on today's research, we believe the timing of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 launch appears to be in sync with our expectation around the unveiling (i.e., September) of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6.

According to White, manufacturers are also showing a "much broader ramp" of accessories compatible with the rumored 4.7-inch iPhone 6. The 4.7-inch version is widely believed to be launching in September and will headline Apple's fall product lineup, which Apple executive Eddy Cue claims is the best product pipeline he has seen in his 25 years at Apple.

Based on his previous reports, White does not have a particularly solid track record in predicting Apple's plans, and thus his speculation of a simultaneous launch of both 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 models should be taken with a grain of salt considering other rumors of a gap of up to several months between the two releases. White does, however, frequently tour Asian suppliers and trade shows and is in a position to observe momentum shifts in the supply chain and accessory maker activity.

While the expected overall form factors of the two rumored iPhone 6 models have been circulating for several months, leading to physical mockups from accessory makers and others, actual claimed part leaks for the new devices have remained fairly rare. We've seen a few parts such as an alleged front panel, a display backlight and just last week a rear shell, but typically a number of internal components have leaked by this point in the year and we have yet to see much in that regard.

Apple has introduced new specifications for manufacturers in the company's Made for iPhone (MFi) program that allow them to create headphones that connect to iOS devices via a Lightning cable rather than a regular 3.5mm headphone jack, according to 9to5Mac.

The Lightning headphones will be capable of receiving lossless stereo 48 kHz digital audio output from Apple devices and sending mono 48 kHz digital audio input. The input means that the headphones will also support a microphone for audio input following Apple’s upcoming update. Manufacturers will be able to take advantage of Apple Headphone Remote controls like Volume Up/Down/etc, as well as other buttons for launching specific apps such as iTunes Radio or initiating playback controls on iOS. In addition, the headphones can be made to work specifically with a companion iOS app and launch a specific app when connected to an iOS device.

The specification includes two configurations for headphones. The first is called Standard Lightning Headphones, which uses minimum components when paired to a digital-to-analog converter. The second is called Advanced Lightning Headphones, which allows for more complex features like active noise cancellation.

The Lightning cable-equipped headphones would also allow iOS devices to power or charge headphones that require electricity, and would also allow for headphones to potentially power or charge up iOS devices.

Reports suggest Apple is planning to allow high definition music downloads and playback on iOS devices as well as new in-ear headphones that could take advantage of high-quality audio and take advantage of Lightning Cable MFi specifications. It is also possible Apple uses newly purchased Beats Electronics' popular headphone line to accelerate adoption for the new standard.

During yesterday's WWDC keynote, Apple launched several new "Continuity" features to improve the cross-platform integration of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. One of the new abilities designed to allow better transitions from iOS devices to Macs is Handoff, which allows users to start a task on one device and swap to another nearby device.

As described by Apple, Handoff can be used for several different activities, including email and web browsing. Users can begin writing an email on an iPhone, for example, and then switch to a Mac to finish. Websites work similarly, allowing users to browse the web on one device, and then continue looking at the same website on another device. While this is already possible via iCloud Tabs, Handoff makes the entire process easier and extends the functionality to other apps.

We believe you should be able to use the right device for the moment. We want the transitions between these moments to be as absolutely natural and seamless as possible.

When you're working on your Mac, your devices around you in proximity are aware of each other and are aware of what you're up to.

As demoed during the keynote, iOS devices and Macs are "aware" of each other, and can pick up a task when nearby. When composing an email on a Mac, for example, users will see an icon on the screen of their iPad or iPhone that can be tapped to allow them to continue writing on the iOS device. Similarly, an iPhone near a Mac will cause the activity to automatically pop up on the Mac's dock, allowing for a seamless transition between devices.

Handoff currently works with the following Apple apps: Mail, Safari, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Maps, Messages, Reminders, Calendar, and Contacts. There's also a Handoff API for developers, which will likely see Handoff capabilities added to a range of different apps.

The enhanced Continuity between OS X and iOS also allows Mac devices in close proximity to an iPhone to both place and receive calls, leveraging Bluetooth and WiFi with the iPhone serving as a relay. Users can answer a call made to their iPhone on their Mac, a useful feature when an iPhone is across the room charging or otherwise inaccessible.

During the keynote, Apple's software chief Craig Federighi used the calling feature to contact new Apple employee Dr. Dre on his Mac, demoing its ability to place calls.

Similarly, iPads and Macs are now able to receive SMS messages from non-Apple devices, a function previously limited to the iPhone. iPads and Macs are also able to utilize an "Instant Hotspot" feature that allows them to connect to an iPhone hotspot with just a click, and AirDrop is also cross-platform.

Currently, Handoff and the other Continuity enhancements are features limited to developers who are using both iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, but it will be available to the general public in the fall after the official release of the new operating systems.

During yesterday's keynote, Apple packed a ton of information on iOS 8 into a short period of time, showing off a multitude of new features like interactive notifications, QuickType predictive text, enhancements to group messages, new family sharing options, and more.

Given the time constraints, many new iOS 8 changes went under the radar and while we detailed a few of these yesterday, now that iOS 8 has been downloaded on thousands of developer devices, even more minor additions to the operating system have come to light. Our forum members and iOS 8 users on Twitter have detailed a huge number of the new changes, and we've catalogued the more interesting improvements below.

Share sheet customizations - When sharing an image, website, or other type of media, users can now customize their sharing options. The list of apps where content can be shared can be rearranged and disabled, as can the media options like Copy, Print, and AirPlay. Some sheet icons also have a new look that eliminates the black border in iOS 7.

Request desktop site in Safari - As noted by a Twitter user, Safari now includes an option to "Request Desktop Site," which will load the desktop version of a site rather than the mobile version.

Time-Lapse mode for Camera - The Camera app has gained a new Time-Lapse mode, which captures a series of images and then compiles them into a time-lapse video. There are also new manual exposure controls, which allow exposure to be selected when taking a photo, and a self-timer mode that can be set for three or 10 seconds.

DuckDuckGo search - Users can now opt to select DuckDuckGo as their default search option in Safari. DuckDuckGo is known for its anti-tracking stance, opting not to profile its users.

iBooks - iBooks now comes preinstalled on iOS devices with iOS 8. Previously, it was a separate download in the App Store. There's also a new auto night mode and an organization option to group books from a series together.

Messages - Along with several improvements to group message management, there are now options to remove stored messages after a set period of time of 30 days or one year, which will allow users who have extensive iMessage threads to free up valuable space. When adding an image to a message, there's a new feature displaying recent photos for quick insertion.

Photos - The Photos app has received new organizational options, including two albums for "Recently Added" and "Recently Deleted." The Recently Deleted section temporarily displays images that have been removed from the app in case of accidental deletion. The date and time a photo was taken is also displayed.

WiFi Calling - iOS will include an option for WiFi calling, allowing users to place calls over WiFi instead of cellular when connected to a WiFi network, saving minutes and data. Several carriers, including T-Mobile, have already announced support for the feature.

Grayscale mode - There are several new Accessibility options, including a new "Grayscale" mode that shifts the entire operating system into shades of black and white. There's also Improved Zoom option.

Keep up with all of the new changes introduced with iOS 8 on our forums, where our readers are discussing and sharing a seemingly endless number of feature enhancements and tweaks in the "iOS 8, All The Little Things" thread.

Apple appears to have ceased using data from Yahoo for its Weather app in iOS 8, instead getting weather information directly from The Weather Channel. iPhones running iOS 8 have a slightly revamped weather app that pulls its information from The Weather Channel, whereas previously, weather information was obtained through Yahoo.

Yahoo's weather information, however, was also supplied by The Weather Channel (TWC), so it seems that Apple has opted to cut out Yahoo as a go-between. The switch from Yahoo to TWC is a bit surprising given reports of ongoing talks between Yahoo and Apple over ways to more deeply integrate Yahoo services into iOS apps. While it is unclear if those plans have been scrapped, an April report suggested Yahoo was aiming to revamp its mobile search platform with the hopes of being iOS's default search engine.

While the source of the data Apple uses is ultimately the same, there are differences in the underlying technology supporting the weather data between the two services. Because of that, the data presented to the end user may be slightly different even though Yahoo also obtained its data from TWC.

In addition to using TWC as a source for weather data, the iPhone's weather app is now displaying a nine day weather forecast, up from the previous five day forecast. There's also a new weather summary at the bottom of the app, noting the current weather conditions along with conditions for the rest of the day.

The new Weather app within iOS 8 is currently available to registered developers. The general public will get access to the operating system this fall, after beta testing has been completed.

Apple outlined several of iOS 8's major features during yesterday's WWDC keynote, but with the operating system now in the hands of developers, details on several lesser known features have been leaking out.

One new feature sees the iPhone displaying apps on the lock screen based on location. For example, MacRumors readers have seen relevant app icons pop up while at or near brick and mortar locations like Starbucks and the Apple Store. While at a Starbucks, for example, the Starbucks app icon is displayed in the lower left corner of the iPhone's lock screen, which allows the Starbucks app to be easily accessed.

This feature isn't limited to Apple's own stores or to major retailers, either, as one Twitter user has also seen an app for a train station on the lock screen while at that particular location.

Displaying location-based apps on the lock screen is particularly useful at Starbucks and the Apple Store as both locations allow users to make purchases using their iOS devices. In fact, a common theme between the apps that have demonstrated this functionality is a specific on-site function like the ability to make a purchase or display a ticket.

It is not clear how this feature works, or which apps are compatible at this point, but the iOS 8 release notes mention the location based apps as a facet of Location Services. "When Location Services is turned on, the device's current location is used to recommend relevant apps on the lock screen." Based on the description of the feature, it appears to work through both the App Store and physical location and will eventually be able to be turned off by turning off location services for the App Store.

As we approach the public release of iOS 8, it's likely we'll hear more about this new location-based alert feature. iOS 8 is expected to be available to the public in the fall, following a developer-oriented beta testing period.

(Thanks, Kyle!)

Update 11:55 PM PT: It appears that Apple will also suggest apps that are not installed when visiting certain locations. For example, a Twitter user who did not have the Costco app installed had a Costco app icon pop up when at local Costco, which took him to the App Store where he could download the app. He was not able to access the rest of the App Store after tapping the icon; only the Costco app was available.

Last week, Apple confirmed its plans to acquire Beats Electronics and Beats Music in a $3 billion deal that would bring a successful headphone business and a fledgling streaming music service under Apple's umbrella. While many have pointed to Jimmy Iovine as the acquisition target, Apple may also be using the deal to boost its "coolness" factor among younger users, as suggested in a survey by education technology company Chegg (via Re/code).

Chegg asked 10,000 students about their experience with Beats and their knowledge of the Apple-Beats merger. While most of the students surveyed were familiar with the Beats brand, only 15 percent had purchased Beats products and a mere three percent had subscribed to the Beats Music service. More than half of the students (60 percent) were aware of the deal with one quarter claiming the deal will make Apple more "cool" and fifty percent believing the acquisition will increase Apple's popularity among students.

This is largely good, albeit unsurprising, news for Apple, which has long dominated the college market. In most college lecture halls across the country, you’ll see rows and rows of MacBooks — many of which were purchased using Apple’s educational discount or in Apple-affiliated campus stores. Still, more and more young people are streaming music using services other than iTunes. Spotify has more than 40 million subscribers, and 40 percent of its American users are between the ages of 18-24.

Beats is often criticized as being a bass-heavy fashion accessory and not a true audiophile product, but sales figures reveal that the typically younger consumers who buy Beats are more interested in appearance than audio quality. According to marketing research company NPD, Beats accounts for 27 percent of the $1.8 billion headphone market and more than half (57 percent) of the premium market for headphones with a starting price tag of $100 or more.